Fact of the Week: July 31, 2013

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours making it the fastest selling book in history!!
Cite

Happy Birthday J.K. Rowling!
and of course:

Butterbeer!

If you didn't know I'm huge Harry Potter NERD!  And I mean huge;  I was in the Harry Potter club in college,  played Quidditch, stood in line at midnight for the books and movies, and every year I celebrate J.K. Rowling and Harry's birthday!  So this week in honor of the chosen one's birthday I am sharing this Butterbeer recipe!  I won't claim that it tastes like the ones at the wizarding world of Harry Potter,  but I like this one a lot;  it tastes more like butterscotch. 

Ingredients:
6 12 oz bottles of cream soda
3 tablespoons of imitation butter
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:
Whip the cream till the peaks can stand. Melt the butterscotch chips in a sauce pan over medium heat while constantly stirring.  Once this is a liquid mix pour it into the bowl with cream,  mix till well combined.

Mix a half tablespoon of the imitation butter into each soda bottle poured into a cup,  or pour all the soda into a bowl and gently mix all the butter in.

Put the whipped topping on top of the soda and serve immediately. 

You can then mix the whole thing up.

This drink is best enjoyed while eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and watching HP, as illustrated below!

Fact of the Week: August 12, 2013

The  Hubble Telescope recently discovered the 14th moon of Neptune. 

Cite http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23318301

Homemade Sprinkles!

This very very easy to make. You most likely aready have the ingredients so save yourself a buck and make your own!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of sugar (or however much sprinkles you desire)
4 to 10 drops of food coloring (follow the boxes directions for color combos)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix together sugar and food coloring.  Make sure to add one drop at a time and mix well. Once the color is even and the shade you want, lay the mixture out on a baking pan and flaten it out. It is best if the sugar is spread out very thinly. 
Bake for 10 min. Let cool.
You can then use it right away or store away for later use!

See wasn't that easy!

Fact of the Week: July 22, 2013

21 million children have a parent who will see an increase in their pay as a result of increasing the minimum wage. 
Cite: 
http://www.epi.org/publication/snapshot-federal-minimum-wage/

Blueberry Pie

This pie was a birthday request from a friend. I am really happy to share my grandpa SugarBoy's pie crust recipe. I have been making pie crusts with him for as long as I can remember. This was my first time making a lattice top, as I don't make too many pies that aren't pumpkin… hmmmm pumpkin pie! I do have to give a shout out to my friend Nick for being my helper on this one; He mixed the filling while I worked on the crust which takes a bit more time to get right. He also put up with my photography while he was baking away, so thank you!
inspiration found here!

Ingredients:

For the filling:

3 cups frozen blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 Tbl spoons cornstarch
1 Tbl spoon lemon juice
1 Tbl spoon sugar 

For the crust with lattice top:

2 cups flour 

1 Tbl spoon cold water 

1 cup of cold butter


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F
Mix flour with cold water and butter. Mix well but do not over work; the more you work the dough the less fluffy and airy the crust will be. Spread flour out over the surface you are going to roll dough out on, and keep a handful or two near by to apply to your roller and your dough if it gets to sticky while your working it. Roll out half of the dough into a circular shape a couple of inches wider than the top of your pie tin. Make sure you roll evenly across the dough till it's about a quater of an inch thick.

Place the pie tin upside down and flip the dough over with the tin so it settles into the bottom of the tin right side up. There should be some dough hanging over the sides; bunch this up to make the crusts edge. I like to roll the excess back over and pinch it between my thumb and my pointer and middle finger to give it that rustic look. With a fork to place a few holes in the bottom of the crust to allow air bubbles to escape. Set this crust aside.

Roll out the rest of the dough in another circular shape, again a couple inches wider than the tin. This time you are going to cut out straight lines with a knife. These will be weaved together over the filling to create a lattice top. The strips can be a wide as you want them to be.

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Add the blueberries to the sugar mixture and toss gently to coat. Pour the filling into pie tin. Spread out evenly.

Lastly add the strips on top. Start by putting half the strips going one direction. Then lay the half on top of them at a 90 degree angle. Then weave them under and over each other.

Place the pie tin on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.  After reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Allow the pie to set for at least 2 hours before cutting into it.

Eggplant Fries

I LOVE eggplants so when I saw these somewhere I just had to try them out! I've also made these gluten free for my Aunt but using Pamela's bread flour instead!
Also I decided to bake them instead of fry them, which I think makes them healthier right?

Ingredients:

1 eggplant

3/4 cup flour (can use flour substitute) 

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. cumin powder

1 Tbls. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper

olive oil (to cover your baking pan)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, oregano, parsley, cumin, salt, and black pepper.
Peel the eggplant, and cut into fry shaped pieces. Toss the eggplant into the mixture till covered.

Pour olive oil into a baking sheet till completely covered. Line eggplant on the pan evenly.

 

Place in the oven for 20 minutes  turning over the fries halfway through the cooking (after about 10 minutes).

Once the eggplant is brown and crispy remove from the baking sheet and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain the oil.

After they have cooled for a bit, you can serve with honey drizzled on them or dip them into whatever condiments you want to use. I made a ketchup and mayonnaise mixture, with dill in it, once and it was amazing!

Fact of the Week: July 15, 2013

Stars twinkle because the light we see coming from the stars travels through the atmosphere around the earth and there is turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere.
Cite: http://www.ur.umich.edu/9394/Feb07_94/18.htm

Quick Oat Cookies

I wanted something healthy to bring with me camping. This seemed like a nice quick breakfast food for us. Found on pinterest....
Just like the Banana Bread you can freeze brown bananas before they go bad. Then just defrost them when you are ready to cook this! 

Ingredients:  

2 large old bananas (the browner the better) 

1 cup of quick oats. 

You can add in chocolate chips, coconut, or nuts if you’d like. Use as much as you want.
I used chocolate chips.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mash the bananas in a medium sized bowl. Add in oats and anything else you want. 

Then use a tablespoon to put small balls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 mins, just when the edges start to brown.
Let cool and you have healthy cookies!

Fact of the Week: July 10, 2013

Sneezes can travel at a speed of 100 miles per hour and the wet spray can radiate five feet.
cite: library of congress 

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

It is summer and with summer comes lighter fresher cookies! This recipe, found here, is just that!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons lemon zest (1 lemon)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice (from same lemon)

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

1 cup blueberries (I used frozen ones)

125 grams Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese, cut into 1 tsp cubes

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. Blend in the lemon zest, juice and eggs. Make sure to scrape off any bits of zest that stick to the sides. 

In a separate bowl whisk together the baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour. Then mix it into the wet ingredients. Gently fold in the blueberries. 

Refrigerate the dough for about 15 – 20 minutes to make it stiff enough to roll.

For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tbsp of dough into a ball then flatten it slightly into a disc shape. Place a 1 tsp cream cheese cube into the center and form the dough around it creating a ball again. Gently press them to make a disk. Bake them for about 10 - 14 minutes until the edges brown slightly. Transfer them to a cooling rack and enjoy!

Fact of the Week: July 1, 2013

On December 21, 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre. It was the first feature-length animated film for the Disney Studios.