Tuesday's Twist: Popcorn Cornbread

Tuesday's Twist:  A basic recipe with a fun twist.  In other words, just another excuse for me to play around with weird recipes I've been dying to try.

This is a good example of what I was talking about yesterday.  Making cornbread once is realistic, but to make it twice in one day just for the purposes of the blog is unrealistic.  Unless you all want to show up at my door and help me eat both pans?  Hmm, that's what I thought.  

Rather than make a second pan I'll use this as an opportunity to share a little bit about my recipe development process.  Let's see, what's the best way to do this? How about bullet points:

- First an idea pops into my head- "hey, you should make bread with ground up popcorn in place of some of the flour...okay... hmmm... how about cornbread so it's a popcorn cornbread with double or triple corn? ....yes, let's go with that for now."

- Once I settle on a basic idea I compare multiple recipes for the base (unless I already have a tried and true base).  In this case I looked at various cornbread recipes, took bits and pieces of what I liked from each one, then wrote out a final recipe in my notebook.  I write everything out in a notebook to keep track of what works and what doesn't.  It's filled with notes and scribbles of chicken scratch (or rather, kitchen scratch) on ideas, improvements and results.

Mindful Monday: What's Next?

Mindful Monday: On Monday's I'm going to share what's been on my mind. I by no means have any of this figured out, I'm just thinking out loud here.

So, I've been thinking about this a lot over the past month and I still don't have it figured out.  I'm not really sure where I'm going with this whole blogging thing.  I started this blogging adventure just over a year ago and have learned a lot along the way.  There are days I love it to pieces, but there are also times I think, why am I doing this?  With warm weather pulling me outside plus already being in the kitchen all day at work, I'm not sure how much time I want to devote to the posts here.

There's no doubt I'll still be trying all sorts of crazy recipes on my own time.  Some things, however, are not worth the time and effort to test, photograph, type up and edit.  I still want to share what inspires me along with a few odd kitchen adventures.   Because you know I'll still have plenty of those.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is the same thing that applies to the rest of life- balance.  Balance involves change and a shifting of one side to the other.  Rather than a precisely perfect point, balance hovers and includes flexibility and give and take.

 There is no recipe for a perfectly balanced life.  Neither life nor balance are perfect.  Like I keep saying, I'm not sure what that will look like here.  But when time spent behind the computer screen gets in the way of life, something is off balance.  It will take me a while to readjust and find a new balance.  I tend to stick to habit and pattern and am slow to change.  Perhaps this will be a good chance to challenge perfectionistic thinking and practice flexibility.

Will I stop blogging?  No.  Will I stop playing around in the kitchen?  Definitely not!  I've always loved that.  What will likely happen is a little less structure and a little more flexibility.  How's that for vague?  I'll try not to get too random on you though.  Hmmm, I don't really know what else to say.  I guess we'll just leave it at that and see what happens. Thanks for hanging on through whatever adventure is next.

Food for Thought: "It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things." -Donald Miller

Flashback Friday: Great-Aunt Eleanor's Sour Cream Raisin Pie

Flashback Friday: Revisiting a recipe from long ago

Old recipes rarely include detailed instructions for the modern day cook.  What was considered common sense in our great-grandmother's generation was passed on from mother to daughter by hands-on experience and not necessarily written down in recipe format.   Details, tips and tricks of the trade were learned at home, and written recipes were intended as guidelines or reminders, not do-it-yourself, fail-proof tutorials.

This sour cream raisin pie recipe from my great-aunt Eleanor is over 100 years old.  It left me guessing in a few places, causing me to look up some of the details I mentioned yesterday.  It would be interesting to go back and make this recipe with her.  I don't think my meringue turned out as intended, but I've no way of knowing what hers was like in the first place.

Thursday's Thoughts: Learning Curve

Thursday's Thoughts: a taste of what I'm thinking

When something goes askew in the kitchen I like to read up about it and figure out why.  Understanding the principle behind the problem decreases the likelihood of a repeat episode.  Here's just a taste of what I've been reading up on lately along with a few other bites I'm beginning to chew, swallow and digest.

Meringue
1. Underbaking a meringue pie results in weeping, a layer of liquid between the meringue and filling.  This can be prevented by spreading the meringue on the pie while the pie is still hot.  However, the pie should not be too hot or the filling may not have set up enough to hold the meringue.

2. Beads on top of a meringue are the result of overbaking.

3. To prevent a meringue from shrinking and tearing, be sure to attach and seal it to the crust before baking.  Adding certain starches to the meringue also helps.

4. Soft meringue, hard meringue, Swiss meringue, Italian meringue, cooked, uncooked, added starch, ratio of sugar, type of sugar, temperature, beating time, underbaked, overbaked, acidity, humidity....so much to consider.

Pie Crust
1.Overworking a pie crust stretches out the dough which causes shrinking while baking.

2.  A large gap between an upper crust and filling (such as apple) is due to a slow release of steam.  Thick apple slices release steam slowly, but thinner apple slices cook faster, allowing a quicker release of steam.  Thinner apple slices (along with cutting proper slits) prevent the crust from puffing up and leaving a large space.

Eggs in Custard
 1. Stirred custards without starch are heated over a double boiler and require constant stirring.  The eggs thicken anywhere between 160 and 180 degrees F.  The eggs can begin to thicken just one degree before turning to a scrambled curdled mess.  Rate of heat, milk to egg yolk ratio and sugar all influence curdling and thickening of stirred custards.

2. Baked custards without starch need a water bath.  The water for the water bath needs to be extremely hot.

3. Stirred custards with starch can be made over direct heat as opposed to a double boiler. Similarly, baked custards containing starch do not need water baths.

Consomme (just pretend the e has an accent over it)
1. This stock is clarified with egg whites.  As the stock simmers the egg whites coagulate and trap impurities.

2.  The egg and impurity mixture floats to the top forming what is called a raft.  An acidic ingredient such as lemon juice or tomatoes aids in forming a stable raft.

Food for Thought: "Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have." -Louis E. Boone 

Random Recipe Wednesday: Pickled Dill-Caraway Carrots

I should probably warn you now that I'm on a pickling spree.  Those pickled grapes made me conjure up a whole list of odd things to pickle.  But let's make carrots first, I don't want to get too crazy on you quite yet.

Our pickling possibilities are endless.  In addition to various vegetables, a few fruits and some other odds and ends, we can mix and match our herbs and spices.  There's also a variety of vinegars to experiment with.  For once I can't seem to work in peanut butter, popcorn or cookies.  I'll have to work on that.

Oh, I also managed to pickle the bottom shelf of the refrigerator followed by the produce drawer and kitchen floor as I spilled pickling brine all over.  On three separate occasions.  Three.  All I can say is, use a container that has a tight fitting lid, not a random disposable container with a mismatched almost-fitting lid.