Yes, I know I’m running the risk of being labeled “Crazy Dog Lady”.   I’ve been called worse names than that, so I set out to give Giovanni a party.   I invited a few close girlfriends and family members.

I baked a chocolate bundt cake, and Mark made a huge pot of his famous Turkey Chili.

Giovanni’s party invitation was posted on Face Book because everybody seems to check their Face Book page more often than their telephone messages.   The invitation made it clear that this wasn’t going to be one of those “do gooder” parties where people tell you not to bring a gift.  I mean, a dog’s life is limited and this boy loves a new toy.

I was expecting people to tease me, but instead I was a little taken aback by how quickly people replied to the invitation, and everybody sounded so excited.

“We wouldn’t miss it!”

“We’ll be bringing more than one gift!”

“OH! Can’t wait to see little Gio!”

Maybe dog really is man’s best friend.  All of a sudden I realized how much power I have as the owner of a cute little dog that my friends and family seem to adore.  What if I told people Giovanni is now into Le Creuset cookware?  It’s possible, right?

Some of the guests arrived with fancy decorated gift bags filled with tissue wrapped toys and dog apparel.  A few others just kept the toy in the store bag–Gio didn’t care.  He isn’t picky.  Toys that squeak, chew toys, soft fur covered toys, fancy doggy sweaters, and then some!

It was all going swimmingly, until….

Giovanni looked more excited than I had ever seen him before.   He had opened every single gift—all 19 of them.  Yes, that’s right, 19 toys!  I never knew squeakers could be so loud.

I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.  We all sat in chairs circling the panicky, shaking, drooling, panting, now extremely hyper-active Giovanni!

He was out of control and looked like he was going to pass out at any minute.   Giovanni was now the center of our Universe, and he knew it.   This was just too much for a little five pound pooch.    When I saw his eyes start to roll back into his head, I moved the party guests into the dining room for dinner and tried to hide a few of his toys .

Greedy boy that he is, he followed me staring longingly at each “hiding place” I stuffed a toy in.   He glared at me with his piercing brown eyes.  I knew he was asking, “Whose party is this anyway?”

People, this went on for days, until Mark finally hid the toys in the garage.  I was happy to make Mark the heavy.

The chili was a hit, the cake was a huge success, and  when the guests left, I felt as though I had just thrown a party for a very spoiled toddler.   I was exhausted.   We went to bed early that night.

I’m four weeks out of surgery.  Still recovering from the back surgery itself, but doctor could not remove cyst because it is inside the spinal nerve.  He removed some bone and stitched me back together.    In my heart of hearts, I believe all will be well.

CLICK BELOW TO CONTINUE TO RECIPE FOR BUNDT CAKE

DARK CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE W/ Light Faux Ganache or Low Fat Chocolate Glaze

Adapted from Diana Ratrray’s recipe for “Chocolate Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze” recipe-on About.com Guide

• 8 ounces butter (2 sticks)
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa, such as Valrhona or high-quality, such as Scharffen Berger*
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, stir before measuring
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Faux Ganache (recipe below)

Preparation:

Grease and flour a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; add cocoa, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the water and remove from heat. To the warm cocoa mixture, add the sugar, sour cream, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and eggs; whisk until smooth. In another bowl combine the flour, soda, and salt. Add all at once to the first mixture, whisking until well blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch and has slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Carefully loosen the cake with a knife and invert onto a large plate.

Serves 10 to 12.

*If you’re using a standard baking cocoa (not Dutch-process or high-quality) add 1/2 teaspoon more of baking soda to the dry ingredients.

Light Faux Ganache

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup milk –you can use low fat milk
1 (4-ounce) bar semisweet chocolate, chopped

To prepare ganache, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and add chocolate, stirring until smooth.  Spread ganache evenly over top and sides of cake; let stand 20 minutes or until set.

]]> http://angelninascottage.com/2010/04/21/dark-chocolate-bundt-cake-w-faux-ganache-my-dogs-birthday-party-cake/feed/ 7 Angelnina cake1 excited happygio gioeye cakenapkin http://angelninascottage.com/2010/02/24/love-and-marriage-and-cupcakes/ http://angelninascottage.com/2010/02/24/love-and-marriage-and-cupcakes/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:22:21 +0000 angelnina http://angelninascottage.com/?p=2300 ]]> I’ve  had a busy winter!

My son, Sean, and his fiancee Olivia,  married on December 17th.  Sean’s father and I couldn’t be happier!

It was a small ceremony downtown Seattle.  After the ceremony, the family gathered for a formal dinner at Pomodoro’s, and then we partied at Magnolia’s Mulleady’s where the newlyweds held their reception.

I volunteered to make the cupcake tower for the reception.  I had a few weeks notice and went crazy trying to figure out how to put this idea together.   The couple requested the “Day of the Dead”  pair be the cake topper–needless to say, it is was a unique idea, and I have to say, I really liked the idea of thumbing our noses at tradition.

I made close to 100 cupcakes.  I also piped 80 butter cream roses for the tops of the chocolate cupcakes.

I cheated and used a mix for the chocolate, but I added buttermilk and changed a few things around to make them my own.  The ivory butter cream is homemade.  I used an edible pixie dust to make them glitter under the lights.

I also baked lemon cupcakes–from scratch this time!– and a batch of Hummingbird cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  The mini-cake topper is also a Hummingbird Cake.

I used putty to hold the giant pink martini glasses in place with the layers of depression glass and crystal in between.

Olivia and my mother made molded chocolates and placed them in little cellophane bags with ribbon and a photo of the bride and groom, to give out for wedding favors.  We hung them from a little Christmas tree.  So adorable.

The night flew by and soon the newlyweds flew off to California to enjoy a honeymoon in the sun.

If you would like to read about my cupcake baking adventures please click below–you can find the recipes here too…

Lemon Cream Cupcakes

Hummingbird Cake

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

The Cupcake Tower

When Sean and Olivia told me they had decided to get married in December (keeping in mind, it was December when they told me!)  I actually thought a small wedding could be fairly simple.  I offered to bake the cupcakes and create a cupcake tower for them.  I mean, how hard can it be to bake a hundred cupcakes?  I bake all the time, hell, I can bake with one eye closed.  I was so excited, I was pre-baking “sample” cupcakes.   By the time the wedding rolled around we were all so sick of cupcakes we didn’t want to look at a cupcake.
Anyhoo, back to the story.  I was throwing out all kinds of ideas to Olivia–who is no Bride-Zilla–not by a long shot.  She was pretty laid back and told me not to worry,  just some cupcakes.

After looking through countless web site images of cupcakes, not to mention my twenty or so books on cupcakes, I decided to pull out my old Wilton tips and attempt a few butter cream roses.  Oh, yes!  I loved how the few I piped looked and that was that–roses it will be!  Simple!  Right?

Um, maybe a few are simple, but a hundred?  Not so much.

To make matters worse, my arthritis decided it was a good time to really kick in and make it nearly impossible to pipe.  To say I started to freak out at this point , would be an understatement.
“I’m going to ruin the wedding!”   I shouted as Mark  stood by trying to convince me that the roses look perfect to him.

“Are you blind?”  I was serious.  “We only have one child and I’m ruining his wedding day!”

I cried myself to sleep that night.  What?  Are you going to tell me you’ve never cried over a baking project?  Oh, no?  Was it for your only child’s wedding?  I thought not!

The next morning, I awakened to pain free fingers and started piping the roses–in pink and aqua.  The roses started out crisp and pointy and slowly digressed to rounded and not so crisp and pointy as time marched on–at a seemingly high speed.  I was ready to purchase pre-made roses by the time I had piped out the first 25.  Instead, I took breaks and finally finished the necessary roses with extras to spare.

I looked at store bought cupcake towers, but they didn’t hold many cupcakes.  I didn’t have time to order anything and I really didn’t want cardboard.  I ended up using Olivia’s grandmother’s bowl–a bowl she cherishes because she really loves and misses her grandma.  I also used a depression blue glass plate I have and a  crystal platter that belongs to my grandmother.  I stacked the over sized pink martini glasses in between for pillars.

I found an adorable mini-cake pan set to bake the wedding cake top.

For added décor, I added fresh cut flowers, Jordan almonds, and some strawberry molded candies I made to place around the table.

Yes, I also worried about transporting the cupcakes to the reception and I created a lot of drama around that issue as well.  I also worried about what dress I would wear, what shoes I should wear, what my husband should wear, if I made enough cupcakes,  if I made too many cupcakes, my aching back, my makeup, my nails, my son, Olivia, and the price of tea in China.

In the end, the wedding and reception were simply beautiful.  Our son has a wife and we have a lovely daughter-in-law, and I’m hooked on baking cupcakes 

All of the lovely photos were taken by Luce Bella Photography.  Shari is a very talented artist and we are grateful for the beautiful moments she captured!

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th photos were shot  by yours truly

Angelnina’s Cottage Photography

]]> http://angelninascottage.com/2010/02/24/love-and-marriage-and-cupcakes/feed/ 10 Angelnina olivia.sean-342-2 dinner_edited-1 cakeropper2 butter cream roses cupcakenametag cupcakestowerb weddinfavor feet olivia.sean-799 cupcaketowera http://angelninascottage.com/2009/11/10/day-of-the-dead-festival-in-seattle-2009/ http://angelninascottage.com/2009/11/10/day-of-the-dead-festival-in-seattle-2009/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:15:19 +0000 angelnina http://angelninascottage.com/?p=2101 ]]>

“The ”Day of the Dead” (El Día de los Muertos or All Souls’ Day) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans  living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st, and 2nd in connection with the Catholic  holiday of  All Saints Day which occurs on November 1st and All Soul’s Daywhich occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.” (Wikipedia)

I am in love with this celebration.  I love the colors, the music, the dancing, the makeup, the food, the costumes, the decorations, the art–the ART !

As much as I whine about longing to live on a farm in the country, I feel blessed to live so close to Seattle.  I have learned more about different cultures by attending the free festivals, than I had ever known before.

Many more photos plus a wonderful Youtube video behind the cut…

The singers, musicians, and dancers–amazing talent!

I apologize for the quality of the photos.  I was taking these in crowds and poor lighting, but I really wanted to share the images to give an idea of how beautiful and entertaining this festival is.  It’s at Seattle Center House every year, and it’s free!

These are the sugar skulls children decorate at the festival–so colorful!

They drew quite a crowd!

One of the very moving altars displaying victims of domestic violence.

This is actually a photograph.  I’ll never complain about my sore feet again!

My husband and I finally managed  to squeeze in a mini-adventure.   Fear and the recession made us think twice about spending money on vacations or mini-trips.  We decided to throw caution to the wind and give ourselves a much needed break.

We headed to Eastern Washington to spend a few nights outside of a little mountainside town– Leavenworth–Washington’s own little Bavarian village.

I love this town.  I especially love visiting in autumn, as Eastern Washington is the Apple Capital of America.

ABOVE: Our balcony view

ABOVE: We were surrounded by an apple and pear orchard

We found a little roadside stand off the beaten trails.  A farmer offers–on the honor system!–all sorts of fruits and vegetables for 50 cents a pound.  I don’t know about you, but 50 cents a pound is too difficult for me to pass up.  Mark and I filled our trunk with an assortment of apples, pears, and peppers.  We also visited a farmer’s market and bought fresh watermelon and cantaloupe.

SEE MORE WITH A CLICK HERE…

I prefer to rent places that are private.  I have found that during the week, or during the right season, you can rent a vacation home for the same price as a nice hotel room.  I enjoy having a kitchen to make my own breakfast–rather than rushing out to a restaurant.  Plus, eating meals in saves money!  In the morning, before breakfast, we were able sit in the hot tub, drink our tea, and take in the view from the deck !

The farmers down in the valley, own donkeys, and when they bray, the sound echoes through the valley.   Spooky and funny at the same time.

The first time we heard the amazingly loud braying I must admit we were startled.  We looked at one another with our typical  “What the hell was that?” expressions.   We wondered aloud if the noise was going to ruin our peaceful vacation?  We talked it over and accepted the fact that we would be sharing the view with a couple of asses.  We were good with that.  God knows we’ve done it before

There were no shortage of “ass” jokes during our stay.   We had a million of them, but I’ll spare you.

We whipped up our own breakfast each morning…

ABOVE:  I think the view made breakfast taste even better.

We found more fruit to pick in the backyard of  the cabin.  These grapes were amazing!

Whilst waiting for my handsome other to adorn himself, I shot a picture of my reflection with the mountain background.

I could live here.  No, I’m not talking about  living in front of my reflection–I mean, I could live in this area and in this cabin.  Although, my other may beg to differ.

During the day, we visited the Bavarian Village.  They have every kind of goody a gal could want.  Clothing stores, kitchen stores, jewelry shops, cheese shops, and most importantly CHOCOLATE shops!

We tasted some of the best cheeses I’ve ever eaten in my life!  I’ve lived 44 years–that is a lot of cheese!  I have the hips to prove it.

Bring your cooler to   The Cheesemongers Shop.  Try the Caved Aged Gruyere–it’s aged two years in Alpine caves!

Check out the caramel apples at the fudge shop…

Our only splurge was eating dinner out at Cafe Mozart’s.  It was our early Oktoberfest celebration, and one of our favorite restaurants in town.

We also made our way up Icicle Creek Road.  The river and mountains are breath taking.

Back to the cabin to soak in more of that lovely view!

In the evenings Mark made a roaring fire.

I leave you with one last shot of that amazing view.  The donkeys started braying as I shot the photo.

I was reminded of the powerful statements Anthony de Mello had written in his book , “Awareness”:

“I’m going to write a book someday and the title will be I’m an Ass, You’re an Ass. That’s the most liberating, wonderful thing in the world, when you openly admit you’re an ass. It’s wonderful. When people tell me, “You’re wrong.” I say, “What can you expect of an ass?” (Anthony de Mello-Awareness)

There is something about a gathering of Italians–and “wanna-be ” Italians–that makes me look forward to fall in Seattle.   Mother Nature was certainly smiling down upon us–the sun was shining and the weather was perfect!

My two very favorite things about the festival are the celebrity chef and, of course, the music.  I wait patiently to see our version of the Three Tenors–Fortissimo!

Above: Seattle’s Version of the Three Tenors!

My entire family loves  Salumi’s Artisan Cured Meats –Mario Batali’s father owns the shop in Seattle, and his salumis are the best ever!   I’ve never tasted anything like it!  If you haven’t tried it, you really must.

Sean and I both picked up a nice chunk of Salumi’s Guanciale too.

la  familia

We are quite the mix here:  Jewish (Sean’s fiancee), part Mexican (my husband) , Irish (step-dad), and of course the Italians (the people with good hair).    On this day, we are all Italian, which means we are all beautiful!  I tease– I am grateful for the diversity in my family.  I can only wish to be as beautiful inside and out as the people you see  in the  photo above!

Tony La Stella & The Goombas are a  lot of fun, and the gorgeous  little lady on the left can sing Mambo Italiano like nobody’s business!

They really livened up the day.

Nick Stellino was always a hottie, but now he has hired a trainer!  Look at this guy!

Check out that pasta!

He is such a kind hearted, funny, and very entertaining chef.

We scored and were able to taste his food…

You want to cook great Italian food?   Buy Nick Stellino’s cookbooks.  You won’t regret it.

I’m sorry to have to say this, and I won’t say which bakery makes them, but this is the worst cannoli I’ve ever tasted in my life.  Too bad.  I hope people who attend the festival don’t think this is how a cannoli tastes.   It wasn’t only soggy–it was stale and it fell apart like wet cardboard.  Look at me struggle to hold it together with my finger tips.

Ma calls them Gan-nolis.  Nobody really knows why.  The lady is 100% Sicilian.  It’s sad really, but we love her to death.

Here she is with her GAN-noli.   Please don’t ask her to say sandwich.  We go round and round with that one.  She calls them “sang-wiches”.  Maybe her sandwiches sing to her?  Again, we love you Ma!

My son, Sean.

Looking at this picture, it seems I chose the wrong name.  He looks more like a “Vinnie”.  I’m saying that with love Sean.  I’m sure you can feel it through my writing.   Mama loves you Vinnie!

Is Nick giving me a thumbs up, or is he asking security to remove the lady who keeps cutting up front and shooting photos?  Hard to tell.

There you have it!  I look forward to the Italian Festival in 2010!

Now go sing a few lines of ‘O Sole Mio, pour yourself a glass of red wine,  and make a huge pot of spaghetti and meatballs!

Mangia!  Mangia!

]]> http://angelninascottage.com/2009/09/28/seattle-italian-festival-2009/feed/ 12 Angelnina spaceneedle tenors familyall music2 nickstellino nickpasta mecannoli ma seanbw_edited-1 nick3_edited-1 singer1 http://angelninascottage.com/2009/09/03/future-farmers-of-america-and-a-berry-crumble/ http://angelninascottage.com/2009/09/03/future-farmers-of-america-and-a-berry-crumble/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:06:16 +0000 angelnina http://angelninascottage.com/?p=1699 ]]>

ABOVE: American Gothic? My son Sean, and his fiancee Olivia posed for me.

I was required to bring in five or more prints to present to my photography class.  I had a lot of fun with this project.

If you’d like to see more photos I’ve taken please go to Angelnina’s Photography Blog

In other news….

Blackberry season, in my neighborhood, can easily turn to war.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught people trespassing on my property to pick the blackberries.  Attempts to deter the berry thieves have been futile.  People will break the law for a free blackberry.  I’ve tried everything–from sneak attacks to police tape.  It simply comes down to survival of the fittest.  So far, a group of four elderly Korean women are burying me.  These ladies are out before the rooster crows!  They can clean out the entire patch of newly ripened berries in a single morning.  Before I manage to drink my morning tea, the early risers have filled their buckets and–I’m guessing–have blackberry pies in the oven.  I was lucky to score a few cups of berries to make my berry crumble.  Thankfully, I had a cup of frozen raspberries to throw into the mix!

Berry Crumble

Filling

3 cups of your favorite berries or mix of berries

1/3 c sugar

1/8 c flour

Tbsp orange juice (opt)

Toss well, and heat a little on stove

-Pour berry mixture into little ramekins– I used 5

Topping

1/2 c flour

1/4 c brown sugar

1/8 c sugar

1/8 tsp Kosher salt

Pulse a few times to combine in food processor

Add

4 Tbsp cold butter , cut up

pulse until size of peas

Pour mixture into a bowl and add 1/4 cup dry oats ( I used Old Fashioned Quaker Oats)

stir in oats.

Place a few Tablespoons of topping over the berries in the ramekins.

Sprinkle sliced almonds over the top.

You will have some topping leftover–place in fridge to use next time!

Bake these on a lined baking sheet  at 350 degrees till warm and bubbly–about 30 minutes +

Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!

]]> http://angelninascottage.com/2009/09/03/future-farmers-of-america-and-a-berry-crumble/feed/ 19 Angelnina farmkidscopyright Berry Crumble http://angelninascottage.com/2009/04/15/a-long-day-and-a-big-night/ http://angelninascottage.com/2009/04/15/a-long-day-and-a-big-night/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:09:59 +0000 angelnina http://angelnina.wordpress.com/?p=1212 ]]> I just love the movie “Big Night”.  It just makes me happy.  I decided to have my own big night with the “kids”.  Olivia had never seen the movie, so we started early, and made “A Long Day, and a Big Night” out of it!

The Menu:

Italian Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette

Homemade Rustic Artisan Bread

Spaghetti with Great Grandma DeFranco’s Meat Sauce

Strawberry Sorbato and Prosecco Floats- made with homemade Strawberry Sorbato

Sfingi ~ Ricotta Puffs- made with homemade ricotta cheese-and dipped in honey sauce

The kids arrived with a bouquet of daffodils!  For me?  Why, yes!

I started with my homemade ricotta cheese.

All you need is a gallon of whole organic milk, and 1/3 cup plus two Tbsp white vinegar

ABOVE: Curds and whey

We invited the kids to take a ride with us up to La Conner to see the Daffodil fields in bloom.  I knew it would give the mixture some time to completely separate out the curds from the whey.

ABOVE: Last year’s daffodils in La Conner

ABOVE: Sean and Oliva in La Conner

La Conner is a lovely little town.  I blogged it last year too.

ABOVE: Squinting eyes and in mid-sentence.  Yes, I’m usually in mid-sentence.

“Good Lord, what is that big bright thing up there in the sky?”

ABOVE: Mark pointing out the mussels to Sean and Olivia.

PLEASE CLICK BELOW IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEE THE VERY PICTURE HEAVY FOOD POST (20 MORE PHOTOS TO BE EXACT)…

Oops! I almost forgot, I made the Strawberry Sorbato for the Prosecco Floats, before we left that morning too.

ABOVE:  This drink is to die for.   I  like to wait until the sorbato (a cross between sorbet and gelato) melts and the drink becomes slushy.

Back home to finish up the ricotta.  Ricotta cheese is incredibly easy to make.

ABOVE:  Ricotta completed and ready to use.

Pork back ribs, homemade meatballs, hot Italian sausage, and hard boiled eggs.

Spaghetti and Meatballs–my favorite meal.

Don’t forget the fresh baked bread!

A little Montepulciano made with organic grapes–thank you Trader Joe’s!

Hmmm, you tell me….

Maybe I should have named him Jack.

Back to our evening…

Kids in the den watching “Big Night” while Mark and I make the Ricotta Puffs (Sfingi)

I really enjoyed making these little doughnut/fritters.  Oh Lordy, these are so good I could eat a whole batch, but I held myself back…a little.

ABOVE:  The ricotta is used in the base of the sfingi mix.

Then, I drop by rounded teaspoons into my deep fryer.

Spoon honey mixture over each little doughnut.

Then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This is simply Love on a Plate!

Oh, let’s look at that again…

I should also note, I made the meat sauce the night before.  This sauce is always better the next day.

I know this looks like a lot of work, and it is, but I broke it up over a 24 hour period.  Timing was perfect for this one.  Having the sauce cooked, the sorbeto in the freezer, and the ricotta process started before we left, made it a bit easier when I returned from the little mini-trip.

The movie was a lot of fun too!

Mangia, mangia!

RECIPES:  I’ll be creating separate posts with the individual dishes and their recipes, and then I will link from the menu on this blog to each recipe.  Some of these recipes individually are too good to stuff into a huge post like this.

]]> http://angelninascottage.com/2009/04/15/a-long-day-and-a-big-night/feed/ 11 Angelnina dsc_0209 dsc_0342 Daffodil Field in Skagit Valley dsc_0323 dsc_0327 dsc_0341 dsc_03261 dsc_0305 dsc_0310 dsc_0313 dsc_0378 dsc_0375 dsc_0345 dsc_0352 dsc_0361 dsc_0366 dsc_0368 dsc_0257 dsc_0353 dsc_0370 jack-nicholson-shining_l dsc_0387 dsc_0382 dsc_0388 dsc_0384 dsc_0389 dsc_0393 http://angelninascottage.com/2009/03/30/chicks-and-bread/ http://angelninascottage.com/2009/03/30/chicks-and-bread/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:24:05 +0000 angelnina http://angelnina.wordpress.com/?p=1148 ]]> I did it again.

I bought more chicks.

Why I ever go into the feed store is beyond me.

I really love Buff Orpingtons, and I wish I had started my flock with the Buffs.  Sunday we drove to the  feed store just to “look” at the chicks.  We left with these little gals.  They are just adorable.

Last night I had to move them from the garage into the den.   I realized Mark had used the wrong lamp socket with the heat lamp bulb for the chicks.  After a midnight hunt in the shop, we had no luck locating the porcelain socket–which is really important to prevent fire.  I knew the chicks couldn’t stay in the garage and have enough heat from a 100 watt light bulb, so I brought them in and hung the lamp with a simple 100 watt light bulb–so far, it has worked very well.  The brooder is about 90 degrees.   I was awakened by chick peeps on and off throughout the night.  Today I feel like the mother of  newborns.  Thank God breast feeding isn’t required.  I’m exhausted!

I’m not naming any of these gals until I’m quite certain there are no cockerels in the bunch.

For those who followed my first time experience with the original flock, you will remember my son, Sean, naming one of my girls “Sean Jr”, and “she” turned out to be a little rooster!  Needless to say, Sean is not allowed to name any of these chicks.  I think it was a curse!

More chicky butts than faces in this photo, but they were trying to stay warm until we set up the lamp!

In food news:

I tried a no-knead recipe for a Ciabatta bread.  I found the recipe here at “Food Wishes” an excellent food blog!  He even made a video showing how to make it– step by step.

I had only one problem–my bread stuck to my pan–big time!  I mean it was like I had super glued the stuff down–ripped off half the crust trying to get it off the pan.  I’ve made a lot of bread in my lifetime and never had that happen before.  I’m baking it again, and this time I’m going to oil the pan and then add the cornmeal–maybe I’ll slip some parchment down too!

That said, let me tell you, this bread tastes GREAT!  Look at the texture…amazing stuff, without the kneading.  Granted kneading can be a wonderful meditative experience, but when you don’t have time to, try this one.

Ciabatta Bread looks like a fluffy slipper–it is flatter than a regular loaf of bread.

It is thicker than this photo seems to show.  I really enjoyed it.  The crust was crispy and the interior was just right.

Oh, I do have a bread stone in the oven and I used my convection bake setting for half the time–which may be how I created a super glue base?  If you have a clue, please clue me!

I have to admit–the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes, that I normally make, is more impressive, BUT this really was fun and it tastes great toasted.  It is a nice change, and it is fun to try new things.

]]> http://angelninascottage.com/2009/03/30/chicks-and-bread/feed/ 10 Angelnina chick1 chicks3 chick2 bread4 breadslice http://angelninascottage.com/2009/03/27/lemon-cornmeal-cake-w-lemon-glaze-and-texas-sheet-cake-kinda-sorta/ http://angelninascottage.com/2009/03/27/lemon-cornmeal-cake-w-lemon-glaze-and-texas-sheet-cake-kinda-sorta/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:57:21 +0000 angelnina http://angelnina.wordpress.com/?p=1133 ]]> April’s Bon Appetit has a great recipe for a rustic cake that is now one of my favorites!

After a long day, I decided to roast a lemon chicken from a recipe in “Cook’s Country” magazine–which was wonderful!–I roasted asparagus and cooked some basmati rice, but I needed a dessert.   Just about the time I had decided to ditch making dessert, Olivia arrived, walked into the kitchen and asked what she could do to help?  I mentioned the lemon cake, and discovered she had been wanting to bake the very same cake –yes, I gave the kids a subscription to Bon Appetit– I love that magazine!  –With Olivia’s help, we tore through that cake recipe and boy, let me tell ya, I am sure happy we did!

A Slice of our Lemon Cornmeal Cake w/ Lemon Glaze

Angelnina’s Notes to first time bakers:  In this recipe is very important to gently fold liquid into flour mixture-don’t be tempted to start stirring.

RECIPE Can be found here on BON APPETIT’S site

Prior to the lemon cake, I showed Olivia how to bake a chocolate cake from Art Smith’s cookbook.  I have baked many Texas Sheet Cakes, and this is pretty much a TSC to me.  They are simple to make and yummy to eat!  As a matter of fact, I only have photos of Olivia frosting the cake because we all kind of jumped into this one without wasting any time.  I mean, come on people, it’s chocolate!

Auntie’s Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Pecan Frosting

From Art Smith’s “Back to the Table:  The Reunion of Food and Family”

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , cut up
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) margarine , cut up
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , cut up
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 1 pound (about 4 1/3 cups) confectioners’ sugar , sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup (4 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans , toasted