Summer Vacation and Food Sampling

YES!!! School Vacation is almost here, and I can't wait to venture back into my favorite hobby that's cooking, eating and blogging!

Will be back soon!

Feeling CRABBY?

Found these the other day in the frozen section of the store, and only required steaming and a mean cocktail sauce! I just love the simplicity of summertime!

I am traveling (on the road again), and will not be posting for a while. But I'll be surfing around looking at all the lovely eats whenever I can!

Happy Summer to all!

National Doughnut Day for Dunking and Dipping

I'm EMWK and I'm a dunker/dipper. There, I admitted it! And there's nothing better than dipping/dunking donuts into a cuppa strong, black coffee. Or warm, crusty french bread into a hot bowl of curry chicken. So many things to dunk and so little time. Fondues are great for me as I get to dunk everything. But please, NO second dunking/dipping like so many with their veggie dip at parties. That's a NO-NO in this household. That is why everyone gets their own little bowl for dunking or dipping. So, are you a dunker?

Incidentally, don't tell Homer Simpson this, but did you know that National Doughnut (or Donut) Day is celebrated on the first Friday of June (which is today), and there's also a National Doughnut week in UK? According to the explanation on Lamar's Donuts site, National Donut Day is celebrated on the first Friday in June? In 1917, Salvation Army female volunteers known as “lassies” prepared thousands of fresh donuts to the homesick soldiers that served in France during World War I. National Donut Day was officially established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise much-needed funds during the Great Depression.

I should have gone out to get a free donut at the local Lamars or Krispy Kreme stores today. But it was raining again this morning and I didn't get over the to the nearest doughnut store, so I made a batch of doughnuts to pacify my kids' sweet cravings.Used a simple recipe from Joy of Cooking and made a bunch of donut holes which was perfect for dipping into individual bowls of chocolate glaze, raspberry jam, and creamy peanut butter. Dunk, Dunk, Dunk! What a Dipping Delight it was!I also made some doughnuts without glaze so that the kids can dip it into their choice of flavors.

There is another doughnut recipe from Gourmet that I tried sometime ago here.

And here's some names that doughnuts/donuts go by around the world...

Italy = fritole
Montenegro = ustipci
Mexico = churrro
Turkey = lokma
France = beignet
Germany = krapfen
Hungary = langos
India = balushai
Netherlands = oliebollen

Monkey Math, Monkey Bread, Monkey Brain?

Since Hubs bought me that cool ceramic monkey bread mold from Williams Sonoma for Mother's Day recently, I have been using it as an excuse to make more monkey bread. It was for the kids, you know... but who am I kidding?

And it has been lots of fun making it plus a counting lesson for the kids as they roll the cut-up dough into little balls and counted up to 50 while coating and dropping them into the greased mold. Monkey math is what I call it.

The last time Hubs asked me where did the name Monkey Bread came from, I looked it up and here was wikipedia's take on the name monkey bread.

In addition, this was the explanation that came with the mold. Some stories claim the bread is named for its appearance, which resembles monkey puzzle tree or a playful group of monkeys jumbled together. Another theory speculates that the name describes how bakes have to monkey around with the dough.

Or if you live next door to me, you probably heard Hubs and the kids calling it MONKEY BRAINS!

After leaving my trusty bread machine to make the dough for about an hour, I took it out and flattened into a square-ish shape on the greased granite counter. Using a large pizza cutter, I divided it into sections as instructed on the recipe.
With the kids' help, we rolled the dough into round balls, dipped them in melted butter (Mmmm..) and into another bowl of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and my own special added ingredient...oats. Okay, so I was trying to justify this carb intake, and oats are good for us, right?
Then we added more butter, the rest of the sugar and cinnamon mixture (plus oats), stirred it over the stove til the sugar is melted and everything turns to a gooey, sweet-smelling mixture. Pour it over the dough, cover it and let it rise for about 40 mins. Then into the oven for 40 mins and serve it warm or at room temperature.

After the kids' woke up from their naps, it was monkey bread time. They counted and had 3 pieces each. With milk of course. And you really don't need to know how many I had, do you?

Used the recipe that came with the mold.
MONKEY BREAD
2 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
For the Dough
3/4 cup (180ml) WARM MILK (about 110F/43C)
1/2 cup (125ml) WARM WATER (about 110F/43C)
2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup (60g) granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 package rapid-rise yeast
3 1/4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour plus more for dusting
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons salt

Sugar Coating
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tbs ground cinnamon
8 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup oats (my addition)

Glaze
4 Tbs (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbs water

Have the ingredients at room temperature. Combine the dough ingredients, and mix and knead them until you have a soft, sticky dough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 2 1/2 to 4 hours, or until it's puffy. I used the bread machine to mix the dough.

Cut the dough into 1" to 2" pieces, and roll into balls. Roll the balls in the melted butter and then into the topping. Place in the greased mold.

To make the glaze: After coating all the balls, pour the remaining topping mixture into a small pot with the melted butter. Wisk till the sugar is melted. Pour over the dough balls, covering them well. Cover the pan, and let the bread rise until it's quite puffy, about 30-45 mins.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Cover the mold loosely with foil (to prevent over browning) and bake for another 25-35 mins. Let the bread cool in the mold for 10 minutes. Invert the mold onto a serving platter, and let it rest for 10 minutes to allow the glaze to drizzle down over the bread. Remove the mold and serve warm. Serves 8.

My gf LCOM also made monkey bread, and this is another version. Enjoy the monkey bread/pull-apart bread/monkey brains/or whatever!

Happy Memorial Weekend

When I asked Hubs what he wanted for dinner today, he said beer brats, buffalo franks, and the kids wanted corn dogs. So, I had to have all three and a soft hoagie bun, of course!

And this turned out to be a beautiful weekend we are having compared to the six funnel clouds that were spotted and the tornado that came through the northern part of our state. We had hail, strong winds and thunderstorm all day, and I'm surprised that my tomato plants survived through that day.That tornado that came through caused many to loose homes and property. Our community is reaching out to those in need, and many church members are lending a helping hand as well...

We spend part of our Memorial weekend up in Estes Park, and enjoyed the lake up there with many who had the same idea in mind. This little mountain town was packed to the rim with cars and people came from everywhere for the annual art and antique show. We stopped by the lake where many were fishing and camping, and were treated with several elks who wandered into the lake for a refreshing cold drink.

We stopped for our caramel apple treat and browsed through some shops before heading down the mountain. That's when we spotted another herd of elk in between the trees. These were big and they ran away seconds after I took this picture. I really ought to use a zoom lens next time.I wish our veterans and everyone a happy memorial day!

Humor Me

My MIL send me this and made me laugh. I did change the title so as not to offend some of my friends.

Silly Cookbook

Sunday
It's fun to cook for Tom. Today I made angel food cake. The recipe said
beat 12 eggs separately. The neighbors were nice enough to loan me some
extra bowls.

Monday
Tom wanted fruit salad for supper. The recipe said serve without
dressing.
So I didn't dress. What a surprise when Tom brought a friend home for
supper.

Tuesday
A good day for rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before steaming the
rice. It seemed kind of silly but I took a bath anyway. I can't say it
improved the rice any.

Wednesday
Today Tom asked for salad again I tried a new recipe. It said prepare
ingredients; lay on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving. Tom asked me
why I was rolling around in the garden.

Thursday
I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said put the ingredients in a
bowl and beat it. There must have been something wrong with this recipe. When I
got back, everything was the same as when I left.

Friday
Tom did the shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to
dress it for Sunday. I don't have any clothes that fit it, and for some
reason Tom keeps counting to ten.

Saturday
Tom's folks came to dinner. I wanted to serve roast but all I had was
hamburger Suddenly I had a flash of genius. I put the hamburger in the
oven and set the controls for roast. It still came out hamburger, much to my
disappointment.

GOOD NIGHT DEAR DIARY. This has been a very exciting week! I am eager for
tomorrow to come so I can try out a new recipe on Tom. If I can talk Tom
into buying a bigger oven, I would like to surprise him with a chocolate
moose!