Baking with a 3 year old – A true test of patience

Baking can be relaxing, until you try to do it with a three year old. Usually I wait until my little guy is sleeping, but this afternoon it was rainy and we already ran through our standard rainy day activities. Not wanting to give in to the request to watch TV yet again, I suggested we make cupcakes. Here are the lessons I learned from our baking activity:

1. No matter how annoying they can be asking questions about everything, they still look so damn cute in a little apron.
2. No matter where you hide the sprinkles they will find them.
   
3. Feeding kids that our cooped up inside all day sugar cupcakes may not be the best idea.
   
4. If you are going to make cupcakes I suggest “spiked cupcakes” with you taking a few sips of the booze on the side.

So even though we had some good math lessons and I have a nice supply of cupcakes for the upcoming 4^th of July holiday, I still think I will keep to my night time solo baking.

Pasta Salad - Quick Meal for Summer

It is late on Wednesday night and I still don't know what I am going to blog about. Finally, I have decided to share my last minute recipe for pot luck events which will fill in for a last minute baking blog. The recipe is for Pasta Salad. I used to work with someone who was always impressed when I made this. I didn't have the heart to tell them you pretty much just cut, cover and toss. Pasta salad can make a great summer lunch or dinner and is liked by most. My recipe is pretty basic, but you could add on vegetables, meats or cheeses that you would prefer. Get creative and mix it up!

Basic Pasta Salad

1 green pepper and 1 onion, cut into small pieces
1/2 pound provolone cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 pound peperoni, cut into cubes
2 cups pasta (I use spiral, elbow or bow ties)
1/2 bottle Italian dressing

Cook pasta as directed. Drain. Mix with pepper, onion, cheese and meat. Cover with dressing and toss so everything gets covered. Let sit in refrigerator over night.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

It is hard to pick a favorite fruit, but if I had to strawberries would defiantly be at the top of the list. When I was a child I used to eat them all the time. In fact, for a while we thought I was allergic to them because I would break out into a rash but it turns out I was just allergic to myself (another story to be shared at another time). With strawberries you have the classic strawberry pies and my favorite the strawberry shortcake (biscuit with strawberries, ice cream and little bit of milk is my style). Here is another favorite recipe, the Strawberry Pretzel Salad, Growing up I thought everyone knew what this was since it appeared at every family gathering. Little did I know that it was an undiscovered treat by most. It is a little misnamed as it is more of a dessert than salad. This is great for those upcoming summer picnics and your own family gatherings. Enjoy!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2 cups crushed pretzels

3/4 cup melted margarine

3 Tablespoons sugar

8 oz cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 (9oz) Cool Whip

6 oz strawberry jello

2 cups boiling water

2 cups frozen strawberries

Combine first 3 ingredients and bake in a 9 x 13 inch pan for 8 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool. Blend cream cheese with the sugar. Fold in the cool whip and spread on top of the baked pretzel crust. Mix the jello with boiling water. Add strawberries to thaw. Pour on top on cream cheese mixture. Place in Refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve chilled.

Lemon Cookies - A Sweet Thank You

So far I feel my Baker Babe Blog has been pretty successful. I get a few web hits a day (ok, mostly from family and friends, but also a few from overseas like Hong Kong), I have sold some merchandise (For some reason, I am very popular in Oklahoma) and got to share some good recipes and not so good humor with many people. Through this adventure, I come to realize that not everyone is a baker at heart, so I have decided to add another collection to my group. Meet Grill Girl. She likes the smell of smoke, playing with fire and really likes her meat! I couldn't have done Grill Girl without the help of my friend, so as a thank you I baked up a batch of lemon cookies. Light and sweet, they make a perfect summer treat. Enjoy!

Lemon Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ginger

Mix shortening, brown sugar and egg. Add lemon rind. Stir together remaining ingredients. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, dip in granulated sugar and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Rhubarb Recipes - The stalks have taken over!!!

It seems like I wait and wait all year for the summer fruits to arrive. Then once they do I can't get rid of them. They stalk me day and night tempting me to make more out of their lives by baking up delicious dishes. This week I was tortured by rhubarb. I glance out my window to see the leaves staring back at me. I know if I don't use it up it will soon be gone and I will have to wait another year for their tart goodness. I know I can freeze them, which makes me feel a little better. Since you can only cook so many pies and cakes before your pants tell you enough is enough, here are a few alternatives for a rhubarb surplus.

• Chunky Rhubarb Applesauce
• Rhubarb Ice Tea
• Cold Rhubarb Soup with Mint
• Rhubarb Slush - spiked, of course

If all else fails mash up a little rhubarb and put it on your face as the latest and greatest facial product.

Up next week, I am venturing out for more home grown strawberries, so I am looking forward to being tortured by them for the next few weeks.

The Herbs are here!

Ok, reason number two why I love summer so much….fresh herbs! There is just nothing like going out to your own collection, snipping a few leaves off and ending up with the best tasting recipe. I don’t care what you are making or baking, fresh herbs just make it so much better. I realize you can have year round herbs in your house. But since I have a black thumb (meaning I kill pretty much anything I try to grow) and hungry cats, I leave the herbs to the outside world. Here are some of the favorite things I will be doing with my herbs this summer:
1. Sweet Basil - I love to make bruschetta on hot summer nights and it also goes great in my homemade tomato sauce
2. Mint – Bring on the Mojito, Baby! My summer drink of choice.
3. Cilantro - I love to jazz up chicken marinades and use to make homemade salsa. Here is my simple recipe: Put in some cut up tomatoes, onions, a little garlic, cilantro, a dash of chili powder and splash of vinegar in a food processor. Spin for a few seconds and enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie - Yippee, Summer is here!

I am giddy with excitement that summer is here and the fruits are starting to ripe. I think I drooled a little on my computer when I got the email that our local farm was opening this weekend for strawberry picking. I missed the season last year, so this year I wanted to make sure I was there nice and early. Of course it had to be the hottest day of the summer so far, but that didn't stop my son and I from going out and picking. I also have had a couple batches of rhubarb growing in our background that I have never used in the past 9 years since we have lived here so I felt it was about time that I used that as well. The result of having both is a classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I like this recipe for a Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie because I am not a huge fan of pie crust, so the crumble topping gave it a nice mix up. I must be a very dedicated Baker Babe because having the oven going on this steamy day was tough, but I sweated it out and the results were worth it. Enjoy!

Do you want S'more fun this summer?

Although summer is not officially here yet, I am all ready to start gearing up to go on some camping adventures this year. Of course we all know the reason why people like to camp so much. It isn't the fresh air. It isn't the fact that you have to remember each year how to put the tent together and then sleep on the hard ground. And it definitely isn't the stinging bugs. No my friends, it is because of a little invention called the S'more. Yummy layers of graham cracker, marshmallows and chocolate that just melts in your mouth. It is a science to get the marshmallow toasted just right. As a child I thought the best way was setting the marshmallow on fire and running it around like a torch, but as an adult I find the slow moving twirl that produces a nice light tan coating the best way to go. Since our summer camping trip is not planned until the end of July, I am going to have to settle for the recipes at www.smoresfun.com. Lots of great ideas and even activities to get you into that S'more frame of mind. The S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies seem to be calling my name. I hope everyone gets some nice sticky, gooey action this summer season!

Chocolate Charity Overdose

We all should give back to our society at some point in our life. It makes you feel good and makes it a better place to live. So this weekend I did my annual support for charity by attending the Chocolate Lover's Fantasy Event for the NH Caregivers. It is a tough job I know, but someone has to do it. Four hours of pure chocolate bliss traveling from table to table tasting everything there is that is chocolate. We are talking cookies, brownies, cheesecakes, ice cream and chocolate dipping fountains but also scallops, martinis and Chai tea. It is fun to bake, but so much more fun when you can taste the creative genius of others. My friend was so giddy waiting in line to get in I thought she was going to pee her pants. You have to kind of treat this event like a wine tasting. Take small bites and if the taste isn't knocking your socks off then purge the rest. If you don't, you face a huge sugar hangover. Although everything I ate was mmm..mmm..good (I stayed away from the diet and good for you tables) some of the things that stuck out in my head was a white chocolate bread pudding, a dark chocolate macaroon, and a chocolate brownie with espresso chocolate sauce on top. Needless to say I was glad I wore my stretchy waist pants.