Halibut Poached in Duck Fat

Do you like mild fish? Then this recipe is right up your alley. It is packed with flavor thanks to its duck friend and SUPER simple to make, albeit a little pricy.

But first, a quick reminder I’m not a food blogger. There will be no flour-dusted cutting board photos in-between hefty paragraphs filled with adjectives. The word foodie sends an awful noise of nails on a chalkboard down my spine.

I only want to share the recipe and what I learned when baking or cooking it for the first time. The act of making food for others is how I show love, and it’s my fun time. Trying to make something for the first time is always exciting for me because you either nail it or you don’t.

Today’s Taste Test recipe is from Anthony Bourdain’s Appetites cookbook. Here we go!

THE RECIPE:

1 lemon

1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

Seeds from 2 cardamom pods

1 bay leaf

4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

2 halibut fillets (about 12 ounces each; ask your fishmonger to remove the white belly skin but to leave the dark dorsal skin attached)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 quart rendered duck fat (available at various
gourmet retailers and some butcher shops)

Serve with mashed potatoes

  1. ⁣Using the microplane grater, finely grate the lemon zest into a small mixing bowl and add the oil, fennel and cardamom seeds, bay leaf, and garlic, mixing well. Rub the fish on all sides with the mixture and refrigerate in a casserole or zip-sealed plastic bag for at least 2 hours and up to 24. 
  2. Remove the fish from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before you’re ready to poach it. Brush off the excess garlic and seeds. Season it on all sides with salt and pepper.
  3. In a large, heavy-bottom pot, heat the duck fat over medium heat until it reaches 150°F, monitoring the temperature with the instant-read thermometer. Slip the fish into the pot and ladle the fat over so it is submerged. Let cook for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, until the fish has an internal temperature of 150°F. 
  4. Carefully remove the fish from the pot with a slotted
    spoon or fish spatula, adjust seasoning if necessary, and serve with mashed potatoes.
  5. Serves 4

MY FINDINGS:

  1. The temperature of the duck fat is VERY important. Pay attention and monitor it.
  2. It took a little longer for me to poach the fish because the halibut wasn’t submerged completely in the fat, if I were to make it next time I would make sure it’s better covered.
  3. Tons of flavor. The best tasting halibut I’ve ever tasted.

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

No. I love Bourdain but there are plenty of other fish in the sea I’d rather eat. I’d say making it once to impress and check it off your list. Unless you don’t like strong tasting fish than this might be the next best thing since sliced bread!

If you make them this weekend, share your pictures in the comments or tag me in your post if you share on Instagram @sjrandol.

Anthony Bourdain quote for halibut poached in duck fat

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Your Next Read: The Hate U Give

I’m currently reading The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and I have to be honest, chapter two knocked me on my ass and I really appreciated it.

Its title is a nod to THUG LIFE—The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody—an acronym coined by rapper Tupac that encapsulates the cyclical nature of crime, poverty, and hate as a result of racism.

The second chapter is where Starr’s (main character) friend Khalil is shot and killed by an officer. He is unarmed.

And I don’t know who needs to hear this but…

When a cop pulls me over, I get sweaty. When a cop is driving behind me, my heart races. When I see cops in my neighborhood, I get nervous and feel myself go on alert.

I get sweaty because I know I’m not getting out of this ticket he’s about to write me (I’ve never managed to get out of one). My heart races because I’m hoping he’s not about to pull me over. I get nervous because the presence of a cop never means anything good is happening.

Never do I ever get sweaty, nervous, or whatever, because I am in fear of being killed. And that’s the difference. 

 

Everything you have ever wanted, is sitting on the other side of fear. (14)

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Graham Cracker Rolls

Who loves graham crackers? I do! Who loves bake fails? I do! The last couple of months I’ve been sharing recipes with successful bakes, so I thought it was about time to share a huge fail recipe. My bread never rose, I persevered to see how they’d come out regardless and I made rocks.

My awful rock rolls are pictured below, they’re pretty terrible. It’s laughable. I’m sharing the process anyway.

But first, a quick reminder I’m not a food blogger. There will be no flour-dusted cutting board photos in-between hefty paragraphs filled with adjectives. The word foodie sends an awful noise of nails on a chalkboard down my spine.

I only want to share the recipe and what I learned when baking or cooking it for the first time. The act of making food for others is how I show love, and it’s my fun time. Trying to make something for the first time is always exciting for me because you either nail it or you don’t.

Today’s Taste Test recipe is from Southern Living. Here we go!

THE RECIPE:

  • 1 envelope active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 1/2 tsp. sugar, divided
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, divided
  • Parchment paper
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  1. Combine first 2 ingredients and 1 tsp. sugar; let stand 5 minutes.
  2. Beat egg, shortening, salt, and 1/4 cup sugar at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Add boiling water; stir until shortening melts. Stir in yeast mixture. Stir flour and 1/2 cup crumbs into egg mixture.
  3. Place dough in a lightly greased (with shortening) bowl; cover, and chill 8 to 24 hours.
  4. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 4 or 5 times. Roll to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut dough into rounds with a 1 1/2- to 2-inch round cutter, rerolling scraps twice. Place rolls 1 inch apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and brush with melted butter.
  5. Stir together remaining 1/4 cup cracker crumbs and 1 1/2 tsp. sugar. Sprinkle mixture over rolls. Cover and let rise in a warm place (80° to 85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
  6. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake, uncovered, 15 to 18 minutes or until golden.

MY FINDINGS:

  1. It’s really important to care about the temperature of the water to dissolve the yeast.
  2. Do not over knead the dough and cover it properly (tight) so the air doesn’t get to it. I think too much air got to my dough and it wasn’t able to rise. I had the wannabe plastic wrap that didn’t stick to the bowl and hardly covered the top of the bowl.
  3. After the chilling process if your dough hasn’t risen, don’t bother continuing steps four through six, unless you want to be twins…

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

Yes. I didn’t get to taste them because who wants to eat rocks? And I love graham cracker anything.

If you make them this weekend, share your pictures in the comments or tag me in your post if you share on Instagram @sjrandol.

graham cracker roll taste test recipe

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Italian Pignoli Cookies

I read cookies are the crown jewels of Italian confections. Is this actually the truth for Italians? Don’t ask me, I’ve never been. But it’s Friday, so that means it’s time for a Taste Test recipe to try this weekend.

But first, a quick reminder I’m not a food blogger. There will be no flour-dusted cutting board photos in-between hefty paragraphs filled with adjectives. The word foodie sends an awful noise of nails on a chalkboard down my spine.

I only want to share the recipe and what I learned when baking or cooking it for the first time. The act of making food for others is how I show love, and it’s my fun time. Trying to make something for the first time is always exciting for me because you either nail it or you don’t.

Today’s Taste Test recipe is from Taste of Home. Here we go!

THE RECIPE:

  • 1-1/4 cups (12 ounces) almond paste
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 large egg whites, divided
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1-1/2 cups pine nuts
  1. In a small bowl, beat almond paste and sugar until crumbly. Beat in 2 egg whites. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar; mix well.
  2. Whisk remaining egg whites in a shallow bowl. Place pine nuts in another shallow bowl. Shape dough into 1-in. balls. Roll in egg whites and coat with pine nuts. Place 2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten slightly.
  3. Bake at 325° until lightly browned, 15-18 minutes. Cool for 1 minute before removing from pans to wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

MY FINDINGS:

  1. These are fancy cookies, and by fancy I mean pricey. Pine nuts aren’t cheap, fair warning.
  2. If you’re not a fan of almond paste, you won’t be a fan of these cookies. The almond flavor is strong in this one.
  3. Pay attention to step one, somehow I messed it up and had to go back out and get more almond paste.

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

No. I am not a fan of the almond flavor. But they’re pretty!

If you make them this weekend, share your pictures in the comments or tag me in your post if you share on Instagram @sjrandol.

Italian Pignoli cookie quote for #tastetest Fridays

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Proof It Changed My Trajectory

As I often tell teachers–some of our most important leaders–we can’t always ask our students to take off the armor at home, or even on their way to school, because their emotional and physical safety may require self-protection. But what we can do, and what we are ethically called to do, is create a space in our schools and classrooms where all students can walk in and, for that day or hour, take off the crushing weight of their armor, hang it on a rack, and open their heart to truly being seen. 

We must be guardians of a space that allows students to breathe and be curious and explore the world and be who they are without suffocation. They deserve one place where they can rumble with vulnerability and their hearts can exhale. And what I know from the research is that we should never underestimate the benefit to a child of having a place to belong–even one–where they can take off their armor. It can and often does change the trajectory of their life. 

– Brene Brown, Dare To Lead

I am proof a safe place changed the trajectory of my life. 

You know that saying, “being welcomed with open arms,” I don’t remember a feeling a sense of welcomeness or openness when I was younger. “Constantly on edge,” is more accurate.

It didn’t feel like I had space to breathe. There was a suffocating pressure to be the best and it left no room for error.

When I think back to where I felt safest as a young adult my Highschool band room pops to the front of mind. I knew who I was in that room and Mr. Ponder was a calm dude who didn’t lead with guilt or shame. He genuinely cared for his students and never picked me apart, or anyone else for that matter.

Unfortunately, the band room wasn’t a day in and day out constant. It took twenty-seven years for me to find my safe place and another two years to trust it. I fought the ‘safe feeling’ because my mind and body didn’t know how to respond, and the two who were creating it for me weren’t the people who I thought should be the ones doing it.

Can I trust this soft place to land when it’s being given to me by my bosses? They’re not obligated by blood or marriage, is this how it should be, is this allowed? ps: I get hung up on shoulds and rules. #workingonit

If you’re like me, you need an example of this soft place to land because it didn’t compute in my head for a long time, so here we go:

My first “oh-shit-I-fucked-up-big” moment came about six or seven months into the new job. I was designing an e-blast for The Knot and spent a full week designing and editing content to create the best call to action, possible. Somehow I didn’t notice until after the email went out I had embedded the wrong link and was sending thousands of people to an incorrect event page.

I almost barfed. The word mortified doesn’t cut it. I quickly edited the page the users were being sent to, to represent the event we were advertising for but it took an hour to correct. Accountability is huge in my book so I prepared myself for a tongue lashing and the possibility I’d get fired.

Ya know what I got? “These things happen, you’re human.” If your mouth is gaping open and touching the floor, #twins. I didn’t know what to do or say, all I remember was feeling uncomfortable and wishing she had shouted at me instead. Wtf am I supposed to do with…kindness and understanding?

And fuck, just had another aha-moment. I’d rather be shouted at? In what world does that make sense. I’ve been following a pattern unbeknown to me until this very flippin’ second. Ready for this? Big breaths…

I’ve been striving for perfection and ultimately falling short, which would lead me to fess up to the ‘leaders’ in my life (bosses/parents) and their response was a consistent shouting and/or belittlement before being ‘allowed’ to move on until the next time it happened, and then the same pattern would occur.

Eventually, I didn’t feel better until someone had followed through on their part. And because I thought this was healthy behavior I’m guilty of shouting to release frustration. How sick am I for thinking it was therapeutic? #workingonit #therapyisawesome

This kind of openness to welcome me as is set the foundation for a soft place to land. Maybe some of you reading are thinking, “no, this is an example of your bosses being lenient.” Tell me what good comes from making a person feel smaller? Do you work harder for those type of leaders?

It wasn’t one instance, either. It’s been a compilation of little moments where it would’ve been easy to criticize or put me down and they choose not too. Instead, they reminded me I was enough and worth it. Constantly filling me up with feeling enough and worth it.

This new space encouraged me to read self-empowerment books, get into therapy, deal with traumas I’d buried, and shed a layer of crushing armor. It felt hippy-dippy at first and not for people ‘like me.’

But guess what? My spirit feels lighter, my life feels happier, and I appreciate my relationship with my Hubs ten times more than I did before. My head comes up for air more frequently instead of keeping my nose on the grindstone.

It changed the trajectory of my life. I’m proof.

Ferris bueller quote

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The Best Cafe Du Monde Beignet Copycat Recipe

When I say I found the best Cafe Du Monde Beignet copycat recipe, I am not just saying it to get clicks. I have been looking for good beignets ever since I went to Mardi Gras back in 2015 with a girlfriend.

I used to get really excited when I’d see a restaurant with beignets on its dessert menu, but after a number of flat donut disappointments, I became extremely jaded. “Yeah, let’s see what their definition of a beignet is…”

Nothing will ever compare to the experience I had in New Orleans, but the days of dismay are OVER. I’m going to ruin the ending and tell you, these are flipping worth it!

But first, let’s recap in case you don’t know my rules…

I’m not a food blogger. I share recipes I’ve tried and if I’d make them again. I hate the word foodie and hefty paragraphs filled with adjectives about the recipe, and photographs that have dusted flour and cutting boards.

You can expect the recipe I used, helpful tricks or what not to do and a couple (probably one) real shots of what it looked like when my bake came out of the oven.

THE RECIPE:

  • 3/4 cup warm water (105 to 110 degrees F)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 18 ounces (3 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, melted
  • Cottonseed oil for frying
Dust with
  • Powdered sugar

 

  1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Let the solution sit for 15 minutes and it will become foamy.
  2. Whisk in the milk, egg, and salt. Then mix in half of the flour with a large spoon. If using a mixer, use a paddle attachment on low to medium speed.
  3. Mix in the shortening.
  4. Add the remaining flour and mix with the spoon until you can use your hands, then turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead just until smooth. Don’t over-knead or the dough will get too tough. If using a mixer, swap out the paddle for your dough hook and knead just until the dough is smooth.
  5. Place the dough in an oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap or a towel in a warm spot to rise for 2 hours. The dough will double in size.
  6. Preheat 3 to 4 inches of cottonseed oil in a pan or deep fryer to 370 degrees F.
  7. On a heavily floured surface, roll out the dough until it is 1/4-inch thick. Use a pizza slicer or knife to cut the dough into 2 1/2-inch square pieces and fry 3 to 4 pieces at a time in the oil. Immediately after dropping the dough into the oil use a large spoon to gently splash hot oil over the top of each piece. after 30 to 45 seconds, flip all of the beignets over and continue to baste with the oil. After another minute or so, flip the beignets again, and continue to cook until the beignets are a deep golden brown. Continue flipping the beignets over to brown them evenly on both sides. After about 3 minutes, they should be done. Let them drain on a cooling rack or a paper towel-lined plate for a minute until you can handle them.
  8. Serve three beignets on a plate with a very heavy dusting of powdered sugar on top.

MY FINDINGS:

  1. It’s important to care about the temp of your warm water. I microwaved warm water from the tap for 15-seconds, and it was almost spot on.
  2. I couldn’t find Cottonseed oil, so I used Peanut oil because Google told me it was the closest to cottonseed…
  3. The next time I make these I’m doubling the size in the name of authenticity.

WOULD I MAKE IT AGAIN?

Hell yes. I served with a raspberry sauce because SCREW THOSE WHO SERVE IT WITH COFFEE FLAVORED WHIPPED CREAM! I put one container of raspberries, half a lemon’s juice and 1/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan and boiled it down on low heat for 15(ish) minutes. I then put it through a sieve to rid the seeds and this little extra step is WORTH IT.

Have you ever had a beignet at Cafe Du Monde?

New Orleans quote

Huge shoutout to The Food Hacker for this pot of gold. You can find it, here.
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Poppy’s Creme Brûlée

Did you read today’s Taste Test recipe and tense up a little bit? I wonder why it’s made out to be such a difficult dessert to try, maybe it’s the fancy top hat above the ‘u’ that makes it seem way to fancy to try? Let me tell you, I’d rather make Creme Brûlée any day over that damn bread that gave me bruises!

I got this recipe from my Dad (aka Poppy). He made it on Paint maybe a decade ago and emailed it to me. I kid you not, he made it for me on Paint and it is carefully preserved in my cooking binder between two plastic sheets.

But first, let’s recap in case you don’t know my rules…

I’m not a food blogger. I share recipes I’ve tried and if I’d make them again. I hate the word foodie and hefty paragraphs filled with adjectives about the recipe, and photographs that have dusted flour and cutting boards.

You can expect the recipe I used, helpful tricks or what not to do and a couple (probably one) real shots of what it looked like when my bake came out of the oven.

The Recipe:

4 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

6 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

What you need:

Mixing bowl, wire whip, ramekins, pyrex oven pan, heavy bottom saucepan, thermometer, torch spark, and wire sift.

  1. Gather supplies/ingredients. Get some water boiling and heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heat 2 1/2 cups heavy cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it reaches 175 – 180 degrees and remove from heat.
  3. Meanwhile place 6 egg yolks, 4 Tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in mixing bowl and whisk until frothy.
  4. Remove 1/4 cup of the hot heavy cream and slowly pour into egg mix while whipping vigorously to temper egg mix. Repeat with another 1/4 cup.
  5. Slowly pour entire tempered egg mix into heavy cream while whipping with might. Scrape bowl well with rubber spatula.
  6. The mixture will be frothy on top. Use a skimmer to remove the froth. Be sure to let liquids pass through simmer back into mix before dumping froth. Repeat until very little froth is left.
  7. Place 4 ramekins into your baking pan and fill pan with water until the water reaches halfway up ramekins. Pour approximately 2/3 cup of mix into each ramekin.
  8. Bake in over for 20 – 25 minutes. When sides are firm but the center is slightly jiggly the custard is done. Remove from oven and leave in water pan for 10 minutes. Place in fridge and chill for about 4 hours.

To Serve:

  • Sprinkle 2 teaspoon of sugar over top of the Brulee and lightly shake the ramekin back and forth to get an even coat.
  • Brown sugar with a torch. The tip of the flame that is yellow is the hottest part. Sugar should meet flame at top of the yellow tip. Use a right to left back and forth motion starting at the top and work your way down as sugar carmelizes.
  • Note: I like to serve it with a whipped cream rose and strawberry fan on the side or on a plate with a spoon. You can also serve whipped cream on top of Brulee wit
  • h a sprinkle of raspberries, too.

My Findings:

  1. Do not dump all of the hot heavy cream into the egg mixture, it will curdle the eggs. You need to have patience and not rush the tempering.
  2. If you don’t have a small wire sift to skim the top, use a spoon and carefully de-froth the top.
  3. The boiling water is for the water surrounding the ramekins before it enters the oven. I think the boiling water help keep it at an even temp. in the oven and it takes longer to bake if you don’t use heated water, don’t quote me but that sounds right.

Would I Make It Again?

Hell yes. It’s easier than it looks (and sounds). I remember being so nervous I was going to fuck up the tempering I was SUPER and ridiculously slow at it. I never thought the mixtures would ever be melded as one…so find a happy medium, you don’t have to be a psycho like I was the first go around and you can’t dump half or all of it in one or two shots.

Have you ever tried to make Creme Brûlée? How’d it turn out? Tell me in the comments.

Creme Brûlée quotes or sayings

Come be my friend on Instagram. I’m hilarious.
This is my Dad’s recipe that he wrote up on Paint for me some 10 years ago. I have no idea where it came from or if it has his own tweaks.

 

 

My First Trip To The Upper Left

A city built on top of a city surrounded by water and formerly known as the Queen City of the Pacific Northwest and the Gateway to Alaska is where I spent a long weekend last week.

Seattle was wicked cool, and worth the agonizing plane ride…kinda. The weather was gorgeous, sun shining for half the day and a cool haze for the remainder. It sprinkled a few times and I saw snow while hiking up Mt. Tiger!

On Friday I hiked it up to Kerry Park for one of the best views of the cityscape, ate BBQ inside the armory at the Seattle Center, walked through Sculpture Park, and finished the evening with a drink and an old friend at The Edgewater Hotel that has a view like no other. Sit in the lobby and order a drink during happy hour, you won’t be sorry.

Kerry Park, Seattle
Kerry Park

Saturday started at Pike Place Market with rows of fresh flowers, cheese churning across the street at Beechers and the longest Starbucks line you’ll ever see for convenient coffee.   The afternoon was filled with a hidden lighthouse and a bike ride down the boardwalk at Alki Beach with another spectacular view of the cityscape and futuristic Space Needle.

Alki Beach
Alki Beach

I got an early start on the day Sunday with a long hike up Mt. Tiger with the same old friend and her husband. But first, we made a pitstop at Caffe Ladro and got one of the best damn cups of coffee, ever. I went for round two on Monday morning, too.

Mt. Tiger, Seattle
Mt. Tiger

After the mountain whooped our asses (literally) and we refueled at a local Mediterranean eatery, they dropped me off at my hotel and I wandered down to Pioneer Square where I hopped on Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour. It came recommended and I too highly recommend it if you find yourself in Seattle.

Seattle is a city built on top of a city because of a massive fire and unstable (very wet) ground. This tour takes you down to the basement of Seattle where you can walk the old roads and learn the city’s history, like how The Emerald City was actually built by a woman and her…”seamstress” business.

I ate dinner at Petite Toulouse and got the spicy shrimp, homemade andouille and crawfish onto cheesy grits. The beignets are not like the ones you find in NOLA but they are at least the right shape. Also, STOP serving them with coffee sauce. I need raspberry!

Monday morning started the same way, at Caffe Ladro with The Perfect Bar for breakfast. After a semi-lazy morning, I hit up MoPop and got lost in its Prince, Fantasy, and Horror Fiction exhibits. Two hours later it was time to head back to the hotel and call an Uber to the airport.

The greenery and fresh air were exactly what I needed and I’m looking forward to more adventures this year. When I go back to Seattle, what should I check out next?

Everything you have ever wanted, is sitting on the other side of fear. (10).png

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Taste Testing Mary Berry’s Victoria Sandwich​

Has anyone tried making any of the recipes I’ve shared, yet? Share it in the comment section below so I can see what everyone else is up to on the other side of this screen 😉

Today’s taste test involves another great recipe found by watching The Great British Baking Show (thanks Netflix! I was late to the GBBO craze) and it’s Mary Berry’s Victoria Sandwich recipe.

Luckily, converting this one was MUCH easier than the Povitica recipe I shared a few weeks ago due to the fact she has the ounces next to the grams and my measuring cup has the ounces listed, haha. The odds are more in your favor here.

But first, let’s recap in case you don’t know my rules…

I’m not a food blogger. I share recipes I’ve tried and if I’d make them again. The word foodie and hefty paragraphs filled with adjectives about the recipe annoy me. Oh, and photographs that have dusted flour and cutting boards.

You can expect the recipe I used, helpful tricks or what not to do and a couple (probably one) real shots of what it looked like when my bake came out of the oven.

The Recipe:

For the sponge

4 large free-range eggs

225g (8oz) caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

225g (8oz) self-raising flour

1 level tsp baking powder

225g (8oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

For the jam

200g (7oz) raspberries

250g (9oz) jam sugar

For the buttercream

100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened

200g/7oz icing sugar sifted

2 tbsp milk

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line two 8in sandwich tins: use a piece of baking or silicone paper to rub a little baking spread or butter around the inside of the tins until the sides and base are lightly coated. Line the bottom of the tins with a circle of baking paper.
  2. Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour, baking powder and soft butter. Mix everything together until well combined. Be careful not to over-mix – as soon as everything is blended you should stop. The finished mixture should be of a soft ‘dropping’ consistency.
  3. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins. Use a spatula to remove all of the mixture from the bowl and gently smooth the surface of the cakes.
  4. Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Don’t be tempted to open the door while they’re cooking, but after 20 minutes do look through the door to check them.
  5. While the cakes are cooking, make the jam. Put the raspberries in a small deep-sided saucepan and crush them with a masher. Add the sugar and bring to the boil over a low heat until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully pour into a shallow container. Leave to cool and set.
  6. The cakes are done when they’re golden-brown and coming away from the edge of the tins. Press them gently to check – they should be springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and set aside to cool in the tins for 5 minutes. Then run a palette or rounded butter knife around the inside edge of the tin and carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack.
  7. To take your cakes out of the tins without leaving a wire rack mark on the top, put the clean tea towel over the tin, put your hand onto the tea towel and turn the tin upside-down. The cake should come out onto your hand and the tea towel – then you can turn it from your hand onto the wire rack. Set aside to cool completely.
  8. For the buttercream, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Add the remaining tablespoon of milk if the buttercream is too thick. Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.
  9. To assemble, choose the sponge with the best top, then put the other cake top-down on to a serving plate. Spread with the jam then pipe the buttercream on top of the jam. Place the other sponge on top (top uppermost) and sprinkle with caster sugar to serve.

My Findings:

  • I had never made jam before and was super worried about it ‘setting’ so I picked up some pectin just in case and added a sprinkling of it to my mixture. I also added the sugar scoop by scoop because I wanted to control the sweetness. I ended up using a little over a half cup of sugar.
  • My piping bag was a Ziploc baggy with the corner cut off. Now, this works in a pinch but it did not give me the freedom to make those beautiful pillow clouds of buttercream you see pictured on Mary Berry’s bake.
  • Nothing with homemade buttercream is going to be awful.

Would I Make It Again?

YES. It was super simple and flipping DELICIOUS. The proper storage will keep the sponge fresh for days! I use an oversized container with a locking lid as a makeshift cake holder/saver.

eating cake quote

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Originally recipe found, here.

The App That Helped Me Get Back In The Fitness Game

Can I just say, there are SO many health and fitness coaches on Instagram it’s kinda insane. I follow a couple chicks I respect but…other than that, lawd. have. mercy.

A few years ago my health and fitness routine spiraled into an unhealthy obsession. Living in Orange County, California, does come with an unsaid pressure to be fit, healthy, and young, but my addictive personality definitely added fuel to the awaiting fire.

Two strict diets, working out twice a day, not focusing on nutrition and feeling like I was running for dessert eventually tipped me over. After nearly two years on the hamster wheel, I finally fell off. And when I look back it’s easy to see it was only a matter of time.

I dropped to working out once a day, and then every other day, and then twice a week, and then oops skipped a week. All the while my caloric intake stayed the same and never adjusted to my new limited cardio. Twelve pounds (I stopped weighing myself after I gained twelve) and eight months later, I finally got myself back on the wagon and started practicing a balance between food and exercise.

Changing my mindset was priority number one, fixing my relationship with food was number two and finding a fitness routine I enjoyed was number three. And two apps helped me get number three situated.

7M for Women and ClassPass.

7M for Women is a FREE app with a variety of timed workouts. At the end of each session the same voice narrating your workout also tells you, “congratulations, work out complete,” and I was here for it. I needed that kind of affirmation in my life because it didn’t matter how long the workout was, I still got a congratulation.

ps: 7M stands for 7 minutes, as in a 7-minute workout, you still get a congratulations because showing up counts for something. 

ClassPass isn’t free, but the cheapest plan I was on helped me figure out what kind of classes I would want to invest my money in monthly, which led me to aerial fitness classes.

Never would I ever imagine I’d be putting my thing down, flipping it, and reversing it up on the silks and hoop, but here I am six months later and loving it. I live for my Wednesday night classes because once a week I prove to myself I can do the previously imagined, impossible.

But here’s the thing, I made a promise with myself I wasn’t going to over do it, meaning I wasn’t going to get competitive and only believe the workout counted if I was the best in the class and could outperform. Instead, my mindset was singularly focused on me, reminding myself I was doing it for me and for fun.

Day one is better than one day.

exercise quotes

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