Tag Archives: Homemade

What’s cooking?

We find ourselves together back here again at the end of the week. Can I get a Fri-YAY!?

While I know we observed MLK day and we had a shorten week compared to most, it just seemed to sort of drag on and on…what do you think? Perhaps it was the REALLY cold temperatures we’ve been experiencing as of late? Whatever the case, let’s get throw in another Fri-YAY! 😉

So what’s been cooking in your kitchen? Do share, we’d love to hear! In the meantime we will share just what’s been going on in ours…

Mr. B made a recipe from his grandparents cookbook dating back to 1949! Beef porcupines. Don’t worry there were no porcupines harmed in the making of the recipe haha! These little guys get their name from the way the rice pops out of the beef when they are done cooking.
Oh Lordy were they absolutely delicious! I know Mr. B made his grandpa proud that night!

^Google them!

Pizza night! Combination pizzas made with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust, 16-Ounce. Have you ever used any of the Bob’s Red Mill mixes? We’ve dabbled in quite a few and always end up pretty pleased.

We topped the pizza with mozzarella, tons of roasted veggies eggplant, yellow peppers, red peppers, red onions, mushrooms, homemade meatballs, cheese filled jalapeños and cracked an egg in the center because we’re crazy like that! Oh and a side of roasted jalapeños filled with melted cheese.

We even ventured into the land of homemade vegetable hummus too! (Hey it’s all about getting those veggies in, right?) Yeah…Green pea hummus to be exact. Pretty outstanding and will make many future appearances in this house. You can thank us for sharing later.

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We whipped up vegetarian BBQ. It’s sort of old school family BBQ recipe we have from Ms. B’s grandmother, but with a modern twist of using veggie crumbles.

And of course we mentioned Iowa Girl Eats blog meal on our last post, grilled chicken with a barley-corn salad. Think of the taste of a BIG bread-less BLT (YUM!).

Alright folks, we will meet you back in our kitchen again soon!

Backpackbees

#Therewillneverbeenoughtime

I’ll spend forever showing you how much you mean to me.

Vegan Rosemary chocolate chip cookies at 6am.
He adores them, and I adore him.

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Click, Ship & treat yourself!

     

 

Bananas

Man do we love banana bread!

Banana bread is just SO easy to whip up, and to be completely frank, we always seem to have two bananas lying around from the bunch that are on their last leg. It’s almost like the food gods are telling us to just reserve those two just for the excuse to bake up a fresh loaf. Haha! Okay… Maybe not… but it is a great excuse right?!

I find that with banana bread I’m always challenging myself to make it differently each time. A tweak here, an addition of this ingredient there, etc. Heck sometimes I just open up our cabinets and throw whatever I can get my hands on into the batter.

But for blogging and sharing sake, I actually typed out quickly what went into this loaf.

Are you ready? (“Because this shi* is bananas!”) SORRY! Couldn’t resist!

I decided a banana bread would pair well with coconut….so that’s just what I did…. And my predictions were spot on! Don’t you just love when that happens? Yeah, me too!

Before popping into the oven, I topped the bread off with a little mixture of sweetened and unsweetened shredded coconut flakes for that additional flaky texture, man was it a game changer! Mr. B couldn’t resist topping his with homemade whipped cream left over from a cake I made.

If you bake a loaf, let me know what you think!

Coconut Banana Bread
Makes one loaf

Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coconut flakes mixture of sweetened / not, reserve 2 Tablespoons for topping

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and grease or butter a 4×8-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash ripe bananas with a fork until they are smooth. Stir the melted coconut oil into the mashed bananas.

Next, mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the coconut sugar, beaten egg, and coconut extract. Mix in the flour and shredded coconut flakes.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Use reserved 2 Tablespoons of shredded coconut by sprinkling over the top of the loaf. Bake for 1 hour (check at 50 minutes, depending on your oven) at 350°F (175°C), or until tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let slightly cool. Slice and serve!

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Cheers To The New Year!

Whew! It’s officially 2016! I know each year I say this…but… where does the time go?!? We just keep blinking and years are flying by. Is this another adulthood realization/moment that stinks? ….I think so!

We, much like you, have got so very many blessings in 2016 to look forward to! Perhaps our best baked goods yet…

So, What exciting things did you do to ring in the New Year? Did you get all dolled up? I was loving the sparkly dresses posted on Social media! How about making it until midnight to snag that good-luck kiss? Wink-wink. Tell us!

Well…we loved living in our own little world this New Years Eve. We went out in style New Years Eve. Yep. Total party animals here! HAHA…We celebrated by cooking up a storm in our cozy kitchen at home. An outstanding homemade four course dinner. We toasted (way before midnight) with sparkling cider and Belgium beer.

So what was this dinner we devoured and taunted our friends and family on Facebook with? Oh boy! Glad you asked, because you are now going to get a play by-play!

The first course up was hot bacon dressing using homemade mustard, bacon, shallots and vinegar. For those of you not familiar with hot bacon dressing, it is a very nostalgic memory of Sunday dinners in our families Pennsylvania kitchen. We modified and tweaked a bit to feature Korean pork AKA Samgyeopsal. It was excellent if we may say so. If you’re curious, this cut of meat is thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat. Oh and it just melts in your mouth when grilled to perfection too! Order this next time cut of meat when you find yourself in a Korean restaurant.

The second course was sous vide tarragon butter lobster tails (yep, here we go cooking our condom foods again). The lobster tails were seasoned with fresh parsley, chervil and of course melted butter. Much like its friend escargot, it’s an amazing little vehicle for melted butter! Mmmmm!

The third course, seared ahi tuna crusted with sesame seeds and black pepper. The marinade was sesame oil, soy sauce and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Just when I thought the meal couldn’t get any better the tuna made its cameo and completely blew our minds.

Drum roll please…..vanilla bean crème brûlée with fresh strawberries. No further description needed.

Now that we’ve left you with a grumbling belly, cheers everyone! Wishing you all a happy healthy New Year!

Backpackbees

Cookies

Let’s talk serious stuff here folks… COOKIES! That’s right… we caught you binge eating those little suckers, just like we are. Hey, it’s okay… times like these we get away with it and say, ’tis the season. So go ahead and munch away. We are not going to spoil it for you.

So….on the topic of cookies….do you have a go to cookie recipe for the holidays? If, so please share! We are always looking to try out new combinations and creations.

Speaking of trying out new things… Have you guys seen the BuzzFeed video circulating around for mini pecan tarts? No?! Oh goodness… let’s fix that right away. GO.HERE.NOW.

We were not sure how these little guys would turn out, but man are we pleased we gave it a test-run. They are not the pecan tassies that Mr. B grew up on, however they are a very easy and delicious substitute. SCORE! If you decide to give it a go as well, give us a shout and let us know what you thought. Don’t forget that tall glass of cold milk too. Hey, just remember, ‘Tis the season!

Backpackbees

Winter Warmers

Don’t you just adore good winter warmers, like the ultimate classic dish boeuf bourguignon?

This dish has been on my Culinary Bucket List, and I’m a tad bit embarrassed to say that it intimidated me and it kept getting pushed towards the end of my must make or bake list. Eek.. Speaking of bucket lists, do you have any? I use an Iphone and keep a huge list using the notes app of culinary things I want to try to make, and that way it’s always handy when I’m getting our shopping list together.

After actually making the dish, I realized that there is quite a bit of prep work before actually getting to cook it. BUT First, don’t make the same mistake that I did… forgetting the beef needs to marinate over night. Oops. It delayed our dinner by one night. Double oops. Secondly, prep all your ingredients the night before. Trust me! Major time saver if trying to serve on a work/ school week night. And third, enlist someone to help or do the kitchen cleanup along the way. (Thanks Mr. B). HUGE HELP!

We just received our new Le Creuset Dutch oven as a Christmas gift to one another, so I figured what better way to break her in than with an extra special meal like boeuf bourguignon.

Maybe you haven’t tried, or are unfamiliar with the dish. That’s okay! Together lets dive right into in with our forks and spoons. This rich beef stew is made with beef braised in red wine and beef broth, it’s flavored with thick cuts of bacon batons, mushrooms, garlic, onions, carrots, and salt/ pepper to taste. Oh my stars, it is out of this world d-elicious! We ended up serving it over some nice buttery Cavatappi noodles.

So where can you grab this recipe?
…..Well you can intrust in good ‘ol Julia Child and follow along with this video.

Or, search the internet for slightly adapted versions like the following:

Epicurious
Food.com
Simply Recipes

Whatever you decide in the end, you will not be disappointed.

In our greatest Julia Child impersonation we leave you with this quote, “See, I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food…” BON APPÉTIT!

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Madeleines

So I realize I’ve done what I said I wouldn’t do with the blog, and that is let it sit. My poor grandparents looking week after week for something, anything! Sorry guys. So I’m trying to get some thoughts and updates posted and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to post about my first private lesson baking Madeleine’s.

I have a teeny confession to make… We visited France and never once ate a Madeleine. I know! I do believe we’ve committed some sort of cardinal sin! I think we need to start looking for a ticket back and get this mistake sorted out right away.

…Okay, okay… Maybe it wasn’t necessarily a sin, but a girl can try her luck to get back to France again, right? Wink-wink Mr. B.

Luckily in the meantime while Mr. B looks for tickets we can enjoy these perfectly sized, lemony delightful sponge cakes.

I was rather surprised by just how simply the recipe comes together. There isn’t a ton of fuss to get the perfect puffed shell shape. My instructor teased me and first said we’d use the KitchenAid mixer when we’d blanchir the eggs and sugar (French culinary meaning: to whiten), but we did it all by hand and in the end it was worth it.

We started out by prepping/ measuring out ingredients, gathering tools, etc. We then moved onto melting the butter, mixing the sugar and eggs, adding in the flour and baking soda, extracts, zest of lemon, and of course melted butter.

After everything was mixed we double wrapped the mixture and put it promptly into the refrigerator to chill. The secret I learned was that you need to shock it from a room temperature to the cold and then into the oven to get the gorgeous raised shell shape we were after.

We used two different types of ovens, a convection and deck. We wanted to get a side by side comparison throughout the baking process. The results were equally scrumptious so I cannot judge purely on that, but what was noticeable was that the deck oven yielded a bit softer result, while the convection a more firm and crispy edge result. Again still no complaints from my tummy or Mr. B’s. I would say in the end, I do prefer the deck oven as it bakes bread and pastry marvelously!

^Deck Oven

^Convection Oven

^Convection Oven

^Deck

^Convection Oven

^Deck Oven

Madeleines are the perfect afternoon delight to accompany a cup of tea and a good book, don’t you agree? Not only are they semi quick, they also can be customized to whatever you are feeling in the moment, or have on hand. I came across flavor like pumpkin, rose, various types of tea flavored, pistachio, blueberry, just endless possibilities! Have you ever tasted or baked Madeleines? If so, what flavors, and what is your favorite?

Next to look forward to is the apple tart. Just in time for fall with a fancy twist! Stay tuned….

Backpackbees

Best Belgium Waffles

I just might be a bit bias here, but hands down, these are the most delectable homemade Belgium waffles we’ve ever had! You may just have to add these little guys into your regular weekend breakfast routine.

The waffles had the best crispy outer texture, were very flavorful and just the right balance of moistness on the inside. Bonus, there is a secret ingredient too! I’ll give you a clue….it gives off a very subtle nutty-cherry flavor… any guesses? Almond extract!

Go ahead get a little crazy, let loose on your Sunday morning and top those waffles off with your favorite maple syrup, some powdered sugar, or fresh fruit and enjoy! Don’t forget to let us know what you think.

Best Belgium Waffles
Makes roughly 8-10 waffles

2 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup sugar
2 Large eggs, separated
1/2 Cup coconut oil
2 Cups lactose free whole milk
1 Tablespoon almond extract

Directions:

Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl with easy to pour lip.
Separate the large eggs.
In another bowl, beat large egg whites until they are stiff.
Mix together the following: egg yolks, lactose free milk and coconut oil, almond extract and stir slightly.
Add all but egg whites to the dry ingredients and mix well.
Lastly, fold in beaten egg whites.

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Click, Ship & treat yourself!

Adventures in homemade pasta making

Isn’t pasta just plain fun?! Seriously it really is!

Ohhhh and when it’s freshly made you can just taste the love that was put into it. It’s just comfort in a bowl on a cold winters night, a bowl I could just cuddle up inside and not poke my head out of until the first sign of Spring.

Ahhhh pastaaa.

What really intrigues me about pasta is the fact it’s made so simply. All it takes is flour, water and eggs. Honestly every Pennsylvanians staple kitchen item when the weatherman forecast an inkling of snow. When these three simple things are mixed and kneaded together, they are transformed into a magical elastic ball of dough that can be pinched off, cut, or rolled out into a billion flavors, colors, and shapes. Now if that isn’t just simplicity at its finest.

After lusting for a year or so, for Christmas we purchased a together gift, the pasta roller attachments, that we couldn’t bare to place under the tree. We are worse than little kids on Christmas Eve, we haven’t grown up. When the package arrived, the tape barely ripped off the box and we were already googling what we could whip up first.

To get our bearings and because this was our first pasta making experience, we just went with the Kitchenaid recipe for regular pasta noodles. We will get all sorts of crazy now that we’ve got that test run out of our system.

Cheers and stay tuned. Many apologies in advance for the harsh kitchen lighting.

BASIC EGG NOODLE PASTA DOUGH

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
2 tablespoons water (we needed a tad more than this original recipe)
2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Instructions:

Break eggs into a glass measuring cup. Add water. Carefully check to see that the total liquid amount is 3⁄4 cup. If less than 3⁄4 cup, add additional water 1 teaspoon at a time until that amount is reached.

Place flour in bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to Speed 2 and gradually add eggs and water. Mix for 30 seconds. Stop mixer and exchange dough hook for flat beater. Turn to Speed 2 and knead for 2 minutes. Remove mixture from bowl and hand knead for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 15 minutes before extruding through Pasta Maker.

Makes about 1 pound dough

Source: KitchenAid Pasta Maker manual

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Pureed Tomato Soup with Gouda Cheese

Mmmhmmmm…. someone couldn’t resist the temptation of giving the Vitamix a whirl tonight. Luckily no episodes of cyclone explosions of tomato soup on the ceiling, backsplash or floor. I’ll give it to Mr. B, he had a fun list of ingredients that made for a very delicious pureed tomato soup. He also won me over with the cheesiest toasted cheese sandwich on ezekiel bread too! That’s my guy, he knows the way to my heart. Speaking of hearts he also picked me up conversation hearts <3! Remember these little guys? Did anyone else think these were gone for good? Don't worry, I included the VERY difficult recipe if you'd like to enjoy a nice bowl of our tomato soup with gouda cheese tonight. It's VERY difficult. Don't say that I didn't warn you. [shashin type="photo" id="10098" size="large" columns="max" order="user" position="center"] [shashin type="photo" id="10099" size="large" columns="max" order="user" position="center"] Pureed Tomato Soup with Gouda Cheese

Ingredients

1 Jar roasted red peppers
1 Can of crushed tomatoes
1 Qt gallon of Whole milk (Organic)
6 Sun-dried tomatoes
1 Tsp Oregano
1 Tsp Basil
1 Jar of your favorite marinara sauce (We love Paul Newman’s Organic or Favatas)
8 Slices of smoked gouda cheese

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in your blender or food immersion mixer, minus the cheese. Blend until thoroughly combined. pour into a pot on your stove top and heat, slowly add in the smoked gouda cheese.

I could live on toasted cheese! It reminds me of being a kid, What about you?
What is your favorite soup to accompany a toasted cheese sandwich?

PS: What’s up with Dumb Starbucks in LA? Personally i’d give the seasonal “Wuppy Duppy Latte” a go. Perhaps a franchise opportunity for South Korea? Asia loves their coffee shops and trademark infringement… what’s that?

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