Making ladyfingers from scratch

Earlier in the week N wanted to make up a batch of ladyfingers. The goal was to make homemade Tiramisu, one of his favorite desserts but you need ladyfingers to make it. We searched high and low for ladyfingers in the stores last weekend, nobody sells them.

Being the baker that I am I suggest that we just make them, “they can’t be THAT hard” I said. So N gave them a whirl and ran in to some major egg white consistency issues. The whole beat until soft peaks form part was just not happening for him so he added more sugar, then more flour and also a touch of baking soda…

Well the mixture did not seem to look like what was described and we knew it was super messed up but just for fun we saw it through. Instead of piping lady fingers he just spread the mixture on to a baking sheet and popped it in to see how it would turn out.

The consensus was that the concoction didn’t taste like ladyfingers, though the spongy texture was close… Recipe failed, okay we knew that.

After looking over his recipe (from an old antique cook book) I was amazed at how vague and nondescript the directions were. Plus there wasn’t a real “stabilizer” ingredient in the recipe so how would the eggs do what they were supposed to?

After doing some research I offered to make his lady fingers for him on Friday. He promised not to be butt hurt about it and said it would help so I did it using this recipe and I think they turned out good (N will have to be the true judge to this though).

Here is what I learned:

1. Egg temperature is important! In the recipe N used and also in this one and this one there is no mention of egg temperature unlike the recipe I used. Apparently egg temperature is important and using eggs straight from the refrigerator is not helpful in achieving the desired consistency. I think this was one of the reasons why his egg whites never got stiff.
2. Egg temperature can be achieved quickly. Just soak your eggs in some warm water for several minutes and they’ll warm up. You don’t have to leave them on the counter to come to temperature all day, yay and duh.
3. Warm eggs are harder to separate. When I make lady fingers again I’ll be separating the yolk from the whites before allowing them to get to room temperature. Separating them warm is way harder and messier!
4. Don’t over mix when it says fold in. The foamy egg whites are fluffy and full of air. When you combine them with the yolk/ flour mixture it says fold in for a reason. Keeping the airy texture is important to keeping the ladyfingers spongy. Don’t over mix it.
5. When thorough detailed instructions are provided it is best to follow them exactly. I know duh right? Seriously though, just because you are combining ingredients doesn’t mean you can use your mixer etc. I (and many others) have the tendency to get ahead with recipes and overlook key bits of information. With lady fingers this is not good.

Here is how the process unfolded in my kitchen in photos:

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Homemade holiday gifts are IN, what are you making?

My top search terms right now are homemade gift ideas. There is no doubt that the economy is impacting the way people are thinking about holiday shopping. People would rather make things to give as gifts because it saves money.

I personally like creative homemade, do-it-yourself gifts because they are more from the heart than store bought ones. Plus I have a blast making gifts for people cause I am crafty like that.

Now since so many are flocking here in search of homemade holiday gift ideas and craft projects I wanted to take a second to suggest some easy gift ideas for you to try this holiday season. If you want to check out the instructions just click on the linked text! you have a project you have written about on your blog use mister linky below to share the link with us.

1. Turn scrap fabric in to braided usefulness by making your very own braided rag rug. These are super easy, have tons of character and can be used almost anywhere in the house.
2. Make a sentimental gift and clear out some closet space by taking all those stored clothing items you can’t bear to throw away and turning them in to a functional throw or quilt. Anyone can make their own t-shirt quilt quickly and easily just in time for holiday gift giving. Use baby clothes, shirts or just about any special piece of fabric and turn those memories in to a great gift for someone special.
3. Have an environmental lover on your gift list? You can make several fun earth friendly gift items (like a biodegradable bird feeder or a shoe scraper) that they will enjoy and they’ll love that you took and interest in being earth friendly too.
4. Have some small trinkets to give? Why not make your own paper gift box using origami? It is super easy, it is fun for kids and you can decorate them exactly the way you want them. You can even make them hang from the Christmas tree.
5. Got a cell phone fanatic on your gift list? You can make them a cute cellphone cozy out of fabric or yarn to keep their phone protected and also in style this holiday season. Theses are also insanely easy to make and can be oh, so unique and personalized.
6. Know someone who is in need of some new bedding this holiday season? Put your sewing skills to work and make them a homemade duvet cover or comforter. Don’t worry even a beginning sewer (me) can do this and it is pretty fun too!

Now I know you have a project you are just dieing to share with us. If you have written about on your blog use mister linky below to share the link with us. If you don’t have a link to share but want to just tell us about your project just use the comment field below to do so.

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Getting in to the fall spirit…

On Sunday (when I found out I was pregnant and won my wedding dress on ebay) N and I also went to the Englebrecht Apple Orchard where we collected 2 10lb bags of apples and had some quality time.

In October we love to pick our own apples and make all kinds of yummy stuff, we even have preserved our apple creations for future enjoyment in past years. This year we thought it would be yummy and fun to get a ton of apples and have some fun in the kitchen.

We paid $8.00 for the 20lbs of apples, that is not a bad price at all. Plus we got to pick all the apples ourselves which was fun. I was woozy and overheated but that didn’t stop me from climbing a tree to pluck some apples.

Tonight I made a batch of pumpkin apple soup that was so yummy. I also washed the remainder of the 20lbs of apples in preparation for this weekends preserving madness and now we are seeking out fun apple recipes.

So, what do you do to get in the fall spirit? Do you have any fun apples recipes you could share?

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* Updated to include pumpkin apple recipe

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan, add 1 chopped onion and 2 cored and peeled green apples. Saute onions, apples and butter over medium heat until soft.

Next add 1 tablespoon of flour to the sauce pan, stir and cook for 2-3 minuites.

After cooking flour and sauteed items gradually whisk in 4 cups of chicken broth.

Then stir in 3 cups of canned pumpkin, 2 tablespoons of packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of ginger to the mixture. Bring to  boil, reduce heat cover and simmer for 25 minuite.

Next transfer to a blender, food processor or take a blending wand to the mixture. The goal is to puree it until smooth.

When all is pureed return to pan, add 1 cup of apple cider (or apple juice), 1/2 cup of half and half, and 2 tablespoons of garlic salt. Mix and warm on stove, taste test and add salt and pepper as needed.

This made us about a 12 servings of soup that we transferred to jars and froze for later enjoyment. Yum!

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I was not making porn I promise!

Just because I have a tripod set up at the end of the bed does not mean we were making porn! I am sure that is what the neighbors are thinking though.

It’s a kind of funny sight and thought so I snapped a photo of it and thought I would make it the title of this post. Nice huh? I am sure I’ll get lots of 1 second hits from people searching for homemade porn now huh?

Seriously though I was recording a video demonstration for another craft article I wrote. As I mentioned yesterday I sold another article and have been feeling highly motivated to write these days. Plus the search terms on this blog have been super instructional craft project oriented. The people have spoken and want more craft instructions so I got busy writing some more tutorials.

I sat down and wrote up an article on how to make your own t shirt quilt from shirts you have collected over the years. I used our bed to record the demonstration video that goes with the article and I just happen to leave the tripod at the foot of the bed. Nice and random huh?

What? You want to see a t shirt quilt? Well lookie here:

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Save money on grocery bills by beefing up your kitchen skills!

The best way to save money on your grocery bills is to change your cooking/ eating habits. How many of your groceries are convenience items? Making items from scratch is an incredible way to save money and have more meal options.

Did you know you can make your own alfredo sauce from cream cheese, milk and butter? You already have milk and butter in the fridge so if you can score an 8oz container of cream cheese for a dollar you can save $2-$3 by making your own alfredo sauce as opposed to buying it ready made.

I love buying whole roasting chickens because I can get 3-4 meals out of them and they are cheap! For the first meal we eat my famous salt roasted chicken, the left over chicken and carcass are saved in the fridge.

Next meal I can make chicken quesadillas with the left over strips of chicken off the saved carcass. When the chicken carcass is almost stripped of all the meat I throw the whole thing into a pot, boil down the carcass/ strip the meat and then I toss the bones in the trash.

After separating the chicken from the broth I preserve most of the chicken broth via caning and freezing. I reserve enough chicken broth and chicken meat and make chicken and dumplings from scratch for the next meal.

I got a roasting chicken for $7.00 made three meals from it and ended up with about 3 half pints of chicken broth for future soups or other dishes!

Do you own a kitchenaid mixer or a similar alternative? Invest in the proper attachments and you can make your own hash browns, potato crisps, pizza dough, pasta, juice and more! We skip buying the frozen hash browns because we make our own with regular potatoes. We also make our own egg pasta and our own raviolis with the kitchenaid.

If all those convenience foods weren’t available in the stores how would people enjoy those same things? They would make then from scratch my friends! If you want to save money on groceries and become less dependent on the commercial food supply you need to experiment making items from scratch! For more ideas consider subscribing to my feed or visiting my blog (www.harvestofdailylife.com)!

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