Tag Archives: boyfriend

by

Gingerbread top loaf

There are times in life when one hits the jack pot, and I am reminded of this  whenever I open to door to Mom’s house and the warm, sharp scent of a ginger loaf wafts out. This smell alerts a primal area of my brain that soon I will be enjoying tea, a warm piece of ginger loaf, juicy gossip, and fending off questions about Boyfriend.

Alas for me, I do not get to visit Mom’s house often. Time gives perspective and city living certainly has some amazing advantages, but now that I’ve been Away for 4.5 years, I’ve realized that there are some things I will never find up here, such as homemade goods. <sad face>

Luckily I just spent 2 weeks visiting home; and aside from the simple pleasures of getting to know my new niece and listening to Grandpa’s stories, I enjoyed numerous tasty treats!! I’ve been back in the city for a few days, and this weekend I decided the first thing I would bake would be Mom’s gingerbread loaf.

Oh, how innocently it began!

Good to know before you start: if you are feeling congested this is a great dish to make, it clears out your sinuses like you wouldn’t believe

Time required: 2.5 hours (30 min prep, 40 min baking, then cool)

Yields: 16 pieces or more

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $26.00

Kitchen implements I used:

  • pastry blender
  • baking pan 9″ x 9″

Ingredients:

  • ½ C shortening
  • ½ C granulated white sugar
  • 1 egg, room temp
  • 1 C molasses
  • 1 C boiling water
  • 2¼ C flour
  • 1½ TSP baking soda
  • 1 TSP salt
  • 1 TSP ginger, ground
  • 1 TSP cinnamon, ground
  • ½ TSP cloves, ground

Step 1 – pre-heat oven 177°C / 350°F. Boil water in the kettle.

Step 2 – grease and flour a 9″ x 9″ pan. Hmm. Something seems odd.

Step 3 – in a small bowl combine: flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.

I used a wire whisk to blend the dry ingredients, and before I measured the molasses, I sprayed a light coat of Pam into the measuring cup. (Works like a charm when you’re dealing with sticky ingredients like this or peanut butter.)

Step 4- in a large bowl, cream shortening, sugar, and egg, until fluffy.

In retrospect I’m not sure if a pastry blender was the best idea for this, it was a bit lumpy.

Step 5 – add molasses to wet mixture and beat in well.

Step 6- stir in boiling water.

Step 7 – add dry mixture to wet.

Step 8 – pour mixture into baking pan, bake 45 min. Remove loaf from pan.

Step 9 – cool on rack for at least one hour. This is the moment everything fell apart. Much cursing was done.

I examined the part that remained in the pan. It wasn’t burnt, just stuck. I used a spatula to remove it, and tried setting it in place, which was a bad idea.

So I took the bottom part back off, hence “top loaf”. And you know, it smelled right, and it looked right (until it came out of the pan). That’s when I realized I used the wrong size pan.

Verdict: What a nightmare. The top side of the loaf was slightly overdone, it had a faint crispness that should not have been there, when ginger loaf is done correctly it’s got the same consistency of banana bread. I assume this was caused by the dough being spread too thin by the length of the pan.

Boyfriend and his friend tested it, and said it was good, but I know I can do better. I was so discouraged, this is the 4th cake/loaf-type thing I’ve made in recent months that fell apart, all that effort and care gone to waste.  Maybe I’ll try this again tomorrow in the proper pan.

by

And then there was one

Despite that fact that really, I am not a morning person, I actually do enjoy mornings. Boyfriend would disagree, but I’ve never claimed to enjoy the process of waking up or getting out of bed – shudder – however there is something intangible to be found in being the only one awake, and having your home to yourself. Presently I am drinking tea and waiting for Boyfriend to wake up.

After another frustrating hunt through the kitchen it occurs to me that Boyfriend and I ought to re-organize and reduce our possessions. The kitchen is not very big, and after knocking something over for the umpteenth time I flipped out and  took a count.  I found:

  • 2 bread makers (same model)
  • 2 slow cookers (different sizes)
  • 2 toasters (one functional, one… novelty)
  • 5 cutting boards (seriously?!!)
  • 2 kettles (stove-top and electric)
  • 3 indoor grills (various sizes)
  • 3 sets of dry good canisters
  • ridiculous amount of dishes, particularly mugs and glasses
  • numerous duplicate utensils and implements
  • pots and pans up the wazoo
  • endless Tupperware

How did this happen? After the Great Tupperware Purge of August 2010 I don’t understand. Does it spawn more?

Suddenly my habit of buying a mug from new places I visit for the first time no longer seems whimsical, just poor future planning. Especially when out of all the mugs I own, the only one I use is the big green one. But say goodbye to my keepsake from Stonehenge, or the AGO, or the zoo? Never!

When we moved in together, the idea of reducing household items was loosely discussed, and I think we just went with the notion that if both people had the same thing, keep the one in best condition and donate the other.

And then the Resistance started. Neither was willing to part with our bread makers, when both were gifts from our families.

“How nice it will be to make two loaves at once!” I said. (Which we did a grand total of one time.)

“How useful it will be,” Boyfriend said, “to have my electric kettle as back up in case the stove stops working. You’d be sad without tea.”

“I can’t give up my slow cooker!” I said. “My mom gave that to me.”

“So did mine!” he said.

“My toaster actually works,” I said. “Yours has a fake hand inside it.”

“My friends gave me this! I’m not getting rid of it!” he said.

“Fine. Just don’t put it on the counter, that’s valuable kitchen real estate.”

And so it goes on. Maybe this would be a good weekend to re-watch Fight Club, and reflect on how “The things you own end up owning you.”

by

Untitled post is untitled

Tonight I’ll be making a cheesecake bar dessert, but in the meantime, I read a fantastic book recently; Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.

It’s a personal account of the disastrous Mt. Everest climb of 1996. The first IMAX movie I saw was  Everest, which (unbeknownst to me) was filmed during the same time that the events of the novel occurred. I will definitely watch the film again soon.

Today I’m on the hunt for a specific item, a 10.5″ x 15.5″ baking pan deep enough to hold a 9″ x 13″ pan, for a water bath, for tonight’s dessert.

However, I sort of overslept and Boyfriend was kind enough to nag me out of bed before he left for the day, and I’m cold. Brrrr. Before venturing outside I am waiting for A) my hair to dry and B) the store to open.

I had a good weekend, finally completed the first Super Mario Galaxy with 120 stars (mad skills!), and a good friend dropped by to visit. Also made a lasagna. The only low point was accidentally updating my BlackBerry to OS 6 – I intended to update the desktop manager and back up my phone, but instead upgraded my OS, and now my RAM is almost gone. Oops.

Just the other day something wonderful happened. I became an aunt, again! Older Sister # 2 had a baby girl, named Sherbert!

Older Sisters # 1 and # 3 have gotten to visit the bebe and to my surprise, I’m very jealous. Overall I do not like children, and that includes infants, but all the same I’m really excited about my niece. I guess because she’s MY niece.

I also intend to find a super-awesome present, so as this bebe grows up I’ll retain my title of favourite aunt who gives cool presents.  Although my older sisters have the home field advantage of being geographically closer to Sherbert, I have the Big City Shopping advantage. If they think that online shopping will even the field, they couldn’t be more wrong.

I’m not competitive, not at all. Boyfriend thinks I’ve lost my mind and laughs at my recent behavior because normally, the only thing baby-related that piques my interest is Baby Smasher. So yes, I’m quite thrilled to be an aunt again!!

Current playlist: 80’s