My Favorite Blogs - Food

As I have been playing with Feedly and Bloglovin, and trying to keep up with blogs I follow on a daily basis, it dawned on me that there are certain blogs that have become my favorites.  Well, more than favorites. It's more like I have withdrawal symptoms if I stay away from them too long.  These are the blogs that I anxiously await the next post and value the information shared.  In the next few weeks I will be sharing the blogs I love, by category.  First up - FOOD!

There are other blogs pertaining to food that I follow, and I am sure there are other valuable blogs to follow as well, but there are two that never leave me disappointed: Pinch of Yum and The Café Sucré Farine.  

Pinch of Yum was discovered through a pin one of my daughters-in-law made on Pinterest: Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese with Caramelized Onions, Bacon, and Apple.  Oh my goodness!!  Then there were the Baked Gingerbread Mini Donuts.  The recipes have never disappointed me and range from healthy to decadent, common to unique, and are always doable.  Lindsay and Bjork not only share food, but how they have made income from their blog as well.  They recently returned from spending a year volunteering at an orphanage in the Philippines.  Believe it or not, Lindsay was still able to cook and bake, sharing food and life on the blog.

Chris' Pumpkin Buttermilk Pound Cake with Caramel Icing was the first item made from The Café Sucré Farine (sans walnuts).  Do you sense a theme? Fall....baking....they get me every time!  Chris is definitely a culinary expert, although I am sure she would humbly refute my use of the term expert.  Her offerings range from simple, basic go-to recipes to more demanding gourmet dishes.  But she makes everything attainable!  You also get glimpses of her life and darling grandchildren.  There are probably more of her recipes on my "I Must Make THIS" list than any other blog I follow.  Like Lindsay, Chris' husband is part of the success; he does the photography.

Take a stroll through both of these blogs.  I'm sure your mouth will be watering and your "I Must Make THIS" list will expand!

Stay tuned for more 'My Favorite Blogs' - next up Sewing.

Cathy

Short-lived Hiatus

My self-imposed hiatus is probably over.  I have decided that for now I will continue to post a mix of things I love to do as I have time to post!  With a full time job and other commitments and interests, this is what works at this period in my life.

Here are the in-progress photos of my most recent baking session.  Totally forgot to grab a quick finished photo.  Thanks to Food Network for this fabulous recipe: Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake.  Because it was traveling to church to be eaten, I did not make the macerated berries; I just made the glaze.  It was gone in a flash!!

Enjoy the day!

Cathy

Baking and Chemistry

I love to bake. Cookies, cakes, pies, breads, muffins - it doesn't matter - I'll make them.  Part of my enjoyment comes from family legacy: my sister enjoys baking, my grandmothers were great bakers, and my great-grandmother baked pies well into her 80s.  But the other enticement?  It's chemistry.  All baking relies on a chemical reaction between the ingredients.  It is fascinating watching it happen.

Today I made Shoo Fly Cake, a sweet molasses cake that is a staple in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where I lived almost half of my life.  This cake is truly a testimony to the marvelous reactions that occur when certain ingredients make contact.  Here is the chemistry in action.

Dry ingredients: 4 cups flour, 2 cups light brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cup shortening.  Mix to make crumbs. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture for later.

Next, some of the wet ingredients + the magic dry ingredient: 1 cup Grandma's Molasses (yellow label), 1 egg, 1 tablespoon baking soda.

Now for the catalyst: 2 cups boiling water. 

And reaction!  Love the foamy bubbles!

Add the dry ingredients to this mixture and pour into 9x13 pan, sprayed with cooking spray.

Top with the reserved dry mixture.

To complete the chemical reaction add heat!  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

This cake is delicious served warm or cold.  In fact, this is the cake my husband has requested I make for him to take to work on his birthday.  One catch - I'll need to make two of them!

So today my Sticks and String were a wooden spoon and my apron.  Hope you enjoy!