Food for Thought

Quite literally. Over the last few days, I've watched three documentaries on Netflix:

1. Hungry For Change
2. Chemerical: Redefining Clean for a New Generation
3. America The Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments

Hungry For Change focuses on food additives and how they effect the body. Food companies, in the interest of maximizing profits, add compounds to food that extend the shelf life of the product, that create a desire for more in the consumer, etc. A longer shelf life reduces waste and the accompanying loss; to a business, especially in food, waste is money in the garbage. By creating a desire for more, consumers keep coming back for more, they keep eating more and buying more so the company makes more money. The example that really struck me was the combination of aspartame and caffeine in diet soda. Until recently, I could easily down more than 40 ounces of diet soda in a day. I loved the stuff. Well, that wasn't entirely my own doing. The combination is addictive. As it leaves your system, you want more of it. 

Chemerical focuses on man-made chemicals in every day products, the combination and concentration of which pollutes the air in your home. It can have an adverse effect on individuals with asthma, and there are even some people who are so sensitive to chemicals and fragrances that they cannot lead a "normal" life. The documentary follows a family of five as they make the change to natural cleaners, dominated by white vinegar and baking soda. They progress to making their own personal hygiene products, too. After one month, the air quality in their home is measurably better, and the entire family reported feeling better. 

America The Beautiful focuses on our society's obsession with weight and dieting, and looks at the health aspect. This one is hard to summarize, because it doesn't really find it's direction until the end. It argues that you can be both healthy and overweight, that losing weight may not eliminate all of your health problems but it may eliminate some, and that you can be both unhealthy and thin. It also debunks the BMI as something a mathematician (with no medical training) made up to express a population's average weight and height (as opposed to that of an individual, which is how it is most commonly used). 

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The first had me window-shopping for juicers and organic produce, the second made me want to toss out the rest of our cleaning products (I already use vinegar and baking soda for some things). The third had me reconsidering both. Are these extremes? Are they taking it too far? Do they take it far enough?

I do want to be healthier, and I am heavier than I'd like to be; despite the Biggest Loser contest at work I haven't been as diligent as I should. We are hoping to expand our family, and so a healthy body and a healthy home are both important. But too much of a good thing isn't good. 

So, my takeaways:

• We're going organic
• We're adding more vegetables to our diet
• We're steering away from processed foods
• I'm going to replace store-bought cleaning products with homemade, natural ones
• I'm going to exercise daily

I am NOT going to:

• I'm not going to obsess over every single calorie
• I'm not going to exercise multiple times per day
• I'm not going to make myself feel bad after enjoying a treat

Mini-Cheesey Pepper Bites

Super-easy snack/appetizer. I had it for lunch today; the first time I made it to take to a friends house for game night.

Start with Mini Bell Peppers and Mozzarella String Cheese.

Or you can use cheese blocks or shredded cheese. String cheese requires less prep than the blocks, and shredded cheese can get messy; so I like string cheese best.

Wash the peppers. 

Cut off the tops.

Split them down the center.

Cut the cheese! (Sorry, I had to). Cheese slices should be about 1/2 inch. 

Stuff the cheese into the pepper halves, put on a baking sheet, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Pop them into the oven, 20 minutes at 350º.

Ta-Dah! Let them cool slightly before serving, but remove from the pan while they are warm. Some of them may have tipped over, some cheese may have overflowed, that's fine. It's easier to get the cheese off the pan before it's cooled down too much. 

Serve and enjoy!

Easiest Pie Ever

I promise, this is the easiest pie recipe you will ever see.




Take 2 bags of mixed frozen fruits. Any two, pick your favorites. Two of the same, two different, whatever you want. If you're feeling brave but squeamish, pick two different blends that have two fruits in common. For example, I used a strawberry-pomegranate-cherry-blueberry blend and a mango-strawberry-blueberry blend. End result, lots of strawberries and blueberries with mango, cherries, and pomegranate. Add some odds and ends and a pie crust, and you're done!

Ingredients:
Any two bags of frozen fruit, with a total of  ~26 ounces.


Pre-made pastry crust
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Splenda/Sugar baking blend)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp orange peel
2 tsp nutmeg
cornstarch

Toss the fruit into a saucepan on medium heat. Stir occasionally as it thaws, but otherwise hold your horses. Until the fruit is fully thawed, it does not play well with others.

Once the fruit is thawed, add 1/2 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup Splenda/sugar baking blend), 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp dried orange peel, 2 tsp nutmeg. Stir until everything is dissolved.

Gradually add cornstarch until the filling reaches your preferred consistency. I like mine to be just a bit more viscous than jelly, so I added a lot of cornstarch. Be careful though; you can always make it thicker, but you can't make it thinner.

Set the filling aside, allowing it to cool.

Take the pie crust from the box, and follow the directions for a double crust pie. The directions on the box may or may not tell you to pre-bake the bottom crust; always pre-bake it. 400º F, about 6-8 minutes.

Remove the pre-baked crust from the oven and pour the filling over it, being sure to spread the filling evenly. Put the second crust on top of the pie, pressing the two crusts together at the edge as best you can. Cut a couple slits in the top crust, and return to the oven at 400ºF  until the top crust is golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. 

Serve and enjoy!

Whoopie Pies

I was craving those Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Sandwich cookies the other day. I have a love/hate relationship with them. I love the ratio of cookie to cream, I love the actual cookie part, but the cream is just a little too sweet, and I have to eat the whole box to really satisfy the craving.

So when I got this latest urge, I thought I would try making my own.

I used the Oatmeal Fruit-Nut Drop Cookie Recipe from my great-grandmother's cookbook (Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, Revised and Enlarged. 2nd Edition, 1956, this recipe p. 195)

1 cup soft shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats
(the recipe calls for 1 cup raisins or dates and 1/2 cup nuts; I omitted these)

1. Mix the shortening, sugar and eggs together.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; then stir into shortening/sugar mixture.
3. Stir in oats (and raisins/dates and nuts if desired)
4. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls 2" apart on baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes at 400º. Cool completely.

Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
coconut cream (to taste)
powdered sugar (to taste)
cocoa powder (to taste)

Beat cream until peaks are stiff, adding flavorings to your taste as you go. Other flavor ideas include almond extract, cinnamon, and allspice.

Pineapple Cake Pudding

Another recipe from my great-grandmother's cook book. I made some cookies from this same cookbook earlier tonight, which left me with half a can of pineapple. I couldn't let it go to waste, so when I stumbled upon the Cake Pudding recipe, I had to try it.

It was delicious! The two of us ate the whole thing, and we were both liking the sides of our bowls. I'll definitely make this again.

1/4 cup sifted flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 egg yolks, well beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 drained, crushed pineapple
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

1. Sift together flour, salt and sugar.
2. Stir in lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks, milk, crushed pineapple, and pineapple juice.
3. Fold in egg whites.
4. Pour into 1 quart baking dish or 6 custard cups. Set pan in hot water (1" deep). Bake 50 minutes at 350º. Serve warm or cold, with or without whipped cream.

(From Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, Revised and Enlarged, 2nd edition. Published 1956. This recipe is on page 237)

Almond Joy-Inspired Cake: Version 1

A while back, a meme was going around the blogosphere: "Things I'm Afraid To Tell You." If that's not ringing any bells for you, this was a confessional meme bloggers posted and reposted, admitting that we're not perfect and that we only share the best of ourselves online and that that practice inflates expectations to the point that it is no longer real or attainable; these pressures and expectations were just as vexing to the bloggers themselves as they were to the readers. Read more about it here; read some examples here, here, and here.

At the time, I hadn't been blogging very long and I hadn't yet experienced many of the things others described; however, it still made an impact on me. Because of it, I made the decision that mine would be a warts-and-all blog. I'd share successful projects, as well as the ones that ended badly, and the ones that were somewhere in the middle.

This is a Somewhere In The Middle post.

Almond Joy-Inspired Cake. 

(And a messy kitchen counter with failed cookies in the background, they will be a future post)

This is a 4 egg white layered cake, with coconut cream and a chocolate ganache. I used a white cake recipe from "Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book" (circa ~1966). My Great Grandma Schottler gave it to my mom as a wedding present, who in turn gave it to me as a wedding present. It has been well used, so I have to be careful with it. What I love about this cook book is the way it's set out: a key recipe is presented that is amazing by itself, then variations of that same recipe are presented on the same page and all of those directions refer to the key recipe. It makes it really easy to play around with a recipe--especially in baking where the chemistry is important--and still end up with a tasty product because you have samples already. You can see what has been changed or added in each variation, so you have a better idea of what absolutely has to stay, as well as how other flavors may be introduced. But I digress. 

The Cake: Silver White Cake (4-Egg White) (Key Recipe)
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cup sugar   (I substituted 3/4 cup Baking Splenda)*
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup soft shortening
2/3 cup milk plus 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp almond flavoring
4 egg whites (unbeaten)

Grease generously and flour   2 8 or 9: layer pans
1. Sift together into bowl the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Add shortening, 2/3 cup milk and almond flavoring; beat 2 minutes.
3. Add remainder of milk and egg whites, 2 minutes.
4. Pour into cake pans; bake 30-35 minutes in 350º oven.
5. Let cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans and let rest on cooling racks until completely cool.

*Note: if you use baking Splenda, double the recipe. Otherwise the pans are too big and the cakes are pale, flat and shrunken. I learned this the hard way

Coconut Cream:
2 Tbs coconut cream
4 Tbs hot water
1 cup heaving whipping cream
Powdered Sugar (to taste)

1. Beat coconut cream and hot water until they come together.
2. Add heaving whipping cream and powdered sugar, beat on highest setting until it's fluffy. Add as much or as little powdered sugar as you like.

Chocolate Ganache:

1 bag dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tbs powdered sugar

Melt chocolate in double boiler. Remove from heat, stir in heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar. 

Assemble cake:
Additional ingredients:
Shredded coconut or coconut flakes
Sliced Almonds

1. Bottom layer of cake.
2. Spread Coconut Cream onto cake, top with shredded coconut/coconut flakes
3. Top layer of cake.
4. Pour on Chocolate Ganache.
5. Top with sliced almonds.

Next time, I'll do the chocolate differently. The cake was really good as is, but the dark chocolate ganache is a bit heavy compared to the cake and coconut cream.