Garage sale!

A week ago, I went garage-saling. (Yes, that is totally a verb.) Mom, Marta, and I all hopped in the old Ford Bronco (so that we wouldn't look too high-class and people would thus, theoretically, give us better bargains) and drove off into the wild blue yonder. We hit all of Soulsbyville and one estate sale in Twain Harte. Here are the goods (note, these are just mine; the post would be REALLY long if I put everybody's stuff!):

Food scale: $2

Mini crockpot: 50 cents

Darling baby dresses for a friend: $5

My very own springform pan! $1

Levi writing on the board: priceless

My Altoids tin full of coins that I carried around to show the garage sale people that I meant BUSINESS on bargains.

Books: I gave Levi some late birthday presents and got two books of my own.

Awesome metal bowls: package deal, so I'm not really sure how much they were, but they were cheap! And wonderful!

Red belt: also part of the deal

Pastry maker (you put the dough in, add filling, and then fold it over to close the sides): 50 cents

Tiny funnel: free!

Cute 3-bowl set (the other two are stacked inside) with lids: also part of the deal

Rice sock to keep me warm: 50 cents

Heating pad for my bread: $1

And finally, the coup de gras, what you've all been waiting for......

THE BIKE!!! It's an old-fashioned cruiser in mint condition. I got it as part of a package deal with the things above, for $25. I'm so excited to take it back to school next year!

It even has a rearview mirror!

Now if I can just get somebody to go bike-riding with me....

<3

Eliza

Dad is monopolizing this blog post even though it's not Father's day yet

Two or three things to wrap up...

First, mom emailed me a Horizons Newsletter (don't ask me what that means, I guess it just shows that it's official :)  and MY DAD IS AMAZING!!!  Here's the article, quoted:

"The SJCOG Board of Directors recognized the hard work of Manteca Public Works Director Mark Houghton in April with a Golden K Award for his efforts to expedite work with ARRA funding to save money and improve his community. 


"Mr. Houghton brought delivery of planning improvements to the State Route 99 and 120 interchanges at Yosemite Avenue in Manteca, despite warnings by Caltrans that the ARRA project delivery time lines could not be met.

"His team took on responsibility for advertising, awarding, and administering the construction contract to save time and supported development of the project's planning. When the construction bids came in below estimates, Mr. Houghton stepped up to make sure the savings would be used for landscaping on the highway through San Joaquin County.

"That means more than $3 million will now go towards tree planting and landscaping at various Highway 99 interchanges in Manteca. Construction should begin next fall.

"Congratulations Mark and 

thank you for your dedication!"

Dad and Levi at cubs.

Go Dad!  I always knew how amazing he was, and it's nice to see that recognized!  He's awesome!

I also realized that I forgot to put the recipe for eggplant parmesan up on my food post a couple of days ago.  It's my grandma's:

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

-Eggplant

-Olive Oil

-Flour

-Breadcrumbs

-Egg

-Milk

-Salt and Pepper

-Spaghetti sauce

-Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

-Swiss cheese

(None of the ingredients or instructions are precise!)

1. Cut your eggplant longways in 1/2 inch thick slices.

2. Combine egg, milk, and salt and pepper in a bowl.

3. Combine breadcrumbs and flour in a bowl.

4. Pour some olive oil into a skillet (maybe a couple of T) and heat.

5. Dip sliced eggplant into egg mixture and then bread mixture.  Fry until golden brown.

6. Put eggplant into a baking pan and put Swiss cheese on top of it.  Pour spaghetti sauce over it (more is better).  Then sprinkle parmesan cheese over the mixture.

7. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until tender and cooked.

8. Enjoy!

And one more recipe, which is delicious in every way: Ratatouille.  It's healthy, simple, and cheap as well.

Halfway made...





Almost ready for the oven!

RATATOUILLE

-1 small eggplant

-1 large yellow squash

-1 large/two small zucchini

-1 long red bell pepper

-1 1/4 cup tomato puree

-1/2 onion

-2 cloves garlic

-Salt and pepper

-Fresh thyme

-2 T olive oil

1. Pour tomato puree into a ten-inch oval casserole.

2. Chop onion finely and slice garlic thin.  Add to tomato puree with 1 T olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

3. Slice the vegetables as fine as you can (1/16 inch if possible).  It would probably be easier with a food processor, but you can do it yourself - it just takes some time.

4. Layer the vegetables one by one (My pattern - one slice eggplant, two slices yellow squash, three slices zucchini, one slice red bell pepper) depending on your proportions and slice sizes.  They should start at the outside of the pan and circle to the inside. (see picture)

5. Drizzle remaining 1 T olive oil over; add salt and pepper and fresh thyme leaves (add lots of thyme - it's really good!)

5. Put in a 375 degree oven for 45-55 minutes, until cooked but not browned.  If you don't like the veggies crisp on top, put a piece of parchment paper over them.

6. Serve and enjoy.  Adding couscous or another grain and some plain goat cheese is a delicious option.  You can also eat it plain.

*Original recipe here.

<3

Eliza

Cakes

This past weekend I went crazy.  CAKE crazy.  We had those fresh mangoes from the flea market, and I really wanted to try out the mango curd that was on mom's planned birthday cake (even though her birthday isn't until August, I wanted to make sure the recipe wasn't a dud...)  And then Levi's birthday was on Tuesday and I realized that I needed to make his ice cream cake, featuring mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate cake.  So I had a cake-crazy weekend.  Here's the damage:


MANGO CAKE (Saturday)

Obviously the cake doesn't look its best here; it disappeared too quickly for me to get a good picture beforehand!  This is the leftovers in the fridge.  Still delicious :)

The MANGO CURD* (this made more than enough for two 8" cakes):
-A little bit less than 2 cups cubed mango.  I used Haitian mangoes, and they worked out great.
-Approximately 1/3 cup sugar
-3 T fresh lime juice (lemon juice can be substituted for some or all of this)
-4 large egg yolks (save the whites for the frosting!)
-1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

1. Puree the first three ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
2. Add yolks; puree 15 seconds more.
3. Strain through sieve set over large metal bowl; discard solids**
4. Set metal bowl over pot of simmering water, not allowing the bowl to touch the water.
5. Whisk puree until thickened and 170°F, about 10-13 minutes.
6. Remove from over water; whisk butter in one piece at a time.
7. Cover and refrigerate OVERNIGHT
8. Spread on delicious cake.  Yum.

*Adapted from here
**Note: with the Haitian mangoes (small, yellow, tear-shaped) I had almost no solids, so next time I probably wouldn't strain them.  But other types of mangoes, especially the big ones you normally get at grocery stores, tend to be stringier, so they need to be strained.


VANILLA BUTTERMILK CAKE (not from a mix!!!)
This recipe made enough to fill four 8-inch cake pans with approximately 2 cups of batter in each pan
-3 3/4 cups cake flour (I substituted 3 cups all-purpose flour and 6 T corn starch)
-2 1/2 cups sugar
-1 T plus 2.75 t baking powder
-2 1/2 sticks butter
-1 1/4 plus 1/3 cup buttermilk, divided
-5 whole eggs
-2 egg yolks (save the whites for the frosting!)
-2.5 t vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325.  Butter two* (if you want to do it in two batches, four if you plan to bake them all in one batch) 8" pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter again.
2. Combine cake flour, sugar, and baking powder in large mixing bowl; mix for 30 seconds, or until well blended.
3. Add butter and 1 1/4 cup buttermilk; mix on low until blended, then mix on medium for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and the remaining 1/3 cup of buttermilk.  Add to the flour mixture in three additions.
5. Bake for 26-28 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
6. Cool on wire rack, then chill in the fridge.

*I made four 8" pans full.  The original recipe calls for three 9" pans to make one cake.



SWISS BUTTERCREAM* (made enough for my two cakes plus some left over.   It's addicting, so watch out.
-1 cup sugar
-4 large egg whites
-3 sticks plus 2 T butter, softened (this is why it's so good)
-1 t vanilla extract

1. Whisk egg whites and sugar in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water (as before, don't let the water touch the bowl.  Whisk occasionally until you can't feel sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers.
2. Transfer mixture into mixer (DO NOT let any water get into the mix from condensation on the bottom of the bowl!); mix until white and about doubled in size.
3. Add vanilla.
4. Add butter one stick at a time.
5. Whip, whip, whip.  It can take up to 12 minutes to form up.  Stop when it's a spreading, mayo-like consistency.  I know that sounds gross, but it's so not.

*Original recipe here

PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Put one cake layer on your desired cake plate.  Put a border of frosting around the inside circle like this and then add the mango curd to the middle.  Put the other layer of cake on top, and frost!  Try to keep from eating it all in one night.



And now, the
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake! (Made and consumed on Monday; LEVI's birthday cake!)

The finished cake.  Yes, it was as delicious as it looks. 

Cool candles, mom!

I know, I know.  It looks like double-stuffed mint oreos.  But it's so much more...

The birthday boy and I.

MINT-CHOCOLATE BUTTERMILK CAKE*

With this recipe I made six 8" pans of chocolate cake.  That's enough for two triple-layer ice cream cakes... One is still waiting to be assembled!

-3 cups cake flour (or substitute 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus 6 T cornstarch)

-3 cups sugar

-1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

-3 t baking soda

-3 sticks butter, at room temperature

-1 1/2 cups buttermilk

-3 eggs

-1 1/2 cups hot chocolate, cooled to room temperature

-Approximately 10 drops mint extract

1. Preheat the over to 350.  Butter the 8" pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and then butter the parchment paper.

2. In large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda.  Blend 30 seconds.

3. Add butter and buttermilk; blend on low until moistened.  Then increase power to medium and mix 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

4. Whisk eggs, hot chocolate, and mint extract; add to batter in 3 additions.

5. Add approximately 4/3 cup to each pan.  You will make a total of six pans, but you can do them in separate batches if you don't have six 8" pans.  (What??  You don't?!?  A travesty!)

6. Bake about 33 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.  

7. Cool on wire racks; if making the whole ice cream cake, wrap and freeze them.

*The recipe is adapted from here.  I added an optional mint flavor; leave it out if you just want chocolate cake.

THE ICE CREAM*

-Use good quality mint chocolate chip ice cream.  

1. Line the pans you will use for the chocolate cake with seran wrap (use plenty; you'll want to have enough hanging off the side to wrap the ice cream completely)

2. Scoop slightly-softened (if it's been out of the freezer for 5-10 minutes, you should be fine) ice cream into the pan, to the desired height.  

3. Put the seran wrap over the ice cream; press down to make the top smooth.

4. Remove and freeze on a flat surface; alternately, leave in the pans, if you don't need them for a while

*Do this process at least 3 hours before you plan to assemble the cake!

MINT-CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM FROSTING*

At first I thought this would be good as plain chocolate frosting.  Then I got adventurous and added mint.  Then I was scared.  Finally, I was relieved.  It's an interesting flavor; kind of like a mint truffle.  It's light and tart; good stuff!

Oh, and it makes at least enough frosting for one cake.  I don't know whether it would have made enough for two cakes because people snitched so much of it that there's barely any left to put together the second cake!

-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

-2 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature (I used fat free, and it turned out fine)

-1/4 cup light corn syrup

-Approximately 10 drops mint extract

1. Melt chocolate in microwave (15-second segments of time, stirring between each, until melted); let cool until tepid.

2. Whisk together sour cream, corn syrup, and mint extract

3. Add chocolate slowly and stir until combined.

4. Taste.  If not sweet enough add more corn syrup, in 1 t increments.  Add mint as needed.

5. Let cool in the refrigerator until spreading consistency.

*Adapted loosely from this recipe

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

1. Put one chocolate cake layer on cake plate of choice.  

2. Spread with a very light layer of frosting.

3. Put one frozen ice cream disk on top of frosting.

4. Frost another cake layer lightly, on both sides.  Put on top.

5. Add another ice cream disk.

6. Add one more layer of cake with a thin layer of frosting on the bottom.

7. Take immediately to freezer; leave for at least one hour.

8. Remove from freezer; frost quickly.  The frosting will freeze within a few seconds of application, so be fast!

9. Freeze again, for at least 30 minutes.

10. Remove and serve!  Delicious!

This blog post showcases two entire days of my life.  Now please excuse me while I go to the gym...

<3

Eliza

Food!

Since I've been home, I've been cooking.  A lot.  So this post will just have a bunch of pictures from all the food I've been making!

Up first: SUPREME GOURMET SANDWICHES

Yum, caramelized onions...

Grilled bell pepper and portobello mushroom...

Roasted red pepper cream cheese and several kinds of deli meats and cheeses...

Yum...

Stacked in the fridge to squish so they'd be a) easier to eat, b) more delicious because the flavors could mingle...

Can anyone say delicious?

Next, the sugary wonderland of RAINBOW CUPCAKES!

Yeah, I know they don't look really rainbow in this picture, but wait!  (They do look pretty cute, courtesy of Marta using leftover filling to pipe on top.  Although I'm not sure how I feel about a wedding ring cupcake)

Here's what we did: divided our lemon cupcake batter into three separate bowls and added a different color of food coloring to each of the bowls.  Then we put one spoon of each into the cupcake cups and baked!  The colors didn't meld together and they were so exciting!

Then, against Marta's wishes, I made cupcake filling (note to self: different recipe next time, this one was too sugary) along with frosting - PURPLE frosting.  Jealous yet?  Oh, and I piped the filling into the already-baked cupcakes.  It was a new experience, and it rocked my world.

This is Tess, high on sugar from these cupcakes.  She's still pretty cute though :)

This is my favorite cupcake.  I ate it.  It was delish.

Next, the SHAKSHUKA

Shakshuka is an Israeli dish with eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce.  Even with limited time, this was easy and amazingly good.  The stuff on the top is parsley and feta.

It was supposed to be served with warm pita.  Unfortunately, the make-do flat bread was burned when I was finishing the soup.  Still good though!

A few of the other things I've made recently: 

Spinach soup with rosemary croutons - AMAZING.  I substituted chard for some of the spinach and it was great too.  I highly recommend this recipe.  Besides being yummy, it's like a warm salad - healthy but good for cold weather.

StrawberryTart and Lemon Tart - I made both of these and they were REALLY good.  The best part, though, was probably the pastry dough.

Spaghetti with chard and garlic chips - admittedly I only roughly adapted this recipe, using the signature three ingredients with no help at adaptation from the recipe.  But it was good.  Very good.  

Garlic rosemary artisan bread.  Using the artisan bread recipe here, separate one loaf's worth of dough.  Knead in approximately two finely minced cloves of garlic and enough fresh chopped rosemary so it's studded throughout.  Bake as usual and then enjoy!

Blue cheese burgers.  I am very proud of myself for making these.  A pound of ground beef, 2 oz. of blue cheese, a spoonful of dijon mustard, some chopped green onions, salt and pepper, approximately 1/4 cup chopped raw bacon, an egg, and 1 T of water.  They were AMAZING in every possible way.  

 Levi's birthday dinner - yesterday (HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY LEVI!!!).  Because Levi requested several Chinese dishes and I also made a cake (more on that later), Mom insisted that we do store-bought for most of the food.  Egg rolls, potstickers for won ton soup, and the orange chicken were all made courtesy of the freezer section of my favorite store, Grocery Outlet.  I made homemade ham chow mein, using the Oriental cookbook I bought last week at a garage sale.  Luke put together the won ton soup.  Marta and Mom collaborated on the orange chicken.  It was great.  But this is the best part of the entire meal:

Here is the power tool that Mom used to cut the hunk of frozen ham shown below.  She's a beast.  

Notice how straight and even those cuts are.  Amazing.  

I have made a ton of other dishes, but as Marta closed all the tabs on my computer, I don't have a digital record of what they were.  Grrr....  Oh well.  These ones were the best anyways.  And any I think of later I'll add!  

<3

Eliza

(Who is somewhat sad that work starts next week, because it will make it very hard to cook as often as I have been doing.  Although I will not miss the constant grocery store stops)

P.S. The cake recipes are coming up tomorrow in my next post.

P.P.S. A quick look at what's coming up in my world of cooking:
-Bretzel rolls
-Ratatouille
-THIS (Just kidding.  Do you think I really want to make the perfect cake, a cake that would compel me to eat until it was all gone and I was 20 pounds heavier?  Maybe I'll just save the recipe for a special occasion...)
-Chicken salad (still looking for the ideal recipe, although this one appeals to me) with a light brioche bun...
-Perfection in a cookie: pumpkin peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.  I still have to adapt/create a recipe though.  Stay tuned.

I love cooking at home with only part-time work :D

I love my mom

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Although it’s a day late, I’d like to dedicate this post to my lovely, wonderful, and fabulous mother, who is also amazing in every way.

A few reasons why my mom is amazing (in no particular order):

1. Her meanness
Mom used to tell us that she was the meanest mom in the world, whenever she wouldn’t give us candy, a new toy, or time off from chores. But looking back I appreciate that meanness, because I can see now that it really was an expression of love. She wanted us to grow up independent, strong, and knowing how to work. There actually was method to the madness (or meanness…)

2. Her independence and frugality
Mom has always been a little bit…dare I say… cheap. And not in a bad way. She saves money on less important things by shopping for bargains, making her own, or doing without, and uses that saved money to fund once-in-a-lifetime trips, experiences, and opportunities. She makes her own bread (and grinds her own wheat for the bread), is very well acquainted with our power tools, and keeps a year’s supply of food for an emergency. She has encouraged these same tendencies in her kids by making us pay for our own nonessential expenses starting at the age of twelve and by making us work hard! She has taught me to read the weekly ads, make do with creative solutions, and relish the independence I achieve by doing things on my own.

3. Her projects
My mother is a project woman. This stems largely from her independence and frugality. When she wants something she goes out and gets it done; she doesn’t hire someone else. As long as I can remember, we’ve remodeled the houses we’ve lived in. We built our most recent house. My mom decided that she wanted to build a house, and so she did. (P.S. I am not discounting my dad in this process, but his participation in the projects will have to be saved for Father’s Day) My parents found a lot, cleared it of poison oak, trees, and brush that were so thick you couldn’t walk more than a few feet onto the property, designed the house, got the plan approved, hired some of my older cousins to come help build it, laid the foundation, put up the walls, nailed on siding, built porches and roofs, and did the interior, including plumbing and electrical. The only service I remember my parents paying someone else to do was texturing the walls, because they didn’t have the equipment and didn’t feel it would be practical to buy it. Oh, and they also had to hire someone to blow up the hill where the house is, because it was so steep. They even rented a tractor to do most of that work themselves! During this time mom was raising five kids, acting as a chauffeur for all of us, moving us, living in a trailer, feeding (with some help from me) the crew of family, cousins, and grandpa, and managing finances for all of the building process. And she was a VERY active participant in actually putting the house together. Holy cow! That’s the biggest project I remember. Mom is also liable to take on any number of smaller projects at any given time. Some of the more recent include canning probably over 10 gallons of tomatoes, remodeling our study with wood gotten for free from the now-closed Gottschalks, and building beds for the two girls and herself, including drawers and shelves underneath. I’m still not quite at the level of mom (like I’ll ever be, ha!) but I’ve noticed myself become more project-oriented over the years. I’m working on achieving the staying power to stick with a project through thick and thin, like she does!

4. Her testimony
Mom always made the effort to have family prayers, mealtime prayers, family home evening, and family scriptures in the morning. I don’t remember much about being seven, but one thing that I do remember is getting up in the morning and reading scriptures with Mom and Dad. That has helped me to learn the value of scripture reading. Through my mom’s example I’ve learned to ask hard questions about the gospel, but still know that it’s true, even if I’m not entirely sure about the details. She showed me how to express my own testimony through the way I live. And she taught me that you can always go to Heavenly Father in prayer and expect answers. Her testimony has shaped mine.


All of mom’s other amazing qualities will have to be saved for another day. I just hope she knows how much I love and appreciate her for the person she is and for all she does every day. I’m happy every time I realize I’m doing something she would do, or reacting the way she would to a situation. As I’ve gone off to college, I’ve realized just how wonderful my mom really is. She’s fabulous. She is strong and stubborn, persistent and loving, and I want to be just like her. Thanks mom.


<3 Eliza

Mom and I hanging over a canyon on our hike up to Overlook Point.  She was much more adventurous than I was!