New Changes

Given some difficulties getting this blog to look the way I would like it to, I have decided to start a another blog as well using wordpress.  My new blog is https://craftycuisineblog.wordpress.com/.  Hopefully everyone checks it out as I will be trying to post on a regular basis.

Thank you, Megan

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Strawberry Vanilla Cake

Sweet, and fresh this is the perfect cake for someone’s birthday, as a special dessert, or to just have as a late night snack.  This cake is also lactose free, making it great for someone who has lactose intolerance.  Hope you enjoy and try this cake!

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 2/3 cup cake flour or your can use all-purpose flour and subtract 2 tbsp. of flour per cup and add in 2 tbsp. of cornstarch (sifted)
• 3 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/4 cup sugar

Frosting Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp. of water
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 large egg whites (at room temp.)
• 1 tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Filling Ingredients:

• about a cup of strawberries sliced thinly (size may differ depending on how much you want in your cake

Directions:

Begin by pre-heating your oven to 350°F sifting together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl mix together the vanilla extract and milk.  In a separate bowl beat the coconut oil until smooth, then add in the sugar and beat on high-speed for 3-5 min.  When done mixing the oil and sugar add in the egg yolks one at time and beat on high-speed.  Once combined alternate adding the four mixture in 3 parts, with the milk mixture in 2 parts.  Beat this mixture on low-speed until everything is combined.

In a separate bowl beat the egg white on medium speed with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. This means the egg whites should be fluffy and hold their shape but when the whisk or beater is removed the tips of the peaks should fall over.  Once the egg white have soft peaks increase your speed to high, and gradually add in the last 1/4-cup of sugar. Keep beating this mixture until it is stiff but not dry.  This means the egg whites have sharp peaks that hold their form when beater or whisk is removed but the whites are still uniform in color and glisten.

Now taking the egg whites place half into the egg yolk mixture and fold together with a spatula.  You can not mix this or the air bubbles will deflate in the egg whites and the texture will be wrong.  Once combined add in the second half of the egg whites and fold everything together.  Once the mixtures are ready, pour the mixtures into 3 greased and floured 9*2in or 8*2in round pans.   Now place into the heated oven and let cook for 25-35 min or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.

Once the cakes are done let them sit on a rack for 10 min to cool then take them out of the pans and place right-side up on the racks to cool completely.  Once the cakes are completely cool you can frost, if the cakes are still warm then the frosting will run and your cake will slide and become a big mess. While you wait for the cake to cool though we can work on the frosting.

In order to make the frosting whisk together the water, cream of tartar, sugar, egg whites, and corn syrup in a stainless steel bowl.  When combined place the bowl into a wide deep skillet with about an inch of simmering water, or at the same level as the egg whites. Begin to beat the egg white mixture on low-speed until they reach 140°F.  Once the temperature is reached turn the beater up to high-speed and whisk for exactly 5 min. After 5 min remove the bowl from the pan and add in 1 tsp. of vanilla. Beat on high-speed for 2-3 min more so the frosting can cool down. Once you are done beating let the frosting sit a little bit longer so it is completely cool.

*Note:  when you are beating the eggs in the simmering water do not let them sit without being beaten.  If you do the eggs will solidify instead of whip.  If you need to check the temperature take the bowl out of the water then place it back in when done to continue.

For the final steps, you will need the cooled frosting, cooled cakes, and the sliced strawberries.  Begin by placing a dab of frosting in the center of a flat palate, or cake stand then place the first layer of cake down.  Next, put some frosting on top then make a layer with the strawberries.  Once done with that, place on the next layer and repeat the same steps.  Once you have all the layers done, frost the sides of your cake and enjoy!

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Cooking With Solar Ovens

This  past school year in my Conceptual Physics Class, we did a project where we built a solar oven.  The main objective was for us to build something that would heat up and cook food, by only using the sun.  In order to make this project work, I relied on reflection and mirrors.  Overall, there are many different ways you can make a solar oven, but I'm going to share with you what I did to make mine. 

To begin, I collected my supplies, which included:

• 4 mirror tiles 
• 11 7/8in*11 7/8in thin piece of wood
• 4 pieces of wood measuring 12.5"w*5.5"h*.75"d 
• 4 1ft dowels - plastic or wooden
• plexiglass
• nails
• 8 wood sticks about 1in wide
• Metal grate to go inside your box

 

1.Once I had all my supplies I began with making my box.  To do this I took once side of my 12.5*5.5*.75in piece of wood  and glued and nailed it to the bottom of my 11 7/8"*11 7/8" piece of wood. I repeated this step 3 more times until I had an open faced box.  If you were to do this you could easily just use an already made wooden box.

The mirror tiles on the left and the base for my box on the right

The 4 piece of wood for the sides of the box: they measured 12.5*5.5*.75in

The finished box with the sides nailed together and attached to the base

 *Note how each piece overlaps the other

2.Next with my dad's help, we cut grooves on the tops of each piece of wood using a 1/2in router bit.  We did this so we could nest the mirror on-top of the box.

1/2in grooves routered on each side

3.We also put thin strips  along the inside of the box about 1in from the top and  cut the plexiglass to fit the inside of the box on top of these ledges.  I also hot glued a small piece of string  so I could remove the plexiglass.

A shelf inside the box for the plexiglass to sit on

4.Once the box was ready, I spray painted the inside black so it would absorb the suns heat.

The Box spray Painted Black

5.Next we took 1in wide strips of wood and drilled 2 holes about 1in apart.  We then hot glued the wood strips onto the back of the mirror tiles. These allowed our dowels to support the mirrors.

Strips for the dowels to go into

Now for assembly;

1. Take your box and place it in a open space of grass.  
2. Place a metal grate inside your box. 
3. Seal the box with the plexiglass
4. Take each glass tile and place into the grooves and use the dowels to angle the mirrors. 
5.  Adjust the mirrors based on where the sun is.  When adjusting the mirrors you will see the light shining into the box. Set it up so the mirror stays there. 
6.  Once the oven is set up, let it sit and heat up. 
7.  When its heated, place in your food to cook.  (Don't place in any raw meats or things that must be heated to a minimum temperature, to avoid food-borne illnesses).  When I used my oven I made a mini pizza for myself. To do this I took a pita bread, added some pizza sauce, and topped it with mozzarella cheese.  Then I topped my pizza with cooked chicken, pineapple, and red onions.  Once my pizza was ready I placed it onto my grill grate inside the heated oven, and sealed the plexiglass again. Once in the oven I let my pizza sit until the cheese began to brown and bubble. 

Hopefully you will try making your own solar oven, and get creative by cooking up some food.

-Megan

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Key Lime Pie

Today, I'm going to share with you my first time experience with making Key Lime Pie.  Before making this pie, I had never made, or eaten a key lime pie.  Although, I had herd of Key Lime pie, and I had always wanted to taste it.

So when our neighbors were having a party this summer I decided it would be the perfect opportunity for me to make it. I immediately went to my Joy of Cooking cookbook, and set off to try making this classic summer dessert.  Once reading the recipe, I went to the grocery store to pick up my ingredients.  One thing that was great about this pie is just how few ingredients it takes to make it.

Upon returning home I started to make my pie. The first thing I did was make my graham cracker crust.  Now this part I found very easy considering I've made many graham cracker crusts in my life time. Although, one thing that I did not do which may have been very helpful would have been to make the crust go up the sides of the pie dish instead of just being flat on the bottom.

After the crust was ready, I then started on the pie filling.  Now this part was where I hit some trouble.  When going to the store I thought I had bought sweetened condensed milk.  It turned out though, that I had instead bought evaporated milk. This created a major issue as the two milks have very different consistencies.  Another difference, is that evaporated milk has sugar taken out of it; well the condensed milk has sugar put into it.  Given the difference I knew that I couldn't just substitute the evaporated for the condensed.  Sense I had bought all the limes, and had the crust already made I decided to go to google for some help.  I researched if you could turn evaporated milk into sweetened condensed milk, and received a lot of mixed results.  Although I did find one website that said I could, so I decided to give it a try.

To do this I had to add sugar to the evaporated milk, then you put it over the stove top, bring to a boil, then let simmer. After following the instructions though, I found that my milk had thickened slightly and had the flavors of sweetened condensed milk, but did not have the same texture.  Deciding to use it anyways, I added the rest of my ingredients and put the pie in the oven to bake. 

Well baking, the pie was supposed to set until the center was firm, but still jiggled a little.  My pie never reached this point, even after I kept it in the oven for 10-20 extra minutes.  Eventually I had to take the pie out, so my crust wouldn't burn.  I let the pie cool, and put it into the fridge to hopefully harden.

The end result: Overall many people enjoyed the taste of the pie, as did I.  But the pie never quit reached the consistency of an actual key lime pie.  It was slightly soft and gooey on the inside, although the fridge did help.  My recommendation if you ever decided to make a key lime pie, is to use sweetened condensed milk.  This will allow you to get the taste, and texture of a delicious key lime pie.  If you decided to use evaporated milk, and try to turn it into sweetened condensed milk, just know the taste will be there, but the texture may not.

So If you would like to make a Key Lime Pie here is the recipe I used from the "Joy of Cooking" cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 12 crushed Graham Crackers
• 6 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 15oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup strained fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
• 3-4 tsp      grated lime zest

Directions:

To make the crust  mix together the crushed graham crackers, butter, and sugar.    Press into a  9in Pie  pan and place into  the  oven at 350°F for 10-15min or until crust is slightly browned.

For the filling you will need to bring the oven down to 325°F.  Taking the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice, and lime zest whisk together in a bowl. The mixture should begin to thicken.  When mixed completely pour the filling into the prepared crust, and place into the oven for 15-17min.  When the pie center is set, but still quivery take the pie out and let cool completely.  Once the pie is cool place into the fridge until its cold, then serve and enjoy!

-Megan

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Apple Crumb Pie

Delicious, crisp, fresh, and sweet, this apple crumb pie is sure to satisfy that craving for something sugary.  You can even serve this with some vanilla ice cream to give this dessert even more dimension..  The mixture of warm and cold are tasty and create an irresistible treat.

When making this recipe I used a store bought pie crust for convenience.  Although you are welcome to make your own pie crust if you would like to.  Depending on the size of your crust though, you may need to adjust how many apples you use.  When I made this pie I biased it off of Martha Stuarts Dutch Apple Pie but I didn't realize my pie crust was smaller than hers so I ended up having a very large pile of apples.  Although, make sure you don't skimp out on your apples because they will shrink down when baking.

Ingredients:

• 8in frozen pie crusts
• 5-6 sliced peeled and cored  pink lady apples
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup unsalted softened butter
• 1 cup flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:
Begin by heating your oven to 400°F.  Then take your apples, and coat in 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tbsp. of lemon juice. Make sure the apples are thoroughly coated and set aside.

Next, take 1/2 cup of softened butter, 1 cup of flour,  and 2/3 cup brown sugar and put into a medium bowl.  Using your fingers or a pastry blender mix together until a crumb forms.

Now, taking you frozen pie crust place it into a pie pan.  Pour you apple filling into the crust (pile more towards the center), then evenly sprinkle your crumb mixture over top.  Place the pie into the heated oven for 45-55min, or until the pie is  lightly browned and begins to bubble slightly.  Once done place your pie onto a cooling rack.  When the pie is cooled cut the pie. Optional: Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.


Hope you enjoy!
   -Megan 

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BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is a fun, easy, and delicious pizza that tastes good and makes for a great dinner, or lunch. Overall the pizza has a great balance of sweet and tangy as the tomato sauce is great at cutting through the BBQ sauces sweetness, without hiding it.  This pizza is fairly easy to put together and makes for a fun night of cooking, with a delicious end result.

When I made this pizza I really enjoyed it and I used my homemade pizza crust recipe. When using the crust I followed  the instructions, then put my toppings on and placed it into the oven.  One of the best things about this recipe though is that you can adjust it to your liking.  Whether you want to add more chicken, use a different kind of BBQ sauce, or make it extra cheesy.  No matter what type of pizza person you are though, you will able to accommodate and change things up to fit your taste buds.

Ingredients:

• Marinara sauce
• BBQ sauce
• Mozzarella
• Chicken 
• Red Onions

In order to make this pizza start by cooking your chicken. To do this heat a pan with some olive oil over medium heat.  Then place in the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Let the chicken cook until its no longer pink in the center and flip over occasionally so it cooks evenly on both sides. (10+ min depending on the size).  Once the chicken is cooked turn off the heat and let it cool before using.

Now taking your pizza crust place the  marinara sauce on top, then drizzle over top the BBQ sauce and evenly spread out.  Next take your mozzarella cheese and sprinkle over the sauce.  Taking your red onion chop it into 1in chunks, and place evenly on your pizza.  Lastly take your cooled chicken and cut it into cubes and place on the pizza.  Place it into the oven at 425°F for 10-12min or until cheese is bubbly .

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Chicken Pesto Pizza

This pizza is great for the nights when you want pizza, but don't want to have the typical marinara sauce.  With a pesto sauce used as the base of the recipe it gives the pizza a new set of complex flavors, that are light and flavorful.  I also recommend making this recipe with my homemade pizza crust. So without further ado lets get into the pizza.

Ingredients:

• Pizza crust
• pesto sauce
• mozzarella cheese
• red  onions
• tomato
• chicken

Directions:
To make this pizza begin by cooking your chicken.  I recommend heating a pan with some olive oil over medium heat.  Then place in the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Let the chicken cook until its no longer pink in the center and flip over occasionally so it cooks evenly on both sides. (10+ min depending on the size).  Once the chicken is cooked turn of the heat and let it cool before using.

Now for assembling the pizza.  To begin take your crust and spoon out 2-3 tbsp of pesto, or until the entire pizza crust is coated (You may leave some crust available if you would like). Then taking your mozzarella cheese sprinkle it evenly over top the pizza.  Taking the onions and tomatoes slice them thinly and place onto the pizza as you'd please. Top with some more cheese if you would like.  Lastly taking your cooked chicken cut it into thin slices or chunks then place it onto your pesto pizza.

You may brush your crust with some olive oil to prevent burning and dryness, then place your pizza into the oven at 425°F.   Cook for about 10-12 min or until your cheese is beginning to brown and is bubbly.  Take out your pizza when ready and let it cool.  When ready slice and enjoy!!!

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