My First Sweet & Simple Bakes

I have been searching the blogsphere for some baking groups to join. The first one to catch my eye was Sweet & Simple Bakes.

This month's recipe was Jammy Donut Muffins. You can find the recipe here. For the filling, I decided to use some of the delightful strawberry/rhubarb jam , my mother in law made.

My notes on the recipe:

I had a little trouble deciding just how much batter to put in the muffin tins before putting in the jam. I think I used too much for the first few muffins. I didn't need all of the melted butter for dipping but no problem, it will be great for tomorrow morning's French Toast. I don't own a kitchen scale, so the measurements for this recipe were a bit challenging. I did a search and found what I think was the closest conversion possible. I think I need to invest in a scale.

These muffins are melt in your mouth delicious. Next time I want to try them with a cream filling. The muffins are best eaten on the first day, so share with some friends and enjoy!!!

Thanks Rosie and Maria for taking the time to create this group! I look forward to next month's recipe!!!

Fresh Peach Muffins

On our way home from our weekend trip to Kansas City, we stopped at Kimmel Orchards. We enjoyed a wine tasting of their fruit and white wines, tasted their yummy apple cider donuts and purchased some beautiful white peaches. I can't wait to go back during apple season.

A juicy, fresh peach is such a sign of summer and I love eating them. My husband, however, prefers them in desserts. What dessert do you think of when you think of peaches? For me, it's cobblers or crisps. I wanted to try something besides a cobbler, crisp or pie.

I found the baking blog, Sweet Melissa Sunday's, their recipe for this week is Fresh Peach Muffins. They have the maximum number of bakers for their group. Darn! I thought the recipe looked so yummy and since I had fresh peaches, I decided to bake it anyway.

My notes for this recipe:

I blanched the peaches in boiling water for one minute and then transferred them to cold water to stop the cooking. The skin peeled off easily.

The recipe calls for 1 cup of diced peaches, a large peach yielded one cup. I didn't have orange zest, so I substituted lime zest.

These muffins are WONDERFUL. They have a very subtle peach flavor. I do think the cinnamon topping makes the muffins extra tasty.

Mis en Place?

For some reason I've never watched Top Chef. I happened across Padma Lakshmi promoting the new season on tv recently. This season is in Las Vegas, which makes it all the more appealing since Vegas is such a foodie town. I dvr'd the first two episodes and watched the first one today. The show reminds me of Next Food Network Star, only a little more ruthless. I love it!!

The first challenge envolved a mis en place. Although this concept is designed for restaurant kitchens, it has application to the home chef as well. Measuring and assembling ingredients before starting a recipe cuts down on time and possible mistakes.

How Organized are You?

I consider myself an organized person. My e-mail in box only contains mail that is unanswered or needs action. All other e-mails are filed or in the trash bin. My desk contains folders for everything and the stack of filing is small. The clothes in my closet are arranged by type and color. My recipes...not so much. I would like to think the reason is, there are so many pieces of paper to organize. I add a clipping or two to the pile every day. I do have accordian file folders with tabs for the type of recipes. I try to keep up on the filing and do an adequate job but it's more than just filing. If you want to find a recipe for a salad for a dinner, you have to go through the pieces of paper one by one to determine which one to use. Or if you want to find a recipe based on the ingredients in the pantry or refrigerator, there's no way to do that with these accordian files of recipes.

Earlier this week, my husband sent me this article. How great would it be if these accordian files could be turned into a virtual recipe box? With just a couple of days left in my medical leave, I am scrambling to finish all the projects on my "TO DO LIST". With many of them crossed off the list, I think I can find the time to explore these software options. Big Oven is a great option for bloggers with Facebook pages.

The downside to any of these programs is the recipes can't be scanned in, you have to enter them individuall into the program. Once you've taken the time to do that, what a great resource you will have at your fingertips. I will share my research and hopefully my eventual purchase as I delve into this over the next few weeks.

Do you know of other options for recipe organization?

Caramel Glazed Sea Scallops

I like scallops but never make them at home. I watched Paula Deen make this recipe a few months ago and decide it looked like a good first attempt for scallops. I know the key to good scallops is to not over cook them. I was a little concerned because this recipe didn't give a cooking time. These were wonderful! The caramel glaze is a perfect compliment for the scallops.

Caramel Glazed Sea Scallops
Recipe courtesy of Paula Dean

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons butter
12 large sea scallops
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine oil and butter to saute pan over medium heat. Salt and pepper the scallops and add to the pan. Coat the scallops with the sugar. Allow scallops to brown and caramelize on both sides.

Spoon the glaze over the scallops and serve.




My notes on this recipe: The original recipe called for making a glaze with sugar, water and corn syrup but didn't really state what to do with it. It also said to make in advance and set aside. Mine ended up getting too hard. You don't need it, the glaze they cook in makes plenty.

Beautiful Gardens

We took a trip to Kansas City this past weekend to visit our good friends, Karen and Larry. The midwest has been experiencing perfect weather. Our weather has been more characteristic of fall than August. Saturday was a beautiful day, sunny and in the 70's. We knew we wanted to spend the day outside taking advantage of the weather.

Powell Gardens is a botanical garden just east of Kansas City. As we were driving there, I tried to remember my last trip to the gardens, Mother's Day, 15 years ago? It made me realize, once again, just how fast time flies. My son, Justin, who was in his early teens on my last visit, will turn 30 this year.

Perfect Summer Salad

Our tomato plant has produced the best slicing tomatoes. A fresh, juicy sliced tomato is a great summer salad. To make the salad even more perfect, fresh basil and mozarella. I miss these wonderful flavors during our cold winters.

Insalata caprese (the salad from Capri) The salad was created in the 1950s at the Trattoria da Vincenzo for regulars out for a light lunch.

Caprese Salad

Large tomato, sliced
Fresh Basil Leaves
Fresh Mozarella
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper

Slice the tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place basil leaves on top of tomatoes, slice mozarella and place on top of basil. Drizzle olive oil over all. Chill until serving time.