In the Kitchen...

Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, I do. We got about three inches in the last few days.

Lucky you! We didn't get any snow last year…but I'm really hoping for it this year! =D

@All: I just experimented in the kitchen…I made Healthy "Rice Crispy Treats" with rice crispies, honey, peanut butter, coconut oil, and raisins! :) I hope they go over well!

@Rachel - I LOVE your picture!!!!!!!! :)

I get to spend the day in the kitchen today baking for our corn maze. Does anyone like cookie dough brownies?:)

Are you happy? Or sad :P? I have never heard of it but it sounds amazing!!!!!

I'll be happy when it's over. No, I love baking!!!!!!!!!!!! It's just when you do it all day one day every week, sometimes at other odd hours too if we're running out, it can get tiring. But I've never been up past mindnight making them, so I'm glad about that:)

sounds delicous.

Thanks =D I love that color :)

Wheat thin+grape=apple pie. Try it. ;)

Wow, that sounds really good!!

weird….

It really works though!!! :)

I so wish we were there at home…we'd probably be cutting wood right now (or hauling it inside :)). :(

Three days this week, we cut and hauled wood.

I bet your Asgardian muscles helped, huh?

Squeezes lemons Singing I love my lemonade! I have to drink it all day!

I LOVE lemon juice. Sometimes I drink it plain!! Yum, Yum!!!

rolls eyes Do you mean "Yuck, Yuck"? ;-)

NO!!!!

rolls eyes again I do not know her. :-)

Grrr…. I will have to come on your account and delete this post.

I just drank about 6 ounces of water with 5 teaspoons of lemon juice in it, YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You remind me of my brother. :)

First kitchen disaster from yesterday.

I got on our friends computer to look up a recipe for whole wheat bread rolls. cringe I found a good one (Oh, great!) and because it had a lot of pictures in the instructions, I copied the parts of the recipe that I needed over onto a word document. (Really, Dani? :P) I got to the bottom, and guess what I found? shudder I didn't need that two-page document after all. There was a printable recipe at the bottom of the page. So, after a couple clicks on 'Print' it finally copied it. I almost said "Thank you" to the printer as I left.

So I got downstairs and gathered my ingredients. I was happily creaming the butter, which was too cold, when I realized I wasn't supposed to be using the whisk attachment. Oh, well, too late. Then I realized I only had enough eggs for a single batch. Thankfully we ended up finding more. Then it took 10 extra minutes of kneading. And they didn't turn out quite browned enough.

Then, making the second batch this morning, I fried the motor on the KitchenAid. ><

A couple days ago we stripped the gears on the mixer, for the FOURTH TIME!!!!!!!!!!! And we need to make bread…

Hand knead! That's what we do when we're at home- our generator doesn't give the mixer enough power to do bread.

That's what we did yesterday when we were making… I can't remember what it was. Anyway, our larger spoons tend to break in two easily, so we still have a problem with mixing everything together. :-)

Yeah, that would put a damper on things…

Yes, it does! We've had wooden spoons snap because they were in the mixer bowl, and the attachment slammed into them.

I hesitate to say this, because I hate plastic, but the rubber spoons with plastic handles hold out really well. We've had several for almost twenty years.

Twenty years? Those must hold out really well! We don't really like using plastic either, mainly because my little brother has a hard time detoxing plastics.

I just think it's nasty :)

It is, isn't it? I mean, who wants petroleum leaking from the dishes and utensils into their food?

This is what my mom is making for my birthday this year; she does it with a chocolate ganache over the top of the pink peppermint ice cream. It is SO good! Also, she did the crust this year with peppermint covered JoJo's (Oreos from Trader Joe's covered in peppermint).

https://www.google.com/search?q=peppermint+torte&client=firefox-a&hs=cqD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=41CaUoWeKcWtkAfB04CIDQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=674#facrc=_&imgrc=pS7S1VAQ-KXeTM%3A%3BSO8L7XB-PBEObM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.larkcrafts.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2011%252F12%252F7.-Peppermint-Stick-Torte.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.larkcrafts.com%252Fcraft-your-life%252Fsweet-finds-peppermint-recipes%252F%3B500%3B350

Also, she did the crust this year with peppermint covered JoJo's (Oreos from Trader Joe's covered in peppermint).

Oh wow, someone else who actually eats those things :P

Wish I could look at the picture…sounds really good though!!

Should we start cooking, since nothing else seems to be going on?

RP-style? Might as well. Any suggestions?

grins A chocolate ice-cream bombe?

Go ahead and show me how! :)

goes and looks up recipe

waits patiently ;)

Make that a Baked Alaska…

FOR THE CAKES:
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
Salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup warm water (about 100 degrees)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs, room temperature, separated
FOR ASSEMBLING:
Vegetable oil, cooking spray
6 cups chocolate ice cream (3 pints)
FOR THE MERINGUE:
12 large egg whites, room temperature
3 cups sugar
Pinch of cream of tartar

Cook's Note
Meringue-covered cakes can be frozen for up to 4 hours.
Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cakes: Sift 1 1/3 cups sugar, the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Combine oil, water, and vanilla.
Step 2

Whisk egg yolks with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. With machine running, slowly pour oil mixture into yolks, and then add sugar mixture.
Step 3

In a clean mixer bowl, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed, gradually adding remaining 2/3 cup sugar, until medium-stiff peaks form. Mix one-third of the whites into cake batter, then gently fold in remaining whites.
Step 4

Divide batter between two 12-by-17-inch parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Bake until cakes are set and spring back when touched, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
Step 5

Assemble the baked Alaska: Coat six 11-ounce bowls or ramekins with cooking spray; line with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang. Cut out 6 cake circles to fit in bottoms of bowls (we used a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter), and place one in each bowl. Top each with 1/3 cup chocolate ice cream, smoothing surface. Cut out 6 cake circles to fit on top of ice cream (we used a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter), and place on ice cream. Freeze until set, about 30 minutes.
Step 6

Top each cake with 1/3 cup ice cream, smoothing surface. Cut out 6 cake circles to fit on top of ice cream (we used a 4-inch round cookie cutter), and place on ice cream. (This should fit just at the top of the bowl.) Cover assembled cakes with plastic wrap overhang, and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Step 7

To remove from bowls, open plastic wrap, flip cakes onto a baking sheet, and remove plastic wrap. Freeze cakes while making meringue.
Step 8

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Make the meringue: Heat egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl of a mixer set over a pan of simmering water, whisking often, until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch, about 2 minutes. Transfer bowl to mixer, and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes.
Step 9

Cover each assembled cake with 1 cup meringue. Bake until meringue is browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Alternatively, hold a small handheld kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle 3 to 4 inches from surface of meringue. Move flame back and forth until browned and caramelized.

I'm only on for six more minutes; I can't read all that! So sorry. Besides, why would you want to bake your own state?! :P :P

You wanna make the cake batter or beat the egg whites?

Oh, sorry- maybe another time!

So sorry about that; if I had more time, I'd join in. :)

Elizabeth, you want to cook?

Just made homemade fudge bars, healthy and yummy!!!
Yesterday I made smoothie pops, healthy and yummy!!!
Tommorow I plan on making strawberry pops, healthy and yummy!!!

Today I'm eating pancakes and sausage, unhealthy and yummy!!! :P

Today I'm eating pancakes and sausage, unhealthy and yummy!!! :P

Same here :)