Confidence

So I made another pie today. I feel pretty confident about making pies. Well the easy ones I have been making. The one where you make your pie dough right in the pan. So easy. See earlier post for recipe. Today I made rhubarb pie. Seems to have turned out. I hope? I am a little bit leary as to when these things are suppose to be done. Recipes just say the length of time and look for brown colour on top. With a cake I like that I can stick a toothpick in it and see if any cake sticks to it to tell me it is done. Or cookies you lightly touch the top and if it bounces back then they are done. But pie? I can't do either of those things. Oi! Oh and guess what? I read last time I made a pie to bake on a cookie sheets. Pies tend to oze out all over the bottom of the oven. But did I remember the cookie sheet? Yeah right at the end as I went to open the oven. Oh well a little too late then. Phew not to big a mess. Oh well the more I make pies the more I am likely to remember. But my husband Ben told me the last time I made a pie that he did not like them much. WHAT!? How can you not like pie? He also does not like popcorn? I find that so odd. Yet he loves movies? Don't popcorn and movies go hand in hand? I love you honey! But you got to admit that it is pretty odd that you don't like popcorn. Right? LOL Well if you have not tried pie baking yet give it a try and impress a loved one. My nephew when he was like 13 asked his mom if he could make a pie and she said sure. So he got out the cookbook and made one. I heard that it was really good too. Way to go Nicholas. See you never know what you can do until you try. So go create something and tell me all about it. I would love to hear from you. Promise I will make something new soon.

Make a Smilebox recipe

Busy!

Hello all

Sorry not much has been happing on the baking front. Things got a bit crazy around here. First I recked my back last Saturday. It still is not better yet. Then I am the head librarian at my church and they planed last minute what they are calling a ministry fair. So I have had to prepare for that. Then this weekend my husbands work is treating all its employees and there spouses/partners an all expense paid trip to Saskatoon Saskatchewan. Woo Hoo! Should be a good time. Kids don't come. I love my kids dearly but it is nice to get a break. My mom and a wonderful niece will be watching them for us.  I have had a very crazy week. So no time for baking. But stay tuned. I will be back at her next week. Blessings to you all. :o)

Make a Smilebox recipe

Birthday cake Challenge?!

Yikes so my daughter and I were talking about her birthday today. It's a little ways away but I like to plan in advance. So she wants to make cards at her party. Great I love card making. I can handle that. Then I say what kind of cake would you want. She says a mailbox. Mailbox? I am thinking are you crazy? But I look on line and yup there are pics of mailbox cakes. Oi! I am not sure I am up to the task. I need step by step instructions. I can not find any. Invent it myself? Yikes! I am not sure about that. Hmm. maybe I can convince her that she wants something else. Or maybe I will do it. Hmm dilemma's dilemma's.

I DID IT and YOU CAN TOO!!!

 

I am so excited. They worked!! I was thinking at a couple of points they would not work. First I found a recipe in my cookbook Betty Crocker Cookie Book. Then got to work on making them. But when they were done they did not look quite right. Dry and crumbly. But I thought maybe if I squish it together with my hands then it will be fine. I thought though I better double check the recipe that I added everything. Well would you look at that. I forgot to add the egg. Oh brother.  Well good thing I found out now. So I added that and everything came together beautifully. So now to get out the cookie press. I read the instructions how to use it, tthen proceed ahead. I take a bunch of dough and shape it into a log, then shove the log inside the press. pick a shape and screw on the top. Then we are good to go right? I start to press the dough out but nothing happens. It comes out but in a jumbled mess. What is this. Oi! Doesn't work why did I try again. So I phone a friend who bakes alot maybe she has used on of these before. But to my luck she is not home. Then I get a brillant idea. Youtube! They have a video for everything. So I check and sure enough they had a video on how to use a cookie press. I watched 3 videos and went to work. To my delight it WORKED!!! You have seen the picture as proof. Hurray!! I can make spritz cookies. Woo Hoo!!!! I am tickled pink. Well off to making the lemonade. Lemonade and Cookie stand opens at 3:00pm and as it is 2:30pm I better get going.

Cookie Stand Today

Hello everyone. I thought my only challenge this week would be the bread I am going to attempt. But my kids want to have a cookie stand. Which is like a lemonade stand but you sell cookies instead. We may sell lemonade too. But lemonade and cookies don't really go together. I make all kinds of cookies and feel quite confident in the making of them. But one I can not. I bought a cookie press years ago. A really nice one. I have posted a pick of one if you don't know what a cookie press is. Found the pic at Williams and Sonoma. Great cooking store from the U.S.A. Where I bought mine. But have never been able to get them to turn out. Well I will try again today. Spritz cookies which is what a cookie press cookie is called look really good. You can make all kinds of shapes. So I will post later how they turn out. I am trying a different recipe then I did in the past. Another thing that I tried a few times and gave up. But today victory!! I hope. Or I just give my cookie press away. If any one has used one of these and has tips or recipes to pass on I would appreciate it.

Check it out!

So check out the video I found on Rachael Ray's site. Awesome video. She bakes Eclairs on her show and explains why she never bakes. But in this show she does and is overcoming her fear of baking. So encouraging.
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/eclairs/

I am not alone

So get this I am at my girlfriends house today. Told her about my blog. Why I was doing it. To overcome my fear of baking certain foods. Well do you know what she told me? She said did you know Rachael Ray (who is on t.v. and has a  cooking show.) does not bake. Can not bake? She said that Rachael Ray has said that on her show. She had a guest on her show who made a cake and showed Rachael what to do. Wow Rachael Ray can't bake? I just assumed if you have a cooking show on t.v. and have many cookbooks that you would be able to bake. Hearing that made me feel like I was not alone in my struggle. I make the things that I am good at. I avoid the things that I am not good at. Found out that others do that too. Even famous chefs. Now I don't know why Rachael does not bake. Could be for other reasons completly. But I think we feel better when we know we are not alone in our struggles. Sure you know others struggle with the same things you do. But sometimes you feel so alone in it. It feels good when you hear that you are not alone. Not that you want others to struggle. That is not what I am saying.  Know that what ever your fears are or your struggles that you are not alone and that their are others out there just like you. You are not alone and you can overcome them. May God  grant you the courage to do so. Blessings