I Want My Lost Hour Back

Did we lose an hour today when we did that "Spring Ahead" thing? I know I slept a little later than usual.
I stayed up way too late into the morning hours, watching this...

...So good. When I went to the Tower of London I was a little breathless when I stood in the spot where Anne was beheaded and then a little speechless when I went into the chapel where she is buried.

I figured I could squeeze a nap into this afternoon but I got a little ambitious. I found this recipe on HuffPo to recreate those boneless ribs you get at the Chinese restaurants. They're marinating in the fridge right now. This recipe!!

I'm also baking bread today. We're doing as much whole grains in our diet as we can. I don't like the taste of Whole Wheat, but I do like white wheat. I went to the Fresh Market yesterday and found this...

YES! King Arthur! 100% Organic! White Whole Wheat! This recipe!! From the Baking Bites blog.

I love that time of year when the clementines show up in the store. They were $4 for a 3 pound bag yesterday so I was very happy....until I tried one last night and it was TERRIBLE...dry and tasteless.

Sooooooo disappointed. Do I have time to schlep them back to the store?

Do I have time to finish the NY Times Sunday crossword? And read the paper? And do a load of laundry? And go for a walk? And wash the kitchen floor? And make coleslaw and cook rice to go with the ribs?

I want my hour back!!

How to ardhboil an egg

Before AND After

Last night I wanted a hardboiled egg on my salad. I don't hardboil eggs often enough to remember the recipe, so I turned to Google. Because Google knows everything.

I typed without looking....how to ardhboil an egg. Google came back with "Sorry lady, we got nothin' "

So I tried again....how to hardboil an egg. This time Google came back with http://howtohardboilanagg.com/ (DO NOT CLICK, THERE IS A DISCLAIMER)

After I hit my head with my palm and said "DUH", I clicked. I expected a paragraph on some egg cooking website. But NO! There is an ENTIRE WEBSITE devoted to how to hardboil an egg. And it's SIX PAGES LONG! Come along with me. Imagine I'm frowning and tilting my head.

Chicken Cartoon on top. Under that is this line..."Hard boiled eggs for your recipes cooked perfectly every time with my simple instructions. Please read our disclaimer before use."

Disclaimer? Yes, an entire page of disclaimer that warned you not to SUE if your computer caught a virus from the website (Thanks for that information, dudes. It's too late now.)

Tips and Advice: A page on how to use old eggs and center the yolks.

Page 1: Ready to get started. All about pans and water.

Page 2: How to cook the eggs.

Page 3: How to cool the eggs.

Page 4: How to crack and peel the eggs.

Page 5: The previously mentioned disclaimer.

This is my Cliffnotes version: Put eggs in pan of cold water. Bring water to a boil.This takes 6 minutes. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! I did because my daughter says I'm a BAMF and I had to go to the bathroom. Move pan off heat. WEAR OVEN GLOVES! Put eggs in bowl of water and ice. Set timer for 30 minutes. Crack and peel the eggs.

See? 1 paragraph. The eggs? Way overcooked with very gummy yolks.

I'm going to read over that disclaimer again to see if I can sue.

Margarita Chex Mix

PROCRASTINATION STATION: UPDATE

I finished the Shoebox Gifts for the Nursing Home.
I did a little Gift Shopping.
The tree now has a STAR. Still no garland or ornaments.
I bagged up the Margarita Chex Mix to send to my brother.
I got a haircut.

Today I will get my nails done, make Chocolate Lollipops and Peppermint Bark for my nieces and nephews, get the car registrations renewed, have lunch with Sorority Girl, pick up prescriptions, pack to go to Mom's for 4 days.

Speaking of MARGARITA CHEX MIX here's the recipe.

1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
2 T of lime juice (or Tequila)
2 tsp of Seasoned Salt
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper (if you like a little more kick-I don't)
2 envelopes of DRY margarita mix
6 cups of Chex (any combo you like)
1 cup of nuts (any combo or variety you like)
1 cup of mini pretzels
1 cup of plain goldfish crackers
1 cup of dried cranberries



Preheat oven to 250 deg. Melt the butter in a large roasting pan.
Add the seasoned salt, lime juice (or tequila), and dry margarita mix. STIR.
Add all the snacky items except the dried cranberries. Stir to coat the snacky items.
Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Add dried cranberries.
Let cool on paper towels.
Enjoy!

Poverty Party Needs Cake

Do you like Carrot Cake? I do.

Have you shopped for a Carrot Cake lately?

$150 Neiman Marcus Carrot Cake. That's more than my Cable/Internet bill!
$57 Black Hound NY Carrot Cake. That's a tank full of gas!
$12.99 Winn Dixie grocery store bakery carrot cake. That's 4 pounds of pork chops!

What's a cake-craving girl to do? She bakes her own! So here's my recipe for 3 Layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Disclaimer #1: I love to cook and bake. I also have a Costco membership and buy most of my baking supplies there, or stock up when the grocery store has a good sale. With the Holidays coming up, the stores are already putting baking supplies on sale, some sale prices will be in effect until Jan.

Disclaimer #2: I'm in love with my little Oskar food processor. If I had to grate the carrots by hand I'm not sure I would tackle this project.

Here's the breakdown of cost: Flour (9 cents), Cooking Oil (50 cents) Sugar (50 cents),Cinnamon (umm, maybe a penny), Eggs (47 cents), Carrots ($1), Pineapple (75 cents), Cream Cheese ($1.50) Confectioner Sugar ( 89 cents) Vanilla extract (pennies).

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups of flour
3 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 and 1/2 cups of cooking oil
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs
2 cups of grated carrots
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple (don't drain!)
Optional: walnuts and/or raisins. My daughter likes neither so I left them out.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and Flour 3 round 8-inch cake pans

Blend Oil, Sugar and Eggs. Blend in Flour, baking powder,salt and Cinnamon. Fold in Carrot and the can of pineapple including the juice.

Divide evenly into the 3 cake pans. Bake 50 to 60 minutes at 325. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, remove from pans and completely cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting: Whip 8 0z of confectioner sugar, 1 tsp butter or margarine, 1 tsp of vanilla, 8 oz of softened cream cheese. Frost between layers and top of cake. I usually don't frost the sides.

This cake and frosting is EXTREMELY rich. We've been slivering it for 3 days now and there is still a LOT of cake under the dome!

VOILA! 3 Layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting for about $5.71

Caramel Pumpkin Pound Cake

"Miss Truvy, I promise that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair." Annelle.-Steel Magnolias

I haven't got much today, so you're getting a recipe. The Sorority Girl is in a panic because Semi-formal is Friday night, she wants me to do her hair and I have to work until 6pm. Mr Sunshine State wants me to cut his hair this morning. Does my family think I went to hairdressing school?

I made this cake last week. It was dangerously good. So dangerously good we each took a quarter of it to work to share. We didn't want the whole thing in the house talking to us from under the cake dome. I didn't even make the sauce or glaze but instead I added the chopped walnuts to the cake. I can't remember where I found the recipe.

Pumpkin Caramel Pound Cake
2 3/4 C sugar
1 1/2 C butter
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs
3 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1 small can pumpkin
1/4 C caramel ice cream syrup

Sauce:
1/2 C heavy whipping cream
2 Tbs butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 C walnuts
1 cup firmly packed brown suger
Maple Syrup to taste

You can also make a glaze-type icing with confectioner sugar and caramel ice cream syrup and 2/3 cup of chopped walnuts.

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9 or 10" bundt pan.In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Slowly mix into creamed mixture, alternately with the canned pumpkin. Beat well after each addition. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350°F for 60-70 minutes. Toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a serving plate.

While the cake is cooking, in a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, maple syrup, heavy whipping cream, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat; stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and walnuts. Serve sauce warm over cake.