On A Lazy Day...

If you are looking for an EXCITING computer game that will keep you on the edge of your seat look no further: Sushi Cat

January 7-February 4

Almost a month has gone by since our last post...so much for blogging every week! We have been experimenting with making scones, cinnamon rolls, and desserts inspired by The Great British Bake Off! If you have an appreciation for elaborate baking, decadent desserts, British lingo, and witty show hosts check out season 4 of The Great British Bake Off on youtube. Here are some of the things we have been up to for the past month:

Marina's picture perfect envision of a scone.

Peanut butter crumble with white and dark chocolate chips...yum!

Whole wheat cinnamon rolls...ooey and gooey!

A closer look at the goodness inside these cinnamon rolls.

 Great British Bake Off inspired Opera cake!

First start off with a meringue cake sponge (very overwhelming)

Thin layers of meringue sponge...interesting texture!

A lovely syrup soaked into the sponge then the chocolate ganache...yummy!

Another layer of sponge and then a very runny but delicious buttercream. 

One more layer of sponge and topped off with the chocolate ganache!

Final product! Look at that shine on the chocolate...so inviting!

My favorite sweetness of all!!!

December 25 -> January 7th,

One of our new years resolutions was to write a blog post here at least once a week.  It's the 12th of January and so far we have only missed one week!

More often than not our post are going to be just photos and some recipes.  Just a way for us to collect some memories and keep a reference for anything particularly tasty we might want to recreate.

December is a great month for baking, tons of excuses to break out the flour and butter.  As I am writing this I don't remember what we actually got pictures of but I'll let my camera throw up all over this post and see what we comes up.

Turkey Bacon BLT with some pickles Kelley got for Christmas

We were craving and these definitely hit the spot.  I didn't even miss the real bacon.

Apricot and Ginger Scones.  Funny story about these...

Surprisingly edible, especially with coffee.

Flatbread for the dinner Kelley *mostly* made for me.  We sprinkled in some of the fennel fronds to little effect.

We make a lot of bets and the winner always gets a dinner.  I won this one by stealing Kelley's paint brush.  Cod with orange zest and panko.  Salad with roasted fennel and red peppers.  Very refreshing meal.  Yum yum!

Kelley takes cards seriously.  Very very seriously.

Probably made this as a result of Kelley winning a bet.  Been happening far to often lately.  Homemade whole wheat noodles and fresh sauce.  Maybe the best red lasagna I have ever made?

Kelley made it into a classy romantic dinner by adding cloth napkins.

This lasagna just loved the camera.

Who can blame it?

Photo challenge: Moody and artsy photo with a moose hat.  Success!

This picture better captures the real vibe.  Cute, almost too cute.

Fight the Night happened.  It was great.  There was a lot of stuff.

"Perfect" breakfast.  Poached egg, sweet potato home fries, and some leftover tomato/avocado/bean salad.

We love ramen.  Alright, I love ramen and Kelley likes it.  Added some sweet sausage and a slice of roasted cabbage for a nice comfort dish.

What the hell is that?  Squash, pear, and shredded beef bread.  We worked with what we had and the results were pretty amazingly, surprisingly, freaking delicious.  I am currently full of pancakes and I still want some more of this bread right now.

We do puzzles.  It challenges our relationship. 

Black and white cookies requested by Fight the Night super fundraiser.  Not bad.  I would add less egg and flour next time.  Recipe will be below if I don't forget.

Poached eggs and sweet potatoes again.  Can't get enough.  Some kale thrown in for variety (or so it didn't go bad).

So, the scones were pretty good BUT Kelley didn't put any sugar in them.  Scones don't need much sugar but at least a little makes a big difference.  In her defense she was following the recipe I wrote down and I forgot to write in the sugar.  Here is the amended recipe:

Apricot Scones:
1 3/4 c Flour (I like about a 50/50 white to whole wheat)
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
3 Tb Sugar
2 oz Butter
---------------
1/2 c Milk (any kind will work)
1/2 tsp Vinegar
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Almond Extract (optional)

A bunch of chopped Apricots or whatever the heck else you want to throw in.

Basically mix the dry ingredients (including sugar) and crumb in the butter to about pea sized pieces.  Try and keep the mixture as cold as possible, toss into freezer for a bit if butter gets melty.


Mix the wet ingredients together and sprinkly over the dry.  Toss around gently to distribute moisture but don't try and create a smooth dough, should be crumbly.  Turn out onto the count and flatten into a disc about 3/4" thick.  Cut in half, stack, flatten, cut in half, stack flatten into a squarish shape.  Cut into quarters.  I like to go rectangle --> triangles but whatever suits your fancy.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 18 minutes or and internal temp of around 180 degrees.  If using all white flour might want to go around 400 for 21ish minutes.

Chocolate Cookies with White Chips
Okay, either I didn't write this down or we lost it.  I think we lost it, so it could turn up in a future post.  Cliffhanger!

Merry Christmas

Finally we have a place to document the meals, desserts, and breads that we have enjoyed creating together over the years! I look forward to experimenting and exploring the world of cooking and baking with you Andrew. To see some of Andrew's previous works of wonder click on the link: http://familycampkitchen.wordpress.com/