Taking Care of Business

What up my blog-following friends?

Man, has it been eternity since I last posted hasn't it?  My apologies, buddies!  I have baked recently, but didn't have the time to throw up a post here.  Do you remember that I had mentioned how much like a black hole November is?  The work is piled up high until you're backed between a hard place and more textbooks and reports than you care to specify.

However, I am now free.  Well, free of course work at least until January.  There is still marking to do, but we'll not get into that right now.  Perhaps later when I decide to bake decadent chocolate cookies to get through the entire pile.  They have to be done by next Monday so there is some work to be done yet.  Not stressful stuff though, I just have to get through it.  I suppose that's true of most things!

Anyway, getting back to the baking that I did and didn't exactly tell you right afterwards.  So, I had really wanted to bake for quite some time now as I'm sure you're aware.  I also had a pantry that was quite lacking and had to purchase some all-around baking stuff anyway.  Like flour.  You don't realize how much you use it until, well, you don't have it.  Plus, I had some left over cereal bits that, for the life of me, I couldn't bring myself to just throw out.  So, baking with left-over cereal?  This calls for some internet research.

I managed to find myself a recipe for Cornflake Chocolate Chip Cookies by Sneh at Cook Republic.   The only problem was that my cereal bits were Special K Vanilla Almond.  I have to say, I did pause to ponder on this for a short time.  Was it worth risking disappointment given I had a major project due in three days?  It didn't take long to realize that either way I wouldn't be working on my project so, disappointment or not, this was a good step away from my project for a short while.  A break for a brain-refresh.

Wrapping up this blurb, this is a bit of an adaptation of that recipe reflecting the stuff I keep around in my kitchen a bit.  Case in point: I don't drink a lot of milk.  My bad.  These cookies came out okay though it needs to be said that they are crumbly and not the chewy kind.  By my reckoning, they are more of a dipping cookie to be enjoyed with a hot beverage I think.  I might try to tweak this a little bit more in the future.

Cereal Crumble Cookies

From the above, you can see the speckling from the Special K bits that I used.  I know they look a little yellow but they actually came out a paler creme colour.  My camera isn't super co-operative (I take pictures with the flash off because otherwise all my cookies look white.  Yes, even the double chocolate ones.)

You will need:

• 9 Tbsp margarine
• 1/2 cup white sugar (The original recipe called for 2/3 cup but I figured since the cereal appeared to be frosted, I didn't want to blow people -- and their sweet teeth -- out of the water).
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup a.p. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp soy milk
• 1 1/2 cups Special K Vanilla Almond bits (By 'bits' I mean the crumbs that you get in the bottom of the box after you've eaten all the big chunks and almond in the top.  Not the dust but the smaller bits.  You can use a sieve to get rid of the dustiness! ^_^)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips (This is approximate because, in measuring chocolate chips, I look at the dough and then use 'handfuls' which is by no means a standard unit.  I would say for chocolate chips, add to your liking.)

How it’s done:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. (My oven is from the dark ages and only has F degrees on it, sorry!)
2. Cream the margarine, vanilla extract and sugar until they are light an fluffy with a sturdy wooden spoon.  (The margarine will likely look lighter and the mixture won't seem quite as 'sandy' in texture from the sugar.  The use of a sturdy bowl is also suggested.  I was using this floppy plastic salad bowl because its the biggest one that I have and, let me tell you, that was by no means easy.)
3. Add the flour.
4. Get the milk stirred in.  The dough might look a little sticky at this point but that's okay because there's still more to be added! (Plus, we're lucky enough to have fingers that can be licked afterwards.  Just saying. ^_^) 
5. Fold in the Sp. K bits and make sure that they are well-dispersed throughout the dough.
6. Fold in the amount of chocolate chips to your liking and make sure that everything is well-distributed.
7. Prepare a baking sheet with some parchment paper. (Remember to dampen it according to the package.  My mum's friend didn't dampen and the stuff will actually start to deteriorate along the edges during the baking.  It was a bit of a shock for my mother's friend as I'm sure you can imagine.
8. Roll dough into balls about the size of a walnut (another subjective measurement!) and place them on the cookie sheet with the paper, using a fork or spoon to press the dough balls down slightly. (I didn't do this with my first batch and had to whip open the oven halfway through to get 'er done.  These cookies don't seem to spread out very much.  Or at least mine didn't. <_<;; )
9. Bake for 13 minutes.  (This will likely vary depending on your own oven's cooking preferences.  Mine can be a little picky.  I think it might have it out for me at times.  Just jokes; that would be insane! ^_^)
10. Pull the cookies out of the oven with some mitts and let sit for 5 minutes on the tray before shifting them over to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Store those dippers in an airtight container after they've cooled completely.

Makes about 30 cookies

This recipe was adapted for sure, but the adaptation would never have been possible without the original recipe for Cornflake Chocolate Chip Cookies that I found online.  To make a long story short, this adaptation was made possible by a recipe courtesy of Cook Republic!

  

KitchKem is swaying away to How The West Was Won by Katie Herzig on her iTunes.

Ball and Chain

No cookies this week.  I won't lie to you here, I have gotten really, really close twice now.  Once this past weekend when I got all of the stuff that I needed (to make cheat cookies, I'm sorry to say) and once earlier tonight when I really just wanted to take a deep breath and make my place smell like baked goodness.

Yet, each time, I am sorry to say that I was defeated by time and fatigue.  When someone synthesizes a drug that is awesome like caffeine without the crash, sign me up for the clinical trial.  In the mean time, let's all have another cup of coffee (which, at this point, would be my third) and take a load off for a few moments, okay?  Mmm... coffee.

November is quite a funny time of the year.  There's no way I can know what you're up to but, where I am, the workload seems to increase to a fever pitch.  You have two papers and a midterm?  Let's throw another midterm and a formal lab report in there and see how everything comes together.  Well, this term, its a large paper and a presentation that, I have to say, I have been avoiding.  Fear of failure (failing school, failing the super, f.a.i.l.).

As far as I'm concerned, oral presentations are the purest form of torture.  They are like a paper in that they must be heavily researched and backed but, when it comes down to presentation and questions, the research falls away and, nakedly, you stand there.  It is like being a wounded gazelle on the Savanah that sees the lions descending.

But, I digress.  Whining about school is not the point here!  In light of the super business that was going on this week (and in effort to lessen the amount of hang-ups), I spent my weekend making Mom Soup and Mom's Fish Dish.  There is no way this starving student is skipping dinner or eating microwave dinners when there are awesome left-overs in the fridge.  Paired with steamed veg, how can you go wrong?

Here's a recipe for the Crock-Pot (CP) that I find quite tasty.  My mum does it in the oven for about 1.5 hours and it comes out about the same (except that the top potatoes come out crispy!).  I'm still working out some of the kinks, but, hey, life's about learning right?

Mom's Fish Bake 

(Done the C-P way)

Bringing together a lot of the goods.  The only thing missing here are the fish filets; they're in the sink just out of the picture to the right.  Once they get thawed, they're a little picky to handle!

You will need:

• 4 frozen Basa fish filets, thawed
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 pkg. grape tomatoes, sliced or approx. 2 ripe tomatoes (We grow these suckers in the garden at home and, let me tell you, this dish is like a whole other world of awesome when they're ripe and right off the vine.  Seriously.)
• 9-10 baby potatoes, sliced extremely thinly (My mom also uses plain potatoes as well, so don't feel bound to the baby ones)
• Assorted spices (I like cumin, coriander, curry powder, paprika, and garlic powder, however, you have a lot of choice with this.  It all depends on what you like and you can definitely experiment!)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup water (When my Mum does it in the oven, she doesn't put the water in, however, I'm a big fan of the broth to eat this more like a stew so I add the extra liquid.  It doesn't seem to affect flavor and makes cleaning the basin a lot easier).
• 6-inch chunk of cellery, cut in half
• 5-6 baby carrots

How it’s done:

No preheating necessary, aren't you glad?

1. Give the onion a good chop into thin strips.
2. Cut the tomato and potatoes into slices.  The tomato slices can be a bit on the meaty side if you like, but make sure that the potatoes are cut ultra thin; otherwise, the potatoes won't cook all the way through and its a little icky.  (Yes, that it is the technical term ^_^;; ). 
3. Assembly of this is pretty easy so don't worry if it seems awkward.
4. Take your empty C-P basin (mine is about 3 qrts) and start with a layer of onion at the bottom.
5. Next layer is fish!  Take two thawed fillets and lay them over the onion layer. (I try to make sure that they don't over lap but I don't know that it makes a super big difference).
6. Spice up the fish fillets by sprinkling your chosen spices over them.
7. Take your tomato slices and lie them over the fish.
   [Edit:Upon reading this for the zillionth time, I realized that I never said anything more about the celery and carrots.  After you get the tomato layer in, put one chunk of celery on either end and disperse carrots between tomatoes in that layer.  I do this for flavor.  I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but it certainly doesn't hurt!]
8. Follow the tomato layer by a layer of thinly sliced potatoes. 
9. Next layer is more sweet onions!
10. Lay the last two fillets of fish over the onion layer and spice up their surface!
11. Cover this with a layer of tomatoes and then follow with a layer of potatoes.
12. Drizzle the top of the layered goodness with the tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil.
13. Pour the 1/2 cup of water in by pouring it into the cracks along the edges so as not to disturb the spice on top of the potatoes.
14. Lid on and let it cook on high for 3 hours.  After three hours check the potatoes on top for doneness.  (This is the part of the recipe I haven't quite figured out how to make work for the C-P.  My Mum puts the potatoes on top but I think in the future I might put the tomatoes on top because some of the top potatoes never seem to cook quite right.  I wish you better luck than I have had!).

Serves 3 hungry people or 4 people with some salad and veggies! ^__^

After getting all the layers set up and tossing the lid on, I sit there and watch it cook (left).  Then I get bored because, honestly, its like watching paint dry.  However, I will say that, even if the C-P dish looks really full, the junk inside shrinks down so it doesn't look so full after its done.  I forgot to take a picture before I divided it, but, on the right, is one portion.  Yes, not exactly the most attractive thing ever, but I like to eat it just the same!

The recipe above is courtesy of my Mum.  I'm not sure if its an original because, when asked, she says that she got the recipe from her brother.  The trail, sadly, goes quite cold after that point.  Regardless, from me to you, it is yummy.  Speaking of which, it is just about that time.  I'm going to go heat me up some fishy goodness.  Enjoy guys!

KitchKem is currently rocking out to Raise Your Glass by P!nk and hating referencing with a passion.

Mission: Accomplished!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have touch-down.  Or rather, lift-off.  That's right!  I'm happy to say that, yes, I sucked up my hesitancy to clean the gee-darn oven and just got it done.  Perhaps it was out of need to avoid other things or simply to get something simple accomplished as a temporary confidence boost, however, it is now done.

Let me just tell you that Easy-Off really did work wonders.  I had my doubts when I cracked open the oven in the early morning, shook up the compressed cylindrical can and sprayed up the whole inside of the oven, door included.  I'm not sure if you have an oven full of burnt of your own but, if you do, I found it really easy to clean everything off with a little scrubbing after spraying it in the morning (around 7 am) and then cleaning it off when I got home from work in the evening.  However, as I say, it is totally, completely, utterly and awesomely clean.

This can only mean one thing: please, please let's bake something soon! ^_^

p.s.  Fish-bake from the Crock-pot for dinner.  One word for you: yum!

The disaster as it appeared after sweeping out most of what was loose on the surfaces (top left).  This caked-on junk was not to last, however, as it was covered entirely in the awesome white foam of Easy-Off (top right).  The current state of affairs (bottom).  Oh, yes.  Baking will ensue.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Oven

Or 'How To Wash Your Floor Via Inundation From Your Sink'

  

Now, given that this post is not starting with 'Easy-Off Is The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread' or 'The Burnt Came Off Then Caked On Me', you're probably fully aware that the burnt is still in the bottom of my oven.  I know I said I absolutely have to get this taken care of by Nov. 3 because Nov. 5th marks six weeks until Christmas.  That was a complete lie, wasn't it?  I daresay I have so much on my plate that I can't even keep track of days.  I'm losing them left, right and center, aren't I?

Well, regardless of my losing days, I still committed myself to getting it cleaned by the third and it isn't done.  I had every intention of getting this done but, as the actual title of this entry suggests, a funny thing happened before I could get to it.  You see, I wanted to thaw some fish to nom for dinner (cooking in the Crock-Pot as we speak, for the sake of over-sharing) so I threw it in the sink and ran the tap.  Then, smart cookie that I am (no baking pun intended), I put earplugs in and tended to other things.  Then the lights in my apartment turned off and back on again.

"What on earth could have caused -- must check fish!"

I don't know nor can I say for sure that the flicker of power is related (because the kitchen floor appears to be completely sealed at the seams) but it certainly got me moving.  In the kitchen where, standing in my stocking feet, my socks began to absorb the error of my ways.  Twenty minutes, two tea towels, one beach towel, a sponge mop and a big red bucket later and the kitchen floor got an unintended cleaning.  My mom says to look at the positive side of things so, if anything, I now know that my floor is absolutely clean!  Indirect score!

Long story short(er), after cleaning the kitchen floor then setting up the fish to cook (which I sadly did not nom for dinner tonight but will certainly enjoy tomorrow... and the day after that, and the day after that) I had too many more things to take care of and the Easy-Off kept its home under the sink. 

However, I'm thinking that this is all for the better.  On one hand, I totally, utterly and completely screwed up the date and would have felt like a fool.  Save number one.  The kitchen floor has been mopped clean.  Indirect, but still makes save number two.  Lastly, if I had gone through the with Friday plan, I likely would have been stuck with a massive over-abundance of cookies to eat.  This, then, would have caused me to gain weight which would cause me to stress and go to the gym and that would ultimately lead to a decrease in my productivity.  That brings us up to three saves.  Plus, I have dinner plans on Sunday this week so even if I start on Monday (as I now plan to) I wouldn't have time to bake before Monday.  There you have it, a total of four saves.

One screw-up for four saves?  That certainly seems to be a fair trade to me under the circumstances.  Mind you, I didn't get as much writing done today as I would have liked.  I suppose tomorrow I will have to get up much earlier and get 'er done!

Provided I don't have an attempted recipe for you, let's talk about something else that I adore.  No, not science.  I assure you that if I were to do that, it would be the last time you and I spoke.  My mother has told me that I talk entirely too fast and in way too much detail.  Clearly, my abilities of knowledge transfer and translation need further improvement.  Welcome yet another goal for my four-year stretch!  But I digress so let's get back to it.  What I would like to talk about is apples.

I love 'em.  Oh, sweet, sweet accessory fruit.

I swear to you that I eat about an apple a day.  If the saying is true, this would be the most likely reason that I see the doctor at a rate of about three visits per annum (or rather, one yearly and the odd appointment for minor stuff).  With so many different kinds how you ever get bored of something that is so easy to eat out of hand? 

Apple uses certainly stretch far beyond that.  M likes apple cider and apple sauce but, after some bush-beating, I had to simply tell him that those things are for wusses.  Real (wo)men eat them straight from the tree, just as they come.  I jest, of course, because I, too, like apple sauce even if it means that many apples had to suffer to make it and regardless of losing fibre and nutrients from lack of peel.  All I can really say is, "You win some, you lose some."  Plus, the beauties eaten straight off the tree aren't necessarily the ones headed to the chopping block for applesauce-making purposes.  I swear they have an apple for everything!

Perhaps most adored or, if you prefer, the apple of my apple-consuming eye, is the apple pie application.  I haven't yet tried to make this elusive baked good that only makes it to our table on special occasions (sadly absent this Thanksgiving), but I think that I just might.  My G-mom used to make a mean one, not too sweet and all apple.  The 'Home Country' ones that they sell in the store, made by machines on a line, just aren't the same.  I think it’s the lack of heart in the machine.  Store-bought cookies are also quite lack-luster.  Aside from the frighteningly long list of stuff in them, that is.  There's no way the recipes I use are that complicated!

Okay, so I'm not an apple expert or an orchard consultant, but there's one more little detail concerning out-of-hand apples that we need to talk about.  That, my friends, is the difference based on size.  After a long conversation with C regarding this topic, we believe that apples can be divided into two main categories: dating and commitment.  The first, the dating apple, is generally fit-in-your hand sized and is appropriate for all occasions and circumstances without prior planning or consideration.  They are just enough apple for that 'I think that I would like an apple' fix.  The commitment apple, on the other hand, needs a little more consideration.  Not because you don't want to eat them, but because you want to enjoy the experience.  You want to make sure that you don't have to come back for seconds later (because then the apple is brown and, even though it still tastes just as good, brown apples are sort of off-putting and irksome).

All in all, apples are pretty awesome-sauce.  Pun most certainly intended!

The aforementioned difference between apple sizes.  On the left, we have the commitment apple.  Far larger than the dating apple, shown on the left, consumption of this apple clearly takes some more consideration.  Is the eater hungry enough to sit down and eat the whole thing?  The answer?  Heck, yes, hit me with the best commitment apple you got! ^_^