Posted in Cooking and Baking

Posted in Cooking and Baking

Many of you may already know of this possibility.  I learned of it only a few years ago, so I am supposing someone may stumbled across this that has not heard of it before....

Excessive lead consumption can cause major damage to the kidneys, brain, blood, and nervous system.  Children that are exposed to too much lead can have their development severely impaired. 

Using hot tap water in baking and cooking could lead to higher levels of lead consumption.  Hot water dissolves contaminants in the pipes much quicker than cold water.  So use the cold water to fill your tea pot and saucepan. 

Also, it is a good idea to let the water run for a minute or two first thing in the morning.  Water that has been sitting in the pipes for 6 hours or more, may contain higher levels of lead.

If this is of concern to you, you may want to have your water tested.  Do-it-yourself kits are available at many hardware stores.

If you would like to know more, here are a few articles to read:

Hot Water Hazards?

Actions You Can Take To Reduce Lead in Drinking Water

Never Drink Hot Water From the Tap

For more kitchen tips, visit Tammy's Recipes

Posted in Cooking and Baking

This has been a very exciting day for me....

I made English Muffins!!

I have always loved English muffins.  They are so nice toasted with a little butter.  Delicious.

My mother blessed me with the Sue Gregg Cookbook set for my birthday (thanks mum).  In the Breakfast Cookbook there was an English Muffin recipe (page 154.)  It uses the two stage process which involves soaking the flour overnight.  I thought It would be difficult, but it wasn't.

Here is a picture:

Posted in Cooking and Baking

 

Saving money in the kitchen is always nice. The following ideas are little steps that save a few cents here and there. It may not seem like much, but in the long run they add up.

For the stove top:

• Cook with the right size pot on the right size burner.
  If the pan is smaller than the burner, energy is lost. Obviously extra energy is used to heat up a larger burner. So if the pan is small, use a small burner.
• Use pans with flat bottoms. Warped pans let heat escape, causing the food to take longer to cook.
• Cooking time can be reduced by using a lid on your pot; it keeps the heat in.
• If using an electric stove, turn off burners a little before you need to, since they stay hot.

For the oven:

• Don’t pre-heat the oven.
  It is usually unnecessary and uses a lot of extra energy. Turn it on and stick that casserole in!
  (I guess you do need to pre-heat when cooking pastries)
•  Cook back to back. Instead of heating the oven all the way up for a tray of muffins, plan ahead and bake your bread and dinner too. When possible, turn off oven before done, it stays hot for quite a while.
• See what other appliances can do the job; a crock pot may use less energy than an electric oven.
  Click here to see the cost of cooking a casserole using different appliances (this link also has some great tips for saving in the kitchen).

Lastly, if you have a wood burning stove - use it!

Soups, stews and beans all cook very well on top of a wood burning stove. Cast iron pots and pans are great for this job.

If you are already using a stove for heat, then this would really save you money. Since it is already in use, why not make it do double duty.

(Of course, if you have small children you must be very careful and take proper precautions).

Here is a link with some tips (and recipes) for cooking on a wood burning stove: Tasty Tips for Cooking on Your Woodburning Stoves

 Th above picture was from this morning.  Inside the pot....

Rice!  It turned out great.

Happy Cooking!

Posted in Cooking and Baking

Posted in Cooking and Baking

I wanted to share some pictures of two desserts we made yesterday.  My sister and I always love to cook when we get together.  And this time is no different!

First we made mini cheesecakes.  Yum!

Posted in Cooking and Baking

I want to make a fancy fall dessert this friday.  I can't decide what to make!

So far it is between the following:
(Click to view recipe)

Marbled Pumpkin Cheescake

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Autumn Harvest Pie

Spiced Pumpkin Layer Cake

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Caramel Apple Cake

What do you think?

I could make two different ones....

This is a very special occasion. 

A dear friend of mine (who is also a homeschooling mom) will be coming for dinner with her husband and four kiddies.  Joining us will be the preacher and his wife, who lived in the house where we now reside for 11 years. 

The first time my friend came over she realized that she had been here before.  Come to find out, the preacher and his wife would pick her up and bring her to church when she was a young teenager (she lived in a children's home at the time).  They even tried to adopt her!  Isn't that amazing!?  They haven't seen each other in many years.

Needless to say, this is a special occasion and I want a good dessert!

Feel free to point me in the direction of any good recipes you have seen online.

Posted in Cooking and Baking

The More-With-Less Cookbook came in the mail today.  It looks wonderful! 

Most of the recipes appear to be simple and healthy.

You can be sure my next menu plan will have lots of meals from this book 

If you own it, let me know what your favorites are.

Posted in Cooking and Baking

Here is just a quick note for my dear friends....

I am SO tired ....but also very excited!!  The desserts were a hit and everything went very well.    Many people asked what catering company provided the desserts and even requested my phone number!  I certainly could not do this on a regular basis...but maybe every now and then.

Thanks so much for your encouraging words and support.  I appreciate it.

There will be more details tomorrow...for now here a few pictures:

Black Forest Cakes

 

 

 Almond Berry Bars

Good night...and thanks again to all of you who said, "You can do it".

Posted in Cooking and Baking

Look at my freezer:

I had to put everything I could in the door and bottom shelf.  The rest is cake!!  And I still have 4 cake rounds on the counter! 

This morning between breaking up a fight over the blocks, getting breakfast and second breakfast, dealing with a bug in my daughter's bedroom and numerous other interruptions....I baked 6 cakes.

Posted in Cooking and Baking

Since I am getting paid to make desserts next week, I want them to be REALLY good.   That desire has caused me to do a lot practicing and researching.  Here are a few helpful links:

How to Make Chocolate Curls

How to Frost a Cake

How to Level, Trim and Tort and Cake

How to Split a Cake into Layers

All of these links are helpful when making the Black Forest Cake in my recipes section.

Here is a picture of a practice cake I made on Thursday.

I made lots of mistakes, but with 3 sticks of butter in the frosting alone....how can you go wrong!!?

Posted in Cooking and Baking

Something crazy is happening at my house! I have a catering job. Not a real job.....just a one time thing.

Next Thursday I will be serving my homemade desserts to a crowd of 50 or so. I will be making at least 11 desserts!

This is very exciting and scary! On the menu we have:  3 or 4 Black Forest Cakes, 5 Berry Almond Bars, and 3 Strawberry rolls. I’ll keep you posted with pictures and recipes.

Did I mention that I am getting paid to do this? That makes it a little more terrifying! I want it to be perfect. This hostess wants to go "all out". I hope I can help her do that.

Pray for me