Lulu's Birthday

Four years ago today a bunch of eggs hatched.  

The next day we drove to Aldergrove, BC and picked up 31 balls of fluff.  

Of course, we didn't actually know Lulu until months later but she came home with us that day.

 

I was going to bake her a niblet corn muffin but decided to take the easy way out and buy her a cob of corn.  

I think Lulu enjoyed that more than she would have enjoyed the muffin.

So here's a Happy Birthday and many more happy, healthy years to my dear, sweet Lulu.  I've been blessed with her brightening up my life with all her antics that make me laugh.

I love my sweet, feathered girl.   ♥ ♥ ♥  

Sourdough Sharing - Crepes

This month's sourdough challenge was crepes.  The recipe was so easy-peasy and tasty.  My challenge came when it was time to make the crepes as I don't own a correct size frying pan.

Ingredients
1 c sourdough
2 eggs
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 c milk

Beat all ingredients together, adding enough milk to have a thin batter.  Heat the frying pan, add some butter and pour in 1/4 c of batter. 

 

Now comes the tricky part.  You are to use a pan between 8" and 10" in diameter.  I only have cast irons frying pans - one 6" and the other 12".  I used the 12" because the 6" was too small but found it too heavy to swirl the pan around so I ended up with flower shapes instead of nice round, thin crepes.

 

You are to cook the crepe for a minute or two, then flip and cook about 30 seconds or so on the other side.  Remove crepe to plate and continue making until finished the batter.  This makes about 8 to 10 crepes.

I then tried to pour the batter round but ended up with a thick crepe (or thin pancake).

I found this recipe and thought I sounded yummy and easy.  Spread Nutella on crepe and add a banana.  I cut the banana lengthwise so each crepe was rolled around 1/2 banana.

I also spread some with peanut butter and rolled them around the banana as well.  Both were very tasty and would be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

I found the crepe very tasty and made them a second time as pancakes without trying to swirl my heavy pan.  They were very tasty with butter and syrup. 

 

I will try the crepes again when I have the right size pan.  They were tasty and easy to whip up with so few ingredients.

 

You can make your crepes into sweet dessert crepes or savory crepes as a main course depending on your filling.

 

Check out the links below for more delicious crepe ideas.  Enjoy!  ;)

 

 



 

Carrot Seed Update

Here's an update on my carrot seeds.  This one is growing nicely.  Bushy and green and healthy.

 

The others?  They rotted in the ground and left behind a hole.

All four of them!  Four holes and one plant!  I hope they don't have to cross-pollinate to seed or I'm in trouble.  We'll see later this summer.

Apple & Cherry Buns

I found the recipe for Apple Buns here and decided to give them a try. I decided to make both apple buns and try cherry buns so I made a double batch of dough.

Ingredients (for a double batch)
Dough
2 c milk, scalded
1/2 c sugar
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
5 tsp yeast
6 c flour

Fillings
#1.  2 - 3 apples peeled and diced
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 c brown sugar
cinnamon

#2.  for cherry filling I used the above with 1-2 cups pitted frozen cherries instead of apples
cornstarch for thickening

#3.  I had extra dough so mixed up some spiced apricot jam, chopped nuts and chopped raisins.  I did not cook this filling but used it as is.

Scald milk and then mix with sugar, oil and salt.  Cool until lukewarm and then add yeast.  Let sit 10 to 15 minutes until it becomes frothy.  Mix in flour and knead for 10 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl to rest and rise until double in size.

I made the dough first and while it was rising, I made the fillings.

Melt butter in pan and add brown sugar.  Stir to combine, then let caramelize at medium high heat.  Stir only enough to keep from burning. 

 

Add apples and cinnamon and cook until apples are soft and mixture has thickened.  Let cool before using.

 

For the cherry filling, I added some cornstarch as it was cooking because they are much juicier than the apples.  I just sprinkled on a bit at a time and let it cook until thick.  Cool before using.

 

The original recipe was for 16 buns but with it doubled, I only got 24.  Roll the dough into a circle and the fun begins.

 

I used this video as guide for shaping the buns.  I watched it numerous times as my fingers kept forgetting what I wanted them to do.  Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of the dough.

 

Pleat the dough following the video making sure the filling is all inside.

 

Continue pleating until entire edge is done.  Once my fingers got the feel of the action, it was fairly easy, but I had to stop and rewatch the video because they would sometimes fumble and forget.

 

 

Once the dough is in a nice bunch, twist the dough as they do in the video to close and seal the bun.

 

Voila!  I was impressed with myself!  The buns actually looked nice.

 

Place buns twisted side down on a baking sheet.  You can brush top of bun with egg wash if you wish.  (I didn't)

 

Bake in a 400°F oven for 15 minutes.

 

Cool on rack.  I found that a few of the jam and cherry buns leaked a bit and the filling burnt to the pan.  I think they were not sealed as good as the others but also those fillings were juicier than the apple filling.

 

All three fillings were tasty.  Enjoy!  ;)

Lulu and the UFOs

Earlier this spring, Lulu and I stopped at St. Paul, Alberta to check out the UFO Landing Pad.



 



 

"Are you coming, mom?"  asks Lulu.  "Hurry up!  I don't see any green grass or bugs.  I want to go back to the car."

"You don't expect me to climb all the way up there, do you, mom?"  queries Lulu.  "Because I don't plan on tiring myself out."

"Hey!  Look at all the flags!  And a map of Canada!"  exclaims Lulu.

"Boy it sure is windy up here!  My feathers are getting all ruffled!"

"OK.  I've seen enough.  Time to go.  It is too cold here today!"  complains Lulu.

"Hey mom!  I want to get down!  I don't want to step in the snow!  Brr!!"  shivers Lulu.

The info centre looks like a UFO.

It was closed so we didn't get to look inside.  Maybe another day.

And so Lulu and I continued on our way.  ;)

 

 



Potato, Bacon and Cheddar Soup

I like homemade cream soups but don't like the texture when they are put through the blender.  I still like to have something to chew.  I found this soup recipe here and thought I'd give it a try. 

Ingredients
6 large potatoes
1 liter chicken stock (I used store bought this time) 
2 green onions chopped (I omitted these since I didn't have any and just added more chives)
1 c milk
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c mozzarella cheese
½ c chives
2 Tbsp sour cream
½ package bacon
seasonings to taste - salt, pepper, paprika, etc. 


Thinly slice bacon, fry until crisp and drain.  Set aside.

 

Peel and cube potatoes.  Cook potatoes in chicken stock and add water if needed to cover potatoes.  Cook until potatoes are well done.  Do not drain.

If you like smoother soup, run the potatoes and liquid through the blender.  I like mine rough mashed instead.  I leave them lumpy.

Mix in the chives, onions, bacon and cheeses. 

Stir to help melt the cheese.

Add sour cream.

Add milk and stir.  If it is too thick, add more milk.

Return to heat for a few minutes and season to taste.  I added a bit of pepper and paprika. 

The soup was thick, tasty and filling.  To reheat leftover soup, you need to add more milk.  Enjoy!  ;)