My Addiction to TOMS

Hi my name is Amber and I'm addicted to TOMS shoes.  I own 6 pairs.  Is that sick?  Probably, but I just can't get enough of these cute and comfy shoes!  My favorite are the classics, but I'm venturing into the cordones territory.  I love these shoes so much that I've dedicated a board on Pinterest to them!  I justify purchasing TOMS because with every pair I buy, I'm also buying a child in Africa a pair of shoes.  (It's Toms One for One campaign.)  Aren't I so generous?!  The pricing isn't too bad either, with most classic pairs running around $54 while the new ballets and cordones are a bit more pricey around $79.  What's even better is that they have Tiny TOMS (adorable!) so I can get my son his own pair (or 6....) when he can walk!  Do I smell mother/son matching shoes in the works?!  Now THAT really would be sick........Here are just a few that I'm hooked on:

Pink Primrose Vegan Classics -so springy!

Valentine Classics- Oh, I'm in love!

Pink Glitters Classics- I own these and they brighten up any dull winter day.

Bloom Cordones- my next pair......

Alessandra Black Canvas- these could go with anything!  I'm thinking with me....

Bimini Stichouts- I need green for St. Patrick's Day......Ok I'll buy them!

Animal Tiny TOMS Classics- for my little animal!

Chambray Bimini Tiny TOMS Classics- summer casual, and would kinda match those green ones for mommy.......Ok, you've convinced me, I just bought them!!

The Ultimate Baking Challenge

So a few weeks ago during a monotonous February day, I decided to spice things up by going a little sour.....dough.  There's just something about sourdough that is so..............epicurean, I don't know, maybe that's not the right word but it sounded good.  I got all my ingredients and was ready to dive in.  By the end of the day I would be enjoying a nice thick slice of sourdough!  I started with the sourdough starter (which is a dreaded recipe in a recipe, but all good things come to those who wait.)  Come to find it takes 48 hours to sit and bubble and do its thing.  Damn.  Fine.  In two days I will be enjoying an even thicker slice of bread for all of my patience!

Two days  and I'm just watching the starter sit there.  Being lazy.  Staring at me.  Mocking me.  Playing me for a fool.  Finally the wait is over.  I open up my baking book to the ACTUAL recipe.  Reading through it all looks standard procedure for bread.  Waiting first and second rise, yada yada.  Then, there it is, another glitch in my plans.  Apparently after the loaves have been formed they have to sit in the fridge overnight!  You can imagine my frustration.  I have to admit, after I found out this information, it took me about a week to get up enough courage to make the actual dough.  This was supposed to be a four day baker's run of the mill procedure.  In my reality, from the point of inception in my brain to the moment I pulled those painstakingly kneaded loaves out of the oven,  the whole thing took me about 2 weeks.  I'm ashamed.  But I'm not a seasoned baker, so how was I to know?  Regardless, after all was said and done, sourdough and I have made our peace.  (You can imagine how big my slice was after waiting a lifetime to make it!)  While this recipe requires the foresight to know how long it will take, more patience than you can fathom, and a bit of rearranging your fridge to make room for three loaves of bread, it was all worth it in the end.....I think.  Here's the recipe.  It's once again from my Williams-Sonoma Baking Book, and while I love just about everything about that book, this particular recipe left a slightly sour taste in my mouth......

Easy Sourdough Starter
1 pkg commercial dry sourdough starter (1/2 oz) -I found mine at a whole foods store
1 C bread flour
3/4 C lukewarm water
2 Tbsp plain yogurt

In a bowl, combine the dry starter and the flour.  Whisk in the water and yogurt until smooth.  Transfer the mixture to a 1 qt glass jar, ceramic crock or plastic container.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a double thickness of cheesecloth and let stand at room temperature for 48 hours, stirring the mixture with a whisk twice each day.  It will be bubbly, with a sour smell.  If not using right away, store the starter in the refrigerator, loosely covered until ready to use.  

Sourdough Bread
Makes 3 small round loaves

1 1/2 C lukewarm water
4 tsp active dry yeast
1 C Easy Sourdough Starter
1 Tbsp honey
6 C bread flour
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for brushing
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cornmeal mixed with 2 Tbsp bread flour

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the water, yeast, sourdough starter, and honey.  Beat on low speed just until smooth, about 1 minute.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the starter mixture stand at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 

This part of the process is cool because you can really hear the mixture bubbling away.  It's like Rice Krispies!

Switch to the paddle attachment and stir the mixture together on low speed.  Add 3 cups of the flour, the butter, eggs and salt.  Beat on medium-low speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add 2 more cups of the flourand beat for 2 minutes.  Switch to the dough hook.  Beating on low speed, add the remaining bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a very soft dough forms that pulls away from the bowl sides.  Knead on low speed, adding flour 1 Tbsp at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth, springy, and moist, about 6 minutes.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Brush the bowl with a thin film of melted butter and turn the dough to coat it with butter.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until slightly more than doubled in bulk,
1 1/2-2 hours.

That's a lot of  dough.  It almost spilled over the sides of my bowl!

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with the cornmeal mixture.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into 3 equal portions and shpae each into a tight, round loaf.  Place the loaves, seam side down and at least 4 inches apart, on the prepared sheet.  Sprinkle the tops with flour and rub in.  Cover loosely with a double layer of plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours. 

Place a baking stone on the bottom oven rack and preheat to 450 degrees F.  Usin a thin, sharp knife, make 3 gentle slashes across the top of each loaf.  Place the pan on the stone and bake for about 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400 degrees F and bake until the loaves are golden brown, 20-25 minutes longer.  Let cool completely on racks before slicing and serving.

Finally!  The finished product, three happy golden loaves mine for the taking!

I choose this one.

I used one of the loaves right away and gave the other two to family, but you can freeze them as well.  While it is delicious by itself, it's also great for sandwiches (I made some awesome grilled cheeses with it last night for Kurt and myself) or I had the thought of using it as a bread bowl for dips, soups, salads, etc!  The sky is the limit!

Winter's Chill.....

Oh winter.....That time of year when we in the northern hemisphere steel ourselves against freezing temperatures, below zero wind chills, slushy snow covered roads, record setting snowstorms, days without sight of the sun, salt encrusted cars, cumbersome (and unattractive) clothing, shoveling induced heart attacks, expanding waistlines, dry and itchy skin, etc., ect.  The list could go on!  With all the negative feelings that winter can bring about, it's hard to think that anything good can come of it.

Here in Wisconsin it's almost mid-February (as I'm sure it is around the rest of the world) but winter seems like a mere afterthought.  Sure we've had some cold days and a little snow, but it's been feeling a lot like spring.  I saw a robin yesterday.  No joke.  It's been nice not having to plan errands around the weather, and get Rowen outside on a  regular basis, but I'm really beginning to miss the real winter.  (As the saying goes, "You don't miss something until it's gone." or something like that.) 

Well, today winter came in (semi) full force.  The snow was snowing and the wind was blowing.  Temps were in the teens, wind chill factor made it in the single digits.  You know, a regular day for Wisconsin on February 10th.  I have to say it was really nice.  Instead of thinking about how this could really throw a wrench in the day, I thought about slipping on a pair of cozy slippers and snuggling by a warm fire, sledding with Rowen then coming inside for a hot steaming cup of cocoa with extra marshmallows, getting some exercise in a pair of snowshoes, firing up the snowmobile and riding some trails, a pot of delicious soup simmering on the stove, uncorking a nice bottle of red because hey, I've got nowhere to go in this.  Yeah Old Man Winter can be crotchety sometimes (if you've seen the movie Santa Clause is Comin' To Town featuring Fred Astaire, you know this), even downright miserable. But try to make the best of a less than ideal situation, cause your gonna miss this when it's gone!

If it's a winter wonderland in your neck of the woods, here are some toys to enhance the seasonal experience.

 

Atlas Snowshoes for Running.  I own a pair of regular Atlas snowshoes  and I love them!

Uggs Women's Ansley Slippers.  These look cozy while being stylish!

Staub Oval Coquette for that nice pot of stew your going to need after using the snowshoes

Patagonia Women's Down With It Parka.  This will keep your bum toasty warm.

Godiva Hot Chocolate.  Need I say more?

Crate and Barrel Cafe Mug, perfect to house your frothy cocoa!

This label is especially delicious, and how can you go wrong with a name like that?!

Flexible Flyer.  Old school but still a great sled!

It's What's On The Inside That Counts...

Nothing could be more true, especially when it comes to coffee cakes.  I mean let's face it coffee cake can look pretty generic.  You've got your crumbly toppings, your icings galore, your various glazes and frostings...What you really want to know is what's in there?  The difference between a take it or leave it coffee cake and a got-to-have-it masterpiece is all in the details.  I met such a masterpiece this week, and let's just say this one takes the (coffee) cake.  Pun intended.

I posted on a macadamia nut coffee cake a few weeks ago, and while that was delicious in it's own right, this next one stands in a class by itself.   It's called Italian Almond Coffee Cake.  Not a name that grabs you by the collar and screams "Eat me, I'm delicious!" but let's take a closer look.  The cake itself is pretty standard, with an almond flour and butter base.  (It's good, but it gets better.)  "So what's on the inside?" you ask.  Words can't describe!  But I'll try.....the filling is a delicious combination of whole milk ricotta, semisweet chocolate chunks, and almond brittle with just a hint of orange zest and rum.  Yeah, it's pretty decadent.  While this is a coffee cake, it practically crosses the border into just cake.  And remember, next time you see a bland old coffee cake sitting all alone in the corner of the bakery case by itself don't be so quick to judge.  After all, isn't it what's on the inside that really matters?


Italian Almond Coffee Cake
Makes one 10 inch cake

For the Almond Cake:
2/3 C slivered almonds
3 1/4 C all-purpose flour
2/3 C firmly packed light brown sugar
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 Tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 C plus 2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:
3 1/2 C whole milk ricotta cheese
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 Tbsp golden rum
3/4 C granulated sugar
4 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Almond Brittle *

To make the almond cake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast, stirring twice, until light brown, 8-10 minutes.  (You can also toast the almonds in a pan on the stove top  over medium heat, shaking often, until you can smell the almonds.) Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly, then pour into a food processor.  Add 1/4 C of the flour and process until a finely ground nut flour forms.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together the remaining 3 cups flour, nut flour, brown sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt on low speed.  Add the butter and continue to mix until fine crumbs form.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and vanilla until blended, then add to the flour mixture.  Mix lightly, just until evenly moistened.  The batter will be crumbly.

To make the filling, in a bowl, combine the ricotta, orange zest, rum, and sugar.  Using the mixer on medium speed, beat until smooth and fluffy.  Fold in the chocolate and almond brittle just until evenly distributed.

Grease a 10 inch round springform pan.  Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.  Pour half of the cake better into the prepared pan and, using a large silicone spatula, mound it slightly higher around the edges than in the center.  Gently and evenly tamp down with the spatula to flatten any bubbles (do not press firmly).  Spread the ricotta filling over the batter in an even layer, leaving a 1 inch margin around the edge.  Spread the remaining batter in an even layer over the cheese filling right up to the pan sides.  Gently and evenly tamp to flatten the batter.

Bake until the top is golden brown, 40-45 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.  Remove the sides of the springform pan.  Serve at room temperature, cut into wedges.

Note:  If your like me and can't wait for delicious things to cool before consumption, be prepared that if you don't wait for this to cool, the filling will be pretty gooey and your slices will resemble more of a mound shape.  I'm all for eating it right away.

* Almond Brittle is a recipe in a recipe.  Sorry, I hate when that happens but bear with me.  To make the brittle, grease a baking sheet and a large metal spatula.  In a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat, cook 1/3 C granulated sugar, shaking gently, until it liquifies and turns golden.  Warning: the liquid will be hot!  Remove from the heat and stir in 2/3 C slivered blanched almonds.  Pour onto the prepared sheet and press with the spatula into a single layer.  Let cool to room temperature, then break into 1/2 inch pieces.

 Hmmmm.....there's that crumbly top coffee cake. 

Yeah, it looks like it could be good.....not all that special.... just crumbly....top.....

What have we here?!  Oh, a piece for me?!  Yes please!!!