52 hike challenge (#5)

I had such a good time hiking with Rose last weekend that I invited her along on today's hike. I really had NO expectation that she would even consider saying yes, but she did! So we packed up our supplies (tic tacs for her, cheese for Doug) and hit the road!

Here we are the the very start of our hike:

Here we are still having fun at the halfway point:

And just past the halfway point, the tides abruptly shifted- for one of the three of us. I'll give you three guesses as to who stopped having fun on this walk, and the first two don't count.

The second half of the walk was EXHAUSTING. I had to use every trick in my parenting repertoire to keep this kid going. It was pure torture. And it certainly didn't help when the kid who is terrified of cows and goats saw a cow up ahead that had escaped its pen.

We made it home eventually, some of us exhausted more mentally than physically! Now it's time for some Legos (for her) and some tea and a good book (for me) so we can each recover. Sigh.

52 hike challenge
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
5. 1/26/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop

Bluebarb Lime Crumble (#11 TYSC)

Bluebarb Lime Crumble
#11 of the Treat Yo Self Challenge
Pie Chapter

This is another of Mike's selections, and by now you're probably recognizing a theme that he picks fruit-based recipes...preferably including blueberries. He's definitely had his eye on this one for awhile. We had a huge bag of rhubarb left in the freezer from last summer, but I didn't think we'd be able to get a good price on blueberries until the summer. Then, lo and behold, he got a surprisingly good deal on blueberries (organic, no less!) at the grocer this week, so this recipe quickly moved to the top of the queue!

I've never had blueberries, rhubarb, and lime together, so even I (the consummate chocoholic) was looking forward to this one. And as a bonus, I actually got to use two recipes for this one, because it includes "My Favorite Pie Crust" as the, well, pie crust.  The foundation of this pie crust recipe is basically the same as MY favorite recipe, but it also includes a few weird add-ins (baking powder? red wine vinegar?) and uses the dreaded Cuisinart. (More on my verdict later, but perhaps you've sensed my foreshadowing of displeasure?) The filling, however, looked amazing as I poured it into the pie crust, and I was excited to try a new crumble recipe. (My standard crumble includes oats and brown sugar - as well as the usual flour and butter - but this one just has butter, sugar, and flour.)

A couple hours later, this beauty came out of the oven:

And another couple hours after that (there is no torture greater than waiting for fruit pie to cool), it was finally set enough to slice and eat.

Verdict:  Ladies and gentlemen, we have another winner! I will now look forward to combining blueberry, rhubarb and lime at any opportunity in the future. The only change I'll make next time is going back to MY favorite pie crust recipe, or at least making it by hand instead of in the stupid food processor. I really didn't like to assemble my crust without the tactile feedback. I'm undecided on whether I want try her weird crust add-ins next time, but at least I now have an excellent new filling to add to my pie repertoire.  I'll look forward to making this again when rhubarb and blueberries are in season locally!

Banana Bread (#10 TYSC)

The Only Banana Bread You'll Ever Need
#10 in the Treat Yo' Self Challenge
Counter Cakes chapter

Once a month or so we drive to Helena for a Costco run, among other errands. While I love this excursion, I do have to carefully plan my weekend baking around this. (For example, no sourdough on Costco days!)  Since today was our planned Costco/Helena day, I knew I had to get any breakfast baking done early. So last night I planned an easy one: banana bread. Not only is it one of my favorites, but it would also get rid of the overripe bananas on our counter.

I was a little apprehensive about this recipe because, as much as I love banana bread, I usually like it with some add-ins. Like banana chocolate chip bread. Or banana bread with cranberries and walnuts. But when you have a title like "the only banana bread you'll ever need" I figured I should follow the recipe exactly before modifying it.

I suppose you can see that didn't follow the recipe exactly. As I mentioned, this was our Costco run day. Since I slept in (until 6:30!) I had to use our mini loaf pans, else it never would have finished baking by the time we had to leave! Luckily the mini loaf pans generally get things done in about half the time, and we were all happy to eat our personal loaves in the car.

Verdict:  I usually differentiate easy cakes (like bundt pan varietals) from quick breads (like banana breads) because "breads" tend to be less sweet than "cakes," at least to me. I would have named this banana bread as banana cake instead, which now helps me understand why it was listed in the "counter cakes" chapter! We all enjoyed this, but it definitely felt decadent so early in the morning. If I make it again (which I probably will, because I really enjoyed the strong banana flavor), I'll probably leave off the crusty sugar layer on top and would also add some diced walnuts to give it a little protein-y staying power. Bottom line is that I liked it, any it's likely only one iteration away from truly being the only banana bread I'll ever need!

Buckeye Bars (#9 TYSC)

Buckeye Bars

#9 of the treat yo self challenge

Bars chapter

Is there any better dessert flavor combo than chocolate and peanut butter? (Spoiler alert! The answer is NO!) I adore Reese's peanut butter cups, especially the holiday editions (Christmas trees, Easter bunnies, etc) that don't have that icky ridge of chocolate around the circumference, and instead just have the perfect ratio of chocolate to peanut butter throughout. When I was in grad school I used to melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in the microwave and eat it with a spoon from a mug. I still have dreams about the "chocolate peanut butter revel" ice cream served by my college haunt, Hogan Bros in Northfield, MN. 

So, yeah. Chocolate and peanut butter is kind of my thing.

On this Friday night after a long week at work, I was craving some baking time to relax and transition to the weekend. It had to be an easy recipe, a quick in-and-out of the kitchen. I perused my book while Mike put the finishing touches on dinner....and then I saw it...JACKPOT.

There was no photo with this one, so I forgive you if you aren't already familiar with the wonder that is a Buckeye Ball. Or Buckeye Candy. Or just Buckeyes. Apparently names vary, but the deliciousness is constant.

Usually they are individually shaped, which I think makes them way too futzy for a Friday night. So the idea of a Buckeye BAR sounded perfect. And less than 20 min later, I was in heaven.

Verdict:  "Heaven...I'm in heaven..." https://youtu.be/WOYzFKizikU  I restrained myself and only ate one last night, but I don't see this little pan lasting long! It's like the best Reese's you could possibly imagine, no joke. YUM.

52 hike challenge (#4)

What a treat - I had company on my hike today!  I mean, more company than just Doug the dog, my standard hiking companion.  

Rose wanted to see if her friend in the neighborhood was interested in a play date, so she accompanied me on my hike. I like to go counter clockwise on my neighborhood loop, so she was a trooper and did about 3.75 miles (of 4.5). I dropped her off, and then did just that final part alone (with Doug).

Today was the first day above freezing in weeks, and the first day above zero in over a week. I had forgotten how "warm" 40 can feel! It was lovely. 

This is where the neighborhood T Rex lives

So many missing teeth! :)

52 hike challenge
1. 1/1/20 - 2 mi - out and back
2. 1/5/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop
3. 1/11/20 - 2 mi - out and back
4. 1/19/20 - 4.5 mi - neighborhood loop

Monster Cookies

Monster Cookies
#8 of the treat yo' self challenge
Cookie Jar Contenders chapter

The instant Rose saw this photo of cookies with Reese's pieces in them, she was sold! There was no way she was requesting any other recipe in this book. And I have to admit they looked pretty good to me too - like a peanut butter cookie married an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and they threw Reese's pieces confetti at the wedding. What's not to love?

No new techniques or anything fancy, just a new combination of ingredients in slightly different ratios that most of the cookie recipes I used.

Verdict:  Pretty good! Next time I would refrigerate the dough longer before baking, and also shape the dough prior to refrigerating. Also, the cookbook author stressed that the cookies should definitely NOT be baked any longer than 12 minutes...but mine must have been bigger than hers (I ended up with 4 dozen, rather than the 5 dozen she predicted) because my first tray was clearly underdone and subsequent trays took more like 15-17 minutes. But with those tweaks, I would definitely make this recipe again! And I'm sure Rose will be asking for it again soon :)

Scone-top Blueberry Muffins

Scone-top Blueberry Muffins
#7 of the treat yo' self challenge
pastry chapter (?)

Rose's school switched to a four-day week this year, so she and Mike get to hang out together every Friday (not that I'm jealous or anything!). When I left for work yesterday, I asked them to pick out a recipe or two to try this weekend and let me know if there were any special ingredients I needed to pick up before leaving town. A few hours and a handful of texts later, we had a plan!

This is Mike's selection. (Rose's selection will be coming later this weekend!) He loves blueberry muffins and he loves scones, so I should have known he would choose this one! We already had a bag of blueberries in the freezer, as well as some leftover buttermilk in the fridge, so the only other non-standard ingredient we needed was the zest of a lemon. (Side note: Did you know you can freeze lemon zest? I'm going to have start doing that when I juice a lemon, so I'll always have zest on hand in the freezer!)

This was another recipe where I was introduced to a new technique. Usually I use my KitchenAid for EVERYTHING that I don't do by hand, but this one called for the use of a food processor to completely obliterate the butter into the dry ingredients. Since I couldn't do that by hand or in my trusty stand mixer, I had to pull out ye ol' Cuisinart from the back pantry.  I know some people love their food processors, but for some reason I've always avoided them. I was probably afraid of the sharp blades as a kid, and that fear just lingered irrationally into adulthood. So I'm not sure if the Cuisinart was completely necessary this time, but I did follow the recipe's technique to a T, just to be on the safe side!

Verdict:  The three of us all had different responses to this one. Rose happened to get one absolutely loaded with blueberries, so she said it was great except "too blueberry-y." I thought it tasted pretty good for a blueberry muffin, but blueberry muffins just aren't what I'd pick from a muffin line-up. (Give me banana with chocolate chips any day!) Mike, on the other hand, said "Wow! This one is definitely a keeper!" So I guess if you like blueberry muffins then you'll love this recipe :)

Cherry Shortcake Squares

Cherry Shortcake Squares

#6 of the treat yo' self challenge

counter cakes chapter

After the disappointment of yesterday's Donut Loaf, I wanted to try something that at least looked highly appealing. This one was definitely a feast for my eyes as I paged through the book. Little mini squares of cake with hearts of cherry? Yes, please! And the simplicity of the recipe was just a bonus for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I used a new baking pan for this recipe - cooking on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment, rather than in sort of traditional baking pan (like an 8x8 or 9x13 classic). The batter seemed so thin as I spread it across the pan, but I decided to trust the author. (Plus, there was no way I could have easily scraped all that batter back out and into a smaller tin!) Then I also learned a new technique: scoring the batter with a toothpick in order to better judge the placement of the cherries on each of the 24 future pieces. It certainly looked promising as it went into the oven...and looked tasty when it came out a little bit later!

Verdict: Yum! Next time I think I would increase the lemon juice to balance the sweetness a bit more, and I would also put less of the cherry "juice" on each piece to make it more visually appealing. But those are pretty picky changes, and overall this was a winner! Hopefully my coworkers appreciate the treat tomorrow.

52 hike challenge (#3)

And for today's most boring blog post on the planet, here is my record of having done a brief hike today. About 2 miles on my standard out-and-back path. But since my phone was low on batteries, I have no proof of my accomplishment. So, instead, here are Mike and Rose working on this awesome KiwiCo crate that she got in the mail last week - we have no idea who sent this to her, so if it was you please let us know so we can thank you for the wonderful gift!

Donut Loaf

Donut Loaf

Recipe #5 of the treat yo self challenge

counter cakes chapter

I love a good donut - a good raised glazed donut, that is. I'll settle for a Long John or a bear paw or a Boston cream (all raised varietals), but my heart will always lie with the raised glazed variety in particular.  

Note the conspicuous absence of any cake donuts on my favorites list. Cake donuts, to me, are usually dense and dry and coated with rancid powdered sugar that blows up your nose and makes you choke even more than you already were on the cakey, dry crumbs. Blech.

So when I realized this morning that I was tired of the sweet breads chapter (after only 3 recipes, lol) and needed something different this weekend, I started paging through the rest of the book... It's not pie season yet... too early in the day for cookies... but "counter cakes"? That definitely sounded promising!

Several of the reviews for this book mentioned this Donut Loaf recipe as a winner, so despite my obvious hesitations I figured it would be a good one to try, particularly on a cold and blustery Saturday morning when my beloved child woke me up at 5am. (Ugh.)

It was an easy enough recipe and we had all the ingredients on hand, so I threw it together and waited for my oven timer to go off...

Verdict:  Well, it tasted like how I imagine a "good" cake donut (if there even is such a thing) should taste like. It was cakey and soft, kind of like banana bread without the banana flavor - all that would be left is some cake texture and a little bit of some sweet spice (nutmeg, in this case). So, it was fine and all, I guess. Mike and Rose both enjoyed it, but I will admit that it certainly didn't sing to my heart. Oh well, still a fun experiment in baking!

inky and theo

We have two identical black cats.

I used to be able to tell them apart because Inky had white whiskers and Theo was, well, the other one. But suddenly Inky lost his white whiskers and now I have NO idea who is who. It not only feels rude to not know their names, but it also feels a bit dangerous if one gets sick and has to go to the vet and I have no idea who is with me. 

So tonight I decided to take some photos to help me learn. Rose somehow has always been able to differentiate them, so I had her identify them both me.

Then I started memorizing their facial features. I think Theo has slightly more green eyes and Inky's are slightly more yellow. 

I still can't tell them apart if just one comes up to me, but I can now differentiate them if I can see both sets of eyes at once! I'll take that as some progress... :)

52 hike challenge?

I'm not sure if I'm up for a full-blown 52 hike challenge this year, but I figured I might as well track my 2020 hikes just in case. We'll see. I think this is the year I'm going to think of fun challenges for myself (such as my baking treat yo' self challenge) but with no pressure and no self-flaggelation if I change course in a month or six months.  I'm practicing being gentle with myself, and NOT being my own worst critic!

So on New Year's day I did my standard two-mile out-and-back. I didn't take any photos, so you'll have to take my word for it.

Today I did my standard 4.5 mile loop. It was a VERY windy day (as evidenced by my hair!) and also pretty overcast, but the sun did peak out for about 2 minutes of my nearly two hour hike. (The elevation changes are so steep that it really does take me that ridiculously long to do this hike!)

So windy! :)

Doug loved saying hi to the neighbor's horses and cows!

Love this new sign one of the neighbors put up on his sheep pen!

Two down, we'll see how many more I get to in 2020 :)

Coffee-Caramel Monkey Bread

Coffee-Caramel Monkey Bread
sweet breads chapter
Recipe #4 of the Christmas 2019-2020 Treat Yo' Self Challenge

Until this weekend, I really thought I didn't like caramel. I've had plenty of bad experiences with caramel in the past, from homemade hard caramel candies, to that disgusting caramel sauce that comes in jars in the grocery stores in order to pour over ice cream. Not to mention the salted caramel craze that's currently going on, a combination that is, IMHO, an abomination.

Furthermore, my previous experiences with monkey bread have been marginal at best. It's usually way too dense, or sickeningly sweet, or having a weird aftertaste of the preservatives in store-bought dough. So, I mean, it's fine and all, but not my favorite.

As a result, when I saw that the next recipe in my book was for Coffee-Caramel Monkey Bread, let's just say I wasn't chomping at the bit. But Rose saw the photo and was excited, so it seemed like the least I could do for her on a Sunday morning. Plus I'd get to check this one off and get it out of the way.

I did all the prep work on Saturday afternoon/evening, so it could do its second rise in the fridge and be ready to pop in the oven first thing in the morning. Rose and her friend Allie were excellent helpers when it came to rolling the dough into 1" balls, covering them in melted butter, and rolling them in cinnamon sugar.

When it finally came out of the oven on Sunday morning, it actually looked appetizing to me! But the big question was how it would taste....

Verdict: This recipe was a revelation. It turns out that I actually DO like caramel (I mean, what's not to love about butter and brown sugar?!), so I must just not like "caramel" flavor. Which shouldn't be a surprise, because usually the chemicalized versions of classics are never as good as the homemade original - same for the dough in monkey bread, too, of course.  So this was surprisingly quite delicious! I've already eaten way more than I expected I would, and all three of us have been picking at the remains each time we walk by the table (tee hee).  So my bottom line is that I would definitely recommend this recipe if you know you like caramel and monkey bread, and I would also recommend if it you're like me and think you don't like either :)

Scotch-a-roos

SCOTCH-A-ROOS
Bars chapter
Recipe #3 in the Christmas 2019-2020 Treat Yo' Self Challenge


Yesterday I was paging ahead in my new cookbook to make sure I had all the ingredients for the next recipe in the book, and I realized it was yet another recipe without chocolate. Seriously, what is the point of baking if there isn't going to be chocolate in the finished product? I mean, I know we're only two recipes in, but clearly this seems like an egregious error on the author's or publisher's part ;) 

So Rose and I decided to skip ahead to p 167 tonight, because I saw the most glorious bars that I always adore:

Apparently these little gems have a name: Scotch-a-roos. Who knew? I just know that these are the first things I go for at any Midwestern bake sale or potluck. For some reason I just assumed they must be difficult to make, and since I never knew they had a name I was never able to verify my assumption.  But when I saw these puppies in my book, I just knew we HAD to try them.  STAT.

Turns out, they are pretty much the simplest bars one could possible make. I can't even call it baking because you basically just mix the ingredients on the stove and then press them into a pan. Easy peasy.

We probably should have waited for them to cool to room temperature, but Rose and I were so excited that we dug in while they were still warm. Ooey gooey, chocolate-peanut butter goodness. Drool.

Verdict:  Definitely a Minnesota classic and not just an obscure Chicago item. It might be dangerous for me to know how ridiculously easy it is to make these... they will probably become a regular in my baking repertoire. (I wonder if these are also a classic in Montana? Anyone know?) Oh, I should mention that I did make one substitution - instead of chocolate and butterscotch chips for the top layer, I used chocolate and peanut butter chips. (Who likes butterscotch chips anyway? More peanut butter, for the win!) So we should probably call these peanut-a-roos or something instead ;) Regardless of the name, I heartily recommend this recipe!

Swedish Flop

Christmas 2019-2020 Treat Yo' Self Challenge

SWEDISH FLOP
(sweet bread chapter)

Second recipe of the book, and another one I had never heard of before. (Like I said in my last post, this is a very Chicago-centric view of the Midwest!) It starts with a yeasted sweet dough, with fancy buttercream and jam in the middle, and topped with streusel and powdered sugar. Sounds tasty, right? Plus, this recipe actually checks off THREE recipes for my challenge, because the Swedish Flop itself is based on "Buttery, Yeast-Raised Coffeecake Dough" and "Ermine Frosting." I could have also used homemade jam, but I didn't realize that until it was too late! So we will have to settle for store-bought jam this time, sorry!

As I was baking this creation, two thoughts on the book design became apparent to me (separate from review of the recipes themselves)...
First, the good: the author is a great writer! I love her commentary as the intro for each recipe. For example, this one has a paragraph about the uniqely Midwestern contraction, "Jeet?" (aka "Did you eat?"), a Midwesternism that I fondly recall my Mid-Atlantic-raised father joking about frequently when I was a kid. 
Second, the not as good: While I love the photos accompanying the ingredients page for each recipe, I realized I'm definitely not a huge fan of having to repeatedly turn the page between the ingredients and the instructions. My hands are inevitably sticky or wet every time I realize that I don't remember how much of X ingredient I'm supposed to be adding in step Y.  My cookbook is already starting to look quite worn as a result, and I'm only on the second recipe in the book!

With those comments aside, here was my finished product about 4-ish hours later:

Verdict:  Another winner! Definitely not something I would typically gravitate toward baking or ordering, but I really enjoyed this one. The frosting is sweet without being cloying, and also remarkably light - almost like a cross between buttercream and whipped cream - which pairs nicely with the thin layer of jam. The cake was light and also not overly sweet.  Again, probably not something I'll add to my regular baking repertoire, but definitely one I would make again if someone requests it. Those Eastern Europeans living in Chicago seem to know a thing or two about tasty desserts ;)


Happy New Year!!!