Guest Post from Amanda Carr!

I’m busy right now…really, really busy so when Amanda told me she had a recipe and pictures I jumped at the chance to have her do a guest post for me.

Most of you know that my oldest races BMX right?  Well Amanda races BMX too.  Only really, really well and travels all over the world doing it.  She is currently racing for Thailand but is still based out of her home town of Punta Gorda, FL.

This girl is a true athlete and follows an athletes diet to keep in the incredible shape she is in.  To learn more and to get updates from this amazing girl be sure to follow her on her social media accounts and look for her Tuesday evening Vlog that she puts out!

facebook.com/AmandaCarrBMX
instagram.com/AmandaCarrBMX
youtube.com/AmandaCarrBMX
twitter.com/AmandaCarrBMX

Workout Day Omelet!

Days when heavy lifting is on the menu for training, I usually begin with a medium/light meal. Omelets are usually a go to cause after about 30min-1 hour after I eat I don't have that woozy heavy stomach feeling (I hope you know what I'm talking about).

Anyways, the saying of "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" I kindaaaa follow it (when I have time) I mean let's be real I don't have the time EVERY DAY to make an omelet in the morning. So when I do have time I try to do it right, other days I'm in a rush and it's usually a couple pieces of raisin bread and I'm out the door! So for my omelet, nothing that requires anything that you shouldn't already have in the kitchen:

(I break this up into half before training and half after)

Ingredients:

 3 eggs
tiny bit of butter so nothing sticks
1/4 cup of green pepper (you can use any color you like obviously)
1/4 cup onions
1/4 cup tomatoes
1/4 cup celery
1/2 cup of lunch meat ham
1/4 cup shredded cheese, just to give it a little glue
sprinkle salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Crack the eggs into a glass mixing bowl and beat them until they turn a pale yellow color.
2. Heat a heavy-bottomed nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and let it melt.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Then, grab your whisk and whisk like crazy. You're going to want to work up a sweat here. If you're not up for that, you can use an electric beater or stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Whatever device you use, you're trying to beat as much air as possible into the eggs.
4. When the butter in the pan is hot enough to make a drop of water hiss, pour in the eggs. Don't stir! Let the eggs cook for up to a minute or until the bottom starts to set.
5. With a heat-resistant rubber spatula, gently push one edge of the egg into the center of the pan, while tilting the pan to allow the still liquid egg to flow in underneath. Repeat with the other edges, until there's no liquid left.
6. Your eggs should now resemble a bright yellow pancake, which should easily slide around on the nonstick surface. If it sticks at all, loosen it with your spatula.
7. Now gently flip the egg pancake over, using your spatula to ease it over if necessary. Cook for another few seconds, or until there is no uncooked egg left.
8. Now is the time add the vegetables and meat. Spoon your filling across the center of the egg in straight line.
9. With your spatula, lift one edge of the egg and fold it across and over, so that the edges line up. Cook for another minute or so, but don't overcook. If necessary, you can flip the entire omelet over to cook the top for 30 seconds or so.

Thanks so much Amanda!!!

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ORANGE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES… and a Guest Post

SHARING


Here I am, surrounded by my own brand of mess, desk half straightened yet not quite, baking supplies lined up on the spare space allowed on a kitchen table not yet cleared of breakfast dishes, one too many writing projects awaiting my attention as the documents line up impatiently on my computer desktop. E-mails tap their hypothetical fingers and toes, arms crossed and annoyance glowing almost audibly as one, two, three more ask for my participation in this activity or that challenge, demanding immediate action. I love being solicited, I am fueled by writing projects, I am more than flattered by each request for help, yet how can I possibly take on more and more as disorderly as I am, as chaotic as is my life?

When I received a request from Anuradha to guest post on her blog Bakerstreet, I immediately said Yes!, very excited at having been asked, eager to support a fellow blogger. I have been twittering with her for quite some time and have always found her adorable, sweet, kind and generous, so of course I would say yes to whatever she asked of me. I have watched her tentative steps towards confirming her blog, and I feel somewhat like a mother supporting and cheering on a daughter. And something inside of me is still thrilled and filled with wonder when approached to lend a helping hand, advice or support. Yet when I step back and see all of my obligations, everything that I have collected around me and taken on, I wonder how I will ever find the time to do it all. And I wonder if indeed I am crazy…. (please click here to read the rest of the post and discover this fabulous recipe!)

This week, as Meeta, Jeanna, Ilva and I finish the last details which will forever close the Plate to Page Weimar workshop, a truly unforgettable weekend, and open up the next chapter as we begin organizing the second workshop in Tuscany, as JP and I plan our bicycle trip up the Canal Nantes-Brest, I will make this blog post short and sweet. Anuradha, a wonderful, kind friend, asked me to guest post on her lovely little blog, Bakerstreet. I immediately said yes, never doubting my excitement and pleasure in guest posting. As I pondered over what to write on this guest post, one thought kept popping into my head: the noise made about a certain food blogging workshop held in the US the same weekend as our Plate to Page workshop in Weimar. Many bloggers complained about being snubbed by “big” bloggers who seemed content to gather and remain amongst their own “special” clique, neither desiring nor needing the attention of the “lesser known” bloggers. I was stunned as I read one post after the next with the same criticism and disappointment bordering on disillusion. What are we if not a community? What I am as a blogger without my readers who read, support and encourage me? And with this thought about my own feelings on the subject, please dash on over to Anuradha’s blog to read the rest of my guest post and where you can find the recipe for these luscious, moist brownies: deep, dark chocolate infused with the kick of Grand Marnier and bitter orange marmalade, a match made in culinary heaven and a dessert at once homey, comforting, intriguing and sophisticated. Enjoy!

I also would like to share two other posts and recipes of mine:


Destination Dessert: From My Father’s Kitchen to My French Wedding Lunch on The Rambling Epicure. I share a family favorite, my dad’s recipe for Choux along with ideas and recipes on how to use Choux to make, among other things, Profiteroles and Pets-de-Nonne.


La Pinolata: My Italian Pine Nut Tart, certainly one of my family’s favorite desserts! My latest article and recipe on Huffington Post!


Don’t miss Weimar Impressions – the first Plate to Page workshop: photos from this our first P2P workshop, a rundown of the weekend’s activities as well as links to participants’ own write-ups of their experience at P2P on their own blogs.


And... (drum roll) coming soon to Twitter : Jamie & JP's Big Biking Adventure! Be sure to follow our travels, trials & tribulations as we make our way up the Canal Nantes-Brest on bicycle over the next week. With one change of clothes, a First Aid Kit, a camera and my sense of humor, I will be following in JP's wake, admiring the beauty of the landscape, the flora and fauna of the region, and grabbing a snack surreptitiously when I can. I have been promised the use of his iPhone (do I hear the word bribe?) so I can tweet with you along the way, giving up-to-the-minute details of our great adventure! Follow me at @lifesafeast and don't miss one single tweet!

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LEMON BLUEBERRY TEA BREAD

My friend Aparna has invited me into her kitchen for coffee this month and I'm bringing cake. Aparna's My Diverse Kitchen is a wonderful, flavorful tale of her vegetarian Indian cuisine, her blog a source for an amazing eclectic choice of the delectible even beyond the Indian. I have gotten to know Aparna and her blog mostly through twitter and count her among my closest blogging friends. So when she invited me to host her Kitchen Café I was honored, flattered and excited and jumped aboard! I decided to make this dense, moist, delicate tea treat, the perfect cross between quick bread and cake, the perfect slice to have with coffee. Here is my post and don't forget to click through to Aparna's blog for the rest of the post and the recipe. Enjoy!

FRIENDSHIPS AND TIME TRAVEL


I had a lot of time to think about things as I stared out of the train window, chin cradled in the palm of my hand, mesmerized by the blur of the landscape rushing by, as I headed for Paris. Time and space and friendships. How much has changed since the last time I saw this friend I was off to meet. 30 years! My mind flew back to those days of long-distance friendships when we counted the days and weeks we would next climb on an old Greyhound bus and make the long trip for a weekend visit, or those telephone calls, few and far between, spent gossiping and giggling as only high school girls can do. I grew up at the beginning of the Space Age right smack on Florida’s Space Coast. We watched men head off into space, men walk on the moon. But the changes that I’ve seen, changes that our worldly, technically-savvy kids take for granted as much as eating and drinking, have also changed the substance of our friendships in ways that I had never even dreamed of back in those days and which still leave me stunned and amazed. Is it any wonder that I find this invention, these advances so much more amazing than even walking on the moon. We are over the stars!


30 years ago, that gangly, awkward girl that I was would never have dreamed that I could be face to face with someone, chatting away to our hearts content with just a click of a button or two. How could we have imagined that friendships could and would be made simply and easily through a lap-sized box that could be folded closed and tucked under one arm? To think that I am off to Paris on this high-speed train to see a friend with whom I had lost contact for so many long years yet found again thanks to this strange, fascinating, magical technology! So many friends from so long ago are now sitting across the table from me, day in and day out each time I turn on my computer. I have reconnected with so many that I would never have spoken to again, old friends that I never would have imagined simply bumping to on the street.

And new friends. Wow! That girl that I was, running barefoot on the hot Florida pavement, biking to school and wishing she was popular, well, if she had only known. That girl that I was sitting on the front lawn eating peanut butter sandwiches and potato chips whose only chance to travel and discover worlds outside of her simple, small town existence was through the pages of a book, traveling to farms and green pastures, across oceans and continents, if she had just bottled her impatience and bided her time. She never dreamed that one day she could have it all at her fingertips.



Click HERE to read the rest on Aparna's blog and share the recipe!

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VEAL SCALLOPINI - Remembering Childhood

GUEST POST FOR LOVEFEAST TABLE

As each and every one of my gentle readers knows, writing is my passion and the writing for my blog is fueled by my life stories, memories, travels and the food that I have eaten – and cooked and baked – along the way. When my wonderful friends of LoveFeast Table, Kristin and Chris Ann, very kindly asked if I would write up a food-related memory for a guest post on their blog, I was both thrilled and honored. Honored that they enjoyed my blog and my writing enough to offer me this special place on their own blog, and thrilled because I love their blog and I think they are both wonderful, fun and generous people, two women that I do consider friends, and I was so happy to share their Table with them. And this story immediately popped right into my head. I didn’t really have to dig very deeply for a food-related childhood memory, and what a story!

Now food memories, one would think, especially written for a food blog, should be happy memories full of delicious meals, culinary discoveries and joyous, festive times. But, as I know so well, this is not always the case. Good food can make a good memory even better, but bad food can very well accentuate a bad experience, keeping it buried deep in the mind, the two ever related, coming back to haunt again and again.

Here is that story, that very special food-related memory. But don’t worry, it all ends well. Very well, I must say, with one fabulous recipe of my mom’s: her wonderful Veal Scallopini. Definitely a recipe to try!

Thank you, Kristen and Chris Ann for inviting me to your LoveFeast Table!

VEAL SCALLOPINI – Remembering Childhood

It was just 3 or 4 days shy of my ninth birthday. I had dreamed of owning a “big bike”, moving from a kid’s small bicycle to an adult-sized beauty, just like the big kids, and here it was! My new bicycle, a beautiful deep blue, standing tall and proud in the garage just waiting for my birthday, a siren’s call to climb aboard and ride off into the sunset. Well, at least ride off in the sunshine to school.

But it was still a couple of days or so until my birthday and my mom said that as it was my birthday present I would just have to be patient and wait! No! Unfair! How could I possibly ride to school even one more day on my “kid’s” bike when this grown-up one was here, standing right in front of me, tempting me, practically mocking me? Well, I simply would not put up with it! Action was called for! So, the next day I got up, ate breakfast, got dressed and grabbed my books and went to my mom and proclaimed “I am taking my new bike to school!” Well, she put her foot down and said “No!” Well, no way was I riding the other bike to school so I simply refused to go. Period. Now, I had always been the “good girl”, the one who never missed a day of school, never cheated, never lied, never went against the rules. But here I was, faced with a dilemma, having to take what was practically a political, ideological stance and there was no way I was going to back down. I just would not go to school. But mom, ever pragmatic, stood her ground and told me, “You can make your own decision about school, but as far as I am concerned, you have gone to school, so outside you go. Where you spend your day is up to you but it won’t be in this house. And there is a perfectly good lunch waiting for you in the school cafeteria, so don’t think that you’ll be allowed in the house at noon for lunch!”

Mom

Hop on over to LoveFeast Table for the rest of this riveting story and a fantastic recipe…

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LINZER HEART COOKIES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

This is a special guest post for my lovely friend Ria of Ria's Collection all the way in far off India. She is getting married and asked me if I would like to help her feed her blog during this extremely busy time and I said "Why of course! Anything for a friend" How exciting! I feel like I am participating in her wedding just a little bit. And these beautiful, romantic Linzer Heart cookies immediately came to mind. I first made these delicate, meltingly tender, delectable treats 25 years ago for Valentine's Day and today they are just as sweet, just as beautiful and ever so perfect for both Valentine's Day and a wedding. Enjoy! Cheers, Ria!

LINZER HEART COOKIES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY


RIA’S BIG ADVENTURE

LOVE & MARRIAGE
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
This I tell you brother
You can't have one without the other
Love and marriage, love and marriage
It's an institute you can't disparage
Ask the local gentry
And they will say it's elementary
Try, try, try to separate them
It's an illusion
Try, try, try, and you will only come
To this conclusion
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
Dad was told by mother
You can't have one without the other

- Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Van Heusen

VALENTINE’S DAY AND A WEDDING

Ah, Valentine’s Day. Our hearts go pitter pat as the date approaches, florist shops fill up with lush red roses, heart-shaped chocolates tucked into delicate, pale tissue paper or tumbling out of boxes tied up in plump pink ribbon are displayed in every candy shop window and showcases of jewelry of gold and silver, diamonds and rubies, both elegant and gaudy, invite us to dream. Visions of chubby cherubim and putti, Cupid gently taking aim with his bow and arrow, the promise of romance and snuggling up with the one you love all are part and parcel of the magic that we call Valentine’s Day.


The month of February, cold and harsh, a blanket of white if we are so lucky, a breath of spring occasionally whispering in our ear, stuck unforgivingly somewhere between the rousing, festive end-of-the-year holiday season and the warming, welcoming arms of spring. February, rarely one’s favorite month, finds us impatient for the winter to end, dreaming of summer vacations in the sun, and escape. But for the romance of Valentine’s Day. So we strap on ours skis or snuggle down under blankets, our hands wrapped around a mug of hot cocoa or we dream of our knight in shining armor as we stir flour into sugar, rub in butter and scent with vanilla and cinnamon and wait for Valentine’s Day. For most of us, Winter respite comes in the form of a heart, that sentimental keepsake, that unlooked for display of affection, candlelight and a glass of champagne warming us up halfway through this otherwise cold, snowbound month.

And then some of us, the lucky ones, get married. Married in the month of February. How romantic is that? Like celebrating Valentine’s Day all month long, like having a special Valentine’s Day all to yourself. My darling friend Ria, far off in exotic India, has been stitching wedding favors, planning menus, putting together her trousseau and fitting the wedding dress of her dreams all in preparation for her February wedding. Darling Ria turned to me for a guest post and how could I refuse? Love and marriage and Valentine’s Day are food for a romantic like me, sentimental fool that I am, stirring up emotions and memories of my own special day so many years ago, a day followed by so many candlelit dinners, so many gifts slid across white tablecloths or placed in the palm of my hand, so many boxes tied up in satin ribbon, so many celebratory bottles of champagne, so many romantic getaways for two. And a near-perfect marriage (no marriage is perfect, my dear) is like the perfect Valentine’s Day: romance blended with joy and laughter, a mad mingling of serenity and excitement, the fusion of the exchange of serious sentiments and a wild burst of frivolity. It is a union of anticipation, worry and joy, hope and dreams.


For the complete post and the recipe please jump over to Ria's Collection....

(My dear friend Barbara of Barbara Bakes just pointed out to me that I forgot to add the ground nuts in the body of my recipe on Ria's blog. Just add (stirring and folding in by hand) after beating/stirring in the flour and cornstarch.)

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GINGERBREAD HOUSE FROM THE NORTH POLE

A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GUEST POST


As a very special treat for my readers, I decided to invite Mrs. Santa Claus to guest post on Life’s a Feast. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, Mrs. Claus agreed to lend a helping hand. I had a wonderful time baking with her and we spent a fabulous afternoon together in my kitchen laughing and chatting. She’s a hoot, I can tell you that. And quite a woman! To tell you the truth, I think she was a rather relieved to take a break and get away from the North Pole and all those men up there and spend a little quality “girl time”. I was thrilled with the opportunity to get to know her and have her guest post for me. Thank you, Mrs. Claus, and I hope we can make this a regular happening. And with no further ado…. Mrs. Claus!


Well now, I was just tickled pink when Jamie asked me if I would guest post for her. She was a bit worried that I would be too busy at this time of year, but I put her worries to rest right away. “Honey,” I said, “there are just so many fur-trimmed jackets and bonnets one woman can sew, so many little bells to attach to so many tiny elf caps before I scream, so I’d be happy to take a wee break and write something up for your delightful blog!” Once I made sure that no toys had been broken in the brouhaha or inadvertently left behind, Rudolphs’s nose had been shined and Santa was bundled up all cozy, list tucked safely in his pocket, I was as free as a, well, as free as my jolly old man splashing in the Florida waves the day after Christmas…

Now you might think that I lead a pretty glamorous life up here at the North Pole: romantic white landscape, gentle, doe-eyed reindeer, piles of gaily-colored wrapping paper and pretty ribbon as far as the eye can see, but you don’t know the half of it! Being married to the most popular man in the world just ain’t all it’s cracked up to be: and I say Michelle Obama, David Furbish and whoever’s dating that there George what’s-his-name, you know, the cute one, you all ain’t got nothing on fame and popularity. Oh, my man may go under different aliases in different parts of the world: Père Noël, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Weihnachtsmann, Sinterklaas, but everyone knows who they’re talking about. And my man can’t just get his mug shown on tv, leaving all you gals woozy and weak-kneed and all the men steaming, no, he needs to put out. Presents. Presents, presents and more presents. And just ask the others how they feel about their so-called “better half” getting all the attention! Everywhere we turn it’s Santa this and Santa that…


And I, Mrs. Santa Claus, well, I am more than just a pretty face, the woman behind the man. No, I’m moral support, cookie baker, list checker (yes indeed, no matter what that song says, it’s me!), suit sewer, and the list goes on and on. You know how men are! They would lose their heads if they weren’t screwed onto their shoulders! And I’m taking care of a workshop full of them. So I do more than I am ever given credit for. And those Santa’s Helpers? It may be toys that they’re making but it’s not all fun and games what with the thumbs being hammered and the sore backs, those darn elves keep coming to me looking for compensation for work-related injuries!


And keeping them dressed warmly and holding those Man-Colds at bay is a job in and of itself, what with all the chicken soup and hot cocoa I keep on the stove and all those teeny tiny socks to darn, they just don’t take care of themselves! I mean, what would happen to Christmas if they all got sick? And Santa? You know I love him, but keeping him clothed in that silly red and white suit and making sure he stays healthy before the big day is a full time job! Tried putting him on a diet, too, but no…. he thinks being pleasantly plump is part of the package deal, what everyone expects of him. Well, if he keels over from all that extra weight before next Christmas, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Santa, in the fridge all day...

So, Jamie asked me to guest post on her blog. I thought I’d really like the diversion from all the holiday running around. What to make? And when I saw that she had a gingerbread house to make for that Daring Baker’s challenge I said “Well, doll, that’s right up my alley! Why don’t I just help you bake and put that together? I mean, who knows more about candy-covered houses and snow-laden landscapes than I do?” So here I am taking a few out of my busy schedule to give a helping hand. Think all those elves can take care of themselves for a bit?


Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi asked all the Daring Bakers (and me, Mrs. Claus) to bake a homey, traditional Gingerbread House for December 2009’s Daring Baker’s Challenge. Anna offered us a recipe from Good Housekeeping and Y from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as well as giving us recipes for both Royal Icing and sugar “glue”. Very Christmassy indeed!

Well, Jamie and I were both very excited by this challenge and dove right in. Little did we realize how difficult working with the dough would be and not an elf in sight to help out. We chose Y’s Scandinavian recipe and though the dough pulled together a charm, rolling it out proved a true challenge. It crumbled into a million pieces and had to be wet, pressed and beaten into submission. We finally succeeded in rolling out enough of the dough for our template (pattern) cut outs and some fun cookie cut outs to complete the North Pole scene (moose and Christmas trees). We baked it up then Clem, Jamie’s son, did help with the gluing together and decorating with whatever bits and pieces of decorative sugars and candies we found lying around the house, secreted away in drawers (she does have an impressive candy stash!).

I would like to thank both Anna and Y for this fun and festive challenge. I think that next time Jamie will be using one of her own cut out cookie doughs for this, either vanilla or chocolate (although a true gingerbread house dough, Y warned us, is tougher to work with as it is made more for its sturdiness and lng-lasting ability rather than good looks and tastiness). The cooked sugar used to glue the pieces together as well as the royal icing hardened faster than expected so we had to work very quickly to pull it all together, but in the end we were all quite thrilled with the final results. Marty is also truly fascinated and has been trying to climb his way up onto the table to look at the house up close. Maybe it’s Santa’s bulging cock-eyed eyes up there that makes Marty think they’re related!


Thanks to Lis and Ivonne for keeping the Daring Baker’s home fires burning! Thank you Anna and Y and thank you Clem for the help. And a huge thank you for Mrs. Claus for taking time out during this busiest of seasons to guest post for me. You deserve so much more credit than you usually get! Now off you go on vacation to the sun and fun of Florida…. Stop by my mom’s house while you’re down there and say “Ho Ho Ho” for me.

And wonderful Greg of Sippity Sup! has generously nominated Life's a Feast for a Homie 2009 and I would absolutely be thrilled if you would go here and vote for my blog (look for lifesafeast.blogspot.com without the www. in front)! Thanks so much!

GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Scandinavian Gingerbread House (Pepparkakstuga)
From The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas

(Half recipe would work fine for a small house. I got a lot of left over dough)

1 cup (225 g) butter, room temperature
1 cup (220 g) brown sugar, well packed
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger *
3 teaspoons ground cloves *
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour, more if needed

* I omitted the ginger and replaced with 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

Draw and cut out patterns for the house, front and back walls, side walls, roof pieces, door which will be cut out of front wall, chimney.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Roll out the dough a little at a time on a floured work surface to a thickness of no less than 1/8-inch. Place the templates on the dough and, using a sharp knife, cut around the templates. Transfer the pieces to cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Cut out any extra pieces using cookie cutters as you like (Christmas cookie cutters of course).


Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes until set and slightly puffed. Remove the baking sheets onto wire cooling racks and allow the pieces to cool on the baking sheets.


ROYAL ICING:
Can be halved

1 large egg white
3 cups (330 g) powdered sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Simple Syrup:
I halved this amount

2 cups (400g) sugar
Place in a small saucepan and heat until just boiling and the sugar dissolves. Dredge or brush the edges of the pieces to glue them together keeping the pan over very low heat. If the syrup crystallizes, remake it.

Now piece together the walls then adding the roof on by dipping into or brushing the edges of the pieces with the cooked sugar then pressing together. Work very quickly because the sugar glue works fast and well. Use the sugar to glue on the chimney and door.


Decorate with the royal icing, candy, colored almond paste (I rolled out the paste to the thickness desired using a glass, cut out trees with a cookie cutter and the holly leaves using a paring knife ten glued the pieces onto the house using a dab of beaten egg yolk).


Keep it away from the dog.

Now, back to the North Pole...until next year...

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FRANKFURTER KRANZ GATTINES

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER: MOWIE TAKES OVER MY KITCHEN

For my last post, I was invited to bake... and write... for Mowie over at Mowielicious. I proudly carried over a little something I whipped up in my kitchen, something I created just for Mowie and his stunning little blog, the most elegant creation this simple girl could whip up. Now, my friend Mowie has returned the favor. A knock on my door very early this Saturday morning and there he is, Mowie, standing on my doorstep just waiting to be invited in. He blows me a kiss and pushes past me, rushing towards the kitchen in his excitement. "I have a wonderful surprise for you!" he laughs as he ties on an apron and starts rummaging around my kitchen for pots and pans, whisks and spoons. So after making sure that he's comfortable and has found everything he needs, I tip-toe out of the room, grab the novel I've been reading and go and curl up on the sofa with Marty and wait for the magic to happen, for Mowie only creates the beautiful, the luscious, the divine. Thank you, my dear friend, for all that you've given me. And here is Mowie's wonderful guest post and his fabulous Frankfurter Kranz Gattines!

Mowie takes over my kitchen

Life is a funny thing, isn't it?

Before I get into this post, I would just like to point out that I'm no Jamie in the writing department. Even though I write a blog, I am mostly hiding behind my camera clicking the shutter button. I prefer that to sitting behind my screen, clicking the keypad buttons.

Baking has always been like alchemy to me: bringing things together, mixing them up and creating something completely different, something whole, something new, like a cake, that can't be undone back into each of its original ingredients. I compare Jamies writing to alchemy as it truly is a form of magic: stringing bits of the alphabet together to create something beautiful, that touches the reader deeply on an emotional level, and satiates, just like any good cake, until the hunger pangs strike again, and all you want is some more good writing (and some more good cake!).


Jamie's path crossed mine recently, shortly before she lost her brother. Our friendship had been growing since, and when I'd heard of her loss, I knew exactly what she was going through, having lost my own brother not too long ago myself. Many emails later, much comfort was exchanged, but more importantly much laughter was shared as we realised we had almost exactly the same sense of humour. A bond formed and we started to build on the layers of our friendship, one that I feel will grow even stronger in time. The funny thing is, we haven't physically met yet, and out of our sadness was borne happiness. Life really is a funny thing, isn't it?

So, like the layers of our friendship, I thought I'd have to choose a fitting dessert to match, one that shows light, colour and is my favourite dessert of all. The original is called Frankfurter Kranz (literally, the crown of Frankfurt) and it is a very traditional German gateau. On my yearly trips to visit my grandmother, I knew she would always have some Frankfurter Kranz waiting for me, having worked on it for hours beforehand. As a child growing up, this cake was a piece of heaven on a plate for me, and it still is. What makes it so special are the many layers of buttercream and jam that hold it all together.


I remember my grandmother would spend hours on this cake making it just perfect, and getting as many layers as she could out of it. The original that gets served in cafes and restaurants never has more than three layers of buttercream, but when my grandmother whips one of these beauties up, she creates 6, 7, sometimes even 8 layers - not an easy feat, considering the original size of the cake to begin with - a true work of art. This cake really is a masterpiece when done properly and I was hoping I could create something just as special for Jamie.

Mowie, have you found everything you need?

I really love deconstructing recipes and starting from scratch, again, like alchemy, hopefully creating something new in the process. For this guest post I've made some Gattines (Gateaux in a glass), and given my recent obsession with all things verrines, it only seemed apt. A bottom layer of plump, juicy cherries I had left over from summer which I'd had in a jar of syrup, another layer of a very light vanilla buttercream topped with some lightly caramelized chopped almonds, and covered with a layer of spongecake. I also had some coconut macaroons in the cupboard that I thought completed this dessert perfectly. I hope you enjoy the final result as much as Jamie did.

Please visit Mowie over at Mowielicious where you will find a gorgeous blog filled with amazing, elegant, delicious desserts and his stunning photography. All photos of the Gattines and flowers are Mowie's.

MOWIE'S FRANKFURTER KRANZ GATTINES


Makes 9 Gattines:

You will need 10 empty glasses (make sure you leave the 10th glass empty for the last step!)

It's best to start with the bottom layer as it can be left to solidify in the time you get the other ingredients ready.


For the cherry jelly layer:

1 jar of cherries in syrup
1 pack of gelatine (I used 1 pack of agar seaweed flakes, as I'm not a big fan of gelatine)

1. Sift the cherries, making sure to collect the syrup.
2. Heat the syrup to a gentle boil and remove from the heat.
3. Stir in the gelatine (or agar).
4. Pour some into each glass, making sure it fills 1/3 of the glasses only.
5. Place 5-6 cherries into the syrup, and place glasses by a window to cool, and once cooled down, refrigerate. Only continue the next steps once the cherry syrup has solidified.

For the buttercream layer:

300ml vanilla custard
100g butter
1 pack gelatine or agar flakes
100g sugar

1. Whip the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Heat custard until warm and take off the heat. Prepare gelatine/agar as per pack instructions by dissolving in hot water.
3. Whisking constantly, pour the gelatine/agar into the warm custard and mix well.
4. Pour on top of the solidified cherry syrup in the glass, filling the next 1/3 of the glass, leaving the top third for the next few steps. Place glasses back in the fridge to allow the buttercream to solidify.

For the caramelized nuts:

150g almonds, chopped roughly
10g butter
60g sugar

1. Melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the sugar and butter and mix.
3. Keep stirring until the nuts start to go brown. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
4. Place a thin layer over the solidified buttercream in the glasses.

For the sponge cake:

100g butter, at room temperature
150g sugar
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla essence)
Juice of half a lemon
1 pinch of salt
3 medium eggs
150g flour
50g cornflour
2 tsps baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 180˙C. Butter a baking tray (roughly 30cm x 30cm). Whip the butter with an electric mixer until the colour lightens.
2. Add the sugar, vanilla, lemon and salt and mix thoroughly.
3. Add one egg at a time, making sure to mix into the batter for at least one minute per egg.
4. Mix the flour, cornflour and baking powder together and fold into the batter in two additions.
5. Pour batter into baking tray and bake for roughly 30 minutes. Test by inserting a metal skewer into the middle of the cake. If nothing sticks to the skewer when you take it out, the cake is ready. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, use an upside down empty glass to cut out the final layers of spongecake to fit snugly on top of the gattines.
6. Place each spongecake layer onto the top of the nut layer in each glass. Decorate with whipped cream, biscuits or flowers.

Mowie, you can come back and bake for me any time you please! Fabulous!

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CARAMELIZED PEARS AND CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM MILLE-FEUILLES

DYNAMIC DUO: THE GUEST POST

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

My very first guest post on another foodie’s blog. And not just any blog. Mowielicious. Stunning in its simplicity, dramatic in color and style, desserts as luscious, rich and beautiful as the photography, I fell in love with Mowie’s blog on my first visit. When Mowie asked me to guest post on Mowielicious, I was amazed, thrilled and nervous; how could my simple, homey desserts, my flamboyant writing, my oh-so-personal tales of food and family fit into the beauty that he creates? But say no to Mowie? Not a chance! We’ve become such friends, that why not accomplices as well? Images flitted through my brain of us cooking and writing together, like the Dynamic Duo of the kitchen, his yin of culinary and artistic/photographic talents and my yang of writing, like Batman and Batgirl, like Peel and Steed, bringing excitement and adventure to the Gotham City of the food blog world! So I set out to create something beautiful, something special for him.


CARAMELIZED PEARS & CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM MILLE-FEUILLES

A thing of beauty has always had a profound effect on me. The rich beauty of a Van Eyck, the brooding beauty of a Rothko make my knees weak and send shivers up my spine. The magnificent splendor of the Cathedral in Sienna, the majesty of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater leave me breathless. I bury my face in a bouquet of flowers, breathing in the heady scent of beauty. A handmade quilt made with loving hands, a milliner’s confection of straw and feathers and plump silk flowers, the perfect picture of feminine beauty. And when it comes to food, place before me a chef’s creation, carefully, thoughtfully plated, tender slices of meat or fruit, a drizzle of a fragrant sauce, delicate tiny vegetables or light-as-air mousse, the red of red raspberries and currents or deep pumpkin orange, spun sugar like angel’s hair or swirls of chocolate, and my eyes fill with tears. I breath deeply to capture the aroma, every essence, every spice, I turn my eyes back to the beauty before me, I am overcome with emotion and I am reluctant to destroy the magic.


Mowie’s blog has this effect on me. The stunning simplicity of his blog, the lushness of his photography, rich, deep colors against stark white, sensual and mysterious, the beauty of his culinary creations and I am in awe, once again breathless, speechless. His talent bursts from the whiteness of the page, his sincerity and honesty spill across the screen. It is truly a thing of beauty.

Now off to Mowielicious to read the rest and for the recipe…

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