Fall

 How is it Fall already?  I haven't been doing much in any measurement.  

We've hit a groove with school.  The marking period ended.  Little Miss has straight A's after taking a bit to acclimate to virtual learning.  Captain doesn't really get grades, but he's improved so much and has taken to virtual learning (with a lot of help and guidance from us).  

I've been mostly "catching up" on The Big Bang Theory.  I watched the first two seasons, but then I drifted away so I picked up at Season Three and am steadily making my way through the seasons.  I still enjoy it, but I think I'm hitting some fatigue.  

I haven't read one book in months, but I may have to make myself sit and do it to get back in the groove.  On the plus side, my book buying has slowed (though not stopped).

We celebrated Little Miss's 13th birthday.  We tried to make it as special as we could without going out or seeing people.  She briefly saw some friends outside to receive gifts.  We gifted the friends with cupcakes.

These cupcakes were very involved, similar to the other cupcakes and cake I made earlier in the year.  I don't think my meringue was perfect.  It wasn't thick enough, but it was starting to separate, and I didn't want to redo it so I just stopped where it was.  It was still smooth and tasty, just not the right texture.  I don't think we also heated it high enough, but the cake part is delicious.  I don't always find plain cake recipes that extraordinary versus doctored box mixes, but this one was so good (it may have helped that I paid a lot for the gourmet cocoa).

Here is the recipe if you are interested.

Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 6 Large Egg whites
• 1 1/4 Cup Sugar (250 g / 8.5 oz)
• 1/4 tsp Cream of tartar
• 2 Cups Unsalted butter, soft (454 g / 16 oz)
• 20 Oreo Cookies

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 Cup AP Flour (180 g / 6 oz)
• 1/2 Cup + 2TBS Cocoa powder (65 g / 2.5 oz)
• 1 1/8 tsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Large Egg yolk
• 3/4 Cup Milk (180 ml / 6 oz)
• 1/3 Cup Canola Oil (90 ml / 3 oz)
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/3 Cup Sugar (275 g / 10 oz)
• 2/3 Cup Boiling Water (150 ml / 5 oz)

Instructions

To Make the Buttercream

1. In a bowl of a standing mixer, pour the sugar then add the egg whites and cream of tartar. Use a hand whisk to blend it all.

2. Place the bowl on top of a pot with simmering water on the stove. Make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

3. Use a hand whisk to stir the mix and cook until it reaches 130F or when the sugar has dissolved.

4. Remove bowl from stove and back to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

5. Mix until a stiff meringue has formed and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch of your hand.

6. Reduce speed to low-medium and add the butter a piece at a time, gradually increase speed to medium-high and mix until a smooth creamy buttercream has formed.

7. Measure 1 cup of buttercream and place in a medium bowl

8. Separate the Oreos cookies remove and place the filling in the bowl with the small amount of buttercream.

9. Use a fork or a hand whisk to blend the filling and buttercream then in a piping bag fitted with a round tip.

10. Place the separated cookies in a food processor and process it into a very fine meal. Remove and lumps or large pieces you notice.

11. Sprinkle the ground Oreos on top of the buttercream and mix until a cohesive buttercream has formed.

12. Fill a large piping bag fitted with a large tip (your choice of shape).

Baking The Cupcakes

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix to blend.

2. In a bowl of a standing mixer, place the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla pour the sugar on top then add the dry ingredients.

3. Use the paddle attachment to mix on low until completely smooth then pour the boiling water and mixing carefully until smooth. Let sit for 15 minutes. (do not over mix)

4. Fill cupcakes liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry from the center of the cupcakes.

5. Preheat oven to 350F, line 1-12 cup muffin tines with cupcakes liners.

6. Remove from stove and allow to completely cool before filling and decorating.

Filling and piping the cupcakes

1. Using a sharp knife, cut an inch sized circle at the center of each cupcake. Make sure you insert the knife 1" deep and as you cut around, create a cone-shaped piece you can easily remove.

2. Use the white buttercream to fill the center of the cupcakes then the dark buttercream to pipe the cupcake.

Movies I'm Watching...

I'm watching more than I'm reading.  Normally, I post after I've finished a series, but I've been dabbling with a bunch and not really finishing anything.

I've started The Umbrella Academy before the second season is due on Netflix.  I've started The Great on Hulu.  I put on Crazy Delicious on Netflix when I need something on in the background.  I like the first two, but I haven't been captured enough to binge watch.  The third is literally just if I need something on as noise.

Last night, we started I'll Be Gone in the Dark on HBO.  I have to admit that I didn't finish the book, but I really liked the book.  I'm thinking of going back to finish now, but the first episode premiered last night.  I thought it was well done.  I loved Michelle McNamara's style of focusing on the victims and survivors.  It really respected them instead of giving way to torture porn or sensationalizing the violence and/or killer.  The new perspective and conversational writing really drew me in.

I'm finding I'm focusing more than at the beginning of these unprecedented times, but it's still a struggle.  If the content is right, it's working which is a step in the right direction of things (or at least recreation) going back to normal.  Meanwhile, Little Miss has been reading a book a day or more.  She's digging into her Rick Riordan books that have been piling up as well as listening to audio books.  That's pretty much the only reason I don't harp too much on the fact that she spends all day locked in her room.

Week asdlkjfa;slkdjfasdklfj

So, we're still being socially distant and sheltering in place.  We've got a little routine down, but the days run together.  

Captain has taken to it well. He has taken a lot of coronavirus information in and processed it, and he's been strangely cool. He's got all his stuff, all of his people. He still hates Zoom calls, but he's been getting better. I think having a birthday helped - new toys especially video games. This house has always been a videogame-free house, but that's over.  He's doing ok with school.  He hates reading and writing and it's hard to keep him motivated.  Luckily, I've found some worksheets online and an app he really likes that has actually helped him write.  It's too early to see if it's been helping him read.  He's very behind the milestone with reading and writing.  He does love being read to though.

Little Miss is all over the place. She's ok depending on the minute of the day. She misses the structure of school and her friends. We've been doing some cooking and baking which helps. Nothing major, but I think the whir of the mixer helps calm her. 

The photo below is from a visit with my parents who dropped some presents off while maintaining distance in the parking lot of our building. My mom crocheted The Child from The Mandalorian for me (well, the kids, but we're sharing custody).

View this post on Instagram

2020 #thechild #facemasks

A post shared by April Moore (@princessapr) on May 10, 2020 at 3:03pm PDT

New Food 2020 - Molten Chocolate Cakes

We made molten chocolate cakes (twice actually) in the Instant Pot.  So good and so easy.  It's from the book, The Instant Pot Desserts Cookbook from Williams Sonoma. For the recipes in the book, you do need a few special tools.  So, we purchased a silicone trivet, ramekins, springform pan, and fluted cake pan (bundt pan).  Nothing was very expensive.  The trivet and ramekins have multiple uses.  You can use all in the oven if you prefer.  It's nice because baking in the Instant Pot makes smaller servings in the smaller baking pans so we're not stuck with a ton.  The molten chocolate cakes use a ton of eggs, but they don't use much of anything else and we happened to have everything in our pantry.  I'm looking forward to cooking more with this cookbook and trying out more baking in the Instant Pot.

Quarantine Life

Whelp, the novelty has worn off.  Or life with a pre-teen has hit a valley, or peak.  I don't know.  

It turns out, Captain really likes to have a schedule and a plan.  He gets frustrated with writing and not being perfect which hinders him trying.  He prefers staying home.  Even when we've offered him to go get the mail or take a walk, he prefers to stay inside.  There was some chalk painting on the balcony, but that's about it.  Today, we got a little creative with lessons.  Even though it's Spring Break, I still like to keep him busy.  Today, he got to watch some Penguins of Madagascar and then had to write about his favorite part.  In the afternoon, I had him write a letter to his great-grandparents.  

Little Miss has been super great and making cookies for the family by herself or super emotional.  So, 12 is fun.  She gets a little cooped up and does like to get out to run around the block or walk down to get the mail.  She has been allegedly working and keeps in contact with many of her friends.  

All in all, I can't complain.  They've been good.  It's hard to keep them learning and motivated, but I think they (at least Captain) like the interaction and being around us.  

Husband and I have been having Zoom calls with family.  We've started Schitt's Creek.  I've watched Glow Up, Next in Fashion, and Making It but having trouble concentrating on finishing an actual book.  We've also been listening to the Scrubs podcast and doing a rewatch along with it.  So, that's been fun.

So, we're hanging in there as I hope you all are as well.

New Food 2020 - Pizza Dough Garlic Knots

   

Pizza Dough Garlic Knots

Ingredients

• 1 pound pizza dough ball* homemade or store-bought
• 6 tablespoon salted butter
• 8 large garlic cloves pressed with a garlic press
• 1 teaspoon water
• 3/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pizza sauce for dipping optional

Instructions

PREP THE BAKING SHEET:

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.

KNOT THE DOUGH:

• Place the pizza dough onto a floured surface and roll it into a 12x6-inch rectangle.
• Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 12 6-inch strips.
• Stretch and roll each strip into a 12-inch long piece.
• Tie a piece of dough into a knot.
• Tuck one end of the dough into the center of the knot.
• Pull the other end of the dough up through the center of the knot and tuck in the end.
• Place the knot on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining strips of dough. Please each knot 2-inches apart on the baking sheet, and cover the knots loosely with plastic wrap.
• Let the knots rise until doubled in size, about 40-60 minutes.

PREHEAT AND MAKE THE GARLIC BUTTER:

• Move oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
• After the knots have risen for 25 minutes, make the garlic butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the garlic and water and cook, stirring frequently, until the tiny pieces of garlic are straw-colored, about 2-3 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat, stir in the parsley and salt and set aside.

BAKE THE GARLIC KNOTS:

• Once the knots have doubled in size, discard the plastic wrap and bake the knots for 5 minutes.
• Remove the knots from the oven, brush with half of the garlic butter, rotate the pan, and bake for another 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
• Brush the garlic knots with the remaining garlic butter. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Finally, serve warm.

We made this because we had all the ingredients.  The kids love to bake and cook, and with the grocery store like  weird, scifi movie, we thawed some pizza dough from the freezer and whipped these up.  It's basically a garlic herb butter over knotted dough with a little salt on top.  These are definitely delicious with a little marinara to dip into.  We thought they should be cooked a little longer, but they were solid and delicious when considering the small amount of effort required.

10 possible points - Taste (possible 5), Was it worth the effort?  (possible 3), Appearance (possible 1), Would we make it again? (possible 1)

 

Standings:

Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp - 9 points
Orange Chicken - 9 points
Crepes - 9 points

Pizza Dough Garlic Knots - 8 points

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Sugar Snap Peas - 8 points

Vanilla Cake - 7 points

Movies We Watched - Onward

We watched Onward yesterday.  We all enjoyed it.  As I expected, it was a little sad mostly at the end.  There wasn't anything questionable though - Captain wasn't scared at any part.  There were some funny moments and some sweet moments.  I think Little Miss liked it the most out of all of us.  I promised the kids I would take them earlier in the year.  Then, Captain got the flu and then the coronavirus kept us home so I didn't feel bad at all buying it and watching it at home.  We popped popcorn and ate some leftover candy.  It was just like being at the theater... but in our pjs!  If you didn't promise to take anybody, I think it'll be fine when it hits Disney+, no need to watch it as soon as possible.

Hanging in There

So, this has been a fun month.  I hope this isn't "going out like a lamb."  We've all kind of adapted ok so far.  

We wake up.  The kids start school work around 10AM.  Little Miss has set their room up with two trays as desks and two chairs.  She guides him through his lessons and does her own work.  They come out for lunch.  Normally, this is when they are done for the day, but the work load has ramped up this week to be more interactive so they went back to work after lunch time.  We've been very consistent with bedtime which has helped at least.  

They've been pretty calm.  There are some questions here and there.  In general, they've been more active with us though.  You'd think close quarters would make them crankier, but it hasn't really.  Maybe it's the extra sleep.  Little Miss has been getting up 2-3 hours later than her usual school schedule.  We've played some board games, watched movies, popped popcorn.  We've had some interesting conversations about guns, politics, passing on germs.  Captain has a lot of interesting perspectives.  For example, he may need a gun to protect himself from bad guys... or just a shield.  So, maybe he just thinks he's actually Captain America.  

New Food 2020 - Garlic Parmesan Roasted Sugar Snap Peas

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Sugar Snap Peas

Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar snap peas , trimmed, rinsed, dried
• 3 tablespoons STAR Roasted Garlic Olive Oil (see notes if using regular olive oil)
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Combine sugar snap peas and olive oil in a mixing bowl and toss to coat.
4. In a separate bowl mix together panko crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
5. Add the panko mixture to the sugar snap peas and toss to combine.
6. Arrange in previously prepared baking sheet in a single layer.
7. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crispy, turning once during cooking.
8. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

If you do not have "garlic olive oil", use 2 tablespoons minced garlic for the peas mixed with regular olive oil.

WW SMART POINTS: 2

We really liked this.  It was easy, and the crunch made it worth it.  We made our own garlic oil.  We just put smashed cloves and heated them in the oil on low for awhile and let it all hang out.  We probably should have let it rest longer, but we didn't.  It didn't make much difference.  I don't know why I've never roasted sugar snap peas before.  I probably would rank this higher than crepes, but we take an average and that's how the numbers played out.

10 possible points - Taste (possible 5), Was it worth the effort?  (possible 3), Appearance (possible 1), Would we make it again? (possible 1)

 

Standings:

Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp - 9 points
Orange Chicken - 9 points
Crepes - 9 points

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Sugar Snap Peas - 8 pointsVanilla Cake - 7 points

New Food 2020 - Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp

Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp with Angel Hair Pasta 

INGREDIENTS: 
8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to package directions (half of a 1-pound box) 
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) 
1 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste 
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and cleaned with tails off (I prefer 12-15 count shrimp) 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon pepper 
1/4 cup lemon juice 
1 teaspoon lemon zest, optional 

DIRECTIONS: Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside. To a large skillet, add the butter and heat over medium-high heat to melt. Stir in the garlic powder. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes total, or until just pink and cooked through. Flip shrimp halfway through cooking. Cooking time will vary based on size of shrimp and pan used; don’t overcook or shrimp will become rubbery and tough. Add the lemon juice, optional lemon zest, and stir briefly to combine. Turn the heat to low, add the pasta to skillet with the shrimp, and toss to combine and coat. Taste, check for seasoning balance, and make any desired tweaks (add more salt, pepper, garlic powder, lemon juice, etc.). Serve immediately. Dish is best warm and fresh, but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently prior to serving.

Link and recipe from website above.  Here's how we changed it.  We doubled the recipe.  We used linguine.  We used large shrimp, but we cut them in half.  We had leftovers so, when we reheated, we splashed some chicken stock on it, squeezed a lemon wedge and sprinkled some more garlic poweder (and mixed).  In the future, I would use real garlic instead of garlic powder.  That said, when you do that, it sometimes turns green from the lemon OR I would season the shrimp with garlic salt and pepper.  I think it would up the flavor a little, but that depends on your taste.  I would maybe sprinkle some red pepper flakes in there, too.  Anyway, solid recipe, easy, and it was a hit in the house.   It does taste best right after you make it, but with the tweaks, it was a decent leftover meal, too.

10 possible points - Taste (possible 5), Was it worth the effort?  (possible 3), Appearance (possible 1), Would we make it again? (possible 1)

 

Standings:

Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp - 9 points
Orange Chicken - 9 points
Crepes - 9 points
Vanilla Cake - 7 points

February 2020

February was a long month.  The first weekend, Little Miss and I went to Williams Sonona to make and decorate Valentine's Day cookies.  It was a private class!  We got the cute little conversation heart cookie cutter set.

The second weekend, we went back to Williams Sonoma to make some orange chicken which was just a jar of sauce and chicken in the air fryer.  It was so good (see other post).  The next day, we went back to make salted caramel pretzel cheesecake and chocolate molten cake.  They were so delicious and so easy to make!   It's in the Instant Pot, takes no time at all, and we got to take the cookbook home.=

The third weekend,  we went to the Parents' winter vacation house and met up with family.   We celebrated Mom's birthday a little early.   I played beer pong for charity.   Poorly.  Sister and Brother-in-Law won the tournament,  Cousin won pint glasses,  and I won the 50/50 cash raffle and a shirt.  Great time all around!  We also think Captain has his first crush on my youngest Cousin's girlfriend (above). 

The last weekend was relatively quiet.  We ran a lot of errands.  Little Miss scored her third goal in four weeks at hockey and is in the playoffs.  Captain got new sneakers.  It was not earth-shattering.