September Daring Bakers' Challenge - Croissants!

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

I was so excited to see this month's challenge. Croissants have been on my baking wish list for some time now. This was the extra shove I needed to actually try them. I love making breads and not to brag but I tend to be pretty good at it. I make all of the crescent rolls each time my church has a dinner. (I currently have 144 in the freezer waiting to be baked for a dinner on Sunday.)

The recipe's steps look very intimidating. While croissants are time consuming, I found the recipe itself to be very simple. I did it over the course of a day. I would like to try it again and spread the steps out over two or three days. I think having the extra rising time at the end would improve the layers.

My only complaint about the recipe was the amount of salt. I suppose that if I were not eating a low-sodium diet (by choice) I would never notice. Since I am not used to much salt however, it was all I could taste. I had hoped to try the recipe again this month with half the salt but never had the time. I will definitely make them again soon. I know I need additional practice. For a first attempt though I was very pleased.

Thank you, Sarah, for a wonderful challenge and for the extra push to get me to actually make them rather than just dream about making them!

Jalapeno Poppers

I have one jalapeno plant this year, but it has produced well. The problem is that my poor jalapeno peppers are not spicy at all. I was determined to use them to make a healthier version of poppers.

I sliced each of the peppers in half (leaving many of the seeds and most of the membrane). In a small bowl I combined cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese. I stuffed this mixture into the pepper halves.

Next I rolled each stuffed pepper in flour, egg, and finally panko bread crumbs. I then put the tray of completed poppers in the freezer.

To bake I preheated the oven to 425 degrees. I cooked them for 12 minutes, but they would have been better at 16 minutes. Next time I will add more cheddar cheese and hopefully have spicier peppers. Overall I am pleased with this recipe and will use it again.

Beach Trip

At the end of last month my husband and I were able to go to the beach for a couple of days. The weather was lovely. Since school was in session, the beach was practically empty. Here are a few shots from our trip.

Homemade Gummi Candy

I mentioned earlier that I had found a candy recipe that I liked. The main reason is that it was so easy. I made homemade gummi candy.

All that is needed is a 3 ounce package of Jello, two packages of unflavored gelatin, and 1/3 cup of water. You also need candy molds.

Put the water in a saucepan, sprinkle on the Jello and gelatin, and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Then heat until the mixture melts. I poured it into a glass measuring cup to make filling the molds easier. Let sit for 20 minutes (or 10 minutes in the refrigerator).

One recipe filled two candy molds. I did have to put mine in the refrigerator to help it set since the kitchen was so hot. They were fairly easy to remove from the molds. It did require some pulling, but this is no way damaged the designs. I tried some Christmas designs as a test for the upcoming holidays. I can definitely see myself making these more often for the children (and adults) in my life. My husband declared them yummy.

More Note Cards

I am still making note cards. Here are a few of the latest creations. I have a bunch of busy patterned pages of scrapbooking paper. It is gorgeous but never seems quite right for the style of layouts I like to do. Most of this was received in clearanced grab bags. While I usually got plenty of useful items, I did have more than enough of the wilder patterns. I think the cards are turning out cute.

August Daring Bakers' Challenge

The August 2011 Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, and Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

The challenge required the DBs to make two candies. The first had to be a chocolate candy: truffle, dipped bonbon or filled bonbon. The second could be any candy.

I need to start off by saying that I hate, hate, hate(!) to make candy. I think that is obvious from how my candies turned out. My heart was just not in this challenge. I really do not eat that much candy. I find making it to be a very tedious chore. Needless to say I did not take part in the special challenge. Truthfully I just wanted it over and done.

For the chocolate candy I chose the truffle. My main reasoning behind it was that I could do a small batch of them. I used a Ghirardelli chocolate and the recipe, which I halved, on the back of the chocolate bar. I then rolled them in organic cocoa. The end result was less that pretty. They did taste good. Good enough for me to make them again?? At this point, no. One day candy making may intrigue me, but I am not there yet.


For the second candy I decided to be really daring and make one that required a candy thermometer. Why? I am still asking myself that same question. I chose sponge candy. The reason I despise making candy is mainly due to the candy thermometer. This particular candy reminded me exactly why I do not use one. I should have gone with how it looked rather than temperature as my thermometer was way off. The resulting candy tasted burnt with an aftertaste of baking soda. Two tiny bites were eaten, and the rest went into the trash.

I completed the challenge and am happy about that. I do not have a love of candy making though. I am just thrilled to have it behind me. Bring on September's challenge!!

I did end up finding a candy that I liked and could successfully make. I will save that post for the coming week.

Tale of the Travelling Cardstock

I live in the land of no craft stores. This is good for my budget as I fear I would spend too much time and money shopping for craft supplies. It is bad when I do need something for a project. I have to order it online. I needed (okay, wanted) some cardstock for making Halloween and Christmas cards. I ordered what I needed (at this point, I really did need it) and waited for it to arrive.

The eBay seller shipped it quickly, and the item went to the local mail distribution center. Then it seemed to vanish. Little did I know, my package of cardstock was planning an island, beach vacation. Twelve days later it popped up in Puerto Rico. Now I have never lived in Puerto Rico. Nothing in my address hints at Puerto Rico. Secretely I do want to live on an island. I do not wish, however, to live vicariously through a stack of paper. The cardstock spent a few days on the island before being sent back to my local mail distribution center and finally to my mailbox.

I was happy to find that the seller had packaged it extra well. The outer box showed signs of being a world traveler, but the cardstock itself was in perfect condition. While I have yet to make it to the beach this summer, my cardstock did.