Monday, January 30, 2017

Testing the cookbook.

I made something new from the cookbook that I was testing, Everyday Food, Great Food Fast from the kitchen of Martha Stewart Living. I moved on to Winter section and started with something sweet.

Cranberry upside - down cake.

You will need:
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1 3/4 cups cranberries ( I used frozen )
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with 2 tbsp of butter. In a small bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon and allspice. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan; arrange the cranberries in a single layer on top.
2. With an electric mixer, cream the 6 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three batches, alternating with milk, until well combined.
3.Spoon the batter over the cranberries in the pan and smooth the top.Place the pan on a baking sheet; bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake; invert onto a rimmed platter. Serve with whipped cream on the side. ( We had it with vanilla ice cream)

Picture from the book:





And my cake:




 

Monday, January 23, 2017

In my Garden.

I have many plants growing on my windows including pineapple and lemon. All the plants really need my attention but since I started working I have a hard time finding time to tend to them. In winter I also have random bowls of onions in my home and one of them started to grow.








 

Monday, January 16, 2017

Reading.

New year, new books for all of us. My older daughter, like always is reading books for school.


I am reading The Church of Mercy by Pope Francis and with my little one we are reading together Aesop's Fables.




 

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Gingerbread.

This was the first time that my children were interested in decorating gingerbread houses so I got some candies and left the rest to their imagination. They really enjoyed it so this year we will do it again. 







 

Friday, January 6, 2017

Christmas gifts.

This Christmas I made baskets for my family filled with home made goodies like; mustard, jams, salsa, oils, vanilla extract, vanilla sugar, chocolate bark and cookies. I enjoyed making them much more then spending time at the mall looking for the perfect gifts and I believe that they will enjoy it more then a new perfume or a store bought chocolates. 



 

Monday, January 2, 2017

Breakfast.

On Christmas Eve I made a special breakfast, home made waffles with strawberries and syrup and hot chocolate with marshmallows. Since I started working I don't have much time in the  morning for making waffles so this was really nice treat for everyone.