I have neglected this until now, but you must always remember that on recipes that require baking, preheat your oven to the correct temperature before attempting to bake!

Well, mates, we've made land, and just in time for Christmas!  Today we'll make some delicious gingerbread cookies to celebrate. 

Start off by combining:

• 1/2 a cup of butter that has been softened at room temperature
• 1/2 a cup of sugar

Mix the sugar and butter together in a bowl, then add:

• 1/2 a cup of molasses
• 1 egg

Stir these ingredients together until it becomes creamy, and put in:

• 2 & 1/2 tsp. of ground ginger
• 1 & 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. of allspice (pumkpin pie spice will do if you don't have any)
• 1/2 tsp. of baking soda
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour

After mixing in the flour, you'll need to spread a thin sheet of flour over a large surface, like a table, and put the dough on top.  Take a small bit of flour and spread it over a rolling pin, then roll the dough until it is thin enough (ask an adult to help you).  When the dough is rolled out, use cookie cutters and cut out shapes until there is no space for more.  Then, peel the dough around the cookies off and put it in a pile off to the side.  Put your cookies on a cookie sheet and bake them at 350 º Farenheit for 8 to 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, squish the leftover dough together and roll it out, and cut some more cookies, and set them in to bake when your other cookies are done.  Repeat this process until the dough is all used up.  If you find yourself with a small bit of dough left over too small to cut a cookie out of, roll it out or into a ball and bake it in the oven along with the other cookies.  Here's a picture of us putting colored sugar on the cookies (you can do it too):





I hope you enjoy these delicious cookies as much as we have!
Rating: ***** Five stars

The ocean here is ice and snow, but that doesn't mean we can't make this cold weather useful!  These delicious tropical popsicles may not taste so great in the snowy weather that America gets this time of year, but they are cold, so why can't I do em when the weather is cold too?  Try these any time of year you feel like having a cold fruity snack.

To start, gather up a variety of fruits, such as pineapples, oranges, apples, papayas, watermelon, or any other fruit you think will taste good in your popsicles.  Here is a picture of the fruits we used:



After you have all the fruits together, pick a fruit to make into juice.  We did pineapple juice, but you could use orange juice, watermelon juice, or maybe even apple juice.  Anyways, after you make some juice, cut up the other fruits you've selected into squares with a knife.  I didn't get any pictures of this part, I'm afraid.  Next, pour the juice into popsicle makers, or cups, but only fill them up to about half full, maybe a little more.  Afterwards, put the squares of fruit into your containers, and pour out a little of the juice if they overflow (this is why you only fill your containers halfway).  Then, put the popsicles into the freezer overnight, or, if you really can't wait that long, until the juice is hard.  When they're done, they should look sort of like this:



Then, all you have to do is enjoy them!  Here is a picture of me enjoying a popsicle.



Hope you like them!

Rating: **** Four stars

Hey everyone!

Sorry about my absence...I haven't gotten the chance to write recently, hope to have another entry soon.   Not much else I can say about the last few weeks, except that another team came down in early August, and that was fun.

Later,
Dane

Ship sighted!  It's time to load up with treasure!  It's two recipes today, and they go hand in hand.


Coffee Cake
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Combine:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 2/3 - 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon, optional
• 1/3 cup powdered milk

Stir in:

• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup water

Pour batter into greased 9x13 baking pan. 


Sprinkle Coffee Cake Topping over the batter.


Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes.



Enjoy!


This is how much was left after we tried it.  I guess this means it's good!


Coffee cake topping
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• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 4 tbsp. flour
• 4 tsp. cinnamon
• 4 tbsp. melted butter
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Put this on top of the Coffee Cake.

Rating: *****

Land ho!  Here's the recipe for brown bread so you can make it yourself:

Brown Bread
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Combine:

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup each raisins and chopped nuts (optional)
• 2 cups sour milk

Bake in greased pan at 325 F for 1 hour.


Serve with butter and enjoy!


Rating: *** Three stars