HCB: Lemon Canadian Crown and Ladyfingers

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Do any other cooks/bakers out there has a kitchen bucket list?

I do, I decided a while ago, to write everything that I wanted to accomplish in cooking/baking - specific recipes, techniques, things that made my legs go jelly (I’m looking at you fondant).  My list has stuff like, puff pastry, pie dough (I think I got this one conquered), bread, pate, croissant, and yes among all of those difficult techniques and dishes is written “ladyfingers”.

From scratch.

This is the part where I thank my lucky stars that I found Heavenly Cake Bakers group, because without the push of having a weekly deadline, I would have never gotten around to making ladyfingers from scratch. And if I continue to write “scratch” over and over is because - Oh.my.god, I made ladyfingers from scratch!

Were they difficult? Was there a lot of swearing from my kitchen - a la Apple Charlotte? Did head rolls? Dogs and cats go into hiding? Did Tom walked out and told me to get my *stuff* together?

No, no and no.

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Sweet Kitchen Tips 15

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How many of you play the guessing game when you are opening leftover containers in your freezer or refrigerator? Well, no more!  I learned this one from a friend that worked in a restaurant kitchen.  They would label and date container of food stored in the refrigerator or freezer with masking tape and a black marker.  I thought it was a brilliant idea! You get to mark your plastic container without ruining your tupperware and you have a visual of everything that’s in the refrigerator. And when done, peel the label off and mark a new one.

And the spice rack?  Unless you have lots and lots of cabinet space (sadly our rental does not) then you are in for a big mess by playing the hide and seek game.  I came up with a simple solution after reading one of those organizational magazines.  I bought some rectangular wire basket (think IKEA) and labeled them according to type: baking spices, savory spaces, dried herbs, etc.  This way all I have to do is pull the basket out and I have all of my spices there at my fingertips.  Hint: you can do this with all of those jars and bottles in your refrigerator as well by grouping similar products in their own labeled food storage bin. The added plus on this method? It limits messes on refrigerator shelves from sticky jars and bottles.

And since I started to bake more, it became a pain to open the drawer up and take out my measuring spoons and cups every single time I had to bake (which was a lot!).  Tom came up with the solution of mounting a key holder on the wall, near my baking workspace and this way I could hang my measuring cups and spoons from it - voila, right at my fingertips.

Happy Turkey Day

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Thanksgiving is one day away, and there’s a lot of food to be made!

I, for one not doing it.  Tom and I, on a rare set of events are totally on our own this holiday (no kid, no family, no plans), which means that we will be simply enjoying the fact that we have FOUR glorious days to do absolutely nothing!

ahhh, and it all starts in about 1 hour from now, when I get off work and head home.

To sit on my couch and catch up with lots of TV time. - don’t judge!

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