Baking Soda v Baking Powder

When Greg and I were making cookies a few days ago, he asked me what the difference was of baking soda and baking powder. I told him Alton Brown could tell him why, but at that moment I could not remember.

Being curious, I googled it and found this article: Difference Between Baking Soda & Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. When baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise. The reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will fall flat!

Baking Powder

Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). Baking powder is available as single-acting baking powder and as double-acting baking powder. Single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. Double-acting powders react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven.

Substituting in Recipes

You can substitute baking powder in place of baking soda (you'll need more baking powder and it may affect the taste), but you can't use baking soda when a recipe calls for baking powder. Baking soda by itself lacks the acidity to make a cake rise. However, you can make your own baking powder if you have baking soda and cream of tartar. Simply mix two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda.

I find this stuff to be fascinating, so if that makes me a nerd, so be it.

Peppermint Bark

Must be the season to make candy! Last week I needed 2 desserts for various church functions and for one it had to be either green or red. I made peppermint bark 2 years ago and thought it turned out pretty good so I made it again. My friend Erika gave me 3 bottles of green food coloring so I knew what color I was going to make it.

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients

• 12 ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 12 ounce bag of white chocolate chips
• 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 3 candy canes
• green food coloring (optional)

-Place contents of 12 ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips into a bowl and into the microwave for 90 seconds (check & stir every 30 seconds)
-Once chocolate is melted, stir in 1 tsp of peppermint extract
-Spread out onto aluminum foil lined cookie sheet
-Place in fridge and let it set up for about 10 minutes
-After 10 minutes in the fridge, start the second half:
-Crush up 3 candy canes
-Place contents of 12 ounce bag of white chocolate chips into a clean bowl and into the microwave for 90 seconds (check & stir every 30 seconds)
-Once white chocolate is melted, place candy canes and 1 tsp of peppermint extract into the chocolate.
-You can add food coloring of your choice if you please
-Spread white chocolate over the semi-sweet and leave it in the fridge for an hour until it sets

I left it in the fridge over night and the next morning I flipped it over onto the cookie sheet and smashed the semi-sweet side with a cup to break it up. People seemed to enjoy it. :-)

Pecan Pralines

Between studying for the CBEST, I watched a few minutes of Paula Deen and she was making pecan pralines with a friend. Feeling inspired and knowing I had all the ingredients, I decided to take a crack at it!

The recipe I made is a combination from a recipe on the all recipes website, Buttermilk Pralines, and Stan Strickland's Pecan Pralines Recipe.

Pecan Pralines

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk (I only had milk on hand, so I added 1 tbs of lemon juice to the cup of milk and waited 10 minutes)
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 stick of butter (no substitutes)
• 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:


In a heavy 3-qt. saucepan, combine all ingredients except the pecans.
In a heavy 3-qt. saucepan, combine all ingredients except the pecans. Cook and stir over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 238- 241 degrees F or a soft ball stage**. This takes patience so don't get discouraged. (Don't I sound like a hypocrite?)

**What is a soft ball stage you ask? This is a method one can use if you don't have a candy thermometer. At this temperature, sugar syrup dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand. Fudge, pralines, and fondant are made by cooking ingredients to the soft-ball stage.



Stir in pecans then remove from heat. Beat with a wooden spoon until mixture loses its gloss and begins to set, about 8 minutes.

Quickly drop by teaspoonfuls (or whatever size you want) onto foil-lined baking sheets. Cool.

You really do have to move quickly because it sets up fast. The last few pralines did not look as nice as the first ones I scooped out. I will definitely be making these again!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Greg and I decided to make a thanksgiving dinner at Erika's apartment. It was a simple menu but filling. I got to Erika's at about 10am to make the cranberry relish and to check the turkey to see if it was thawed. (Didn't want a repeat of last year). I couldn't get a hold of Greg on his phone, and not wanting to wait, I decided to do the bird myself. I put our 12 pound turkey into Erika's roaster for a little over 3 hours at 325 degrees and it turned out beautifully.


We had the traditional Goss appetizers of shrimp and spicy cocktail sauce and caviar with cream cheese on a cracker and cocktail onion. We had sparkling cider, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, rolls, cranberry relish and gravy as our meal.


Neither of us was feeling any type of dessert, so we were content with the cranberry relish. The recipe is below.

Cranberry Relish
One bag fresh cranberries
One can mandarin oranges
1/2 cup - 1 cup of sugar
Half tub of cool whip
Grind the cranberries in a food processor. To keep some of the texture, don't over do it. Empty contents into a bowl and add the sugar and then the cool whip. Taste to see if there is enough sugar to your liking. Fold in the mandarin oranges. Put bowl in the fridge for about an hour so the flavors can marry and the sugar can be absorbed by the cranberries.


I was going to bring my camera but forgot so I had to settle for using my phone, hence the poor quality of the pictures.

While the bird was cooking, Greg and I had our appetizers and watched 'Evolution.' During dinner we watched the movie 'Juno.' Nothing exciting happened but it was a nice relaxing day. It was weird to think though that this is already the 2nd Thanksgiving since Julie's been gone. Her favorite part of the meal was definitely the rolls. I only had one, but Greg had 3. I'd like to think he ate some in her honor. :)

Kofta Kebabs

What is kofta kebabs you ask? 'Kofta is a Middle Eastern dumpling. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with spices and/or onions.' (via wikipedia)

Tonight Greg and I made our version of this dish. It is a modified recipe from allrecipes.com. Along with the kebabs we had a green salad and rice.

Our Version of Kofta Kebabs
1 pound ground turkey
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 small onion
2 tsp of salt
2 tsp of black pepper
3 tbs of Italian seasoning (recipe called for parsley but we did not have any on hand)
1 tbs curry powder (recipe called for coriander but we did not have any. I figured there's coriander in curry powder so it would work nicely)
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger

First place the garlic and onion in a food processor to grind it up finely.
Then mix the garlic and onion in with the meat and other seasonings.
We rolled out 'cigars' from the meat that are the length of your index finger, but twice as thick. (very technical, I know)
We placed it on a cookie sheet and into a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Since rice takes the same amount of time, the rice and the kebabs cooked simultaneously.

It is a pretty easy meal if you're looking for something different to do with ground meat. I'm sure this would taste great with beef or pork or any other ground meat.

Enjoy!

Where can I find a recipe?

When I'm looking for a recipe, my first choice is to go to http://allrecipes.com/ I've never tried a recipe from this site I haven't at least liked. From plum cobbler to carnitas to banana bread, for vegans to carnivores, it's a great site. It is very user friendly. I like that the comments are listed under the recipe and are easy to view. There is also nutritional information listed on the side if you're counting calories. You can also change the serving size and the ingredient list changes to your needs. If you like using the metric system for measurement, you can change that as well! I've looked at other sites but this is my first choice. :-)

My apologies for lack of posts!

As Greg and I have been trying to be healthier (eating better and exercising), baked goods do not quite fit into our diets. So we only bake on special occasions.

But I still have ideas for new things to try! Erika's friend made her a cake as a house warming gift and we had some on Saturday night. He made fondant from scratch and used that to make the cake look pretty. My goal is to have a pretty looking cake one of these days!

Playing with color

My friend Erika remembered a cake I had made several years ago while I was still living in San Jose. I couldn't recall it until she posted this picture.

At this point in time, I for the most part was still making cakes from box mixes. I also only had a bundt pan. I came across some food coloring and was attempting to make my own frosting. Green being my favorite color, that was naturally the first color to play with. My cakes today taste pretty good, but decorating is still an area I need to work on. :-)

This cake was made for the OSU v Michigan game on November 18, 2006. What was the score of that game again? :-)

In Memory of Julie 03/18/1981 - 09/09/2008

Amish Friendship Bread

Tomorrow I will be making 3 varieties of bread and I am super excited!

Butterscotch with butterscotch chips

Lemon with blueberries

Chocolate with chocolate chips

The original bread is made with vanilla pudding and cinnamon. (Recipe listed below). The first time I had it was back in the winter of 2003. A friend came over to Erika's and my place while we rented rooms from a lady named Kathy. He brought over a plate of goodies for Christmas, and this bread was on there.

A few months back I made chocolate with chocolate chips, chocolate with orange zest and banana. They were all very good. A friend asked me if there was crack in the bread because it was so addicting. LOL

Amish Friendship Bread

FRIENDSHIP BREAD STARTER

To prepare starter, combine in a Ziploc bag:

1 cup plain flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Squeeze bag to mix contents. Place on counter until tomorrow.
Days 2-5 squeeze bag several times.

On Day 6 add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk and squeeze bag to mix.

Put 1/2 cup mixture in four bags. Give three starters to friends. Keep one for yourself. Give copy of instructions to friends.

Important Note: Do not use metal spoons or equipment. Do not refrigerate. Use only glazed ceramic or plastic bowls or containers.

Amish Friendship Bread

Day 1:

Do nothing with the starter.

Days 2-5:

Squeeze the bag/stir.

Day 6:

In the Ziplock bag or plastic container, add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Squeeze the bag/stir. (You can release the built up air periodically from the bag).

Days 7-9:

Squeeze the bag/stir.

Day 10:

Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic containers or Ziplock bags. Give one bag and a copy of this recipe to three friends. Put the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter into a bowl and add the following ingredients and mix well.

1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugar/cinnamon-dusted bread pans*. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 - 55 minutes. Check if done with a toothpick. (I made 4 mini loaves instead of 2 large loaves).

*In a bowl, put 2 tsp of cinnamon and 2 Tbsp of sugar. Mix well. Place sugar/cinnamon mixture into pans and turn pans to ensure all sides are coated.

Change up the flavor of pudding and add chips or fruit to the batter for a new twist!

Happy Birthday Dean!

A few days before Dean's birthday, I asked him what cake he would like. He responded by requesting a poppyseed cake with penuche frosting or German chocolate. While at the store shopping for ingredients, Greg wanted to make the latter. The one and only time I have made chocolate cake from scratch was 2 years ago. The flavor was good but it was very dense, a small piece went a long way. So my goal this time around was to make a lighter in texture cake. Greg and I picked up the green Baker's chocolate box and bought the ingredients on the back side. This would be a first time making a frosting that didn't include cream cheese or confectioner sugar.

When we got home, we organized the ingredients, preheated the oven, got out the Kitchen aide mixer and began to make the cake. (Yes, I was checking off the back of the box as I went along in the store).

Original BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate Cake
Recipe for the cake:

1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup water

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk (As we bought a quart of buttermilk, it left us wondering what we were going to do with the other 3 cups. Upon opening the green box at home, there was a tip regarding buttermlik. After reading I recall having heard it before. A substitute for buttermilk is to have a cup of regular milk and add 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice or vinegar to cup of milk and let sit for 10 minutes.)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Cover bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with wax paper; grease sides of pans. Microwave chocolate and water in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

MIX flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and the vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition. So far so good! Greg usually does the dry ingredients while I do the wet and we work together to combine the two.

BEAT egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently stir into batter. Pour evenly into prepared pans. "What are those white lumps?" you may be asking yourself. That would be the 'stiff peak' egg whites which were a little too stiff. Who knew one could over beat egg whites?? We didn't realize they were over beaten until after we had put it into the batter. Instead of being nice and silky and smooth, it was clumpy and making a crunch sound as we tried folding the egg whites into the batter. So needless to say, we learned something that day. :)

BAKE 30 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Immediately run small metal spatula around cake layers in pans. Cool in pans 15 min.; remove layers from pans to wire racks. Remove and discard wax paper. Cool cake layers completely. Spread Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting between cake layers and onto top of cake.

We only had 2 8-inch round pans so we got out the spring-form pan for the remainder of the batter. So in the end, we had 2 cakes. 1 single layer cake and the double layer we presented to Dean as his birthday cake.

Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting
Recipe for frosting:

4 egg yolks

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

1-1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

1 pkg. (7 oz.) Coconut flakes (about 2-2/3 cups)

1-1/2 cups Chopped Pecans

BEAT egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with wire whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

ADD coconut and pecans; mix well. Cool to room temperature and of desired spreading consistency.

"Cool to room temperature and of desired spreading consistency." Yeah... that never happened. I cooked the frosting on medium heat for 12 minutes as instructed. This being the first time to make it, it appeared to be a little runny but I assumed it would thicken up nicely after the addition of the coconut and pecans. It never thickened up. I ended up using a slotted spoon so the cake would not become soggy.

Sad, soupy looking frosting. :(

The 2nd cake I took to a church activity as we have plenty of the 1st cake left over and birthday cookies that are being sent off to Lindsie today. It must've been ok since it was the first thing to disappear from the food spread.

Dean seemed to enjoy it still!

Finished product

In the end, Greg and I were able to learn a few things from this baking project that we will never forget! I accomplished one goal, as it was a much lighter cake than 2 years ago, but there is always room for improvement.

Upcoming posts!

I know it's been a few days since I have written, but I am in the process of trying new recipes and they will be up when completed. I am trying the Amish friendship bread from scratch again, which includes making the starter. (Past few times have failed but i have a new recipe I'm trying). I came into a huge bag of plums, so I am researching recipes to try. And at last but not least, my brother is trying his hand in making sourdough bread. It's actually easier than one would think but I don't want to ruin the surprise just yet... So keep posted and thanks for reading!

Voodoo Doughnut

My friend Jessie and I took a trip to Portland, Oregon last summer and her co-worker suggested we stop by a place called 'Voodoo Doughnut.' The name was intriguing enough that we checked it out. Since then, I've seen this place featured on the TV show 'Man v Food.'

Here are some pics of the us in front of the downtown location.

Here is Jessie holding the famous 'voodoo doughnut.' It's a doughnut in the shape of a doll, raspberry filled to represent doll blood with a pretzel sticking out of it. (Don't mind Jessie.)

We bought a few doughnuts, but I think my favorite was the 'triple chocolate penetration' which is a chocolate doughnut with a chocolate glaze and cocoa-puffs! (Can you tell I like chocolate?)

There was one doughnut in the case that was just too weird to try. It was a maple bar with 2 pieces of bacon on it. The menu page describes their other delectable delights. http://voodoodoughnut.com/menu.php

This place not only makes doughnuts, but officiates weddings. Yes, you read that correctly, officiates weddings. They offer different wedding packages which include coffee and different types of doughnuts to accompany that special day. As tempting as this may be, I will pass on this one.

"What doesn't this place offer" you may ask? Well, they do not ship doughnuts. They'll deliver within a limited area, but if you are living in CA and want to try one of these bad boys, you'll have to take a trip to Portland. "Remember, we do not ship doughnuts. It's an insult to the doughnut and a rip off to you. We wont do it."

The recipe that started it all...

A few years back (3 to be exact), our ward (congregation) was having a bake-off for an activity. Being one of the leaders for this group I figured I should submit a dessert. In true fashion, I decided to make a cake I'd never made before from scratch the day of. I can't remember how I picked carrot cake since I am not a big fan, but I got the recipe from my friend John Crapo.

The Best Carrot Cake Ever!

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
John's note: The cake tastes great with or without nuts. The preferred nut to use would be walnuts. (I did not use any nuts)

Mix well the oil and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat well each egg into oil and sugar mixture. Sift the flour, b. powder, b. soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Add the carrots, vanilla, and nuts and mix together. Pour the batter into a cake pan. Bake at 350° for 40 min. (When I've made it, it always takes longer.)

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter
1 8oz package of cream cheese
Almost 1 16oz package of powdered sugar

Beat butter, vanilla, and cream cheese together. Add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time mixing in to get a smooth texture. Continue adding sugar until desired consistency and taste.

Here is a plea from John regarding the recipe:
I also beg and plead that you not ruin the recipe by putting in pineapple or coconut, or some other fancy additive (not to say that you would). Many a good carrot cake has been ruined this way. Simplicity is often delicious! (No arguments here!)

Not really being a cream cheese frosting fan, I had a roommate at the time sample it to make sure it was edible. The cake turned out great! Darlene suggested I put some flowers from her garden on the cake to add a little color. I know I took pics of it, but do not know what happened to them. :( Needless to say, it was beautiful. I had flipped the cake out onto a flat baking sheet, covered it with frosting and added the flowers.

Does anyone remember who won this bake-off? I DID! I was amazed that my first time baking this cake won. It was at this time I thought I could have a knack for baking. By no means do all my first attempts at a new recipe turn out this well.

Pizza... Mmmmm

One of my all time favorite foods is pizza. Growing up, we almost always had pizza on Friday nights. Since my brother, Greg, just graduated from Cal, he has moved in with myself and our uncle. Greg and I go on walks and while on the walks we converse about what to have for dinner. One day, we figured we could take a crack at making pizza from scratch since we had most of the ingredients. Margarita pizza was the pizza of choice. It is fairly simple, yet so tasty. Mozzarella cheese, basil and tomatoes. It doesn't get any easier than that.


We found a simple dough recipe online which turned out great! We have made it a few times now. Of course we added our own twist to the recipe. Here it is:

1 pkg dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp Italian seasonings


As you can see from the picture, we always double the batch since there are 2 hungry men living here now.

The water, yeast and sugar are placed into the bowls and let to sit for about 8 minutes. Once bubbly, we add the salt, flour and Italian seasonings. Once mixed in, we rub olive oil on the top and let it set for 20 minutes to give it time to rise.

While this is setting, we cut the tomatoes, shred/cut the cheese and wash off the basil.

During the prep, we heat up about a quarter to a half cup of olive oil in a pot and throw in some minced garlic. When we roll out the dough, we rub this garlic oil on before adding the cheese and tomato. Once the pizza is made, we place it in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. In the last few minutes we throw on the basil as we did not care for it being crispy the first time we made it when we added it right away.

Here is our finished, delicious product!

My first post!

Wow, my very first post for Food Junkie! Since being unemployed, I've been passing the time baking and cooking. I try to take pics of each creation. Since I wanted to keep it organized, I figured I'd keep track of it in a blog. Some will have pics, some will have recipes and some posts will have both. Enjoy!