The Little Drummer Girl

Bayberry joined the middle school band. Her instrument? The snare drum. Tomorrow, I get to go to the music store and pick up her very own snare drum and drumsticks so that she can perfect her music at home. With a captive audience.

Where are my ear plugs?

I'm joking.

Sort of.

I'm totally supportive of her playing a musical instrument, even the snare drum. I hope that she finds out that she loves it and wants to continue it all through school. I was part of my high school's marching band and I absolutely loved it. I lived for band. I'm sure it kept me out of all sorts of trouble, too.

She's also joining Cross-Country. This kid isn't going to have any anxiety at all! Between beating it out on a drum and running for her life, all her worries are just going to melt away.

Ha! She's a middle school girl. It's going to take more than runnin' and drummin' to chase all of THOSE worries away.

As for me, I'll just keep her well-fed. Here's a start:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
Serves 10

What You Need:

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/4 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup cereal (any kind will do. I used corn puffs, like Kix)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup oil (I used safflower)
• 1/3 cup honey

How it's Done:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine all the ingredients and press firmly into an 8- to 10" square baking dish.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Remove from the oven and let the granola cool completely. This allows it to set. Cut into bars. Store covered at room temperature.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies For the Best Kids

My great-grandmother was an imprecise, messy cook. She didn't measure things. She just made good food. One of the things she did very, very well was to bake chocolate chip cookies. I opt for measuring things, for my readers' benefit. I used to be a tosser just like my great-grandmother. Her chocolate chip cookies have been made for four generations now. Everyone loves them. They're not gourmet. They're not loaded with several types of chocolate. But when you want a great cookie, this is your go-to recipe.

My daughters started school today, so I'm baking these as a special after-school snack. They'll be thrilled. I hope they've had a great first day. All throughout my day, I've been thinking of them and wondering what they were doing, what they were feeling, and if they made any new friends. First days are tough sometimes, especially when you're starting middle school.

Here they are on their first day of school.

Bayberry started middle school this morning -- 6th grade.

Picky Eater started 2nd grade.

Want to follow my journey as I pack both kids' lunches all year? I have a blog for that. Want some yummy cookies? Read on!

Great-Grandmother's Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies

What You Need:

• 
  
  1 cup butter at room temperature
• 
  
  1 cup brown sugar
• 
  
  1 cup granulated sugar
• 
  
  2 tsp vanilla extract
• 
  
  3 large eggs
• 
  
  1 tsp sea salt
• 
  
  2 tsp baking soda
• 
  
  4 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
  at least 12 oz but up to 18 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

How it's Done:

1. 
   
   Preheat your oven to 375 and have a few ungreased cookie sheets ready to go.
2. 
   
   Cream the butter at medium-high speed for 30 seconds or so, to make it fluffier. Add the sugars and beat until creamy and smooth. One at a time, add the eggs, beating well between additions. Then, add the vanilla extract.
3. 
   
   Stir together the salt, flour, and baking soda. Add it to the batter slowly. Your batter's going to be so thick that you'll doubt the listed amount at first. Keep going. Four cups is not a typo.Scrape the sides as needed.
4. 
   
   Stir in, by hand, the chocolate chips. You're going to need a solid wooden spoon or something of similar strength for this task.
5. 
   
   Roll the dough out into big, thick, 2 to 2 1/2" thick balls. Place them 3" apart on the cookie sheets. Don't flatten them.
6. 
   
   Bake for 15 minutes or so, until the cookies are lightly browned. Try your best not to burn your mouth on the freshly baked cookies. As if I'd try to tell you to let them cool. Ha!

Bites Around My House...then the Blogosphere

It's August! For us, that means back to school. School starts on Friday in my neck of the woods. We're getting ready: we finished school shopping, we organized closets and drawers; we labeled school supplies with names; we are going to bed early and waking up early in preparation for the Big Day. When does school start for your kids? How do you prepare?

Breakfast this morning is a recipe from the Taste of Home Cookbook. It's not often I cook other people's recipes, because the more of other people's recipes I cook, the less I can create my own. However, I wanted some inspiration from other people and places this week, so I'm starting with a very tasty breakfast recipe called the Chocolate Chip Dutch Baby.

Chocolate Chip Dutch Baby
from Taste of Home

What You Need:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup 1/2 & 1/2
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 3 Tbsp butter

How it's Done:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. While it's preheating, stick the butter in a 9" pie plate and leave it to melt in the oven.
2. Meanwhile, beat eggs, 1/2 & 1/2, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine sugar and chocolate chips.
4. Remove the pie plate from the oven and carefully pour the batter over the hot butter. Sprinkle the chocolate chip mixture over top. Bake for 15 minutes or so, until the edges are puffed up and browned.
5. Serve right away, with maple syrup if desired. It's definitely sweet enough without the syrup, though.

I'm also looking for a few guest bloggers. Interested? I'm looking for home cooks who cook from scratch and would like to share their recipe here at All Home Cooking. Email me at all_home_cooking at yahoo dot com -- I'm looking for several bloggers to guest post over the course of the month of August. Hope to hear from you!

Speaking of other people's recipes, here are some that sparked my interest and that I will definitely be making in the future:

Peppermint Biscotti at Beat Until Fluffy

Plum and Raspberry Upside-Down Cake at Meet Me in the Kitchen

Fava Bean & Brown Rice Salad at So Good & Tasty

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Jam at Sugar Crafter

Blueberry Pie at What Megan's Making

Nicknames and Dogs

Day 169.

How many names does your dog (cat, ferret, gerbil, toad, parrot, gecko, turtle) have?

My Chihuahua's name is Diego. But he answers to Diego, Digger, Digger Do, Lil Cheech, Yowie Wowie, Angel Food Cake, Do Dah Day, and Pound Cake.

Pound Cake was a result of weight gain, so we could no longer call him Angel Food Cake. He gets called Pound Cake when his weight is too high, and Angel Food Cake when he loses his exess. And sometimes he gets called Angel Pound Cake.

He was a stray, too, so Pound Cake has a dual meaning.

Today, I was puttering in the kitchen, trying to decide on a dessert for tonight. I decided to make a pound cake. I told my husband.

And Diego came running.

Does anyone else give their pets more than one name, or is it just my nutty crew?

Enjoy dessert!

Chocolate Pecan Pound Cake

What You Need:

• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 cup unsalted sweet cream butter at room temperature
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup plain yogurt (full fat is better for the cake, but use what you have)

How it's Done:

1. Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the bottom of the pan. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between additions. Add the vanilla extract.
5. Now, alternate adding in the yogurt and the flour mixture. Beat well, scraping the bowl down as you do.
6. Pour batter over the nuts in the Bundt pan.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. This can take anywhere from 70 to 90 minutes.
8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes or so before inverting onto a plate.
9. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar, or make a glaze with milk and powdered sugar to drizzle on top.

If only I had cacao beans...

**Don't forget to enter to win an Easy LunchBox System!**

Day 159.

What says summertime better than S'mores? As far as I'm concerned, nothing! I have wanted to try my hand at marshmallow and graham cracker making for ages, and I've finally gone and done it. Those puffy cylinders at the grocery store and those sugary graham cracker stand-ins can't hold a candle to homemade. Sure, it looks delicious in my pictures, right? But is it worth YOUR time? I believe so. This is such a yummy, rewarding treat.

Be the cool mom on the block. Make your own marshmallows and graham crackers. And find some cacao beans and make chocolate bars. Just kidding.

Sort of.

I found my marshmallow recipe at The Hungry Mouse. Since I'm not in the habit of copying someone else's recipe verbatim, please go visit The Hungry Mouse for the actual measurements. I'll just give you a pictorial tutorial with my suggestions and opinions thrown in for good measure.

My chocolate graham cracker recipe is inspired by The Prepared Pantry. I changed it up a bit so I will list my recipe here. See The Prepared Pantry for original specifications.

Ready?

Here we go.

First, you will want to make your graham cracker dough. Stir together the following in a mixing bowl:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat graham flour (you can substitute whole wheat instead. graham is just a coarser grind)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Set it aside for the moment. In your mixer bowl, beat 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted sweet cream butter until it's creamy.

Beat in 2/3 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup honey. Next, mix in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 large egg.

Slowly stir in the dry mixture. You should end up with a firm, sticky dough. If it's too wet to make a ball, add a little more graham flour to the mix.

Move your dough to the fridge and let it chill for several hours to firm up.



Now it's time to start your marshmallows.

First, you mix your gelatin with your cold water in your mixer bowl and stir it up really well.

Don't smell it. Don't do it.

Next you prepare your pans for the marshmallow to set in. This is a very messy process so wear an apron and keep a cloth and broom handy. Sift powdered sugar onto your desired molds. I used a 10" square dish and a 9x11" rectangular dish. In retrospect, two 10" squares would have been better. My marshmallows would have been higher.

prepared pan for marshmallow fluff to turn into marshmallows

Then, it's time to make the sugar syrup. You'll need a tall pot, a whisk, a pastry brush, a bowl of cold water, sugar, corn syrup, a candy thermometer, and salt.

The Hungry Mouse says that you will need to brush sugar crystals from the sides of your pot. I never experienced much of that at all. Anyway, you will whisk together the water, sugar, salt, and corn syrup.

Then you need to clip on a candy thermometer. I have never owned one of these until this week. Trust me. Use it. What I thought was firm ball stage based on my perception was actually nearly 60 degrees colder than it needed to be! Use a thermometer. Here's mine:

Bring the sugar syrup to a boil and keep it there, on high heat, DON'T STIR, just leave it alone, until it reaches 244 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes longer than you think.

Remove it from the heat. Now, go see your gelatin. Stir it up. It will be dry-ish and chunky.

DON'T SMELL IT. DON'T. TRUST ME.

Put your splash guard on your stand mixer's bowl. Slowly pour the sugar syrup into your gelatin, with your mixer on low speed.

Even though you've now added your sugary goodness to the gelatin which you have not, to this point, sniffed,

DON'T SMELL IT. For the love of Pete, DON'T SMELL IT. You'll regret it and doubt your final product. Don't smell the stuff.

Now, set this to mix on medium-high for a full twenty minutes. Amazing things will happen. But for now, get back to your graham crackers.

Go get your dough. Divide it into three pieces to make your work easier. Roll each piece out onto parchment paper, to 1/4" thickness. Use a pizza cutter to cut squares/diamonds, but leave them all connected while they bake. Prick each piece with a fork several times. Slide your parchment onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about ten to twelve minutes.

Let them cool. They will still be soft when you take them out of the oven, but they'll harden up as they cool. Once cool, break them into pieces and enjoy!

Don't eat them all because we're making S'Mores, remember? Right about now, your marshmallow goo should look like pretty, shiny, puffy, white marshmallow fluff!

DON'T SMELL IT!

Instead, add your massive amount of vanilla extract (1/4 cup!) and beat it again for five more minutes.

NOW you can smell it. Go on. I know you're dying to smell it. Pour your fluff (well, scoop...or plop, or whatever) into your prepared pans.

This is a messy, messy process. You need lots of hot soapy water when you're done.

You think this is bad? you should have seen my fingers!

Now, dust the tops of your molds with powdered sugar and leave them alone for the night, uncovered, on your counter.

The next day, unmold your marshmallows. Use a sharp knife to cut around the edges of your pan. Lift the marshmallow up and out and only a clean surface for cutting. I cut mine into squares, You can do whatever you want. Dip the cut edges into more powdered sugar so they don't stick together.

Voila! Marshmallows!

Since I can't do it all ;) I bought some high-quality chocolate for my S'Mores.

Yum.

For more yummy recipes, visit Blessed with Grace for Tempt my Tummy Tuesday!

When Just a Bit Will Do

Day 140.

Picky Eater is in a musical today with her gifted class at school. She's worked so hard since January on this and my husband and I are so proud of her. She's been belting out tunes from the production all year, practicing enunciating her line and all of the songs, doing her choreographed moves throughout the house. I can't wait to see it all come together tonight. She plays a Celtic woman. :)

To celebrate, her daddy is picking up flowers and I am making a special dessert: individual trifles. It's just the four of us, and one of us can't eat cake. Not wanting a bunch of leftovers sitting around begging to be eaten, I made this recipe. It makes a small loaf cake (or you could use it to make cupcakes or a single 8" round cake). Perfect for my purposes. Perfect for a small family celebration.

Small Recipe Chocolate Cake

What You Need:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• dash of salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup hot water

How it's Done:

1. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add all at once to dry ingredients and whisk briskly for 2 minutes.
3. Pour hot water into batter and stir to combine.
4. Pour into a greased 9x5" loaf pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

I used this recipe to make peanut butter cup trifles. Layers of peanut butter frosting, chocolate cake, and whipped cream. Decadent. :o)

Silly Warning Labels

Day 137.

Have you ever paid attention to some of the warning labels on merchandise? Here's a few I can remember:

• On a fishing lure: Caution! Harmful if swallowed.
• On a stroller: Remove child before folding.
• On a hair dryer: Do not use while bathing.
• An iron: never iron clothing while it is being worn.
• On a wheelbarrow: Not intended for highway use.
• On a Dremmel tool: Not for use as a dental drill.
• Christmas Lights: WARNING! For indoor or outdoor use ONLY!
• Car window sunscreen: Do not operate car with screen in place.

Pretty funny, right? But you know that there's always a reason for those weird labels. Someone had to be dumb enough to do that stuff and sue the company over it before the company had to put those warnings in place.

Here's another warning:

This warning it on the back of my can of sweetened condensed milk.

Call me a rule breaker, or a label maker. I heated it in the can and it was wonderful. Note: I do not advise you to heat your sweetened condensed milk in its can. No, I would never advise you to use your slow cooker and a can of sweetened condensed milk to make luscious dulce de leche that's so tasty you can scarcely let it cool enough so as not to burn your tongue before diving into it.

Because the can says you should never do that.

Ever.

...But if you were interested, for purely scientific reasons, about how mine turned out, it would only be fair for me to show you, right?

So first, you'll want to peel off the label. That way, the pesky warning isn't staring your defiance in the face the whole time. Set it on an old rag in your slow cooker. If you don't, you'll end up with a weird ring where the metal of the can meets the crock. Fill the crock with water. Cover it and heat it on low for 8 to 10 hours or so.

Take it out with tongs. It's hot. Open it up. Mine squirted hot caramel at me when I punctured the can, so be careful.

Try not to eat the whole thing at once, and maybe you can use it to make these delicious brownies:

Dulce de Leche Brownies

What You Need:

• 1/2 cup dulce de leche
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• dash of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

How it's Done:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a square 8" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Beat butter, eggs, and sugar together. Add vanilla.
3. Stir in cocoa powder, sea salt, and flour.
4. Spread batter in prepared pan. Dot with dulce de leche. Use a knife to create some swirls with it, but leave some of it in clumps, too.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Allow the brownies to cool before cutting. If you can.

The Many Degrees of Yum

Day 130.

When eating, there are many stages of deliciousness that one can experience. They look like this:

Degrees of Yum

Stage One: Yuck. I can't believe my taste buds! This is the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten! I can't bring myself to take another bite. I will never, ever eat this again. I need water. Quickly.

Stage Two: This is not very tasty. It's not worth spending my appetite on. It's not the worst thing ever, but burnt toast tastes better than this. I'm putting my fork down and looking for something better to eat.

Stage Three: Well, it's not terrible, but it's not great, either. If it means not hurting someone's feelings, I can bare to eat the rest of this. If it's all that's available, it's fine. I'll eat it. It wouldn't be my go-to dining option, but it's food, and I'm hungry.

Stage Four: This isn't bad at all! Could use something...maybe some salt, or a sauce, but this dish has potential. I will definitely eat this again, perhaps with some revisions to the recipe.

Stage Five: Wow! Now THIS is tasty. Whoever came up with this dish was a genius! I wonder if they'll share their recipe with me. I must have this dish again! I can't imagine going through my life without having had this dish at least one more time, and I'm going to recommend this dish to all my friends. Yum! There's a party in my tummy!

Stage Six: THIS dish is so good that I can't help but gobble it up as quickly as I can possibly choke it down! I can't believe I've never had this before! Where was I? Where was this dish? It's so good that I want seconds. And thirds. Can I bring some home with me? Hey, you over there! You have GOT to try this. It's amazing!

Stage Seven: The elusive stage seven. I suspect many people go through life having never reached this level of culinary ecstasy. At stage seven, nothing else exists but me and the dish. All movement in the room has ceased. There are no sounds except the sound of angels singing. I am beyond shoveling, for shoveling wouldn't do this dish justice. No, this is a dish best savored slowly. Very slowly. Let your lips feel it. Let your tongue feel it. Smell it. Taste it. Slowly. Eat it very, very slowly. Enjoy every morsel of this heavenly delight. This is the most delicious dish I've had in a long, long time. It's so good that it brings tears to my eyes. It's so good that I can't adequately describe it. It's so good that all I can do is enjoy it and gush over it, and I think about it for hours, days, weeks, and months after I experience it. It's so good that continuing to describe Stage Seven is pointless. One must experience Stage Seven to understand. Allow me to help you get there.

The Most Delicious Chocolate Cake. Ever. (a.k.a. Flourless Chocolate Cake)
adapted from Whole Foods

What You Need:

• 2 cups dark chocolate chips, divided (1 1/3 cup for the cake, 2/3 cup for the icing) (the recipe calls for bittersweet, but to be honest, I don't know the difference and bittersweet was twice the cost)
• 2 sticks of butter (plus 3 Tbsp later for the icing)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (recipe calls for 1 1/4 but I used 1 1/2 accidentally and it was fabulous)
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp honey (recipe calls for 1 Tbsp but I found it needed more)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (recipe calls for 1/4 tsp, but again, I thought more was better)

How it's Done:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9" spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray. The recipe calls for us to line our pan bottom with parchment, but a.) I didn't have any, b.) I am trying to use less stuff that goes in the garbage, and c.) I like to keep things cheap and simple when possible, so I didn't use it.
2. In the microwave (or in a double boiler, your choice), melt the 1 1/3 cups chocolate chips with the cup of butter. Do this 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each go, just until the chips are almost melted. Then stir briskly to finish the job.
3. Stir in the sugar.
4. Add in the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between additions. Make sure all the whites are incorporated well.
5. Sift the cocoa powder into the batter. I don't have a sifter, so I used a colander instead and it worked wonderfully. I just tapped the side. I did it a little at a time, stirring now and then to get the cocoa mixed in well.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the middle is just set. Remove from oven and allow the cake to cool for ten minutes.
7. Carefully remove the sides from the pan and invert the cake onto a cake plate or stand. Allow the cake to cool completely.
8. Now, prepare the icing. Melt the remaining 2/3 cup chips with the 3 Tbsp butter. Stir in the milk, honey, and vanilla.
9. Pour the icing onto the cake, and, using a flat spatula, spread it over the entire top and down the sides of the cake.
10. Let the cake sit a while to firm up. The recipe says to refrigerate it for a while, and you can, if you last that long.
11. Savor it. Slowly.
12. Put the rest in the fridge for later. :)