Jelly Doughnuts!

 

The Pres is off today, persevering on our front porch project. 

It was the perfect day to get up and make jelly doughnuts.

I have no idea where I got this recipe 20 years ago. Now that I remember how delicious they are I'll make them more often. But it takes almost 3 hours and makes about 20 doughnuts at a time, so it's not something for every day unless you've got a bigger family than ours. You want to share these with some special people.

After their second rising, they get deep fried for about 2 minutes.

After draining them on paper towels they get rolled in sugar.

 It is tempting to eat them just like this. 

But don't skip the jelly step.

 Even if, like me, you make a botch of the jelly part. It would be nice to have a pastry bag or an injector to get the jelly in without making a mess, but who minds a little bit of jelly on the sides?

Even Fidget, the notorious jelly-hater, liked the one I gave her with raspberry preserves in it. But her favorite one had honey inside instead. 

 Jelly Doughnuts

with apologies to whoever developed this delicious recipe. If I knew your name I'd put it here.

makes 14-18 

1 pkg yeast

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1/3 cup room temperature butter

3 TB sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk, scalded

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/2 cups flour (it took me 3 1/2 cups so don't be alarmed if it takes you that much too)

jelly- I used Polaner All Fruit Raspberry seedless, Market Pantry Blackberry Seedless jam and Smucker's Orchard's Finest Northewest Triple Berry Preserves

sugar

frying oil

In a large bowl combine yeast, 1 tsp sugar and water. Let stand  until foamy, 5-10 minutes. In a small bowl combine butter, 3 TB sugar, salt and milk; cool to room temperature. Stir milk mix into yeast mix. Add eggs and 1 3/4 cup flour; beat vigorously. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Turn dough out and knead 8-10 minutes. Clean and grease bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to grease all sides. Cover and let rise til double, about an hour. Place parchment paper on cookie sheets. Punch dough down, roll out to 1/2" thick. Cut dough with a floured 2 1/2" biscuit cutter. Place dough circles on the baking sheets. Cover and let rise til double, less than an hour this time. Fry risen circles of dough at 350 in a deep fryer approximately 2 minutes or until brown. Fry 5 at a time. Once drained onto paper towels, roll doughnuts in sugar. Then cut a deep slice in the doughnuts and fill with 2 tsp jelly. Enjoy!

For more inspiration visit the fabulous showcase of yeast breads and sweet goodies at Yeast Spotting's blog,  www.wildyeastblog.com

Appetizers in Abundance

We're already one week past our family's 3rd Annual Appetizer Weekend. What fun we had! That week I'd spent a lot of time in the kitchen making brownies ( here's the recipe from the Hershey's website), blondies and breads. Several friends earned their black belts in karate so I made them goodies to celebrate.

One of the moms gave me a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Even after a week these were still so pretty and cheerful in the dining room. I wish I'd gotten a picture with all the roses in it when they first arrived. 

On to appetizer weekend!It was our annual family party and I had such a good time planning for it. Here's what I made:  Friday night we had Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps, Rotel cheese dip and chips, mini crab cakes and broccoli and cauliflower in dip. 
Saturday breakfast was French toast dipping sticks and syrup and strawberries.
At lunch I made Asiago cheese dip and glazed chicken wings, and Fidget's friend Sky came to sample the goodies.

Sunday at lunch we had a few spring rolls and steamed dumplings. Sunday night we had potato skins, more spring rolls and everything else that was left over. Somewhere in there I also made bacon crescents for the first time, which were a bit hit. They were tiny fiddly things made out of refrigerated crescent rolls smeared with a creamy spread made with fresh-cooked bacon. Somehow I never found time for the avacado-stuffed cherry tomatoes, spinach-parmesan dip, or the sweet fruity dip I was going to make. But the list gets more ambitious every year.

It is such a joy to plan this special weekend celebrating my family every year. God is good to us to give us loving family relationships. No matter what our struggles or differences we can celebrate the family God gave us.

Harbor View Bakery Days

A new friend came to bake a couple weeks ago. She came for tea this weekend and we decided to have another baking day this week, with knitting lessons. Here are the first bake day photos which she took and emailed me later. We had such fun and it was sweet to both our souls to have this fellowship. God is good!

First, our wholesome bagels. The key to them is King Arthur Flour's Non-diastatic Malt Powder. The bagels lost their center holes as they rose but they were delicious.

Basic white bread with a little wheat.

Cinnamon Swirl Loaf from my Fleishmann's Yeast Cookbook. I got it years ago with a couple proofs of purchase and a dollar or two shipping. It is one of my best cookbooks. I love the streusel crust on this bread, and it makes wonderful cinnamon sugar toast or french bread.

Glazed Orange Rolls. These are like cinnamon rolls only with orange glaze. Such a fresh change from cinnamon. 

Next time, photos from today's baking- knitting lunch!

Pie for Breakfast and Past Valentines

Here is what is left of the strawberry pie after we had anniversary pie for breakfast. You must try pie for breakfast if you never had. It is a special way to start the day. You wouldn't do it every day, and that's what makes it so great. 

Here also are some valentines and anniversary treats from years past. We almost always try to do something special for each other.

The Pres made the cedar heart coat rack for me our first anniversary. The heart pillow I made the year the Pres was heading out to deploy to Haiti as an enlisted heavy equipment operator. What memories these things bring!

 We knew we'd only be here one year, so we didn't put all our valentine treasures out. The heart rack had been put away for a long time. Maybe we will actually put it up and use it at our next duty station.

Slipper Bread

A lot of times I feel like I have very little to give when it comes to holidays. I like to give home made gifts, and sometimes they take a lot of thinking about before I come up with something. The Pres is such a thoughtful gift giver. Even right before Valentines' week, I had come up with nothing. It goes without saying I always want to make a card, but what else? I finally thought of reuben sandwiches, which are one of the Pres' favorite things that I almost never make.

This year, part of my Valentine to the Pres and Fidget was ciabatta bread. This word ciabatta comes from the Italian for slipper. So sometimes we call it slipper bread. But the taste is far from shoe-like. And it would be perfect for showcasing the special taste of reubens.

The biga, or starter, has to be prepared a day in advance. It is in the green milk glass bowl, above. It has to be added bit by bit to the ciabatta dough in the mixer. While it takes almost half an hour to add, it makes a wonderfully complex taste, like sourdough. The biga and ciabatta come from this book, The Village Baker, which I highly recommend.

After a little while the dough rose and bubbled like a science experiment. Bread is so exciting!

 I wish this had smell-o-vision. There's nothing like the aroma of bread dough, especially the tang of an artisan bread dough.

 This recipe makes four loaves, plenty to keep and share. You also have the option while at this stage, of saving some for grissini, that is, Turinese Breadsticks, but I can never make myself do it.

Naturally I forgot to take photos of the reubens on Valentine's Day. These loaves were enough for reubens, as well as served another night with butter and my sister in law's wonderful spiced lentil soup. One morning Fidget had the bread with honey butter for breakfast. And I brought some soup and bread to two friends. I love it when baking works out and there's plenty to share.

Tea Time

Happy New Year! It is such fun to goof off during the holidays. The past day or so I've been using up my precious scraps of Cascade 220 Superwash Paints Yarn making a tea mitten for my new Brown Betty tea pot. Colors: Juniper Berries and Celtic which are mixes of blue-greens and greens, are perfect for a cheery morning cuppa.

Antique buttons from my dear friend Moke's Aunt Helen's button stash were the perfect finishing touch.

With such a charming way to start the day, who could resist? I hope to host many friends for tea in the coming year.

September Beauty

  
Yesterday was beautiful at nearby Fort Adams. Grandma, Grandaddy, The Pres, Fig and I all went over there to take advantage of the rare sunny day this week. On the way we found the local farmers' market and got fresh organic meats and cheese to take home. We also got warm, flaky blueberry and strawberry cream cheese turnovers. That started the day off right. Never mind that we already had breakfast at home.

The water was chilly but Fidget ran right in. She brought dishes and a shovel with her and played cooking for hours, dashing in and out of the water. She also did water shows for Grandma, who was the captive audience in the beach chair. We had the beach to ourselves for most of the time we were there.Maybe the locals think it's too cold for the beach now that Labor Day is past. But we wanted to enjoy it before it turns truly cold.

 Even though it was chilly water, it got up to the low 80's outside.  Dad and I waded in looking for starfish and other pretty sealife. The Pres snorkeled around the cove and brought back some impressive pottery shards (they called them pot sherds when we were in art history class).

 Dad and I headed over there and found some lovely pieces too. In the cove the shoreline is all covered with a fine silt, disguising pottery pieces, which may explain why they're still there hundreds of years later. They are so old, they must be colonial, like many of the houses around here. I was fascinated. I can't believe Fidget had no interest.

 Here is the pile the Pres and I brought home, with some bottle necks and bottoms, pieces of dinner plate and bowls, cups, who knows what else. One piece looked like it had been shaped around a thumb and the Pres said that is likely part of a man's pipe!

 We were not too tired when we got home, so changed clothes and went to the Tennis Hall of Fame, and shopped the street it's on, and even hit the Portuguese Festival on Bellevue Ave. It was such a great day. When we got back Mumsy and I wound my new skeins of yarn into balls. This is Manos Maxima by Manos Del Uruguay, color: Chrysanthemum. I can't wait to start knitting Fidget a new winter pullover. It was supposed to rain today but the sun's coming up in a clear blue sky. I may not get any knitting done today after all. There are still plenty of sights left to see here in Rhode Island.

Gifts and Triumphs

 We celebrated the weekend yesterday morning with poached eggs. They may be run of the mill to some folks, but poached eggs are something I've never been able to get right in 18 1/2 years of marriage, not even when Mumsy bought me a real live egg poacher appliance that buzzed when they were supposed to be ready. Turns out these little nifties from King Arthur Flour are just what the baker ordered. Finally, eggs with runny middles for the Pres! Of course when they were done we sat down to eat and I forgot all about taking pictures.

 However there was plenty of time for pouring tea. Last week I talked to my dear old chip from high school, middle school, and come to think of it, elementary school, and she commiserated with me about my friend who'd died. And I commiserated with her about the tough eggs she works with down there in South Florida. Next thing you know, I'm unwrapping an extravagant care package from said chip.

 It came complete with hand knitted, cleverly embellished tea cozy, traditional British tea pot, tea, honey, diffuser and more.

Here's the inside fabric on the tea cozy. I've never had a cozy before and was surprised to find out that it really works. Not only that, a cutie like this one is sure to cheer me up no matter what the morning holds.

Presidential Bagels

The Pres likes to take a toasted bagel to work when I remember to get them and don't have to resort to Pop Tarts. While he's been on a little trip I've been working on perfecting my bagel-making technique. He'll be surprised, but whether or not he'll be pleased, I don't yet know. Sometimes the trials of my baking are so arduous he wonders why I bother. I mean, store bought things are good enough, right? But look how darling these puffy little rings are!

 I love King Arthur Flour and all the great baking supplies they sell. These bagels are made with their Sir Lancelot Unbleached Hi-Gluten Flour and their Non-Diastatic Malt Powder, a sweet derivative of roasted barley. I am an avid baker and pretty successful at it most of the time. I only wish I could live near King Arthur and go to their baking demos and classes. I could be more consistent with my bagels. And master the tricky English muffin. Again, consistency is elusive.

Here is the first bagel going into the simmering water. This is where it gets tricky for me. I can bake lots of yeast breads. I have no trouble throwing them in the oven once they're risen. But this boiling step is confounding. So often my bagels-to-be have risen and look just right- until they go in the simmering bath. Some come out great, but some deflate- see the one on the right, below. And after that they still have to bake.

This is how my first batch came out. They look pretty good overall, and they were delicious, but the batch I've just made now that the Pres is on his way home does not look as promising.

The joy of the challenge continues. Maybe I'll have some perfect ones made by the time the Pres gets home from his next trip. One of these days, I'm determined, I'll be serving him truly presidential bagels. And with confidence from that triumph, maybe I'll even be willing to tackle English muffins again.