Recent Projects

Okay so I am finally posting!!!!!!!!!!!! Well it's because I don't want my Aunt to have a bone to pick with me the next time I see her ;-p

Here's what I've made recently..........

A bag for my Niece's 8th birthday. I found a pattern here, Elisa Nest Tote. I made it my own though by using an Open Star Stitch.

A scarf for my Cousin's birthday. I used a pattern from the book The Knitting Experience: Book 1: The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville. I have also made a second scarf using the same pattern using  four different shades of  purple.

There are a couple more things that I have made, but I need to get some pictures to post. I've made a drink cozy, a baby blanket, and I am currently working on something for my Grandma Kitty's birthday. Although I think I will have to give her an IOU card because I started the project a little late and I don't know that I will have it done in four days...... 

Well I hope everyone has a great day,
Cera

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

Today I am experimenting with making Sourdough dinner rolls, by request from my Dad.

So far the experiment has turned out fairly well. The dough is proofing and it looks good.

I looked at a lot of recipes online and I was getting pretty frustrated, because all the recipes I was coming across used Active or Rapid-Rise Yeast! I don't want to use yeast because I am using a sourdough starter. So the search continued. Finally I found it! A recipe for sourdough dinner rolls that didn't call for yeast, only the starter.

I found it on Sourdough Companion. I used a tiny bit more milk then what is called for and my dough looked great! 

I'll post an update about this experiment with some pictures of the finished product later.

Have a Yummy Day!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Yesterday we had a really nice Sunday dinner after Church.
We had Bacon Wrapped Chicken, Roasted Asparagus and Crock Pot Potatoes and Rainbow Carrots! YUM!

For The Chicken I cut some boneless skinless breast and thigh meat into chunks. Seasoned with salt and Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper. Cut each piece of bacon in half, then wrapped the chicken and placed it on a sheet pan. Baked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. To crisp up the bacon place it back in the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

For the Asparagus I just trimmed them and put them on a sheet pan seasoned with salt and pepper and baked at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.

For the potatoes and rainbow carrots I cut them into chunks and placed in a crock pot cooker with one small onion. Seasoned them with Salt and Mrs. Dash Table blend. Cook on high for about 3 hours or until tender.

I also made a gravy from the drippings of the chicken and bacon. So it was a chicken bacon lemon pepper gravy. I added a little chicken broth to the drippings after removing them from the pan, seasoned with a little Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper and brought it to a boil. Thickened with a rue of flour and water. It was so GOOD!

Knitting adventures.

For those of you who have been following my blog, you know that I am terrible at posting!
Well I had a thought........ I'll change the name of my blog and I'll start posting not only about food, but also about knitting.

I taught my self how to knit the end of 2011 beginning of 2012 and I really enjoy it.

Here are some pictures of a scarf that I've knitted.



Model courtesy of M&Em's Sweetspot.

Sourdough Adventure!

I was given some Sourdough starter by a friend, so I decided to turn it into an adventure!

The adventure starts by researching Sourdough recipes. So far I've found three that I am trying right away. The first is Sourdough Soft Pretzels. The second is Oatmeal Sourdough Bread. The third is Sourdough Pizza Crust. I picked these recipes because they are things that everyone in my Family will eat or at least try even though not everyone likes Sourdough Bread.

The adventure begins on Thursday! I'll keep you posted about the results of this adventure. Have a yummy day!

Comfort Food.......

What is comfort food? That depends on who you ask and where you are.

For me comfort food is the food that I gravitate to when I feel in need of some comfort or when I want to think of a good memory.

My all time comfort food is fresh baked bread hot from the oven smothered in real butter. This makes me feel good and warm. It's not the best thing to eat all the time, but that's why it's a special comfort food.

Sugar Cookies are one of my Memory food's. I have fond memories of waking up early and going to Grandma's house in November and baking tons of yummy sugar cookies for the Christmas parties in December. My job's at these cookie baking marathons were to crack the eggs with out getting any shells in the bowl, and frosting the cookies with red or green frosting, and green and red sprinkles. The best party about making all these cookies was we got to eat some of them while we spent time with our family.

So as the weather gets colder and we start to make our Winter Comfort foods, remember to make good memories with new favorites and to ponder about past memories with old favorites.

Quebec Maple-Pecan Drops

One year for Christmas my Aunt got me a cook book called

The Cookie Bible

Today I made these really good Maple Pecan Cookies! I did do a bit of Ceratizing to this recipe. My family gave them two thumbs up! Here is my spin on the recipe. Enjoy!

Cookies;

1/2 cup(1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar (with about 1 Tbsp.brown sugar)

3 Tbsp. real maple syrup

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup uncooked quick oats (not old-fashioned oats)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup chopped packaged pitted dates

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Beat in the maple syrup. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into butter mixture. On low speed, beat in oats, chopped pecans and dates.

2. Use a 9/16-ounce (just over 1 tablespoon) disher. Place balls of dough about 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until cookies are just golden brown. Let cool for 2 minutes on sheet, then move to wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting;

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

2 Tbsp. real maple syrup

1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese and butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in 2 Tbsp. syrup. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread over cooled cookies. Top with finely chopped pecans if desired.