Life Lessons from Recent experiences in cooking

So...I'm one of those philisophical types who tries to see a metaphor in everything. Yesterday for breakfast I made a puffy pancake (Melt 1/3 cup butter in 9x13" glass pan at 400degF. Beat 4 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour and 1/4 teaspon salt and pour into 9x13. Bake for ~20 min. Cut and serve hot with powdered suger, maple syrup, lemon curd, or whatever you like). It is one of my favorites to make because it has lots of eggs, and I can't get Shannon to eat eggs any other way. However yesterday they didn't taste right. I finally realized that I had neglected to add the salt, so the flavor was similar to eating a plastic bag (don't ask how I know). The life lesson here is that no matter how much we simplify or no matter how repetitive the task I still must pay attention and focus on the details for things to turn out right. Also, since I left out the salt, it reminds me of that phrase in the Bible that we are the salt of the earth. Salt is an important part of many reciepies because without it the flavors just don't come out right.

Then this morning I made a new recipe called Cinnamon Breakfast Biscuits (Combine 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup wheat bran [I used wheat flour], 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut in 1/2 cup butter. Stir in 2/3 cup milk and 1/2 cup dried fruit [I used raisins] just until moistened. Kneed dough in the bowl until dough is smooth. Roll out until 1/2" thick and cut with biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 450 deg F. Remove and cool on wire rack. Drizzle with sugar glaze made from mixing 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons milk.)Since my sister just got engaged, I was comparing this breakfast to our relationships (watch out this could get pretty cheesy). Anyway, over the 5 years of marriage that I've experienced there have been some lumps (raisins) some happy (sugar) lots of normal (flour) and as we've been put through the fire we grow and eventually we'll experience the kind of love that lasts forever. Congratulations to Jalayne and Luke and wish them all the best as they enter this new phase in their lives!

Mediterrainian Chicken

Mediterrainian Chicken is one of our absolute favorite meals to make for dinner! Puff pastry, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, garlic, and pesto! So amazingly delish. However it is a little tricky to judge when it is done cooking. This night I happened to have used chicken that wasn't entirely done defrosting...so it was a little pink in the center when I cut into it. The pastry was done, but not the chicken. So thank heaven for microwaves! I just popped it in the microwave for another minute or so and it was done. This recipe easily serves 4, so we make it for 2 and eat it two nights in a row. The second night however, we had the missionaries show up...so it quickly became a meal for 4 when I cooked up some pasta and sauce as a side dish. Whew!

Double Apple Coffee Cake

This tasty cake has applesauce as well as apples in it. I used Macintosh apples because they get pretty soft when you bake them. The recipe called for Granny Smith apples, but these often stay too crunchy for my tastes. It also called for walnuts...gross. My husband and I both agree that nuts shouldn't really be baked into much of anything. However we do like almonds, so I tried those...still gross...I should have just stuck to the apples solo. We still managed to eat the whole cake none the less.

I had made a few cakes to keep in the freezer. This one used up the leftover frosting from the skateboard cake...which explains the strange use of colors! I've been trying to practice my roses and still working on it, it totally depends on the consistancy, and in my case the temperature of my kitchen. Needless to say, thank goodness my family loves frosting! It gives me a great excuse to make little cakes like this 6" round. Each time I bake, fill, and frost a cake I am learning a lot. I've also started watching many a youtube video tutorial...seriously helpful information out there, all for FREE!