Phillipians 4:8-9: (NIV) 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
A most favorite Bible verse…
Lovely, lovely rain this morning…
My dear boys.
Upside to the whole bug bite or hives or whatever … after my steam clean and purge of 20 plus year old pillows/shams/dried flower wall hanging … new stuff for my bedroom: same color scheme, but freshened up.
And the wall hanging is “metal art” so easy to bring down, dust/clean … vs the dried flower thing which had a tendency to look like something out of the Addam’s family (cobwebs, dust webs, etc.)
This is actually Thursday morning … far less smoke and much clearer air. Today is even better!
And it is Friday!!
An early morning baking project. I have been making Romel Bruno’s (youtube link at the end) recipe for Sweet Potato Buns, for the past couple of months. The original recipe is a yeast recipe, but I adapted for my sourdough (natural leaven) starter and it has become my favorite of all time bun recipe as well as a brioche loaf.
Yesterday, I mixed the dough, let it puff a bit and then refrigerated overnight. Actually I mixed a double batch as my plan was for hamburger buns, hot dog buns AND a pesto-feta babka.
This morning: shape and bake!
So, the dough gets rolled like a sweet roll, then sliced lengthwise and kind of braided to make the babka.
Yikes! I missed taking a photo of the braid bit … oops, but above in the pan is the result … and in the white bowl are the bits for buns.
While things were doing their final rise, we went for our morning walk…
Lovely, lovely morning!
Back to the kitchen.
The babka and the buns :)
I call this a snacking bread … it is not really practical for a sandwich, but sliced for a nibble or sliced with some yummy tomatoes, a sprinkle of parmesan and a bit under the broiler …
Ultimately, it is both fun and delicious and a bit different.
As promised: Romel Bruno on YouTube. I’ve not only made the sweet potato buns, but also the fried chicken and the tarragon aioli. The recipes are in the description area of the video. Romel uses some unique spices and the result is a wonderful mix of flavors.
Not the first time. It doesn’t happen a lot, though and I am always surprised … there are 3 actual dog beds, 1 cat bed and numerous chairs, etc. that have cushy throws. But, this morning, they decided they both wanted the kitchen dog bed!
Good news first … yes, the plumber called Monday, late morning … they were freed up and wanted to know if they could get my leak fixed right then … YES!! It was actually fairly minor, fixed quickly and I’m back to normal kitchen sink operations.
Meanwhile …
Wildfire smoke from southern Montana fires is stuck in the valley. There is a good chance it will clear this afternoon/overnight as a cool front with moisture is due.
Smoky red sunrise.
Thankfully, there is no smoky smell and no falling ash.
The smoke makes for an odd, kind of glowing light in the woods and I will be glad when it clears, but it did keep things from getting as hot as forecast yesterday.
Returning from the after breakfast walk.
Front porch flowers are hanging in. The begonias have not been 100% happy. I thought last week, that they were goners, but they have rallied a bit after a trim and feed. Next year, I will return to fuschia hopefully.
Late May, I happened on a YouTube video from Erin’s series for Food52.com called “Bake it up a Notch”. The video I watched was how to make puff pastry and it included both traditional puff pastry and a fast, easy “rough puff” which takes about 10 minutes to put together and after an hour in the refrigerator is ready to use. I had so much fun and so much success with the rough puff! Erin is fun and funny as well as a great teacher of “how to” do some complex baking things. She always includes a section on “how to fix what went wrong and/or why something can go wrong”. AND, she spends time on encouraging observation, i.e. yes, follow the recipe, but also pay attention to look/feel/smell.
My next EJM baking success was biscuits. Biscuits have been my baking nemesis! But this video, released on Father’s Day, of Erin and her Dad making biscuits … Erin in New Jersey and her Dad in Kansas … so helpful and now I make both the sky high traditional biscuits and drop biscuits whenever I want. Both freeze well (pre-bake) so it is also fun to have some in the freezer, ready to pop in the oven.
All of the above to say that I am now a HUGE Erin Jeanne McDowell fan! Aside from being an excellent baking teacher, her passion for food and being in the kitchen and just her general joie de vivre (exuberant enjoyment of life) are just what I want right now!
Back to Birthday Pie!!
I also did not have all the ingredients I needed for the pie … on my birthday and as I’ve been grocery shopping every 2-3 weeks vs every week, I find I really don’t WANT to run to the grocery on a non-shopping week.
But, this week was my week for grocery so I got the few things I didn’t have … except, I forgot Nilla Wafer cookies … RATS. I looked for a recipe to make my own and wow – they are easy and I had everything needed and in a happy coincidence the wafers take 3 egg whites and the coconut custard for the pie takes 3 egg yolks … so happy, happy, no leftover whites or yolks to use up in whatever.
The wafers:
The only tricky thing – for me – is that the cookies are piped. I have tips and pastry bags but I have not done a lot of piping. I need more practice and also to follow the recipe directions of leaving a lot of space because the cookies spread. However, as they were going to be buried in custard and some crushed over the bananas … appearance was not an issues. AND they are SO good: crispy, light, vanilla wafer cookies
I used Erin’s “All buttah” pie crust recipe and for this pie, it includes some toasted coconut.
The coconut custard in the making … crust and wafers awaiting.
Half of the custard topped with vanilla wafers…
Top with the remaining custard and into the refrigerator for 4 long hours! Long because it smelled so very good!
Finally! The custard gets topped with banana, crushed wafers, whipped cream and then some bits of banana and coconut. Mine is not nearly as pretty as Erin’s, but it is delicious.
