Its Friday, Friday, Friday....

How has every one's week been going? Are you happy its Friday? I am. I am off tomorrow and going peach picking with my baby. :) I know some people think that's lame but whatever. Its fun to me. I am already thinking about the things I am going to make with them. Pie, cake, streusel, maybe some jam. Who knows? Well, I am over the disappointment of my team losing. Strawberry cupcakes helped a little. hee hee! Who doesn't get a little happy when they have a little sweetness? It's the perfect dessert for the spring. I good use for all of those beautiful strawberries we are seeing all over the place.

They look delicious, don't they? Are you craving one yet? Any hoo, I promised to share the recipe yesterday so here goes.
Strawberry Cupcakes
adapted from Cheryl Day's recipe of old fashioned cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 c of strawberry puree (made from fresh strawberries)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.
Scoop batter into baking cups filling to almost full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes depending on your oven.
Let cool on wire rack and frost with your favorite frosting. I used my banana cream cheese frosting. YUM!

It was delicious and it helped me to get over the loss by my team. There is always next year! I hope everyone is having a good day:)

A loss but not the end

I am so disappointed that my Braves did not win last night against the Diamondbacks. My hubby was gleefully laughing all the way home from the game. They were so close, yet so far away. They lost in the 11th inning. 4-3. Like I said close but no cigar. Oh well. The only thing I can do is bake myself a little happy:) I will have to do this a little later. I have an interview first so wish me luck. Post to come later tonight or tomorrow on my baked goodness. Until then, I hope everyone has a great day:0

What's for dessert honey?

Those are the words I hear at least twice a week from the hubby. He love's his chocolate:) Lately I have not been making him chocolate anything but instead make fruity desserts because lets face it, it's the season for fruit. Not chocolate. However, yesterday, I decided to take pity on him and make him some chocolaty goodness. Big smile from the hubs. Besides, I need to take a little break from the sweets. Its starting to show that I am enjoying them a little too much.
Oh well, what can I say but....I love food:)
I searched through my earmarked recipes and found one that kind of reminded me of my childhood and I also thought would satisfy the hubby's sweet tooth. It was a Chocolate Mousse Pie and I found it from an old Bon Appetit issue.

I could not find my 9" spring form and so used a 10" instead. It worked well but I think the pie would have been thicker in the right size pan. I still think it was a success. He loved it and his chocolate craving has been satisfied. At least for right now.
Here's the recipe in case it reminds you of a childhood dessert but a little more grown up in presentation.

Chocolate Mousse Pie
from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
Crust
21 oreo cookies
1/2 stick unsalted butter cut int pieces

Mousse
12 oz semisweet chocolate chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 3/4 c of heavy cream chilled
1/4 c sugar ( I added a little more to make it a tad bit sweeter)
chocolate shavings

Directions
for crust preheat oven to 350F. Butter 9" spring form pan bottom and sides. Grind cookies in processor until fine. Add butter and blend until moistened. Press cookies into spring form firmly up sides and the bottom of the pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Transfer crust to rack to cool.

Mousse
Combine chocolate, vanilla, and salt in processor. Heat up cream and add it slowly to processor through the tube until chocolate is melted and smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool to room temp stirring occasionally.
Beat 2 cups of cream and the sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold into chocolate mixture and pour onto crust.

Smooth top and refrigerate for at least 6 hours until set.
Beat 3/4 c of cream until firm peaks and pipette on top.
(I did not do this)

Enjoy a slice topped with or without cream.
I hope your day has been excellent. If not, there's always tomorrow.

It tastes like home

Whenever I feel home sick and miss my family I think about what it is I am missing. It could be a place, like the beach, or my friends, or all my favorite foods my mom makes when I am there. I love her cooking. I know a lot of us feel this way. No one makes foods quite like my mom. When I was younger, my mom tried to teach me how to cook. I resisted. I never would cook while I lived at home. Bake maybe, cook never. When I moved out and moved away from home I realized how silly I had been. I should have listened to my mother and learned. It would have saved me from having to eat lots of ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Oh well, it did make me realize that even though I probably would have eaten better I probably would not have come to love food as much as I do now. There is nothing more satisfying than creating a dish with your own two hands.

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and while talking to her and wishing her happy birthday she told me all of the foods she was creating for her party. First, I asked her why she was cooking for herself? She told me none of her friends really cooked and she wanted good food. Oh, I said I wish I were there enjoying your good food too! I also would have liked to have been there for her birthday but tickets are expensive and she lives too far to drive. I sent her my love and told her I would call her later because she was getting ready for her party and my dad was trying to fix the grill.

It got me thinking about all the foods she used to cook for me but I still do not know how to make. I already made one of my childhood favorites, pad thai, the other day. What could I make today that sounded good? My mom gave me the idea when she told me the dishes she was making for her party. Sweet sticky rice with mango. I always loved that dessert and it makes me think of my childhood and good times with my mom.
I decided to make it today for myself for the first time. It actually came out really well. It tasted like home.
Every time I eat this dish I am home. What could be better than that besides the obvious? What dish do you that makes you feel like your home?

I hope you try this dish and feel something special.

Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango

Ingredients
2 c long grain sticky rice
1 14 oz can of coconut milk
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 mangoes peeled and diced

Directions
Rinse the rice a couple of times and soak for 6hrs to overnight. This softens the rice so don't skip this step. After soaking the rice drain and rinse again. Pour rice into steamer basket and set over a pot of boiling water. You need a couple of inches of water in the pot. You are going to dry steam the rice. Place a cloth over the basket and steam for 30 minutes.

Mix the rice about 20 minutes into the steaming process and add a little bit of water over the top the rice. Stir. While the rice is steaming heat the coconut milk, sugar, and salt together and set aside. When the rice is done steaming, (check and make sure rice is cooked all the way through. It may need a few more moments)

put rice in a bowl and pour half of the coconut mixture on top and stir. The rice should be wet but not soaked. If all the rice is not coated with the sauce add a little more.

 Let it sit for 15-20 minutes until the coconut mixture is absorbed. Top it with mango and enjoy. You can add a little more of the coconut sauce on top if desired. I usually do because it tastes so good:)

I almost got it!

Its finally the weekend and what do I do all day? I'll tell you, but it was not anything fun or exciting. I worked this morning. I really did not want to get up and go but I have goals to reach and things to buy accomplish. I did however decide while I was daydreaming at work to try and make pad thai again. Last time I did not quite get it right. (Aka my noodles fell apart and the sauce was not quite right.) I decided today would be the perfect day to try again. After all, practice does make perfect. Another thing that helped me decide was I was just craving it and I thought it would be great to make it myself versus buying it. If I get it right then it would be another weapon in my arsenal. Can't ever have too many weapons.

In order to make this I looked up the recipe in a cookbook I got two years ago but never got around to using. I bought it last time I was in LA at an Asian market. It is called Thai Cuisine Beyond Curry by Chef Chai Siriyarn                              

I wondered if this recipe would taste like my mom's. I soon found out close but it still is not quite like hers. I wondered how my mom's noodles were darker than mine. My husband pointed out that my mom uses soy sauce and I used fish sauce. Tasty but still not quite right. Regardless, it was delicious. Next time I will try it with soy sauce and see if I get it right. I did add a little to this recipe so it was not quite the chef's recipe.

This recipe is still worth making and sharing, I thought it was good.

Pad Thai

adapted from Chef Chai Siriyarn

Sauce

5 T sugar

juice from 3 limes

6 T fish sauce

4 T rice vinegar

2 tsp paprika

chili powder to taste

Noodles

4 T vegetable oil

2 eggs

5 cloves of minced garlic

14 oz firm tofu drained, squeezed of excess water and cut into cubes

14 oz dried rice stick noodles soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, then drained

1 lb medium shrimp

1/2 lb of pork tenderloin cut into cubes

1/2 c chicken broth

1 c bean sprouts

5 green onions cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 c peanuts roasted and pounded into small pieces

1 lime cut into wedges

Directions

Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok over high heat. When the wok is very hot add the tofu and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden brown and firm.

Remove from wok and drain on paper towels.
Add 1/2 lb of pork tenderloin to remaining oil and stir fry for about 3-5 minutes. (depends on your stove. I have a glass top so heating is not optimum. I really want gas)

Add garlic  and then add eggs and stir until set and cooked.

 Add shrimp and cook for about a minute and then add noodles and chicken stock and cook for 2-3 minutes until noodles begin to soften.

Add sauce and toss to coat the noodles. Reduce heat to medium. Add the tofu back in  and cook until sauce is almost completely absorbed by the noodles. Stir in green onions,1/2 the peanuts, and bean sprouts.

Toss a few times and serve on a plate. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts and serve with lime wedges.

It was so good but still not as good as my mom's. I bet you will enjoy it so give it a try. I hope everyone's day is going well. I know mine is:)