Baking and Music

Tonight I decided to do some baking for my "boys" that they could enjoy while my daughter and I are gone.  I baked chocolate chip cookie bars,

caramel rolls,

and chocolate cupcakes with homemade chocolate frosting.

I also thawed out a previously made, then frozen coffee cake.

All the while I was baking, I listened to one of my favorite jazz singers who happens to be from Minnesota.

Nancy Harms is from Clara City, MN.  She now makes New York City her home but she does come back to Minnesota for concerts once in a while.  She has a new album that just came out this week titled, Dreams in Apartments.  Here is a link to her website  www.nancyharms.com  On her website, you can view a music video from her new album.  Watch the background of the video......you'll see some landmarks in downtown Minneapolis, MN.  Also on the front page of her website, you can listen to previews of each song on the new album.  My favorite is "Softly as a Morning Sunrise".  Listening to her music always puts me in relaxed, content and happy place.

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent."  -Victor Hugo

French Hotel

My sister, my 10 year old niece, my 11 year old daughter and I are leaving for Paris, France later this week.  Although we haven't been there yet, based on opinions from friends of my sister and the website, I can't wait to stay at our hotel.  The name is Hotel de la Bourdonnais.  Here is a link to their website  www.hotellabourdonnais.fr/eng 

We are very close to the Eiffel Tower and a lot of other wonderful Paris sites including a fresh air market - I'm all about French food!  Because it's so centrally located, it is a perfect place to be our "home base".  Just hope my college French comes back to me!

While I'm away, I will be having a guest blogger.  My husband, Chris, offered to continue my daily blogs for me.  I'm not sure what the wi fi situation will be in France so instead of taking a week completely off, my husband graciously offered to write a few things while I am away.  I told him I could jot down some ideas for him but he said, "If I'm writing the blog, the ideas are going to be all mine!"

Be prepared for reviews on vehicle or construction products, how to's on fixing a bobcat or dump truck,   the progress on our screen house up north and many other "manly" topics.  I'm sure he'll do great and for my male followers, it will be a refreshing change from recipes and great accessory websites!

"To travel is to live."  -Hans Christian Andersen

Safety Bags

I am leaving for Paris, France on Thursday afternoon.  I have been planning and packing and packing and planning.  I've also been doing some research online about how to be a safe traveller, especially since I will be with my sister, her 10 year old daughter and my 11 year old daughter.

One of the biggest things I am paranoid about is either falling victim to a pick pocket or having my bag/purse stolen.  A friend of mine, let me borrow a special bag that her mother had gotten her for her trip abroad.  The bag is from PacSafe.

What makes this bag special is that the strap and bag itself has small wires inside of it so it can not be cut by a knife or scissors.  It also is composed of a material that makes it impossible for high tech thieves to obtain information from the micro chip in passports and credit cards.

I thought this bag would be the perfect size for me but I decided to bring my son's camera and it will not fit in the bag.  It will however be a great size for my daughter.  Her little camera and wallet will fit in it perfectly.  I looked on-line for a PacSafe retailer and off to REI I went to see if I could find a larger PacSafe bag for myself.

Although I'm not crazy about the color, I did find one that will be perfect.

It has all of the security as the small bag plus it has an anti-pickpocket clip for the zipper,

and clips that will let me lock it to a chair.

The bag has room for a laptop, a pocket for an umbrella or water bottle, and many compartments on the inside for my wallet, kleenex, my son's camera, our passports and many other things.  I also bought a PacSafe strap for my son's camera.

 It has the same little wires in the strap with special locks to attach it to the camera.  I know that this is probably all a bit of over kill but "better safe than sorry"!

"Safety is as simple as ABC - Always Be Careful."  -Unknown

Fruit Pizza

Tonight was my son's Baseball End of Season Party.  The hosts were making the main course - pasta with a meat or alfredo sauce.  We were asked to bring a salad or dessert.  I had originally planned on bringing a salad but my son did not approve of my choice.  So......I decided to make a fruit pizza instead.  It's a super easy potluck dish and can pass either as a fruit salad or a dessert.

First thing I did was buy lots and lots of fresh fruit.  Most of it is in season now so it isn't that expensive.  I brought it all home and thoroughly washed it.  I bought raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi and mangoes.

I dried it all on paper towels spread out on my countertop.

I also drained and dried some mandarin oranges.

While the fruit was drying, I got out some refrigerated sugar cookie dough.  You can always make homemade sugar cookie dough but for ease today, I used ready made dough.

I pressed it onto a cookie sheet.  You can vary the thickness of the dough as you like it.  Thinner dough will be crispier and thicker dough will be chewier.

Put the dough in the oven and bake until it's golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

While the dough was cooling, I cut up the strawberries, kiwi and mangoes.

Once the dough was completely cool, (this is really important - if it's not cool, the next step will be a disaster) I spread whipped cream cheese over the top.  I used plain whipped cream cheese but you could use any flavored kind too.  I have often made it with strawberry flavored cream cheese.

Then I sprinkled on the fruit.

I took a paper towel and gently pressed the fruit into the cream cheese.  Here's the finished - yummy - result!

I cut it into small squares and just let people help themselves to pieces right out of the pan.

"You learn to cook so you don't have to be a slave to recipes.  You get what's in season and you know what to do with it."  -Julia Child

Fun Bargain Website

On yesterday's blog, I wrote that I had to get up early this morning.  The reason is my husband and I had plans to go up north to our 40 acres.  My intent was to paint the soffit and trim on "Screen House" (I've blogged about its' construction in the past).  I did do some painting - the soffit - and I'm sure tomorrow I won't be able to look up or raise my right arm above my head.

The reason I couldn't do any of the trim painting was that it rained - all day.  Hard at times.  Once I had the first coat on the soffit, it started to pour.  My husband was trying to install the solar panels when the rain came in earnest.  We decided to take a break in the loft of the shed.  It was dry and warm in there.  My husband took a nap while I read and then "surfed the net".

I found a great website www.groopdealz.com  I'm always looking for a bargain and this site has bargains on clothes, shoes and accessories.  The website posts deals from multiple sellers.  Each deal has an expiration date.  You purchase the products through this website but the products come directly from the seller.  Similar to Amazon.  The discounts are huge.  I've seen up to 70%, 80% and 85% off of  the retail price on quite a few products.  The products change daily so check back often.  Here are some of my favorites from today:

 Don't wait for a rainy day to check out this website!

"I am not a label snob and have learned that the thrill of shopping can be just as great, if not more so, when you find bargain."  -Sophie Kinsella

Great Local Musical

Just a quick blog tonight as it's waaaaayyyyyy past my bedtime and I have to get up very early tomorrow morning.  If you find yourself in the Minneapolis, MN area this weekend or next weekend and you're looking for something fun and inexpensive to do, check out the Fridley Community Theatre's production of Fiddler on the Roof.

It was really well done and there are some very talented actors who live in my community.  (One of those talented actors is my former high school English teacher who happened to be my middle son's Advanced English teacher this past school year.)  I took my 11 year old daughter and we sat with a friend, her two daughters and her mom.  We all really enjoyed ourselves.  Bravo!!

"A fiddler on the roof.  Sounds crazy, no?  But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck.  It isn't easy.  You may ask, "Why to we stay up there if it's so dangerous?  Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home.  How to we keep our balance?  That I can tell you in one word:  tradition!"  -Tevye

Tonight It's Cinnamon Rolls!

Ok, so today I did a little modification to my caramel roll recipe from yesterday.  I used the same roll dough recipe that I started with yesterday.  Here it is again for those of you who missed it:  1 cup water, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, 3 cups bread flour, 1/4 cup sugar, pinch of salt 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast.  You can mix this up in your bread machine or use the traditional method.

I rolled the dough out on my counter in a rectangle shape then brushed it with about 2 Tablespoons of melted butter.

Then I made a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon - heavy on the cinnamon.  Yesterday I used more brown sugar with a sprinkling of cinnamon.  Today I used about 3 Tablespoons of cinnamon to about a cup of brown sugar.  I played around with the ratio of brown sugar to cinnamon based on taste.  Cinnamon rolls will have more cinnamon and caramel rolls will have more brown sugar.  Then I spread this mixture over the buttered dough.

I used the dental floss trick to cut the rolled dough into circles (see yesterday's blog for details).  Make sure you grease the pan you're using and then place the rolls in the pan.

I baked them in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  Make sure you watch them.  Yours may take longer or shorter than 30 minutes.  Take them out when they're golden brown.  While mine were baking, I mixed up a quick frosting.  I started with 2 cups of powdered sugar.

To that, I added 1 Tablespoon melted butter - no substitution here.  Butter is better for you than margarine!

I mixed in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and enough milk to smooth out the frosting (today I used about 3 Tablespoons milk).

I used an electric mixer to blend the frosting.

As soon as the rolls were done, I took them out of the oven and spread on the frosting.  I wanted the frosting to melt over the rolls.

I have no teenage boys home at the moment as taste testers - work and friends are taking priority at the moment.  My husband liked the caramel rolls better than the cinnamon rolls.  My Aunt Patti and Mom have created a roll making monster!  I'm thinking about flavored fillings and toppings.  Adding nuts and chocolate.  The possibilities are endless!

"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."  -Julia Child
 

Homemade Caramel Rolls

Last weekend, my aunt shared some really good cinnamon rolls with us.  I wished, out loud, that I was able to make cinnamon rolls or caramel rolls.  Homemade though - down to the dough.  Both my mom and my aunt told me that was so easy to make these rolls and there wasn't any magic recipe.

They told me to use a favorite roll recipe for the dough.  I used my bread machine to speed up the dough making process.  Here are the ingredients I use for my roll dough:  1 cup water, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, 3 cups bread flour, 1/4 cup sugar, pinch of salt and 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast.  You can either use the bread machine or use the same ingredients and traditionally make the dough.

Roll the dough out into a rectangle.

Make up a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon.  I didn't measure either - just mixed up enough to cover the dough.

Roll the dough on the long side of the rectangle.

I used dental floss to cut my dough.  This works great because it keeps the dough from being "mushed" by a knife.  You get perfect circles!

Next, I made a caramel sauce for the bottom of my dish.  In a saucepan I combined 3/4 cup oil,

3/4 cup cream,

1 1/2 cups brown sugar,

6 Tablespoons butter,

and a pinch of salt in a saucepan.

Bring this mixture to a boil for 5 minutes.

Pour the caramel mixture into a pan - I used a 9" x 11" glass pan.

Press the roll into the caramel mixture in your pan.

Cover the rolls with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place without a draft.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the rolls turn golden brown.

Invert the rolls onto a pan.  BE CAREFUL!!  The pan and the caramel will be very HOT!

Take the pan off of the rolls and ENJOY!

I made them tonight at about 6:30pm and I have less than a half a pan left.  I guess they're a hit with my family!

"People who love to eat are always the best people."  -Julia Child