Sometimes You Have to Make It Yourself to Appreciate It

Some facts about me: I love pasta, garlic, tomato sauce, wine, and bread. I’m always late to things no matter how hard I try to be on time. (Honestly... if I have something big one day, I have to dedicate the whole day to getting ready... otherwise I’ll be at least 30 minutes late, if not longer.) I’m Italian, these things seem to be in my blood.

Another fact: one thing that I’ve never been fond of is Tiramisu. I don’t like the taste of coffee, so I think that’s the problem. Tiramisu contains coffee as a flavoring ingredient. The big bummer here is that it’s one of my dad’s favorite desserts. I typically order him a cake from one of the local bakeries for his birthday. But I really like being in the kitchen, and feel like I’m cheating him out of something special when I just order it.

So I thought, “How hard can it be to make a Tiramisu?”

Of course, just like every project I start, I bite off more than I can chew. But I was bound and determined to make a delicious cake for my dad’s birthday. Oh, and I wanted the cake to be pretty. Because it’s his birthday and he deserves a pretty cake at the very least.

Just so we’re keeping track here, I (1) probably didn’t pick the best cake for a beginner; (2) wanted this cake to be delicious, not that I was planning on having any myself; and (3) wanted it to be pretty.

So I started my recipe research. I couldn’t believe how many things differed between recipes. Some actually baked cake, others used lady fingers. Some used wine, some used rum, while some didn’t use any alcohol at all (which is just absurd!) Eventually I took a few different recipes and did what made the most sense to me, and what I thought my dad would like most.

So here’s what I came up with (I used a springform pan because I wanted it to look pretty... this could all be layed out in a 7" x 11" pyrex dish):

Ashley's Tiramisu
(Adapted from Allrecipes: Tiramisu II)

Ingredients:

• 6 Egg Yolks
• 3/4 c. white sugar
• 2/3 c. Whole milk
• 1 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 lb. mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 c. instant espresso (room temp)
• 4 Tbsp. Meyer's dark rum
• 1lb package of ladyfingers
• 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil gently for 1 minute (mixture should be a custard at this point.) Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Cover tightly and chill in refrigerator 1 hour.
   
2. While custard is being chilled, in a small bowl make the espresso by following the directions on the label to equal 1/2 cup. Leave out so it can sit and become room temperature.
   
3. In a medium bowl, beat cream with vanilla until stiff peaks form. (I used a stand mixer for this)
   
   
   
4. Once yolk/custard mixture is COMPLETELY cool, whisk mascarpone into yolk mixture until smooth. (Yup, I used the stand mixer for this too!)
   
5. Combine espresso and rum.
   
   

   
6. Cut ladyfingers to proper height for the spring form pan. Stand the ladyfingers on the cut edge in the pan around the edge of the pan.
7. Use the smaller cut pieces to dip into espresso mixture and arrange them on bottom of the pan.
   
   
8. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers.
   
   
9. Then half of whipped cream over that.
   
   
10. Repeat layers and sprinkle with cocoa. Cover and refrigerate for at least 48 hours.
    

After my sister and I sung “Happy Birthday” to our dad (in both the traditional way and the Northwoods Inn way) he blew out the candles and the moment of truth was upon us! We cut the cake and it looked right on the inside! Then the taste... well... lets just say, I like Tiramisu now. Not super sweet and the rum compliments the espresso very well. Dad gave it 2 thumbs up, and my sister decided she wanted one for her birthday too!

I am now expected to make Tiramisu for all our special occasions now. It’s my own fault. But I’m glad I was able to accomplish what I set out to do.

Ciao
-AD

An ongoing sewing adventure... Episode 1

When I was growing up my parents made just about everything for me when it came to costumes. They would join forces for costumes; Mom would sew everything, Dad would do any construction necessary. Of course, I didn't have problems with the whole costume part. Dad did tend to take things to a whole new level.

I was a butterfly one year for Halloween, and Dad made wings for me. Umm, ya, these things were HUGE. So big, I had to walk through doorways sideways, and I remember getting tired from wearing them.

Then there was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer costume... I think it was for a Christmas pageant. Again the costume was great, but Dad's addition actually freaked me out at the time. Mom wanted to put red lipstick on my nose, but Dad wanted to make my a light-up-blinking nose to wear. It really did scare me. I think I ended up whining about it so much he gave up on trying to get me to wear it.

But looking back on everything, I'm glad I had homemade things. I even think the GIANT butterfly wings were really cool. I mean, I didn't know any other kids that had GIANT butterfly wings. I'm a total nerd now, and the attempted light up nose is a cool idea now. It just scared me something weird when I was little.

And most of you know, my day job is working in an art department. I've learned to love very well printed books, magazines, postcards, etc. When I came across this book called Stitch by Stitch, I couldn't not get it. I mean this book has great printing, photography and the page design is perfectly retro and modern all at the same time. Forget what the book was actually about, it just looks amazing! Today I took some time to sit down and read it, instead of just randomly going through the pages and looking at all the pretty pictures.

Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew, One Project at a Time by Deborah Moebes

I think this is the perfect book for me to start my official sewing adventure. What I've done so far is learned about the author, who seems pretty cool so far. I've also learned a bit about myself. Before really getting into the book she wants the reader to answer a few questions:

Sewing History:

1. Where'd you come from, and what took you so long to get here?
   • I've always had someone who would sew for me. Unfortunately no one seems to be readily available for me to bother. So, I thought I'd better start sooner than later.
2. What's been keeping you from sewing?
   • The time it would take seemed daunting, plus I didn't have a working sewing machine for a while there.
   Was it a bad experience?
   • Nope.
3. What's your worst sewing nightmare?
   • Making something that wouldn't fit or being completely useless.
   What fear(s) has prevented you from adding skills before now?
   • There really hasn't been any fears, just a lack of motivation.

Inspiration:

1. Who most inspires you to get creating with needle and thread? Is a mother or grandmother, or having your first child or sending your kids off and having more time to sew for yourself?
   • So many things inspire me. Family members, friends (many are parents or soon to be parents), and future possibilities for myself: dresses and home décor.
2. What gets you itching to use that machine?
   • Seeing something really cute at a store or in an old movie or TV show. And I'm a sucker for polka dots

Goals:

1. What are you sewing goals? What skills would you like to learn? What would you like to see yourself sewing regularly, after you have the skills? At what level do you expect to see yourself in a month? Three months? A year?
   • I'd just really like to be able to make clothes that actually fit. Make costumes, and help friends with their projects. I hope I can inspire others :)
2. List the three things you'll like to be able to create by the time you've completed the lessons in this book. They can be projects (like a pillow for the sofa or a skirt for yourself), skills (like learning to make pleats or adding piping) or experiences (making something I'm proud to give as a gift or have three garments for myself hanging in the closet).
   • I'd really like to learn how to make a nice utility totes and possibly a matching wallet, a pair of pants that fits perfectly. Or maybe just a really nice outfit in general.
3. Let's say time, skill and money are no object. What is the one project you most want to create?
   • Oh, dang! A whole new wardrobe! Complete with dresses for every occasion!

The next section is Get the Goods: Tools and Materials

We'll save that for Episode 2 :)

Cheers!

**update** Thanks to E for being my new editor :)

Giveaway!!

I'm online a lot. Almost all the time... This is not an understatement either, I have access in some way throughout the day. My phone makes it so the internet is with me 24/7 if needed.

Anyways... one of the blogs I read is called Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats. A super adorable blog, and she posts very yummy recipes. Today however, she posted about a giveaway.

And lets be honest, who doesn't like free stuff? I think it would be super cool to win something. Even if I wont be directly benefiting from the prize. My friends better love me, that's I'll I've got to say about that :)

So, if you or someone you know is having a baby... or you've had yourself one recently, you'll be interested in this. Check it out here!

Best of luck!

-AD

YAY a new post (finally) & SOUP!

First off, I'd like to apologize for not posting in SO long. I'm very sorry about that, and I'll try my best not to let it happen again.

Lots has gone on since my last post, school, work, fun new projects... and babies! (not me, but good friends are having babies! It's quite exciting :) )

Anyways, about a month or so ago I had the pleasure of having dinner at a friend's. She made the most lovely soup. I call it "E's Yummy Cabbage Soup." Now, you ask any of my close friends and relatives, and they'll all tell you... I'm a picky eater. Very picky, and I definitely don't like cabbage.

Remember when you were little, and you didn't like things. Apparently tastes change... Who knew?!

So this soup is very yummy, hence the yummy in the title :) and E gave me permission to post it (Thanks E!) The soup is 100% vegetarian. I got everything but the Knorr veggie bouillon from Trader Joe's. You can find the bouillon at any supermarket, cheap. I made a double batch so I could foodsave and freeze for future lunches and dinners. So if you're making this, you wont have as much as what's in my pictures.

E's Yummy Cabbage Soup

In a stock pot on med-low:
Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed, then chopped
2 brown onions, diced

When translucent, add:

3/4 bag grated carrots

1 bag shredded green cabbage

1 bag French green beans, cut into 1" pieces like so:

3 large Knorr Vegetable Bouillon cubes

1 small potato, diced (I used 3 fingerling potatoes instead of a small potato)

6 cups water and boil until soft.

Add pepper to taste. I didn't feel the need to add salt because of the bouillon.

Enjoy!

Again, sorry for not posting in so long.

Baking Day!

First off... I should apologize to E for torturing her:

I'm sorry I've been sending you links to yummy treats that most likely compromises our diets (even if I think it's totally worth it).
I promise to attempt to be better about it and not send SO many :)

Next, I use google reader for the majority of my online reading. It's great to have all the blogs I read in one spot. It's also dangerous that they're so easily accessible now. I have about 50 some subscriptions, and at least 25 of those are on food (the dangerous part). So over the last few months I've been sending E numerous links to tasty treats like homemade marshmallows, cute lil cookies, drink recipes, and oh so much more.

She finally cracked and we set a date to do a baking day. Last year we had a cupcake day, and were sadly unsatisfied with our "high end" cupcake purchase. This year, we were determined to make something 100% satisfying. So we picked 4 recipes:

Halfway Cookies
Toasted Coconut Covered Marshmallows
Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
(Spiked) Blueberry Lemonade

Yes, we made it all in one day, it took about 8 hours from start to finish, and it was well worth the time and effort.

First I want to talk about the cupcakes... you better like cupcakes if you want these. A labor of love (as E put it)... I prefer pain in the arse. Here's what Martha says the finish product looks like:

First we made the lemon curd, not difficult at all... the cupcakes have a specific way of adding all the ingredients when making the batter. No big deal, we know how to follow directions (most of the time). The frosting... it's called seven minute frosting. I want to know who's managed to make this in seven minutes... 20 minutes later we still had warm frosting, so I put it in the fridge to cool faster then took it out and frosted the cupcakes. I failed to remix the frosting after cooling it down causing too many air bubbles.

Pros on the cupcakes: cake and lemon curd are really tasty
Cons: frosting is TOO much. The proporitions for how much frosting was made compared to how many cupcakes were made was not right. 9/10 of the frosting was completely wasted.

Now we'll move on to the halfway cookies.

They're basically a bar cookie, you mix the cookie dough then layer the rest of the components in a pan. These are a great idea, and look delish in the picture thekitchn provides. Overall, I feel there was TOO much chocolate, compared to the rest of the components. I think next time we'll buff up the recipe to even things out a bit.

Spiked Blueberry Lemonade. This was great with or without the alcohol. I made this early the morning of so the blueberries had time to steep into the lemonade. Veggiebelly.com is a great website if you're looking for vegetarian/vegan recipes. Not that I'm either of those, but I like to have something available to my friends that are :)

And last but certainly not least, we have the marshmallows. These are the greatest marshmallows I've EVER had. They were super easy to make (the stand mixer did most of the work), and after making them once, we have plans to make them many more times with different flavors and colors!

We used this recipe, but added the toased coconut to it. I still can't get over how tasty these are. Sorry, I don't have a spiffy picture for this one.

Below is a picture of what we ended up with when everything was done.

Thanks again to E for coming over and baking with me. I had lots of fun and I can't wait to do more marshmallows :)

Hike & A Holiday

Memorial Day: A day to give thanks to the people who fought for the things we have. To all the veterans out there...

THANK YOU!

So... it was a much needed 3 day weekend. I was able to enjoy a weekend, then have a day to catch up on everything else.

Sunday morning J, Greta, and I went on a hike in Griffith Park. It was hot, steep, and fun. So wonderful to get out and enjoy nature. Round trip it was about 6 miles, I have no idea what the inclines were like. What I do know is how wonderfully sore I was today, you know the kind of sore where you're happy... I love that type of sore. It puts a smile on my face whenever I feel the pain (ya, I'm well aware of how odd I am).

Here are some pictures I took:

Greta taking a breather in the shade... This was right before a huge swarm of bees came over the top of the hill!

From the top:

The Hollywood sign:

I spent my day off catching up on laundry and cleaning around the house. Now, I won't have to do laundry during the week :)

All in all, I'd say it was a good weekend.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Motivation

We here in sunny California have been having some very peculiar weather lately. One day it's 80º, the next it's 50º. Today, is was drizzling. It's May, and typically in the 80s at least by now, and it was cold and wet outside. I was hoping to walk to get food for lunch today, but to my surprise when I got outside it was too wet to walk anywhere. Here's the deal, I work in a grey box: grey cubicle walls, grey desk, grey carpet, grey ceiling tiles... it's all grey. The closest window is about 100 feet away from my desk. Walking to the door to get out is closer than peeking out the window to see what the weather is like. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the grey shades... but everyday, not so much.

Weather tends to take an effect on me. When it's gloomy outside it's really hard to get out of bed in the morning. It also tends to leave me demotivated to do anything but cozy up in bed with a book, let alone be productive or exercise.

Fortunately for me, my sister was feeling quite guilty about everything she ate today and talked me into joining her at the gym. I haven't ran since Monday evening, and that run didn't go so well. Being at the gym was exactly what I needed. I did low impact on the elliptical machine, and did all the weight machines. I haven't done weights in months. And I've been feeling quite inadequate about my arm strength most recently. So this is a huge confidence boost currently. I'm sure I'll be regretting it tomorrow. But for now it was completely worth it!

On a side note, I'm going to make a better point at being more healthy with my eating habits. Not that I eat tons of junk food, but I do indulge in sweets every now and then. I've stopped drinking soda, it's been almost a week but I feel great about it. I never realized how the carbonation made me feel icky (not to mention all those chemicals). I replaced soda with tea, lots of tea. I take a mason jar, fill it up with water, put 4 lipton tea bags in, close it up... and let it steep all night. I take my mason jar to work with me and crack it open at lunch time. It's perfect, and a good change up from water :)