Ice Pops

I've recently upgraded some things in my kitchen - some were little things like a soap dispenser, pans - mini madeleines and popovers, ceramic knives, etc. but the best upgrades tend to be gifts from my parents! I'm spoiled and even at 38 I am asked for gift ideas for Christmas and my birthday. The bread maker I got for Christmas has been wonderful and the Cuisinart 8 cup food processor I got for my birthday was the missing piece that brought my whole kitchen up a level! I make pie crust now! And tasks that used to be a bit odious to do by hand just got easier - this will make some of my more labor intensive meals good for week nights!

I love ice pops and now that I have a really great food processor, why not make my own? I prefer the ones that use whole fruits and other good for you ingredients and those are just the kind to make yourself! So, I purchased some supplies and I am seeing where it takes me.

FoodWorks Silicone Popsicle Molds - set of 6
Nice quality - they seal well and can be stored on their side or upside down even. Perfect for a small, crowded apartment freezer.

People's Pops
Beautiful recipe book with lots of great tips on everything from materials and ingredients to how to create your own flavors

Nor pro Ice Pop Maker
Love the silicone molds, but those are not freed up until the pop is eaten - these along with popsicle sticks will allow me to make a new batch as soon as the previous set is done freezing.

Tovolo Bug Pops
They were really cheap at Homegoods and the only ice pop molds in the store - snapped them up in case I had extra ice pop mix (before I ordered the Norpro) but wound up not needing them (yet!!!) They are very cute and the stands work  REALLY well!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

http://www.driscolls.com/recipes/view/4173/Blueberry-Whole-Wheat-Pancakes

I will swap the margarine out for butter or oil, but otherwise sounds perfect!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cups natural sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cups low-fat margarine, melted
• 2 packages (6 ounces each) Driscoll's Blueberries, plus more for garnish if desired

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl until well combined. Set aside.
   
   In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk with eggs. Using a wooden spoon, stir egg mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Add melted margarine and blueberries and stir gently.
   
   Preheat oven to 200°F. Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat. Let a few drops of cold water fall on the surface. If water bounces, sputters and instantly evaporates, griddle is ready. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Cook 2 minutes, or until bubbles that appear on the surface begin to break and the bottom is golden. Flip pancake and cook 1 minute longer or until lightly golden. Place pancakes on a heatproof platter and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining batter. Garnish with additional blueberries if desired.

Buttermilk waffles

• 
  
• From here: 
• http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/09/06/my-favorite-buttermilk-waffles/

My notes in parentheses 

• 
  
• 1 and 3/4 cups (210g) all-purpose flour (weigh into bowl large enough to mix batter together)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (add directly to flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (add directly to flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (add directly to flour)
• 3 large eggs, separated (yolks into small bowl that can also accommodate sugar and extract - whites into GLASS container sized to allow for whipping with hand blender/equivalent - I use a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup- and make sure the beaters are clean when whipping whites!)
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (1 stick - melt in heat safe mixing bowl large enough to accommodate buttermilk, egg yolks, sugar, extract over pot of gently boiling water)
• 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar (add to yolks)
• 1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk (I keep buttermilk powder on hand - I mix 3.5Tbsp buttermilk powder to 1.5 Cups water - then I add to cooled melted butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 1 tsp Almond extract- really nice! I added it to the yolks and sugar then mixed really well, then added that to the butter/milk and mixed. From there, mix that into flour bowl, then fold in whites gently. 1/3 Cup (on the generous side) per each of 4 waffles per press yields 12-14 waffles which take about 5 min to cook - when the steaming slows/stops, usually waffles are done)

My Fish

 That is Fourtinbras - he was #4 of 6 of the original guppies

 That is Five-el - he was #5 of 6 of the original guppies

 Jeff (White) and Maude (Orange and White) are the goldfish

This is poor Mr. Fighty - RIP little buddy.

Not pictured = Team Green (4 Kubotai), Gary the snail (Nerite) Rammstein the snail (ramshorn) and the descendants of Rammstein.

Lemon Curd

Lemon curd

Banana bread

This doubled really nicely!


Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Spread slices with honey or serve with ice cream.

Bread Machine

I got a bread machine for Christmas! The unit doesn't bake so Oster is sending me a new one and a return label for the broken one, but it mixes, kneads and allows for a nice rise, so I have been mixing doughs to bake in the oven until the replacement arrives. I need a place to stick ideas and resources for the bread machine, so here it is!

Dinner rolls
Recipes
Flour weights and measures