Tuesday Tip: Starch Is Your Friend.
Don't rinse your cooked pasta after draining it. The water will strip it of the sticky starch that helps to hold the sauce. Boiling the pasta with oil in the water will also make it difficult for the sauce to get a good grip on the slippery surface.
And The Winner Is…
Varshini, that's you! You've won a pretty bird's nest necklace made personally by me! I hope you treasure it always as a token of Spring and a thank you for your kind comments about my blog.
Please email me at hotpolkadot (at) live (dot) com to claim your prize and give me your mailing address.
Congrats!
Feather The Nest.
Outside tiny birds fly distracted and twitterpated snatching up twigs and absconding with string to prepare nests in your eaves trough. Inside we feather our own nests with knick knacks, baubles and trinkets.
I've made my nests of airy threads of spun sugar atop pillows of velvety Caramel Buttercream crowning moist Vanilla Bean Cakes. An egg would be so lucky to hatch here!
Because It's Spring again.
Because I had my first robin sighting of the year.
Because I'm on a sugar high.
Because I want you all to know how much I appreciate you.
I made you a little gift inspired by today's cupcakes.
It's a bird's nest necklace made of twisted silver wire and shiny turquoise beads on a dainty cable chain. Made with love by yours truly so it can be Spring all year long.
Tuesday Tip: Wet Your Whistle.
Adding even a tablespoon of milk, water, liquor or fruit juice to frosting might seem useless but it actually improves the texture and makes it easier to pipe or stick to surfaces. Dry frosting can easily fall from where it's placed like the side of a cake or a piped border.
A lot of people, including myself, have skipped this part of the recipe in order to keep the icing nice and thick, but don't overcompensate and add too much. A little bit of liquid goes a long way!
And The Winner Is…
Roxanna from A Little Bit of Everything, you are the lucky winner of The New Food Processor Bible! You are going to have so much fun with this book. I promise!
Please email me at hotpolkadot (at) live (dot) com to claim your prize and give me your mailing address to receive the lovely cookbook.
Thank you to everyone else who entered!
Misty The Conqueror.
Don't let that adorable face fool you. She might be comically chubby, covered in thick colourful fur and slow as molasses, but she's a ninja just waiting for her moment to strike.
As cute as cats are they're just as mean. Evil. Malicious. Diabolical even. Be rest assured they're plotting to kill you in your sleep right now. And the best part is you know I'm right. How many times have you nearly tripped and fell walking down the stairs because sweet Spot decided to dart out of the darkness to weave between your legs? Or maybe Mittens thought it would be fun one night to pounce on your half covered feet just as you were dozing off. Perhaps little Fluffy became so entranced by your incessant blinking during a perfectly normal staring contest that she lunged at your eye lashes. Then you just turn around and pat their fuzzy little noggins while cooing sweet nothings.
Misty here is a swirling contradiction of good and evil. She's an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in five pounds of fur. She was born feral, mean and ratty but she transformed into a squishy, lovable fuzzball. The only wildness that remains in her lies in her eyes, expressive and intent.
Normally Misty isn't violent. She's the biggest cat among the three and just as big of a coward. Poor Misty had some tree sap stuck in her fur so Lee and I, being the good masters that we are, went about removing it for her. Lee held her and I started trying to cut the sticky stuff out of her fur. She didn't like that. In fact, sweet Misty disliked that so much, she freaked out, latched onto Lee's bare arm and began clawing and biting it repeatedly. I guess the best defence is a good offence, right Misty?
Needless to say Misty still has sap in her fur and Lee's arm is now covered in cuts.
I guess what I'm trying to say is after a long day filled with exciting and relentless cat attacks it's just nice to sit down to a steaming plate of pasta. Nothing says I hope you don't get a raging infection from those angry cat bites like Lemon Pesto Linguine.
The New Food Processor Bible.
I must have been really good last year because I got a shiny new KitchenAid food processor for Christmas. I love it to pieces. If you've ever had a new kitchen toy you understand how exciting it is to switch it on for the first time. Your eyes light up, your face cracks into a smile from ear to ear and you jump for joy. Instant gratification. If you're like me your always trying to come up with excuses to use it.
First I made pesto. That was awesome. Then I made more pesto. Even more awesome. Then I ran out of ideas.
I didn't expect that, but I think I've figured out what the problem is. For years I've been just fine without a food processor and I've become accustom to doing everything by hand. Shredding cheese, chopping garlic, slicing potatoes, whisking eggs, etc. It's like taking the long road for years then suddenly finding a shortcut only to get lost.
When The New Food Processor Bible by Norene Gilletz found me it all became clear. I realized what my food processor was actually capable of. Soups, fish, pastry, mousse, vegetables, chicken, marinades, dressings, breads, frosting, cookies and so much more. As if that isn't enough there's an entire section dedicated to proper use of your food processor with detailed dos and don'ts, techniques, the right blade for the job and even how to make food for picky eaters.
To exemplify the multitude of blissfully simple yet delicious recipes this book has to offer I made this Focaccia bread. It was quick, easy and flavourful. It was the first time I've ever tried my hand at Foccaccia and I can tell you it won't be the last.
I can see a lot more fun with grinding, blending, shredding and chopping in my near future.
And in your near future I see you winning a copy of The New Food Processor Bible for your very own right here. That's right, I'm psychic!
And The Winner Is…
Susan Smith of Readspace, you are the proud new owner of the shiny cookbook, A World of Cake! Lucky lady! Just think of all the lovely cakes you're going to make between those glossy pages! Just try and love this book as much as I do! I dare you!
Please email me at hotpolkadot (at) live (dot) com to claim your prize and give me your mailing address so the cookbook can be shipped to you as soon as possible. Yay!
A World of Cake.
I was fortunate enough to recently receive the lovely cookbook, A World of Cake by Krystina Castella. It's quickly becoming one of my favourite cookbooks with its big beautiful photos and scores of recipes for, you guessed it, cake.
A World of Cake reads like a cherished family recipe book with a detailed story behind every recipe and how each has been adapted and passed down for generations. It reminds us that we're all apart of a global family with traditions and cuisine that have been influenced by cultures all over the world. While flipping through it's glossy pages you quickly realize how similar and unique we all are.
You get a glimpse inside the kitchens of Japan, Brazil, Germany, Kenya and nearly every other country you can think of. After a long browse I decided to make this Ugandan Peanut Cake with it's intriguing combination of peanut, honey and cinnamon as an example of the multitude of incredible recipes you can discover in this book.
You want a copy? Sure you do!
Play.
All around is the sound of trickling water. Icicles shrinking and dripping. The wind blows as though breathing a long baited sigh of relief. The birds sing again. The sun burns red through closed eyelids and thaws the chill from the interminable Winter.
Spring is here. In case you didn't know, Spring is my favourite season. It's when Winter fades and slowly life begins again. Winter is like living on pause. Life is frozen in place. It's time for play.
Speaking of which, I was playing with my original Banana Muffins recipe the other day and transformed it into Chocolate Banana Cinnamon Muffins. I think you'll like it.
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