gingerbread houses for mugs
Tuesday, December 22, 2009Labels: christmas cheer, in the kitchen
When I saw this post on Not Martha I instantly thought, "I have to make those". Forget the fact that I was already planning to make five different kinds of cookies. Forget the fact that I have never made any type of gingerbread cookies before. Forget the fact that I have to have my house clean by Tuesday night.
I spent the evening working on these little things. I was not careful at all when I cut out the pieces so my houses are slightly crooked. However, I think they are darn cute. Since this was the first time making them I just wanted to see if they would work. Next time I will put more energy into them and make them line up better.
baby food
Thursday, April 23, 2009Labels: baby love, in the kitchen
Months before Jasper was born I read a blog posting about making your own baby food. I thought, "I could totally do that". And just like that I decided that I would not be buying little jars of baby food.
We started with cereal because that's what most babies start with. Throw some old fashioned Quaker oats in the blender and grind away. Then you just cook a quarter cup of ground oats with a cup of water for 8 minutes or so. Next we tried bananas. No work for these. I threw them in the blender and made them as smooth as I could. Avocados were next on the list. Also no work required for these... I just mashed them up and thinned it out with some water.
Now we get to the fun stuff. I bought a bunch of fresh green beans so I steamed them to make them nice and mushy. I put them in my blender with a little of the reserve water. Mmm... green bean smoothie. Then we made sweet potatoes. I bought three large sweet potatoes and boiled them to make them nice and soft. I cut them all up and put them in the blender. That made three ice cube trays of baby food!
Last night I made pears and squash. These are all foods that are considered stage one foods. Smooth texture, easy for babies to eat. I steamed the pears and baked the squash.
I am so glad Josh convinced me to register for a nice blender when we got married. It has really come in handy now! The key to making baby food is just make the food soft and the blending it up.
When the baby food is done, you pour it into an ice cube tray. Tap the tray on the counter to smooth them out. Stick it in the freezer for an hour or until the food is hard. Toss them all into a ziploc! Each cube is about an ounce of baby food and it thaws in an hour or so.
Really easy to do and so much fun. I love making baby food! Plus I really like knowing exactly what my kid is eating. I'm already looking forward to the next foods "we" get to try.
kuchen
Monday, March 09, 2009Labels: in the kitchen
If you are from this area there is a myth that you have to be a member of a certain church to make this recipe. Kuchen is very popular at this church's potlucks. I have been wanting to make it myself since I had it at a baby shower years ago.
There are about a billion variations of the recipe out there but I finally just chose one and made it yesterday. Delicious! The recipe called for raspberries but I used blackberries instead. Such an easy thing to make... There is a crumbly bottom and then a custard, creamy top. I will definitely be trying this one again with different fruit.
In other semi-related news...with all the baking I've been doing I realized I'm lacking in baking pans. I need another loaf pan, another square 8" pan and a new jelly roll pan. Better start saving for a trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
pecan pie
Thursday, March 05, 2009Labels: in the kitchen
Yesterday I made a pecan pie for Josh. It was kind of funny because I had never in my life had pecan pie or even really looked at one. I really had no idea of the consistency. I did a little online research, found a good recipe and tried my hand at a pecan pie. Josh gave it a thumbs up and my mom (the best baker I know) said it was wonderful.
I love being at home and baking. Hmm...now what to make?
dear readers
Thursday, April 17, 2008Labels: in the kitchen
I made you mini cupcakes last night. Here you go...
poachpods
Thursday, March 27, 2008Labels: in the kitchen
I'm not a big fan of kitchen tools that are unitaskers, that do only one thing. You could end up with ten different gadgets sitting on your counter for something you do only once a month. That said, I knew that I had to get the Poachpod.
I never was a big fan of eggs until my dad introduced me to the poached egg. For years I've been trying to master the technique of poaching an egg. Although my dad has a system and it usually works, you don't always get a consistent result. I've tried everything to get the egg to stay together. Cracking it right into the water, cracking the egg onto a saucer first and slowly lowering that in... Sometimes things worked, sometimes not so much...
I was so anxious to try the poachpod and it worked wonderfully! The best poached eggs I've ever made, every time. (Even my dad would have to be impressed by those.)
recipe organization
Wednesday, February 06, 2008I have intended to organize my recipes for years. It absolutely drives me crazy that I have had to copy my mom's pie crust recipe three times because I can never find it when I need it. I also don't ever remember if a recipe I am looking for is on my computer or in a random binder. Labels: in the kitchen
I am a recipe junkie. I am constantly emailing myself some recipe I saved off the Internet. Sometimes I save it in my email, sometimes I print them, and sometimes I save them on my computer. If it has been printed out, it could be in one of many places: the kitchen pantry with the food magazines, tucked inside a random cookbook, inside a binder that contains recipes or folded up in an old recipe box I have. For someone who lives by the mantra "A place for everything and everything in its place", this is completely frustrating.
I have analyzed the many different ways of organizing recipes. There's Tastebook.com which seems pretty slick but not "expandable". I am constantly adding recipes so I need something not so permanent. I really like the Russell + Hazel Binder set, although I am not hundred percent sold on the binder thing. I have also considered a software program or just making a folder on my computer to sort and organize all of my recipes.
Last year I did start slightly organizing my recipes in a Word document. The problem with that is that every time I went to bake I needed to print a copy out or run back and forth from the kitchen to the bedroom. I finally realized that I really love when I can bake or cook from actual recipe cards. There's just something about it.
So that's when I decided that I needed a cute recipe card holder. I've been hunting the Martha Stewart recipe box but my local Macy's never seems to have it in stock. I also need to put all of my recipes on the same size cards. The thought of handwriting each one makes me ill. I'm such a perfectionist that I would probably end up starting over each time I messed up or if my handwriting wasn't very neat. Solution: Just run the cards through my printer, of course! I'm going to set up an Indesign file that will be the correct sizing and then I'll have to just type up the recipes.
I'm such a nerd but I'm totally excited to get my recipes all in one place and all matching!
i want to bake
Tuesday, July 31, 2007Labels: apartment living, in the kitchen
Since the day I moved into my apartment, one thing that I hated most was my oven. It was probably over 30 years old and rather disgusting. The hardest part was that nothing cooked right. Even when making pizza, we had to rotate it halfway through because the back cooked faster than the front. Occasionally the kitchen would smell like gas because one of the pilot lights would go out. Although I informed my landlord of this over a year ago, nothing was done.
And then the most wonderful thing happened...my oven broke. Last Tuesday night I went to make some blueberry muffins. I put them in the oven and came back twenty minutes later. They looked exactly like they did when I put them in. Batter. When I opened the oven door I could feel that it was trying to heat up but obviously not doing a very good job at it.
Josh immediately called the landlord and said we needed a new oven. Much to my surprise, they showed up with one on Saturday morning. The new oven isn't anything special. It doesn't even have a light on the inside. BUT...it bakes things correctly!! I tried blueberry muffins again on Saturday night and it was like magic. Not only did they actually bake, they puffed up on top like they're supposed to. That had never happened when I made them at the apartment.
Josh and I danced around the kitchen we were so happy. Now I am so excited to bake again. It's been three years since I've really wanted to bake. The frustration of the old oven just made baking, even cooking supper not very enjoyable. This makes my crappy apartment just a little more bearable.
cooking with kimberly
Tuesday, September 19, 2006Today on zee show vee vill be cooking Cheekin Noodeal Soupe. Zis is eh vury easy ricipee an taste zeelicious. Okay, sorry...that's enough of that. Labels: bebo, in the kitchen
Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
2 cups cooked chicken breast, pulled into small pieces
3 cans (49 oz each) chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups sliced carrots
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
In a large pot, combine chicken broth, onion, celery and carrots. Bring to boil. Stir in uncooked noodles, chicken, parsley flakes and pepper. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until noodles and veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.
I love to use my Santoku knife to cut the veggies. It makes me feel like a real chef.
Bebo always goes crazy for chicken. I seriously thought he was going to try to jump up on the counter to get some.
Once the noodles and chicken are added, the whole apartment starts to smell delicious.
Enjoy the final product! Perfect for a chilly day.
grocery list
Thursday, August 31, 2006One of my favorite things to do is write out a grocery list. I love thinking about what foods we should have in our cupboards especially since they're usually so bare. I love planning out meals and getting the ingredients for them. Labels: in the kitchen
I'm highly organized so I write out my grocery list in order of aisles, the aisles that I can see if I close my eyes. I've been going to the same grocery store since I was little. Every week I would go with my mom, sitting in the cart, helping her. When I got older I would get to push the cart and run the calculator. Ah, the calculator... We usually had a tight budget so while we shopped I would type in the amount for whatever we put in the cart. This way we knew if we could get the ice cream in the last aisle or not.
Josh and I don't get groceries every week or sometimes every month but we always have a plan if we do. I started my grocery list last night which includes the usual cereal and spaghetti o's but it also has some different things for a new recipe. I'm getting excited about the prospect of having food in the house...full cupboards. What a great idea.
groceries & a hostess
Friday, January 13, 2006Tonight Josh and I are going grocery shopping. I know, it's very exciting. You know I love to go. I've been working on my list forever. My mom has taught me well. Before going to the store, you should have your meals planned out and your list made up. Otherwise you either just buy loads of crap or you forget the things you really need. My parents are going grocery shopping too so we're going to eat at Monical's pizza first. Labels: in the kitchen
This Saturday some of Josh's Eureka friends are coming over to hang out. A cool group of people that includes one of his professors and his wife. This is so weird to me. I mean, I went to a large state school where the professors wouldn't even give out their home phone numbers! I can't imagine one of my profs wanting to hang out with some college kids on a Saturday evening. It'll be cool to have people over because well...it doesn't happen very often. And a good excuse for me to make some food too. I've decided to make Crescent Roll bars and some 7-layer dip for tostitos. I love having an excuse to bake/cook.
Bake, Bake, Bake
Saturday, December 24, 2005Labels: christmas cheer, in the kitchen
I spent most of the day in the kitchen baking. I made a yummy double layer chocolate cake, homemade pretzels, a loaf of homemade bread, jello jigglers... Whew, I was wiped out! We had a dinner at my parents tonight and then all of us played Catch Phrase. Christmas Eve service at my church was really nice. We sang Silent Night by candlelight. It always chokes me up. Tonight Santa comes and Bebo is excited. Santa gave me call to let me know that Bebo is getting a new water dish, a rawhide and some yummy food. Bebs will be excited.
I'm looking forward to Christmas tomorrow. Our first married Christmas...it gives me warm fuzzies!
Merry Christmas!
Grocery Shopping
Monday, December 05, 2005Josh and I got groceries this weekend. It was very exciting. No, seriously. We have not had any food in our apartment FOREVER. We took my mom with us since my parents needed groceries as well. Our cart was overflowing...it was so great. As usual I followed our list and Josh tucked goodies under the bread. When we were checking out I see some popsicles that somehow just fell into the cart! He's such a little kid. Labels: family matters, in the kitchen
When we got out to the car I opened the trunk and realized I still had three huge bags of clothes for Goodwill. Crap. There was also a comforter that I needed to get washed at the laundromat sometime. Josh and I shoved them as far back as we could but really we only had half a trunk for our bags, PLUS MY MOM'S GROCERIES! It was like extreme packing. We packed everything so tight and bags were on top of bags. I ended up with two bags at my feet. My poor little momma had all her groceries in the backseat with her. She's a tiny little lady but she was squished in!
It was quite the adventure. But all worth having food in the house...
We have food
Tuesday, September 13, 2005There is actually food in the fridge. Wow. I forgot what that looked like! Josh and I got groceries last night. There hasn't been this much food in the apartment since we got back from our honeymoon and my parents had restocked our pantry! We were getting to the point where we'd have to start eating condiments for lunch and I wasn't in the mood for ketchup soup. Labels: in the kitchen
While we were getting groceries, Josh tries to be sneaky and put things in the cart. I questioned it and he finally told me that he's going to make me supper. I said, "Did you read my blog today?" He said that he hadn't had a chance yet. I told him about my perfect day that included him making me supper. So Wednesday I get a gourmet meal cooked by my hubby!
I love actually having food in the cupboard. It's a good feeling.
Little Housewife
Tuesday, July 26, 2005This morning I rocking out to the new Fall Out Boy. My co-worker won't be in until later so I'm down in the basement by myself, giving me free reign to listen to the cd at what is probably an unacceptable volume for work. I'm drinking some coffee I brewed this morning with my new coffeemaker. It is the nicest coffeemaker. Seriously and it looks really cool. See: Labels: about me, coffee talk, in the kitchen
I am also wearing my lobster socks. You're probably thinking, did she just say 'lobster socks'? Ah, yes I did! While in Maine Josh bought me the coolest pair of socks I own. They say "Bar Harbor, Maine" on them and have little red lobsters all over them. Did you know that lobsters are only red when they are dead? Maine is the only state to have a dead animal on their license plates. Hm...I guess that means my cute socks are covered with dead lobsters. Anyway, I'm trying to convince myself that I'll have a good day.
Last night after work I made spaghetti and garlic bread for Josh and I. I was standing at the stove cooking the hamburger, Bebo was at my feet, and Josh was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. Then it hit me: Oh my gosh, I'm a little housewife! It actually surprised me. I told Josh and he made his usual response with something like, "Cutest one I know". It was a little surreal though to be standing in this dream that I had had for so many years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those girls who just daydreams about being barefoot and pregnant and serving her husband. Josh and I try to do pretty much everything equally. But honestly, I do like doing things for him...making him supper, surprising him with something... It's awesome that I'm finally in the position to be his "other half". We only answer to each other and that is amazing.
Gotta get back to my coffee. Here's to Tuesday.
Chocolate Overload
Saturday, February 19, 2005I got to spend the day with my baby. We went to town and "splurged" by eating out at Applebee's. The food was great but we had to wait for almost an hour to get it. AN HOUR? AN HOUR. I wrote a complaint letter because this hasn't been the first time. Headed to Borders afterwards and I bought a book off my list... Ulysses by James Joyce. Yikes, I'm a little nervous to start. We also got George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm which Josh has already started. Man, if I finished those three I would only have 7 books to go...I might have to up the book number. Labels: in the kitchen
Tonight Josh and I baked cookies and then cupcakes. His youth group is doing a fundraiser tomorrow after church so he had to bring two chocolate goodies. You know, I baked all evening but it was fun. They look pretty yummy too so of course I had to sample...
