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Saturday, September 18, 2010
A Baker's view on Recycling
I know it has been a while since I have done a post here, much has happened, like too many hours at the "jobby job", wedding cake, promotion, and well a couple of other things.
One of the things was changing trash companies. The one I went with, offers recycling container. Now, so do some others, and many times you end up sorting the trash, and humans being humans, we can get lazy.
The company I went with allows you to combine the recyclables. Yep, cardboard, glass, aluminum foil, cans, drink containers. At first I didn't think it would be a big deal, but I started throwing the junk mail in, the plastic bottles, glass bottles, cardboard.
I am amazed at how much stuff one person can recycle. Things you don't realize, wrappers from the butter, the container the butter comes in, sugar bags, flour bags, the plastic containers things come in, boxes from pudding, cans, foil pans, egg containers, shopping bags. You name it. It truly is amazing.
Now the only thing you may have to adjust to doing is rinse off the foil, cans and containers. I do that anyway, I dislike bugs, and rinsing out food containers and cans help prevent them.
I filled a 64 gallon recycle container in about three weeks. Yes, it does help that I bake, but if every trash removal company would offer this type of service, and people would be willing just to rinse the stuff off, we could make a HUGE difference in the trash in landfills.
So if your trash company offers this service, take them up on it. It will amaze you how much you can recycle and help our planet.
One of the things was changing trash companies. The one I went with, offers recycling container. Now, so do some others, and many times you end up sorting the trash, and humans being humans, we can get lazy.
The company I went with allows you to combine the recyclables. Yep, cardboard, glass, aluminum foil, cans, drink containers. At first I didn't think it would be a big deal, but I started throwing the junk mail in, the plastic bottles, glass bottles, cardboard.
I am amazed at how much stuff one person can recycle. Things you don't realize, wrappers from the butter, the container the butter comes in, sugar bags, flour bags, the plastic containers things come in, boxes from pudding, cans, foil pans, egg containers, shopping bags. You name it. It truly is amazing.
Now the only thing you may have to adjust to doing is rinse off the foil, cans and containers. I do that anyway, I dislike bugs, and rinsing out food containers and cans help prevent them.
I filled a 64 gallon recycle container in about three weeks. Yes, it does help that I bake, but if every trash removal company would offer this type of service, and people would be willing just to rinse the stuff off, we could make a HUGE difference in the trash in landfills.
So if your trash company offers this service, take them up on it. It will amaze you how much you can recycle and help our planet.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Baby Shower Cake
I had one idea in my head when I said I'd do this cake, and it just wasn't working. So I took a step back and this is what developed. I saw a picture of one a while ago, and it seems to fit.
Let's hear it for the Baby Butt
Let's hear it for the Baby Butt
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
One of those days.
I do all the birthday cakes at work. Tomorrow is Tommy's Birthday. So I planned on coming home and baking.
Tommy likes pound cake, so I was going to do a pound cake, and torte it, a cheater's cassata cake. Rather than use stabilized whipped cream, I was going to use flour frosting. (Trust me that stuff is yummy!)
Got home, took out the eggs, butter so they could warm to room temperature, while they were warming, went upstairs to change. I don't cook or bake in a skirt, heels and blazer. Give me those comfy jeans.
Came down, and started to take out the rest of what I needed, vanilla, lemon extract, flour, powered sugar (give the cake a much finer texture) wait, where i the powdered sugar? Look at all the containers on the counter, super fine sugar, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, no powdered sugar. Look in the cubboard where I store the extra supplies, no powdered sugar.
By now I am really getting frustrated, and realize that the container that was full of strawberries yesterday, had only six strawberries in it. Damn it. I over did snacking on them. Why didn't I realize it when I was doing it? All I could think of was summertime and chocolate covering them. Sigh.
Ok, I'm not baking tonight, I'll do it tomorrow, and tell Tommy so he and the other guys can laugh at the fact I had no powdered sugar. Pick up the egg basket. (Yes I use an egg basket, I get the eggs from a local), the handle let go. Two dozen eggs end up on the floor. About 1/3 broke, giving me a real mess.
Maybe I should just call it a day and go to bed. I have to stop on the way home tomorrow for powdered sugar and strawberries, and hopefully the egg man had plenty of eggs.
Tommy likes pound cake, so I was going to do a pound cake, and torte it, a cheater's cassata cake. Rather than use stabilized whipped cream, I was going to use flour frosting. (Trust me that stuff is yummy!)
Got home, took out the eggs, butter so they could warm to room temperature, while they were warming, went upstairs to change. I don't cook or bake in a skirt, heels and blazer. Give me those comfy jeans.
Came down, and started to take out the rest of what I needed, vanilla, lemon extract, flour, powered sugar (give the cake a much finer texture) wait, where i the powdered sugar? Look at all the containers on the counter, super fine sugar, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, no powdered sugar. Look in the cubboard where I store the extra supplies, no powdered sugar.
By now I am really getting frustrated, and realize that the container that was full of strawberries yesterday, had only six strawberries in it. Damn it. I over did snacking on them. Why didn't I realize it when I was doing it? All I could think of was summertime and chocolate covering them. Sigh.
Ok, I'm not baking tonight, I'll do it tomorrow, and tell Tommy so he and the other guys can laugh at the fact I had no powdered sugar. Pick up the egg basket. (Yes I use an egg basket, I get the eggs from a local), the handle let go. Two dozen eggs end up on the floor. About 1/3 broke, giving me a real mess.
Maybe I should just call it a day and go to bed. I have to stop on the way home tomorrow for powdered sugar and strawberries, and hopefully the egg man had plenty of eggs.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A Simple Conversation with a Cup Cake
Last week I had this conversation with a young woman I work with at my "jobby job". You know the one that gives me a paycheck so I can pay the bills while I strive to perfect my recipes and skills as a baker in order to open Esalota in a brick and mortar building.
As she devours the red velvet cupcake with flour frosting, "So like, when are you quitting to go to culinary school, like you know pastry chef school to become a pastry chef?"
Me, "I'm not quitting, and as much as I would love to go, I am not. I am not looking to go out into the world and work at some place as a Pastry Chef, I want to open a bakery. The kind you used to find in neighborhoods. Somewhere a working stiff like myself can walk in be greeted with a smile and hello, and know I will be able to afford a torte, a cake, scones, petite fours, or cookies."
I got this really confused look from her. "But don't you have to go to school to learn to be a Pastry Chef?"
With a sigh and a roll of my eyes I tried to explain. "Where I grew up, they had neighborhood bakeries. Family owned, do you think they went to school? No, it is something that was passed down through the family. We are all in such a big hurry to find bigger, better, more complicated we forget that simple is elegant.
It doesn't have to be bigger, or fancier to be good. Some of the most beautiful pastries I have ever seen tasted like nothing. They put too much focus on making it something that should be in a museum, rather than paying attention to taste, texture, and presentation. They put it all on presentation, and the people who eat it will either say nothing or lie because they think they don't know what they are talking about, it is beautiful therefore it is good.
I don't want to produce huge pieces that are loaded with all kinds of things to support it or something that is not edible. I want to make things that are appealing to the eye, and make the mouth water in anticipation of eating it.
Producing fancy desserts is work, and yes I can do that, I can make just about anything. It takes a recipe, reading, the ability to measure and weigh, and following directions.
What did you think of the cupcakes?"
She replies, "They are wonderfully tasty, and beautiful. But they only have the pretty frosting on them in the parchment cupcake paper, see I remember you told me it was parchment." Then the dawning of some of what I was saying, "OH I get it, they were decorated very simply, but yet they were beautiful, elegant!"
Me, "Exactly, I don't want to be a Pastry Chef, not that there is anything wrong with being one, and maybe someday I will attend some school, but for now I am a baker and proud to be one."
Ms. Cupcake replies, "So when are you quitting and going to Chef School?" I turn around walk away before I say something that I may very well regret.
As she devours the red velvet cupcake with flour frosting, "So like, when are you quitting to go to culinary school, like you know pastry chef school to become a pastry chef?"
Me, "I'm not quitting, and as much as I would love to go, I am not. I am not looking to go out into the world and work at some place as a Pastry Chef, I want to open a bakery. The kind you used to find in neighborhoods. Somewhere a working stiff like myself can walk in be greeted with a smile and hello, and know I will be able to afford a torte, a cake, scones, petite fours, or cookies."
I got this really confused look from her. "But don't you have to go to school to learn to be a Pastry Chef?"
With a sigh and a roll of my eyes I tried to explain. "Where I grew up, they had neighborhood bakeries. Family owned, do you think they went to school? No, it is something that was passed down through the family. We are all in such a big hurry to find bigger, better, more complicated we forget that simple is elegant.
It doesn't have to be bigger, or fancier to be good. Some of the most beautiful pastries I have ever seen tasted like nothing. They put too much focus on making it something that should be in a museum, rather than paying attention to taste, texture, and presentation. They put it all on presentation, and the people who eat it will either say nothing or lie because they think they don't know what they are talking about, it is beautiful therefore it is good.
I don't want to produce huge pieces that are loaded with all kinds of things to support it or something that is not edible. I want to make things that are appealing to the eye, and make the mouth water in anticipation of eating it.
Producing fancy desserts is work, and yes I can do that, I can make just about anything. It takes a recipe, reading, the ability to measure and weigh, and following directions.
What did you think of the cupcakes?"
She replies, "They are wonderfully tasty, and beautiful. But they only have the pretty frosting on them in the parchment cupcake paper, see I remember you told me it was parchment." Then the dawning of some of what I was saying, "OH I get it, they were decorated very simply, but yet they were beautiful, elegant!"
Me, "Exactly, I don't want to be a Pastry Chef, not that there is anything wrong with being one, and maybe someday I will attend some school, but for now I am a baker and proud to be one."
Ms. Cupcake replies, "So when are you quitting and going to Chef School?" I turn around walk away before I say something that I may very well regret.
Friday, January 1, 2010
A Northern Baker south of the Mason Dixon Line
Over the past few months of searching for the perfect pound cake recipe, I learned something.Even though I am in Northern Virginia, it is the south and there are differences in taste. Not only in the way tea is preferred, but baked goods too.
Tea here is made strong, and sweet. To me it is teeth shattering sweet. Then again, I drink tea with no sugar, and a slice of lemon.
Here is a bit of baker's trivia for you, pound cake was originally made by using a pound of butter, a pound of flour, and a pound of eggs. That is why it was called pound cake.
Well, pound cake recipes are the same. First, you kind of have to understand, to me a pound cake is dense (works better for making petit fours, and sculpting cakes), it has a very fine, moist texture, buttery, with a hit of vanilla, and just a mild sweet. Something that balances out the sweet of frostings or syrups used.
One of the guys at work brought me his Mom's pound cake recipe. He would go on and on about how his Mom made the best pound cake, and what sold it was when he told me when he had to take care of his Mom and she wanted pound cake, she talked him though making it.
So I bring the recipe home, and make it for some petit fours, and one for him. I took a bite out of one of the pieces I cut for a petite four, and my teeth hurt it was so sweet to me. All I could think was I must have done something wrong. Must have lost count of the cups of sugar because of the chatter of the peanut gallery in the house. Throw it out. Start all over again. Same result. Ok, maybe I should just not bake today.
Sunday rolls in, and I make a pound cake to bring in for him, making sure I follow the recipe to a "T". Bring it in and he is thrilled to pieces, cuts himself a slice, and I get told it is better than his Mom made. He gives me a small slice, and the teeth go nuts again. I ask him, is it suppose to be this sweet? He says it it isn't sweet. OK.
I then think back to when I made the Lighting McQueen cake for one of the Marines son. I used a pound cake recipe, from a cookbook Southern Cakes, and it was sweet to me. But everyone else said it was perfect.
So, I am still working on finding the perfect balance for me, and I have learned a few things from experimenting. Using powdered sugar gives you a wonderfully fine crumb, but you have to double the amount of sugar.
I'm close to finding the right balance, just haven't perfected it yet. So the search continues.
This is what Lighting McQueen looked like. Not bad considering I never worked in fondant before, and I had never sculpted a cake before. Lots of room for improvement, but like I said, not bad considering I had no idea what I was doing.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Best Laid Plans of Chocolate and Bakers
The busy season has past, and if I see another sugar cookie, nut horn, or candy cane cookie. Don’t get me wrong, normally I love this season, and all the baking. I normally thrive. People say I bounce during this season. Work the regular job and bake in the evenings. Twenty different types of cookies, no problem, ten dozen of each one, no sweat, chocolate covered cherries too? Just Bring it on…..well that is how I normally am. Mind you, I said normally.
I was all hyped up this year; I had a great idea, fill those Maxwell House containers they have been saving for me at work full of cookies, and bring them back to all the guys. Recycling at its finest. (BTW, those containers work great to store sugar, cookie crumbs, flour, nuts, you name it. Just make sure you clean them out really well and get rid of the coffee smell, love baking soda)
Made it to the restaurant supply house, got everything I needed, the guy I buy eggs from brought me ten dozen (free range, and all natural), Had my list of recipes, and my schedule. I was going to amaze everyone. Even took on a birthday cake for one of the Marine’s daughter. Beauty and the Beast.
I planned to work four hour days (I start at six AM, so I would finish by ten AM, yeah right), and this whole bakeathon was starting on a four day weekend for me.
Ok, I get home on day one at noon. A bit later than I intended, but you gotta do what you gotta do for your jobby job. Made up the dough for the nut horns, Made up the frosting for the FBCT, and it fought me. Just did not want to flow right. Finally got it done and I felt exhausted.
So I decided to take a nap. A fifteen-hour nap. Got up feeling exhausted and feeling like I was freezing. Got the cake baked frosted, and downed a few cups of coffee, got the cake delivered. I was not happy with it, but the Sgt. was thrilled, so was his daughter.
Back to the nut horns, and a brilliant idea. Use the pasta machine to roll out the dough into strips and just cut my little triangles to fill and roll. Worked like a charm and got three hundred plus of the little nut horns done, and bagged.
It is seven PM and I am tired, I need a nap. It lasted until 7 AM. My son needed some goodies for his Christmas party at his house. Ok, he asked for Red Velvet cake, but was complaining about how cakes were too big and to cut a small taste you end up with a messed up slice. So another brilliant idea, Red Velvet Pound Cake Petit fours, and since I had to make up a pound cake for a guy at work (he gave me his Mom’s recipe) I would do some regular pound cake too.
Never in my life have I ever had anything FIGHT me so bad. The regular pound cake was way too sweet, (did you know that in Northern Va, which is considered the south, sweet pound cake is considered normal?) So I had to find something to combat the over sweet pound cake, dark chocolate ganache, and something to enhance the Red Velvet Pound cake, white chocolate ganache. Cut the shapes with cookie cutters, poured and slapped some icing on them to make them “Christmassy.” Got them done, I was ready to throw them down the garbage disposal. Nevertheless, they were a hit, so I am glad I didn’t.
I was exhausted, and needed a nap; yes, you guessed it, 12 hours later. I still felt like I was freezing, when I realized that I had not taken my Synthroid (thyroid doesn’t work) and not been drinking the water like I normally do. Started drinking the water and taking the synthroid. Within 24 hours started feeling better, not 100%, but better. Oh yeah, the four hour days, didn’t work out as planned either.
Trimmed the different kinds of cookies down to eight, and started. Got all the cookies done, decorated, bagged, and put into the coffee containers.
Oh yeah, and during all this, this area got its worst snow in ages. Got the containers to work and set up, and all I could think of was, thank GOD I’m done. NO MORE BAKING for a bit.
Then it hit me, I have to make biscotti and ship it. A raffle prize I donated to the Support Our Shelters group. Sigh.
Everything, I mean everything fought me. I followed recipes to the letter, weighing out the ingredients, checking the ratios; I never worked so hard to get stuff to turn out.
Oh, and on Christmas my son made dinner, so I made Herb rolls, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Guess what? I screwed up the pumpkin pie. The crust was great. Vodka is the secret for a great crust. I the guts were, off. Not enough sugar, not enough nutmeg? Can’t put my finger on it.
Oh and my commercial Kitchen Aid, a few months old, decided to stop dead while I was making the mashed potatoes. Apparently, it didn’t like the steam from the potatoes.
Like I said, I have never been so happy that I have a few days of no baking. Never, and I do mean NEVER have I ever had anything I bake fight me like all this did.
Tomorrow is the owner of the company I work for birthday. I was going to make him a cake, but the biscotti fought me today, so I am stopping while I am still semi sane. Loves of biscotti were hitting the garbage disposal.
Next week is a new challenge, and I’ll be trying to find the perfect pound cake recipe. One that isn’t too sweet, fine texture, moist, and a bit of buttery flavor.
I was all hyped up this year; I had a great idea, fill those Maxwell House containers they have been saving for me at work full of cookies, and bring them back to all the guys. Recycling at its finest. (BTW, those containers work great to store sugar, cookie crumbs, flour, nuts, you name it. Just make sure you clean them out really well and get rid of the coffee smell, love baking soda)
Made it to the restaurant supply house, got everything I needed, the guy I buy eggs from brought me ten dozen (free range, and all natural), Had my list of recipes, and my schedule. I was going to amaze everyone. Even took on a birthday cake for one of the Marine’s daughter. Beauty and the Beast.
I planned to work four hour days (I start at six AM, so I would finish by ten AM, yeah right), and this whole bakeathon was starting on a four day weekend for me.
Ok, I get home on day one at noon. A bit later than I intended, but you gotta do what you gotta do for your jobby job. Made up the dough for the nut horns, Made up the frosting for the FBCT, and it fought me. Just did not want to flow right. Finally got it done and I felt exhausted.
So I decided to take a nap. A fifteen-hour nap. Got up feeling exhausted and feeling like I was freezing. Got the cake baked frosted, and downed a few cups of coffee, got the cake delivered. I was not happy with it, but the Sgt. was thrilled, so was his daughter.
Back to the nut horns, and a brilliant idea. Use the pasta machine to roll out the dough into strips and just cut my little triangles to fill and roll. Worked like a charm and got three hundred plus of the little nut horns done, and bagged.
It is seven PM and I am tired, I need a nap. It lasted until 7 AM. My son needed some goodies for his Christmas party at his house. Ok, he asked for Red Velvet cake, but was complaining about how cakes were too big and to cut a small taste you end up with a messed up slice. So another brilliant idea, Red Velvet Pound Cake Petit fours, and since I had to make up a pound cake for a guy at work (he gave me his Mom’s recipe) I would do some regular pound cake too.
Never in my life have I ever had anything FIGHT me so bad. The regular pound cake was way too sweet, (did you know that in Northern Va, which is considered the south, sweet pound cake is considered normal?) So I had to find something to combat the over sweet pound cake, dark chocolate ganache, and something to enhance the Red Velvet Pound cake, white chocolate ganache. Cut the shapes with cookie cutters, poured and slapped some icing on them to make them “Christmassy.” Got them done, I was ready to throw them down the garbage disposal. Nevertheless, they were a hit, so I am glad I didn’t.
I was exhausted, and needed a nap; yes, you guessed it, 12 hours later. I still felt like I was freezing, when I realized that I had not taken my Synthroid (thyroid doesn’t work) and not been drinking the water like I normally do. Started drinking the water and taking the synthroid. Within 24 hours started feeling better, not 100%, but better. Oh yeah, the four hour days, didn’t work out as planned either.
Trimmed the different kinds of cookies down to eight, and started. Got all the cookies done, decorated, bagged, and put into the coffee containers.
Oh yeah, and during all this, this area got its worst snow in ages. Got the containers to work and set up, and all I could think of was, thank GOD I’m done. NO MORE BAKING for a bit.
Then it hit me, I have to make biscotti and ship it. A raffle prize I donated to the Support Our Shelters group. Sigh.
Everything, I mean everything fought me. I followed recipes to the letter, weighing out the ingredients, checking the ratios; I never worked so hard to get stuff to turn out.
Oh, and on Christmas my son made dinner, so I made Herb rolls, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Guess what? I screwed up the pumpkin pie. The crust was great. Vodka is the secret for a great crust. I the guts were, off. Not enough sugar, not enough nutmeg? Can’t put my finger on it.
Oh and my commercial Kitchen Aid, a few months old, decided to stop dead while I was making the mashed potatoes. Apparently, it didn’t like the steam from the potatoes.
Like I said, I have never been so happy that I have a few days of no baking. Never, and I do mean NEVER have I ever had anything I bake fight me like all this did.
Tomorrow is the owner of the company I work for birthday. I was going to make him a cake, but the biscotti fought me today, so I am stopping while I am still semi sane. Loves of biscotti were hitting the garbage disposal.
Next week is a new challenge, and I’ll be trying to find the perfect pound cake recipe. One that isn’t too sweet, fine texture, moist, and a bit of buttery flavor.
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