Streusel Coffee Cake

I made this delicious coffee cake today. I've been thinking about making if for a couple weeks and today happened to be the day.  I had my doubts when I was making the batter because it was sooo thick and there wasn't very much...but it is fab.  And puffs up like a gem.  The recipe is from A Bountiful Kitchen.  The recipe can be found here but I'm putting it on here because I actually remembered to take pictures and darn it, I'm going to use them!

Streusel Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil (vegetable)

Streusel topping:

4 T brown sugar

2 T flour

1 t cinnamon

4 T butter

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

if not using nuts, add 1/2 cup flour (*I used a total of 4 T of flour for the topping and no nuts.  1/2 C just seemed like so much)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the first 4 cake ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the wet ingredients. Mix just until all ingredients are incorporated. 

 Pour into a greased 8 or 9 inch cake pan (round or square).

Place brown sugar, flour and cinnamon for streusel into a small bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients. Add chopped nuts, or more flour if omitting nuts. Crumble topping over batter . 

 Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm. 

Fresh out of the oven.

After cooling for a bit.

The final product. YUM!

Next time I make this, I would swirl some of the streusel into the batter and then cover the top.  The cake is really good but I think having some cinnamon in the middle would be nice.

Caesar Dressing

This is my absolute favorite recipe for Caesar dressing.  It's also my only recipe for Caesar dressing but that doesn't matter.  It comes from Cooks Illustrated magazine which is a fantastic place not only for recipes, but also an explanation for why they do the things they do, the best way to store things and sometimes product reviews.  This particular recipe came from the light and healthy edition.  This is my version...no anchovies for me! It also recommends using a blender to mix it all together. I use a fork. Works great, less mess.

Caesar Dressing
1/2 C low-fat buttermilk
3 T light mayonnaise
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T water
1.5 t yellow mustard
1/2 t Dijon mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, squished in a garlic squisher
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t salt
2 T EVOO
1 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)

Mix everything except the Parmesan cheese together in a bowl.  Grate the Parmesan cheese with a microplane grater and weigh with your kitchen scale (yes, of course I have one).  Mix it all up and eat it because it's sooo good!

For those of you who don't know what a microplane grater is...

there ya go. It's a grater with little tiny blades and it will severely damage the tips of your fingers. So be careful! It's also good for zesting, grinding up ginger, saying you have a microplane grater, etc....I do actually use mine all the time.

Also, if you don't have a garlic squisher (AKA a garlic press), get one of those too.  I mean really, who wants to mince garlic?! NO ONE!  Here's a little garlic tip...the best way to peel garlic = silicone pot holder.  Yes, you could buy one of these...

but it's really only good for one thing.  Instead get one of these...

 

They're good for peeling garlic, keeping your hands from being burned, holding your cutting board in place, getting a lid off of a jar...so many uses! They have really cute ones at Sur La Table that come in the shapes of animals. And at Christmas they have gingerbread men, snowmen, penguins...things like that. Way more fun/useful than a silicone tube.

**The microplane grater picture came from a blog which I stumbled upon called A Bountiful Kitchen. It appears to have all kinds of recipes and is very well organized. Worth takin' a look at!

1/2 Apron Tutorial

I made this apron for a bridal shower over the weekend and it turned out pretty cute.  I love the fabric and wish I would have bought more. It's Amy Butler who pretty much always has awesome fabric.  I adjusted the tutorial from Stop Staring and Start Sewing.  My lovely model was rushing to go to the shower but took 4 seconds to take a pic for me! Thanks Cakes!

Supplies:
1 Fat Quarter of Fabric
1/2 yard of coordinating fabric

From your fat quarter cute a little bit off to make it 16" x 20" (you can use your whole fat quarter. I adjusted mine for the little person I was making this for).  Also cut 2 pieces of coordinating fabric 5" x 21" and 1 piece 5" x 22" (*).  Again, you can adjust the 5" if you want a larger tie and increase the length if you want it longer.

Sew the band together, end to end, right sides together so you make a really long strip.  Make sure you put the 5" x 22" piece in the middle. Press seams open.

Fold and press 3 sides in, leaving one long side undone.  I folded twice to create a nice edge. Sew in place.

  

With right sides together, sew the 2 pieces together and press the seam towards the band. I found out later that you should press towards the band, so the picture it wrong but I wanted to show the backside.

Next, fold down the top 1/4" but only the part that is above the main piece.  The straps do not need to be folded. Iron in place.

With right sides together, fold the straps on top of each other to and sew to create a tube. (check out the pic below for how to do the ends) DO NOT sew the part that you just folded down.  See in the picture? The part above the main fabric is open. Don't sew it!

When you get to the end, sew it diagonally. Then trim the excess.

Turn the tubes right side in. Fold down the top of the band and pin in place.  Top stitch around the entire band and you're done!

*My numbers for this are slightly off because I was in a hurry and didn't trim the selvage off. So, adjust accordingly.  The trouble comes when the sides of the main fabric piece are turned in to create an edge. It depends on how big you make your seam allowance. But if you're not in a hurry, think about it a little and it'll be right. I think i also would have made the straps a little longer for tying in front. It's probably fine if you're tying in back but I didn't try it.

Chopstick Carrier Tutorial

Did you know that in China alone they use about 45 billion pairs of chopsticks a year? I know how everyone always brings their own chopsticks to Asian restaurants and how they're always thinking, "How on Earth do I carry my chopsticks!?"  Well! I have an answer for you! The Chopstick Carrier! It's really easy to make. And I'm not saying I carry my own chopsticks around with me wherever I go (but I probably should and so should you) but now there's no excuse...except that I made this for my friend in Japan who really does carry her chopsticks around with her everywhere so I'd actually have to make myself one of these bad boys. Anywho, here it is.

Ingredients:
12" square of fabric
12" square of thin interfacing
22" ribbon
pair of chopsticks (or just 1)
fray check
Directions:
--Iron the interfacing onto the WRONG side of your fabric.

--Fold on the diagonal and pin.  Fold the ribbon in half and place the fold on the outside of the carrier and the rest of the ribbon inside.  Mark an opening as a reminder so you can flip this baby right side out.

--Clip the corners to reduce bulk after you flip it.

 I forgot to take pictures for the rest (sorry).
--Flip the carrier right side out.  Iron flat.  Sew a 1/8" seam around the top corner.  Do not sew a seam around the bottom edge.
--Fold in the corners according to the length of your chopstick(s). I folded my corners in 2.5".
--Sew a 1/8" seam on the bottom to tack the corners down.
--Use fray check to seal the ends of your ribbon.

Make yours today so you can bring your own chopsticks to your favorite Asian restaurant! And if you don't know how to use chopsticks, learn today. It's a very important noodle-eating skill. I mean really, how do you get the 1 cm noodle bits out of your bowl with a fork!?

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I don't have a craft update for this week (yet) so I thought I'd put in another delicious Mom recipe.  Chocolate zucchini cake is a mix between bread and cake.  The consistency is cake-like but the taste is like chocolate zucchini bread. Very tasty, recommended for all ages. Perhaps when I make some in the future I'll post a picture of it also. I would also like to wish my oldest (but not old) sister a happy birthday! I miss you Kimb!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

½ C Butter

½ C Vegetable Oil

1 ¾ C Sugar

2 Eggs

1 T Vanilla

2 C Grated Zucchini

½ C Buttermilk or Sour Cream

¼ t Salt

2 ½ C Flour

1 t Baking Soda

4 T Cocoa Powder

½ t Cinnamon

¼ t Cloves

2 C Chocolate Chips

--Cream together butter, oil and sugar.

--Add eggs and vanilla.

--Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk/sour cream.

--Add zucchini.

--Add ½ of the chocolate chips.

--Pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

--Bake at 325 for 35-40 min.  Cupcakes for approx 25 min.

My Fantastic Purse!

I made this purse over the last week or so and I love it! I got the pattern from Warehouse Fabrics Inc. There were a few things I'd change on it if I made it again but just minor things.  I've never used piping before but I love the way it looks. It has a magnetic button (which was new to me also) that's really strong. But the best part is the fabric.  I absolutely LOVE the fabric.  It was hanging on my banister for a week and every time I walked by it I had to admire it.

It's nice an roomy, has pockets for my cell phone, iPod and 3 pens! Oh how I love it.

Tortilla Cass

This recipe has been requested by several people so I thought I'd just put it on here and everyone can have it! It is, of course, my mom's recipe and who knows where she got it.  But it's a quick casserole that even I (the pickiest kid ever) ate as a child (but I did pick out the green chiles).


Tortilla Casserole

2 Chicken Breasts, cooked and diced (you can season them with taco seasoning if you want)
1 Can Green Chiles (4oz or 7oz depending on what you like. I use the 4oz can)
2 Cans Cream of Chicken (or mushroom or celery)
1 C Sour Cream
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Olives, sliced
1 Pack Corn Tortillas (10 or 12, doesn't matter) cut into little nickel-sized squares
2 T Taco Seasoning
Fresh Chopped Cilantro (however much you like. I like a lot but I know a couple weirdos who despise cilantro)
Cheddar Cheese to cover the top

Mix all of the ingredients together except for the chicken and tortillas.  Once it's nicely stirred, add the chicken and tortillas.  Put it in a 9x13 casserole dish and cover with cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 30 min or until the cheese turns a golden brown.

That's it! Super easy. Super delish.