That's a really good idea!

And that's a really good lookin' cake recipe. 

*starts scribbling grocery list*

This is what I've been baking lately - easy & good with all my coffee & tea:

Biscotti

1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup almonds (you can eliminate these or for my nut intolerant friends I use dried cranberries)
1/2 cup chocolate chunks

Mix all of that together in a large bowl

In a separate bowl mix:

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1 tsp almond extract (again - can be left out)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine


Once the wet ingredients are mixed, stir them into the dry ingredients.  Once the dough is formed split it in half and mould into two long oval shaped loaves about 1 in high.  Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes.

Take out of oven cool for 5 min.  Slice loaves diagonally into one inch cookies.  Put back on baking sheet standing up  & bake for another 25 min.

[ February 23, 2004: Message edited by: Calesta ]

::sneaks some crumbs from the plate::

there ya go.

yes, everyone should try chocolate mayo cake at least once in their life.

and if the icing is too rich for anyone, it's also good dusted with confectioner's sugar

So, the other night i was feeling ambitious and decided to actually make dinner instead of defrost/reheat or add water to dinner. I made a Chicken Parmigian from a recipie from Cook's Illustrated best of series. I used Panko breadcrumbs and pan fried and then used the broiler to melt the cheese. Heck i even pounded the chicken. ( a little too much on my third piece) It was very yummy. my wife even asked for seconds. i tell ya, i felt much better about myself than i would if i had just done the same old same old. Cooking rocks!

Yay for cooking! :)

I opted for the no-cooking route tonight and had pita bread and hummus.  heh

Yay for not cooking! ;D

fangler wrote:

syrup pouring update:  It worked! i was able to insert the thingamabob directly into the syrup bottle.

where did you buy the pouring spout thingy from, fangler?

I'd like to steal the idea from you, now!   :)

We sell individual ones at The Bay if they're what I'm thinking of.  Little metal spouts for liquor bottles in the bar section of the housewares department.

Yeesh.  I need to stop working when I'm not at work...

*had cucumber/mushroom sushi roll thingies for lunch/dinner today*

And you need to stop thinking about this so much, fangler.. ;)

fangler wrote:

my wife got fancy new baking mats. i've used one to swat a fly. :)

Well, now i love these baking mats. they are called exopats or silpats, and they rule! I don't quite understand how things still get crispy when placed on a rubbery feeling mat, yet they do. apparently they are made out of silicone. whatever. they work like a charm. You just put one of these on a baking sheet instead of using Pam or butter to grease the tray. Everything slide right off the mat and the pan stays clean. clean up is so easy and everything bakes up normally.  hooray! i love this thing. Best cooking invention ever. I only wish i understood the science behind it.

So are these mats reusable or are they yet another disposable convenience item?

*loves her Silpat*

Wow. I've really been neglecting things around here. Glad you guys are popping in occasionally! :)

Aside from my overly busy-ness that has been keeping me from being able to Smarch all proper-like, I've been a bit hesitant to share my controlled-carbing cooking adventures; this way of eating still is pretty controversial, so I've found. But, it's working for me (50 lbs gone last year; more to go *sigh* -- but still going, and all my blood tests are excellent), so I've pretty much figured out this is how I'll have to eat from now on.

& in case anyone is wondering, this is *not* zero-carb eating, just very reduced carb eating. Most of what I eat is protein and veggies, and yes, fruit (though quite limited), nuts and lots of fiber -- about 30g carbs a day for me to keep losing; maintenance will be around 40-45g, it looks like. Haven't had any refined sugars or honey/etc or white flour in any form or white rice/potatoes in over a year now. It's not as hard as I thought to keep it up, though I've spent the past year relearning many of my cooking and baking techniques. (Not to mislead, though: I went through a short withdrawal in the beginning when getting off the sugars/refined carbs, pretty similar to a drug withdrawal. Once past it, though, it's not difficult at all, and I only have to think of that experience to keep any temptations at bay.)

Anyway, all this just sounds so terribly boring to me when I read it that I've been very reluctant to discuss it here. But I might share a few of my better discoveries. (My cheesecake, pumpkin pie, flourless chocolate torte, muffins, enchiladas, bbq ribs, and lasagne have become rather popular in some of the online LC circles, and I've been serving LC recipes to non-LCers who've not been able to tell they were eating LC. ;) Later today, if I can find a little extra time, I plan to test out baking some crackers made with sunflower seeds ground to a flour and mixed with various cheeses. Yum. ;d)