Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Now that we know how to make English Muffins, Holliandase, and how to poach an egg, it's time
for Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict!

I hate Canadian bacon, so while I make Eggs Benedict the traditional way for The Good Husband, I like mine with smoked salmon. Really any excuse I have to eat smoked salmon for breakfast I will use.

The richness of the butter, combined with the warm soft yolk of the poached egg and the soft butter texture of the smoked salmon, will have you in sensory overload.

Ingredients:
1 English Muffin, split and toasted
2 poached eggs
Holliandase to taste
6 oz smoked salmon

Directions:
~Top toasted English Muffin with smoked salmon, poached egg and cover with a generous portion of Holliandase. Serve immediately.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Blender Hollandaise

Since I bought a new full size food processor for my birthday, I decided one of the first things I should make was blender Hollandaise. Since I am still scared to make the real over the stove version, I thought this would be a nice introduction for me. And Eggs Benedict was something The Good Husband requested for dinner recently.

I checked out some blogs for a basic recipe and my trusty Joy of Cooking. Really all this sauce is, is butter, egg yolks and lemon juice. There didn't seem to be a consensus of the proper ratio of butter to egg. I saw everything from 4 egg yolks and 1 stick of butter to 3 egg yolks and 2 sticks of butter. So armed with the knowledge that I couldn't screw up the ingredients, I set out to use my new food processor for the first time.

While I didn't screw up the ratios, I think I could have made sure the butter was a little hotter before I added it to the processor. I added the butter while it was warm, not hot, to the processor and by the time I was finished adding all of it, the sauce had cooled considerably. That said, I probably took a gamble on having the yolks cooked enough, but I lived so it must have been ok.

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1 stick buttered
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:
~In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add egg yolks, salt and pepper and blend for 2 minutes to combine.

~Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter until hot but not brown. With the food processor or blender still running, slowly pour butter into egg mixture until combined. Add the juice of one lemon and continue blending. If sauce is too thick add more lemon juice until desired consistency. Add cayenne pepper to taste and serve immediately.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Homemade English Muffins

This is another one of those recipes that you don't think to make yourself because you can buy it at the store. Then I saw an episode of Good Eats and Alton made these English Muffins and they looked so easy. For a yeast bread there is only one rise of 30 minutes, so it doesn't take that long to make them either.

I made these with white flour the first time but the next time I make them I plan on using whole wheat. Once I master the recipe, it will be a hell of a lot cheaper than the $4.50 it costs for whole wheat English Muffins at the store. The whole wheat version will always have a special place in my heart since when I was pregnant with The Good Daughter, I developed gestational diabetes. I had to severely limit my carb intake and even had to take insulin. For breakfast I could only eat 30 grams of carbs. That equals one whole wheat English Muffin and one 8 oz glass of milk. That's it.

Anything more than 30 grams of carbs in the morning sent my blood sugar soaring and it was not good for the baby. So for 5 months, I ate this breakfast every day. I still like to eat it but take comfort in the fact that I can have a 16 oz glass of milk.

And in case you are wondering what the hell else I could eat for breakfast - ONE pancake the size of a CD, ONE cup of whole grain cereal with 1/2 cup of milk, or 1/2 banana and 8 oz of milk.

I used my large biscuit cutter instead of any special rings or tuna cans for several reasons; 1.) None of the 9 stores I went to Tuesday morning HAD English Muffin rings and 2.) There is no can the size of a tuna can that I could open both the top and the bottom. Not a tuna can, not canned chicken can, not canned ham. Nothing.

So I would suggest using either a biscuit cutter with a handle or a round cookie cutter.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening, I subbed butter
1 cup hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Non-stick vegetable spray
Cornmeal for dusting

Directions:
~In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water. Allow yeast to dissolve. Combine with dry milk mixture. Add flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.

~Preheat a griddle to 300 degrees F.

~Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Sprinkle cornmeal into bottom of ring and fill rings with batter 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle additional cornmeal on top. Cover with a cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

~Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork and serve.


Most of the English Muffins I looked up on other food blogs didn't do this ring baking process. As a result of me using it, the muffins turned out thick and dense. For the next round I might try an alternative, ringless version.

recipe by: Alton Brown

Toad in a Hole

My good friend Annie made this breakfast recipe previously. She calls it Eggy Bread. Here at casa The Good Wife, we call it Toad in a Hole. I have no idea why we call it that but that's what they called it in V is for Vendetta. Look it up. Actually, don't. The movie was long and boring and even though stuff blows up, it didn't hold my attention.

Back to breakfast. The Good Daughter loves eggs for breakfast. I try not to give her too many eggs a week since I worry about the cholesterol, but she does eat them about twice a week. She also eats - and I use the term "eats" loosely since most of it ends up on the floor - a piece of toast each morning. So pressed for time one morning it dawned on me that I hadn't made this for her yet.

I toasted the cutout too and I sopped up most of the yolk and ate it before giving TGD the rest. Needless to say this fast and easy breakfast will now make a more routine appearance for breakfast.

I tried used to crack the egg and after it set, would flip the toast and cook the egg on the other side. However, I found that I cooked the egg too long that way and made the yolk almost solid. Since I like my egg yolk runny, I only cook the egg on one side now. If you prefer your egg more done, cook on both sides.

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 slice of bread
butter
salt and pepper

Directions:
~In a small skillet over medium low heat, melt a pat of butter, roughly 2 tablespoons.

~Using a medium biscuit cutter, cut a hole out of the slice of bread. Once the butter is melted, add bread and brown on each side for a few minutes. Once the bread is browned, crack egg directly into the pan, trying to keep the egg in the hole of the bread. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

~After the egg has cooked for a minute, using a small spatula, push the cooked egg white towards the yolk and allow the uncooked egg white to run into the pan in the hole. Continue to cook the egg by moving the egg white into the center of the bread and allowing the excess to run into the pan and cook until the egg is the desired doneness.

~Remove from heat and serve warm.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Chocolate Chai Cupcakes

It was my birthday recently. The big 2-9. The last year before ::whispers, panicked:: thirty. Panic, panic? Let's eat some chocolate!

Chai spiced tea is actually my favorite tea and one of the only things I get when I go to any coffee shop. Add to that I recently found an organic chai chocolate bar at my local grocery store and I just had to make something with the flavor combination. Since truffles are a little too labor intensive for me right now, I thought a cupcake would be a good idea.

I was inspired by this recipe from Cupcake Bake Shop. She runs a great blog with so many unique cupcake flavors, it is unreal.

I made these twice. Both times I used the frosting recipe listed below and both times I found it too sweet. No one else complained but I think I am done with this kind of frosting recipe.

Chai Spice Mix

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons fennel, whole
2 teaspoons cloves, whole
1 tablespoon cardamom, ground
2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
2 teaspoons ginger, ground

Directions:
~ Grind the fennel and cloves in a coffee grinder.

~Combine the fennel and clove mixture with the cardamom, cinnamon and ginger in a small bowl and mix to combine.


Chocolate Chai Spice Cupcakes
24 regular cupcakes

Ingredients:
200 gram bar of 61% cacao
3 sticks butter
2-1/4 cups sugar
8 eggs
1-1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons chai spice mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Directions:
~Chop chocolate and cube butter. Combine butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl and place over a pan on simmering water. Stir until melted and combined, careful to not let the water boil or touch the bottom of the bowl.

~Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes.

~In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, chai spice mix and salt and mix until blended.

~Transfer the chocolate mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 3 minutes.

~Add eggs, one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds until the egg has been combined.

~With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

~Fill cupcake 2/3 the way full and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


Chai Spice Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
2-4 teaspoons chai spice mix, to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons crystallized ginger

Directions:
~Beat butter until creamy. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, milk, spice mix, vanilla and ginger. Beat until combined.

~Add more powdered sugar and chai spice as needed until desired flavor and consistency.


I added closed to 4 teaspoons of the chai mix just because I like it so much. The chai flavor in the cupcake is subtle, so the addition of the mix in the frosting really brings out the flavor. I also don't think I added 4 cups of powdered sugar, just because it was too sweet for me.

Overall these produced a dense, moist cake and a light frosting. They were also a big hit at both The Good Husband's work and my grad class. But I also need to clearly work on my frosting skills.

Taking The Good Baby to the State Fair

This year The Good Baby celebrated an important milestone here in the Midwest - her first State Fair.

Usually it is unbearably hot during the fair and it always rains for at least one day. The day we went was hot but nothing like previous summers. We decided to go after TGB had her morning nap so we could eat lunch and explore for a few hours before she needed her afternoon nap.

While TGB sat happily in her stroller people watching, I had chocolate covered bacon and deep fried key lime pie.

The bacon tasted more like a salty chocolate covered pretzel. I didn't taste too much of the bacon. The deep fried key lime pie just wasn't good. The batter was too thick, I couldn't actually use the stick to hold it and I hate powdered sugar. Since this is the second time I have had something deep fried that was bad, I think my deep fried dessert days are over.


This is the part of the fair I really like. Every damn year I forget what building the produce and food contests are in and I kinda wander around aimlessly until The Good Husband remembers. By this time we are usually on the other side of the fair grounds, so by the time we find it, we are thankful it is one of the few buildings on the grounds air conditioned.

Notice the blue ribbon and champion winners are in a refrigerated case. The runners up have to withstand the elements for 10 days.


On to the animal barns. I feel bad for the sheep since it is so hot and for whatever reason, they have to sleep in coats. The pigs were not dealing well with the heat. TGB got to pet a friendly goat. One of the sheep nipped at her, so she was happy the goat was kinder.


Awarding winning foods. Look at that pie crust. I can never make mine look so pretty.


TGB had a mini donut for the first time. The thing is covered in sugar and while it is definitely not organic or healthy, we let her have a few since it was her first fair. Other than her birthday cake with organic sugar, she has never had so much sugar at once. At first she was skeptical. But in the end, she liked it.

We also wore her out. Never before has she fallen asleep in her stroller. Thank god we brought the one that reclined and not her umbrella stroller.

I'm Betty Draper. You be the interior decorator

Remember in season 3 when Betty had the formal living room redecorated and then bought that fugly fainting couch all because Henry Francis pointed it out to her?

Well I already have something similar to the fugly fainting couch and I need help decorating around it. Right now I have new construction white walls with nothing hanging on them. We have been too scared to nail any holes in the wall even though we plan to be here for 20 years. I also have no sense of style and I have never painted anything before in my life.

The Good Husband hates what he calls fun houses - where every room is a different color. So the plan is to paint all the common areas - living room, dining room, guest bathroom - all the same color and paint The Good Baby's and our bed and bathroom separate colors.

This is how our living room looks now (click to enlarge)


To the left of the armchair (and notice our super fancy tv tray end table) is the kitchen and dining room. To the right of the couch is the hallway to the bedrooms and bathroom. The tv is out of frame, opposite the sliding glass doors.

The couch and the chair and ottoman are a tan-ish olive color. The drapes are a khaki color and the carpet is grey.

I was thinking about painting the wall with the fireplace and the half wall a dark grey color and all the other walls in the house 2 shades lighter. I think the grey would look good with the carpet but I don't know if it would look good with anything else. I can move the couch and chair and into the basement and buy something more compatible with grey walls if I had to. The curtains will have to stay for now since we just bought them and you know TGH is too cheap to let me change them.

I like the Colonial Cobblestone and Family Tree colors of Dutch Boy paint. I don't know if I can get them in a low VOC however and that is important to us.

The fireplace is another issue in itself. I want a large sliver frame mirror over the fireplace and only a few photos on the mantle. The rest of the photos I want to move to floating shelves on a wall - either the one next to the arm chair or the one opposite the sliding glass door (more decisions!).

TGH is not fond of mirrors over the fireplace but I don't know what else to put there.



So any suggestion would be great, whether paint colors or mantle ideas. Anything is welcome.

First Trip to the Zoo

We were going to go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday but instead I read in the paper our local zoo was having a ceremonial stroller walk for World Breastfeeding Week. I thought it would be nice to go, to show support for the lost art of breastfeeding, to celebrate the 11 months I nursed and pumped and to see the animals.

The Good Baby had a great time.

She got to see some animals like this African deer.

She also got to see goats in the petting zoo area. At first she wasn't sure about the goats but the were incredibly tame from being around people. They were very gentle, but persistent, when eating from your hand.

And I do mean persistent. This guy nibbled on my shirt until I gave him something to eat.

The Good Baby wasn't scared at all, which I love how fearless she is.

Our next big first with TGB will be going to the State Fair. I cannot wait.

Trip to the Farmer's Market #6 and assessment

This was the first FM we have been to since coming home from vacation. I always get in a weird place after we get home and I am distracted for a week or so. I have to clean everything in the house from top to bottom, which now takes longer since The Good Baby likes to help. I lose track of days and it takes me a while to fall back in routine.

But I have settled now and last Thursday TGB, me and The Good Husband all went to the night market. We came home with potatoes, cantaloupe, blackberries, an eggplant, brats and sweet corn.

We had dinner of brats, 'taters and corn with cantaloupe for dessert.

We had planned on going to the farmer's market on Saturday but then I saw our local zoo was having a breastfeeding walk for World Breastfeeding Week and we decided to go to that instead. Post to follow.

Sadly the farmer's market season is just more than half way finished. There is only 12 weeks more to go. I should start buying produce to can and freeze now for the winter. I will have to make a list of what all I will need. I will also have to clean out the pantry.

It has been fascinating to watch the different produce come and go from the market. Strawberries have been replaced by peaches. Tomatoes and sweet corn have arrived, as have melons and black- and rasp- berries. Zucchini and summer squash are preparing the way for acorn and butternut. Veggies like green beans, 'taters, onions and peppers have been a staple, available at almost every market.

For someone that never thought about food seasons before and the origins of food, it has been a valuable lesson for me.