Fruit Plate

 

 

I started with a dinner plate and small bowl for the center.  I sliced up some cantaloupe, pineapple, and kiwi.  I layered the fruit around the bowl.  Then I added some strawberries for color and filled the bowl with blueberries.  Watermelon slices would be lovely, too.  This is a nice addition to the picnic table (or any pot luck).

How to Boil an Egg

I know, I know...laugh all you want, but the perfect boiled egg isn't actually boiled at all. If fact, if you boil an egg for very long, the shell breaks or the egg turns out rubbery or tough. Not very appetizing and you can't dye the broken eggs for Easter. So! With Easter fast approaching, this is how you boil an egg.

Place the eggs in a saucepan. You can do two or a dozen, it doesn't matter. Cover the eggs until the water is about half an inch above the egg. Turn the burner on high.

Bring the water to a boil. Cover the pan and immediately remove from the heat. The egg is continue to cook in the hot water. Set your timer for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, take the pan to the sink and run cold water over the eggs. This will stop the cooking process. You can eat the eggs right away for refridgerate them for up to a week.

Another little factoid I've learned recently is that fresh eggs are much more difficult to peel than older eggs, but seriously unless you are gathering your own eggs from the heirloom chickens you raise on your Connecticut estate, you aren't necessarily going to know the age of your eggs.  To skirt this issue and to make the eggs easier to peel, drain the hot water from the pot and immediately add cold water and two or three trays of ice cubes.  The sudden drop in temperature will make the eggs easy to peel.

Puree Pumpkin

I woke up on yesterday and realized that we'd forgotten to carve pumpkins for Halloween. So what am I going to do with these pumpkins that have been decorating my front porch for the last few weeks? Then it occurred to me that it's silly to throw out three perfectly good pumpkins and then run to the grocery store to get Pumpkin for baking Thanksgiving goodies.

So here's how to make your own Pumpkin Puree. Preheat oven to 350˚F. You don’t need to cut the pumpkin open before you roast it. I’m not kidding. Just jab it with a knife four or five times to vent the steam. (Is it weird that I think of the movie Psycho when I do this? Never mind, don't answer that.) Put the whole darned thing on a baking sheet, and pop it in the oven for an hour or so, until you can easily stick a knife into it. Cool, then scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff with a spoon. It is SO MUCH EASIER than when it is raw. Skin the pumpkin with a paring knife. Cut it up into chunks. If you cut it up and realize the pumpkins not quite done...pop it back in the oven for 15 or so more minutes. Run the pumpkin chunks through a blender or food processor. I add a little bit of water to the blender to make it easier to puree.

Freeze the pumpkin in Ziploc freezer bags for future use in baking pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup...whatever makes your skirt fly up.

How to Proof Yeast

If you are a seasoned baker, you know that yeast is a "living" ingredient. As it digests sugar, it releasing alcohol and carbon dioxide that causes your bread to rise. If your yeast is dead, your bread will not rise. "Proofing" the yeast is how you determine whether your yeast is alive or dead.

To proof yeast, combine 1/2 cup of hot water (about 100 degrees), and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Stir your sugar and water until the sugar is completely disolved. Add a package of yeast. After five or ten mintues, the yeast should begin to form a creamy foam on the surface of the water. If the yeast is dead, there will be no foam in the bowl and you should start over with a new packet of yeast.