First Loaves

Today I made a batch of French bread, the very first batch I have made since I received my new mixer. Super 600 kneading power rocks. While you cannot see the steam, I assure you these loaves were fresh from the oven. One of them has a significant chunk missing now, as there are few things I can resist, butwarm, fresh bread is not one of them.

Looky looky!

Okay, I don’t have any children. The closest thing I have to a child is a Kitchenaid Mixer 600. But because I don’t have a child, you don’t have to listen to me going on at length about how great an artist my little Timmy is going to be when he gets old enough to hold a crayon. Or you don’t have to act impressed when I tell you that my little baby is (insert random act of baby-dom here). Nope. But what you DO have to do is pretend to be in shock and awe when I reveal unto you my latest knitting project in its full and complete glory. Trumpets anyone?

It’s a purse! It’s a tote! It’s totally awesome, and I did it without a pattern. Okay, that’s not entirely true. The body of the bag actually started out from a scarf pattern that I took from a blog I have been reading. You can find the pattern here. In truth, the bag started out as a scarf. It was too wide for my purposes, mostly because I’m a lazy hunka junk who hates knitting swatches. So I turned it into a bag! Hazah! She’s going to be a lawyer when she grows up. Her father and I are so proud…

Snow Job

When I get to frettin’ about the amount of snow we have had here in Southern Ontario in the past week, I like to look at this photo. This was taken in Charlottetown in the winter of 2004. Thought PEI was all about idyllic sunny days and red sand beaches? Didn’t think they had winters with snow that could kick your ass? That’s because, in January, no one can escape to spread the word…

Cupcake Challenge: Yonge and Eglinton

So we spent some time in Toronto this weekend. DM was hard at work researching in the archives (a whole other post could be written about the Archives of Ontario) and I tuttled around the downtown in search of yarn and baked goods. In my other life, I am a pastry chef and I’d be hard pressed to find anything trendier for weddings and birthday parties right now than cupcakes. This suits me fine, as they’re easier to bake off, finish, transport and set-up than a huge multi-level feat of cakey architecture. But I wanted to see what was out there. You could say I was scoping out the competition, but we do well enough for a start-up that I was mostly looking for a snack that I didn’t have to bake myself.

I ended up kinda north, near Yonge and Eglinton. I picked up half a dozen cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe and then, for comparison sake, and because she’s the go-to gal for baked goods in Metro Toronto, I swung into Dufflet’s and grabbed two of her cupcakes.

DM and I sat down later that evening with big chunks of all our contestants. And here’s what we thought:

Sadly, I was disappointed by what Dufflet had to offer. True, she does not specialize, per se, in any one thing, so to expect perfection from her cupcakes was maybe expecting too much. However, given that a cupcake is usually just made from the same batter used to bake off cakes, and everyone has only good things to say about Dufflet’s cakes, I went into the tasting challenge with higher expectations. In terms of asthetics, the two cupcakes we had were gorgeous. The chocolate one had a shiny layer of ganache and tiny chocolate shavings. The vanilla one was decked out with an elegantly piped flower. We found both specimens to be a tad dry. I can’t say for sure, but I’m fairly certain the vanilla frosting wasn’t buttercream, rather a mixture of butter and icing sugar and some vanilla.

At The Cupcake Shoppe, I had more flavours to choose from and thus my take-out box included: Crummie (chocolate cupcake with cookies and cream buttercream), Curious George (chocolate cupcake with banana buttercream), Jmes Brown (chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream), Strawberries n’ Cream (vanilla cupcake with strawberry swirled buttercream), Sticky n’ Sweet (vanilla cupcake dipped in caramel) and another seasonal flavour that added up to a chocolate cupcake with raspberry buttercream. DM and I both agreed that the cake was good. Light and fluffy – very moist. We even had some today, 2 days out, and the moistness remains. The buttercream was smooth and sweet. The chocolate buttercream was a bit grainy when eaten by itself, and the fruit flavours in the others were often hard to detect. I tend to go for more flavour, and if you’re telling me I should taste raspberry, I would really like to taste it, without imagining that I am.

The clear winner in the cupcake challenge was The Cupcake Shoppe. DM favoured the carmel cupcake and I really enjoyed the raspberry and chocolate one. If you’re in the neighbourhood, both places are worth checking out. A half-dozen cupcakes at The Cupcake Shoppe will set you back $13 and Dufflet’s are $2.50 a pop.

The Money Shot

For Robyn

Under the Birthday Tree

At Christmastime, in this house, there was significant discussion around the matter of a Christmas tree. And just when I finally set my mind to just get one myself, DM hauled my butt out into the forest (okay so a cut-your-own tree lot) and we hacked one down. Santa Claus-style.

This week we celebrated my birthday, and in the days leading up to the main event, I mentioned how we could possibly make use of a Birthday Tree. This, as you may well imagine was met with groans and laughter from DM. When asked what tree would we use, I told him that the sticky, weepy ficus seemed appropriate. More laughter.

The day before my birthday, when I came down for breakfast, DM was making wide-eyed faces and doing some nudging towards Ye Olde Sticky Ficus, and lo and behold! There were a few gifts wrapped and placed under the tree. Awesome! As the days moved on, I have been able to add several parcels to the original Birthday Tree Gifts. I invite you now, to see how amazingly lucky I am. Let’s take a stroll under the birthday tree:

I have friends in many places. So much mail has come to the box for me this week. Just this morning, I found a parcel with delicious yarns and a knitting book. Earlier this week, there was one from BC with a hilarious card and gorgeous earrings. Last week, I was met with a book, whose sender is out on a Tasmanian Trek. I even got a hand-made purse, all the way from our Nation’s Capital. Thank you Ladies!

Sewing machine plus wine equals very interesting sewing projects. Not pictured is my new Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, a surprise gift from DM. I have decided that, just as each wedding anniversary indicates a new category of gift, so does each year of age. Twenty-six is the gift of Bitter Reality, you are on the OTHER side of 25, and twenty-seven is Appliances! Appliances kick the ass of Bitter Reality every single time they step in the ring. I wonder what 28 is? Cars That Hold More Than Eight Passengers? Things That Vibrate?

Home at Last

Kim and DM, big sisters, Microwave and Magic Bullet, and big brother Toaster Oven are overjoyed to welcome the newest member of our family, 600 Professional Series Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, on February 7th, at 6:13 p.m. weighing at least 30 lbs and 2 ozs. Proud grandparents are Washer and Dryer, of The Basement and Vacuum Cleaner of Upstairs Hallway. Special thank you to the cashier at Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, NY.