Archive for the ‘Words Words Words’ Category
Recipe: Rice Pudding
Monday, October 25th, 2010
Like all of my other recipes, this one is adapted from somewhere else, but I’ve been making it for so long I have no idea where anymore.
3 c. cooked rice (I use jasmine rice because that’s what I use for everything, heh)
3 c. milk
2/3 c. sugar (I find raw sugar gives it a richer flavor)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger and cardamon
dash nutmeg & cloves
1/2 c. raisins (if you add more than this, add more milk to compensate)
2 Tbl. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine everything but the vanilla in a good-sized saucepan and cook on medium heat for ~25 minutes, or until it’s just starting to thicken, definitely thinner than you want for serving. Stir occasionally, and keep watch once it starts to simmer to prevent boilovers and messy stoves, not to mention scorched milk.
Remove from heat, add vanilla, let cool. Eat hot or cold, though I prefer it warm. It’ll completely solidify in the fridge, just stir in some milk if you want to thin it out for eating later.
Categories: Daily Art, Whimsical and Strange, Words Words Words
Tags: food, nfs, recipe, sharpie marker
2 Comments »
Amy’s Mum’s Pumpkin Cookies
Monday, October 18th, 2010
It’s fall and time to make one of my absolute favorite treats! These cookies are practically little cakes with their fluffy texture and delicious icing, and while they’re a long process to make, it’s absolutely worth it.
I make these a little differently than my mother, so I’ve marked my own variations with a * in case you’re not quite so much of a spice nut as I am.
Amy’s Mum’s Pumpkin Cookies
Cream 1 cup of butter or shortening
Add & beat:
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin (puree or canned)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sift together & add:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon ginger
*1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
*1 teaspoon cardamon
*1/4 teaspoon cloves
Drop on greased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper instead), bake at 375°F for 10-15 minutes. Check frequently for burning. (They will still seem a bit wet inside when they’re golden brown on the bottom, but will finish baking into a cake-like consistency as they cool.) Makes ~2 dozen.
Ginger Brown Sugar Icing
Start with:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
Put in small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.
Stir in:
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
*1 teaspoon ginger
*1/4 teaspoon cardamon
1 cup powdered sugar
Add more powdered sugar until the consistency resembles a thick glaze, then frost your cookies. Icing will get everywhere, so i suggest you frost them on parchment paper. *grin*
Enjoy!
For those not in the US, when making your own pumpkin puree, use the smaller pumpkin varieties (approximately 5-7 lbs., 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 kg.). Cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise, remove seeds and stringy fibers, and place cut-side down on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) for approximately 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours (depending on size) or until easily pierced with a knife. Scoop out the pulp and puree in a food processor until smooth. Can strain through cheesecloth to extract all the liquid. Cool before using.
Categories: Daily Art, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Words Words Words
Tags: autumn, cookies, food, pumpkin, recipe, sharpie marker
4 Comments »
Random Recipe: Banana Bread
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
Today I just thought, what the heck, I will share my banana bread recipe! It’s all in American volumetric measurements and stuff, I’m afraid, but I’m sure you can figure it out. This is a slightly altered version of the one in the Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book.
Don’t mind the rambling, I’m sleepy. Plus, I overexplain. But there is a monkey.
Banana Bread the Amy Way
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray cooking oil spray (or just use butter or whatever) inside a bread loaf pan — mine’s glass, I have no idea how this affects the final product.
Dry Stuff:
- 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur ‘cos that’s what Safeway carries; normal flour works okay but has a different final texture, and in my experience needs more baking time.)
- 1.5 tsps baking powder
- 0.25 tsp baking soda
- 0.125 tsp salt (one eighth for the math lazy)
- a rounded quarter teaspoon each of cinnamon, powdered ginger, and cardamon
- a few shakes of nutmeg
- a tiny little pinch of ground cloves
Mix all this in a bowl and set aside, making a well in the middle. I like to whisk it together to fluff things up a little, but I’m weird and watch too much Good Eats.
Wet Stuff:
- 3 nice big ripe bananas only a day at most from overripe. I call this the “cake or death” stage. Mash ’em good.
- 1 egg
- 0.25 cup cooking oil
- 0.75 cup sugar
Mash bananas, then add sugar, egg, and oil, and mix it all up with the mashing fork. Get it nice and gooey and well-mixed, though it’s expected that there will be unmashed chunks of banana.
Pour the wet stuff on the dry stuff. Stir until the dry stuff is all mixed in, but only just, to avoid overmixing. Make sure you get the secret stash of dry stuff hiding at the very bottom of the bowl. You know the one I mean.
Extra Stuff:
- 0.5 cup raisins
- 0.5 cup chopped walnuts
Fold in either or both of these — I usually just use raisins, but I’m a weirdo. Pour into loaf pan. Bake for 55-70 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean. I usually turn once halfway through, and if it seems like the top is getting way too brown, cover it up with tin foil near the end of the baking. The bake time really depends on the day, size of bananas, weather, and baking gods’ whims, so do keep an eye, though if you do overbake it, it’ll just be a little dry, so whatever.
Cool a while in the pan, and the turn it out onto a cooling rack.
The Hard Part:
For best flavor, once it’s basically cool, wrap it up in tin foil and let it sit overnight. Yes, that means no eating right away, even though your house smells delicious. It’ll be so much better the next day, moist and delicious and all flavor-blended and spiced that it’s totally worth it, but this is the reason I usually bake at midnight.
The Easy Part:
Enjoy! I like it with tea especially. Omnomnom.
Categories: Daily Art, Whimsical and Strange, Words Words Words
Tags: bread, food, recipe, sharpie marker, yum
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