I am a good dad, but a rotten baseball coach.

Granted he was two, but I'm pretty sure that unless he's sliding in to avoid the tag or dodging a high and inside brush back pitch, he shouldn't be on the ground. As of right now I think hes just attracted to the violence of hitting things with a bat. I hope that he will develop into a decent athlete despite all my "help." Otherwise we may need to hide from his swing away mentality. You can't really tell from the video but I am holding him back from swinging and as soon as I let his bat go he's attacking anything in the way with all his might. He's all boy that,s for sure, and he's figured out a lot of boy things without my help. Most of the time his mom, sisters and I wonder where he's getting all the things he comes up with. For the most part we are just holding on for dear life and trying to stay out of the range of his swing. Luckily this video didn't meet the AFV standard for baseball videos.

God bless us and our cake

As I stated in the Monte Cristo post, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is my favorite book. Ever. One of my favorite holiday traditions is to read it starting after Thanksgiving, finishing it on or near Christmas Eve. I enjoy the many retellings on film with my favorite being the Muppet version followed closely by the 1951 version featuring Alistair Sim (see below). Ebeneezer Scrooge's story of reclamation usually succeeds in bringing a bit of holiday moisture to my eyes especially during Jacob Marley's impassioned lamentation for the good he could have done and let pass by because he was consumed by his business. "Business...mankind was my business..." is my most favorite written line in literature. If human beings could all remember that sentiment and not just at Christmas time we would not force the ill favored children of men, "Want" and "Ignorance," to appeal for relief to anyone but their rightful parents.

I LOVE this beautiful reminder to open ourselves up like Scrooge's nephew Fred and share the goodness of life with those around us. Or the portly gentlemen seeking to provide warmth and Christmas cheer to the poor and destitute. There is much good we can do for our fellow travelers to the grave if we would but open our eyes to see it.

Even young Ebeneezer was treated to "a curiously heavy cake" by his schoolmaster upon leaving school at Christmas time. And while the implication in the indictment of the "curiously light wine" leaves me thinking the cake wasn't so much a delicacy as an affront to yuletide pastry, it made me think of devils food cake, which is at once heavy and deliciously rich. I had aspirations to share this beautiful creation with some neighbors but the fork moved faster than my will to share and it was gone before I knew it. Perhaps I still need to learn the lessons Scrooge was fortunate enough to learn from the ghosts, past, present, and future. Maybe I will be visited by aparitions warning me of dire consequences if I do not change my ways. Or perhaps I will notice my clothes shrinking and realize that I gotta stop eating everything I see and start exercising again. Oh the Ghost of Christmas Treadmill leave me be!!!

And so I give you...

Moist and Tender Devil's Food Cake

From cooksillustrated.com

Why this recipe works:

Makes three 8-inch cakes Regular, or natural, cocoa like Hershey's can be used with good results, though the cakes will bake up a bit drier, redder, and with slightly less chocolate flavor.

Ingredients

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups water (boiling)
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened, plus extra for greasing pans
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, grease three 8-inch cake pans with butter and line bottom of each pan with parchment paper round. Combine chocolate and cocoa in medium bowl; pour boiling water over and whisk until smooth. Sift together flours, baking soda, and salt onto large sheet parchment or waxed paper; set aside.

2. Place butter in bowl of standing mixer and beat at medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add brown sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium-high and add eggs one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each addition. Reduce speed to medium; add sour cream and vanilla and beat until combined, about 10 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape down bowl. With mixer on low, add about one third of flour mixture, followed by about one half of chocolate mixture. Repeat, ending with flour mixture; beat until just combined, about 15 seconds. Do not overbeat. Remove bowl from mixer; scrape bottom and sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix gently to thoroughly combine.

3. Divide batter evenly among cake pans, smooth batter to edges of pan with rubber spatula. If baking three 8-inch cakes, place two pans on lower-middle rack and one on upper-middle rack. Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes for 8-inch cakes. Cool on wire rack 15 to 20 minutes. Run knife around pan perimeter to loosen. Invert cakes onto large plate; peel off parchment, and reinvert onto lightly greased rack. Cool completely before icing.

I topped it with

Fluffy White Frosting 
From
The All American Dessert Book
Nancy Baggett

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large), completely free of yolk and at room temperature.
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water, plus 3 Tablespoons warm water, if needed (divided)
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1. Place the whites in a completely grease-free large bowl. Set the bowl in a larger bowl of very hot water and let stand, gently stirring occaisionally, until the whites warm to 100° F (or very warm to the touch), about 10 minutes. (It's usually necessary to replace the water with more hot water once or twice to warm the whites sufficiently.)
2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup of water in a heavy 2 quart saucepan, stirring until well blended. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. With a pastry brush dipped in warm water or a damp paper towel, wipe away any sugar from the pan sides. Continue boiling, without stirring further, for 2-3 minutes longer or until the mixture reaches 240° F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat. (To test for the doneness without a candy thermometer, remove the pan from the heat after 1 minute. Drop a teaspoon of the syrup iinto ice water. if cooked enough, after 10 seconds the syrup will form a firm ball that softens just slightly when squeezed between your fingertips. If the ball is not firm, cook for 30 seconds longer, remove the pan from the heat, test again, and continue cooking, if necessary, until it is the right consistency.)
3. Using a mixer (with a wisk-shaped beater, if available) on low speed, beat the whites, cream of tartar, and salt for 30 seconds. Increase the speed ti medium and beat until the whites are very frothy and opaque and just begin to peak. Immediately reheat the syrup just to simmering. 
4. Beating the whites on medium speed, immediately begin slowly pouring the syrup in a thin stream down the bowl sides (avoid the beaters, or the syrup will stick to them). Pour so that all the syrup is incorporated in about 30 seconds. Continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Raise the speed to high and beat until the mixture stands in stiff but not dry peaks and has cooled to warm, 3-4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla until evenly incorporated. The frosting is easiest to spread when fluffy and fairly soft (the consistency of stiffly whipped cream). If it seems too stiff or at all gummy, gradually beat up to 3 tablespoons warm water to soften. (Note that the frosting will continue to stiffen as it cools and stands.)
5. Frost the cake immediately, following the directions provided in the specific cake recipe.

  Together this cake and frosting created an oreo effect. It was good enough for my picky kids and I think I ate half the darn thing myself.

Don't repeat my mistakes or the same waistband awaits you!!!

Do enjoy sharing some cake this holiday season and Merry Christmas!  

Science is so cool!!

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

My dad used to work at a facility where they used liquid nitrogen on a fairly regular basis. I remember him freezing a spider once. I was fascinated by that. I have always wanted to "play" with the stuff since then but nothing has made me want my own bottle as bad as watching science expert Kevin Delaney, make a cloud on the Jimmy Fallon show. The full video is awesome if you are into cool science tricks (which I obviously am) check it out below. You know, if I was better at math I think being a science expert would have been a really awesome career choice. Of course it's not all making clouds and floating tinfoil boats on tanks of sulfur hexaflouride. For someone who grew up watching Bill Nye and even some of the later Mr. Wizard shows this is awesome. 

because of all the Sand-wichs there...at Disneyland...and it's yummy.

Yes, I am aware that the Monte Cristo sandwich was not eaten within the pages of this book. The savory predecessor to the sweet Monte Cristo, the Croque Monsieur wasn't noted on a menu until the early 1900's. When I was trying to come up with books to include in the blog, my beautiful bride asked me what my favorite book was. Aside from A Christmas Carol, which will be the subject of a later post, The Count of Monte Cristo is my almost tied for favorite book. I read it when I was in the 8th grade (probably a condensed version at 600 pages. Only recently when I read it again did I realize that its really closer to 1400 depending upon the translation). I was taken with the idea of revenge upon those who destroyed Edmond Dantes prospects as well as his good fortunes upon escaping the Island prison, Chateau d'If. I felt the tragedy of Dantes' situation but it always stuck with me that many innocent lives were swept up in the devastation of Edmond's revenge and the impression I got from the ending was that his revenge was still not fully satisfying. 

The Monte Cristo sandwich was a no brainer. I have always wanted to try one and when you say the name of the book you can't help but think about it. Apparently Disneyland has a legendary one and i found a multitude of Pinterest pins entitled "copycat Disneyland Monte Cristo sandwich." If you have never had one, the best way I can describe it is that is like a pancake-french-toast-ham-and-cheese sandwich. It can be deep fried or pan fried. and the batter in the recipe I used made a terrific pancake once the sandwiches were all made. So make up a couple of sandwiches and settle down for a good long read, you will be there a while...

So, without further ado... I give you...

Copycat Disneyland Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 4 mins

Total time: 9 mins

Author: Karlynn Johnston aka The Kitchen Magpie

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Sweet Batter Ingredients:
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 large egg
• ¾ cup of milk
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Sandwich Ingredients:
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 8 slices Turkey
• 8 slices Ham
• 8 slices Texas Style White Bread or any square formed white bread
• Vegetable Oil - an inch deep in a large skillet
• Powdered Sugar
• Raspberry jam for dipping

Instructions

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the milk and egg thoroughly.
3. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and combine until there are no lumps. The batter should be fairly runny, yet still thick enough to stick to the sandwich.If needed, add a teensy bit more milk.
4. Make the sandwiches by layering a slice of swiss cheese, then the 4 meat slices, then swiss cheese, top with the remaining slice of bread. Putting cheese on either side of the meat ensures a beautiful melty goodness when you are done!
5. Leave the sandwiches whole for frying, as you lose the cheesy goodness inside otherwise. Only slice them after they are cooked up!
6. Place a toothpick on each corner of the sandwich.
7. Dip the whole sandwich in the batter, covering the surface completely and fry in 340 degrees F oil until golden. The Texas toast will take longer to heat up the inside, thus the lower frying temperature. If you are using normal bread, you can go up to around 360 degrees F for frying.
8. Remove and drain on paper towels.
9. Remove the toothpicks and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
10. If you want the real Disney deal, dip your sandwich in raspberry jam!

P.S. I didn't deep fry mine so I only coated the top and bottoms of the sandwiches with the batter. I also cooked the remaining batter as a pancake. It was such an awesome pancake that I may just use this batter as a pancake recipe from now on. 

Christmas

I love nativity paintings. This is one I haven't seen before. I love the contrast between Mary, Jesus and the shepherds. Also The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has produced the video below to help us focus on the Savior of the World similar to the way Bartolomé Esteban Murillo intended us to focus on his painting. This really is the most wonderful time of the year but not because of the reasons Andy Williams sings about, as good as those reasons may be. And sometimes my propensity to wax long winded gets in the way. Like now. I am going to shut up and let this video speak for itself. Enjoy!!

C & H not the sugar.

Newspaper comics have a special place in my heart. I don't know why but I love to read them. My beautiful bride laughs at me because when I have the funny pages in my hands I have to read them in a certain order and don't even think about reading them to me or spoiling punchlines. Reading the Funnies is serious business. My three favorite of the syndicated strips include Cul-De-Sac by Richard Thompson, Lio by Mark Tatulli, and, last but not least, Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson.  Watterson's portrayal of adolescent hedonism contrasted with a philosophical intelligence beyond Calvin's six years has made for some well beloved moments snuggled in a blanket with a C & H collection in front of me. It's also made for some milk through the nose moments which has made me reluctant to drink anything while reading.

The inspiration for today's post comes from Calvin's mom. One day, after playing out in the cold snowy weather, Calvin's mom bundles him up in front of the fire with a mug of hot cocoa, some peanut butter crackers, and some comic books, which sounds a little bit like heaven to me. I wanted to personalize it a bit and changed the crackers to vanilla frosted graham crackers (chocolate would be better on their own but since the hot chocolate recipe is rich enough to satisfy your need for chocolate for a few hours or minutes I felt vanilla was a better match.

 

I have to warn you This hot chocolate is so rich you may need to add some milk to it or keep a glass of water handy. It's really good but I don't want to be responsible for putting anyone in a chocolate coma. So enjoy at your own risk but I give my full and complete endorsement to do just that. So without further superlative verbosity I give you...

Creamy Crockpot Hot Cocoa {Best Ever!}

from 

Mrs. Happy Homemaker

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups whipping cream
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups of chocolate chips (milk chocolate OR semi-sweet depending on how sweet you like it. I have a heck of a sweet tooth, and I love the milk chocolate, but others prefer the semi-sweet)

easel.ly

Mistakes, Cake, and Christian Children's books

C.S. Lewis is considered by some to be a prolific Christian apologist. His treatment of the battle between the forces of good and evil from the devil (Screwtape and Wormwood) perspective is fascinating and a bit self revelatory. His explanation of love in The Four Loves is eye opening to say the least. My favorite of his works, however, is the series revolving around the magical kingdom of Narnia and the people whose lives are affected by up close encounters with life and the relationships they develop with each other. I don't remember the first time I read these but I remember loving the stories even before I could understand the Christ centered symbolism.

In looking for a food item in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (which I still read as the first book in the series) I came across sugar topped cake during the meal with the beavers on their dam. A quick internet search suggested that a streusel topped coffee cake would work just fine to satisfy my sweet tooth. As you can see from below it did not turn out as I would have hoped. It was in fact very chewy and the cinnamon-brown sugar mixture ended up on the bottom instead of the top. I don't know what i did wrong but it tasted OK.

I went with it though because if I learned anything from this book series it's that mistakes will be made. Some mistakes are costly, some are negligible, but everyone of us makes them. In the books Aslan pays the price for Edmund's folly, in real life Jesus Christ paid the price for everybody. I am still going to try to avoid making mistakes but when I do make them, I know there is a way they can be righted. So in the spirit of Edmund Pevensie I give you sugar topped cake...

Or as the America's Test Kitchen calls it..
Quick Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake

Ingredients

• Streusel

• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (2 1/3 ounces)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar (2 1/3 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup pecans, almonds, or walnuts, chopped coarse

• Cake

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk or whole plain yogurt
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar (7 ounces)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
• 3 large eggs
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

easel.ly

     Aparently its not supposed to look like this,
good luck with yours
and enjoy
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Breathing deep and burning fat??? Can I cut out the exercise then?

Triglyceride Molecule aka FAT

Recently I heard a theory that made me hopeful. I checked it out and the Mayo Clinic agrees so there you have it. The theory says that fat is made of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. Breaking fats down is a chemical process which reduces these elements to a gaseous state. No, I'm not talking about THAT gas. Stand Down all you potty joke people! The theory also states that the carbon dioxide your body exhales contains a portion of what used to be fat in your body. Breathing out rids the body of fat? Ive gotta try this.

 

OK, so I've got some work to do. Apparently you have to have a caloric deficit for this to work really well. I Should probably look to a professional for some proper technique.

Or try this helpful 'How To' on the benefits of adding more oxygen to your fat burning process through Oxycise. 

Watch out for Grandma she's got this down. 

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Crock Pot Chocolate Lava Cake. Okay!!

You'll find that my taste in literature runs pretty wide and deep. I like 18th century British novels, 1980's newspaper comics, 6th grade coming of age stories and etc, etc, you get the picture. I like to read and if I find it entertaining, enlightening, humorous or nostalgic, I'll like it and recommend it.

I make no apologies about this, I just want to explain that yes I like Moby Dick but I also like children's books. I recommended O. Henry but one of these days I will recommend a Calvin and Hobbes collection. If you have never read Patrick McManus you are in for a real treat, outdoor humor may not be your thing but he may just make you reconsider.

For anyone who has had a younger sibling Judy Blume does a nice job of capturing the feelings of the experience. Every older sibling I know comes to the realization, sooner or later, that their younger siblings have some redeeming qualities and are not actively attempting to ruin the older sibling's life. It may not be until their late 20's but at some point, mother's prediction that "one day you will be great friends and actually love and miss each other" will actually come true.

"Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" is a great book which provides a very human and humorous look at the life of Fourth grader Peter Hatcher and his younger brother "Fudge." Yes, Fudge acts the typical two year old "godzilla" of a younger brother but when push comes to shove Peter actually loves the little pest.

This is a great one to read with kids of all ages, especially when you get to the part about the Chocolate cake and your tummy starts rumbling....

First, I want to make it perfectly clear that I did not take this photo. It came from the delicious blog jamiecooksitup.net, where I got the recipe for this week's book inspired treat. The reason you don't see a beautiful picture of the cake I made is that we ate it before we could get a picture.

My beautiful bride and I were busy with responsibilities for our congregation's Halloween party. I made the cake for the crock pot/dutch oven cook-off but it wasn't done on time so we had to take it home. It is a good thing we didn't have a gallon of vanilla ice cream because I'm pretty sure I would have descended into chocolate depravity. When the recipe calls for a chocolate cake mix, a box of chocolate pudding, and a 12 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips its a wonder we didn't attract all the emotionally disconsolate females within a five mile radius of our house. Its hard to eat more than a serving or two but I gave it the old college try. THIS. IS. RICH. and delicious so grab a scoop of your favorite ala mode and dig in to the gooey, decadence which is:

Crock Pot Chocolate Lava Cake.(as found at jamiecooksitup.net)

Time: 15 min. prep + 2 1/2 hours cooking
Yield: 12 servings
Recipe from Betty Crocker

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 1/4 C milk
1/2 C vegetable or canola oil
3 eggs
1 (3.9 ounce) instant chocolate pudding
2 C milk (I used 1 %)
1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips
parchment paper

1. Grab a 3-4 quart crock pot and line it with parchment paper. Spray the inside of the paper with cooking spray. The parchment paper helps the cake cook without burning along the edges. You can make it without the paper, just be sure to watch it closely.
2. Find yourself a nice chocolate cake mix and pour it into your stand mixer or medium-sized mixing bowl.
3. Add 1 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup oil and 3 eggs. Beat on low-speed for 1 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the batter in nice and glossy.4. Pour the batter into the lined crock pot.
5. Pour one small box of chocolate pudding into your stand mixer or medium-sized mixing bowl. Add 2 cups cold milk and beat it until the pudding thickens. Should take about 3-4 minutes.6. Pour the pudding over the top of the cake batter. Don't stir it. Really, cross my heart and hope to die. It will cook up best if you leave the layers be.
7. Grab a bag of milk chocolate chips and pour the pretty little things all over the top of the pudding. Again, please do not stir it.
8. Cover the crock and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, or until the top of the cake is set. The bottom layer of the cake will be all gooey and soft. Yum.
9. Place some on a plate and add a  cool scoop of ice cream or whipped cream right on top.

Autumn makes me think of New England...and great white whales.

In case you were wondering, yes, this was delicious. The potatoes were tender and had absorbed much of the flavor from the clams and the seasoning. The bacon added a nice smoky component and seemed to play very nicely with the clams. I have to admit though that I didn't make it. My wife did and she did an AMAZING job. She said that it was a fairly easy recipe to follow although she did modify it a little due to the expensive nature of clams in the inter-mountain west. ($5.99 per lbs. Ouch!) Clam chowder is something we love to eat especially on cool fall and cold winter evenings. Chowder also goes extremely well with reading and this weeks book is Moby Dick.

Melville's educational narrative of Ishmael's tragic voyage with Captain Ahab, Queequeg, Starbuck, and all the rest of the ill fated crew of the Pequod is a fabulous read. The first line is among the best in literature and contains a mere 3 words. "Call me Ishmael." I found this book very entertaining especially all the things I learned about whales and whaling (from an 1800's perspective). In the beginnings of the story Ishmael and Queequeg seek nourishment  and the tavern they dine at serves up a particularly delicious meal perfectly suited for cool fall weather. New England clam chowder, though not made of Albino Sperm Whale is still a "seafood" that I consider...cozy. 

Tell me what you think, in the comments section, about Moby Dick, Clam Chowder, or any of the other posts you've read. And please share my blog with anyone you know who loves to read or loves to eat or both. In the meantime here is the recipe my wife used.

America's Test Kitchen 

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• 7 pounds medium-size hard-shell clams, such as littleneck, topneck, or small cherrystone, washed and scrubbed clean. (We used 16 oz of canned minced clams with their juices and an additional 8oz of clam juice.) 
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon (about 4 ounces), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced medium (about 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 medium boiling potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), scrubbed and diced medium
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and ground black pepper, or white pepper

Instructions

1. Bring clams and 3 cups water to boil in large, covered soup kettle. Following illustration 1, below, steam until clams just open, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer clams to large bowl; cool slightly. Following illustrations 2 and 3, remove clams from shells by opening clams with a paring knife while holding over a bowl to catch juices. Next, sever the muscle from under the clam and remove it from the shell. Reserve meat in bowl and discarding shells. Mince clams; set aside. Pour clam broth into 2-quart Pyrex measuring cup, holding back last few tablespoons broth in case of sediment; set clam broth aside. (Should have about 5 cups.) Rinse and dry kettle; return to burner.

2. Fry bacon in kettle over medium-low heat until fat renders and bacon crisps, 5 to 7 minutes. Add onion to bacon; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour; stir until lightly colored, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in reserved clam juice. Add potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add clams, cream, parsley, and salt (if necessary) and ground pepper to taste; bring to simmer. Remove from heat and serve. (We added a dash of dill and some oyster crackers when serving)

Just what is a Yorkshire pudding, Harry Potter?

I love the Harry Potter books. They are fun and enjoyable to read. Harry has a hard time trusting anybody, which can be irritating but if I had spent my childhood living under a stairway and taking punches from a spoiled brat of a cousin i'd be pretty leary too. 

As much as I find Harry's hesitation annoying I find it instructive too. How often do I try to hide what I worry may come across as stupid when speaking up would make my life so much easier. Usually when I keep quiet I end up looking like an idiot anyway. 

But enough about me lets move in to the first of Harry's meals in the Great Hall which included,

Yorkshire Pudding

From The Joy of Cooking Cookbook

Stir into a bowl:

7/8 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Make a well in the center, into which pour:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

Stir in the liquid. Beat until fluffy and add:

2 eggs

Continue to beat until large bubbles rise to the surface. Let stand covered and refrigerated at least one hour and beat again. 

Preheat oven to 400°.

Have ready a hot oven proof dish about 9 x 13", containing about 1/4 cup hot beef drippings or melted butter. Poor in the batter. It should be about 1/2 inch high. Bake the pudding 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and bake about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Serve at once.

Had a bad day? I can relate.

Every so often I need a good reminder that life isn't so bad. Yes, our little family has it's challenges and I frequently feel as though I am not very good at being a husband or a dad. This is usually compounded by something malfunctioning within the inner recesses of my car, one of the kids microwaving a pancake for 3 minutes, or watching the latest windstorm rip the shingles from my roof and deal them onto the lawn as if it wanted to start a game of Texas Hold 'em. Events like these usually leave me wondering if anyone else struggles as much as I do and why I am being picked on.

That reminds me of this little treasure of a book. Some of my greatest learning experiences have not come from great tomes of literature. They happen in little packages my children can understand. Alexanders day does seem pretty terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad. His mom's wisdom at the end of the book doesn't fix the day but contains a lesson we can use to survive all those days that make us want to pull the covers over our head and avoid facing our challenges.  

Usually in reminding me that life isn't so bad the Lord will often point out that life could be much worse. I am a firm believer that if everybody threw their problems into a pile I'd be rushing to pick my own back out again. What I have learned through my latest bout of poor me syndrome is that my current state of being is seldom my permanent state of being. And even if the grass may be greener in Austrailia there is also probably some exotic snake or spider that would try to kill me.

From Alexander's lunchroom table I give you:

Easy Jelly-Roll Cake

From The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook

Makes one 11-inch log

Any flavor of jam can be used here. For an added treat, sprinkle 2 cups fresh berries over the jam before rolling up the cake. This cake looks pretty and tastes good when served with dollops of fresh whipped cream and fresh berries.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups fruit jam
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions 

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 12 by 18-inch rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray, then line with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.

 

2. Whip the eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until foamy, 1 to 3 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium and slowly add the sugar in a steady stream. Increase the speed to high and continue to beat until the eggs are very thick and a pale yellow color, 5 to 10 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. 

3. Sift the flour mixture over the beaten eggs and fold in using a large rubber spatula until no traces of flour remain. 

4. Following the photos, pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and spread out to an even thickness. Bake until the cake feels firm and springs back when touched, 10 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. 

5. Before cooling, run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, then flip the cake out onto a large sheet of parchment paper (slightly longer than the cake). Gently peel off the parchment paper attached to the bottom of the cake and roll the cake and parchment up into a log and let cool for 15 minutes. 

6. Gently unroll the cake and spread on the jam, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges. Re-roll the cake gently but snugly around the jam, leaving the parchment behind as you go. Trim the ends, then transfer the cake to a platter. Let the cake cool completely, then dust with confectioners’ sugar before slicing and serving.

To Make Ahead

The rolled cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 1 day.

Making a Jellyroll Cake

1. Using an offset spatula, gently spread the cake batter out to an even thickness. 

2. When the cake is removed from the oven, flip it out onto a sheet of parchment paper and peel off the   parchment attached to the cake.

3. Starting from the short side, roll the cake and parchment into a log. Let the cake cool seam-side down (to prevent unrolling) for 15 minutes.

4. Unroll the cake. Spread 1 1/4 cups jam over the surface of the cake, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges. 5. Re-roll the cake gently but snugly around the jam, leaving the parchment behind as you go.

6. Trim thin slices of the ragged edges from both ends. Transfer the cake to a platter, dust with confectioners' sugar, and cut into slices.

 

 

O. Henry, pass the rice pudding!

This weeks contribution to satisfying mind and stomach comes from a collection of short stories by O. Henry, otherwise known as William Sydney Porter. Like any good story teller the origin of his pen name depends upon the most recent explanation. It is also unclear if the candy bar is an homage to the author but that is not important. What is important is the stories he told. And the food mentioned in the stories he told. You may be familiar with "The Gift of the Magi" about a young newlywed couple who sell their prized possessions to by gifts intended to embellish each others prized possessions. Or "the Last Leaf" which tells of a grizzled old painter who risks pneumonia in order to inspire a young sick painter who is waiting for the last leaf to fall before she succumbs to death herself. In each of these there is a mention of pork chops but I chose to do something sweet since I included bacon last time.

The story I chose from the many included in this collection has to do with a young typewriter who in the process of lamenting summer love in the springtime and copying menus, unwittingly leads her lost love directly to her doorstep. O. Henry's dry sense of humor and self deprecating tone are just a few of the reasons I love reading his work. Also Springtime Ala Carte has so many foods mentioned in it that I probably read this story by the light of the open refrigerator door. From lobster to dandelion greens and from ice cream to boiled cabbage the mere mention of the dishes from Shulenberg's menu kept my hunger in place. Having never made rice pudding I decided to give it a try and was not disappointed. Other than having to stir frequently it was one of the easier recipes I have undertaken. So for your entertainment and gastronomic satisfaction I give you,

Rice Pudding 

As inspired by:

Springtime Ala Carte

By: O. Henry

 

(I used the Americas Test Kitchen recipe but then added cinnamon on my own.)

  Serves 6 to 8

We prefer pudding made from medium-grain rice, but long-grain is perfectly acceptable if that’s what you happen to have on hand.

Ingredients

• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 cup medium-grain rice (white), or long grain white rice
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon 

Instructions

1. Bring 2 cups water to boil in large, heavy-bottomed pot (at least 3 quarts) or small soup kettle (4 to 5 quarts). Stir in salt and rice; cover and simmer over low heat, stirring once or twice until water is almost fully absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Add milk, half-and-half and sugar. Increase heat to medium-high to bring to simmer, then reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture starts to thicken, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring every couple of minutes to prevent sticking and scorching, until a spoon is just able to stand up in the pudding, about 15 minutes longer.

3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Cool and serve at room temperature or chilled. (Can be covered with plastic wrap on surface of pudding and then refrigerated up to 2 days.)

Interesting tidbit

In addition to posting recipes and book recommendations I will be giving you a piece of knowledge which may not be immediately useful but may come in handy on a quiz show down the road. Take it for what its worth but I have a lot of trivia hanging out in my head and I am always on the look out for more.

When I was slogging through my college days I had quite a bit on my plate. I was working full time and attending school full time. We were expecting our first child and I had some responsibilities at our local congregation. It was 9:00 at night and I had just finished some homework. I logged in to my online class portal and looked at the calendar. With the weight of the pounding ocean surf came the realization that I had missed the time frame for my last final exam. I panicked, started meltdown mode, and cried out in anguish "I can tell you the average length of a whale shark but cant remember to take a stinking test!!" Yes, it was as melodramatic as it sounds. My wife stifled a chuckle and tried to console me. It ended up working out in the end, my professor opened up the final for me to take and I learned a valuable lesson. I quickly forgot the lesson, but I still remember how long a whale shark is.

So,

 For Your Information:

Whale Shark:
Scientific Name: Rhincodon typus
Life Span: 70 years 
Length: 41.5 Feet (longest on record but many belive there are longer whale sharks out there.)
Weight: 47,000 lbs or 21.5 Metric Tons
Diet: Plankton

This shark is the largest invertebrate animal in the world. They prefer tropical climates and are pretty docile fish. They are listed as endangered, like long walks, and poetry. If you are nice they may let you hitch a ride.