Peanut Butter Cookie Perfection I consider this not only “learned” but “perfected”. I can’t imagine them getting any better. Third time is the charm. The first batch was the original recipe, which was tasty, but a bit dry. The second batch had less flour, which made them less dry (more moist sounds vaguely icky) butContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LXII”
Author Archives: Mark
Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LXI
Peanut Butter Cookies Nobody makes peanut butter cookies for Christmas, so I have a good chance to be unique. I went to the Farmer’s Market (mostly to return a big pile of canning jars) and bought more white chocolate peanut butter. I followed my own suggestion and they turned out better with less flour. ThisContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LXI”
Mac & Cheese
Last week, my work had a “how to make a comfort food lunch” webinar. They do a “how to make healthy lunches” thing every now and again and that was the most recent. Our intrepid nutritionist made macaroni and cheese. It seemed to take too long and I have a Cook’s Illustrated recipe that I’veContinue reading “Mac & Cheese”
Millennia of Dreams – Crushed
It takes a special sort of culture to turn millennia of human dreams into a soul crushing experience. I suppose one can take a certain sort of pride in that. I am speaking, of course, of flying. The vast amounts of money involved make the situation far bleaker than the spiritual pain. Humanity can finallyContinue reading “Millennia of Dreams – Crushed”
Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LX
Angel Food Comparison I was in the mood for baking on Sunday (it was gloomy and there were snow flurries). I didn’t find a cookie recipe in Grandma’s cookbook that caught my fancy, but I did find five angel food cake recipes. I had been wondering if angel food cake required that special pan. ItContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LX”
InstaPot vs Dutch Oven
I recently watched a “kitchen on $300” YouTube video by Brian Lagerstrom: Nothing surprised me, although I may buy a Y-peeler when my current “normal” peeler gets dull. The Dutch Oven vs Crock Pot comments were interesting, so I thought I’d try an experiment. I have both an Instapot and Dutch oven – and IContinue reading “InstaPot vs Dutch Oven”
Garden Beds Done
At least for this year. I wanted to get the “roadside” beds done before the deck went in. Mission accomplished – due more to delayed deck building than the garden bed project completing expeditiously. That’s the ground-level view. Here’s what it looks like from the window: I see no sense in adding soil, now. I’llContinue reading “Garden Beds Done”
Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LIX
Red Cake This is the cake that “belongs” to the buttercream frosting recipe from the Halloween Cupcakes. Red CakeFrom: Jo Cream:1/2 cup shortening1 1/2 cups sugar1 tsp vanillaAdd 2 eggs, beat wellMake paste with then add to above:2 oz red food coloring3 Tbl cocoaAlternately add portions of2 1/4 cup flour1 cup buttermilkImmediately before baking add:1Continue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LIX”
Jealous Much?
Mark Zuckerberg is in the corner with a UFC fighter. WTF? I understand going to the fights. I’ve seen Trump in the front row at a couple – even after the assassination attempt. But being in one of the fighters’ corner? That’s weird. Or I’m just jealous. If I had his money, it’s something IContinue reading “Jealous Much?”
Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LVIII
Hamburger Buns There’s always a story, isn’t there? I’ve been baking bread for a decade, now. Doing it well consistently since we moved down from the Mile High city. One would think that hamburger buns would have come up, already. In fact, they have, with middling success because I have nothing in which to riseContinue reading “Learning 2 Bake from Scratch – LVIII”