Once you warm up to me, baby, I can make you feel hot

Wow! Its been a while since I've been here!

But have no fear- I'm back. I won't waste time on excuses for why I stopped posting- it's irrelevant and won't change that I did stop. Just know that I'll give any warning if there will be a break from now on, and I probably won't post as frequently as I did. Closer to once every week. Still, it feels good to be back.

So! Lets kick it off with a new recipe for me, shall we?

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I should say I feel ashamed of what I did to make this recipe. Except... I'm really not. Let me start from the beginning:

I honestly haven't baked anything for about a month. I've been trying to save money, busy, and whatever other reason. Except suddenly today I have this fire in me- the fire I had all through school. I just wanted to bake. I think my inspiration came from a trip to WalMart earlier today, actually. Rebekah and I sat in the car while my Aunt and Uncle ran in. I noticed while parking-lot-people-watching that everyone was dressed like it was summer- I suppose because of the 70 degree weather we've had the past few days. 'It's winter!' I steamed, irritated that people would wear shorts and flip flops in mid February. But I found myself wishing for summer as the day went on. And then that little nagging voice in the back of my head, urging me to bake. Peaches. Thats what I wanted to use. However, we dont have any fresh peaches (and who would at this time??). So I did the unthinkable. I used canned. Yes. I used canned peaches to make Peach Cupcakes. It's absurd, if not a little gross. But we had them (quite a few cans, actually, as we use them to top pancakes thanks to a tradition started by my DD). So I grabbed a can of peaches and went on a search for a recipe. I found what I was looking for on the Smitten Kitchen blog. So, take that Winter! I can still use a summer fruit, and make a light, warm weather dessert and enjoy it on Valentines Day.

Before I put the recipe in, I also decided to try a new way to line the muffin tin. Parchment paper. I had seen several photos of cupcakes with strips of parchment as the cupcake tin. I looked up how to do it (finding out Martha Stewart was the one who taught everyone online how to do it- surprise surprise). So let me pass the knowledge on to you. Cut parchment into 5 in x 5 in squares. Spray your muffin pans. Squish the parchment paper into said pans. You may have you use something to get them to stick. As you will see from my photos, they don't lay exactly flat on the sides, which is irritating to me. Alas, they aren't supposed to be perfect.



Still, a cute idea. So here are the pictures and recipe for these yummy, summery cakes.







Recipe: Peach Cupcakes

Makes: ~ 24 cupcakes

Recipe originated from: Smitten Kitchen Blog (http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/08/peach-cupcakes-with-brown-sugar-frosting/)

Compliments: A hot summer day, Vanilla ice cream

Ingredients:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt [I used Sour Cream]
- 3 large peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped smallish (I went for a 1/3-inch dice)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 28 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together, beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition, and then the vanilla. Gently mix in the buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the peach chunks.
3. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for five minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Since I didn't have fresh peaches, I used just one can. Then I stuck the leftover "juice" on the stove, and let it quietly stew on 'low' while putting the cupcake batter together. After I pulled them out of the oven, I took the juice, which was now a glaze, and brushed it on top of the cupcakes. And THAT is why I'm not ashamed to say I used a can. That glaze is going to make sure the cupcakes are moist, and it adds that extra little peach flavor. And let me just say, these cupcakes are so yummy. They're light, and gooey, and exactly what I needed to bring a little sunshine into my life today. Not to mention, they're easy!

Abby xx

P.S. I realize they're bald- working on that as we speak!

So Many Layers

The reason I love scones is because of the layers. Plain and simple. The delicate taste and dense dough are fun too, but I love how when you bite into a scone you can see and feel all the layers. Now, these are real scones- not the Americanized version. Americans tend to over sugar everything. Scones are supposed to compliment tea, which is delicate itself. They shouldn't overpower anything, really. I had a scone recipe I used several times, but when I bought a new book on clearance at work, I decided to try the scone recipe out. It's fantastic. They're moist but still thick, they rise so very high, and any flavor is a good compliment to them. The best part is you probably always have the ingredients on hand! Today I made blueberry with lemon zest and peach with white chocolate.

Recipe: Welsh Scones

Makes: ~ 16 scones

Recipe originated from: The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri ( http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Baker-Time-Saving-Techniques-Cookies/dp/B003R4ZIAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280418039&sr=8-1 )

Compliments: This scone is so neutral that you can add nearly anything to flavor it. Try whatever fruit is in season for a breakfast scone. You can also add cheese, nuts, or even meat. Just make sure to cut back on the milk a little if you add a fruit that has a high water content... i.e. blueberries, apples or strawberries.

Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cold
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is mealy but dry and powdery.
2. Invert the bowl of the food processor over a mixing bowl and carefully remove the blade.
3. Quickly whisk the egg, milk, and vanilla together and use a fork to toss the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Continue to toss until all the flour mixture is evenly moistened. (I use my hands to mix it all together!)
4. Gently knead the dough 3 to 4 times, until it is smooth. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a disk about 6 inches in diameter. Cut each disk into 8 slices.
5. Bake on baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 12 to 15 minutes until a very deep golden brown.

Now, if you make round scones like I did then only bake them 8 to 10 minutes. Also, if you're adding fruit or cheese or anything, add that right after you dump the flour mixture into another bowl, before you add the wet ingredients. That way it incorporates more fully. Ta-da! Fresh Welsh scones! I always dust mine with sugar right when they come out of the oven.

After talking with a friend at work this week, I've decided to talk about 'Mise en Place' (said 'mees on plaz'). It's a French term that literally means 'everything in it's place'. We use it in the kitchen to mean that you have everything ready before you start the recipe. So, for instance, I will mise out all the flour, sugar, etc etc and have it in seperate bowls so that all I have to do is dump the milk, egg, and vanilla mixture into the flour mixture. You also preheat the oven, prepare the baking sheet, and have any bowls/whisks/rolling pins out and ready. It lets you make sure you can put away all the spare ingredients, and only have out what you need. So when I made these scones, the only things on the counter were a measuring cup with 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, and 1 tsp vanilla already mixed, a Cuisinart with the dry ingredients and butter ready to go, the bowl I was mixing in, my fruit, biscuit cutter, bench flour, rolling pin, and finally my prepared pan. You work more efficiently this way. It's less clean-up in the end, and you're not rushing around grabbing ingredients as you go along. You miss less steps/ingredients with Mise en Place. That way, while you're baking off your scones, you can wash the bowls, measuring cup, etc etc and then you are pretty much done cleaning when your scones come out of the oven. Work faster, work cleaner, work more efficiently. Chefs are notorious for taking short cuts and being lazy. If there is an easier way to do something, they'll do it. This is faster and easier. So try Mise en Place. You won't be as tired or dirty when you finish cooking!

Abby xx