April 2014 Daring Bakers' Challenge: Easter Bread

This month's Daring Bakers' challenge couldn't have been more perfect if it tried!! This month, we were challenged to make Easter bread. The beauty, aside from the fact that it was an Easter bread challenge, was I didn't have to find time to complete the challenge; I was already planning on making Easter breads because, let's face it, that's what I do :)

I started off making Aunt June's mother-in-law's hot crossed buns recipe. It's an old, old, old family favorite and it didn't fail to impress. I took a batch to work and a batch to the kids' teachers on Good Friday. Annika, I found out, is a HUGE hot crossed buns fan. Such a smart girl! (Eric still votes for more frosting... those crosses just don't cut it for him. I've decided he needs hot asterisked buns!) ;)

Was I going to stop there?? Oh no, no no. I also made Easter Bunny breads to have as an Easter morning nosh.... and when I got tired of shaping bunnies (surprisingly, that was only after 5 bunnies ... they're shockingly mundane to shape), I changed tactics and started breading my remaining dough into wreaths.

Not sure if that is a very traditional Easter shape, but it still tasted just as good!! I also made dove-shaped rolls for Easter dinner, but neglected to get a photo of the completed ones ... we were too busy eating them! 

What does one do with all of this leftover Easter bread? Why, make it into bread pudding, of course! 

I now need to return to my usual low-carb lifestyle so I can fit in my summer pants... Easter was very carby and oh so yummy!! :)

The April Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den . She challenged us to Spring into our kitchens and make Easter breads reflecting cultures around the world.

Baptized, Bath-tized ... Tomato, Tomahto

While in the car yesterday, the kids and I began talking about our upcoming weekend plans, which include going to my brother's house for lunch and mass. I explained to Annika and Conor how freaking cool it is that Fr. Fred (our dear, dear, dear family friend) is going to say mass for us.

Annika asked, "who is Fr. Fred, again?" We talk about Fred a lot and Annika knows he's going to bless her St. Elizabeth necklace, but she doesn't see him often enough to keep him in her first and foremost memories. I explained that Fr. Fred performed the weddings for Uncle Troy and Uncle Andrew AND he baptized Annika, Conor, as well as big cousins Ian and Kat. (He also drove down to Portland, OR to say my dad's funeral mass a couple of years ago, but I didn't want to open that can of worms...)

At that point, Annika started to giggle quietly. I asked her why she was laughing, to which she answered, "You said BaPtized." I said, "Uh huh... and?" She said, "It is BaTHtized."

Naturally, at that point, I had to bite my lip until it practically bled to keep from laughing at her absolute adorable-ness!

When I was sure I could speak with out tee-hee'ing, I asked, "Do you think it is bathtized because the baby has water poured on its head and its it getting cleaner?" "Yup!" she replied.

Sure! Makes sense. You take a bath with water ... a baptism includes water. I can see the connection. :)

Fr. Fred "bath-tizing" Annika
(Nov. 2007)

My baking buddy

Last night, I busied myself making a chocolate pudding tart and, not at all surprisingly, Conor asked if he could help as soon as he heard the mixer going. (The fact that he abandoned his new "Land Before Time" movie to make something with me is REALLY saying something!)

I'd already mixed the dry ingredients together, so Conor jumped in to help add the ice water and egg yolks to the dough. One of our kids' favorite things to do is crack eggs. This time, things got even better!! I showed Conor our egg separator and let him crack the egg open over it. He was amazed and struck with a wonderful case of the giggles as he watched the egg whites ooze away from the yolk. The squeals of, "COOL" and "EEWWW! GROSS SLIMY" definitely gave me a laugh, too.

I was a little nervous about having him pour things into the Cuisinart's small spout, but he did a fantastic job! No spilled water or egg yolks overboard. He can help me make tart crust any time!!

In goes the water
(like the safety goggles??)

Corralling a slippery egg yolk

Making things with Mama is fun!

After we were done with our project, a double rainbow graced our neighborhood. I hope that means our
tart will be tasty. Conor hopes it means he can go looking for treasure!

Future Professions

On our way home today, Annika announced that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Conor, not to be outdone by his forward-thinking sister, announced that he wants to be a pancake chef. :)

Annika's previous profession announcements include an astronaut, a scientist, a violin teacher, a kindergarten teacher, and a waitress. I've decided to keep a running tally over the years, so we can look back and follow their paths to self identity and (hopefully) decent paychecks!

Who knows? Maybe they'll become rocket scientists!

Conor's 4th Birthday

It's official! Conor is a big 4-year-old!!

This year's birthday was quite an event and the celebrated wound up spanning a few days.

The day before his birthday, Conor's birthday was celebrated in his classroom. His teachers made him a crown, he got to walk around his class four times during circle time, and instead of bringing in treats, his teacher read a copy of one of his favorite books "Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site" that we donated to his class. He loved every moment of it!

On Conor's actual birthday, we packed up our gear and headed up to Whidbey Island for a weekend of celebrations galore. Not everyone knows this, but Conor was born on Eric's parents' anniversary, the day before Eric's birthday, and three days after Eric's dad's birthday. How cool is that?!?! This year, Conor's birthday fell on my in-law's 50th anniversary, which just about everyone on Earth would agree is a really big deal. Because of the next day's anniversary party, Eric's siblings and their families also came to Bestmor and Bestefar's house for the weekend of celebrations. It was the first time we've all been together at the house and it was such fun!!

On Friday after dinner, we had a little birthday celebration for the three birthday boys. Conor LOVED every moment of the evening ... especially when he was given the green light to open his presents. He received a stuffed dinosaur and a stomp rocket from Uncle John, Auntie Wendy, Erin, and Piper, a foam dinosaur kit and a stomp rocket from Auntie Kajsa and Uncle Jeff, AND roller skates from Bestemor and Bestefar. We have a very generous family and a family who knows the definition of fun presents!

As soon as Conor's skates were unwrapped, he and Annika were outside skating up and down the driveway. That is ... until Annika switched Conor's skates from "locked" to "free skate." Mama swooped in and re-locked them so Conor could actually stand up on them! Annika wanted Conor to learn how to skate like her, and knew having locked wheels wouldn't allow him to do that "just like her." Learning curve? What's a learning curve?

The stomp rockets (so glad he received two, so both kids were able to play outside with them) were a HIT! Of course, we had to wait until a break in the weather so the kids could actually go outside, but the opportunity did (eventually) arise. Whoever designed that toy really had kids in mind. They had a blast setting up the rocket stands (thank God we have engineers in the family ... Eric and John were instrumental in that part of the project), jumping onto the launch pads, and then watching the nerf rockets fly into the air.

Good thing Conor has a card helper!

Dinosaur kit

Woo hoo! Stomp rocket!

"What's inside? What could it be?"

"Here, Conor. Let me help you!"

"It's a dinosaur!!!"

"Roar! My dinosaur is eating Bestefar's birthday card!"

Thank you hug for Bestemor

Thank you hug for Bestefar

Thank you hug for Auntie Kaj

Thank you hug for Uncle Jeff

"WHOA! Another stomp rocket!!"

Eric opening his birthday cards

John and Jack playing with Jack's magnet "toy"

Auntie Kaj reading a card to Conor

Stomp rockets are the best thing EVER!!!!

Daring Bakers' Challenge Revealed: Homemade Nougat

This month's baking challenge was really exciting for me ... and then incredibly nerve-wracking. This month's challenge was to make homemade nougat. Cool!!!

As I read through the challenge's overview and instructions, my sense of panic began to set in and then grow at an immeasurable rate. Was it because of the complexity of the challenge? Nope ... not even close. Was it the time required to complete the nougat? Nah! It was this statement in the overview that sent my pulse racing: "Nougat is best made on a cool, dry day." Cool, we have that in spades. Dry? That's a completely other matter. Spring in Seattle is typically anything but dry. I decided to see how March's weather played out ... naturally, this month was one of our wettest Marches on record. I decided to bite the proverbial bullet yesterday and just take my chances with the weather and made my nougat.

I didn't want to just "make nougat." I wanted to made a complete candy, so I researched homemade Snickers recipes. I mean, come on! Who doesn't like Snickers? (Peanut allergy sufferers aside, of course.)

I followed the nougat recipe and directions from this Snickers knock-off recipe, but didn't use that recipe's caramel or chocolate aspects. I already had homemade caramel in the fridge (doesn't everyone???), so decided to use that for the bars. I also went really easy and nuked some chocolates chips in the microwave instead of tempering chocolate, as was recommended in the recipe. Again, I was up against a deadline and was looking to just get the project done on time. The "Snickers" recipe called for crunchy peanut butter, but we aren't a crunchy peanut butter family, so I just used creamy peanut butter and sprinkled some roasted peanuts on top of the caramel layer. Done and done!

The nougat didn't come together in the time frame the recipe predicted, which made me nervous that the whole thing would fail, but I stayed the course and kept moving forward. I downsized from the recommended 9x13 pan to a 9x9 pan, once I saw the smaller-than-expected nougat volume. I looked in the bowl and realized there was no way that amount would cover the bottom of the pan, so adjusted accordingly and am glad I did. As the nougat did it's thing, I stuck the mason jar of caramel sauce in a pan of water and slowly warmed it on the stove.

Once the nougat was done, I squished it into my parchment paper-lined 9x9 pan and then poured the caramel on top... followed by the peanuts. I popped the pan into the fridge for a bit so the caramel could set up a bit. While it cooled, I microwaved a few handfuls of chocolate chips with a blob of Crisco. Once the chocolate was smooth, I poured it on top of the other layers and popped it back in the fridge to cool completely.

I had NO idea if the recipe was going to work, but realized it was a successful when my guinnea pig (aka Eric) proclaimed that it was a winner and then proceeded to cut himself another helping. After witnessing Eric's response to the treat, I tried a piece, too. He was right. It did turn out well!! Not bad for a rainy weather experiment, if you ask me!

The March 2014 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Rebecca of BakeNQuilt. She challenged us to learn to make a classic nougat and to make it our own with our choice of flavors and add-ins.

An Interview with Conor

Conor has taken to imitating Eric; the way he changes his voice makes me giggle every time!

It is very obvious from these little clips how much fun Conor has with Eric, how much love they share, and that laughter is a big part of their relationship. You really can't ask for more than that!