The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Cakes - Baby Shower - It's a Girl - 1997

Another person where I worked, but I never even met her.  She worked in another dept, possibly a different building.  Someone was throwing a baby shower for her and I was asked to make the cake.  She knew the baby was a girl, so that gave me a color scheme.  I also went shopping and got a set of cute little baby-themed cookie cutters - a duck, a rocking horse, a teddy bear, and something else that I apparently didn't use in this cake.  But I know there were 4 cutters.

Under all that pink and white, it's a spice cake with cream cheese frosting.  The little white lacy thing it's on is fondant, and the cake itself is covered with fondant.  The little cutouts are fondant as well, and my horrendous ribbony things are piped with royal icing and cause me to cringe whenever I look at them.

The baby blocks on top of the cake that spell out "BABY GIRL" are the only cool thing (my opinion) from this cake, because they are made entirely of royal icing panels that I piped onto parchment, allowed to dry, and then glued together into 4 blocks with more royal icing.  I think they came out pretty well.

And that's about all I have to say about that one.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

Since I've joined Tuesdays With Dorie - and this is only my fourth week as an official participant - I've gained approximately 700 pounds and the eternal devotion of my sugar-addicted children.  I just hope the other members have worked out some sort of group discount rate with a reputable weight loss program.  Maybe...Tuesdays With Dorie...and Thursdays With Jenny...or something along those lines.  Just curious.

Anyway, all of my own self-control issues aside, this is a really interesting cake.  The crunch of the polenta and the fig seeds...

the fragrance of the lemon zest...

and the seductive sweetness from the honey...

are all woven together in a moist, golden crumb. 

The cake is, at first glance, rather plain, and my initial urge was to figure out how to add to it.  How to pretty it up.  But then...even though I came up with a few lovely ideas...I couldn't do it.  Not the soft dollop of chantilly cream and a few thin and crunchy curls of lemon zest...not a scoop of lemon sorbet...not even a dusting of confectioners' sugar.  They would have looked nice...but really, this cake doesn't need them. 

And speaking of "this cake" - the Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake for this week's post was chosen by Caitlin of Engineer Baker and can be found in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours on pgs 200-201.

I made mine Sunday morning, ably assisted by my petite sous baker, Julia. 

The cake was easy to put together, and though the recipe calls for a 10  1/2 inch tart pan, I used my trusty 8" model plus a 6" springform pan and things worked out just fine. 

Let's make a cake, shall we?   

Ingredients:

About 16 moist, plump dried Mission or Kadota figs, stemmed

1 cup medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup ricotta

1/3 cup tepid water

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup honey

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus 1 T, cut into bits and chilled

2 large eggs

Hang on...I'm missing something.  Oh yes...forgot to put the lemon zest in the picture.

That's better.

Getting Ready:  Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter a 10  1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Check that the figs are, indeed, moist and plump.  If they are the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry. 

If the figs are large (bigger than a bite), snip them in half.

Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. 

With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey and lemon zest

and beat until light. 

Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. 

You'll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.

Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs. 

Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top.  Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes.  Cool to warm, or cool completely.

And that's all she wrote.

Now, I will say that the butter didn't exactly leave light colored circles...but I also didn't cut the butter in uniformly tiny bits.  My bits were rather haphazard, both in size and placement atop the cake.  So maybe, if I wanted to do anything different, I would improve my butter bit technique. 

But I don't really think it's a huge deal.

I used the 6" cake (Julia's cake) as the tasting cake, because I wanted to use the larger one for my slice-of-the-cake photos. 

I had a small piece, and gave each of the kids a small piece.  Once they were in the dining room with theirs, and I was still chewing my small portion, I quickly sliced another thin wedge for myself and, yes, I gobbled it down shamelessly.

The kids seemed to enjoy the cake, too.

In order to stop myself from eating the rest of the small cake, I quickly sliced it up into wedges, arranged the slices on a pretty little plate, and race-walked them across the street to share with our friends.   Based on the response, I think they'll remain our friends for a while.

I left the final photos (with the bigger cake) for Monday, and it was nice to have a legitimate reason to cut a standard-sized slice of cake

and,

after photographing it from various angles

and with various props,

eat the whole thing myself.

 

I think I'm gonna have to bring some of that large cake across the street, too.

I could use the exercise. 

Fishing on Carbuncle Pond - A Photo Essay. Okay, not so much an essay as a long and rambling monologue.

On the morning after Opening Day of Trout Season 2008, Bill and I took the kids to Carbuncle Pond so they could fish for trout (Bill, Alex, and Julia) and I could walk a trail and take pictures.  There's not enough room in the canoe for the four of us, and we can't exactly leave a kid behind, so I stay on land.  But that's okay.  I've had my turn.  And will again, eventually.

We parked right near the ramp down to the water, and while Bill and I carried the canoe and related stuff down to the shore the kids climbed up and down the rocks and amazingly remained scrape-free.

It was a beautiful morning.  Some clouds, but that was okay.  Fishing's sometimes better when it's cloudy or overcast.  Rain was predicted, but not until later in the day.

Once Bill had the canoe ready to go, he herded the kids aboard

and away they went.

(See the little giraffe dangling off the side, sort of right below Julia's hair?  It's for casting practice in the back yard, instead of using actual sinkers or lures.  Alex's is a frog.)

I took pictures as they headed away from me, and then I set off on the little trail that runs around the perimeter of the pond.  The little hike was nice, actually, as it warmed me up a bit.  I reached a clearing - looked like a little camping area, maybe, and had a better view of Bill and the kids, so I sat down on this stone bench and just took pictures of the water and canoes and sky and all that.  I had the telephoto lens on, so I was also able to track the progress of my three intrepid fishermen (or fisherpeople). 

First catch was Alex's - one of many sunfish.  Bill helped a bit.

   

Here's a slightly closer view...

I think Bill said they ended up catching (and releasing) about 5-6 sunfish.  Alex also had a trout on, but it got off before they could reel it in.

While they fished, I wandered around the area a bit and snapped a few pictures.

 

 

Eventually, and predictably, Julia grew tired of hanging out in the canoe, so Bill headed over to the clearing so Julia could hang out with me while the boys continued fishing.

Note the look of brave patience on our little martyr's face.

Their ride toward me provided me with a few more pretty shots.  Practically silhouettes - the sun, when not hidden by gathering clouds, was so bright.

They dropped her off, and then headed back to the other side of the pond.

I took Julia for walks in the area, and we kept an eye on Bill and Alex.  When they seemed to be wrapping things up, we started following the trail back toward the truck.

 

 

And that was our morning.  Not a bad start to the day. 

And after a quick trip home to switch vehicles and get something to eat, we were off on our next adventure of the day - a trip to Southwick's Zoo.  But that's another story.

Red Thai Curry Paste

I've had a few requests for this recipe, an unfortunately I don't have photos of the whole process, but next time we make this I'll take pictures and add them to this post.

Last year Bill made a big batch of this when he picked peppers from our garden.  Then he froze it in an ice cube tray, popped the cubes out and stored them in a ziploc bag in the freezer.  Same thing with the Green Thai Curry Paste.  Both are tremendously flavorful, as is true of Thai cooking in general.  Lots of fresh, intense ingredients.

Anyway, both recipes are from Keo's Thai Cuisine, one of our favorite Thai cookbooks.  (There's also a link to it and a picture of the cover in my list of Books about Food and Cooking.)

Anyway, most recently Bill made some for a meal of spicy fish tacos on a recent Brew Day.  (He brews beer.  All-grain batches.  BIG batches.)  To serve with the fish, he warmed the paste in a wok with some extra ginger and garlic and added part of a can of coconut milk to give it a creamy texture.  It's EXCELLENT stuff, if you like your heat to have flavor.  That's the thing, in my opinion.  If it's just hot, well, it's boring.  But if it's hot and has tons of flavor, then I'll eat it by the bowlful.  Really.  It's that yummy.  Burns your mouth raw, but in a pleasant way, if you know what I mean.

So, for those of you who have asked about it, here's the basic recipe:

Red Curry Paste

15-20 red chili peppers, seeded
2 stalks fresh lemon grass, coarsely chopped
5 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic
1 T coarsely chopped kha (a type of ginger - you can use regular
ginger)3 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1/4 cup Chinese parsley roots, chopped (cilantro roots, if you
can get them. Or use the stalks)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground caraway seeds
1/2-1 T fish sauce or 1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp shrimp paste (optional)
2 T oil

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process
until smooth. If a mortar and pestle is used, then add oil
after all other ingredients are ground. Refrigerate in a glass
container. Paste keeps well for several months.

And, a few notes from me...

*  We actually didn't have any more red chili peppers left from last summer, so Bill rehydrated about 10 dried red thai chiles in water, and he may have used some green fresh ones and also part of a red bell pepper just to add more color.  It was plenty potent.

*  You can freeze lemon grass, too, which is what we do - we'll buy a bunch of it and freeze it so we always have it available.  If you've never seen lemon grass, you can go here for a good illustration and description of the plant and its uses.  Also, in the upper right corner of the page, there's a picture of kaffir lime leaves.  We also buy these to freeze.  They keep forever (it seems) and impart a distinct citrus+something else flavor and aroma to Thai dishes.

*  Fish sauce is another staple of Thai cooking.  To learn how it's made, you can go here.  Basically, it's a liquid salt element, but the flavor is more than just salty.  And don't be put off by the rather powerful aroma.  Once it's in the food, sauce, paste, whatever, it melds with the other elements of the dish and becomes less...um...pungent.

*  Shrimp paste.  Yep, paste made from tiny, dried, fermented shrimp.  A little goes a very long way.  Again, it adds saltiness to whatever you're making, but like the fish sauce, it is not simply a salt substitute.  Once again, it adds depth of flavor to the mix.  And it's also fun to dare nephews to taste a teaspoonful of it blind and watch the expression on their face change.  At least that's what Bill likes to do.  He's a fun uncle.

Anyway, there you are. 

If you want to make fish tacos and have this as part of the experience, remember to combine it with some coconut milk to make it more of a sauce, rather than a paste.  We used cod, but use whatever kind of fish (shrimp is great, too) you want to.  We also included, as other possible additions to the tacos, the following:  guacamole (it's a nice soothing balance to the heat from the curry paste), cole slaw (goes nicely with the fish), rice (to absorb some of the liquid) and, for those that wanted it, some shredded cheese. 

There's nothing more fun than sitting around the table with a bunch of guys, watching their eyes water and noses run (okay, I try not to watch that part) as they bravely pile more red curry paste/sauce on their fish.  I really don't know why it didn't have the same effect on me.  But it didn't.  And I ate plenty.  Just lucky, I guess. 

But anyway, go make up a batch of this and try it out.  It's DELICIOUS. 

 

Wednesday With Alex

Yesterday (Wednesday) I was a chaperone on a field trip with Alex's kindergarten class (the morning K class) and also the afternoon K class.  Teachers and chaperones and kids combined, there were 63 of us on the bus that went to and from Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT. 

The..........kiddies on the bus make

Lots of noise, lots of noise, lots of noise

The kiddies on the bus make

Lots of noise

All 45 minutes each way.

Actually, mostly on the ride TO.

By the time we rode back, all the kids were worn out by sun and aquatic creature overload and lunch, so the ride was quieter.

I had two kids to keep an eye on.  My own, and one of his friends.  We all squished together on the bus seat and the two kids kept each other entertained for the ride there.  On the ride back, Alex dozed against my shoulder, and his buddy fell asleep leaning his head against the back of the seat in front of us. 

The kids had fun.  We saw the 3 beluga whales - two females and a male on loan from another zoo.  And the kids got to pet small rays (not the stinging variety) in a shallow pool.  Alex loved that - he got to pet 4 of them.  We also saw the sea lion show - 3 sea lions: two adult males, one was 21 and near a thousand pounds, and a "teenager" male - 16 years old.  The third was a rescued baby from California.  They'd tried to rehabilitate him after they'd found him malnourished and on a beach, but he showed up again, in worse shape, so they decided he belonged in an aquarium.  And that, in a little tiny nutshell, is how he ended up at Mystic.  He was adorable - about a year and a half old.

And we saw all sorts of fish and other sea creatures, including sharks, and the tentacles of an extremely shy octopus. 

All in all it was a fun trip for the kids.  We ate lunch in the blazing 85 degree sun (isn't it April?) and then rode the bus home.

Alex had a blast. 

Then last night, I took him to his T-ball practice.  Bill's taken him in the past, so this was my first foray into the world of organized athletics for young 'uns.  And it was fun.  All those little kids.  They practiced running the bases as fast as their assorted-lengthed little legs could carry them...they broke into two teams and played a practice game, so they all had opportunities to hit and run and field and throw to first.  They're still learning that it's not so important WHO gets the ball as long as SOMEONE throws it to the first baseman. 

Alex did well - and by that I mean he did just as well as the other kids.  He's average, but that's fine. 

At the end of practice, they took turns throwing balls at an overturned bucket on top of the T stand.  It represented the first baseman, and the idea was to hit the bucket, which represented his glove.  So they all had turns at that and then their coach's wife (our friends across the street) gave out little baseball magnets to all the kids.  She has also instituted four weekly awards - given to players who demonstrate various examples of good sportsmanship in the previous week's game.   She'd told me about the idea a while ago - I think it was based on some team she'd been on and the coach had done that...I don't remember exactly, but it was a way to reward and motivate the kids.  And at this age, it's a really nice bonus.

Alex was the 4th kid to get a ribbon (it says "Super Star") - his was for "Super Running" - because he ran the bases so hard in their first game. 

His face was priceless.  His eyes widened and his mouth mad an "O" of complete surprise.  He hadn't expected it at all, and was so very thrilled about it that I wanted to cry.  A bit.

On the ride home he told me "I'm starting to like T-ball a little bit more now." 

Excellent.

And that, for the most part, was my wonderful Wednesday with Alex.   

Cakes - Hole in One - 1997

Another golf-themed cake.  More of that fun little Wilton #233 multi-opening piping tip (to make the grass).  I used that tip at every opportunity for a while back then.

I used a sphere cake pan set to make the golf ball - I think I bought the pan set specifically for this cake, and ended up only needing one of the two pans.  The little dimples on the golf ball were made by poking a plastic drinking straw into the royal icing.

The golf ball was white cake, and the little patch of golf course was chocolate.

My original idea was much more dramatic - and less kind.  I wanted to have the golf ball somehow teetering on the edge of the hole without going in.  Ultimate golfing nightmare.  But I just couldn't rig it properly with my limited experience in cake architecture, and I also rationalized that it would be nicer to let the ball drop in on the golfer's birthday. 

I remember he was tickled with the cake, and I ended up making a couple of birthday cakes for his son over the next few years.  Funny how things work.  The son is in college now.  I think he was turning ten when I made the first cake for him.  I'll get to those cakes eventually.

I like this cake.  It's simple, but effective.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Bill's Big Carrot Cake

Yum.  I absolutely love this cake.  It's moist and chewy with raisins and coconut and shredded carrots, and the frosting is smooth and creamy...and cream-cheesey...with a nice zing from the lemon juice.   

When I saw that Amanda of slow like honey had chosen Bill's Big Carrot Cake for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, I was delighted.  I love carrot cake, and so does my husband who, coincidentally, is named Bill.  It was kismet.

I actually made the cake last week (rather than at the last minute on Monday as I'd done with my first two TWD challenges).  My husband brews beer, and several of his beer-brewing squad were coming over last Thursday to brew up about 20+ gallons.  Bill was making spicy fish tacos for lunch, and what better to follow the inferno of a Red Thai Curry Paste (which I have to post here some time - it's so good) than something sweet and moist and soothing.

I made mini cakes because I have 12 mini-springform pans that I haven't used in ages, and this seemed the perfect time to trot them out. 

And, since my mini cakes would be photographed, I decided (and I sort of blame Mari of Mevrouw Cupcake and her girly pink reversable cake plate for this) that I needed some cute interesting little inexpensive plates on which to display my mini cakes and other subsequent baked goods.  So I also went shopping at The Christmas Tree Shop and got as many cute and pretty and interesting little plates as I could carry in the shopping basket.  All I can say is it's a good thing I didn't grab a shopping cart when I walked into the store.  I'd still be washing the price tags off 'em.

Anyway, armed with springform pans and cute plates and a mission to feed a lot of people,  I got out some carrots and started shredding....

The recipe is below, with my own notes typed in italics and embraced by parentheses.

"Bill's Big Carrot Cake"

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Yields 10 servings

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

3 c grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)  (I used a microplane to grate them, and I didn't use all 9 carrots to reach 3 cups.  My kids ate the extras.)

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans  (I had almost enough pecans, but no walnuts, so I used sliced almonds with the pecans.)

1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

 

½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries (I had both dark AND golden, so I used half and half)

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

4 large eggs

Getting ready:

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.  (I buttered and floured 12 mini springform pans, but I only ended up using 10 of them.  5 on one baking sheet, 5 on the other.)

To make the cake:

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.