Nope, it's just a little ol' Wednesday. And wow are we facing a slump day here on the harbor! (Or at least I am, maybe other people who were able to sleep in a semi-normal way are feeling just GRAND.)
I've been tuning in to the oldies radio recently in an attempt to be more familiar with the music Noel grew up listening to. Haha, not that he's sixty or anything, it's just that those were the songs his parents listened/let him listen to. ("To which he was allowed to listen"? That is just so weird.... But we won't go into grammar weirdness because I lost *that* battle yesterday. weeps quietly in a corner ) Anyway. I heard this song and even though I can only ever remember the words to the chorus I love it. And it's a good Wednesday Pick-Me-Up song.
Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) (For Spotify peeps.)
YouTube video for peeps without a fav music player
Now I totally spoiled my song this week by having the entire rest of the girls here listen to it, but maybe this is a song that someone *not* directly related to me hasn't heard before? Do you like listening to oldies music, or do you prefer newer stuff, or do you just listen to whatever station the hedgehogs turned your car radio to in the night? (Don't ask me, I'm *tired*.)
October 19, 2011
October 17, 2011
Cracking the Madeleine
Madeleines are one of my favorite treats. Perfect for a cozy afternoon-tea or special event...or, a plan B, if Aunty M. is making an unexpected visit. Quick, simple, and delish. I have gone through many different madeleine recipes, from Julia Child to Le Cordon Bleu; after tasting, testing, tweeking, and a few re-dos I settled on the recipe from The Culinary Institute of America. It was simple; in ingredients and technique. The very essence of a madeleine is simplicity. A friend once told me, "This is the biscuit the French mother makes every morning to go with a good cup of coffee"-- it should come like whipping up pancakes, it should be simple. So here is my recipe, with a few notes on the side for inquiring minds.
Ingredients:
⅔ cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp baking powder
4 tbsp (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (This is very important! See Note 1.)
⅓ cup sugar
½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg, at room temperature (Also very important! See Note 1.)
2 tbsp cold whole milk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp powdered sugar (for dusting)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat madeleine pan with oil (or butter, but it will brown more) and dust with flour.
Sift the flour and baking powder together and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed until smooth and light in texture, about 5 minutes (see Note 2). In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the butter mixture in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. On low speed, mix in the sifted dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl as needed during creaming, gently mixing (not too much) to blend evenly (see Note 3).
Sift the flour and baking powder together and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium speed until smooth and light in texture, about 5 minutes (see Note 2). In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Add the egg mixture to the butter mixture in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. On low speed, mix in the sifted dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl as needed during creaming, gently mixing (not too much) to blend evenly (see Note 3).
Fill pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch wide plain pastry tip with the batter (or just use a spoon, I was taught to use a small cookie scoop for portion control). Pipe into the prepared madeleine pan, filling the molds a little below the top. Bake until the edges of the madeleines turn a medium golden brown, about 12 minutes (see Note 4). Turn the madeleines out onto a wire rack while they are still warm, let cool before serving. Dust with powdered sugar.
Notes:
1: Although most home cooks seem to skip the whole, “at room temperature” bit in a recipe, it would surprise you to know that when the eggs and butter (for more on butter see note: 2) are at room temperature, the batter can actually become lighter! Interesting, isn’t it? Because, at room temperature, the eggs are lighter, it allows them to be mixed in softly yet quickly, reducing stir time (flattening time) and more importantly, when cold eggs are mixed with warm butter the mixture will leak liquid or curdle, causing the end product to be dry, grainy, and flavorless.
2: Creaming butter should take about five to six minutes. Just one more of those little things we all tend to skip. But, if you have enough patience, you’ll notice the butter will triple in size, that is if the butter is at room temperature; this is what helps to make the batter lighter. Warning: The creamed butter will start to sink instantly when it hits its peak, therefore, prepping all the other components is imperative to quick and effective assimilation. On the side: you should not microwave the butter to get it to room temp.
2: Creaming butter should take about five to six minutes. Just one more of those little things we all tend to skip. But, if you have enough patience, you’ll notice the butter will triple in size, that is if the butter is at room temperature; this is what helps to make the batter lighter. Warning: The creamed butter will start to sink instantly when it hits its peak, therefore, prepping all the other components is imperative to quick and effective assimilation. On the side: you should not microwave the butter to get it to room temp.
3: If the madeleines come out with air pockets in them (see example photo below), they were mixed for too long, allowing too much air to be incorporated. This creates the unwanted chewy-dense-texture that many people attribute to the defenseless tea-cake.
4: Also, if the madeleines bubble up like small mountains (see example photo below), they were baked for too long. They should round off a little, creating an even slope, not bubbling to such great heights .
October 15, 2011
A Saturday List
I thought I'd tell you about my projects I'll be working on next week. It's a short list -- I try not to think about too many things to do at once. :) There's a balance to this diligence thing. If I stack up too many things to do, that discourages me instead of motivating me! But here is what I'm working on next week:
1. Socks for Ryan. He doesn't like traditional dress socks, so I'm trying to make him compromise wool socks -- dressy enough for school (he's a teacher), but comfy enough for his toes. I have one finished already, and I'm about half way through the other one! I'm using this pattern (first time with toe-up, for you sock-knitters out there!), and this yarn. This is a spare time project -- I work on it in little free moments around the day. (10-21: Check!)
2. Decluttering my magazines. I've been inspired to do this by reading this book, which is about taking small steps to simplify your life. Most of my magazines are Cooks Illustrated, so I need to go through and decide which recipes and articles I really want to keep...and which back-cover art is worth gleaning. It's a little hard, because they are chock full of such useful information! But the truth is that what is important to me, I already remember after reading once (for instance, the trick of saving your butter wrappers to grease pans with later). (10-21: Check!)
3. Making biscuits and gravy for Ryan. He's on fall break this week, so I thought it would be a nice surprise for him to have biscuits and gravy one morning. :) (I know this seems small for a project, but that is what having a baby will do to you!) (10-21: Check!)
4. Cleaning the bathroom. I try to get this done every week. ;) (10-21: Check!)
5. Deep cleaning the kitchen. (10-21: Halfway Done!)
My secret to getting anything done now that Blaze is here is to try to do it before he wakes up in the morning.
What are the projects you're working on next week? This past week I finished my thank-you notes for all the sweet presents people gave Blaze!
Who wouldn't want to give this chubby fellow presents? But maybe they should give his mama some sense of "matching." ;)
Watch out for an update on Monday! And have a lovely sabbath. :)
Courtney
(10-21: Edited to show that I did some of these! Woohoo!)
1. Socks for Ryan. He doesn't like traditional dress socks, so I'm trying to make him compromise wool socks -- dressy enough for school (he's a teacher), but comfy enough for his toes. I have one finished already, and I'm about half way through the other one! I'm using this pattern (first time with toe-up, for you sock-knitters out there!), and this yarn. This is a spare time project -- I work on it in little free moments around the day. (10-21: Check!)
2. Decluttering my magazines. I've been inspired to do this by reading this book, which is about taking small steps to simplify your life. Most of my magazines are Cooks Illustrated, so I need to go through and decide which recipes and articles I really want to keep...and which back-cover art is worth gleaning. It's a little hard, because they are chock full of such useful information! But the truth is that what is important to me, I already remember after reading once (for instance, the trick of saving your butter wrappers to grease pans with later). (10-21: Check!)
3. Making biscuits and gravy for Ryan. He's on fall break this week, so I thought it would be a nice surprise for him to have biscuits and gravy one morning. :) (I know this seems small for a project, but that is what having a baby will do to you!) (10-21: Check!)
4. Cleaning the bathroom. I try to get this done every week. ;) (10-21: Check!)
5. Deep cleaning the kitchen. (10-21: Halfway Done!)
My secret to getting anything done now that Blaze is here is to try to do it before he wakes up in the morning.
What are the projects you're working on next week? This past week I finished my thank-you notes for all the sweet presents people gave Blaze!
Watch out for an update on Monday! And have a lovely sabbath. :)
Courtney
(10-21: Edited to show that I did some of these! Woohoo!)
October 14, 2011
Sleep, Anxiety, and the Promises of God
We've been reading through this book at Bible Study, and this week's chapter was very encouraging (and convicting!). I've had so much baby stuff (only six more weeks before we meet our baby girl!) on my mind that sometimes I have trouble going to sleep, even when I'm super tired.
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:6-7)
"Too many Christians try to deal with their anxieties by worrying on their knees. They worry, conclude it with "in Jesus' name, amen," and then, not surprisingly, have trouble sleeping. They have reversed the promise of this passage and tried to orient their hearts and minds in such a way as to 'keep' or protect the peace of God. ... But the promise is the other way around. The peace of God which makes no sense will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
- Douglas Wilson My Life For Yours: A Walk Through the Christian Home
(on sleep in the bedroom)
~Noble
(Next week it's Courtney's turn to post a quote on Friday, so make sure to come back and see what she's been thinking about!)
(Also, I apologize for my overabundance of parentheses... I'm an addict. :-P )
Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:6-7)
"Too many Christians try to deal with their anxieties by worrying on their knees. They worry, conclude it with "in Jesus' name, amen," and then, not surprisingly, have trouble sleeping. They have reversed the promise of this passage and tried to orient their hearts and minds in such a way as to 'keep' or protect the peace of God. ... But the promise is the other way around. The peace of God which makes no sense will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
- Douglas Wilson My Life For Yours: A Walk Through the Christian Home
(on sleep in the bedroom)
~Noble
(Next week it's Courtney's turn to post a quote on Friday, so make sure to come back and see what she's been thinking about!)
(Also, I apologize for my overabundance of parentheses... I'm an addict. :-P )
October 12, 2011
Back with a plan
Dare I say it...we might be back for real now. I had this baby, Blaze, and he has gone from a little smidge to a big opinionated chunk of 5 months. Now I feel ready to do things (and make other people do them, too!). So we are back, and we have a plan. We're hoping the plan will help us stay back with some consistency.
Part of the plan is having certain regular "features" (i.e. certain types of things to share on certain days).
Today is Wednesday, the middle of the week, when I start to feel like I swam waaay too far out from the shore (which is the weekend, in my analogy ;)) and might never make it back. I tend to listen to lots of fun music on Wednesdays to perk things up.
So here is our first weekly feature (eek, I said weekly! That implies commitment!): The Wednesday Pick-Me-Up Song.
The Wednesday Pick-Me-Up
It's celtic. Sorry if you hate celtic. I like it, depending. And this lovely song is by one of my favorite duos, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas.
Jig Runrig/The Ramnee Ceilidh by Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas
It's from their album, The Highlander's Farewell. My link is a Spotify link, but if you don't like Spotify, I'm sure you can find it on iTunes or your music provider of choice.
Be sure to check back on Friday for our next update!
Do you need a pick-me-up on Wednesdays, too? Or are they your favorite day of the week? And do you have a favorite pick-me-up song this week? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Wednesday!
Courtney
January 27, 2011
Baby Things!
These are for me, but I need them because this baby is growing (23 1/2 weeks now!):
They're not maternity -- just normal, but the skirts are two sizes up from what I'd normally wear! I'll wear them low-rise, under the bump. :) For $12 at Goodwill, definitely worth it! And I love the springy Easter egg colors. My philosophy is, since it's January, spring is on its way!
Here are the two sweaters I've made for the smidge. The blue one, of course, in case it's a boy, and the pink one if it's not! They're actually from the same pattern, which is free on Ravelry. The blue one looks more like the original pattern. :)
They're not maternity -- just normal, but the skirts are two sizes up from what I'd normally wear! I'll wear them low-rise, under the bump. :) For $12 at Goodwill, definitely worth it! And I love the springy Easter egg colors. My philosophy is, since it's January, spring is on its way!
Here are the two sweaters I've made for the smidge. The blue one, of course, in case it's a boy, and the pink one if it's not! They're actually from the same pattern, which is free on Ravelry. The blue one looks more like the original pattern. :)
January 20, 2011
Mushrooms!
Noble sent me a picture of these adorable felted mushrooms a few months ago; I think they were needle-felted, which I have no idea how to do! But I found this adorable pattern and made her a pair! Then I made a pair for another friend of mine who things that little nature decorations are cute. :) These red ones are Noble's. I made the small rounded cap and the small bell-shaped cap, and two medium stems.
This was my first ever hand-felted project, and it was so much fun! I just felted them in a mixing bowl full of water with a teensy dash of soap.
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