Tuesday, December 29, 2009

surgery wnet well. the surgeon had to use a cadaver tendon that he attached to my hamstring tendon Last thing I remembered was gettin the iv meducation in or, then waking up in recovery. the doc talked to me in recovery, don't remember. have a morphine pca for pain. working wsll, I have laess pain than prior to surgery. if I remember right, no sitting or flexing of knee for at least 4 weeks. no nausea either.
one of the most annoying thing, I have numbness and tingling in my lower left arm along with my thumb and fingers. Have felt like they are asleep since I woke up. Tomorrow therapy is going to come to get me up.

Sorry for typing errors. left arm aslleep, right index finger has the coninous pulse ox to watch my breathing. I also don't have my contacts in or any glasses, so the screen is a little blurred. thanks for the prayers they worked well!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Finally, Christmas cooking!

Three days til Christmas, finally starting my Christmas baking. I noticed I am not making as many things as usual in the past few years. My husband receives many treats for gifts, so we usually have our fill.

This year I have decided to make a few things I haven't done in a long time. I first made my favorite Pecan Puffs. These are a shortbread dough to which pecans are added. After taking from the oven, they are coated in powdered sugar, then again coated with the sugar after they are cooled.

A few years ago, I started making sugared cinnamon pecans. One of the best treats I have ever had! My daughter is now a senior in high school, and for the last year, I made them as treats for her teachers. Instead of leaving the extras I made at home, she decided to take them to school and give them to kids at school.

Just got through making caramel. I used a recipe from the Bettter Homes and Gardens candy book which uses sweetened condensed milk, so they get done fast. Very Tasty!

Now, off to make Petit Fours!

Monday, October 26, 2009

My FIRST cake from the new book!


Last week, I set a goal of making a recipe a week from the new book "Rose's Heavenly Cakes".
Today, I actually started! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided today to make the "Whipped Cream Cake". After looking at the recipes, this seemed so easy. I also found it intriguing that I was going to make a cake without using any butter or oil. In place of the butter and oil, the recipe called for using heavy cream. I had whipping cream in the fridge, so I was in luck!



The cake turned out much better than I had hoped. Very light and tender. Flavor was good. My family enjoys an almond flavor, so next time I will try that. This is a great base cake to experiment from. So easy and quick!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Rose's Heavenly Cakes Book- Cake Project

Fall is here. still not much baking going on over here. Somehow, life keeps getting in the way.

Two weeks ago, my daughter came for a visit. Went to Chicago for a few days, watched her run the
Chicago Marathon. Lot sof going out to dinner during that time.

I'm finding that since I have been baking so much, producing some very good pastry products, I tend to order dessert less when I am eating out. Somehow, spending 5-6 dollars for a piece of chocolate cake that I know came from a mix is unappealing. Good thing for my waistline!

My newest cookbook find is "Rose's heavenly Cakes" by Rose Levy Berenbaum. The pictures alone are worth salivating over. Received the book on Monday, can't wait to get started.

So, here is my newest project goal:

I plan on making at least one recipe a week from the new book. I will keep going until I have all the recipes completed. I know, not much of a novel idea, but a great goal for me. Anyone is welcome to join in if they like. Due to copyrights, I will not post the recipes, but maybe someone else out there has the book, and we can all try the same recipe. Not sure what my first one will be, but I am thinking something with bananas or aplles since I have both of those that I need to use up.

I'm also looking forward to the new release of the book "Healthy Breads in five minutes a day"
I have had so much fun with Jeff and Zoe's first book, wondering what the second book is going to bring us.

Off to start looking for recipes, need to start baking again!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Back Again!

I could not believe when I went to my blog today, the last posting I had done was in May, how naughty of me! How can I possibly expect anyone to follow my blog, if I do not put anything new in it, I mean, come on, what in the world was I thinking?

Truth be told, I haven't really been thinking all that much these past 7 1/2 months. For the few readers that are not aware, I tore my hamstring in my left leg on Jan 20th. Until about two weeks ago, I have had a tremendous amount of pain in the leg. I won't go into all the details,I am aware that everyone is tired of hearing about it. The good news is, the pain has decreased enough that I can FINALLY think about other things besides how bad my leg hurts. It's a great feeling not to be in so much pain.

As a result, not much baking has been going on here this summer. I baked a few cakes, and a few loaves of bread, not much else. I'm looking forward to starting my baking again, and sharing it with others.

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of doing a baking show at the St Agnes Baking Co kitchen at the MN State Fair. So much thanks goes to Klecko for allowing me to do the show. My show was on a Christmas Yule Log Cake. I did not get any pictures, but I am going to try to figure out how to take and post the pictures easier so I can post some tutorials on how to make the cake. My fun twist was making the mushrooms out of fondant instead of meringue. I had a blast doing th show. Thanks again, Klecko!

One of the organizations my daughter is in is having a bake sale on Saturday. Going to try to get at least one thing baked for her. I was thinking of a few loaves of bread.

Off now to look at the new cookbooks I bought today!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Welcome to spring!

Can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. Lots of baking has been going on, I keep forgetting to buy batteries for my camera, so no pictures.

For Easter, we baked the traditional Easter Lamb cake, which I let my daughter decorate herself.
What a great job she did! For Mothers Day, I made a white layer cake with strawberry filing, bettercreme icing and fresh whole strawberries on top. It was quite awesome. I haven't made very many layer cakes, so I am always pleased when they come out and don't fall over.

Yesterday our church had a spring rummage and bake sale. I made three batches of bread dough,
which made 10 loaves of bread. They came out perfect.

Last week I made a focaccia with some of the artisan bread dough I had that was almost two weeks old. I find that the older doughs are great for making the flatter breads. It had such good flavor.

Today I am going to make more bread dough, and this weekend I want to make a patriotic cupcake bouquet for Memorial day. I am going to try to post pictures of how I did that.

Off to clean, and then bake!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Holy Thursday- and a Full Moon

Today is Holy Thursday also called Maundy Thursday in the christian religions. It is the day that signifies the Last Supper. In remembrance of the event, our church has a potluck dinner prior to the evening service. We were supposed to bring a salad, but being a baker, I could not resist bringing some bread. At this moment, I have white baguettes and two loaves of rye baguettes in the oven. I figure they should be done about thirty minutes prior to church, which should make them just a ittle warm when peolple start to eat. My family are also choir members, I don't like to sing with a full stomach, so I tend to eat on the lighter side at this.

I also made a ramen noodle salad. My husband and I really like the crunch here's my recipe:
1 head of cabbage
1 pound of carrots
1 cup of sunfloewer seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar

2 pkgs ramen noodles

Shred the cabbage and the carrots using either the food processor or a shredder. You can also buy a bag of coleslaw mix if you do not want to shred the vegetables. Place in a large bowl.

Toast the sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and almonds. When toasted, add to the bowl of vegetables.

Mix the vinegar, oil and sugar together adding 1-2 pkgs of the ramen noodle seasoning mix as desired.

crush the raw noodles, add to the vegetable and nut mixture. Pour the dressing mix over and mix well. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes for the tastes to mix well.

Enjoy!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Yeah! I'm Back!

It's been a week since I changed the name of my website, and a challenging week it has been. I do not have much experience with websites, and for some reason I could not get the info from my other site to transfer over. But, after two messages to "godaddy" they were finally able to talk me through it.

For Christians, yesterday was the beginning of the holiest week of the church year. It is a week of preparation and remembering of Christ's death and culminates with the celebration of the rising of Christ on Easter Sunday. It also begins for me a week of food preparation and cleaning for Easter..
Today I cleaned my laundry room, and hung a couple of decorations. Since I am still having difficulty after my torn hamstring, it takes a lot longer for me to get things done. I find I need to stop and rest alot more, and am unable to move in ways I did in the past. It's coming back slowly, but getting better.

I decided to join the website baking911.com. I traditionally make easter lamb cakes every year, and was looking for a new pound cake recipe. I did not take pictures, but it did come out tasting very good. I baked it in my countertop electric oven I have so I could see the progression of it rising. It was pretty cool to see! I also baked a foccacia with some extra bread dough I had. For dinner, I took the leftover hamburgers we had from Saturday, added some spaghetti sauce on top and some mozzerella cheese. After warming that in the microwave, we made a sandwich using the foccacia. I think my husband thought he died and went to heaven- it was that good. I also mixed the dough for my sugar cookies, which I will start to bake tomorrow. I'm thinking of making some cookie bouquets for the easter baskets this year.

Tonight I also spent three hours at choir practice, so I think its time to go to sleep since I do have to work in the morning. The rest of the baking will just have to wait.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Changing name

I have been blogging now for a year. Through this year, I have learned very much. I have decided to change our name to Merry Bakers. Since my daughter and I are both involved in baking, why not change the name to involve her more. I am hoping she may decide to assist me on the blog, thereby improving it for the readers. She is becoming quite a gifted writer, and since she is taking creative writing, she made add some insight.

I have attempted to add the info from my other blog. For some reason I am unable to get it posted correctly, but the info is all there.

With a that said, time to get baking. I am going to make my first batch of petit fours which I hope to be able to decorate for Easter.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Friday, February 13, 2009

One day and counting!

Tomorrow is a celebration of the sweetest holiday of the year, Valentine's Day. We all have memories of the day, some good, some not so good, and some we do not care to relive. I would like to share some of the good memories I have had (that I can remember)

When I was young, my grandmother once gave me a little brown bag with a few pieces of Brach's nougat candy and some pretzel nuggets. I had not had either of those treats prior to that, and to this day enjoy both of them very much. Thin pretzels just are not the same for me anymore, since I had the pleasure of that thick, crusty, salty little baked dough. I have not been able to find the nougat for years, which is ok, cuase I still can dream about the flavor.

When I was dating my ex-husband, our first Valentine's Day together he gave me a silver colored necklace that had a heart charm which said "St Valentine protect my love" It was so sweet-and I held on to that for many years, even after we were no longer married. I still felt protected.

For my children, I used to play "cupid" and every year they received little gifts from me. I have a tendency to stay away from the commercial candy filled hearts, they received other gifts.

Yesterday, my daughter decided to make cupcakes for her friends and teachers. She said she wanted to make something for those in school that would probably not be receiving gifts from others. She spent the whole evening making the cupcakes, decorating them, and trying to figure out how she was going to carry them around with her throughout the day today. This morning she left with her backpack, shoulder bag and two very large trays carrying those cupcakes.

I'm not sure what my loves will be receiving from me this year, hopefully it will be something they can remember for years to come. After all, gifts are not about what the gift is, rather the memory we associate with that gift.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Saturday, January 31, 2009

One day and counting!

Tomorrow is the big day-Super Bowl Sunday. I bet you didn't know that Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest EATING day surpassed only by Thanksgiving. Many of you who aren't particularly interested in football, will be attending parties and watching the game. The commercials in the past have been the highlights, but with the economy in such a downturn, I wonder how spectacular they will be.

My husband and I will be spending the afternoon with friends. Not sure how much of the game I will actually watch.

My torn hamstring is getting better slowly. Can't believe how painful this has been. I went for acupuncture and have been doing my therapy so I can get back to work so I can resume my life.

Enjoy the game tomorrow!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Torn Hamstring

Haven't been able to do much except sleep and watch tv. Last week I slid on some water that was on the floor and ended up doing the spits. Apparently I did quite a good job of getting all the way down.......The result- a great hamstring tear!!!!!

Anyway, our modern pain meds have done a great job keeping the pain decreased- the worst side effects so far are sleeping. I have spent most of the past six days asleep. I wake up only to fall back to sleep within a short period of time.

Hopefully by the end of the week, I will be able to start having a life again. My family have done the cooking, cleaning and laundry for the past 6 days. Today I was able to make the lasagns for dinner! Go me!

Monday, January 19, 2009

What can you do for your Country?

Today we celebrate Martin Luther King day. Tomorrow we will celebrate the inauguration of our next president. There is an air of hope around, as we open this new point in American history.
Barack Obama has asked the American people to step up and volunteer to make this a better place.
I do believe that as we embark on our new journey together, there is hope. Hope for a new nation that can become a community of those who serve.

My family and I have served our church and community in various ways. We will continue to serve and will hopefully find other ways to serve.

My questions for all is, how can you find ways to serve others?

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Musings of the Spirit

Today, we had a meeting at work. Not an unusual event in our lives of employment, But, this one was somewhat different. Rather than being told of all the things we were going to be doing, we were in essence asked, how can we make this better?

I work as an acute care nurse on a med surg unit. One of the questions my boss posed was how can we think of ourselves as professionals? This is the question that seems to have got me thinking, and here are some of my thoughts.

Nursing is a tough job. We work different shifts, holidays and weekends. Most people are aware of this. What people don't think of is what we do in a day. As nurses, we take care of humans most basic need. We feed, walk, bath and toilet those that are in our care. Our wardrobe is not a fancy one, as a matter of fact, many of us can be seen wearing scrubs with cartoon figures. Not very professional, but it can light up someones day.

One of my other thoughts today, was how there are so many people in society who take better care of their animals, then they do other people. Many of us feel bad for the stray dogs that no one wants to take care of, but we turn the other way when we see a homeless person or someone down on their luck.

My goal for this year, is to try to empathize a little more with those less fortunate than myself, and try a little harder just to make someone else's day a little brighter. Also, to see myself as the profesional I am, and to foster that professionalism in those I work with.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

It's a start of a new baking year

Today, I went out to lunch to the chinese restaurant with my husband. Lunch was delicious, followed by that illustrious pastry we have come to call the "Fortune Cookie" In our family, it is customary to pick the cookie closest to you. I picked mine, and it said "now is the time to start a new collection or hobby".

My husband laughed at this and said he thinks I picked the wrong cookie.

I'm wondering, what new collection or hobby should I start? Last year, I was focused on bread baking, cookie baking, knitting, and once again started cake decorating. At this point, I can't imagine whats left.

Maybe focusing on my blog and photography?

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Preparing for Christmas

It's four days until Christmas. Only, this year I do not have the usual hustle and bustle and preparation that usually accompanies this holiday. Instead, my preparations have been on the internal side. Yes, I am still putting up the tree and planning on decorating, but I find I am in a more peaceful place this year.

I look back at the past years, and find that this year has been an especially exceptional year for my spiritual growth. I have had so many angels come into my life and have ahd many,many new experiences.

The world has also had a time of great change- the economy has dropped- we have a new president. Along with us, many other nations have also experienced these challenging times.

My gift for all this Christmas is the true meaning- LOVE.

May we all find a place in our hearts to open up to the love of the universe. To find the peace in one another during these challenging times. Christmas is not about what we can buy for one another, but truly the GIFT of each and every one of us. We are all special, and have come to each other in this word for a reason. A reason, that may only be made known in due time.

May all find the universal peace this season. The world can be a much better place, and it starts in the heart and soul of each and every one of us.