Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day May 2008

A pretty pink tree peony is in full flower. (left)

The false Solomon's seal is full of hanging bells (below, center) and the spirea is in full flower. (below, left.)

A group of tiny white flowers comes up every year below the pin oak (left). Does anyone know what this is?

The red-leaf hardy geranium is blooming a little early this year (left)

Poeticus daffodils are always the last ones to bloom in my garden.

The nepeta is loaded with great blue flowers (left).

The fringe tree is limping along. The deer or some other critter munched on it this winter.

The deciduous azalea is a gorgeous peachy yellow!

The clematis has its first open flower today, just in time for GBBD.

The giant alliums are just beginning to bloom.

Buttercups are pretty, but very invasive. Think twice before you add these to a perennial bed or border! (below)

Banana Strawberry Cupcakes/Muffins?

OK. I had some left-over overripe bananas and some fresh-from-the-market -strawberries, and thought I'd make the strawberry banana cupcakes from Vanilla Garlic. Followedthe recipe exactly, except I substituted 6TBSP olive oil for 6 TBSP of the vegetable oil. They came out more like muffins than cupcakes. (Cupcakes=light and spongy, muffins=thick and dense. ) But I frosted them anyway as the recipe suggested. Good, but not great.

Daring Bakers and Tuesdays with Dorie

Well, I baked the Tuesdays with Dorie fluted polenta and ricotta cake (yum!) and didn't bake the Daring Bakers cheesecake pops. I did learn that I should have measured my pan to make sure it was the right size-- it went over the top and down the side. What a mess! But it had a wonderful texture-- moist from the ricotta cheese and figs, crunchy from the polenta and the tiny fig seeds. The honey made it just sweet enough. (I used regular clover honey, which is what I had on hand.) My husband (and official dessert taster) said he didn't like the "dates" but he liked the cake. I think it would have been useless to tell him they were figs, not dates.

The cheesecake pops, though, just didn't get done. My other life got a little spastic there for a while, and the time just slipped away. But next month's challenge looks great, and I'll make it earlier in the month. (It's a surprise-- you'll have to wait to find out what it is.)

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day April 2008

Oh, my gosh! I just looked at the calendar and discovered that, along with income tax day, it's also Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. So I grabbed my trusty Sony DSC-W50 and went in search of what is blooming in my yard and garden today. Some grape hyacinths are naturalized in the grass by the bird garden.

The forsythias are in full bloom!

Blue and white hyacinths are blooming in the gravel under the mailbox. They have been run over so many times by the mailman's SUV that it is amazing that they even survive.

One of the many varieties of daffodils that are blooming now.

A tiny windflower with a definite will to live!

Perfect Party Cake

The Daring Bakers’ Challenge this month was to make a 4 layer party cake from Baking from My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan. The cake and frosting had a hint of lemon in them. Thanks, Morven, for suggesting this challenge! I loved it!

The cake was light and lightly sweet on its own. But when I added the raspberry filling and buttercream frosting between the layers, it became heavenly!

The buttercream was a Swiss meringue buttercream, made by beating the sugar and egg whites over simmering water, and then adding the butter and flavors. The process was new to me, but it turned out great! I’ll definitely make this frosting again!

To finish it, I covered it with coconut. It was pretty and tasty at the same time. You don’t get much better than that!

Julia Child's French Bread

First of all, my apologies to Julia.

The Daring Bakers Challenge this month was to make French bread using Julia Child’s original recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume II. The ingredients were pretty much the same as any other French bread recipe, but the method was the challenge. No sponge, no poolish, no baguette pan. Rising on a cloth, baking on a flat baking sheet. The results? Good, but wow, it certainly was a “challenge” for me!

The risen dough stuck to the couche (the flour encrusted rising cloth) and deflated as it was placed onto the pan to bake. My sharpest knife would not cut neatly through the loaf to make the decorative slashes. It stuck to the dough, further deflating it. And between the mixing, the resting, the kneading, and the rising, it took forever!

The flavor? A little salty, I thought, but my husband disagreed. He asked, “Was it all worth it?” Truthfully, I would have to answer, “No, not really.” I am glad I did it, of course, as I am ever up for a baking challenge, but I’ll probably never do it again. There is definitely an easier way to make good French bread.


Thanks to Breadchick Mary for the recipe and the challenge. You certainly made me push my limits! Visit Breadchick Mary's site for the complete recipe for Julia Child's French bread.

Oops, I Forgot to Give You the Recipe!

I guess it would help if I posted the recipe for the lemon meringue pie from the Daring Bakers Challenge, wouldn't it? I'll get the hang of this, please be patient with me.

(from "Wanda's Pie in the Sky" by Wanda Beaver)
Daring Bakers Challenge #15: January 2008

Lemon Meringue Pie

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:
3/4 cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/3 cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
3/4 cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

To Make the Crust:
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt.Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

To Make the Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.