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Friday, April 29, 2011

French Baguettes

I want to be one of those people who knows everything about something totally useless. Like knowing all the vice presidents of the United States, in order. Or maybe being able to name all the fish living in the Gulf of Mexico. Or I could know how to count to ten in fifty different languages. Wait, I like that last one, maybe I’ll be one of those people. So far I can count to ten in five languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian & German), I’ve got some learning to do. If you speak other languages leave me your one through ten in the comments! I’d be forever grateful.



I’m sure you know people who are bastions of useless information. I’m sure that you have an immense amount of information in your head about one topic or another. Boyfriend knows lots about string theory, he could go on for hours about it. Why is this strange? He’s a businessman, not a physicist. My brother could go on and on about fruit trees and bushes, he’s an IT professional. I could retell the entire series of Gilmore Girls for you, right down to my favorite quotes.


In working toward the goal of knowing too much about something, I’m about halfway through my Bread Bakers Apprentice challenge. Today I present you with French bread! I put off making this bread for a while because I thought it was tricky. The dough itself is so soft and the instructions are so long I kept flipping past it in the cookbook. Rather than put it off anymore I decided to dive right in and I was not disappointed.


I wouldn’t recommend taking on French bread as your first yeasted bread. It takes a little understanding of yeast and you need to have a feel for dough. So, if you have been putting off French bread, don’t wait any longer. And don’t leave it under the broiler for ten minutes, unless you like smoke.


Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Maple Mousse


I have been such a procrastinator this month! Well, mostly when it comes to cooking. Although in life I tend to be an inadvertent procrastinator.

I would always begin my projects, assignments and homework with the best of intentions. I loved the first week of classes in college because it held such promise. The professors would hand out their syllabus and I would look it over with the precision of a ketchup bottle. Hmm, that’s not right, but for some reason that is the first thing that popped into my head. So yes, like a precise ketchup bottle I scanned the calendar. I would transfer the dates of exams, papers and other assignments into my assignment notebook. Purple for English papers, green for inorganic chemistry, blue for calculus, it was very colorful and organized.

As the weeks of the semester wore on my assignment notebook would become more and more cluttered. I would start the year with very specific to do lists, I’ve always been a list maker, and I would try to get everything done each night. If something wasn’t accomplished it would get moved to the next day, some things floated along for a few days. Example – “Read chapter two of Inorganic Chemistry textbook – Molecular orbital theory.” Snore… In a worst case scenario it would get pushed back until the note read – “Read chapters two AND three of Inorganic Chemistry textbook.” Uh oh…

I always wanted to be one of those people that would write a paper ahead of time. Finish it early with enough time to look it over and make corrections. That almost never happened. In fact, I usually write my posts as a running thought process (hence the ketchup bottle) and usually don’t proofread (hence the occasional text message from my mom to inform me of a typo, thanks mom!).

My procrastination takes center stage today as I post my Daring Baker’s challenge! I have several excellent reasons for procrastinating this month. First, I only shop twice a month for groceries. It is because of this that I did not even have the ingredients until April 14th. Second, I’ve been spending weekends at boyfriends house. Boyfriend lacks all of the fancy cooking tools that I own, examples? Boyfriend does not own mixing bowls. As I write this, my maple/gelatin mixture is cooling on the stovetop. I am getting ready to whip the heavy cream and my chocolate shells are chilling in the fridge. In twenty minutes I will have completed this challenge, a mere hour before the deadline! I’m such a slacker.

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Mango-Lime Muffins

I’ve gone a little mango crazy recently! Last week it was mango curry, today it’s mango muffins! I know the same thing has happened to you. You discover something new and delicious. After a little while you notice that this new ingredient is making its way into all of your recipes. You’re eating your new favorite ingredient morning, noon and night. Mangoes are my new favorite ingredient.



If you have never tried a mango before, now is the perfect time to give them a try. Mexican mangoes are in season now and Florida mangoes are approaching their peak. In season, the mangoes are sweet and full of flavor. You’ll find yourself wanting to eat it straight out of the skin, neglecting to save some for your recipe. Maybe you should buy two, just in case you eat the first one.


Not sure of what to do with a mango? Follow these simple directions and you’ll be able to coax the fruit from the skin, leaving you with perfectly diced mango.

I'm a mango!

I have a flat pit in the middle!  Slice out the center section.
 
Gently cut the fruit into cubes, being sure not to cut through the skin


Flip the fruit inside out!

Slice off the fruit and enjoy!

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