Cupcake CRAZY

It's Birthday time... Let's get a little bit CRAZY!!! Cupcake crazy, that is. It was my friend Anna's birthday last week, and she invited me over to have homemade Indian food at her house with her. Her dad, though he is a typical caucasian male, made the best naan I have ever had in my life. Anna has promised to teach me how to make it. Of course, I just had to bring dessert as pay back for the delicious food and to appropriately celebrate a 19th birthday, but with Anna, I couldn't make just any old cupcakes.

You have to know a little bit about Anna to understand why I went to such measures to make the most colorful, crazy cupcakes possible. She is the most wild yet caring person I have ever met. When you meet Anna, the first thing you'll notice is her small stature. She stands just over 5 feet tall. The second thing you'll notice is her voice. Her normal speaking volume is about 10x that of an average person. When Anna is talking, you know it. I think she is one of the only people I know who can speak to an auditorium full of people in her normal voice without using a microphone. When you get to know Anna, you realize that she is a fun-loving individual. She is always willing to try something new, but, most importantly, she is always willing to be there for her friends. Though she is blatantly honest, her words are never hurtful, and she has a way of bringing people together with her natural warmth and friendliness. Her distinguishing feature, though, is her genuine passion. As a child who grew up with a pediatric oncologist father, she is all to familiar with the ravaging emotional and physical effects of childhood cancer. Throughout her life, she has spent much of her time supporting the weak, cancer-laden children who cannot support themselves. She participates in fundraisers and is active in THON, Penn State's student-run philanthropy that helps pay for pateint care for children with cancer. So, of course, someone as passionate and exciting as Anna deserves birthday cupcakes that are equally as colorful and memorable.

 I started with Magnolia Bakery Vanilla cupcake batter and plit it up into five bowls using a ladel. I then added neon food coloring drops to each bowl, resulting in these surprisingly edible batters.

Then, I spooned the batter, alternating colors into the cupcake holders until they were about 3/4 full.

And so, the wild, rainbow cupcake was born!

I used a typical buttercream for the frosting. Unfortunately, I ran out of confectioner's sugar and tried a combination of regular sugar and cornstarch. The texture tunred out a little gritty but overall. The rainbow look came from

The Family Kitchen.
The Magnolia Cupcakes recipe came from Food Network.

Balance and Time (Cornmeal Scones)

The process of baking is a very intricate and impressive science. Random ingredients, such as butter, sugar and flour, come together to produce succulent and satisfying creations.  With the addition of unexpected ingredients, like fruit or chocolate chips, the simple mixture becomes even better. Despite the amazing results, baking is truly an intricate process based on balance and timing. No one wants a crumbly cookie with too much flour or a sugar-coma inducing cake with too much sweetener. Ingredients must be measured so that their ratios contribute to a complete, balanced product. The process of baking also requires a general understanding of time. There have been multiple times when I have walked away from a batch of cookies only to be reminded of their existence by the smell of burning butter. When working with yeast, there is an element of patience added to the recipe when one has to wait for dough to rise. So, even though baking (at least a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe) seems fairly foolproof, it requires an innate understanding of balance, patience and time to create a truly delicious masterpiece.

While thinking (stay with me here), I decided baking is a lot like creating a recipe for life. In order to create an enjoyable life, one must accept and embrace balance, patience and time.  My greatest struggles result from my inability to grasp these simple concepts.  Balance… that’s a big one. I definitely have a type A personality that gives me a very “all or nothing” attitude. My perfectionist nature often blinds me from the simple, good things in life because I am constantly trying to be the best. As my father says, “Perfection is the enemy of good.” Trying to perfect one thing in my life distracts me from so many other things, and the result is a bland cookie made completely of flour. I need to adjust my recipe. A cup of focus, a tablespoon of fun, a pinch of persistence, and a generous sprinkling of hope combine to create happiness and self-acceptance.  Probably related to my perfectionism, I have trouble understanding patience and time as well. I always seem to be a rush to get my work done. An incomplete project will plague my mind until I sit down and finish it completely. This results in horrible impatience. I have trouble living in the moment because I am always concerned with what I need to do next. When I focus on the next, I tend to miss a lot of the now. So, while the bread is rising, I need to enjoy my time. Yes, there will always be work to be done, that next step, but it doesn’t mean that other worthwhile experiences should be completely forgotten.  My recipe needs a lot of tweaking, but as I slowly begin to grasp balance and timing, I will see the fruits of my labor produce a truly “delicious” life.

This recipe was found from  Nutmeg Notebook  .  It was one of those recipes that I noticed was quick, easy, required few ingredients, and was relatively healthy. The cornmeal gave the scones an unexpected hearty texture that really added to the overall flavor. As stated in the original recipe, I would recommend serving these warm. The texture of the cornmeal and the warm, doughy inside is a delectable combination.

Cornmeal Scones

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk (I used skim)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°.
Step 1: Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and egg to cornmeal mixture; stir just until moist.
Step 2: Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper; coat with cooking spray. Pat dough into a 7-inch circle on prepared baking sheet. Cut dough into 8 wedges, cutting into but not through dough. They can be chilled in the refrigerator at this point and baked later.
Bake at 375° for 22 minutes (check a few minutes early if using whole grain flour) or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

               

Sweet and Sour Siblinghood

Hair-pulling, tattle-tailing, privacy-disrupting, stuff-stealing. That’s what siblings do best, right? As the youngest of three children, I always felt like I was at a disadvantage. When I was very young, I was easily pushed around by my sister and brother. Naturally bigger and stronger than me, they could take whatever they wanted with little resistance.  My only retaliation tactic was to scream and cry loudly until I gained the attention and, optimally, the sympathy of my parents. I hoped for the day when I was not physically inferior to my siblings.

When I grew big enough, the disadvantages did not decrease. They just changed. I was the shadow. I was always the little sister, striving to live up to the high standards that my older siblings had left behind. I remember being amazed and overwhelmed by the things my sister and brother had achieved. My sister was accepted into an Ivy League College and, if that wasn’t enough, graduated a year early. My brother could spout facts about Biology and Genetics with impressive accuracy after merely sitting through a lecture. I was just working my way through high school, competing to match the standards of their achievements. If it wasn’t for the pressure of competition provided by my siblings, I do not think I would have graduated as valedictorian of my high school class. I wanted that one thing that gave me the opportunity to say, “Hey, look at me, look what I did all by myself!”

Turns out, I had been looking at it the wrong way. Sure, my siblings were (and still are) impressive, but I learned to take the initial intimidation I originally felt and turn it into admiration and inspiration. By adopting an open point of view, I found that there were a lot of things I could learn from my siblings. Upon entering college, it was my sister who gave me advice on how to get involved and listened to my troubles when I felt overwhelmed by my new campus life. It was my brother who asked me about the courses I was taking (since we are both studying medicine) and suggested other interesting courses that would improve my college education. Instead of competing to be on their “level,” by speaking with them, they shared their secrets with me and allowed me to feel like their equal.

So, to put it succinctly, I love my siblings, not for the impressive things they’ve done, but for the simple conversations we have had, the exciting things we have seen and done together, and the moments of shared weakness that have made us stronger. Yes, we went through the treacherous years of pinching and yelling, and the countless battles over privacy and property (and sometimes, these still occur), but having two siblings is truly a blessing I count every day.

This Easter, I received a pretty awesome honor. Since my sister was unable to make it back for the holiday dinner, she gave me the recipe of her famous Easter Sweet Bread. Basically, this is the bread made at every major holiday dinner (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) and I can’t remember a time when my sister wasn’t the one making it. I would come into the kitchen and smell the warm scent of saffron and milk, the smell of the beginning stages of the bread, and know it was time to make a holiday dinner. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the undertaking. Don’t get me wrong, I love baking bread and I do it often, but this is not just bread, this is THE bread. I must have read the recipe 20 times, constantly checking and rechecking times and measurements. There were some minor frightening moments, but it turned out OK in the end.

I probably should have used a larger bowl for the rising bread (oops!)

I chose to braid the bread in the traditional Easter style. We didn't color eggs this year so it's lacking a little color.

I sent these pictures to my sister right after I took the bread out of the oven, hoping to gain her approval. Her response, "It's never looked so amazing!!!" Definitely a boost of confidence!

                                                               Easter Sweet Bread

Ingredients:

skim milk                                                        3/4 c.

saffron                                                            generous pinch

sugar, granulated                                          1/2 c.

salt                                                                  1 tsp.

butter                                                             1/2 c.

active dry yeast                                             2 packages

warm water                                                   1/3 c. 

eggs                                                                3

bread or all-purpose flour                           5.5 – 6.5 c.

Directions:

1. Combine saffron, sugar, salt, and butter in sauce pan.  Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves.  Add milk and combine. Cool mixture to lukewarm.

2. Warm bowl with warm water, then dissolve yeast in measured warm water. (105 - 115 degrees F)

3. In mixer, combine milk mixture, yeast and eggs with 5 cups of flour.

4. Add remaining flour as necessary.  Knead for 6 minutes until the dough is very smooth to the touch.

5. Place in a bowl greased with peanut oil and allow to rise for about 1 hour. (Should double in size)

6. Punch and shape dough into greased pans. Allow to rise again.

*Use the oil from the bowl to grease the pans.

*To Shape:

For individual buns: Grab a decent sized ball of dough—about 2 inches in diameter.  Stretch and twist the dough, and then tie into a knot.

For pull-a-parts: Grab a slightly smaller ball of dough—about 1.5 inches in diameter. Smooth out the ball by making a circle with your pointer finger and thumb (like making the "OK" sign) and push the ball through this circle till it has a smooth, round surface. Arrange in pan with a little space in between each ball.  (Should make 2 pans of pull-a-parts)

For Easter Braid: Divide dough into two balls.  With one of the balls, divide into 3 equal pieces and roll out so each piece measures about 1.5 feet with slightly tapered ends.  Pinch ends together and braid, pinching other ends together to finish.  Arrange into pan.  You can put Easter eggs into the braid as well, but it'll remain a little doughy around the eggs. 

7.  Brush generously with melted butter or benacol.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until tops are golden.

Spring Cleaning

On my walk to church this morning, a warm breeze touched my skin. It carried with it the scent of fresh flower blooms, awakened after a rainy Saturday. Gently, it rustled the nearby leaves, evoking a soft whisper from the leaves in response.  It was a new breeze, a fresh sign, the first indicator of Spring.

I LOVE spring.  Though New Year’s Day is often referred to as a time for newness, it is caught in the middle of the doldrums of winter. Spring, on the other hand, is truly new with its bright skies, green leaves and chirping baby birds. It is a time to shed the cold dreariness and embrace the rejuvenating light.

Now, I know spring technically began about two weeks ago, but, in my mind, that doesn’t really count. I was still bogged down by winter, stuck in my room studying for midterms. Now that the second round of midterms is over, I can start looking ahead. I can enjoy the lovely month of April and begin planning for summer.

Now is the time for spring cleaning. I’m washing away the negativity, the dread, and the ruts and replacing them with excitement, ingenuity and freshness.

I hope my new attitude and the blooming spring will truly bring good things into my life!

A little Heritage

An understanding of my heritage has been a large part of my life. Like a little kid sitting cross-legged for story time, I used to sit at the dinner table, completely attentive, hearing stories about my Grandma Lena’s amazing homemade ravioli and how she spent hours perfecting them. My grandpa will still quietly sing the Italian love songs he used to hear as a child from his father, who never spoke English. My other grandfather, who resembles Robert De Niro from the Godfather, still spends afternoons eating plates of pasta with his friends from the Italian club.

                Though I have never had the opportunity to travel to Italy, I try to embrace my heritage the best I can. Sometimes, my attempts to understand my heritage are carried out by cooking an old-fashioned Italian dish. Missing some good Italian meatballs while I was away at college, I decided to make Italian Wedding Soup (or Minestra Maritata) with a strong, aromatic broth. And of course, who can enjoy a bowl of soup without some gravy-soaking bread? I made (with my sister’s help because I ran out of time) a fresh batch of focaccia bread to accompany the meal.

                I also realize it is important to embrace another side to my heritage… the American side. Living in the melting pot means taking my ethnic background and melding it into my American lifestyle. This has been the American way for many years. I love driving down a street and seeing a Chinese restaurant, next to a pizza joint, followed by a sushi bar. My way of incorporating my American side into my heritage is by making some minor changes to the Wedding soup recipe to make it easier and healthier. One modification was making my meatballs out of chicken rather than beef, pork or veal (using my mother’s amazing recipe!) because America is currently on its health conscious kick to limit the epidemic of obesity. Another modification was substituting brown rice for pasta. It gave the soup a different and unexpected texture.

                Despite the changes to the recipes, the soup came out quite well (and in a somewhat timely manner). My favorite part of the meal, though, was the opportunity to enjoy it with my family, the reason for carrying on my heritage. It was nice to sit and converse with them between bites of bread and spoonfuls  of soup. Whether I am Italian or American or Italian-American, the best part of embracing my heritage is that I can share it and learn about it from the most important people in my life!

(I had some trouble with my phone the other night, so my mother and sister took these photos of their soup to help me out)

My Mother's Photos:

My Sister's Photos:

 

    Italian Wedding Soup with Rice ( from Ina Garten )

My mother’s Meatball Recipe:

·         1 lb. ground chicken

·         1 cup panko bread crumbs

·         ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

·         1 egg

·         2 tbs. olive oil

·         Garlic powder to taste

For the soup:

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 cup minced yellow onion
• 1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 10 cups homemade chicken stock (I didn’t use homemade)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups wild rice (cooked)
• 1/4 cup minced fresh dill
• 12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl with your hands. Roll into small balls and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes until fully cooked and lightly brown.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs and rice to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan

Focaccia Bread (From the Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook)

•  1 1/3 Cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
• 2 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 1/2 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Topping

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 -1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1. combine water, yeast and oil in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Stir in the flour and salt. When the dough comes together, replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
2. Turn the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until dough is puffy and has doubled in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).
3. Generously spray (with nonstick vegetable oil spray) the bottom and sides of a 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 inch pan that measures at least one inch deep. Flatten the dough and press it into the pan. cover with a damp cloth and let it rise until puffy and almost doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Just before baking, use your finger to dimple the dough at 2-inch intervals. Drizzle topping oil over the dough, letting some collect in the indentations. sprinkle the dough with salt.
5. Bake until the bottom of the focaccia is richly colored and crisp and the top is golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Use a large spatula to remove the focaccia from the poan and slide it onto a wire rack to cool.

Bright Colors and Shiny Objects

I have a (male) friend who was proud to announce that he had figured girls out and had constructed his own “Girl Theory.” He told me that girls were easy to understand as long as you realized that they were attracted to bright colors, shiny objects and miniature things. Of course, he meant to say that girls were simple and easily distracted by the aforementioned items, often seen in the forms of jewelry, clothing, and small animals.  I will admit that I am attracted to bright colors and shiny objects, but I am absolutely certain that is not the essence of what makes me a girl. My egotistic and disillusioned friend missed quite a bit in his theory. Here are some of my personal additions to the “Girl Theory” or what makes a girl:

1.       Girls are expressive. Whether they express themselves through speaking their emotions or painting a picture (maybe even with bright colors), they like to put themselves out there and show the world who they really are.

2.       Girls like to talk. Even if they are shy, every girl enjoys good, open conversation. Stemming from our need for expression, there is a need for companionship, someone to express to. We enjoy talking to one another because we have a genuine interest in other people (historically and evolutionarily, women are nurturers) and enjoy learning about how people operate. Sometimes, our need to understand people and converse about this understanding can result in judgment and gossip, but, for the most part, our talking results in a greater comprehension of the people and environment around us.

3.       Girls see the world in “bright and shiny” colors. I’ll admit, we like a little color in our lives. Even someone as wary of change as I am can admit that girls love the excitement of new and interesting things. We see the intensity of the array of colors and diversity in the world. Our brains are constantly filled with new ideas and perspectives.

4.       Girls are lovers, and have a need for resolution. I have found that guys enjoy leaving things the way they are (the old stereotype that men won’t ask for directions may stem from the fact that they just don’t want to stray from their own, settled path). Women, on the other hand, want the perfect ending (just consider how perfectly chick flicks tend to resolve and how broken hearted we are when they don’t). We don’t like harboring our negative feelings and we have a need to get it all out and resolve problems, even if the resolution is akin to a tornado-stricken town. We are naturally lovers and want to please others (just picture the perfect 1950’s mother serving her family. It’s not all a façade), but we realize that not everything can be perfect. Due to this, we try to finish things the best way we can, though it’s not always perfect.

These are just some thoughts and observations I have had, but, basically, the most important thing is that girls are far from simple. In fact, our love of bright and shiny, new things make us curious, open and understanding. Don’t get me wrong. I realize not all women follow this criterion (no set of criteria is comprehensive), but I do feel that these are pretty consistent patterns.

So, to my narrow-minded friend, you’re right. I LOVE bright colors, shiny objects and miniature things, but there is SO much more to me!

Here is one form of expression for me. I love making jewelry (yes, with bright colors and shiny objects). Making jewelry is away for me to show my true colors.

A Chocolate Chip Cookie (dough ball style)

What’s in a chocolate chip cookie? Well, all good chocolate chip cookies start with fresh butter and sugar creamed to a mixture of silken perfection, which is then combined with flour (and other dry ingredients) and heavenly bits of chocolate to make that famous (or infamous) speckled dough. Yes, I can taste the sweetness of both white and brown sugars and the soft, chewy center of butter and flour, but there is always something more to a chocolate chip cookie. There is that hint of comfort that warms your belly after that first bite. There is an ounce of care rolled into each little dough ball that bakes to full blown love with the heat of the oven. Even as a little girl, the process of baking and eating chocolate chip cookies was one associated with excitement, relaxation and a kitchen full of pure joy. Whenever I can’t decide what to bake, I remember the feeling of a good chocolate chip cookie. It is my go-to cookie for a gathering with friends, an evening with my family, or just an afternoon by myself. So, naturally, when I arrived home for spring break (I’m not good at the whole tropical vacation party thing), I decided to comfort myself with a batch of chocolate chip cookies. The sound of the busy mixer cleared my mind of the stresses of papers and exams. Gently folding in the chocolate chips released the tension of taking notes. The smell of baking dough brought me back to a time of youthful serenity that only an afternoon in my home kitchen and a batch of chocolate chip cookies can accomplish.

The recipe I chose was one I found while perusing blogs. I have a "soft" spot for chewy cookies, so when I found the chocolate chip cookie dough balls from The Chic Life , I had to try them. As long as the dough was refrigerated and not baked too long, the cookies came out as thick, doughy balls, cooked on the outside and still gooey on the inside. The cookies maintained their pale color with just a little brown on the bottom. I brought them to my friends to share while we were catching up about college stuff, and they were definitely a hit.

                                             

                                     Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls (from The Chic Life)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 stick butter, softened/room-temp (I used benecol and they came out just fine)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ( did a 1/4 chocolate chips and 1/4 toffee bits)
• ( I added 3 tbs. of unsweetend, dried cocount for flavor and texture)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda.
3. In a medium bowl, mix sugars and butter till creamy. (I used a handheld mixer, but you could probably just use a whisk). Add egg and vanilla and mix till combined.
4. Mix wet into the dry.
5. Gently fold chocolate chips into the dough, without overmixing.
6. Refrigerate dough for at least 20 minutes before using a small sorbet scoop to scoop out dough into small mounds. Roll each mound into a ball and spread evenly on a baking sheet, leaving roughly 2-3 inches between each ball.
7. Bake balls for 10-14 minutes, depending on how set you want your centers. If you use egg, and you’re paranoid like me, you can use a meat thermometer to ensure the centers of the balls are at least 160 degrees F, which many web sites say is the safe temp to eat eggs.
8. Let your dough balls rest on the baking sheet to cool at least 5-10 minutes.

(I accidently had to double the recipe because I put too much benecol in the first batch and they still came out fine (miraculously))