The AMAZING Cucumber

If you’re a first time gardener, like me, you *might* have made the mistake of planting too many cucumber plants in all of your excitement and anticipation, heh.  Seriously, I’m not one to waste food, but my kids are getting a bit tired of “go eat a salad!” exiting my mouth.  So I looked online for a NON-CANNING version of making pickles, soon to be posted, but I also remember a very interested email my hubby forwarded to me a long time ago, that I just happened to keep!  So if your garden overfloweth with cumbers, try putting a few of these ideas to use…

This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago part of their “Spotlight on the Home” series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1,Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber.. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and  provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or  to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints?  Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with you> tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

MMM…Funnel Cakes at home!

I’m *almost* ashamed to admit this, but I’ve NEVER had a funnel cake before, even though they seem to be a staple “theme park” *& “fair food” here in MN. Oh, I’ve stared longingly at the Funnel Cake booths numerous times, but just never got around to purchasing one. So my hunt actually started out as one for a good donut recipe, but I quickly realized that the kind I like are the fluffy yeast donuts and those require something I am not very fond of….rising time. Twice to be exact, which is just not *instant gratification* enough for me. I mean, I would have to REALLY like what I was making to wait for it to rise twice. Just as I was about to lose hope and throw in the towel, I remembered FUNNEL CAKES! Something I’ve always wanted to try and really, how much time could it take, right? I mean, it fried batter topped with gobs of powdered sugar for goodness sake! Plus, so much CHEAPER to make your own.

I’ve made them twice now, and have to preface this with a reminder that I have *nothing* to compare these to, as I’ve never had a Funnel Cake before. But in my humble opinion, these turned out quite delicious and so easy. Plus, you can keep the leftover batter (leftover, haha) in the fridge and just pipe some out whenever you want a quick treat. Oh, and if you don’t have a funnel don’t worry, I don’t either and just used a ziploc bag with the corner cut off.

Lastly, you can make these turn out 2 different ways:

• Light, crisp, and airy: cook them until golden brown on each side and use 1/3 cup cream and 2/3 cup water.
• Slightly crisp and a little more dense/doughy (how I like it): cook until lightly brown on each side and use 1/3 cup cream and just over 1/2 cup water.

Homemade Funnel Cakes Recipe (makes approx. 1/2 dozen 6 inch round cakes):

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup heavy cream (please see note above)
• generous 1/2 cup of water (please see note above)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 TBLS of sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• powdered sugar, jam, chocolate syrup or cool whip for toppings
• cooking oil for frying

Directions:

• Heat roughly 1/2 inch of oil in medium sized pan or pot, making sure it is a bit larger then the size cakes you want to make.
• Meanwhile, whisk the egg, cream, vanilla and water together in a large bowl and then set aside.
• In a different bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt, then combine it with the liquid and mix well. The batter should be fairly thick, a little stiffer then pancake batter.
• Pour the batter into a quart sized ziploc bag and seal it up. Set the bag upside down (sealed side on the bottom) in a bowl and snip off a corner with a scissor, just under a 1/2 inch wide.
• Test the oil by putting a drop of batter in, if it starts sizzling/cooking right away then it’s ready. If it gets browned almost instantly then the oil is too hot.
• Make sure to pipe the batter fairly close to the oil to prevent splattering. Starting from the center, pipe the batter in a swirl design (circles) until it is roughly 5-6 inches round.
• Allow the cake to cook to your desired consistency (see notes above) and then flip it over to finish cooking. Once it’s done place it on a parer towel lined plate to absorb the extra oil (I pat it down as well to get even more oil out) and then top with desired topping and enjoy while warm.

So much free time, so little to do…and QUICK homemade Hamburger Buns

…yes, you read that title correctly, LOL. Okay, that’s not *really* true, as I do have tons of un-opened mail and chores that have been sadly neglected the past couple weeks due to how crazy I’ve been been in the kitchen. But now that the holiday deadline has passed and I am no longer baking until after the New Year…I’m at a loss as to what to do with myself. Aside from re-focusing on my main job, haha. It has been quite a whirlwind the past few weeks and thank goodness I had others who helped me in wrapping the thousands of caramels, or I never would have pulled it off!

I’m extremely grateful for all of the orders, but I definitely need to take a breather, as my feet have never ached so much in my life and my caramel pot has almost as much mileage on it as my 16 year old Toyota. Besides, my family was getting tired of eating frozen pizzas and canned soup (as I didn’t have time too cook) and I really missed writing here on my blog and sharing recipes with everyone! So now that I am officially on baking “vacation”, what exactly am I doing? Catching up on movie watching for one, and tonight I saw “Julie & Julia”, a great flick for anyone who loves to cook! My first serious cookbook was “Baking with Julia Child”, which automatically cracks open to her “Buttermilk Scones” page, as it is one of my most loved recipes of all time.

So easing back into things, the recipe I have to share tonight isn’t anything impressive, but it’s a great staple to have around and well loved by my family. Hamburger Buns, yup. I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately, but they are getting a little pricey to buy from the grocery store! But on the other hand I’ve always poo-poo’ed at bread baking in general, as I’m not a patient person and waiting for something to rise for a few hours is not my idea of fun. So why did I bother trying them? Well, I now live in a smaller town where the grocery store closes EARLY (plus everything is more expensive), and I had a ton of flour in the house, so I figured why not give it a shot? Plus my teenager was dying for hamburgers one night, and I do try my best to appease the ravenous kids, haha.

Oh, and a couple tips for making **juicy** hamburgers-searing them quickly and then leaving them alone. I shape each patty in my hand to about a 1/4 thick (as they fatten up during cooking) and season the top while still in my hand. I use a good non-stick pan that has been heated to medium and NO oil. I then place the seasoned side face down and use the flat side of a spatula to press down firmly on the patty. Making sure to hit every part of the patty (think of it as 4 quadrants if you have a small spatula) I press down firmly for a good 5-7 seconds. Once I’ve seared the entire patty I then season the topside, flip it over, and repeat the same process. Once seared on both side I then leave it alone to cook, no more squishing or you’ll end up with a dry patty! I flip it once more after 2-3 minutes, put cheese on top and then place a glass lid on it to finish cooking-glass so you can see when the cheese is melted We use 90/10 ground beef or leaner and this works out great.

Well, I went on recipezaar.com and found one called 40 minute hamburger buns that only called for 10 minutes of rising time…SOLD! And trust me, in a pinch this can be “30″ minute hamburger buns, which includes the cooking time by the way. These are super simple to make and come out tender, fluffy and soft, everything you would imagine and traditional “white bread” bun to be; no frills but good…just like grandma used to make them. Oh, and these are best eaten the day they are made.

My version is an adaptation of the one found on recipezaar.com, Enjoy!

Quick Hamburger Buns

• 2 TBLS active dry yeast
• 1 cup really warm water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 TBLS sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
• SCANT 3 cups white flour

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir gently to help it along, then add in the oil and sugar and stir again for a few seconds, then set aside for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the salt (if using), then add in the flour. Using a wooden spoon, gently fold the flour into the liquid until it forms a rough ball.
• Turn OFF the oven at this point.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 50 times/turns, if it feels too sticky add just a little more flour. Shape it into a 12 inch log towards the end, it should be elastic and smooth at this point.
• Cut the log into 8 pieces and quickly pat down the edges by rolling it around in your hands, shaping each one into a fat, round disc.
• Place these at least 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and then place in the oven (which should be turned OFF) to rise for 10 minutes.
• After the rise time is done they should be nice and puffy, like rounded domes, hamburger bun shaped. Take them out of the oven, and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Bake the buns on the rack right ABOVE the middle setting for 9-12 minutes, or until the tops are browned. Make sure not to burn the bottoms though!
• Allow them to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before cutting into them.

For the “sweet” dinner rolls you’ll follow the same process above, but add in an additional TBLS of sugar, another 1/2 cup of flour and knead it for 100 turns. Also, OMIT heating the oven for the rise time, just allow them to rise for 10 minutes at room temperature, which gives them a much tighter grain and makes them more dense. I also don’t allow them to brown as much in the oven.

Homemade “Hamburger Helper” or Italian Hamburger & Pasta Hotdish

Italian Hamburger and Pasta hotdish

Now, I’m not a big fan of Hamburger Helper usually, and “hotdish” doesn’t make it’s way to our table often as my husband is just NOT a fan of it….maybe one too many as he was growing up, after all we do live in MN and we ARE known for being “hotdish” people. I never had hotdish growing up, so me it’s still a great comfort food, plus it all gets made in 1 pot and comes together quickly.

Price-wise I wouldn’t necessarily say this version is cheaper then the stores, but probably around the same. Though you are not really saving money, I do think it tastes better plus you can spice it the way you like it, sometimes the boxed versions are too salty for me and there never seems to be enough noodles!! The recipe below is an adaptation of Hamburger Casserole off of recipezaar.com. Don’t be put off by the list of ingredients, half of them are spices. Enjoy!

Italian Hamburger & Pasta Hotdish (feeds3-4 people):

• 1 TBLS cooking oil
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1 small onion-diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic-pressed or finely diced
• 1 1/2 TBLS Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Emeril or Lawry’s seasoning salt-or similar meat seasoning blend

• 10 oz. of small bowtie pasta, elbow macaroni, or other small pasta shape

• 1 can of condensed tomato soup
• 1 can of diced tomatoes

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Once it is hot, add in the diced onions, pressed garlic, and ground beef. Cook for a couple minutes, add in all of the spices, and cook a few minutes more, until done.
• Reserve the meat mixture in a large bowl and set aside then fill the stock pot with enough water to cook the noodles.
• Bring the heat up a little in order to boil the water, add in the noodles and cook until al-dente/just tender (6-7 minutes).
• Drain the noodles, turn the heat down to med or med-low, and put the pot back on the stove. Put the noodles, and meat back into the pot, then add in the tomato soup and diced tomatoes, mixing well. Cover the pot and allow the dish to gently simmer for a few minutes so the flavors can “meld” together.
• Add in the cheese and stir, cook a few minutes more then salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve while hot.

Sour Cream & Buttermilk Substitution

As a baker I often run into recipes that call for sour cream or buttermilk, as they keep things moist and tender.  Now the sour cream we usually have on hand, but then again we do love it with our chips and baked potatoes, so often time we are out too.  As for buttermilk, I NEVER buy it, as the only time I would ever use it is for baking, and I guess I just don’t make things calling for it often enough to justify buying it.

Of course, that being said who can pass up a buttermilk scone, sour cream banana bread, or buttermilk pancakes??  Surely I’m not going to be held back from trying out these recipes, no way!  So I found a great substitution for both buttermilk and sour cream, and honestly I think it works just as well and use it often, even if there’s sour cream sitting in the fridge, LOL.  Besides, the substitution is healthier and a little cheaper.  So what is it you ask??

Simply milk + vinegar OR milk + lemon juice.  I’m not sure where I found this originally, either on the internet or I think a friend told me a while back… In any case, I often use the milk + vinegar (white) combo, as lemon juice is a bit more precious and costly   I’m not sure how other vinegars would work, I’ve always used white as ‘s what we always have.

As for proportions, I never really measure it out, but I’d say it is roughly 1 TBLS of vinegar to 1 cup of milk, and I always use skim as that’s what we drink.  I’ve used this to make my famous scones, IHOP copycat pancakes (so good you don’t even need syrup), double chocolate whole wheat banana bread, and so many other things!! It obviously is thinner then sour cream or buttermilk, so if you need to go ahead and cut down on it just a little compared to what is asked for in the recipe

And for those of you who are wondering….yes, I think you could use buttermilk in place of sour cream for most baked goods, and vice versa.

Hello…can you hear me now?!?

Ugh…the only thing worse then someone not being able to hear me (I swear my family suffers from selective hearing) is me not being able to hear AT ALL!  Last week I was unfortunate enough to get some water lodge in my ear canal and all of of a sudden everything sounded muffled….uh-oh.  So in a slight panic I ran for the bag of q-tips to try and dislodge whatever was causing my lack of hearing, no luck.  I was like this for days…half hearing, talking softly (so my hubby says) which made it hard for others to hear ME, and desperately trying the ear drops to get things cleared up.  Still no luck and I sweatr, but day 3 I was one crabby woman.  You just don’t know how bad a slight impairment can really affect your life until you’re living through it!

Ok…so on day 4 my husband decides to look remedies up on the internet, as it was obvious the ear drops were not helping one bit.  What he learned was this:

• Q-tips are the enemy
• blocked ear passages can take days to clear
• warm water works best (or olive oil, but I didn’t try that)

It is so ironic to me that q-tips of all things make things worse, as most people purchase them specifically to make their hearing *better*.   But thinking about it, it does make sense.  I mean, if your ears are plugged, especially with water, shoving a q-tip in there would only make things worse and jam it in further!  so, what do you do??

Well, for some the over the counter ear drops, like Murine, will work decent, however many people feel it is a bit caustic to your ear canal and make it more sensitive.  I can attest to that, as it did make my inner ear more sensitive and tender, though I wouldn’t say to the point of *hurting* or anything.  Others online have said that using olive oil instead of Murine works well to soften up ear wax, though I haven’t tried that personally.  What i did try though was warm water, which actually worked!  Of course it took a few attempts over a period of a day or so, but the nice thing about water is that it won’t harm your ear and it’s FREE.  Simply use a rubber bulb (the ones for flushing out your ears) to suck up some warm water, then fill the plugged ear with it, making sure to lie still for a few minutes to allow it to work.  Drain the ear and repeat a few more times during the day.  After a few applications like this the wax inside should be fairly softened, so you can try flushing it out with the water bulb  at this point.

Now, to be fair I had already used Murine for 3 days, so i’m sure that contributed at least a little to the success of letting me hear again, but honestly I think it was the warm water application that really did the trick.  I had tried flushing my ear out daily while using the Murine and it never helped, or at least it didn’t seem to!

More Butter & Cheese, if you please!

I love cheese, and so does my family.   As far as butter goes I don’t use much for eating, heck I don’t even butter my toast or veggies.  However, as a baker, I can’t do anything without it!  Both of these items are always in ready supply at the stores, but not always at the best price.  So, how do you take advantage of those rock-bottom sale prices?  FREEZE IT.  I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but it took me a couple decades to realize this simple solution.  I know some will tell you not to freeze butter, but I’ve done it plenty of times and haven’t noticed a bit of difference.  No need to re-package it or anything, just throw the boxes right into the freezer.  I don’t really know how long butter needs to thaw, but I’ve used it within a day of taking it out the freezer and it was just fine.

Now, as far as cheese goes, I’ve only frozen the blocks.  I cut it into 1 pound portions and then place each portion individually into ziploc/freezer bags.  The trick to thawing cheese is…patience!  They have to go thru a slower thaw then the butter, so stick it in the fridge about 2 days before you need it.  I’m sure you can freeze shredded cheese as well as it works fine on frozen pizzas

Instant Chocolate Fix and Over-Cooked or Under-Cooked Baked Goods

With as much baking and candy making I do you’d think I’d be tired of eating sweets by now…nope, no luck. In fact, it seems I crave sugar on a daily basis, even more so then before! So move aside caffeine addicts, there’s a TRUE chocoholic in the making! Well to be fair, it’s not just chocolate, but baked goods in general, bars and brownies being my biggest weakness. So much for trying to stick to a low-carb way of eating, sigh.

Any-who, with all the experimenting that I do with new recipes and different pan sizes, I sometimes have items that come out under-baked and once in a while over-baked…but that’s more because I get distracted. Honestly, not that I need more sweets in the house, but it seems such a shame to throw it all away! I don’t want to give it away, as really it’s a mess-up…so what to do?

FREEZE IT.

Oh my goodness, I’ve never tasted anything as good with ice cream as an UNDER-cooked frozen brownie! And over-cooked cookies? Delicious! Well, I don’t meant burnt, I just mean a couple minutes too long, as in not soft at all once they have cooled. Pop those slightly over-done cookies in the freezer and you’re set for whenever you need a quick treat.  And the under-cooked slabs of chocolate brownie?!? To die for! In fact, try feezing all of your brownies and eating them that way, I think it’s so much better then how you would normally have them, especially if you love chewy fudge brownies!

So now you have a treat in the freezer, ready for when you need a quick dessert fix And if it makes you feel better, you saved some valuable ingredients from getting tossed in the garbage!

My Favorite “instant” Coffee & Thai Iced Coffee

My favorite instant coffee packets and sweetened condensed milk to make a Thai iced coffee at home

I have to admit, I like having a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, every morning. It’s not about the caffeine, as sometimes I drink decaf, but it’s more about the taste, smell, and really it’s just part of my morning “ritual”. Most of the time we have Hazelnut or Vanilla Hazelnut, sometimes it’s a smooth breakfast blend, whatever it is I don’t like it too strong, or black, YUCK! My cups of coffee aren’t nearly as sugary as they used to be when I first started drinking coffee, but I suppose many would say that I do prefer it on the sweet side. Hey, I bake and make candy as part of my living, it’s pretty obvious I like sweet things.

Though I love a fresh pot of coffee, as it smells so good, there are days when I am just too LAZY to make coffee, or wait for it. On those days, I reach for my favorite instant coffee. Now before you poo-poo at the idea, you have to realize that this is not your normal freeze-dried Folgers, no offense to those that like that sort of stuff. I’m talking about the 3-in-1 Asian instant coffee packs that you can only get from the Asian grocers or online. These have creamer and sugar already in them, as well as the delicious tasting coffee! We take these with us whenever we go on trips and often times my husband and I actually prefer these over American coffee.

If you have ever had an Iced coffee from a Thai restaurant, these instant packaets taste just like those, but hot and not quite as sweet. In fact, you can make your very own Thai iced coffee at home for a FRACTION of the price using these instant packets! The particular brand of 3-in-1 coffee we buy costs less then $4 a bag, and there are 20 servings in each bag. That works out to be a mere 0.20 cents per cup of coffee! Pretty darn tasty for 0.20 cents if you ask me

I LOVE Thai Iced Coffee’s from the restaurants, but they cost almost $4 EACH depending on where you go. I know to some that’s the standard price for a cup of good coffee, but I can’t afford to spend that much on my drinks, LOL. So here’s an easy way to make your very own iced coffee at home, for a FRACTION of the price! Once you start making these you’ll be hooked, so I’m warning you now!

Thai Iced Coffee recipe:

• 1 package of instant 3-in-1 Asian coffee, my favorite brand is pictured
• 1 coffee mug of hot water – about 3/4 of the water it normally calls for as the ice will melt and add more water at the end
• 1 tall glass filled 3/4 of the way with ice
• about 2 TBLS of sweetened condennsed milk-fat free or regular

Instructions:

• Mix up the contents of 1 instant coffee packet into the mug of hot water. Add in 1 TBLS of the condensed milk and taste. If it is not sweet enough then add a little more.
• Pour the drink over the ice and give it a quick stir. To avoid it from becoming too watered down I usually take out all of the ice once the beverage is cold.
• Drink and enjoy!

Let Me Re-introduce You to…RAMEN

I

Kung-Fu brand ramen with sliced beef and broccoli

It’s a funny thing, Ramen.  Ask anyone who grew yup in a traditional Asian home and they’ll tell you, it’s a household staple, just like the American version of macaroni and cheese.  You eat it when your poor, you eat it when you’re rich, and all the times in between, it’s not a monetary-based decision. It’s a year round love affair to be sure, as on hot 80+ degree days you’ll find my husband and kids (as well as me) enjoying a bowl.  So…what makes it so great and why does everyone in America think it’s only for those who are financially challenged??

Well, I don’t know how YOU eat your ramen, but I was quite shocked to hear my husband tell me when we first met that he HATED it!  Our relationship was doomed, I just knew it…until I made it one day and insisted he try some.  I just wasn’t willing to accept that he didn’t like it, maybe it was the brand he grew up on??  So I placed the bowl in front of him and he looks at me with a “what is this??’ look on his face.  Umm…it’s ramen with sliced beef and broccoli in it (my favorite kind).  And so funny, he tells me “ramen is usually plain…just noodles and broth”,  which made me laugh so hard!  Not that plain ramen is bad, as given the right spices and cooking method plain ramen kicks butt (drained, add in spice packet, a little sesame oil and hot pepper), but who would eat their ramen plain all the time when so many great things can go into it?!?  After one taste my husband was HOOKED. I think I made it for him 3 times the first week, he loved it that much!  To this day I still poke fun at him for telling me he “hates” ramen and that it’s for “poor” people. That and bringing home “La Choy” soy sauce and trying to pass it off as real soy sauce, ha!