When Life Socks You In The Kidneys, Bake!

I intended to post this recipe easily a week or two ago. Really, I did. I even sat down at the keyboard to type it out, and suddenly life was going 100 miles per hour and I had a million things to do. Don't you love those little unexpected delights. You know, when life completely blindsides you, then giggles as it runs away. Well, today, and just for today, I have a little lull and will FINALLY type up my rather late "new" post.

Every now and then I get the urge to make something very specific. I will then spend hours perusing these here internets, blissfully ignoring my children while enraptured by the mass of foodie info. I will look for a recipe for what I want to make, and inevitably, I don't find a single one that is exactly what I want to create. There is a little fist shaking involved, but eventually I will give up, round up the children, apologize to them for forgetting thier existence for a bit, and get creative.  This recipe comes from just that creative process. The kids and I throwing things into a bowl and hoping it turns out the way I intended it to.  Our experiment was a success, resulting in a sweet orange bread studded with delicious little bits of candied ginger.

Orange and Candied Ginger Quick Bread
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1c granulated sugar
grated peel of one large orange
juice of 1-2 large oranges approximately 1/3c
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1 mashed ripe banana
1 egg
1tsp vanilla
3/4c milk
1/2c chopped candied ginger

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a square loaf pan.  In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, preferably the bowl of your stand mixer (did I mention I can't imagine life without my KitchenAid?) combine the egg,mashed banana, vanilla, and milk. Mix well. Add the sugar, orange juice and orange peel to the egg mixture, mix until combined. Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the egg mixture and mix until a mostly smooth batter is formed.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. The top of the bread should be nice and golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread should come out clean.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes or so, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. If the bread sticks to the pan loosen the edges with a butter knife.

Slice. Eat. Enjoy. Especially with a cup of Earl Grey!

I have to say that this bread turned out perfectly. Despite my schizophrenic ovens' best attempt to torch it halfway through the cooking process. Sometimes you just have to smarter than your appliances.

Holiday Baking Makes Me All Fuzzy Inside, And Horribly, Horribly Sticky On The Outside

Admittedly, I didn't do much of the Holiday baking I usually grind out  every year. This year has been a rough one involving an unexpected 3000 mile cross country move into the Middle of Nowheresville, multiple visits to the ER for Squidling and Urchin, a weee itty bitty teeny weeny budget, and last, but not least a vanished paycheck right before the most commercial holiday of the year. YEAH! GO 2013! No, really, GO...like AWAY, I'm done! So, that being said I had to limit the baking extravaganza to a combination of what I was craving and what I have on hand.  My first craving was for an old German recipe my sister, +Amy Engelbrecht, had given me from her Grandmother for traditional Anise Cookies. I had all of 3 items the recipe called for, and with a $0 bank balance a trip to the store wasn't in my future. After hours of surfing Pinterest and these here internets, and not finding anything that looked good or that I had all of the ingredients for I decided to wing it. The result was Anise Cookies similar to Snickerdoodles or sugar cookies. I actually tried rolling a few in cinnamon sugar just like Snickerdoodles. I don't recommend it, you could barely taste the anise in those. They were buttery, with a nice, but not overpowering anise kick. They were also gone in 2 days,all 3 dozen of them. I think I ate 2, so you could say these are Husband, Father in Law and kid approved.

Recipe:
Anise Cookies
2c Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1tsp Cinnamon
1Tbsp Finely Minced Dried Orange Peel  
1/2 tsp Ground black Pepper
1/2 c Butter (sweet cream unsalted)
1c Sugar
2 eggs (BIG thanks to our Hens!)
Juice of 1 lemon
1tsp Vanilla
1/2-1 tsp Anise oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium sized bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pepper and orange peel.
In a separate bowl, preferably the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer (see that? I'm a name dropper ;) ) , cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add lemon juice and anise oil. Mix well. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until combined. Shape into 1" balls and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets about 2" apart.  Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. These should keep in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.


Final instructions...Shove in face and enjoy!

It Begins...

Welcome to The Culinary Adventures Of A Bitch And Her Bowl, a Foodie's food blog with a random spattering of parenting rants.

A little about me you say? Oh hell, why not?! I'm a 30 something Mom of 2 whom I like to call Squidling and Urchin. Squidling is school age and frequently helps me sling batter. Urchin is a toddler and frequently helps me make a complete disaster of my kitchen (not that the Squid isn't a pro at that). I'm the daughter of a former Executive Chef Father and a Mother who also loved to spend time in the kitchen playing with food. I like to think I channel a bit of Iron Chef Betty Crocker with a modern and sometimes International twist. (that creates an interesting picture now doesn't it?) In my dreams I dabble in Molecular Gastronomy and every plate of food I present is a work of art for all 5 senses. In reality, I have a normal, if not somewhat dysfunctional kitchen, and I try my best to make sure everything I sling actually looks edible.

I intend this blog to be a diary of sorts of my adventures in the Kitchen and sometimes life in general. I will post recipes, pictures, ramblings and rants. And at the urging of several of my friends after tasting my food and/or drooling over my constant food related ramblings on Facebook, IT BEGINS.....