End of my Blogging Career 4th of July Brownies

So, it has been 2 and 1/2 weeks since I started on this diet thing of mine, and the sugar cravings have all gone away, just as my mom promised they would (isn't that crazy, my mom was right!), but we have a problem. I said that I would keep posting sugary things until my sugar cravings were gone, and they are, but I thought that these 4th of July brownies were very characteristic of a 'last post of ever' post. We have been given a prompt to write about in this last post, so that is what I am going to do, but if you are only on this page for the recipe, then just go on ahead and read the recipe, I won't be insulted that you don't care enough to read what I have to say. So, now that I have gotten rid of all the readers who don't care about what I have to say (lame-os!) So, now to more important things, how have I changed throughout this school year. I think that I have grown a little bit taller, naturally, but I used to be way short, and now I am much more average height, which is a good change. I have also gotten much faster at track, my mile time having improved from a 6:47 minute mile, to a, wait for it, 5:51 mile! I am actually pretty proud of myself for it. Apart from obvious changes like height and those sort of things, I have also matured a lot this past year. I have made some really great friends which was hard to do since I only moved here a couple years ago and finding good friends in a new place is always hard. I think that I can happily say that I have matured as a person through this last year, and although it sounds very cheesy, I really think it is true. Now, enough of this gooey, 'maturing as a person' stuff, and on to the delicious part of the post, the brownie from Betty Crocker.

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs as called for on brownie box
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 1/3 cups halved fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Method:

Heat oven to 350ºF.
Grease or spray bottom only of 12-inch pizza pan.
Make brownies as directed on the box.
Spread in pan.
Bake 20 to 26 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean.
Cool completely.
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth and creamy.
Fold in whipped topping; spread on brownie.
Arrange berries over cream mixture.
Refrigerate 1 hour.
Store covered in refrigerator.

Image curtesy of Garnish and Glaze

Chocolate-y Chocolate Mint Bars

So, as promised last week, I have another beautifully sugary dessert her for you. Since I have not made it, I have obviously not tasted it because of my 'not eating any sugar' thing, so you will have to make your own judgement on this one, but I have a little hunch that it might just taste kinda good. I once made mint brownies that were the best things I have ever eaten in my life (wow, I think I say that kind of a lot...) at my friend Morgan's house, and she looooves to bake delicious desserts. We once made Cake Pops, best baked good I've ever had in my life (there I go again, over exaggerating, but only by a little), and another time we made magdalenas, but that was for a spanish project, and I kinda ruined all of them by dropping the tray of them when we were putting them in the oven (maybe I should not be a chef...). And that is my story of why I think you will love these Chocolate Mint Bars from My Recipes.

Ingredients:

For the bottom layer:

4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup
Cooking spray

For the mint layer:

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

For the glaze:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
To prepare bottom layer, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level with a knife.
Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk.
Combine granulated sugar, egg substitute, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water. vanilla, eggs. and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth.
Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended.
Pour batter into a 13 x 9 inch metal baking pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350º for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

To prepare the mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/ 4cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth.
Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.

To prepare glaze, combine chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes.
Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Cut into 20 pieces and enjoy!

Image curtesy of Very Best Baking

Whoopily Delightful Whoopie Pies

I have recently gone on a diet, and that diet is the worst possible diet that you can ever go on. It is called the Paleo Diet, and you can basically eat meat and vegetables (don't ever go on this diet, it is so hard!) and so the main things that I have to avoid and be the most strict about not eating are sugar, gluten (so I can't have anything that has flour in it), and dairy. This means that I can eliminate the idea that I might have dessert after dinner, which is a very hard thing to do for a fourteen year old girl who loves to eat sugar. I went on this diet earlier this year, I think I blogged about it as well, and shared a good Paleo breakfast smoothie. So, now that I am unable to consume the substance called sugar, I am lacking a certain sweetness in my life that used to be there, and let me tell you, I am really missing that sweetness. I have decided that to bring that sweetness back into my life, I have 2 options: I can start eating sugar again, or I can fantasize about eating sugar and therefor not break my diet. I decided to go with option number 2. So, from now on, all of my posts will be full of sugar, and will always be desserts until this diet has finished or my sugar cravings have disappeared (probably never). So, since I am currently greatly craving a Whoopie Pie, y'all are going to get a recipe on how to make whoopie pies from food.com.


Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg white

1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk

3/4 cup marshmallow cream

Method:

Combine the flour,  cocoa, baking soda and slat in a small bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the sugar, shortening and egg white in a medium bowl until fluffy and well blended (about 2 minutes).

Stir in the flour mixture, then the milk until just blended.

Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto large, ungreased baking sheets, making 36 cookies.

Bake until top springs back lightly when touched (5-7 minutes).

Cool completely on the sheets on a rack.

Spoon 2 tsp marshmallow spread on the bottoms of half of the cookies.

Top each with a half cookie that does not have marshmallow spread.

The Finished Whoopie Pie
Image curtesy of Jerry's Nut House

Lovely Lemon-cream Icebox Cookie Sandwiches

So as I was searching for a lovely recipe to post about, my mom said to me "Daisy, how come you aren't eating healthy anymore? I mean, it was so good for you!" It was right about then that I found this recipe, and that was all the reasoning I needed. I turned my computer screen towards her and said "Mom, this is the only reason I need to quit eating healthily is this recipe right here. It is the most delicious thing I think I have ever seen in my entire life.! I mean, when you look at these sandwich cookies, couldn't you just die?!" And so that was what started a big long discussion between me and my mom about healthy eating and whether or not I should make, and eat, these sandwich cookies. In the end, we decided to make them because, ya know, who wouldn't? So anyways, I made the cookies and they were so good! so I suggest that you go check out some of their other recipes as well here.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter-flavor shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely shredded lettuce peel
Finely crushed lemon drop candies or decorating sugar (optional)

For the Frosting:

5 ounces cream cheese (not low-fat or whipped), at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons lightly packed, finely grated lemon zest
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 ounces confectioners sugar (1-1/4 cups, spooned and leveled)

Method:

In a large bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
Add sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Beat until combined, scraping sides of the bowl occasionally.
Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.
Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour and the lemon peel.
Divide dough in half.
Shape each half into a 10-inch roll.
Wrap each roll in plastic wrap or waxed paper.
Chill for 1 to 3 hours or until dough is firm enough to slice.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut rolls into 1/4-inch slices.
Place slices about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set.
Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute.
Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool.
Spread lemon cream frosting on the bottom sides of half of the cookies, using about 1 tablespoon of frosting per cookie.
Top with remaining cookies, bottom sides down.
I desired, roll edges of sandwich cookies in crushed candy.

These lemon-cream icebox cookie sandwiches have not been rolled in crushed candy
Image curtesy of Honeyville Farms

Cool Kid Caramelized Banana Pudding

I was 'surfing the web' the other day and I came across this recipe, and I just thought to myself, "Oh. My . God. I am so hungry!" I realized how hungry I really was and that I really needed to fill the giant hole in my stomach, because I really needed something to eat. Anyway, back to the recipe. I was 'surfing the web' and I came across this caramelized banana pudding recipe, and it looked so delicious (especially on top of all my hunger), and so I told myself that I just had to make it. I mean, when you see something this delicious (imagine the most delicious thing you can imagine), how can you not resist the urge to just rush to the kitchen (I know, I know, that sounds really cheesy, but it didn't in my head!)? So, with that delicious thing in mind, think of a caramelized banana pudding, and you will realize how un-delicious that other thing you were thinking of is. So I found the recipe for this super cool kid caramelized banana pudding at My Recipes, and  while I was looking I found some pretty great other recipes if you wanted to check them out here


Ingredients:
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon bananas, sliced
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
2 cups milk
4 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
48 vanilla wafers

Method:

Cook first 3 ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly.
Add bananas; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Remove from heat.
Whisk together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, next 3 ingredients, and 4 egg yolks in a heavy saucepan.
Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, 8-10 minutes or until a pudding-like thickness. (Mixture will just begin to bubble and will hold soft peaks when whisk is lifted.)
Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
Divide half of banana mixture, pudding, and vanilla wafers.
Beat 4 egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy.
Add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes).
Spread meringue over ramekins.
Place ramekins on a baking sheet.
Bake at 325º for 15 to 20 minutes or until meringue is golden.
Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

Image curtesy of Southern Living

Plum And Cinnamon Oat Slices That Are Better Than What You Buy In The Store

So, the end of the quarter is coming up in about a week and, of course, most of my teachers have decided to give me tests this week. Of course we have the vocab final on Wednesday in English, but I have known about that for the entire quarter, same thing with my vocab final in AP Geography. That makes them acceptable. My french on the other hand, not quite. She decides to give us this huge, 6 part test, with barely any warning. What happened was, apparently on Monday it was on her canvas page saying we had a test on wednesday, but then on Tuesday, it wasn't on her canvas page and same thing on Wednesday. It did not say that we had a test.But.. she gave it to us anyways, and so we had to take the test with about a ten minute warning (as if that would have changed how I studied for that particular test), but I still managed to scrape a 100% (not meaning to brag, JK, I kinda am :\ ). So then she announced that we would be taking the next four parts of it on Friday (2 days away) and so we all said out loud, "ooh, I need to study up on the vocab" and in our heads "god, why does she have to give us a stupid test that we are supposed to study for but I'm really not because I will end up watching movies on Megashare instead." So that was how the second to last week of the quarter went for me. Not too great because now I need to prepare the whole weekend for my four gimongous test that are coming up in the next week before the quarter ends. So since I had that French test, I figured, why don't I be different from everyone else and instead of watching movies, I'll make myself a little snack for all of this hard work I will soon be doing to prepare for my quarter finals, and so I riffled through my copy of Delia's How To Cook Book Two, and I came across the recipe for Plum And Cinnamon Oat Slices. So, since you will probably be studying for finals soon, let me give you the recipe so that you can concentrate better whilst studying.

Ingredients:

1 lb (450 g) fresh plums
1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 oz (275 g) organic plain wholemeal flour
5 oz (150 g) organic porridge oats
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz (255 g) butter
4 oz (110 g) light brown soft sugar

Method:

First, preheat the oven to 400ºFahrenheit
Cut all of the plums in half, around an through their natural line, give a little twist to separate the halves and remove the stones, then cut them into thin slices.
Now place them in a bowl and toss them around with the cinnamon.
Next mix the flour and the porridge oats together with the salt in a mixing bowl, then melt the butter and the sugar in a small saucepan over a fairly gentle heat.
Stir from time to time until the butter has melted.
Now mix the melted butter and sugar with the oat mixture, starting with a wooden spoon but finishing it off with your hands so you end up with a lump of dough.
Now half the mixture and press one half into a lightly greased non-stick baking pan measuring 10 x 6 inches and 1 inch deep, pressing it firmly all over the base with your hands like a wall-to-wall carpet.
Next scatter the plums evenly over the surface.
Then top with the remaining oat mixture, again pressing down firmly.

Now place the pan on the center shelf of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or a bit longer if you like the top really crispy.
Then, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting into 15 squares (To do this make 2 cuts lengthways, then 4 cuts width ways. Don't worry if they aren't perfectly even.)
If you would like it to be round, it can also be made in a 9 inch springform pan.

Beautiful Strawberry-Buttermilk Sherbet

So I was surfing the web the other day for some pretty amazingly good recipe for sharing, and I came across this one on MyRecipes, and it caught my eye. I had never made ice cream before, or at least nothing that looks or tastes anything at all like ice cream. I thought that this would be a super cool recipe to try out, and that alls y'alls would want to see the recipe. I think that it would be a really great one to try out, but the only catch is that you need an ice cream maker. Even though you need an ice cream maker to make it into ice cream, you could probably also just freeze it in the freezer, or make it in a blender with lots of ice, or pre-frozen fruits instead of fresh fruits.  I wanted to try and make this because I have an older sister who can be kinda judge-y. I wanted to make it super-duper good, because then I would have bragging rights because she used my recipe to make scones, and so she had been saying "I made the best scones!" and so I really wanted to show her up. So let's see if this recipe helps you to impress people just like it did for me.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh strawberries
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh mint sprigs for the garnish

Method:

 Process strawberries in a food processor or blender 30 seconds or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. 

Pour strawberry puree through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing with back of a spoon. 

Discard solids. 

Add the buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla to puree; stir until well blended. 

Cover and chill 1 hour.

Pour strawberry mixture into freezer container of a 1 1/2-qt. electric ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times may vary.) 

Garnish, if desired.

Image Courtesy of Schnitzel and The Trout Blog

My Very Own Smoothie

So I was thinking of what would be a good recipe to share on this blog that I am doing every week, and so obviously I am thinking of all the best recipes I have ever used to make delicious things (usually desserts), and naturally, they were all recipes that belonged to or were created by other people. I realized that I love to cook, but I have never really tried to make my own smoothie. I was just kinda messing around and putting things together that might taste good, but then I tried to make it healthy... and that was when it started to get messed up. I made it the first time in a Vitamix blender, and to be honest it probably didn't taste that good anyways, but once I had made it I put it into clear cups... and it was green. Oops. Not very appealing to 8 year olds. So I tried again, and again, but my little bro didn't like any of them. The one I made last night though, he actually liked it! It was made of mainly fruits, but it still turned out green because of the lil' bit of spinach that I threw in there. So, here is the recipe so that you can try making it yourself and tell me if you liked it!

Ingredients:

1 cup strawberries
1/2 banana
1 handful spinach
1 cup ice
1/3 cup milk (or add more if you want it creamier)
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Method:

Plug in the Vitamix to the wall.
Put all of the ingredients into the blender.
Put the lid on the blender.
Change the settings to frozen dessert or smoothie.
Turn it on and let it blend all the ingredients together.
Pour the mixture into the cups.
Voila! :)

Spring Time Lemon Yogurt Cake

So last night I was watching Cutthroat Kitchen, my favorite food network show, and they had to make their take on a lemon bar. If you watch that show, you would know that they have the ability to sabotage others to try and beat them. In the final round it will usually get pretty funny. I like it because it shows how good the chefs really are, not just how well they can cook. In this episode, there were two guys, one of whom had $20,000, and the other had $4,000. So obviously the guy with $20,000 was going to buy most of the sabotages because he had more money than the other so he could outbid him on the items. When they started making the lemon bars, Alton brought out a fake tree and replaced the loser's basket of items with the tree which had the ingredients inside little lemon juice bottles. This just got me wondering what other lemon cakes and things would be good for the 'entering March' time of year. I started to surf the web and I came across this recipe on Food Network, and it is for a lemon yogurt cake. I was, and am, really in the mood for lemon-y things at the moment, and so this recipe was perfect!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3 tsp grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pure vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF
Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2 inch loaf pan.
Line the bottom with parchment paper.
Grease and four the pan.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup of sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla.
Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter,making sure it's all incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake fro about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes clean.
While the cake is baking, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear.
Set aside.
When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan.
While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in.
Cool.
For the glaze, combine the confectioner's sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Image Curtesy of Barefoot Contessa

Not British But Irish Soda Bread

Since last week I gave you guys a little bit of my Britishness, I figured a would give you another recipe from my heritage, so here goes. This one's Irish. So since I happen to be British, when I make British foods they have to be perfect because I am British and otherwise I would be disgracing my country by not making the food correctly. But, since this is technically IRISH soda bread, it doesn't have to be made entirely perfectly by me on my first couple of tries at making it... right? I don't know about you, but when I originally stumbled across this recipe I was all like "What in the world is soda bread?" and what I found is that soda bread is, by definition:

"bread leavened with baking soda." 

So since we now know that it is made from baking soda, I can give you the recipe and you can try out the recipe for yourself!

Ingredients:

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup currants or raisins
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF
Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, the salt, and the baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
Using your hands, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add in the currants or raisins.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the beaten egg and the buttermilk to the well and mix in with a wooden spoon until the dough is too stiff to stir.
Dust your hands with a little flour, then gently knead the dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball.
If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour, and make sure not to over knead.
Put the dough on a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a round loaf.
The dough will be quite sticky, and flakey.
Work the dough just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together.
If over kneaded, the bread will be tough.
Transfer the dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or baking sheet.
Using a serrated knife, sore the top of the dough
about an inch and and a half deep in an X-shape (This helps to get heat into the center of the dough while it cooks).

This is what it should look like in the pan before it goes into the oven
Image courtesy of Bay Area Bites

Put it in the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
Remove the bread from the oven and allow to sit in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and place on a rack to cool briefly.
Serve it warm, room temperature, or toasted and buttered, but it is best eaten when it is warm and freshly baked.
Enjoy! :)

Image courtesy of Chinese Grandma

Beautifully Buttery Buttermilk Scones (And Also A lesson On How To Make A Proper Black Tea)

So as you may know if you have ever met me, I am British, which means that I have some habits that are different to y'all Americans. First, I drink tea. Lots of it. I have kind of stopped drinking tea ever since I went on a Paleo diet. As you know, a paleo diet cuts out milk, and in my tea, I drink English Breakfast Tea from Trader Joe's (my mother's favorite place to shop for food) and I boil the kettle (something my mother also loves to shop for), and then I pour the boiling water over the tea bag, and let it brew for maybe a couple minutes (maybe a longer or shorter time depending on how strong you like your tea). Once it has brewed, take the the tea bag out and pour in the milk. I usually put in enough for the tea to turn a beige-ish color. Anyway, now that y'all know how to make a proper black tea, How about I tell you how to make a scone. Hang on a sec, first let me tell you why I chose to write about scones. So my grandma came to stay with us a couple weeks ago, yes a couple weeks ago and yes, she is STILL HERE. Anyways, she came up to me and my older sister Charlotte last weekend and said "So it is mothers day on Sunday (that is not the American mother's day, the British one), so you guys should do something nice!" So then on mother's day, that Sunday, I didn't go skiing because I had to do a spanish project for Mrs. Aplanalp and when I went home my sister Charlotte was there because she drove home from the resort (she finally turned 16!) and so she wanted to make scones. Once they were done I ate one and thought that they were really good and decided to share the recipe with you.
So after you have now read this super long paragraph where I explained maybe too many things, here is your well deserved recipe by one of my favorite chefs, Delia Smith:

Ingredients (makes about 10 scones):

2-3 tablespoons of buttermilk (plus some extra for brushing the tops)
8 ounces (225 grams) of self raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting
A pinch of salt
3 ounces (75 grams) of butter at room temperature
1 1/2 ounces (40 grams) of golden caster sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425ºFarenheit.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and then rub the butter gently into the mixture. Do this until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Next add the sugar.
Now, you will want to beat the egg and 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk together and begin to add this to the rest of the mixture using a palette knife.
Once it begins to come together, finish it off with your hands (it should be soft, but not sticky).
Once the dough has been formed into a ball, put it onto a lightly floured surface, and roll it out into a circle that is no less than 1 inch thick.
Cut out the scones by placing the cutter onto the dough and giving it a sharp tap, but make sure that you don't twist it and you just lift it up and push the dough out.
Once you can no longer cut another scone out, roll the remaining dough into a ball and roll it out so that it is 1 inch thick again.
Continue this process until it is no longer possible to cut out anymore scones.
Place the scones onto a baking tray and brush them lightly with the buttermilk and dust with  little bit of flour.
Bake them on the top shelf for 10-12 minutes, or until they are well risen and golden brown.
When you take them out of the oven, place them on a wire rack to cool.

Image courtesy of Tales From A Happy House

A Morning Snack You Would Usually Think Is Normal But Is Not, P.S. It is a smoothie, SHHHH...

So I recently decided to go on a paleo diet which is one that includes fruits veggies and meats, but does not allow you to eat anything that has sugar, gluten, legumes, dairy, or processed foods. I know, I know, it sounds like I have lost my mind by deciding to go on a diet, and honestly I think that I have. I felt the need to try out different 'ways of eating' as my mom would say. The reason I chose to go on a paleo diet was because of the science fair. My friend Mikelle did a paleo diet for her science fair project in biology and how the det affected facial acne, and it had a really positive impact. I decided to try it out and maybe test that theory. So anyways, that is how we got here to me telling you about how I decided to go on a paleo diet and blogging about it. Now that we are through me explaining why in the world I would want to eat healthily, how about I tell you about this smoothie. The reason that it is not normal but would seem normal is because it looks like a regular smoothie, but if you look at the ingredients, it isn't. It is healthy! woah... The other crazy thing is, that it also tastes good! I got this recipe from a website that I have recently discovered called Paleo Porn, and they have tons of great paleo snacks. So, now that I have got you all worked up for this delicious, and healthy, smoothie, here is your recipe.

Ingredients:

10 ounces of frozen organic whole blackberries
1/4 cup of blanched almonds
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 can of unsweetened full-fat organic coconut milk

Method:

Add the blackberries to a blender and blitz for 5-10 seconds
Add the almonds and process until the nuts are chopped
Add the cinnamon and coconut milk and process, stopping to scrape down the sides until smooth
Pour into glasses and serve
Enjoy! :)

Image Courtesy of Paleo Porn

The More Unique Combination For Your Yogurt in the Mornings (Also Makes Granola)

So I was getting ready for school very early the other morning, but the only problem was that I could not find anything that I wanted to eat at 6 A.M. I did not remotely want to eat cereal, for I had eaten cereal for the past week. I mean, come on, who wants to eat the same thing every single day for breakfast. I get it, yea you will eat a new cereal for a couple of days, then you might switch to an english muffin, but if you just have cereal everyday, it gets to be that you dread breakfast time, so you kind of end up just going without any breakfast. But, with this new recipe, it will give you another thing to add to your selection of breakfast choices. This version of yogurt is not actually the most interesting, for I am sure that you would be able to find another one that had chocolate on the top and told you how to put honey on it to make the shape of s bear or something crazily ridiculous like that. This yogurt is just a normal yogurt, but with some little twists on it that allrecipes came up with.

Ingredients:

5 cups of old fashioned oats
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of flaked coconut
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of raisins (any dried fruit can be substituted for the raisins)
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
1 tub of yogurt.

Method:

Preheat the oven (yes, you have to preheat the oven) to 325ºF.

Mix the oats, brown sugar, flaked coconut, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg together in a large bowl.Stir the water, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract into the oats mixture; spread the mixture onto a baking sheet.

Bake this mixture of oats and other assortments in the preheated oven for about an hour, stirring the oats every 15 minutes or so until they are a nice golden brown color and are nice and crunchy. Transfer them to a bowl. Stir in the raisins and sliced almonds.
If you do not want to add yogurt, then here is the place to stop. You have made a delicious granola that can be used in all sorts of ways.

The next step is to add in the yogurt. Take whatever portion of yogurt you would like to eat that morning, I usually like about 3 piled tablespoons, and pour however much of your freshly made granola you would like over the top. Stir it in and Voila, your breakfast is complete!

Image Curtesy of Red Tricycle

This delicious way to have a new breakfast that is not at all as boring as eating cereal every morning at 6 A.M. before school is a great way to stay healthy and stay fit! For more delicious ways to enjoy your breakfast and every other meal of the day, check back to themoodfoods for more expert tips and recipes!

The Totally Not Boring Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

So I know when you read the title you totally just wanted to read this recipe about totally not boring oatmeal chocolate chip cookies right, and I'm not sorry to say that I won't let you down.  This cookie is not only delicious, but it is also, wait for it, totally not boring! When you make this totally not boring, and delicious, oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, you will feel the flavors explode in your mouth. As Remy tells his brother Emile in Ratatouille,
Remy: I have got to to teach you about food. Close your eyes.
            Now take a bite of . . .  No! No! No!
            Don't just hork it down!
Emile: Too late.
Remy: Here.
            Chew it slowly.
            Only think about the taste.
            See?
Emile: Not Really.
Remy: Creamy, salty sweet, an oaky nuttiness.
            You detect that?
Emile: Oh, I'm detecting nuttiness.
Remy: Close your eyes. Now taste this.
            Whole different thing right?
            Sweet, crisp, slight tang on the finish.
Although Ratatouille is just a cartoon, Remy does make some good points about how you need to enjoy the food as you eat because, too many a time, we have just guzzled down a cookie in less than 30 seconds as Emile does, and never end up actually tasting the flavors. S I hope you enjoy these cookies, and taste every flavor of the oatmeal, and chocolate chips in this cookie.


Ingredients:

2 cups (10 oz) of all-purpose flower]
1 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (8 oz/2sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (7 oz) of granulated sugar
1 cup (7 oz) of packed light brown sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 3/4 (9 oz) of rolled oats
1 cup (6 oz) of bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup (6 oz) of milk chocolate chips or chunks

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Measure the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk it to combine.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on the medium speed for 3-5 minutes, until lighter in color and fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl several times during the process.

While the mixer is running, crack the eggs into a liquid measuring cup and add the vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and then slowly pour in the eggs, letting them fall in one at a time and incorporating the first one entirely before adding the next.Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once during the process.

Gradually add the dry ingredients (in 2-3 additions) with the mixer on low speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once to fully incorporate the butter and sugar. Combine the oats and chocolate in the same bowl used for the dry ingredients, then add them to the dough with the mixer on low speed, mixing just until everything is well distributed. (Sometimes it is easier to finish mixing with a rubber spatula.)

Scoop the dough into balls the size of ping pong balls. Place the dough balls onto the prepared pans (about 6 per pan), then press them into 1/2 inch thick disks.

Bake them for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. The edges of the cookies should be golden brown, while the centers will appear blonde and slightly underdone.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets.

Image Curtesy of Inspired2cook

I hope you enjoyed making, (and eating) your totally not boring oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! For more expert tips and delicious recipes, check back next week at themoodfoods!

Hayley's Fail Safe Cake (For Idiots Who Can't Cook)

So I was looking for a recipe in the 'cupboard of cookbooks' in my house, and I suddenly remembered this cake. It was (and is) one of my all time favorites for a birthday, and also any other time. One time, we made this cake using one big round tin, then we cut it in half to be able to make it a layer cake. We made this delicious whipped cream icing that we had fresh whipped from some heavy whipping cream, and then spread it around both halves of the cake. Once we had covered the bottom piece, we layered cut up strawberries and raspberries and blueberries around the inside of the cake. We then put the top piece of the cake on top of that and covered it in our whipped cream icing and the covered the top of that with the fruits. I remember making it with my mom a few years ago, and thinking that it was the best cake in the world for two reasons. 1.) It was the easiest birthday cake/holiday cake to make in the whole world. As the title of the cake says, it is fail safe, I mean even the guys in Dumb and Dumber could make this cake without screwing it up.  2.) It does not take too long to cook. It only takes about 30-35 minutes to cook! I made a cake the other day and it had to cook for 2 1/2 hours! That is crazy long!  3.) It tastes delicious.
This cake will also only take you about 10 minutes of prep time so, lets get started!

Image Curtesy of Emoji Stickers

The Ingredients (will make 50 mini cupcakes):

3 Eggs
The Same Weight of Sugar
The Same Weight of Softened Butter
The Same Weight of Self-Rising Flour
1 Tablespoon of Water

The Method:

Preheat the oven to 325º Fahrenheit.
Weigh 3 eggs on a scale, then set them aside. Add the same weight as the eggs in sugar and softened butter. Slowly beat them together.
When mixed, add in the 3 eggs, and then the same weight of self-rising flour. Mix together the mixture and once it is mixed, add the 1 tablespoon of water. Mix.
Once the batter is complete and mixed, pour it into a lined tin of your choice. This could be a round tin for making round cakes, or it could be 2 smaller round tins so you can stack the cake to make a layer cake, or it could be a bread loaf tin.
Put it in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
To test if it is ready, stab a sharp knife into the cake. If it comes out clean, then it is finished. If it has still got batter stuck to it, then it needs another 5 minutes in the oven.

If you enjoyed making (and eating) this cake, then be sure to check back here to themoodfoods next week for more delicious recipes on how to be great great chef that can make and create delicious meals which can be served at any time.

Image Curtesy of Sugar Bakery & Cafe

Banoffe Pie (the oddest name for a pie you will ever hear)

So, today we are going to do things a little bit differently. Upside down you might call it.

We are going to start with the recipe, then we are going to have a little blurb thing after...

The Ingredients (I know what you're thinking. Yes, this is the boring part, but it has to be done):
Also, credits go to allrecipies.com for the ingredients and procedure!

1 1/2 cups of digestive biscuit crumbs
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup of white sugar
3 teaspoons of ground ginger
1 (14 ounces) can of sweetened, condensed milk
2 bananas (sliced)
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 chocolate bar (grated, milk chocolate preferably)

Procedure:

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter or margarine, and ginger until well blended. Then press the mixture into a 9 inch pie plate. Make sure to press it evenly around the pan, and eliminate any imperfections. Following this, cool it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

In a sauce pan, boil an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for 3 hours. Monitor the water closely, making sure there is always water in the pan. Remove the can from the heat and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.

Open the the can and pour the toffee into the pie crust. Allow to cool.

Evenly slice bananas over toffee.

Whip 2 cups of whipping cream and spoon it on top of the bananas. Refrigerate before serving.

The sweetened, condensed milk is boiling in a pan for 3 hours.

Follow these instructions and you too, can be a great chef like I have become through my hard work and dedication to food of all sorts. Now that you have made your delicious Bannoffee pie, it is time for our blurb.

I wanted to tell you why I chose to write about Banoffee pie. My lovely Aunt Helen came to visit during Christmas break, and she chose to make a delicious stir fry dinner (I will share the recipe with you on another post). Afterwards, having made a huge deal of the situation, she brought out from the refrigerator, a massive Banoffee pie. As I laid eyes on the spectacular dessert, filled with bananas, toffee and topped off with a sprinkling of delicate chocolate curls, my mouth would not stop watering. I remember being so ecstatic at the sight of the pie, because the last time I had eaten it was back when I was 8 years old, living in boring New York. It was one of my favorite 'puddings,' as the british would say, from when I was younger. It is so delicious with the crunchy digestive biscuit base, with a delicious rich, and sugary toffee layer, topped with whipped cream, and if you want,  some grated chocolate sprinkled over the top. Soo good! Make sure to try this delightful and famous British treat, perhaps after a meal or even as an afternoon snack. Whichever way you choose to enjoy Banoffee Pie, be sure to check back to themoodfoods next week for more expert tips and great new recipes! See you next time, xoxo.

Clam Chowder Tuesday

So last night IT SNOWED!!! I can't believe it's WINTER! Winter is the best season of all because of one, and only one sport:SKIING. Skiing is the best sport of all. You get to race down the hill on two wooden boards, at top speeds and you feel just like you're flying, except that your feet are still on the ground. You fly down to the bottom of the hill, and then you get on the chairlift which effortlessly takes you back up to the top of the hill. I could spend all day just going up and down on the ski hill, except if it weren't for that darn thing called cold. You are having the time of your life soaring up and down the hill, and then your fingers start to sting and go numb, and if you don't head inside to the warmth soon, it starts to spread to your toes, your arms, your legs, and eventually, you get so cold that you keel over and die. I'm just kidding! you don't die, but you do get unbearably cold if you don't go inside and warm up. Once you do go inside though,it is like a warm bliss hitting you full in the face. The sensation of walking into the lodge, and smelling all of the delicious food that you can buy for lunch. MMM MM MMM. The best way to warm yourself from the inside out is to buy just a small hot chocolate and drink it nice and slowly so that you can feel all of you being heated up from the inside. Another good way is to head yourself over to the food area of the lodge and to order yourself up a   nice     hot     bowl     of soup. You can get it in a bread bowl, or just the simple, classic way and eat it spoonful by spoonful. One of the best soups I know is is the Clam Chowder. I know I know, you're saying to yourself, ugh, this is just going to be another stupid recipe about clam chowder :(

Image Curtesy of Emoji Stickers

But seriously, I really think that you should try out this recipe for clam chowder.

It starts out as just, ooo, I think maybe tonight I'll try making clam chowder...

But then it turns into Alright everybody, instead of Taco Tuesday, it is Clam Chowder Tuesday!

Then, everyone who has tried the clam chowder says, YEA, BEST IDEA EVER! and before you know it, Clam Chowder Tuesday is a worldwide thing.
So, this amazing recipe that is going to start this Clam Chowder Tuesday things, comes from, once again, Covent Gardens Book of Soups.


As you know, we always list the ingredients for a recipe first, so here goes:

3 medium potatoes (about 700 grams) that are peeled and cut into quarters.
1.35 kilograms of baby clams in their shells
1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
175 kilograms unsmoked, streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
3 sticks of celery,very finely chopped
2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme1 leveled tablespoon of dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper
25 grams of plain white flour
570 milliliters of fish stock
150 milliliters of dry white wine
3 bay leaves
275 milliliters of double cream

The Garnish
Reserved clams in their shells
2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Prep and Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Serves: 6

As you will no doubt be guessing, this part is where I tell you the steps to making the delicious clam chowder that is going to change taco tuesdays for the rest of time.

Simmer the potatoes in plenty of salted water until they are tender. Allow them to cool and slice.

Wash the clams at least 6 times in plenty of cold water to remove all the grit. Put them into a large saucepan, cover, and place over a high heat.
Cook until the clams are just open, while shaking the pan frequently.

Image Curtesy of Clam Chowder In A Bread Bowl

'Insert Cool Title About Fry Sauce'

So... I'm not sure if you knew, but Park City Mountain Resort OPENED YESTERDAY! I mean, how exciting is that?!? I was so sad the other day when the resort opened and everyone was saying "Opening day! First runs! Having so much FUN!" But sadly, I couldn't go skiing because I hadn't gotten my ski pass yesterday so I couldn't ski, but I got my pass this morning so I took my FIRST RUN OF THE SEASON! I was so excited when I was putting on my ski boots and unstrapping my skis, then loading the chair, putting on my poles and skiing down the hill. I mean what could be more fun than the first run of the day on your first day of the season. Ahhh, hang on a second, I remember what there is... Fry Sauce. If you have never had fry sauce then you are seriously missing out. People here in Utah seem to think that fry sauce is a very Utah thing, but it really isn't. I remember when I lived in New York, I skied at a resort in Vermont called Jay Peak, and my friends there ate their fries with fry sauce, only they called it something different. Anyways, back to the fry sauce. You don't really need that many ingredients, and they're probably already in your pantry. So, here we go..

Ingredients:

Ketchup

Image Curtesy of FSW

Mayonnaise

Image Curtesy of Ebay

Fries (or some other sort of thing that you would have put Ketchup on)

Method:

Put an even amount of Ketchup and Mayonnaise in a bowl (or whatever other container you have) and mix together.
Dip your fries into the Fry Sauce and enjoy!

Don't worry if you don't want to follow this recipe religiously, so mix it up a little and add your own little touch. I know for a fact that my little brother prefers his fry sauce with Barbecue sauce, and my sister prefers her fry sauce with more Mayonnaise than Ketchup, and my Dad, he prefers his with more Ketchup than Mayonnaise.

Pumpkin and Lentil Soup

This soup is getting into the spirit of halloween with pumpkins. I bet you just got finished carving your halloween pumpkin with a huge scary face, and now have pumpkin guts all over the floor. So the question now is, what to do with them? Luckily for you guys, I have here a perfect recipe to get rid of those gross looking guts and turn them into something delicious. I was looking on the web for a good pumpkin soup, or something pumpkin because, as you are probably counting down the days to halloween, there's only a week left! I found this great pumpkin soup recipe and thought, y'know, I bet thet everyone else is looking for halloween pumpkin fall foods, so I should share this with them. If you want to see some of the other soup recipes that they have, go to the goodfood website.
The ingredients that you will want for this recipe are:

1 tablespoon of olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
about 800 grams of chopped pumpkin flesh, plus the seeds
100 grams of split red lentils
1/2 small packet of thyme, leaves picked and extra to serve
pinch of salt and sugar
50 grams of crème fraîche, plus extra to serve

The first thing you will want to do is to heat the 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan. Fry the onions until softened and starting to turn golden. Stir in the garlic, pumpkin flesh, lentils, and thyme, then pour in the hot stock. Season this, cover, and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes until the lentils and vegetables are tender.

While waiting for it to simmer, wash the pumpkin seeds and remove any flesh still stuck to them and dry them with a paper towel. Heat the 1 teaspoon of oil in a non-stick pan and fry the pumpkin seeds until they start to jump and pop. Stir the seeds frequently, but put a lid on the pan when you are not stirring them so that they don't jump out of the pan. Once the seeds look nutty and toasted, add a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar, and stir well.

"Whizz" or blend the cooked pumpkin mixture in a food processor until it is smooth, and then add the crème fraîche and "whizz" or blend again. Taste it for seasoning.

Serve the soup with a spoonful of the crème fraîche, a few of the thyme leaves, and the toasted seeds on top.

Enjoy!

Image Curtesy of bbcgoodfoods

Sticky Toffee Cupcakes

So I was watching cupcakes wars on TV last night, did you know that they have cupcake wars on Netflix? It just made my day because now I can go back and re-watch some of the first episodes and seasons. Anyway, back to the cupcakes. I was watching cupcake wars (on Netflix) and was thinking to myself, "I should make some cupcakes, they probably won't look as good as those and it will probably look stupid me decorating a bunch of cupcakes and putting things like pulled sugar and chocolate on top as decorations, so maybe I shouldn't make cupcakes because they won't look as good." But then I said to myself that I was being stupid and I should just make cupcakes and make them taste good because that is the only part that matters. I started looking through my shelf of cookbooks and pulled out Jamie Oliver: Happy Days with the Naked Chef. I started riffling through it  I found this recipe for sticky toffee cupcakes with a chocolate topping.

This recipe will make about 12 servings
The ingredients are:

30 grams (1 oz) sultanas
30 grams (1 oz) dried apricots
30 grams (1 oz) dates
1 teaspoon baking powder
140 grams (5 oz) self-raising flour
30 grams (1 oz) muscovado sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 large egg
30 grams (1 oz) melted butter
140 milliliter (5 fluid oz) hot water

To make the chocolate topping, you will need:

40 grams (1 1/2 oz) butter
40 grams (1 1/2 oz) caster sugar
40 grams (1 1/2 oz) plain chocolate
70 milliliter (2 1/2 fluid oz) double cream

The first step as always, is to preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Then, mix the sultanas, apricots, dates, baking powder, and just enough flower to stop the fruits from sticking to the blades, in a food processor (If you don't have food processor then just chop it up very finely).

Next, put the mixture you just made into a bowl with the muscovado sugar, the golden syrup, the egg, and the melted butter. Stir together.

Once stirred, add the hot water and remaining flower and mix well with a whisk.

Divide this mixture between 12 cupcake liners and put them in the oven for about 15 minutes.

While the cupcakes are cooking, melt the chocolate topping ingredients in a pan and bubble for a bit until the color darkens slightly. Take the mixture off the heat and let it cool until it thickens. Put a blob of the chocolate mixture on top of each cupcake.

Image curtesy of Jamie Oliver