How to Make an Afternoon Snack

Today I had chunky peanut butter and graham crackers for breakfast. Whenever I have peanut butter, I tend to overeat. Something about it is just so tasty that I keep putting it in my mouth well after my stomach has told my brain to cut it out. Due to my 9:30 breakfast and massive consumption of peanut butter, I wasn't hungry again until 2 or so.

I checked the fridge for some leftovers, nothing. Checked the pantry for a quick dinner, nothing. What we did have was cherry tomatoes and two day old french bread that needed eating and an overabundance of basil from our basil plants. (Side note: Al isn't a fan of basil, so I don't cook with it much. I usually shred it and pair it with some parmesan covered popcorn.) Ah-ha! I could make caprese salad on toast. Here's what I did:

1. Sliced the french bread
2. Shredded basil leaves (we have green basil and amethyst basil)
3. Diced the cherry tomatoes
4. Mixed the basil leaves and tomatoes with some balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic salt
5. Buttered the bread and put it in the oven for a couple minutes at 255 degrees
6. Removed bread from oven and sprinkled with garlic salt
7. Added basil/tomato mixture to tops of bread
8. Baked for two more minutes
9. Topped with swiss cheese (all out of mozzarella!)
10. Baked for two more minutes
11. Remove from oven and eat!

I think I will call these caprese toasts. I was surprised at how fast I could whip up such a tasty treat! If only Al would have helped me eat the eight caprese toasts I made :) Maybe I'll have these as my next appetizer. Would you like that?

Happy Toasting!
--Am

How To Make "Perfect Pound Cake"

Today has been a day of new things for me. It was my first time at a real garden shop where I actually bought stuff. It was also the first time I baked something that turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. Before I left for the garden shop, I sat outside with Al while he smoked a cigar and drank sweet tea (which he had to re-sweetened by adding equal). The dogs were roaming, while I leafed through the May 2011 edition of Everyday Food. I usually find that I like 90% of the recipes in there, while Alex will only like 40% of what I like. It's not that he's picky, but he's not very food adventurous or necessarily healthy.  In this edition, I found a recipe for perfect pound cake. Here's what you do:

• One cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs, room temp
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly butter and flour a 4 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch pan. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer on medium high until light and fluffy, approx. 7 minutes.  Scrape down the sides and beat an additional minute. Add vanilla and gradually beat in eggs. Set mixer to low, add salt, and gradually add flour. I subbed 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour. Once combined, transfer to loaf pan and bake for 65 minutes. Poke the center with a toothpick and remove from oven if it contains a few moist crumbs. Let it cool on a wire rack for an hour. Once cooled, the loaf can be removed from pan and sliced as preferred. Any unused portion can be wrapped in plastic and stored for 3 days. Here are some pics of the process: 

sugar and butter being beaten

loaf cooling

sliced…yum!

I must admit that whenever I bake just about anything, it is complete crap. However, this turned out to be pretty tasty! It's an easy recipe that anyone will be able to follow. It will be a fabulous breakfast treat over the next couple of days. Or, maybe I'll melt some chocolate and spread it on a slice for a scrumptious dessert. Who knows? All I can say is that it will definitely be eaten up! 

Happy baking!

--Am