Black and Whites

Whenever Brandon is in a show, I tell him to put all the cast members names in a hat, and draw one out. Whoever he draws, gets to pick a treat for me to make the cast. (last time is was the Suessical cake) This time a girl requested Black and White Cookies (also called Half Moons). I had never heard of these before, and the girl said that she remembered them from being in New York and has never been able to find them since. I looked up several recipes on line, and the common theme was that they are from New York bakeries, and must be really hard to duplicate the original taste. Most of the comments I found were of people reminiscing about these cookies from when they were little, or when they lived in NYC, and that although the taste was close, it wasn't quite right. Well, I have no idea if I am remotely in the ballpark but here is the recipe I used (I tweaked and combined a few different recipes):

Cookies:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

1- Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs one at a time and beat in between each egg. Add the milk, vanilla, and lemon. 

2- In a separate bowl stir together cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. 

3- Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture gradually, mixing well between each addition.

4- Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup (maybe a little less) to spoon batter on a greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. You want them to be about an inch thick. (These cookies are a little on the bigger side)

5- Bake at 375 for 11-14 minutes or until edges JUST start to turn brown (they are very easy to burn, so watch them)

6- Use a THIN metal spatula to remove from cookie sheet, and cool before frosting.
 

White Frosting:

•  3 Cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 Tbsp light corn syrup 
• 1 Tbsp butter 
• 1 1/2 tsp clear imitation vanilla extract
• Enough hot water to achieve desired consistency.

1- Combine ingredients and whisk until smooth
2- Frost half of the cookie with white frosting and wait until set before frosting the other half with the black frosting.

Black Frosting:

• Follow the same recipe as the white, but add  4 oz semi-sweet chocolate. 

1- In a double boiler, melt chocolate and add to the frosting.
2- If you want a richer taste, add more chocolate.
3- You will probably have to use more hot water than the white frosting to get the right consistency.
4- Frost the other half of cookie, and enjoy.

**Amy's Notes**
*These are very simple tasting cookies (remind me of a fortune cookie) with a thick/dense texture, with a hint of lemon. They are not crispy at all, and are more cake-like.
*For the frosting- if you want to spread the frosting on with a knife, leave it a little thicker.
*However, if you want a really smooth and shiny finish, add more hot water and make the frosting a little on the thin side.  Use a piping bag with a fine circular tip to make a boarder first and allow to dry. Once you have the boarder, fill in with the middle and allow to set/dry. This way there will not be any marks/streaks and the frosting will dry very smooth. (this is what I did) It took a while longer, but it looked nice.

Mud Factor 5k

The day started off early (5:30 AM) by waking up to get ready for our second 5K. It was a run with various obstacles along the route called Mud Factor.

In our information packet that was sent to us, we were told to arrive 1 to 1 1/2 hours prior to our wave time to make sure there was ample time for parking, registration, and general "getting ready". Waves were every half and hour starting at 9:00 AM, and the last wave was at 1:00 PM. Our wave was at 9:30, so technically we were supposed to show up between 8:00 and 8:30... lets just say my math skills were taking a vacation for the day and we ended up getting there at 7:00 AM.

We were the first people there (if that wasn't obvious) and even got there before the volunteers that were working the race. So, we had ample time to walk around the location, take pictures, and try to keep warm (it was around 55 degrees).

We decided to just run in the 9:00 wave instead of waiting around another half hour, and we figured nobpody would notice. Once the race started, we ran over hills, climbed over and under walls, through a muddy creek bed, jumped over hay bales, across a railroad bridge, through a tunnel, across another creek, and over a cargo net. I have no idea how many people ended up running over the course of the day, but there were a LOT! We finished the race in about 40 minutes.

After the race there were wash stations, a beer tent, music, food, and keg toss. Since one of the last parts of the run was going through a creek, most of our mud got washed off so the pictures don't really look too dirty.

Before the run

Cargo net - last obstacle

 My absolute favorite pair of tennis shoes were from my freshmen year of high school. Our whole basketball team got matching shoes, and I just always loved them. Although I have super glued them multiple times and they were really in pretty bad shape (in some spots the tread was completely worn smooth), I could never get rid of them.... until now. I decided to give my shoes one last blaze of muddy glory before giving them the toss. It was a good 11 years :)

Worn off tread... at one point the bottoms were light blue

Before the race

After the run.  Most of the mud fell off or got washed off in the water.

Cheese and Herb Pull-Apart Bread

Here is a yummy new recipe I tried for a cheese herb pull-apart bread. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
4 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbs snipped chives
3 to 4 Tbs herbs (I used oregano, dill, and basil)
Cheddar cheese - grated
Milk - to glaze

Directions:
 1) Put yeast, sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl and stir until well mixed. Leave in a warm place  for 10 minutes or until the mixture is frothy and has increased in volume. **Note** If the mix does not froth, it means the yeast is dead and you will have to start over.
 

 2) Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, add yeast mixture, and 1 cup warm water. Mix until it sticks together in a soft dough.

3) Take dough out of bowl onto a floured surface and knead until smooth (aprox 10 minutes).

4) Place dough into a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp dishtowel until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5) Punch dough down and knead for a minute or two. Divide the dough into 3 inch flattened circles (about 20 circles)

6) Mix chives and herbs together in a small bowl

7) Lay one of the dough circles flat and sprinkle with a tsp or so of the herb mix and then with cheese (amount as desired)
                              
8) Press another circle of dough on top and repeat with remaining herbs/cheese and dough circles.

9) Grease a loaf pan and squish the circles together as you set them upright in the pan. Cover and set in a warm place for about 30-45 minutes or until well risen.

10) Brush the loaf with a little milk and bake for about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven or until top is brown and crusty. Cool and enjoy :)

GLOW RUN 5K

Chase, Richelle, Amy, & Brandon... Glow Run 2012, "Team Ermahgerd" :)

 Ok, not a post about baking but.... I RAN MY FIRST 5K!!

It was the Glow Run in Omaha, NE with my hubby and a few good friends. The race started at 8:40PM and everybody was decked out in glow-sticks, neon clothing, glow paint, glitter, etc. I even got Brandon some gloves with sequins and light up finger tips! :)

My first goal was to run the whole race without walking
My second goal was to run it with an 11 minute mile pace

I met both goals and finished with a time of 29:10 (chip time) and getting the overall 1268th place out of +3500, and 204th out of 513 in my age group. YAY!! It was insane that so many people showed up. I actually didn't even cross the "starting line" until the race was about a minute and a half in... there were THAT many people in front of me!! CRAZY! Along the route there were "glow stations" which were groupings of black lights that you could run under and really see the glowing goodness!
I had glow bracelets, necklace, ear rings, face paint, neon fishnets, glow nail polish, lipstick, and of course the bright orange hair :) It looks fun in the pictures, but even better under the black lights!

Getting pumped up before the race

Post race with our medals!

 This was an awesome experience and I am so glad I got to do this with such wonderful people. This morning Brandon and I actually signed up for a couple more 5Ks in the coming months. The next one will be at the end of September and is a "Halloween Fun Run", so we will have to think of costumes. The other is in November and is called the "Beer and Bagel Run". It is actually a little over 4 miles instead of a 5K and is more of a tail run rather than pavement.

PS: Shout out to my Sister-in-law and a bunch of friends that did the Zombie Run 5K the same day in St Louis, MO! Looks like it was fun!

Canning Salsa!

I LOVE SALSA!!!

One of my goals for the summer was to have a small garden that I could grow my own veggies to make salsa. I have tomatoes, onions, and 2 kinds of peppers. Everything was growing nicely, but I was having a hard time getting enough tomatoes all at the same time. I would get 3-4 a week, but by the time I would have enough, the others would be gone (read as: eaten). I had a day off, so I decided to get a little help from my friend Emily's garden and the farmer's market. I had enough onions and jalapenos (a few tomatoes), but I got most of the tomatoes from the farmers market and some banana peppers from Emily. This was my first time canning solo, so I was a little nervous. It all worked out well and I ended up with 11 pints and 1 quart (plus a little for sampling of course).

The recipe is from my good friend Andrea and her mom, Tammie. I love this recipe and it makes a BIG batch (this time I did a half batch and still made plenty, the recipe below is a full batch)

10 quarts tomatoes- cooked and peeled
10 1/2 cups onion
3 cups jalapenos (I keep the seeds in to give a little more heat)
2 cups medium/hot peppers (Ancho peppers, banana peppers, or whatever you like)
5 cups green bell peppers
6 Tbs canning salt
11 Tbs sugar
3/4 cup garlic
3 cups vinegar

Combine all ingredients into LARGE pot or roaster (I use my 18 quart electric roaster oven) and cook down until the desired thickness. The longer you cook it, the thicker the salsa will be. Cook in hot water bath for 15 minutes, then let cool until sealed.

Now the details

It is important to have all the right tools before starting. I use a measuring cup and funnel to transfer the salsa from the roaster to the jars. The middle tool is to help measure head space and get out air bubbles. It is also handy to have the jar tongs  to hold onto the hot jars while placing them into the hot water bath. The last tool on the right has a magnet on the end and helps get the lids out of the hot water (shown later)

 Probably the most time consuming part of the process is getting the tomatoes ready. It is kind of fun though to get the skins off. The first step is picking off any stems and putting the tomatoes in hot/boiling water. You will know they are done when the skin starts to split.

When the skins start to split, transfer tomatoes into a bowl of icewater and wait until they are cool enough to handle. The skins will be super easy to peel/slide off. Core the tomatoes and then dice them to the desired size. I like my salsa a little chunky, and I leave the pieces a little bigger than I want them to end up because as the salsa cooks, the pieces will break down a little bit.

Once all the ingredients are cut up and ready, combine in a large pot or roaster oven. Cook until the salsa is the desired thickness (longer cooking=thicker salsa).

When you are ready to fill the jars, you have to use HOT AND CLEAN jars and lids. I ran my jars through a cycle in the dishwasher just to make sure they were hot and ready to go. Never try to use any other jar than canning jars (I use Mason or Kerr). Also, check the lip/rim of the jars to make sure there are no cracks or they may not seal correctly. Be careful to wipe the lip of the jars before putting on the lids and rings on in case any salsa dripped on them (like I said, they have to be CLEAN). Boil the lids in water and once the jars are filled with salsa, place a lid and tighten a ring on the tops.

Place jars in a hot water bath and make sure water covers the tops. Boil for 15 minutes and then remove jars from water. Place on counter or table and let the jars sit still for at least a couple hours (or until cool). You might hear the jars "pop"... this is just the seal setting (nothing to worry about). After jars are cool, test the tops of each jar to make sure the middle will not flex up or down. If it does, the seal is not set correctly and the salsa will not keep (you will just have to eat that jar of salsa first and store it in the fridge)

 Tada! You will then have delicious homemade salsa :) Enjoy!

Cutting Basil

The other day I was making a margarita pizza (tomato, basil, and mozzarella) and I got to thinking that cutting the basil (or other leafy herbs in general) can be a little tricky. Hence this post about cutting basil :)

Here is my basil plant that I have growing in my kitchen window. Since I finally got tomatoes out of my garden I thought a pizza would be yummy. Step 1) Pick off the plant, wash, and dry the basil leaves.

Step 2) Layer leaves on top of one another with the biggest leaf at the bottom and smallest at the top.

Step 3) Starting at one end, roll up the leaves until you have a nice little roll.

 Step 4) As thinly as you can, slice the roll of leaves to get long strips.

Step 5) Rotate your knife and slice the leaves in half lengthwise to get smaller strips of the herb. Sprinkle on whatever you like and enjoy :)

Pictures of "Christmas in July" Cake

Here are a few pictures of the cake I made for my family's Christmas in July celebration.
The pictures are by LaVonne Anderson as posted on Smugmug. She has LOTS of pictures so check them out by clicking HERE

Tada! Here is the cake. The theme was everything "Christmas in July" throughout the years. The cake itself is shaped like a big hill since the cabin we stay at is on a hill. The green frosting is the "grass".

The topper is a pond with a canoe and sand (graham crackers) and a zip line. At the cabin there is a pond that we frequently go swimming and canoeing in, and one year they had a working zip-line that we would ride down and fall into the pond. Very fun and of course super safe ;)

The rest of the cake had random decorations made of fondant and/or scrap-booking paper. Theses are cards since my family have always been fond of playing card games such as 500, Pig-it & Hog it, and Hearts.

In this shot is a "plate of food". We always have an enormous amount of delicious food at any of our family gatherings, so it was only fitting to make a "steak, peas, and banana" out of fondant.

The LOVE decoration is based on our synchronized swimming routine (see picture below). We have floating "noodles" and sing while we dance (or flop) around in the pond. This is a common formation that we use. You can also see some happy fish, a candle, and a soccer ball in this picture. I had a little help making those decorations.

I promise this spells "Love" and the letter on the right was an "e"... it was just a little hard to float while singing :)

Other decorations on the cake were a butterfly, snowman, sun, flower, golf club and golf balls. This was a fun cake to make and it was even more special because of all the family touches.
Yay for warm fuzzy feelings (and happy mouths when we ate it)! :)