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Cooking and Baking!
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Cooking and Baking!
Cooking and Baking!
My family is the type that will buy food from a Filipino restaraunt/take-out place, freeze, then microwave when needed. The only "freshly cooked" food we eat is steak and fried chicken. Both are only born/cooked during the summer and New Year's in the former's case. (and when we have Magic Sarap! seasoning for the latter) Baking is during the holidays and is normally reserved to box mixes.
But on one fateful day, my class was cutting out magazine clippings and I stumbled upon a recipe for chocolate chunk cookies with pecans. And the recipe did not call for any brand of box mixes. (It did call for a brand of chocolate- Baker's semisweet- but that doesn't count.)
The cookies were pretty good. So on a snow day, I looked through the cabinets and found enough ingredients for a type of brownie that is partly baked in a skillet.
And it tasted pretty good.
So my parents' had regained faith in my cooking (though it somewhat waned after a slightly-dry ((secretly over-floured and I-forgot-the-vanilla-extract)) banana bread). Alors (therefore), I embarked on a new mission.
DINNER
I made fettucine alfredo with mushrooms and bacon because my parents love mushrooms and my parents and I love bacon. The first time it was pretty good but the recipe only served 2 people with medium stomachs, not 2 people with large stomachs and 1 person with a small stomach. The second time the sauce needed more bacon and mushrooms. The third time I got it right. ;)
Tomorrow I'm moving on to mushroom marsala pasta with artichokes. I'm so excited! (And yes, I'm aware that marsala is a wine. I'm currently trying to find a substitute.)
I have had a cooking nightmare though. It was something along the lines of me trying to see if the range was on by using my hand. ;) And then a few days ago I found out that pot lids held over boiling water are very hot...
Does anybuggy cook and/or bake? And do you guys have any tips for a newbie like moi?
It sounds like you're off to a good start, Olive. Like any new skill, the more you do it, the better you'll get. When you cook with wine, the alcohol boils off so what is left is just the flavor. Really, if you can read, you can cook. So many recipes can be found online. Or you could look for a beginner's cookbook. Usually dishes that have fewer ingredients are easier to make. Buon apetit!
Admin
submitted by Olive
(March 9, 2012 - 8:17 pm)
(March 9, 2012 - 8:17 pm)
For last night's dinner we had *drumroll* BAKED ZITI because my dad wanted meat. ;) I used my mom's recipe that came from her mom that came from someone who said it, not wrote it, so there were no measurements or times for how long it stayed in the oven. But it turned out well. :)
(that photo looks so much better when it's smaller on my iPod)
I also redid some banana bread this afternoon- I added a bit more yogurt (albeit accidentally) and cut off 10 minutes from the baking time. I have some pictures but my brother's about to steal the computer so ciao!
It looks yummy, Olive! Thanks for showing us. Your family is lucky to have you cooking for them!
Admin
(March 18, 2012 - 6:19 pm)
@Admin: Thank you so much! :D
@M: Butter chicken?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! :DDDDDDDD And I love onions. Especially when you saute them. I love sauteeing things. It makes such a nice sound. ^.^
@Melody: You live near a beach? Lucky! And by stuffed shells, do you mean shell pasta (which I lovelovelove) or actual shells? And do you eat calimari?
Oh, here's a picture of the banana bread. Only a tiny bit remains.
I got the texture right this time, but it doesn't have very WOWing flavour (I used underripe bananas because I was impatient so...)
Well, it sure looks yummy! But banana recipes do always seem to call for ripe or overripe bananas. What are you going to make next? I'm going to try homemade pretzels as soon as the weather cools off enough so I don't mind turning the oven on.
Admin
(March 20, 2012 - 3:30 pm)
@Olive
Shell pasta, stuffed with ricotta and tomato sauce. And I only had calamari once, when I went to D.C., but it ws delicious.
(March 25, 2012 - 5:16 pm)
That looks so good! I prefer stuffed shells over baked ziti, especially from this place down by the beach, though. I had boiled dinner with smoked shoulder yesterday. It was a St. Patrick's Day celebration one day late!
(March 19, 2012 - 3:38 pm)
The cake picture with the plums is called Zwetschgen Datschi. It's very common during summer or fall. (I can't remember.) Zwetchgen are little plums in German.
@Olive- Wow! Those look so yummy! I love banana bread. It's especially good when you're trying to get rid of overripe bananas. :D
(March 21, 2012 - 1:16 pm)
Oooo! I love plums! And it looked delicious! Is it all gone now? :D And I'm on a Europe Phase so... can you give me the recipe? There might not be plums in the grocery but I can always dream. *smile*
Next mission: Cheese bread. I love cheese bread. But I seldom eat it. Hopefully that will soon change.
I also found a recipe for des pains au chocolats- chocolate crossiant-like things- while doing research for French class. I'm going to try to make those too because they look DELICIOUS.
And Sunday's dinner: BAKED ZITI ENCORE. This time with more bechamel. (the one from last week didn't have enough) Two weeks ago I thought bechamel was a melted combination of cheeses...
And @Admin: You're making homemade pretzels? I love pretzels. The dough ones, not salted. Do you use a deep-fryer? And I just realized that there are overripe bananas in the back of the grocery, so I'll definitely go there next Grocery Day! :D
The pretzels are baked in the oven on cookie sheets. I made them last night. I sprinkled some with coarse-grained salt and others with cinnamon and sugar. Take your pick or have one of each! They are definitely best when they're warm, just out of the oven.
Admin
(March 23, 2012 - 7:51 pm)
@Admin: My mouth is watering just HEARING that. It's been much too long, my separation from pretzels. :)
They'd be great with a mug of Tim Horton's coffee!
Admin
(March 24, 2012 - 12:21 pm)
Speaking of Tim Horton's, I'm drinking an iced capp right now. Even though it's 10 degrees outside. (50 degrees F)
Oooh, lucky! I'm drinking hot tea with lemon, Lipton's, made by me at home.
Admin
(March 27, 2012 - 3:25 pm)
I love baking, not so much cooking. X) I can't cook anything not prepackaged. XD but I love to bake cookies for mi familia.
(March 21, 2012 - 5:55 pm)
@Olive- Sorry, it took so long, but here's the recipe.
Zwetschgen Datschi (Plum Cake)*
Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Baking Time: About 50 minutes at 350°F/180°C in a springform pan (diameter 10 in/26cm)
Ingredients:
(for the cake mixture)
- 1 3/4 lb/800g plums
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 level teaspoon baking powder
- 125g (5/8 cup) sugar (Yes, the measurement 5/8 cup is weird, but that's what it says. :D)
- 3 drops vanilla essence in 1 tablespoon sugar
- grated zest of one lemon
- 125g/4 1/2 oz. soft butter or margerine
- two medium eggs
(for the crumble)
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup soft butter
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven and grease the springform pan. For the filling, wash the plums, pat dry, remove pits and cut lengthways from the top.
2. To make the cake mixture, mix together the flour and baking powder, sift into the mixing bowl, add the other ingredients and stir with a hand mixture, briefly at the lowest setting and then for 2 minutes on the highest setting to obtain a smooth consistency.
3. Spoon the mixture into the springform pan and smooth the surface. Arrange the plums so that they overlap, with the hollow side upward.
4. To make the crumble, put the plain flour in a mixing bowl, add the cinnamon, sugar and softened butter/margerine. Whisk until the crumble has the right texture.**Sprinkle the crumble over the plums and put in the oven for fifty minutes.
(At the bottom it says this cake can also be made with 1 3/4lb of Elstar or Jonagold apples. Wash, peel and core them and cut into slices.)
* Zwetschgen are sort of smaller than normal plums. They're oval and not round. But I think normal plums are okay, too. You can look Zwetschgen up on google images... Then you can see what they look like.
**I think I usually mix the crumble at the high setting to get it all crumbly, but I can't remember. :) And don't get worried if you have too much crumble. That happens to me a lot.
(March 26, 2012 - 9:44 am)
Mouth. Watering. Uncontrollably
(March 26, 2012 - 5:44 pm)
"I DON'T COOK! I'm a scary and powerful fire demon! Blemelemelehhh!"
-- Calcifer, Howl's Moving Castle movie version
Well, I technically do cook. Guacamole. That's the only thing I can make.
I help my mom with baking and cooking sometimes though. But I consider that more of a chore.
Oh, right. Once I made pancakes with my friend. They turned out okay, but blobby.
Elizabeth M., that sounds AMAZING!!!
I loved the pictures too.
(March 28, 2012 - 6:16 pm)
"I DON'T COOK! I'm a scary and powerful fire demon! Blemelemelehhh!"
-- Calcifer, Howl's Moving Castle movie version
Well, I technically do cook. Guacamole. That's the only thing I can make.
I help my mom with baking and cooking sometimes though. But I consider that more of a chore.
Oh, right. Once I made pancakes with my friend. They turned out okay, but blobby.
Elizabeth M., that sounds AMAZING!!!
I loved the pictures too.
(March 28, 2012 - 6:16 pm)
@Tiffany: Speaking of Calcifer, I'm currently re-reading Howl's Moving Castle...
A pot is on the stove right now, boiling its contents like those bubbling cauldrons in Hamlet. :D (at least... I think it's Hamlet)
I followed a hand-written, hard-to-read recipe by my dad for misua (vermicelli: nearly-hair-thin asian noodles) wit' 'duh meatbaws.
Onions are annoying. Especially when you don't have time to put them in the freezer before CHOPPING TIME. ;)
Now off to watch EpicMealTime for inspiration for the long weekend's meals...
(March 31, 2012 - 5:58 pm)
I hate onions. They make me cry so I have to always chop them with sunglasses on. (This actually works!)
(April 2, 2012 - 2:27 am)