Yes Sir!

No recipe today. I actually went to the gym last night. Since going back to work my gym workouts take place only on the weekend. During the week it's been the basement treadmill or nothing. With the days now getting longer, I was finally motivated to run over to the gym in the evening. Between that and getting our tax papers together, I didn't have time to transcribe a recipe last night.

So I thought I'd share this little food-related story with you. My son likes those Eggo Toaster Swirlz ("Cinnamon Swirlz")and often asks for them. (Don't judge me! It's not all from scratch in this house.) They are tricky to cook in the toaster oven since the toaster oven runs hot and they need to be heated until they are hot just through but still soft. Once, I let them go too far and now whenever my son asks for these - every time! - he says "Cinnamon Swirlz please - AND DON'T BURN THEM!"

"And don't burn them"??? Geez, he usually tells me what a good 'cooker' I am.

Part of something bigger and better

Light Rye Bread
Great Bread Machine Recipes Copyright 1992

For 1-pound loaf:
¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground caraway or caraway seeds
1 tablespoon dry milk
5 tablespoons rye flour
1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
5 ½ ounces warm water

For 1 1/2 pound loaf:

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground caraway or caraway seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons dry milk
¼ cup rye flour
2 ½ cups bread flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
9 ounces warm water

Add the ingredients per your bread machines instructions.
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I know, this isn't exciting but this bread was part of the best grilled Reubens I've ever had. I know, I should have taken a picture of the Reuben but I didn't. I was too anxious to eat it.

I was going to buy rye bread but I had everything to make the bread so why not? This was definitely better than store-bought bread and I could slice it a big thicker which I like for hearty Reubens.

I built the Reubens perfectly - a slice of this bread, a slice of Swiss cheese, thinly sliced corned beef that I cooked myself, well-drained sauerkraut, some dressing (mayo, chili sauce and relish), another slice of Swiss cheese and another slice of bread. I lightly buttered the sandwiches. I grilled them slowly on the Griddler, with the griddle plates. I wanted them to heat through without getting too brown.

They were just the right size and composition to eat without making a mess. They weren't too greasy or too wet (a problem I've had when ordering them out sometimes). One of the best things I've eaten recently.

I'm starting to panic that my bread machine is dying. One side doesn't seem to be kneading as well (I have a dual machine). I know I could get another bread machine but I love mine. I don't think they make the dual machines anymore and I could never replace it with any machine for the great price my husband paid ($39.99 in Ollie's Bargain Outlet). I've been using my machine at least once a week for 3 years now. I think I got my money's worth.

Question of the Day: Did you indulge in any Irish food for St. Patrick's Day this year? I didn't eat anything Irish on St. Patrick's Day but I always pick up corned beef for later use when it's on sale for St. Patrick's Day .

Replenishing our cupcake stash

Yellow Cream Cake
The Recipes of Madison County Copyright 1995

½ cup butter
1 ½ cups sugar
4 egg yolks
2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat butter at medium speed of electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix at low speed for at least one minute after each addition until blended. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
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I had to restock my son's freezer stash of cupcakes. Due to his peanut allergy I need to be able to come up with a cupcake for him on short notice. I've found the easiest thing is to keep on hand plain frozen cupcakes and that decorator frosting that comes in a pressurized can with assorted decorating tips. I can't stand the stuff but he likes it. It's a tough assignment because I don't want to outshine the birthday cupcakes yet I don't want my son to feel left out. He doesn't seem to have a problem with it, mainly because I always put a few bits of candy on top (Sixlets on this one.)

Since the cupcake requests aren't all that frequent, I only made a half batch of this recipe and it worked out nicely. I got twelve cupcakes out of half the recipe. I was pleased with the results. These weren't as light and fluffy as the Almost Cake Mix Vanilla Cupcakes, but they were buttery and moist and overall a pretty good version of a yellow cupcake. They domed really nicely - not too flat, not too high.

The key is not to overbake cupcakes. You really have to stay on top of them or any recipe will be ruined if they stay in too long. Since I had no baking time for these since the recipe was for a layer cake, I had to be alert. They baked between 15 and 20 minutes I think.

My son used to pretty much only eat what was on top of any cupcake I made him (sometimes just the candy) but he's been eating the entire cupcakes lately. I was still surprised when he ate one of these cupcakes without anything on top whatsoever. They really didn't need anything. They were like a sweet muffin.

I've had this cookbook for quite some time and this was always one of the recipes I wanted to try. Unfortunately I didn't get to make it as a layer cake with the buttercream recipe in the book that I thought would probably be good too - a basic butter and confectioner's sugar with a half of a container of thawed Cool Whip added. I still want to try that someday. The recipes in this book don't rely on convenience foods so that Cool Whip must add something to that frosting. I will satisfy my curiosity someday but not today.

Question of the Day: Did you have birthday treats in school (for anyone) when you were a kid? We only had 'treats' when we had a party - Valentine's Day, Halloween and maybe Christmas. We would have a cupcake and an orange drink from the school cafeteria on those occasions. (I do remember a teacher making us brownies once for one of these holiday parties.) The rest of the year we only ate in school at lunchtime.

I'm a bad Blogger

Blogging is tough these days. I'm not burned out. I still love my cookbooks and would cook all day long and blog about it all if I could. However, have you ever tried to get anything done with a teething baby on your hands? Not easy.

You'll have to settle for a post here and there until I get a handle on life again. I do have things to post about, it's just a matter of getting around to it.

Small potatoes

Italian Potato Cubes
Best Recipes from American Country Inns and Bed & Breakfasts Copyright 2004

1 large Idaho baking potato cleaned and cut into 1/4" cubes (do not remove skin)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Mix together the oil and seasonings. Roll cubes in herb oil mixture until coated. Cook in microwave for about 5-6 minutes or until tender. Or cook in 350 degree oven until tender - about 10 minutes (I think they took longer than this but my potatoes probably could have been cut even smaller. They may have been bigger than 1/4-inch.)
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There is nothing really special about this simple recipe but it reminded me how smart it is to cut potatoes into smaller pieces for quicker cooking. I cooked them until they were soft (this is the stage they were at in this picture), then I cooked them again when I reheated the chicken so they got a bit crispy. I don't know if it means anything but my husband ate a lot of these. He's usually lukewarm on potatoes (besides french fries) and sometimes doesn't eat them at all when I serve them.

It's grocery night tonight. It's been depressing the past couple of weeks. It's depressing because I haven't been buying a lot of specialty items yet the bill stays high. Now that the baby is eating baby food and he's having some formula (I just couldn't keep up with him), my grocery bill is getting even higher. I know I could make baby food for less but I just don't need one more thing to do right now.

Question of the Day: Are you still eating the same as you were before the economy tanked or have you made adjustments?