Lemon-blueberry cake

Lemon-blueberry cake:

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest from two lemons
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups blueberries

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the butter and sugar together. Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes, until the butter is fluffy.

3. Preheat your oven to 350 around here. Prepare your pan--spray or butter it. Add one egg and beat on high until incorporated, then mix in the next egg. Add the oil, vanilla extract, and zest and mix. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk (I separated it into buttermilk-flour-buttermilk-flour-buttermilk). Then beat for 3 more minutes to get it nice and aerated.



4. Gently mix in the blueberries. Pour the batter into your pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Sorry...I don't remember if this recipe fills up a whole 13x9 pan, or if I doubled the recipe to fit that pan. You will have to eyeball it...maybe it fits a round pan better >.<

Turtle Pretzels

My sister Tracy saw this on a random food blog and wanted to try these out:

Turtle Pretzels: makes 10-12 pretzels

2 teaspoons yeast
pinch sugar
1 tablespoon warm water

2 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
2/3 cup water

1. If your yeast says "instant," you can skip this step. To wake up the yeast, mix with warm water and sugar in a small bowl. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. You will start to see bubbles and smell the yeast working.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, oil, and water by hand. Knead by hand or machine for a few minutes until everything comes together, then add the yeast mixture. Knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is done kneading, it will be slightly tacky. If it is too dry, add a few drops of water at a time, and knead again. If it is too wet, add a tablespoon of flour at a time. The dough should also be smooth and when you squish it around, you can observe the dough springing back.

3. Place the dough in a greased, covered container and place in a warm spot. Let the dough rise until it is doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4. Prepare to shape the dough. Clean a space for rolling out the dough and scatter flour over the space. Have some pans, a sharp knife, and saran wrap/moist dish towel ready for the pretzels.

5. Cut your dough into equal pieces. I cover my hands in flour or oil, remove the dough from the container as gently as I can, shape it into a rough disk, and cut the pieces that way. Save a piece of dough to make the arms, legs, and heads, then roll each remaining piece of dough into a smooth ball, and cover to prevent the dough from drying out. The weather will determine if you need to cover your dough in between uses or not.

6. Roll the ball of dough into a 12 inch strand. Swirl to make the turtle shell. You can use a little bit of water to make the ends stick. Shape the head, arms, and legs and attach. Keeping the limbs attached was the hardest part.

7. When you are close to done shaping the pretzels, turn the oven on to 425 degrees. Heat the water and baking soda in a pan that is at least 4 inches high. The pretzels will go in a baking soda bath before baking, which gives the pretzels their brown shell and distinctive taste. Each pretzel will simmer on low heat for 15 seconds. I used one tool to hold the pretzel in the pan, and then a spoon to baste the baking soda onto the pretzels.

8. Bake the pretzels for about 8 minutes.

Eclairs

Here is my attempt at making eclairs with the help of my sister Tracy. The recipes are from foodgawker.com

Pastry Cream:
3 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
9 tablespoons sugar
4.5 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso
3 tablespoon matcha

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch together. In a small pot, heat the milk on medium until it starts to simmer. Turn the heat off and move the pot away from heat. With one hand, ladle some of the hot milk into the egg mixture as you are continuously whisking with the other hand. This process is called tempering, and keeps the eggs yolks from scrambling. Keep tempering until the egg mixture feels warm. At this point, it is safe to pour all of the milk into the egg mixture. Then, pour the custard mixture back into the pot, using a strainer to catch any eggs pieces that did scramble. Heat the pot on medium and stir for around 3 minutes, when the custard will suddenly get thicker. Then, remove the pot from heat. Separate the cream into batches if you want different flavors. For vanilla, we added extract straight in. For the matcha and coffee, we mixed the powders with some hot water, and then added them into the cream. You can make this a day ahead (that's what we did). To store, use plastic wrap to touch the whole surface of the pastry cream, otherwise a film will develop on top of the cream.


Chocolate ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4-5 ounces dark chocolate, in chips or chopped
1 tablespoon corn syrup (optional)

Heat the cream in the microwave till you start to see bubbles (around 30 seconds for me). Mix the chocolate and cream in a medium bowl. Keep stirring until the mixture is smooth. Add the corn syrup for additional shine.

Choux Pastry Dough:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature

1. Prep your pans. Use parchment paper to line your pans. It helps to use a little swipe of butter under the paper to keep the paper from curling and moving around.

2. Combine the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Then, add your flout all at once and stir the dough for 3 minutes to dry the dough out.

3. Transfer the dough to an electric mixer. You could also try an electric hand mixer or doing it completely by hand. Mix the dough on a medium speed, adding the eggs one at a time. At the end when you lift the mixer paddle out, the dough will rip in shreds and made a V shaped-tip.


4. Preheat your oven to 375. Fill the pastry dough in a pastry piping bag, or you can try using a ziploc bag with a small tip cut off one corner. We made mini-eclairs, so each one was piped out to 2 inches long. Tracy had the star-shaped tip, and I had the plain one. If you mess up, you can scrape it and put it back in the bag!



5. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for another 5-10 minutes. When they looked lightly browned, turn off the oven and leave the pans inside with the door ajar. After 15 minutes, you can take out the eclairs. While you are waiting for the eclairs to bake, make your chocolate ganache.


6. When the shells have completely cooled, you can pipe. We made a hole in the side with a knife and then piped our cream. Other people make holes in the bottom of the shell and then fill it. Then, hold the eclair upside down and dip into a bowl of chocolate ganache. Keep the eclairs refrigerated and enjoy.

Kale Chips

Have you ever had seaweed snacks? I really like them, although one drawback is that they can get soggy. I saw a post about making kale chips and decided to try it myself.

It's really easy. All you do is wash and cut your kale into similar-sized pieces. Add oil, salt, and pepper.


Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes and you're done!

Chicken and cheese quesadilla

Some time I'll have to try real Mexican food, but I do like Americanized Mexican food. Here is my recipe for chicken and cheese quesadillas. I tried to make my own taco seasoning out of the spices I have at home, but there are packets of taco seasoning in the supermarket that would be more convenient to use.

Seasoned chicken:

4 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup water
juice of half a lemon
2 large chicken breasts

1. I think this is what I used in the taco seasoning: salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. Otherwise, use a premixed packet.

2. Heat a pan with some oil on medium-high heat. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Fry the chicken, cooking both sides until the outside is browned.

3. Add the seasoning, water, and lemon juice. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, then flip the breasts over, and cook for about another 10 minutes.

4. Take out one piece of chicken at a time, and place on a cutting board or a bowl or a plate. Use two forks to shred the chicken. When you are done, add all of the shredded chicken back into the pan. Let the sauce simmer until it is thickened.


5. Then make your quesadilla! My method is to heat one tortilla on a pan on medium heat. When the tortilla is warm I flip it over. I add the chicken on one half and the cheese on the other, then fold the tortilla in half with a spatula. Then I press down on the quesadilla with the spatula. When one side starts getting brown, I flip if over. Then I use the spatula to cut the quesadilla into halves or quarters.

French Onion Soup

Today was my day off! It has been cloudy and cool over here; it's a good day for soup. Plus, Tracy and I were watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network and saw some French Onion Soup, which then made the both of us crave it.


Makes 10 big servings or 15 side servings

4.5 pounds beef bones
2.5 liters water
6 large onions
1/2 stick butter
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1.5 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper

1 block Gruyere cheese
1 bag croutons

1. Fill your biggest pot halfway with water. Add your bones. Bring to boil until all of the blood coagulates and floats on top. Drain the water and rinse the bones off.
2. Put the bones back in the pot and add two and a half liters of water. Heat pot on high until it reaches a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for at least two hours. It would be great if you have the time to cook for three hours or more.
3. Slice your onions however you want. Grab a second pot and add your butter. Heat on medium-low until the butter melts. Add the onions. Stir every few minutes, until the onions are dark brown all the way through. If your onions seems to be cooking too fast, reduce the heat to low. It will take a while, maybe twenty to thirty minutes, to caramelize the onions. Turn off the heat when the onions are done.
4. When the broth is cooked, use a strainer to transfer the broth into the pot of onions. Add your spices to taste. Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.
5. When you are ready to serve, get an oven safe container. We used ramekins, but soup bowls would be good. I've seen people use mugs too. Put your croutons on the bottom, then ladle your soup in, then top with cheese. Broil at 450 degrees in your oven or toaster oven till the cheese is lightly browned.

Chicken Parmesan and Eggplant Parmesan

I had Eggplant Parmesan the other day and was surprised at the texture. I don't like eggplant because it gets really slimy, but in this dish I was able to eat it. So I decided to try to make it at home.

Ingredients:
6 cups tomato sauce
2 medium eggplants
2 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups flour
5 eggs
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 package mozzarella cheese

1. Buy or make your tomato sauce. Today, I cooked minced onions in a pot on medium heat until browned. Then, I added three cans of tomato sauce. I add herbs and spices, including salt, pepper, oregano, marjoram, garlic powder, red pepper flake, and bay leaves. I let the sauce simmer for one hour.


2. Slice the eggplants into 1/2 inch rounds. Salt the slices liberally to draw out excess moisture. Leave the salt on the slices for 20 minutes, then rinse off the salt and squeeze out the extra water. If your mozzarella is whole, slice them into 1/8 inch thick slices. Or, you could use shredded mozzarella.

3. Prepare your dipping station. Next to your eggplant, place the flour in something deep, like a big bowl or a pot. Next to will be the beaten eggs. Finally, the Italian bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I buy bread crumbs that are "Italian-style," meaning it contains Italian herbs and spices. I'm sure you could use plain crumbs and leave it like that or season it yourself.

4. Set the oven to 400 degrees. Dip each slice of eggplant into the flour, then shake off the excess flour. Dip the slice into the egg and then the breadcrumb mixture. Lay the slices on an oiled pan to go into the oven. I suggest using only one hand to dip, because the egg and breadcrumbs start caking to your fingers.


5. Bake the slices for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for 5 minutes. Take out the eggplant and change the temperature to 350.

6. Cut your chicken breasts into 1/2 inch slices. Repeat the dipping procedure. Cook the chicken breasts in a pan with oil on medium heat for about 4 minutes or until the first side is browned. Then, flip it over and cook the other side until browned.


7. Place the chicken in a oven safe pan. Spoon the tomato sauce over the chicken until the meat is halfway covered. Lay the mozzarella slices on top of the chicken.


8. In another pan, pour enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom. Lay the first layer of eggplant slices in the pan. Put some tomato sauce on top of each slice. Keep adding layers of sauce and eggplant till you've used them up. Finish with some mozzarella on top.

9. Bake the chicken and eggplant at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Then, change to oven to broil to brown the cheese for two minutes.

Be careful not to burn your tongue! I almost did. If you don't have an oven, you can brown the meat or eggplant in a deep pan, them add the sauce to the pan and let the whole thing simmer.