Care Package #4: Christmas, Part 1

As I mentioned earlier, this was the first year that I decorated for the holidays. While chatting with Brian, he mentioned that decorating wasn't a big priority for him either. But I figured that if I was going to go through the trouble to get festive, then I'd give him the opportunity, too! So in this first Christmas package I sent a mini tree, lights and ornaments along with festive plates. I don't know if he'll really set the tree up, but I felt better about him at least having the option to decorate. I also sent along some yummy Turkish Delight (thanks to Julie for turning me on to these!). I say "first Christmas package" because I think the next two weeks will also include holiday goodies... might as well make the most of having a ready theme!



Brian said that everyone loved the fudge last week, so the baked good for this package carried on the chocolate/peanut butter combination: Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies! This is the first time I used this recipe and it was SO good. I mean, seriously good. Like, hurt yourself by eating a whole batch good. I wrapped each brownie in cling wrap then vacuum sealed six per package. A few co-workers were lucky enough to get the remaining brownies and they were a huge hit.
Martha Stewart's Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Makes 9 large or 16 small squares
(This recipe easily doubles)

Batter:
8 TBS unsalted butter
2 ozs unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 ozs semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Swirl:
4 TBS unsalted butter
1/2 C confectioner's sugar
3/4 C smooth peanut butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Line a buttered 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over the sides. Butter the lining and set the pan aside.

Make batter: Put butter and chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted, then let cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl, then set aside.

Whisk granulated sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk until mixture is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until well incorporated.

Make filling: Stir together melted butter, confectioner's sugar, peanut butter, salt and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.

Pour one third of the batter into prepared baking pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Place dollops of filling (about 1 TBS each) about 1 inch apart on top of batter. Drizzle remaining patter on top and gently spread to fill pan. Place dollops of remaining filling on top.

With a butter knife, gently swirl filling into batter, running knife lengthwise and crosswise through the layers. Bake until toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs but not wet, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan (about 15 minutes) then lift brownies out by parchment paper and let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Holiday Shenanigans

Not only did Dad host Thanksgiving at his house this year, but he also did almost all of the cooking! In true Southern style, he used the grill for most of the dishes and even tapped into the Paula Dean cookbook to make coconut crusted sweet potato balls. The only thing that gave him any trouble was the stuffing (which was probably a blessing in disguise for my waistline as I tend to eat stuffing for breakfast, lunch and dinner until it's gone!).


I did have to step in and voice my opinion on one topic: Dad was content to just pick up a store-bought apple pie. I can bend on a lot of things, but store bought apple pie is not one of them! Unfortunately, the only apples we had were Gala and Rome, so the pies didn't come out as well as I would have liked. Dad and Joy said they were still good, so who am I to complain?

Thanksgiving morning I was feeling very keyed up after my Pilates workout and Joy teased me about my energy level. Her teasing quickly turned to pleas for mercy when I proved my strength by giving her a piggy-back ride around the house (note the look of terror on her face: priceless).
I took Monday off to recover from the weekend and get my house decorated. Since I'm planning on having Dad and Joy at the apartment for Christmas, it seemed like the right thing to do. This is the first year that I have ever decorated for the holidays (as opposed to decorating just for a holiday party), so I had to recruit some help. Jessie stopped by and assisted with tree ornament logistics and encouraged my attempts at holiday cheer. Harley couldn't care less and once Jessie stopped petting her she laid down and slept through the whole effort.
Being of the mind that less is more, I took it fairly easy and went for a minimal approach. A tree with only red and green ornaments (and just white lights) and a few strands of garland, bells and stockings for the mantels was the extent of the decorations. But the smell of fresh pine and the perky colors are a welcome addition for the coming month.

Thanks and Gratitude

A simple prayer of gratitude for the Thanksgiving Day feast:

This food is the product of the earth, the sun and hard work. May I live my life in such a way as to be worthy of it.

Love to all my friends and family.

Care Package #3: Fudge

I have been wanting to try to make fudge for a while. Since the chocolate that I sent in Brian's first care package didn't melt in transit, I figured it would be best to send fudge in the winter (when the high temperatures in Iraq are in the 90s instead of the 140s). I found this recipe in the Hershey cookbook, but will try Mom's recipe in a few weeks to see which I like best.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fudge
1 C each peanut butter chips and chocolate chips
2.25 C sugar
7 oz jar marshmallow creme
.75 C evaporated milk
.25 C butter
1 tsp vanilla

Place the chocolate and peanut butter chips in separate bowls and set aside. Grease or line an 8 inch square pan with wax paper and set aside. Combine sugar, marshmallow creme, butter and evaporated milk in 3qt pan. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it boils, then continue cooking and stirring for 5 mins.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Stir half the mixture into peanut butter chips, mix until melted and pour into pan. Repeat with chocolate chips. Let cool and cut into 1 inch squares.

In an effort to really preserve the fudge and keep it from melting all together, I wrapped each 1 inch square in wax paper before vacuum sealing it. I got rave reviews from my family and co-workers on the finished product and think that I'll be playing around with other fudge variations.

Care Package #2: Thanksgiving

I will be the first to admit: I went a little overboard on this package. I wanted to include every component of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but obviously had to get a little creative with some items (in parenthesis is what the item is supposed to represent, in case it was a stretch).

The store-bought items include: turkey jerky and sausage, cheese and crackers, Stove Top stuffing mix, Snapea Crisps (peas), Craisins (cranberry sauce), Pringles (mashed potatoes), and pudding snack packs.



The homemade goodies included: sweet potato chips, corn muffins, applesauce (for apple pie, which would not have survived the trip), and pumpkin spice bread (pumpkin pie). I had a great time making these yummies, and I hope they keep better than the pretzels did last week!



Sweet Potato Chips

This was really simple, but I need to check the temperature on my oven: the chips cooked a lot faster than the recipe said they would, and several ended up a charred mess.



Slice the sweet potatoes (I used a cheese slicer, but a mandoline would probably have worked better). In a bowl, toss the slices with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary or thyme. Place in a single layer on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes at 350° (I think I'll try it again at 250° to see if I can prevent them from burning). Let cool.


Cheater Pumpkin Spice Bread
I got this idea from a co-worker, and it’s an easy way to get a yummy, moist quick-bread loaf.
1 Can Pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 Box Spice Cake mix (you can also use yellow or chocolate cake for a yummy variation)
2 TBS water

Pre-heat oven to 350° and grease a bread loaf pan. Empty pumpkin into a medium mixing bowl and stir in 2 TBS water. Add cake mix and stir just enough to thoroughly combine. Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake 20 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Moosewood Corn Bread
1 C cornmeal
1C flour
2 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
.25 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk or yogurt
1 egg
3 TBS sugar or honey
3 TBS melted butter

Pre-heat oven to 350° and grease an 8-inch square pan with butter. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine the wet ingredients (including sugar or honey) separately. Stir the wet mixture into the dry, mixing just enough to thoroughly combine. Spread into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until the center is firm to the touch.

Applesauce is so stupidly easy to make!

Wash and cut apples into small chunks. Coat the bottom of a large pot with a little canola oil. Add a splash of water and heat apples, stirring regularly, until soft. Process cooked apples through a food mill and return to the stovetop. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar (to help preserve). If you want, season to taste with sugar and cinnamon, but I usually leave these out. Then, follow proper canning proceedures.

Now that I know how easy this is, I refuse to buy applesauce. Of course, it's a lot more fun if you can go out and pick the apples yourself!

Random Mid-November Updates

So what do you do when you realize that there is a new yarn shop in town that you're dying to visit but you already have an insane stash of yarn?


First, frantically start planning quick, simple projects that will eat up huge chunks of the stash. Current ideas include very long striped scarves and simple shrugs.


Second, you use your new friend's novice-crafter status as a perfect excuse to visit aforementioned yarn shop, but pinkie swear not to buy anything! I absolutely LOVED walking into Unwind! It reminded me very much of KnitWits in Westerly, which I dearly miss. The layout and displays were tasteful and inspiring and the selections were just delicious.


Most exciting, and most dangerous, is the fact that Unwind carries both Galway and Cascade, two of my favorite wools! Must....ration.....purchases........





I am still trying to adjust to the fact that it is the middle of November and there are plants that not only still have green leaves, but are in fact blooming! There are several rose bushes that have new flowers on them as well as these beautiful azaleas. It just feels...wrong. How am I supposed to get into the holiday mood when it looks and feels like spring?



On a somewhat unrelated note, if I haven't mentioned it yet, I'll tell you now: I've started working out again. For the past three weeks I have been doing Windsor Pilates six days a week, and I'm loving it! I have so much more energy now and just feel better overall, physically and mentally. In order to accommodate a morning workout (which is easier to stick to, since I often have evening classes to teach), I've also been working on getting up a little earlier each day. Much to my surprise, I actually enjoy starting my morning walk before the sun is peeking out from behind the horizon, and getting to hear the birds waking up as Harley and I circle the park to warm up before hitting the mat.
I thought I would struggle with these adjustments, but that's not the case at all. And a pleasant, though completely unexpected, benefit has been a sense of gratitude that seems to break on me with the dawning sun and stay with me throughout my hectic days. I am starting to feel like life is not just richer, but also fuller, than I've ever known it to be. Who knew?

Care Package #1: Oktoberfest!

I've been waiting very impatiently to be able to write about the first care package I was able to send Brian. It was so much fun to put together, and I had to wait SOOOOO long to send it. But on Monday, November 9 I was finally able to ship out Brian's Oktoberfest-themed box, and it only took seven days to get to him! The fact that I actually thought I would be able to send him something in October speaks to my new-found optimism...

Since I am still learning how to seal and ship home baked goods so that they will arrive and be edible, I thought it wise to also include some more shelf-stable goodies as well.

World Market has a great selection of international food, so I grabbed:
Pumpernickel bread
Desiree wafer cookies
Ritter chocolates
Sausages (ok, these were actually from Wisconsin, but still, they're sausage)

And what October package would be complete without some Halloween candy corn! I also included a photo album (that had a picture of me in Germany from 2004) and my favorite movie from this year: The Watchmen.

As for baked goods, I tried my hand at making soft pretzels. I'm not sure if they are really of German origin, but when I was in Germany I had pretzels almost everyday and they were wunderbar! Here's the recipe, but be warned: they got a bit moldy before arriving in Iraq. I think if I baked them a bit longer they may have lasted... trial and error!


Soft Pretzels
From The Joy of Cooking
Combine in a mixing bowl:
1 C water (105 - 115°)
1 Package Active Dry yeast

When dissolved, add and beat at least 3 minutes:
1.5 C sifted all purpose flour
2 TBS soft butter
1 TBS sugar
.5 tsp salt

Stir in:
1.25 C sifted all purpose flour
And knead until the dough loses its stickiness. Let rise in a covered greased bowl until doubled in bulk. Punch down and divide into 12 pieces. With palms, roll pieces into 18-inch lengths about pencil thickness, tapering the ends slightly. Loop into a twisted pretzels shape and place on a greased baking sheet and let rise until almost doubled in bulk.

Pre-heat oven to 475°. Have ready a boiling solution of:
4 C water
5 tsp baking soda (do not use an aluminum pot for this)

With a slotted spoon, carefully lower the pretzels into the water for about 1 minute. Return them to the greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and bake until crispy and browned, about 12 minutes.