Everyday Food Coconut Shrimp Soup (with added curry)

Coconut (and Curry) Shrimp Soup

Hi everyone,
I'm in the DC area this week helping my preggers friend Racheal who is on bed rest. We just finished watching 6 hours of Colin Firth in Pride & Prejudice - I can't believe my English major friend never saw it! Glad we can mark that movie off her list of the best RoCo movies of all time!

Anyway, I figure my friend can't eat dessert all day so I brought the book Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, and let Racheal bookmark some pages. First up, Coconut Shrimp Soup!

This was very simple to put together...once I figured out which way to cut the carrots! :)

Garlic and ginger are cooked, then the carrots, coconut milk, water, and cornstarch are added. You'll need to serve this immediately because the cornstarch and pasta soak up all the liquid if you let it sit...believe me on that!

I made the recipe exactly and when I tasted it, it had way too much coconut flavor. Way. too. much.

I added lots of curry powder and more red pepper flakes. And, we added in our left over Thai yellow curry from the previous day's take out! In addition, I squeezed a bunch of lime juice on top. I served it with Sriracha sauce (a staple in any house!) I probably won't make this recipe again, but at least I didn't let my friend starve! :)

Recipe: Coconut Shrimp Soup (I added lots of curry powder)

Later, I made a roast chicken, and apple & cherry crisp...coming up soon!

Tartest Lemon Tart - Tuesdays with Dorie

Tartest Lemon Tart...with something missing!

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Babette of Babette Feasts picked Tartest Lemon Tart on page 336 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I was really looking forward to this one! I love lemon. I love tarts. I love Dorie....And I'm a dork.

I forgot the heavy cream in the filling!

I took it out of the refrig but somehow it missed making it into the food processor. Um, perhaps I should mention it was 4:15 in the morning when I was bakin'.

Anyway, it was okay, but I'm sure the missing 1/2 cup of heavy cream would have given it a smooth, silky finish. I'll will definitely try this one again! (I have a bunch of Meyer lemons that need to get back in the tart again!)

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers! And buy Dorie Greenspan's book. It rocks.

(I'm in the Washington DC area now helping a pregnant friend on bed rest. I may or may not have internet access...so I apologize in advanced if I can't visit other TWD blogs! I've scheduled this post to be published on Tuesday morning...oh, technology is too cool. Take care and see you next week with Mango Bread! Yes!)

Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Bread and Gary Holt Pottery

Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Bread

I love baked good. I mean, I have a baking blog! I seriously love baked goods.

But I l-o-v-e pottery and ceramics.

And if I can combine the two, I'm there.

During my mini-break, I stopped in at Gary Holt's studio in Berkeley. He has some amazing stuff and he is able to do crossword puzzles in ink! My friend Sumi has a bunch of his pieces at her place.

It was a struggle to pick, but I finally decided on this piece. It is a beautiful platter that perfectly fits a loaf of bread! My photos don't do it justice at all...be sure to check out Gary Holt's website for professional photos of his work!

Pumpkin Bread from the Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook book. This is a great book to add to your collection. Great photos and OCD quality instructions.

My bread didn't turn out great and I don't blame Martha. I blame my flour...it was clumpy and I should have sifted it before using it. I ended up overmixing a quick bread. And overmixing...that's bad. I'll definitely try the recipe again in the future...as I need to keep loaves on this pretty piece of pottery!

Gary Holt Pottery Studio
1449 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 527-4183

If you are in the East Bay, check it out!

Also, a few doors down is Mary Law Pottery. I bought something from her too...that piece will be on the blog soon!

Mother's Cookies...they're back in time for Mother's Day!

Mother's Cookies are on their way back to the cookie aisle!

Circus Animals.
Iced Oatmeal.
English Tea.
Double Fudge.

My friends are coming back!!!

As I noted earlier on my blog, I seriously mourned the loss of California-based Mother's Cookies. The manufacturer shut down after 90 years. People hoarded cookies. T-shirts were made. I made good-bye cupcakes. People tried to imagine their kids growing up without these PTA meeting staples.

But dry your tears!

Back in December 2o08, Kellogg bought the rights and recipe to Mother's Cookie Parade! And they are coming back...just in time for Mother's Day! (on the West Coast)

Foodbuzz's program allowed me to get an advanced bag!

Seeing my little friends again made me so pleased.
Life is good for small children again.

They taste the same...but it just me or are their fewer nonpareils (little dots) on these new ones?

Check out the Mother's Cookies website for more info, including sending an e-card!

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie (or my mom's not-so-original recipe) - You Want Pie with That?

Libby's Famous (and good enough for my family) Pumpkin Pie

Okay, my brain synapses aren't snapping. For this month's You Want Pie with That? theme, Natalie of Oven Love decided on Family Favorite Pies. Here are the full directions:

Everyone's family has traditions, including favorite desserts. What's your family favorite? Is it your mom's brownies, your grandmother's banana pudding, your brother's famous chocolate chip cookies? Whatever that favorite dessert is, take it and turn it into a pie! If it already is a pie, make the recipe with your own special twist. If you're feeling extra energized and willing to divulge family secrets, include the original recipe!

Dude, I only saw the logo and thought I needed to bake a family recipe, not use one as a base for a creative pie! Okay, so...please play along with the voices in my head and pretend the theme is an actual family pie recipe.

This is where we have some problems. My family doesn't make pie! My mom came from Okinawa, Japan in 1964 and didn't grow up with pie. What she did do was plant rice (as she told me over and over again). She said, "I used to be so good at planting rice. One by one. One stalk at a time. You have to be very patient..." Then she looks at me with the thought, "My impatient daughter could never plant rice. Good thing I came to America."

So, I may not be able to squat for hours in a muddy field, but I still got the rice planting short legs with thunder thighs...Oh, generations of peasant ancestors give me my 5'2" frame! :)

I'm in the red dress and my mom is holding me. We're in the West Adams area of Los Angeles at my paternal grandparent's house (1972).

Back to my mom. I only remember her making one pie. It was pumpkin pie...and it was from the Libby Pumpkin Pie can.

Nothing like a pie made from the freezer (the crust), two cans (pumpkin and evaporated milk), sugar, spices and eggs! (Find the recipe on the back of the can or here.)

There is one memory I have though...one Thanksgiving or Christmas she made the filling and popped it into the frozen crust. I totally remember her saying, "Oh no! I forgot the eggs!" Not one to waste anything (that would be mottainai), she yanked open the oven, poured the filling back into her green Tupperware bowl (yes, that above bowl is an original) and mixed in the eggs.

Just like mom used to make..

Recipe: Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie
Be sure to check out the other You Want Pie with That? bakers!!

Cinco de Mini-Break - Tuesdays with Dorie

With apologizes to one of my favorite bloggers, Megan of My Baking Adventures, I skipped this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection of Tiramisu Cake (from page 266 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours) because I went on a mini-break to San Francisco.

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers and see how they made another delicious Dorie recipe!

Happy Cinco de Mayo and Boy's Day in Japan!

The Baked Brownie

Happy Friday.
Happy May Day.
Happy Birthday, Jessica and Harry!

The Baked Brownie.
From Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.
It's good.
It's easy.

Recipe here on the Amazon website or here. Or see if your library has the book on WorldCat.

Heading up to San Francisco for a weekend visiting friends. Be back next week to post my usual food crawl through the city (as noted here and here). Have a great weekend!!

Chocolate Cream Tart - Tuesdays with Dorie

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Kim of Scrumptious Photography picked Chocolate Cream Tart, pages 352 and 353 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

I woke up this morning...contacts completely stuck to my eyes, TV playing some infomercial about a snuggie blanket that can also shape your abs with absolutely no exercise (or money down!), and with the thought, Oh darn [insert a more descriptive word here]! I fell asleep last night before making the Tuesday with Dorie Chocolate Cream Tart!

I raced home from work, used too much math to figure out 1/4 of the recipe, and felt like I should be using my easy bake oven with the tablespoons of ingredients! :)

I love the chocolate cream! So much so that I decided to skip the whipped cream and just make it a chocolate delight!

Whew! 10:31 pm Pacific Daylight Time! Just in time!

Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Find the recipe on Kim's beautiful blog, Scrumptious Photography

Snickerdoodle Muffins (Recipe from Peabody)

I'm late on the Snickerdoodle Muffins bandwagon. But then I'm quite slow with many things. Peabody made these in 2007 and they made the rounds on the blog, including some crazy person who sent Peabody a bill for her ingredients because she didn't like them. I wonder if that person is now calling herself the Octo-Mom. Anyway, I'm sure by 2010 I'll make the Snickerdoodle Blondie and Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake - those are still on my list. I love me the Snickerdoodle - here are the Martha Stewart Snickerdoodle cookies I made earlier.

Recipe here on Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. Peabody is very funny and a great chef and baker!

Make the stiff batter. Using an ice cream scoop, plop a ball in a cinnamon sugar mixture.

Rolly polly round it goes...

...into a greased muffin tin

Aren't these cute? The tops look just like a Snickerdoodle cookie!

Get the recipe for Snickerdoodle Muffins here on Peabody's great blog.

P.S. If you are here for the Tuesdays with Dorie post, I pray that it will be coming. I hope I can run home and make a little tart!

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies (from the package)

Can I begin to tell you how excited I am to have found Cinnamon Chips in Los Angeles? (I went to a big, nice (not like my janky) Albertson's).

I turned the package of goodness over and found this recipe for oatmeal cookies! I love the back of the package recipes. They rock.

Find the recipe here on the Hershey's website!

My changes to their recipe:
1. Used old fashioned oatmeal (not quick cooking)
2. Omitted the raisins
3. Added 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry mixture

Notes: The recipe calls for 1 bag (10 oz) [1 2/3 cups] of cinnamon chips. Now, if I manufactured the main ingredient, of course I would tell you to use the WHOLE bag and then more! But, since I don't work for Hershey, I'll tell you that I think you could scale back the chips a bit. They made the cookie really sweet. Perhaps if you had raisins in it, that would cut some of the sweetness...anyway, that's my opinion. Try it out and let me know what you think. I'm just glad to have found the cinnamon chips!! :)

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Cinnamon Chips
3/4 cup raisins

For the how to, see their recipe online or the back of the package!!

Recipe:
Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies (Hershey's website)