Just for you, Mrs. H

So because a certain follower who shall remain anonymous (but you know who you are! ;-) commented that my last post neglected to include the angel food cake recipe, I'm including it in this post. I wish I could say it's a special secret family recipe that has been handed down for generations but...honestly, it's just a basic recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Funny story, by the way - when Robert and I got married, we registered for all the things we could think of, whether we thought we'd actually use them or not, just on the off chance that we might get them. It was our one chance at a wedding registry, since neither of us are planning on getting married again. (He would NEVER find another woman who would put up with his work hours. And his laundry. And his kids. But other than that he's perfect. ;-) Anyway...we had several bridal showers and got a LOT of wedding presents, but only after we were married did we realize that we had neglected to register for any cookbooks. At all. Fortunately, some friends of ours who were already married, possibly realizing that we'd overlooked this important kitchen component, bought us one - the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. And for many years, this was the only one we used for all our cooking. Until I discovered allrecipes.com and Pioneer Woman's blog. But we were really grateful for that one cookbook! So we have kind of made it our tradition to always buy the bride and groom a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for every wedding we attend. Just in case they don't get any other cookbooks either!

Anyway, now that's I've bored you will all that history, here's the recipe for the angel food cake. You might want to check out these tips on how to make one first, especially if you've never attempted it before. I don't think it's terribly hard, just a bit tedious/time consuming, as is actually IS important to follow the steps exactly. Otherwise you may end up with a lovely angel food brick.

Note - because of all the sifting and beating, as well as turning the pan when you pour the batter in, this cake is a great 2-person project. I'm sure you could do it alone, but it will definitely be harder and more time consuming. So it makes a fun romantic date - you know, bake a cake together and then eat it!

Angel Food Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups egg whites (10-12 large)
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 cup sifted cake flour or all purpose flour (I use the latter)
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar

Directions:
1. In a very large mixing bowl allow egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 min. Meanwhile, sift powdered sugar and flour together 3 times; set aside.

2. Add cream of tartar and vanilla to egg whites. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gradually add granulated sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight.)

3.  Sift about one-fourth of the flour mixture over beaten egg whites; fold in gently. Repeat, folding in remaining flour by fourths. Pour into an ungreased 10 in tube pan or angel food cake pan. Gently cut through batter to remove any large air pockets.

4. Bake on the lowest rack in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Immediately invert cake (leave in pan); cool thoroughly. Loosen sides of cake from pan; remove cake.

Once cool, top with strawberries and whipped cream and eat the entire thing share it with your husband. Then put the rest into a filing cabinet to hide it from your kids.

Here's the picture again in case you've forgotten how much you want to make one:

May the Force be with you!

My deepest, darkest secret...

Everybody has secrets. Mine are just of a more petty nature than most people's.

For instance: did you know that I have secret hiding places all over the house? And that these hiding places contain...no, not skeletons. Something even more shocking. Gluten.


Yep, that's right. Robert and I are closet gluten eaters. (Literally. As in, we have to hide it in the closet. And eat it there. So the kids don't find out.) See, we tried the whole gluten free thing. We put a good face on it in front of the kids, and we still eat gluten free in all our meals as a family. But Robert and I were dreaming about gluten o'nights, our mouths watering in our sleep. After being "on the sauce" (as Robert jokingly refers to it when James gets hopped up on gluten) our whole lives, we just can't give up "real" bread entirely. So, after the kids go to bed at night, we bring out our secret stash.

The trouble is, the kids are getting better at finding our hiding places. Once they've discovered one and we've suffered through a couple unhappy days of hyperactivity and runny diapers, I have to come up with a better hiding place. (Or we could buy a safe, and put it all in there. Along with the apples because the kids eat about 6 of those per day. But I have a feeling the kids would take up safe-cracking just to get at it.)


So yesterday, I had a bunch of egg whites I needed to use up before they spoiled, and the best thing to make with egg whites is a home made angel food cake. It's (pardon my terrible pun) heavenly.

I learned how to make it when Joseph was about 6 months old, because babies aren't supposed to have egg whites until they are at least a year old, since that is the part of the egg that most people are allergic to. Baby Joseph would eat 3-4 egg yolks at a time, so we kept accumulating the whites, and I discovered that once I had saved up a jar of them, I could make an angel food cake. It was our tradition for the first three kids but then the whole gluten free-thing threw a wrench in the plans, so I haven't made any for quite a while.

Anyway...I had a jar saved from Elora's egg yolks, and I had to use them, and I just didn't have the guts to try a gluten free angel food cake and possibly waste all those eggs. So I made it the regular way, and it turned out {heavenly} but then I had a dilemma on my hands. Where to hide this glorious confectionery danger so the kids wouldn't get into it? I had tried closets, the laundry room, locked cabinets, inside pots and pans...all had eventually been discovered. Then it hit me...the perfect place...the place they would never look.

Yes, that is an empty filing cabinet drawer. Feel free to applaud my genius. It takes a special kind to be a mama.


P.S. I realize one could get the impression from reading my blog that the only thing I ever do it bake cakes. (or cookies, or brownies...) However, that is not the case! (Although I probably do bake more often than is good for me...) It's just that baked goods are one of my few domestic accomplishments, so I blog about them more often than, say, my stamp collection (nonexistant) or my hand-embroidered throw pillows (ha!). There was this post about a baby headband. Or this one about Halloween costumes. But be honest - the cakes really do look the best, right? ;-)

Christmas presents

If you are like me, you have a lot of family members to buy or make gifts for, and not always a lot of great ideas! I don't think of myself as a really "great shopper" like my sister Daniella or my Aunt Diana. I can't always find something that I just KNOW the person will love, and I don't really love going shopping all the time! Also, when you have been in the same family for so many years - or friends for many years, like my best friend Rachel! - you start to run out of ideas. You've kind of done it all before! So here are a few ideas I've seen recently that are different and not terribly expensive:

1. Pumpkin Butter
I LOVE pumpkin (see my last post!), and I almost always buy a big one around Halloween just because I think they make pretty decorations. After Thanksgiving is over, I turn mine into a crock pot full of pumpkin butter. Here are some simple directions on how to do it - it's really quite easy!
NOTES - they say to use pie pumpkins, but I have always made mine with a regular large pumpkin and it turns out just fine. Just remember to cook the pumpkin first, either in the oven or the steamer! You should have seen me chipping away the rock-hard pumpkin from the shell the first year! ;-) It was funny...in retrospect. Put the finished butter in small, pretty glass canning jars and tie a ribbon around them, and you have a great gift for friends, neighbors, or Sunday School teachers. Just remember to tell them that the pumpkin butter NEEDS TO BE REFRIGERATED because it doesn't "can" safely like most other fruits. For this reason, you also can't mail it very well.

2. Build your own Smores Kit
I saw this for sale in some magazine, but I would totally do it myself. Three small decorative boxes, each with one component (graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows) inside, stacked and tied together with a ribbon. So easy! Check out the dollar store or Hobby Lobby for the boxes - HL often has 1/2 off seasonal sales that makes things like this very reasonable.

3. Peppermint/Almond Bark
This is what I'm making for all the kids' teachers and neighbors this year! Here's a recipe for this simple and delicious treat. Sams Club sells 5lb bars of Ghiridelli white and milk chocolate for (I believe) about $4.88 each? Of course you could use chocolate chips as well. Same story as #2, find some boxes or tins on sale, and you are set! For almond bark, simply replace the peppermint oil with almond extract (you may have to play with the quantities, depending on the strength of the extract) and the crushed peppermint on top with chopped almonds. You could even toast the almonds for extra flavor and crunch.

KIDS

4. Build your own superhero cape kit
I saw this in a magazine too, but it seems so simple that I would make it. Cut a large rectangle of fabric in whatever colorful or shiny fabric you choose, wider at the bottom than the top (like this). (If you're really ambitious you can hem it like in the picture, but I probably won't. ;-) My kids will not care.) You can sew a ribbon/string on either side of the narrow end, or you can sew on a strip across the top with velcro on each end (again, see the link above). Then cut out a bunch of shapes, letters, or symbols out of different colored fabrics. You can find all sorts of sparkly, shiny, or otherwise interesting materials at the fabric store, or you could just use what you have at home! You can add beads, sequins, or even fabric paints, depending on the age of the child. Then wrap the cape up together with all the accessories and label it "Build Your Own Superhero Cape!" You may need to include some kind of fabric glue if you are giving this to someone else's children (again, depends on the age of the child!) so they can attach all their decorations to their cape.

5. Dress up box.
Find a largish box and paste pretty paper on the outside. Or you could buy a decorative box, even a hatbox, at a store - Tuesday Morning is one of my favorites, and they have tons of pretty boxes. A plastic bin with a lid from, say, Wal-Mart would work too, and you could decorate it with girly stickers. Then go to the thrift store and find all kinds of fun accessories, like gloves, hats, high-heeled shoes, feather boas, shawls, beads, costume jewelry, fluffy skirts, etc. for very cheap prices! Fill the box with all these dress up clothes and make a little girl's day! Note - You could use this idea for a boy too, just pick more manly attire like suit jacket, glasses frames, tie, man shoes, fedora, cape, sword, uniform, toy pistols, cowboy hat, etc.

KITCHEN

6. Bay Leaf wreath
Here's the link. This struck me as a really pretty and unique idea for someone who likes to cook. It's a wreath made out of fresh bay leaves, which makes the room look pretty and smell good, and then once it dries, you can pluck the leaves off and use them in cooking all year long. William Sonoma offers a garland too.

7. Personalized coffee mugs
Here's the link to a glass etching tutorial. It sounds intimidating, but it actually looks really easy. I am going to try this for a few of my own presents. It's basically just painting an etching acid (that they sell at Hobby Lobby) into a stencil that's pasted onto glass. The acid eats away at the glass, and you have a beautiful etched picture or image. I thought you could buy each person an inexpensive coffee mug - maybe even at the dollar store - and then etch their initial or full name onto it. That way, nobody gets their cups mixed up! Great for an office, or a household with many coffee drinkers. The possibilities here are pretty much limitless. You could buy a set of water glasses and give each person their own glass. You could etch names or initials onto pyrex storage containers or baking dishes so people don't get their lunches mixed up or lose their 9x13 pan at a potluck. (I hate it when I do that!) You can do fancy wine glasses for married couples. They sell several different styles of stencil for this at HL. Use your imagination!

8. Gift Basket for the Baker
They sell these pre-made, but they are SO expensive. Buy a pretty basket. Fill it with unique and neat things related to baking i.e. fun-shaped cookie cutters, hand towels, an apron (here's a site that shows you how to make one out of a man's shirt!), special flavorings or spices, like fancy vanilla, cardamom, almond extract, cinnamon, etc. You could include baking chocolate, a pretty pie pan or mini cake tins, pot holders that look like pineapples, etc. etc. (Just don't try to make your own potholders. They NEVER turn out right and they are just not worth the time and effort when you can buy them so cheaply. At least, that has been my experience!)The sky's the limit. Add a cookbook! or just some recipe cards with your favorites. You could do a "coffee basket" or "tea basket" with a mug and some different coffee/tea flavors, along with fancy sugar,  or a "hot chocolate basket" with marshmallows. I really like the idea of building your own gift basket because you can make each one unique to the person.


Those are my ideas so far. I have one other, but I am not going to share it because I know my mom and sisters read my blog sometimes, and I am making it for them for Christmas!

The 3 C's of great pumpkin pie

Thanksgiving food can be summed up in two words...two glorious words we wait all year to say:

PUMPKIN PIE!

Anyone who knows me knows I am crazy about anything with the word "pumpkin" in it. But pumpkin pie goes beyond that. It is a family tradition. If you're a Neal, you love pumpkin pie. (That weird Turner branch doesn't...but then, they're not Neals, are they?) My dad only likes two desserts, and pumpkin pie is the winter one (the summer one is homemade strawberry shortcake - homemade NEAL strawberry shortcake, which is different story altogether, but I'll save that for another post). We eat pumpkin pie for dessert, fighting over every scrap and licking the plate until its clean. (yes, there's a slight bit of exaggeration for effect here. But not as much as you'd think!) Then the morning after Thanksgiving, Mom pulls out the extra pumpkin pie she hid from the ravening hordes and we eat it for breakfast. That is what we do.

The baker of this all-important dish in our family? Yours truly. Now, I don't mean to brag because truthfully I am not a great cook, but I must say I have mastered the art of pumpkin pie. And if you want to know how to make a truly delightful pumpkin pie, all you have to do are follow the 3 C's of pumpkin pie baking:

1) Claim. You have to stake your claim as the only person capable of or ever allowed to bake pumpkin pie. You must do this as soon as you are old enough to bake without assistance. Make it clear that, because you are the oldest, it is your right, your privilege, and your responsibility to bake the pumpkin pies. This usually works because your younger brothers and sisters aren't old enough to bake. This gives you a chance to practice every year until you get really good at it. Now, after a few years, your brothers and sisters may have gotten older and started to protest. "Mom, how come she gets to bake the pumpkin pie? She's done it all these years. It's MY turn!" But fortunately, you have already established your claim. It is YOUR thing. "But Mom, I ALWAYS bake the pumpkin pie. It's my contribution to Thanksgiving! Don't you want me to help? Think of all the other things you have to do. And he/she won't do it right. You KNOW it's Dad's favorite..." This will work. (Usually.) Having established your prior claim, soon you will have everybody else in the family thinking that you are the only person who is capable of making truly perfect pumpkin pies, and with all your practice, it will probably be true!

2) Conviction. Once Claim is established, you must bake the pies with Conviction. You must believe in your Libby's Pumpkin Pie Recipe and stick to it - yet also not be afraid to add 1 teaspoon of nutmeg that the recipe does not call for. It will make a difference. You must have the Conviction to add that second can of evaporated milk even though the batter already looks runny enough and you are afraid it will be too thin if you add any more. You must have the Conviction that, although freshly pureed pumpkin and homemade evaporated milk may SEEM healthier, the pie really does need the canned stuff to reach it's optimum perfection. (It's only once a year!) And finally, most importantly, you must have the Conviction that your secret ingredient - your great-grandmother's pie crust recipe - will not fail you.

3) Courage. After you have made your batter and formed your pie shell with Conviction, you must finally have the Courage to pour it into the shell. The Courage to pour it even though your fear that the shell is too shallow and the filling too voluminous and it will pour all over the counter threatens to overwhelm you! Because if you can find that Courage - the Courage to fill it all the way to the top, no matter how precarious it may appear, you will have reached the optimum pie-to-filling ratio and, once that pie is baked and cooled and solid, you will have delicious pumpkin all the way up to the very top of the crust. (It also helps to have the Foresight to put a baking sheet under the pie in the oven so if it does happen to overflow, you don't have to clean burned pumpkin pie filling off your oven.) And finally, once that timer dings, you must have the Courage to pull it out, even if the center is a little wobbly, knowing beyond all doubt that it will firm up once it cools.

There you have it. The 3 C's of perfect pumpkin pie: Claim, Conviction, and Courage. Follow them and you, too, can master the Official Thanksgiving Dessert of the Neal Clan.