Biking and Sweet BBQ Sauce

I am a week into my clothing project and feel like I still have lots of options for work and weekend wear.  I have added to my efforts to save the planet by starting to bike to work.  Now that was not the original plan, however I was forced into it this week due to someone who decided to renew his registration on his car late and now has to wait an extra two weeks to get the the little registration stickers.  So I have graciously handed over the keys to my car and started biking...everywhere, like my girl DEW in Boston.

Luckily, I live about a five minute drive, ten minute bike and fifteen minute walk from my job.  Additionally, the weather has been beautiful, sunny, 80's and no chance of rain in the forecast.  So the decision to start biking was made even easier.

Not only has this transition been good exercise, but it has also been a money saver as well.  There are no quick after work trips to the grocery store, only to come home with twice the amount I planned to go in for.  I have been better at planning my trips, getting only that which will fit into my back pack and hitting up the farmers market (a safer bike trip than the grocery store) to most of our food needs.  I can't just pop into Target or any other big box store since it is too far to bike there.  I am, due to my new circumstances, forced to buy local...and I am loving it!  I feel better in the morning when I get to work from being outside.  I am spending less, getting more done around the house and am better about "making do" with what I already have on hand.

And that, my friends leads me to BBQ sauce.  See with the grocery store trip out of the picture, I have been foraging in my pantry and freezer for dinner.  Most recently I grabbed a container of frozen pulled pork out only to realize that there was no BBQ sauce in the fridge or spare in the pantry.  So of course, I turned to the internet to see what I would need to make my own.  One of the first entries I came upon was that of Ree Drummond's recipe from the Food Network.  I had everything on hand to make it...almost.  I was a bit short on Ketchup so what you see below is a modified version of the original recipe.

The result was a very sweet (just the way I like it) and tangy sauce with a bit of spice.  Needless to say, I am hooked on making my own BBQ sauce and am now searching out other recipe ideas and hope to come up with my own Bossy Sister BBQ sauce to share with family and friends around the holidays!

Sweet BBQ Sauce
Recipe modified from original by Ree Drummond

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1/2 onion, diced (I used one whole very small onion)
1 cup ketchup (I had about a 1/2 cup ketchup so ended up using a half can of tomato paste a to make a full cup)
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot Mexican chili powder...add more if you like a sauce with more kick
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash salt

Directions
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, being careful not to burn them. Reduce the heat to low. Add the ketchup/tomato paste, molasses, brown sugar, chili powder, vinegar (or less to taste), Worcestershire sauce and salt and stir. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly because it will splatter, or use a pot with taller sides. Taste after simmering and add whatever ingredient it needs (more spice, more sugar, etc.).  Pour into canning jars.  Enough for two 8oz. jelly jars.
I am not sure how the biking will fare once I have my car back and the weather turns cooler, but for now I am going to stick with it and enjoy the benefits.

Mini Caprese Salad

Berry Trifle with Orange Cream, Mini Caprese Salads and Chocolate Covered Strawberries (all chocolate dipping was done by a co-worker and so I unfortunately can't take credit for the beautiful platter on the end pic!)

I recently hosted a happy hour for my department for two fabulous women who are retiring. I enjoy hosting as it gives me an excuse to beak out my nice dishes and really give my house a good cleaning. As I was racking my brain for something light and healthy, but also a finger food (two things that don't always go together) when I came across a great idea from Barbara Bakes. She put the mini salad on an entire skewer, but I was looking for something a bit more compact than that. So I decided why not use a toothpick. I bought a container of the mini mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. I stacked a tomato, piece of basil leaf and then a motz ball. They ended up fitting perfectly. I finished with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper. They were a huge hit!

Addressing the Cake Pop Trend Part 2

So now that I have provided the ingredients for my Cake Pops, here is the process for making them.

I made chocolate cake (from a box) and used 2/3 of a can of chocolate frosting to make chocolate pops then coated them with a white or "vanilla" candy melt coating and red drizzles.

I started out by taking the cold cake and using my hands, broke it up until it was entirely in crumbs. You could use a food processor for this part, but hands were less to clean up. Be sure that there are no large clumps of cake or the balls won't form evenly (immature laugh).

Then add half the can of icing and use a spoon to mix it all together. It will start to stick together and depending on how moist your cake is, you may want to add more. You do not, however want it to become too sticky by adding too much icing because then it will be hard to work with.

Mine was almost forming a ball and was no longer in a crumbly form.

I then used a cookie scoop (1 1/2 Tbs) to measure out even sized balls, which I then split in half to that they were not too large for the pop sticks.

After they were split in half, I then used my hands to form the balls (about the size for two bites) and placed them back in the 13x9 pan that I baked the cake in. They almost all fit back in there (about four had to be stacked on top).

I placed them back in the fridge over night because I did not have time to make them at that time, however you would still need to chill them after handling because if they get too soft they are hard to dip.

The next step was to melt the candy following the directions on the package. The most helpful tip I have learned is to be sure not to over heat the candy or chocolate. If you do it will be too thick to dip anything. The trick is to heat it on low (I used the microwave, you could use a double broiler) for 30 seconds at a time. Once they start to melt, do not keep re-heating, just stir until they are all dissolved using the residual heat from the other chips. This will keep the chocolate from seizing.

So that the sticks would stay better, I dipped the end of each stick in the candy before placing it in the ball of cake. You can see my set-up below. I set a small crock pot to warm and heated the candy melts in the pot, then after they were melted I put them in the pot so it would maintain the right consistency.

These immediately went back to the fridge. I took out two or three at a time so that they were not too soft to dip and they wouldn't fall off the stick. I almost lost one, but was able to save it before it completely broke up in the candy melt, ruining it! Also, be sure to cover all of the cake or the oil from the cake will separate and leak out of the uncovered areas (not pretty).

Each stick was then set into a piece of Styrofoam so that they were upright. After the block was filled, they went into the fridge to harden.

I then drizzled red candy melt over the top. You can also dip in sprinkles or decorate with more elaborate designs.

The last piece of advice is that as you dip the cake, bits will come off and as you get to the end of the candy melt, it will become more "pure" (that may also be because I used white melt and chocolate cake). I only made it through half of the balls before I ran out of candy melt.

The girls on my team thought they were great and wanted to know where I got them... haha!
Let me know how it goes if you decide to give it a try!

Addressing the Cake Pop Trend Part 1

It finally took some convincing by my friend Claire from grad class, but I have attempted the cake pop! In the end, I was quite satisfied with the results and would definitely make them again. I am including here lots of pictures, since it is definitely a long process, as well as my notes, tips and trick to getting this recipe to work. It was not "hard" however there are things that I know now that will make it easier the second time around... don't worry, I will share!

First though, to address the cake pop phenomenon! Like any other person I started by Googling "cake pops" to gather some research.

I found some absolutely wonderful and inspirational photos, recipes, as well as tips. Listed here are some of my favorites, but the true cake pop master is Bakerella. Check out that blog for fabulous and awe-inspiring baked anything!

Here are some others that I found helpful to guide me through my cake pop journey:

The Kitchn - Great instructions for getting started! This is where I got most of my help.

Bakerella Flicker - Oh to be so talented!

Just a Bite - Strictly selling cake pops, but great images and ideas!

Babble - A site for new moms, but a great recipe for chocolate pops filled with cheese cake!

So after you have become completely intimidated by those images, let me show you mine!

I am going to include the basic recipe here and create a second posting that includes all of the steps and instructions.

To get started:

1 box of cake mix (yes, I didn't do this from scratch because this cut a serious amount of time off the process!)

1 can of frosting (I only needed about 2/3 of the can)

2 bags of candy melts (I started with one and needed a second)

50 Candy pop sticks (It definitely makes more that I realized)

Bake the cake according to the package directions and then let cool completely. I just stuck mine in the fridge for 24 hrs.

Cake/Icing Combination Suggestions

Red Velvet and Cream Cheese Icing
Chocolate and Chocolate
Carrot or Spice Cake and Cream Cheese Icing
Vanilla and Chocolate
Chocolate and German Chocolate Icing
Strawberry and Cream Cheese Icing
and many more...

Stay tuned for the process...

Rhubarb Cobbler

As promised, I am adding the pics from the rhubarb cobbler that I made for dessert this Easter.
At the tender age of 10 I asked my grandmother to show me how to make rhubarb since I was the only other one in the family besides her that like it. So it is the recipe written in my 10 year old hand from my grandmothers kitchen that I share with you for the fruit part of this recipe. I then refer to the tried and true Betty Crocker recipe for the cobbler topping, which in essence is more like a sweet biscuit than anything else. I a have also used an oatmeal pie topper, which I think I prefer.

Rhubarb Cobbler

4 c. chopped Rhubarb (washed and stalks only)
1 c. sugar
2-3 tbs. cornstarch

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a pot then place over medium heat and cook until boiling or the fruit mix has thickened. You may want to add a bit of water to the bottom of the pan initially to keep the mix from sticking. Once the fruit mix has thickened remove it from the heat. You do not want to over cook the rhubarb because it will just break down and you will end up with more of a fruit spread than chunks of fruit in a sweet sauce. At this time you can place the fruit mix in an oven proof glass dish or baking dish. I used a 1 quart round baking dish.
*A pie pan is probably not deep enough, also I do not usually make pie with this because the crust doesn't cook properly and ends up soggy.

Then place the topping over the hot fruit and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Biscuit Topping

4 tbs. shortening
1 tbs. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. milk

Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Cut in the shortening (neat trick courtesy of my cousin Nancy: use your finger tips to "cut" the shortening into the flour by pinching the flour and shortening together. This will be much quicker than using a fork or pastry cutter!)
Add the milk and minx until just combined. Place dollops onto hot fruit mix then bake for time specified above.


(This cobbler recipe will work with peaches, pears, strawberries, blueberries or any combo of those, it is a very flexible recipe!)

What to do with a Whole Head of Cabbage?

Part of the reason that I wanted to start blogging is because I have a wide range of interests, well really more like an interest in cooking bloggers. So I am going to share my first recipe!

I ended up with a rather large head of cabbage from my local CSA and thought to myself, what the heck do you do with an entire large head of cabbage, besides make a ton of coleslaw? I for one, am not a huge cabbage fan, but refuse to just throw it away, or even give it away for that matter. It was time to get creative.

After poking around online I decided that I was going to make stuffed cabbage. Sounded like something I would eat. I wanted it to be savory and hearty without being too cabbagey. The biggest thing is once it was made, would I bother to make it again after tasting it and my conclusion is yes. It was hearty (one stuffed leaf filled me up) flavorful and easy to make.

So here is what I ended up with:

Savory Stuffed Cabbage

Makes 10 Rolls
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

1 head of cabbage
1 roll of sausage (16 oz I think)
3-5 medium sized potatoes cooked until soft and cut into chunks (think bite sized)
1 egg
1/2 c. chopped onions
1/2 c. chopped green peppers
1 1/2 tsp. salt or more to taste
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. ground rosemary or 1 tsp. chopped
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1/2-1 c. chicken broth or liquid of choice

Directions:
1. Cut core out of cabbage and place in pot of boiling water for 7-10 minutes. Remove from water and place on a plate to cool some before handling.
This will allow you to peel the cabbage layers and roll them much easier. Just a heads up, it will make your house smell like cabbage for a bit.

2. Take potatoes, sausage, egg, onion, pepper and seasonings and mix together in a bowl. Much easier to use your hands, kind of like making a meatloaf.

3. Spray bottom of 13x9 glass baking dish with Pam (just-in-case)

4. Gently peel first leaf off of cabbage place open on a plate and plop two heaping spoonfuls of the sausage mix into the center of the leaves (about 2/3-1c. of mix).

5. Starting with the sides, fold in, then roll from thin side toward the stem (thick part). Kind of like rolling a burrito.

6. Place stem/seam side down in baking dish and continue rolling until all the mix is used. I ended up with extra cabbage, still not sure what to do with that, suggestions will be appreciated!

7. Pour broth over cabbage rolls and then bake at 350 for 30 min covered and 30 min un-covered. Be sure to cover them or the leaves will dry out and not steam all the way.

*I made them earlier in the day and placed them in the fridge until I was ready to cook. I also plan on freezing the leftovers. You could probably make them the night before if you wanted, but I wouldn't make them any earlier than that because of the raw meat.

*You could probably replace the potatoes with stuffing mix (2 c. prepared) and go lighter on the seasonings if you don't want to use potatoes. You could even used left over mashed potatoes.




Enjoy :)

Inception

Its time.

I have been contemplating this blogging business since I had to start one for class and now after reading some really great blogs, have decided to try my hand at it. I don't know how successful I will be, or even if anyone will care, but I am gonna give it a try.

So while I may not be the most entertaining or interesting person out there, I hope to share stuff that is. I like to cook and bake, craft, as well as read, garden, and most importantly hang with friends generally in a setting that involves alcohol.

I like to use my co-workers as guinea pigs for my baking and tonight as a way to avoid doing my grad work (something that this also helps with as well) I decided to make some most delicious Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins that I found on an excellent baking blog. The original recipe was for a cake, but you just cut the time down to 20 minutes for the muffins. They turned out great and I will be taking them into work tomorrow, I am sure to the pleasure of my work friends.