French Silk Pie

This was a delicious pie. I just found the recipe online, since I invited some family over who is quite picky but loves chocolate.
I did encounter a problem, though. This is my first pie that required a prebaked crust. I didn't have pie weights or even some beans to prevent crust bubbling, so I just pierced it well. So, the bottom of the crust didn't bubble up, but the sides kind of crumpled, leading to unpretty pie.

Obviously, it didn't affect the flavor, but I'm trying to go for tasty and pretty here. And I really don't know what to do about it. Even if I had official pie weights, they wouldn't counteract the forces of gravity. I'm going to have to do some research.
Ratings:

Flavor: 10

Execution: 7-the filling was great, but the aforementioned cascading of pie sides disappointed me.

Difficulty: Moderate

Overall rating: ***** 5 out of 5 stars.

Camp Cupcake: Cherry-Almond Teacakes

It's been awhile.

I have discovered that, with finishing the dissertation, packing up, prepping classes, and trying to find a place in Utah, the thing I struggle with is not the baking. Rather, it is taking pictures of what I have baked.

There are no pictures of the honey bee cupcakes (they were bad), the iced pistachio cupcakes, the pistachio raspberry cupcakes, or the date-nut mini cupcakes. I am divided about whether or not to even do a post about any of these.

But these tiny teacakes I thought were worthy of a post because they were a big hit, and because they were a little unusual.

As you can see by the picture, Martha recommended baking a whole cherry in each one, with the stem left on and sticking out of the batter. In fact, if Martha had her way, I would have left the pits inside the cherries and just warned people that they were there. I thought that was a bad idea. Sometimes I just leave cupcakes places and don't have the opportunity to give people instructions about how to eat them. Some of the people I give them to have prosthodontics. So, I bought this guy:

I'm sure more dignified cherry pitters exist, but every time I look at this one, I smile. You put the cherry in his mouth, push down on his head, and the pit shoots down into his leg area. I can't even describe it without giggling. But it worked.

Tiny Cherry and Almond Tea Cakes

Pie Are Squared: Key Lime Pie

This was a departure from the Sweety Pies book; I saw a different book at the library and checked it out. It is Bubby's Homemade Pies. It has endorsements by Billy Crystal and Jon Stewart. You might think that such facts would indicate some exciting, unique pie, but you'd be wrong. I still tend to choose a recipe based on what ingredients I already have on hand. That is kind of boring. But I did happen to have some key limes, so we went with it.
I was in a hurry to get it chilled and cut before my brother left, so it didn't have the perfectly set texture to it. But it was delicious. I added the cream, blueberries, and leaves for effect.
This is the first pie in my series that called for a graham cracker crust. You'd think that a graham cracker crust would be way easier than a pastry crust. I think there's probably a smaller margin of error, but it still takes some skill, I think. Getting it all pressed into the pie plate at a uniform thickness is difficult. For me, anyway. The recipe book recommends making your own graham crackers instead of using store-bought ones. Apparently, they're way better. I didn't do this for two reasons: 1) I had limited time. 2) It seems ridiculous to gather ingredients and bake them simply to crush them into a fine powder as soon as they're ready.
So a little tip for those of you using graham cracker crusts someday: bake it (empty) for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. It makes it a little crispy and prevents sogginess, even the next day. It's way better.

Ratings:

Flavor: 9

Execution: 9-The picture doesn't look great, but I took it before it had totally cooled and set. Today, the texture was perfect.

Difficulty: Moderately difficult

Overall rating: **** 4 out of 5 stars.

Shape Shifter: I ran my 5K!!

I guess that with anything, sometimes you just don't know until you give it a try. So the experience of running in my first 5K was great...but I know much more of what I will do for my next race. Here is the list of things learned:

#1. If the race ends at a destination other than where we began, there WILL be someone there to pick me up at the finish line. We had to wait for over an hour on the buses that were transporting the racers back to the starting line. Of course, there were those who just turned around and ran back to the starting line...show offs! :)

#2. If the race is in the morning...which most all of them are...it might be prudent to train at least a few times in the morning. All of our workouts were completed in the evening. Since it is the summer and I don't have to be worried about being at work early...I have decided to try training in the morning. I just did not feel like I had the same energy I was used to running with.

#3. Must eat something more substantial before racing. Sadly, I must confess to eating a package of powdered donuts before my race. We stayed with my sister in Aubrey, which was an hour away, and had to be there by 7:30a.m.---so we just stopped at a convenience store real quick. The donuts were not a great source of lasting energy.

#4. If it is humid where I race...I should train with a humidifier attached to my face! Seriously, it was SOO humid and there was absolutely NO breeze...I thought I was going to die!

#5. Since they attach a device to your shoelace that keeps track of your time, there is absolutely no need to start off with the rest of the crowd. Call me a little anti-social, but I do not like people in my space...and there were so many people invading. Next race, I think that I will just hang back for a bit and start at the end of the crowd. The crowd was a good experience...now I know what to expect.

#6. Not everyone runs. This is totally fine---not a problem. However, I don't like being the basis for someone deciding to run. Meaning that there was a group of ladies that would walk, until I started to try to pass them, then they would haul off and run...at a faster pace than I was going. Then once they got up a ways, they would start walking...that is until I got close and started to try passing them again...so they would run. More than a little annoying. I am thinking of taking a taser next race...that should take them out. hehe

#7. Need some form of water while running. Usually while running, I don't require water until after I am finished. However, I am usually running when it is nice and cool. They had water at mile marker #1, which I drank...but there wasn't any more until the end of the race. Needless to say, by the time I made it to the finish line, I was parched and frothing at the mouth. Not very appealing sounding, but even more unappealing to experience.

#8. Smile at the dude taking the pictures as you run. They e-mailed pics of each of us running and I look more that slightly perturbed. I look flat out pissed. Which really, if you haven't gotten the gist by all of the many things I have learned from this one race...I wasn't exactly exuberant. However, pissy does not make for a cute keepsake photo. Fortunately my running buddy took one with her phone...so I will probably just use that one.

All in all, I had a blast. It was a great experience and I am glad to have completed a goal that has been on my New Year's Resolutions for probably about 8 years. I am also glad that I completed it before my birthday this summer. I am turning 29...perhaps I will be able to run a marathon before I turn 30! I will take that goal one step at a time. For now, I will just begin to train for a 10K. My goal is to run a 10K Labor Day weekend. I am also going to run in another 5K in a few weeks close to here...I want to keep up the progress I have made.

Camp Cupcake: Coconut Pecan Cupcakes

I think I am losing my touch.

When I started the cupcake project, I realized that it was going to collide with my dissertation, possible job interviews, and whatever other unexpected things life had in store for me.

What I didn't count on was wanting to abandon the project because the pieces of my life started to fall into place. I started this project because I was worried that the pieces of my life would never fall into place, and at least cupcakes were something I could control. But there are definitely times when I have wanted to scrap this project for the sake of other things. However, I find that, even though I now have a pretty good idea of what I will be doing with my life, I still get stressed out, and I still need to bake.

I also didn't count on the fact that when I started making recipes that deviated from a standard Martha recipe (all-purpose flour, butter, eggs, etc.) that I would have trouble.

One of my favorite lines from the movie Julie and Julia is when Julie Powell (Amy Adams) says, "You know what I love about cooking? I love that after a day when nothing is sure, and when I say nothing, I mean, NOTHING, that you can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. It's such a comfort." That was one of my favorite things about the cupcake project. I learned that there are rules in cooking, and that if you follow them, you can be assured how your food will turn out. It's the only place in my life where this happens.

That said, I had some trouble with these. I am still learning about what happens when you use oil instead of butter (the cupcakes bake flatter and overflow the liners), and this recipe used coconut oil, which I was completely unfamiliar with. Martha calls it creamed coconut (different from cream of coconut), and it is sold in health food stores in glass jars, usually in the refrigerator section. It can be used as a substitute for butter, but it does not bake up like butter.

I would have to say that I like the concept of this recipe, but I was not pleased with the execution.

Coconut-Pecan Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

1 c. firmly packed shredded sweetened coconut

3/4 c. pecans (about 3 oz.) toasted, and cooled

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

1/4 c. coconut oil, room temperature

1 Tbsp. coconut extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. (9 oz.) unsweetened coconut milk

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

2 c. unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted

Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with papers. In a food processor, finely grind shredded coconut; transfer to a bowl. Process pecans with 2 Tbsp. sugar until finely ground. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir in ground coconut and pecans.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter, creamed coconut, and remaining sugar until pale and fluffy. Add extract and then eggs one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of coconut milk, and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden, about 20 to 22 minutes.

To finish, dip tops of cupcakes in chocolate glaze, then turn over quickly and garnish with toasted coconut.

Shape Shifter: I AM READY!!

Last night I went for a run on my own...which is very boring once you have gotten used to having a buddy to run with. I decided to use this as a chance to just run and see how far I could go. I even made a run up the wheel chair ramps...just for a little incline work. I truly think that I could have continued running, but for some reason, the fact that I ran 3.5 miles kind of freaked me out. My Nike+ actually said 3.69...but there is a small discrepancy between mine and my running buddy. I wanted to make sure that I made it to 3.5, so I just ran a little further. Anyhow...it has been probably six years since I have run any type of distance at all and when I saw the mileage it is almost like I thought I should stop...don't want too much of a good thing...or something?? I have no clue. I was very excited that I am ready for a 5K---even a little earlier than our training program would have suggested. But now I have the question of 'just how far can I run?' stuck in my head. As soon as we have completed our 5K I am going to start training for a 10K. I know that most of running is 'all in your head'. I guess I am grateful to have had so many things to mull over in my mind as I run. :) So, I am 'officially' ready!

Tonganterror: P90X Week 12

There isn't much to say this week other than I am still bringing in spite of a serious back injury which has slowed me down considerably. Play was pushed and we continued the workouts anyway. My back is feeling much better tonight than it has this last couple of weeks so I think I will be fine to make it through this next recovery week. The hard part is over, all that remains is one final charge down the hill. I am excited to be finishing up the goal, however, I plan on beginning again, this time focusing on losing weight. Stay tuned for next week when I wrap up my P90X Phase I with pics, info, and other interesting discoveries from Bringing It!