Wolf's Den

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The July 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole of Sweet Tooth.
She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I really wanted to like this Challenge. Really, I did. After all, Milanos are one of my absolute favorite cookies.




But... I don't like Mallow cookies. Sure, I like marshmallows, I like cookies, I love dark chocolate. But... unless it's a s'more, I can't stand eating them together.

So I procrastinated doing this Challenge. Then I thought I'd just do the Milan recipe of it. Then I went ahead, and about 1.5 weeks out from posting/reveal day, I bit the bullet, tracked down Xathan Gum powder, and resolved to make the Mallows as well.

( Read on! )

When Pinch My Salt mentioned this on Facebook and Twitter, I thought it was a great idea.



I had just one issue with the whole BLT sandwich though. I hate raw tomato. I know, what's wrong with me?

I LOVE bacon, egg, cheese and lettuce sandwiches though. So how could I pass this up?



I even used leaf lettuce from my own garden in this delicous sandwich. Sharp Chedder cheese, eggs, LOTS of brown sugar cured bacon...



All on toasted whole wheat bread with a slight spread of Miracle Whip. (I know, I know, but I HATE Mayo too.)

Let's just say, this was the best lunch I've had all week. I'm thinking we should do this weekly. Ok, maybe not weekly, maybe monthly.}:P Yeah, monthly sounds good.}:P

Working on the next Our Lady series brooch pin... Care to guess the name of this one?

This month's Challenge was hosted by Sketchy, of Sketchy's Kitchen. And it's a doozy.

In fact, when I first read what the Challenge was, my reaction was holy shit. It took a few weeks to get around to doing this Challenge. It was actually about 2 weeks before the reveal date that I even started on aspects of this one. Unusual for me, to say the least.

The main issue was trying to find actual Skate. That turned out to be impossible here. So I went with 'Previous Frozen fresh Cod, wild caught'- an oxymoron if you ask me. How can it be fresh if it was previously frozen? Hmmm.. Anyway...



As with any Challenge or baking/cooking excursion, I gather everything I think I'm going to need... and then some. And it took 2 days.

( Onward, with a guest appearence! )

Quick (and not very good) shot of the latest beadwork piece I'm working on, the next in my 'Our Lady' series.

First up is the new scarves.



'Water'
13"w x 68"l
100% Crepe De Chine Silk

* * * * * * *

'Water' is a hand dyed 100% Crepe De Chine silk scarf, carefully dyed in the Arashi Shibori method.

Available HERE or HERE.





'Under the Oaks'
Hand dyed Silk Scarf
11"w x 60"l
100% Habotai (China) Silk

* * * * * * *

'Under the Oaks' is a unique hand dyed and sunprinted 100% Habotai silk scarf.

Available HERE or HERE.





'Boneyard'
Dark Series III
11"w x 60"l
100% Crepe De Chine Silk

* * * * * * *

'Boneyard' is a unique, hand dyed 100% Crepe De Chine silk scarf, that has been carefully dyed in the Arashi Shibori dyeing method, using Procion MX dyes. It was then discharged, and overdyed again with Procion MX dyes, resulting in the unique colors and patterns you see.

Available HERE or HERE.



The following scarves have updated photos...

( Continue... )

There are about as many different variations of Potato Salad as there are, well, trees. No two are ever really alike, and no one person generally ever agrees on exactly what goes into it.
Hot German Potato Salad is, in many ways, no different.



I first tried it at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Va a number of years ago, and was hooked. Mark mentioned that his paternal grandmother used to make it when he was young, but he had no idea if she ever wrote her recipe down. His mom I don't think made it, as she didn't have a recipe either. Nor did my mom.

So I went scouring the Internet. There I found quite the variety of different recipes, all claiming to be 'authentic' Hot German Potato Salad. It was staggering to say the least, as many were near carbon copies of each other.

( Onward! )

Dried Tarragon and Parsley in my handcarved apricot wood mortar. I loved the brilliant green the dried herbs created.

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Be forewarned- this is my longest Daring Bakers Challenge post yet. I lost count at 75 photos. Yeah.



Gathering of the cast of charactors. You see, I had several jars of local made jams and jelly in the cupboard. So I figured, what better way to try them! And I love almonds. Perfect match, I should think, almonds and cranberries, or wild black raspberries, or blackberries, or cherries, or homemade apple butter, or lemon curd or lime curd, or...

Yeah.

I got abit carried away. As you'll see.

And after the actual Challenge recipe, I included a Bakewell Tart Pudding made with almond paste instead of almond meal/flour.}:P It was the first one I really made, you see. But paste wasn't what the Challenge called for, so...

( Onward we go! )

Sneak preview of 2 new silk scarves- one in crepe de chine, the other habotai. Hope to have them listed for sale by Monday.