Big Guy spoiled me again by purchasing a new scone pan. I had noted my other one was great, but the scones were rather big. This pan has smaller dividers making the scones the perfect snack size with a cup of coffee.
My sweet niece, @abrandt1026, was feeling under the weather I decided to bake her healing love by using my new pan. I had a Yule Tide mix from @kingarthurbaking that I had not used yet from the holiday season. I baked them up and added an icing mix in a goodie bag. She reported it was the perfect treat to help her in her recovery!
0 Comments
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times...
I just attended my Aunt Rita’s 90th birthday party. It was a fantastic celebration with family and friends. My aunt was in the middle of everything talking with everyone and having a terrific time. I watched her in awe and realized she is living the secret of getting older. My mom died not long after her 90th birthday in the middle of Covid in a cloud of dementia. My Aunt, however, is vibrant and keeps moving everyday to stay agile and fit, which includes gardening, talking stairs daily, and walking on her treadmill while watching Jeopardy. She participates in her bridge and Questers clubs. She remains in touch with her high school classmates. She continues her love of needlework and jigsaw puzzles. And she is loved unconditionally and surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Big Guy often points out family members that are role models who are poorly growing older. In my aunt’s case, she is a role model for living your best life. You go girl! The heart wants what the heart wants or so I tell myself every time I go to @donutdrivein I try to limit myself to the weekends and not every weekend, just so I do not have to explain why my sugar count is high to my doctor!
I love the moment I walk into the tiny shop. The aromas engulf me, making me want to order one of everything. Once I get my senses back, it is either an apple fritter or cream filled donut that gets into the box along with Big Guy’s old-fashioned donuts. I chuckle when I see an IG post that talks about the best cup of coffee being in the morning when no one else is awake. For me, it is the first cup of coffee in the morning with a Donut Drive-In donut and a newspaper. Heaven on earth! I have been fighting the January cold/flu combo that has most of my friends and family down for the count. Thanks to my misery, and probably the Doodle and Big Guy, I have been spending time alone trying to rest and recuperate.
I started to think about my week’s activities and whether I would be able to attend my weekly @rotaryclubofsaintlouis meeting. I will be on the mend by then, but it did make me grateful for this extraordinary group of people who would miss my attendance. I then realized we should all be so lucky. I hope you all have your outlet that gives you purpose and a sense of giving back to your community. My parents raised my brother and I in an artistic home where they encouraged the study of music, theater, and dance. My poor brother, who wanted nothing to do with it, did his best to ride the wave.
My goal, when I applied to college, was to enter the musical theater program. Unfortunately, due to a fork in the road, I accepted an invitation to be a vocal music student. My main voice teacher was a lovely lady raised in the South. Carole was of a distinct cultural background, but one thing she shared with the typical Southern cook was her love of food, especially desserts. She graciously shared her recipes, and this dessert is one from the books. The simplicity is its strength. You place graham crackers on a baking sheet as the bottom layer. I use parchment paper since the toffee can be sticky. The toffee is two sticks of butter, one cup of brown sugar, and one cup of crushed pecans. Once you have cooked these ingredients together, you pour it over the graham crackers, then bake it for ten minutes at 350 degrees. The dessert is magic, but I warn you it does not come with an “antidote.” It took strong will power NOT to eat them all in one sitting! Big Guy has fallen in love with this recipe. It may sound like a White Castle Burger, but the cooking process is smashing the burgers into a field of shaved onions. As the burger cooks, it caramelizes the onions giving it a distinct flavor that does not require condiments.
Unless, of course, you were given a gift of a fabulous jar of maple onion jam from @larder_cupboard. The added flavor profile of maple and apple cider vinegar with the onions elevated the burger into another level served with pretzel buns. I love the inspiration of this jam which we shared with @abrandt1026. She commented that she did not give us the jam as a gift to guilt us into serving it to her with the burgers, but we felt honored to share the experience with her, and memories, of this terrific meal. Big Guy and I enjoy wandering the aisles at our local antique malls. It is a fun way to spend time, stretch our legs, and it certainly gives us creative ideas.
Over the holidays, we were walking through @getyourpickson66 when we discovered a Bob’s Cola box. I was looking for a box to display my family’s vintage village glitter and paper ornaments and this box had the perfect number of spaces for my collection. While I struck “gold” on this find, I became interested in the history of the box. The box itself was a vintage bottle crate. The lettering on the side not only noted Bob’s Cola, but St. Louis. I cannot confirm it, but the box may have been produced by the beverage company for use in our local market. I am on the hunt for more information, but I love that we were able to take a piece of St. Louis history and give it a new life. It is the perfect box that allows me to see the ornaments, remember the stories attached to them, and entertain the thought that my parents and grandparents may have enjoyed Bob’s Cola during their lifetime. The weather outside is frightful, so it must be time to make ice cream. Right? I realize the idea is ludicrous, but I had multiple reasons to make it.
First, my dairy products were about to expire and with the cost of food, I was not going to throw it out. Second, @abrandt1026 gave us fabulous chocolate raspberry sauce for Christmas thanks to her visit to @larder_cupboard. And third, ice cream is perfect any time of year! So, grab a pint of ice cream, warm up your sauce, put on your sweaters, and enjoy a decadent treat. You deserve it! I found myself pulling pages out of holiday magazines with various cookie recipes. Big Guy noticed my pile was getting high, so he turned to @kingarthurbaking for a solution.
One of its most popular cookbooks, The Essential Cookie Companion was revised and updated for today’s bakers by @kingarthurbaking and their expert team of test kitchen experts. Not to mention, the timing was perfect as it was a great surprise in my Christmas stocking! I was immediately inspired just looking through the pages, but I was most impressed with the introductory pages that explained the types of ingredients used to be successful in my bakes along with clear instructions on the science of using proper measurements. I have not started yet, but I already feel more confident to lean into my desire to be a better baker! I assume there was French Toast consumed in the Saint Louis area during our recent snowstorm thanks to the rush on bread, milk, and eggs. While I appreciate this breakfast treat, Big Guy and I were in the mood for a hearty breakfast.
I stepped back and let Big Guy take over the @carondeletkitchen as one of his specialties is biscuits and gravy. He tells me it is a basic recipe with fat, flour and milk enhanced with pepper and sausage. It seems like magic to me, so I just sit back and enjoy the outcome. Who can argue about an omelet and biscuits and gravy? It was great to be fortified so I was ready to tackle the snow! |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
February 2025
Categories |