The Sweet Life

Believe it or not, I've been composing this post in my head for a while. You may be wondering why I'm blogging about flour, but people used to ask me when I worked at Whole Foods: what's the difference in pastry/cake/bread/all-purpose flour and can they be substituted? Flour basically comes from the wheat plant. The type of flour depends on the amount of protein it contains. That's why cakes baked with cake flour are so light and airy, whereas breads baked with bread flour are dense and chewy. If you were to try to bake a cake using bread flour, it would be a tough mass of dough. All-purpose flour was created for home cooks so that they could bake a variety of things without needing the different types of flours that are used in the industry. We never used all-purpose flour in school and you really don't find it in a pastry shop. There are some instances if the pastry kitchen does not specialize in pastries, they use all-purpose flour to keep overall costs do...

Last night I was in bed and couldn't sleep. I needed something comforting, but not too filling. Working on my word search puzzle, I thought about hot chocolate, but didn't want to go through all that trouble. You know, getting out the bittersweet chocolate, then the brown sugar, adding spices, whisking until frothy, yada, yada, yada. Then, it came to me: Hershey's Hot Cocoa. I used to make it a lot as a child and loved it. Now, as an adult, my sophisticated tastes shunned cocoa, but last night I was desperate. I pulled out my container of Hershey's European Style Dutch Processed Cocoa (ok, so I'm still a snob, it's not the regular cocoa) and made double to recipe on the box and put it into a bottle. I steeped a cinnamon stick for a few minutes before making the cocoa and added a little heavy cream to the milk. It was delish! I am having another cup tonight.

After a thorough house-cleaning and a trip to two stores, I made the most delicious vegetable soup. I've been lazy, but I'm hoping to get back in stride again. Anyway, I was craving something comforting and tomato based, so I made vegetable soup. And I was in perfect cooking zen-not a vegetable was over- or undercooked. Potatoes were even tooth tender, sweet carrots were al-dente. I was so amazed and my cravings were being sated so perfectly that I had a second bowl, and that was my downfall. Why no photo, you ask. Well, let me say that after ladling the perfect bowl of soup, I got out my camera to capture the moment. I was concentrating on getting the perfect shot, had it, then my camera alerts me that the batteries are dying. Well, I figure I could turn it on again and maybe be quick enough to snap a shot, but, alas, it could not be. I looked at the steaming bowl of soup, at the camera, and back at the soup. I couldn't wait for the batteries to charge (they're charg...

It's nice and rainy today. I can't complain, I wanted warmer weather (it was about 41, but much cooler now), but I guess I can't have it warm and dry. After running errands, I came home to make some cream of broccoli soup and then decided to make those chocolate cupcakes that have been haunting me for weeks now. That, and I got a bit tired of organizing papers and cleaning. There's nothing better on nice rainy chilly day than a warm oven and smells of chocolate wafting through your home. And to the delight of my neighbors, when they come home from a hard day's work, they will smell the chocolatey goodness and smile. The cream of broccoli soup is something I've made for years. I found some nice looking broccoli crowns at the store yesterday and since I hadn't made the soup in a while, figured I deserved a treat. I use the real stuff too; heavy cream. I'm ashamed to say, though, that when I'd started sauteing the onions, I discovered that my be...

I will never buy another bottle of Pepperwood Grove Voignier wine ever again. Why? Because it took a corkscrew, a pair of scissors, two chopsticks, a hammer, and a knife to get into it. I've been stumped by this bottle for a while now. I think I started trying to open it a month ago. Tonight, I was determined to get into it. Why? Because I can't let a little bottle of wine get me down. First off, I was naive in thinking that the cork was topped with a bit of foam. The entire cork was foam! Some kind of industrial strength, AA-detox-Betty-Ford-Clinic foam. It was pre-teen underage drinking proof and almost adult proof. The waiter's corkscrew gave up because the worm would get in, and it just wouldn't budge after that. So, I tried to break it up and dig it out with a knife (not one of my expensive ones, mind you) to no avail. The glass around the opening started to grind against the back of the blade into a fine dust. Now I'm wondering what the hell is going on. I sig...

My friend at work was making rosemary and grape focaccia for a banquet tomorrow and I was working on my pastry stuff when he brought me a little bundle of starter. I was quite surprised, I didn't see that coming. My surprise quickly changed to happiness and excitement because I have often thought about starting my own starter, but never got around to it. Then, through the dazed expression and daydreams of breadmaking, it happened. I realized that I'm responsible for this little bundle. I have to make sure I feed it daily (it is so small) and take care of it or it will die. It'll be a while before I will have enough to make anything, so we're talking weeks of care. That was when I got nervous. Daily feedings. Making sure it doesn't get too hot, then moving it to the fridge for weekly feedings. I don't have a good memory. I'm doing well if I can remember to wash my face and brush my teeth. Once I forget deodorant. How? I have no idea. Woke up late and...

I got this at work. My plan was to eat half and take the rest home for lunch tomorrow. I started eating, then a dessert order came in. About then I was halfway through, and when I went back to the private dining room, I was only going to eat a couple more bites of veggies, I swear! But I must have blinked because I'd finished it. I was so full! The guy who cooked it for me couldn't believe I ate it all either. I waddled to the subway. I guess he can't call me "Small Portion" anymore.

More accurately, chocolate cravings. Why did I make doughnuts when I was craving chocolate cupcakes? Well, first, I didn't have everything I needed (or did I. . .) and I didn't want a bunch of cupcakes sitting around taunting me. Secondly, the doughnuts were quicker to make, and I can keep the remaining batter in the fridge. Don't get me wrong, I'm still daydreaming about moist, dense, fudgey chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream, but I'm going to hold off making that until next week. I hope. I used the recipe we use at the restaurant which is found on Epicurious . I'd finally tried one the other night, because I was a bit bored and a bit curious. It was delicious! I like them plain, but just for fun, when I made them tonight, I tossed them in powdered sugar. I regret that decision, because they were too sweet for my taste. I had to wash them down with orange juice, the tartness of which helped tone them down. Now that that's over, I'...