Remodeling outside, cooking/baking, and that sweet little girl

At our house, the big project the last couple of weeks has been the chicken coup -slash- storage shed on the southeast corner of our property. For a long time it was a scary, dark, evil little shed, tucked away in the farthest corner of our property, that I refused to go visit. Now I'm banging around, rolling out chicken wire, arguing with Nate about how best to build a run for the chickens. It's nice to see it repaired and made useful.

One of my brothers is coming over for a few hours next week (I think) to do some work around the house. I plan to have him clean, prime and paint the coup/shed, and to finish the stairs on our front deck. The last few days have been focused on getting the two areas ready for those tasks. I needed to cut some more pieces for the deck and purchase several parts (bolts, screws, etc.). The shed needed significantly more work -- weatherproofing wrap, siding, trim, etc. Despite several long hours yesterday afternoon and most of today, we're still not quite where we need to be. Monday afternoon/evening will also be devoted to getting the last few things ready before my brother comes on Tuesday.

Here are some pictures of the evolution of the shed:

In totally unrelated news: I once again tried out some new recipes this week. For dinner there was pulled pork in the slow cooker on Thursday, which was nearly a disaster except some brilliant suggestions from Nate saved the day. Lasagna "roll ups" yesterday (Friday), which were not as quick and easy as I expected, but were quite tasty. Somewhere in there I tried homemade oreos.... They turned out as yummy little chocolate cookies, not at all like oreos. I'm disappointed but at least it wasn't a failure. I also made some healthy breakfast "cookies" that I really hoped Baby Girl would eat (she didn't) but that, surprisingly, Nate loved and even wanted a second batch. Finally, this morning I made cheese crackers (kinda like cheezit imitations) that also seemed like they were going to be a disaster because the dough wasn't coming together and they weren't getting crunchy when they baked, but with patience and a little extra oven time they turned out nicely. Baby Girl ate a few of them. I'm not totally sure what she thinks... jury's still out for her.

(In the morning I am going to make an apple crumb bread... very excited about this one! I've got fresh apples from my mom and hopefully about 30 minutes of free time.)

Speaking of the baby, she's doing great, glad you asked. She's sassy, mullety, and fat. She's standing quite a bit now -- even trying to do it on her own without help. Wednesday at the "baby sitter's" house she had a tough day, then Thursday she had a great day. Go figure. I enjoyed hauling her around in the Bee, though. It's good exercise and fun.

Ah nuts, I just noticed the time. I better add the pictures and get ready for bed. Hopefully I'll find time to talk about fruit and bike carriers soon!

Tie the garlic knot

My house smells like a pizzeria this evening. Yum. I decided to make some garlic knots, which I haven't had since college. I found several recipes online. The one I used was good, not great; the directions are overly wordy and makes it seem like a complex process. It's not. My knots ended up a little too big, more like the size of crescents. Whoops! But they were tasty. Next time I think I'll use less salt (I went all in -- hell must be freezing over -- on the salt) and I'll use whole wheat flour.

The big news from this week is that Nate was gone. He left early, early Wednesday morning to go on a hiking/camping trip with a few of the boy scouts. (Two scouts plus one other leader, to be exact.) He got back about 2pm today (Saturday). I worked all day Wednesday and Friday while my mom watched baby girl. I couldn't find child care for Thursday so I took my one day of vacation. It was a pretty rough week and I could complain about it, would complain about it, but it's over and we survived. Whew.

...

I just wrote and deleted about five paragraphs. I'm in a bit of a sour mood and I'm having a hard time finding something nice to say, so I think I'll just go give up and brood for awhile. I'll post more when I'm feeling less crabby.

:o)

Recipes for Baby's First Cake

My daughter's first birthday is this week, and we've decided to have a casual get-together to mark the occasion. (Friends and family, you are all invited!) I love the first-birthday custom of giving baby her own little frosted cake to enjoy and destroy.

Of course, I'm weird about food, and I don't want to just give my kid any old cake from the store, nor do I want to give her something completely unhealthy. But it's cake so it should be sweet and doesn't have to be a perfect model of health food, and it's her first cake so it should be special. I did quite a bit of internet research in order to find a good recipe. I'd really like it to be a chocolate cake with white frosting (I don't know why; it just sounds good) but a lot of the recipes I found were vanilla cake. A lot of the whipped cream frosting recipes added cream cheese. I like cream cheese frosting, but I want to do a very simple frosting, just whisked whipped cream with a touch of sweetener.

As I was searching around for recipes, one of the blog posts I found opened with the following words, which I thought were an excellent summary of my own feelings:

There are so many options. So many opinions. People who believe depriving a baby of devilishly chocolate, sugary cake is tantamount to child abuse; people who believe giving baby any sugar, ever, is tantamount to child abuse. Some people skip cake altogether, reasoning any messy, dessertish dish will do for the messy-faced photos that most everyone agrees are about the whole reason a child turns one.

I laughed out loud about the it's-child-abuse-either-way part of that paragraph. So true, right? Personally, I don't think it's abusive to make a rich, chocolately, sugary cake for a baby's birthday. I just don't plan on doing that for my kid -- it's not the way I'm raising her.

Anyway, I don't want to get stuck on the "healthy or not" conversation. It's not the point. The point is that I found a few recipes and I did some test baking this week. First I selected four recipes -- two chocolate, one carrot, and one chocolate-vegetable cake. I had the ingredients on hand for the plain chocolate cakes so I made them. I was pleased with the results and have decided not to try the other recipes (but they are included below for anyone who is curious; I might yet make them for another occasion or just for fun).

The first recipe ("One Bowl") uses agave instead of white sugar. It calls for whole wheat flour, which I use anyway. It calls for salt, which I absolutely never add to recipes. And it calls for vegetable oil, which I usually replace with olive oil. (Because I'm weird that way.) It asks you to put in 3/4 teaspoon each of baking soda and baking powder. That's an odd size of measurement (3/4 teaspoon?) so I did something like 1/2 teaspoon powder and 1 teaspoon soda. Or maybe it was the other way around....

(In case you can't tell, I'm a tad liberal about recipes, especially when it's just baking. I don't measure things exactly, and I modify the ingredients as I see fit. Baking doesn't have to be perfectly exact -- your cup of flour can be a little over filled or you can forget to leveling off the cocoa powder. It's not going to affect anything.)

The agave chocolate cake included directions for making whipped cream topping with agave. Neat. I followed the whipped recipe, although I halved the amount of vanilla.

The second cake recipe was a "healthy chocolate cake." That sounds dangerous, but it was good. I replaced the 1 cup of caster sugar with 1/2 cup of agave. I left out the salt. I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil (or apple puree). I was surprised that it didn't ask for an egg. I really wanted to add an egg, but I didn't.

Here are the results:
Both cakes were tasty. One Bowl was a bit moister than Healthy, and a bit fluffier and darker. I'm thinkin' it was because of the egg. (Really.) I would absolutely feed either of them to my daughter, but we decided to go with the One Bowl recipe. It's a little bit more of a treat, more like a typical cake, but still moderately healthy. (Not as healthy as the Healthy cake recipe, but still much healthier than a typical cake.) And did I mention yummy? Both cakes were good, but One Bowl was a bit tastier.

The whipped cream was also good. (Although I'm thinking about reducing the agave a little more when I make it this weekend; it doesn't need to be overly sweet.) It took me forever to whisk the whipped cream. I put it in the stand mixer and it was going for probably ten minutes and didn't seem to be making progress. Nate went outside to do some exercising when I started mixing it. When he came back in I was grumbling at the mixer. He said, "Are you sure the speed is high enough? I think you have to mix it pretty hard." So I turned the speed from whatever it was at (4 or 6?) up to full or nearly-full speed (8 or 10?) and in about a minute it was whipped to perfection. He's brilliant, huh?

Finally, I wanted to make sure that Baby Girl was going to like my concoction, so after dinner (this was Thursday night, I think) I gave her a slice of One Bowl covered with whipped topping. It was adorable -- exactly what I hope to see this coming Saturday. She got her hands covered in whipped cream, licked the white fluff off her fingers, then attacked the cake. She didn't really devour the cake, but that's fine. She ate a few bites and made a big mess. Perfect.


The recipes are included below. The first two recipes are the ones I made (one includes whipped cream directions). I did not change the ingredients or directions in the text below. I also included the other two cake recipes I found. Finally, at the bottom of this post, there's another set of whipped cream directions using regular white sugar. It has a couple of possible variations. (If you follow the link, it will take you to several more variations for the whipped cream, including some that use fruit... yum.)

Happy baking!

One Bowl Chocolate Cake (with Agave)

www.finecooking.com/recipes/vanilla-whipped-cream-frosting.aspx

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup agave nectar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup boiling water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one nine-inch round pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the agave nectar, egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whipped Cream Topping

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

1/8 cup agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

Whip cream until almost stiff. Add agave and vanilla; beat until cream holds peaks. Spread over top of cooled chocolate cake or another dessert. Top the whipped cream with grain-sweetened chocolate chips if desired.

HEALTHY CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE
www.healthy-eating-made-easy.com/healthy-chocolate-cake-recipe.html

Grease and base-line a 20cm round, loose-based cake tin. Heat the oven to 350 F

Sift together 1 1/2 cups plain flour, 4 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 cup caster sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1/3 cup of vegetable oil or apple puree, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 cup warm water.

Mix these into the dry ingredients until just amalgamated. Do not over mix.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake has risen and springs back when pressed.Serve the cake just as it is, or to make it extra special, top with Greek yogurt and raspberries.



Chocolate, Zucchini, Sweet Potato Cake
http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/tipFirstBDay.htm
1/4 cup cocoa 
2 1/2 cups flour 
1/2 cup rye flour or buckwheat flour 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 
3 eggs 
1 cup vegetable oil 
1 1/2 cups brown sugar 
1/2 cup honey 
2 teaspoons vanilla 
1/2 cup buttermilk 
1 cup grated zucchini 
1 cup grated sweet potatoes 
1 cup dried cherries, hydrated in 3 tablespoons rum or hot water 
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped (optional)


Decrease the oil by ½ cup, omit the sugar and honey. Try using choppedjarred maraschino cherries for more moisture.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter and flour a bundt pan. 
• Sift together first 7 ingredients. 
• Set aside. 
• In a mixer mix oil, sugar, honey add eggs and vanilla. 
• Mix dry ingredients into egg mixture then add buttermilk. 
• Stir in remaining ingredients. 
• Pour into pan and bake for 50-60 minutes till toothpick comes out clean. 
• Let cool. 
• Invert onto cake dish.

Baby's First Birthday Cake (Carrot Cake)

http://grizzlybirds.blogspot.com/2007/01/babys-1st-birthday-cake-recipes.html
(Makes 1 double-layer 9-inch square cake; adapted from "What to Expect")

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots

2 1/2 cups apple juice concentrate (you may use slightly less)

1 1/2 cups raisins

Vegetable Spray/Shortening

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 whole eggs

4 egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup wheat germ

2 Tbsp low sodium baking powder

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two 9 inch square cake pans with waxed paper and spray the paper with vegetable spray/shortening.

1. Combine the carrots with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate in a medium size saucepan.

2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 15 to 20 mins. Puree in a blender of food processor until smooth.

3. Add the raisins and process until finely chopped. Let mixture cool.

4. Combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.

5. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 mins. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. When cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting below or sprinkle a wee bit of powdered sugar if desired.

Vanilla Whipped Cream Frosting

http://sensitiveeconomist.com/2012/01/30/one-bowl-chocolate-agave-cake-with-agave-whipped-cream/
3 cups heavy or whipping cream

5 Tbs. granulated sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Chill the bowl and whisk attachment of a stand mixer for 20 min. in the refrigerator or 5 min. in the freezer. Pour the heavy cream into the bowl and whisk on medium-high speed until it just starts to thicken. Slow the speed down to medium and gradually pour in the sugar. Continue to whisk until soft peaks form.

Add the vanilla extract and continue to whisk by hand until the cream is smooth, and stiff peaks form (the cream will stand up straight when the whisk is raised).

Variation: Chocolate

Omit vanilla and increase sugar to 6 Tbs. After soft peaks form, turn off the mixer and add 1/4 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed. Whisk by hand until the cream is smooth, and stiff peaks form. Let the cream sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to dissolve the cocoa. Whisk briefly before using.

Variation: Mocha

Omit vanilla and increase sugar to 6 Tbs. After soft peaks form, turn off the mixer and add 1/4 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed, and 2 Tbs. instant espresso dissolved in 2 Tbs. boiling water. Whisk by hand until the cream is smooth, and stiff peaks form. Let the cream sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to dissolve the cocoa. Whisk briefly before using.

A Bit About Food in Our House

I read a lot of "health" articles. By health I mean a wide range of topics, from food to exercise to cleaning. Most of the articles are about food -- what it means to have a balanced, healthy diet; tips and tricks for developing such a diet; the importance of eating organic and "abnormal" foods; and cooking/baking advice.

What do I mean by abnormal foods? Well, are you familiar with quinoa? It has become a staple in our household. At the recommendation of a friend, I purchased a bag of quinoa from Costco quite awhile ago (maybe it was about this time last year?). We tried making a couple of different things with it, but mostly it just sat on the shelf. Then, rather suddenly, I started coming across quinoa articles quite frequently. And quinoa came up in several conversations. So last summer we ordered a cook book that's all about quinoa:

We've made a lot of the recipes from this book. I wish I could tell you they were all great, and that I love every recipe, but it's not true. Some of the recipes are terrible. Many of the recipes are bland. Most of them just replace the rice or flour in a traditional recipe with quinoa or quinoa flour. BUT there are some GEMS in this book. For instance, I LOVE several of the soup recipes (we had the Italian wedding soup for dinner this evening; it's a tad bland for Nate's taste, but I like it). There's a DELICIOUS mango chicken recipe, and I like a lot of the breakfast meals (which use quinoa flour, which my mom brings me from the Bob's Red Mill store in Milwaukie). In particular, the waffle recipe is great. Oh! And there's a recipe for banana-and-creme-filled chocolate crepes. Yum-tastic.

In addition to incorporating foods that are less common (but way better for us) into our cooking/baking, we've also switched to whole wheat. I've been using whole wheat flour for years, and we slowly switched over to whole wheat breads (including hamburger buns, which are MUCH tastier with whole wheat), but now we've transitioned all of our pastas and many of our cereals.

Another big change is that we've gone organic with our produce. We're not perfect about it, but when I/we go grocery shopping every week, I first go through the organic section to buy the organic version of everything I can. If something on my list isn't organically available, I go to the regular section. But I try to avoid non-organics, if at all possible. (Note to self, I should really check out the "hippie food" store down the street from my house, as it probably has a wider variety of organic produce. And bonus, it's a local business!) We also try to eat more "seasonally appropriate" produce.

I am looking forward to doing a lot of gardening this summer so that we can cut down on our grocery bill and get even more fresh, healthy, organic foods into our diet. I need to buy some heirloom seeds (mom, remind me to ask you about this later). But we also have a lot of yardwork to complete before the new gardening area will be ready for summer planting! Fun times ahead, for sure. Stay tuned!