Candy of the month Oct. 09

We've renewed our candy of the month club! Who doesn't love candy shipped to them every month? When we got home from our vacation last month it was waiting for us in a manila envelope. We opened it to find Chick-O-Stick(s). My first thought was all this money and they send us Chick-O-Stick.............A butterfinger type candy 'stick' rolled in coconut. I already know I don't like them because many times i've tried to convince myself I did. I can't stand coconut. Except... who doesn't like a butterfinger type candy!? I convinced myself to try it one last time. It wasn't as bad as I had remembered. I suppose i've warmed up to them. The Chick-O-Stick is made by the Atkinson Candy Co. located in Texas. They come in a long stick (like the one pictured above), small round bite size pieces, or (my favorite version, it has less coconut) bite size flat sticks.
The Atkinson Candy Co. also makes one of my other favorite peanut butter candies. The peanut butter bar. A thin white hard candy with flakey peanut buttery layers in the middle, as Rachel Ray says "YUM-O"
Both candies are available in most every store, and in the Atkinson Candy Co. online store in bulk and sugar free options.

Microwave your way to happiness

It seems to good to be true. Cake and brownies in under 5 mins from start to finish. Okay, under 5 mins, in the microwave... how good are they going to taste?? I had to try it. They actually are good! The brownie is on the left side of the picture and cake on the right. The brownie was a bit dry so i suggest not doing it the whole 2mins, specially if you like them gooey. The two recipes are very similar with the exception of an egg in the cake. Both recipes were found on ehow.com

Brownies in a Mug

You'll need:
~ 1 microwaveable mug
~ 4 Tbl flour
~ 4 Tbl sugar
~ 2 Tbl baking cocoa
~ 1/8 tsp baking powder
~ 3 Tbl water
~ 3 Tbl veggie oil
~ a pinch of salt
~ something to stir and scrape with
(Optional: 3 Tbs chocolate chips,
a splash of vanilla, a hand full of nuts)

Mix dry ingredents in mug
Add water and oil
Make sure it's all mixed and scrape down sides
Microwave for 2 mins, or less if you like them gooey
Turn out of mug onto plate or enjoy it right in the mug.


Chocolate Cake in a Mug

You'll need:
~ 1 microwaveable mug (the biggest one you have)
~ 4 Tbl flour
~ 4 Tbl sugar
~ 2 Tbl cocoa
~ 1 egg
~ 3 Tbl milk
~ 3 Tbl veggie oil
~ 3 Tbl chocolate chips
~ a splash of vanilla
(optional: 2 Tbl nuts)

Mix the dry ingrents in mug
Add milk and stir while adding oil
Add egg mix well
Add nuts, vanilla, and nuts if you are using them
Microwave for 3 mins. It will rise, and will rise a lot if
you are using a small mug, don't worry it will go down.
Eat it stright from the mug or turn out onto a plate. Enjoy!

Have your chai and drink it too!

Mary at my work brought this recipe in. It's great because you can adjust all the spices, sugar and milk to your liking. I like mine with more cinnamon and not as sweet as already made chai latte, I also use soy milk. Thanks Mary! Now everyone can have chai just the way they like it!


Masala Chai

8 cups water
12-14 black pepper corns
12 cardamom pods
12 whole cloves
1 full star anise (with seeds)
3 T Assam tea leafs
1 cinnamon stick
1 inch fresh ginger (peeled and chopped)

Simmer over low heat for 30 mins.
Strain and refrigerate. Add sugar and milk to taste. It may get cloudy but when it's warmed it will clear up.

Fudge and Peanut Butter x3

How yummy does that fudge peanut butter cake look!? I would do just about anything for a slice of that right now! I found this recipe on Bakers' Banter which is the King Arthur Flour Test Kitchen Blog. Someone please make up an excuse to come over and make this cake with me... pleaseee.?

Buckeye Peanut Butter-Fudge Cake

Cake

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons Instant ClearJel or cornstarch
• 3/4 cup Double Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-Process cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups water

Filling

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk

Icing

• 1 1/3 cups chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Cake

• 14 ounces granulated sugar
• 8 1/2 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 ounce Instant ClearJel or cornstarch
• 2 1/4 ounces Double Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-Process cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 5 1/4 ounces vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 10 ounces water

Filling

• 1 pound confectioners' sugar
• 14 ounces peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 ounces milk

Icing

• 8 ounces chocolate chips or chopped semisweet chocolate
• 4 ounces heavy or whipping cream
• 1 3/8 ounces light corn syrup

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour (or grease, then line with parchment, then grease again) two 8" x 2" round cake pans. Note: These pans need to be at least 2" tall; if you have non-standard, shorter 8" pans, substitute 9" round pans.

2) To make the cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until smooth.

3) Gradually add the water, beating until smooth.

4) Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

5) Bake the cakes for 35 to 38 minutes (a bit less if you use a 9" pan), or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn them out of the pans to cool completely on a rack.

6) To make the filling: Mix the sugar, peanut butter and vanilla till crumbly. Add the milk and mix till smooth, adding more milk if necessary to make a spreadable filling.

7) Divide the cooled layers in half horizontally, to make four layers. Place one layer on a serving plate, and spread with filling. Repeat with the next two layers. Top with the final cake layer.

8) To make the icing: Combine the chocolate chips, cream, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave till the cream is very hot, and the chips are soft.

9) Stir till the chips melt, and the mixture is smooth.

10) Spread the icing atop the cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

11) Serve in thin slices; the cake is very rich.

12) Yield: one 8" layer cake, about 12 to 16 servings.

Frosted Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

I just found this recipe and it sounds so delicious(!) I had to post it. Who wouldn't love a lemon poppyseed cookie? Letalone a lemon poppyseed cookie with a sweet yet tart glaze on top! I cannot wait to try them out. I found this recipe on bakingbites.com. Baking Bites .com is perhaps one of my most favorite baking sites i've come across. Some of my better cookie recipes have come from that site.

It’s a bit hard to say what makes lemon poppyseed such a good combination in baked goods. Zesty lemon flavors are always good, of course, but the poppyseeds don’t contribute much in the way of flavor. They do, however, add a hint of additional texture to a cake or muffin and that crunch is a nice break from otherwise soft pastries. Perhaps it’s the subconscious idea that the teeny tiny amount of opiates in the seeds will make you feel good (and fail a drug test, if what I’ve seen on Seinfeld is true!). In reality, it’s probably a combination of some of these things: a bit of crunch from the seeds, a bright acidity from the lemon and the sweetness of the dough that surrounds them.Anyway, the combination is a good one and that’s all you really need to know before baking these lemon poppyseed cookies. The lemon flavor in the cookies comes from fresh lemon zest. It’s fairly subtle at first, but really pops once you add a lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar glaze to the top of the finished cookies. The cookies are soft and a little bit cakelike, rather than crispy. They remind me a little bit of scones or teacakes and go great with iced tea.

These are drop cookies that come together very quickly. There isn’t a whole lot of juice called for in the recipe, and one lemon is really all you need. You’ll get a better flavor with fresh zest than with lemon extract, so it’s worth picking up a fresh lemon if you don’t have one on hand. You can also try these cookies with lemon, orange or other citrus fruits for a little variety.

Frosted Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp poppyseeds

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in egg.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then stir in poppyseeds. Drop by 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set and just begin to brown at the edges (the bottoms may be lightly browned, but not the top of the cookies)
Cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to cool before glazing.

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice

Whisk together juice and sugar until icing is a smooth, pourable consistency. Add additional juice if yours is too thick to drizzle easily or additional sugar if it is too thick.
Drizzle over cookies. Cookies should not be hot, but it is ok if they are not completely at room temperature before frosting.
Cookies must be cooled to room temperature before being stored.

Makes 2 dozen.

Sorbet.

The joys of having an ice cream machine!! Super healthy sorbet whenever you want it! Great for a snack anytime, or dessert.
I seen this kiwi sorbet recipe in the gourmet magazine a few months ago and i'v been dying to try it out. Finally! I did today. It's so good!!! It's so smooth, sweet and tangy all rolled into one. I absolutely will make this again and many more times after that! It's so pretty too!

Kiwi Sorbet
2 lbs kiwi (about 8 kiwis)
3/4 C sugar

Peel the kiwi and cut them into quarters
Put them in the food processor with the sugar
Pulse kiwi and sugar together until almost smooth
Put the kiwi puree into a bowl and into the fridge until chilled
Put it in your ice cream machine and let it go, don't over churn it or it will not be smooth.
When it's ready it will be fairly soft still so transfer it to the container you want to store it in and then put it in the freezer until it's set up all the way.
ENJOY!

Strawberries

I don't know about you but I love Strawberry Season! Sweet juicy red strawberries delicious in cereal, pies, cakes, smoothies, ice cream and sorbet with whipcream or just on their very own. These Strawberry recipes are simliar to ones i've made before so they should be yummy! We serve a strawberry soup close to this recipe at work when it's really hot out in a nice cold half a cantaloupe bowl.

STRAWBERRY - BUTTERMILK SOUP (Serve
cold) from cooks.com

2 pt. fresh strawberries
3/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. sugar
4 1/2 c. low fat buttermilk or plain low fat yogurt
Mint sprigs, optional

Rinse and hull strawberries. Place in blender. Process until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in orange juice and sugar. Continue stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in buttermilk or yogurt. Refrigerate several hours before serving. Spoon into soup bowls and garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Strawberry Shortcake from allrecipes.com

• 3 pints fresh strawberries

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 4 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 tablespoons white sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup shortening

• 1 egg

• 2/3 cup milk

• 2 cups whipped heavy cream

1. Slice the strawberries and toss them with 1/2 cup of white sugar. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.

3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar and the salt. With a pastry blender cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the beaten egg and milk. Stir until just combined.

4. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in pan on wire rack.

5. Slice partially cooled cake in half, making two layers. Place half of the strawberries on one layer and top with the other layer. Top with remaining strawberries and cover with the whipped cream.

RHUBARB - STRAWBERRY PIE from cooks.com

1 1/4-1 1/2 c. sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 c. rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 c. sliced fresh strawberries
1 tbsp. butter
Pastry for double crust pie (click for crust recipe)

In large mixing bowl stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and ground nutmeg. Add rhubarb pieces and sliced strawberries, toss gently to coat fruit. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the pastry. Trim pastry to edge of pie plate. Pour fruit mixture into pie plate. Dot with butter, place pastry on top of filling. Cut slits in top to allow steam to escape seal and flute edge. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Or you can skip the top pastry and make an almond crumb topping.

1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sliced almonds

To chocolate, or not to chocolate!?

Don't forget to vote in the Chocolate poll! ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT!
Will it be the creamy sweet milk chocolate, the rich almost too much dark chocolate, or the overly sweet White chocolate!? You decide!
There's so many uses for chocolate, in baking, cooking and just plain eating.

My favorite, i can't really decide (not to mention i'm a girl and i should never have to decide) I really like white and milk chocolate. I'm not a huge fan of Dark chocolate, unless it's the really good kind we have in a bar at work! YUM!

VOTE! YES WE CAN eat chocolate whenever we want!

Candy of the month mar. 09

So I've been MIA for a few months thanks to work and other things, but oh all the food adventures I had! There will be much more soon!
We had our last candy of the month in March, hopefully we'll be renewing it soon. Our last was the Idaho Spud candy from the Owyhee Idaho Candy Co. It's a marshmallow center covered in chocolate rolled in coconut candy bar which is supposed to look like a potato? Now thinking about it i don't really understand how it's supposed to LOOK like a potato, because nothing about it does except the lump like a potato shape. I know right off the bat this is NOT the candy for me because i don't like coconut at all, and i'm not the biggest fan of marshmallow. Boy oh boy i can't wait to try it.. . .. .. . ... Wincing as take the first bie...... It's worse than i'd ever imagine!!! Okay so the coconut wasn't THAT bad but the marshmallow was the most disgusting thing i'd ever placed in my mouth. It wasn't soft gooey sweet marshmallow we are all used to. It was like they added way tooo much gelatin, and it tasted like cookies N' cream (not the good kind either) not marshmallow. I do not recommend this gelatinous candy to anyone! But if you do like marshmallow, coconut and chocolate i think you may like it.
You can buy some of these little spuds and read more about it at http://www.idahospud.com

Rice Noodles

These noodles are yummy when pan fried. Even though they are a bit chewy and sometimes a little slimy. A recipe we've duplicated from one of our favorite Thai places is wide rice noodles, egg, chicken, broccoli, and soy sauce.

Ingredients:
*half bag of wide rice noodles
*two chicken breasts cut into small chunks
*half bag of frozen broccoli
* two eggs
*soy suace
*pepper flakes
*garlic
*oil, veggie or olive doesn't really matter

~Soak half a bag of rice noodles in cold water for about half an hour before cooking.
~ Dump some oil in a pan let it heat up all good, add some garlic, pepper flakes and sauté them for a few mins then add your chicken. When the chicken is done set it aside in a bowl
~ Scramble your egg in a bowl and cook it, when it's done add it to your chicken
~ Microwave broccoli for about a min.. just enough to take the frost off of it.
~ Cook noodles in boiling water, drain and add to a hot fry pan with oil.
~ Let get yummy and pan fry a bit, add the broccoli toss a few more times then add egg and chicken
~ Toss while adding soy sauce until it's all coated
And it's done! Eat and enjoy!