Saturday, August 24, 2013
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
A Special Birthday Cake
Once in a while I get inspired to greatness. Like for my son's birthday. He loves "choo-choos," and I figured out a way to make a fairly simple "choo-choo" cake using mini-loaf pans, oreos, m&ms, and some food coloring and frosting.
I was happy with the results--but I knew the big test lay ahead.
Success! Yum.Sunday, May 3, 2009
College caf desserts
Another school year has ended or is coming to an end. During the last semester one of us (Dessert Survivor) ate at a college cafeteria once a week, and took the opportunity to take pictures of a small part of the variety of things they offered.
Chocolate always works as a dessert.
These brownies not only looked good, but were good.
They even told people what the desserts were. Who cares what you call it? If it has sugar, it is probably good.
I found a couple things surprising. One was the large variety they offered. No two days were alike. The other thing that surprised me is that the students did not eat more desserts. I would like to say that they have better eating habits than I do, but then I see the amount of soft drinks they consume and I have a hard time with that conclusion.
Cheese cake with strawberry stuff on top--this was good. I would have been happy if they had served this every day, but I only saw it once.
Did you say, "Saint Patrick's Day," when you saw the green cake? Yes, that is what it was.
Student complaints about cafeteria food are common and go back in time to the start of caferia food. One difference between what is happening now and what happened in the past is that there are many more options.
If the students at this cafeteria do not like the daily selection, there is also real ice cream available in addition to the soft serve (at least when the soft-serve machine is working.)
Chocolate always works as a dessert.
These brownies not only looked good, but were good.
They even told people what the desserts were. Who cares what you call it? If it has sugar, it is probably good.
I found a couple things surprising. One was the large variety they offered. No two days were alike. The other thing that surprised me is that the students did not eat more desserts. I would like to say that they have better eating habits than I do, but then I see the amount of soft drinks they consume and I have a hard time with that conclusion.
Cheese cake with strawberry stuff on top--this was good. I would have been happy if they had served this every day, but I only saw it once.
Did you say, "Saint Patrick's Day," when you saw the green cake? Yes, that is what it was.
Student complaints about cafeteria food are common and go back in time to the start of caferia food. One difference between what is happening now and what happened in the past is that there are many more options.
If the students at this cafeteria do not like the daily selection, there is also real ice cream available in addition to the soft serve (at least when the soft-serve machine is working.)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Dried banana
A while back, and I am not sure how far back, I lost track of a banana. I had put it on a shelf intending to eat it later, but I forgot it. And then one day I found it. There it is below the nice yellow banana.
It had not rotted. It had dried out, probably because the building is kept with a remarkably low humidity.
No, I did not try it to see if it was still edible, and I do not think you should try this at home.
It had not rotted. It had dried out, probably because the building is kept with a remarkably low humidity.No, I did not try it to see if it was still edible, and I do not think you should try this at home.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Cyrus turns five
Isn't this a clever birthday cake? It was made by an eighth grader, Ingrid B, for her brother, Cyrus, who is turning five and is very excited because he thinks that when he turns five, he will be able to do whatever he wants. I am sure that after a few days at five, he will learn that it is not until you turn six that you can do whatever you want.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Classroom candy
Why are these students stacking candy hearts? What possible educational purpose can that serve?
Probably none, but they are having fun. This student will never get all of those hearts in one stack.
This will work a lot better. Stacking candy seemed to amused them.
The candy itself was left over from Valentine's Day and was used in a previous class to illustrate confidence intervals. We were trying to estimate the average number of candy hearts in the individual bags. The sample itself was not a random sample--they came from a couple of big bags of little bags from a local store that had discounted them to get rid of them. So the results may not be valid, but the point was to show in a sweet, non-abstract way how a procedure worked. Each student got a couple of bags to count, and then we entered the results into a spread sheet. Using the sample mean, the standard error, and a t-value obtained from a t-value calculator, we got an interval estimate, an estimate that involved hearing, sight, touch, taste, and maybe even smell.
With a sample of 30 bags, we had a mean of 18.7 and a standard deviation of 2.053592311. This implies a standard error of 0.374932944. We know that if we take another sample of 30 bags, we will probably not get the same as as we got the first time. Each time we take a sample, we will almost always be a bit too big or a bit too small. The standard error is an estimate of how much we will be off on average. Using that, we can construct an interval in a way so that 95% of the time when we construct this interval, we will get the true mean. For this example, we would be 95% confident in the interval 17.9 to 19.5. We cannot tell if the average per bag is 18 or 19, but we are pretty sure it is not 17 or 20.
Except that one student spilled his candy on the floor. He picked it up and counted it, but another student may have added some bits to his pile. He got 26, which was the highest of any student. If we include his bag, we change our interval to 18.1 to 19.8. But should we count it?
I hope this 100-cents, five-sense experience made sense to them.
Probably none, but they are having fun. This student will never get all of those hearts in one stack.
This will work a lot better. Stacking candy seemed to amused them.
The candy itself was left over from Valentine's Day and was used in a previous class to illustrate confidence intervals. We were trying to estimate the average number of candy hearts in the individual bags. The sample itself was not a random sample--they came from a couple of big bags of little bags from a local store that had discounted them to get rid of them. So the results may not be valid, but the point was to show in a sweet, non-abstract way how a procedure worked. Each student got a couple of bags to count, and then we entered the results into a spread sheet. Using the sample mean, the standard error, and a t-value obtained from a t-value calculator, we got an interval estimate, an estimate that involved hearing, sight, touch, taste, and maybe even smell.With a sample of 30 bags, we had a mean of 18.7 and a standard deviation of 2.053592311. This implies a standard error of 0.374932944. We know that if we take another sample of 30 bags, we will probably not get the same as as we got the first time. Each time we take a sample, we will almost always be a bit too big or a bit too small. The standard error is an estimate of how much we will be off on average. Using that, we can construct an interval in a way so that 95% of the time when we construct this interval, we will get the true mean. For this example, we would be 95% confident in the interval 17.9 to 19.5. We cannot tell if the average per bag is 18 or 19, but we are pretty sure it is not 17 or 20.
Except that one student spilled his candy on the floor. He picked it up and counted it, but another student may have added some bits to his pile. He got 26, which was the highest of any student. If we include his bag, we change our interval to 18.1 to 19.8. But should we count it?
I hope this 100-cents, five-sense experience made sense to them.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Jenna brought cookies
What should a student do who gets cookies from home? The answer is obvious. She should bring them to class and share them with the other students.
Even if they are a scruffy bunch.
Even if they are a scruffy bunch.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
What is so happy about birthdays?
I enjoyed some Happy-29th-Birthday cake on Friday. Even more I enjoyed asking the person having the birthday, "What it is like getting to be so old? What should I be watching out for when I get to be as old as you are?"
Happy birthday to the good Karen!
Happy birthday to the good Karen!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
They are all gone now
Before Christmas the baking begins. Dozens and dozens of delicious Christmas cookies come out of the oven. But they are not to be eaten under pain of death or something almost as awful, at least not until December 25, when the feasting begins. Then they go to friends and family.
They were very good. Both Dessert Survivor and Desert Survivor enjoyed them, though neither had anything to do with their creation. And now Dessert Survivor has miles and miles to run to undo the weight gain that they caused.
They were very good. Both Dessert Survivor and Desert Survivor enjoyed them, though neither had anything to do with their creation. And now Dessert Survivor has miles and miles to run to undo the weight gain that they caused.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
My Favorite Christmas Cookies
I love cookies, and to me, Christmas is the ultimate time to eat cookies. There are so many good recipes to try. I didn't have a lot of time this year, but I probably made seven or eight different kinds of cookies, and these are some of my favorite. The bars in the middle are Seven Layer bars. I didn't have butterscotch chips so I used dried cranberries, and they were great. The cookies around the edge are almond-raspberry shortbread thumbprints. These have been a hit every year, and I can't stop eating them. The ingredients are simple: butter, sugar, flour, almond extract, and seedless raspberry jam. Yum, yum, yum.
Cookie cutouts have been a tradition at Christmas. I didn't have any helpers for decorating, so the cookies look rather plain this year. I like the strange ways kids decorate cookies! Nevertheless, they tasted great, and alas, disappeared all too fast.Saturday, December 13, 2008
Holiday cookies and desserts
The Christmas season brings with it many parties, concerts, open houses, and various special events that have cookies and other desserts. This year I decided to keep track of all the cookies that they offered. (If you have a blog that needs pictures of desserts, and you do not have the talent to make them, you do whatever is necessary.)
The first was a sale at the college bookstore. The little cookies were bait to attract shoppers, who then were expected to buy something that was on sale.
I attended a community event called Santa's Village, meant mostly for kids, that had cookies.
I skipped a December graduation event because it was too late in the day, but I suspect it had cookies. However, I did attend a band concert with big cookies.
Some Christmas events are by invitation only. Here are desserts at a very nice invitation-only Christmas party I went to.
Wait, there was more. The little men were solid chocolate! I am not sure what the little white snowmen were made of--I did not try one, but I am sure they were delicious.
One of the local banks had a customer appreciation day or some excuse to serve big bakery cookies. I would like to make an Alliance with them--they provide cookies, and I will eat them.
And finally, there is the employee Christmas party with cheesecake.
That is enough for one post. If I find more cookies, I will show them in another post.
The first was a sale at the college bookstore. The little cookies were bait to attract shoppers, who then were expected to buy something that was on sale.
I attended a community event called Santa's Village, meant mostly for kids, that had cookies.
I skipped a December graduation event because it was too late in the day, but I suspect it had cookies. However, I did attend a band concert with big cookies.
Some Christmas events are by invitation only. Here are desserts at a very nice invitation-only Christmas party I went to.
Wait, there was more. The little men were solid chocolate! I am not sure what the little white snowmen were made of--I did not try one, but I am sure they were delicious.
One of the local banks had a customer appreciation day or some excuse to serve big bakery cookies. I would like to make an Alliance with them--they provide cookies, and I will eat them.
And finally, there is the employee Christmas party with cheesecake.
That is enough for one post. If I find more cookies, I will show them in another post.
Friday, December 12, 2008
The two Lindas serve dessert
On the first day of finals week I was surprised by an array of cookies, cake, candy, cider, and even healthy things like grapes in the lounge. The two Lindas had been at work.
Here the new Linda is preparing brownies for the table.
Here the old Linda (can I say that?) is sampling some of the cake.
Thanks, Lindas.
Here the new Linda is preparing brownies for the table.
Here the old Linda (can I say that?) is sampling some of the cake.
Thanks, Lindas.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Key lime cheesecake
Brian C sent an e-mail message last night that he had put a cheesecake made with real key limes in the faculty refrigerator and invited people to sample. I got there a bit late today, but there was still about a third left. I sampled it and it was very good. Brian's ability to create desserts clearly is much higher than mine.
People who have the ability to create excellent desserts need and audience, and I am always ready to be part of that audience. (Or is it an eatience?)
I had a meeting to attend today, and when I stopped back two hours later, the plate was empty. The eatience approved.
People who have the ability to create excellent desserts need and audience, and I am always ready to be part of that audience. (Or is it an eatience?)
I had a meeting to attend today, and when I stopped back two hours later, the plate was empty. The eatience approved.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Pumpkin pie disaster
I noticed that after Halloween some neighbors had discarded perfectly good pumpkins, so I checked the Internet to see if they could be used to make pumpkin pie. The site at www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/pumpkinpie.php had all the info I needed. I even learned that most canned pumpkin is actually butternut squash--it has better flavor and texture than pumpkin. Also, the best pumpkins to use for cooking are the small pie pumpkins, not the large jack-o-lantern pumpkins.
I decided to prepare my pumpkin by microwaving it. It worked--the picture below shows pumpkin that has been microwaved on the left and raw pumpkin ready to go into the microwave on the right. Then I set out to find all the ingredients. We had all the spices, but the evaporated milk we had on hand was very old. It did not smell bad, so in it went. Enough spice and who will know that it came from the last century.
I decided I did not want to bother with a traditional crust, and since I like making crisps so much, I decided to modify my crisp recipe to make a crumbly crust, and that was a mistake.
The website warned that the pumpkin mix would be watery before it was cooked, and mine certainly was.
I cooked them a bit too long, and my crust alternative did not work out well. However, the pies were not only edible, but actually quite good. However, they would never win any baking awards.
Maybe I should have just stuck to apple crisps. It is pretty much the same recipe I used for rhubarb crisp, rhubarb-raspberry crisp, rhubarb-blackberry crisp, cherry crisp, and peach crisp, though I have switched to the oven because I have scaled it up. (If something works, just keep going with it.) Unfortunately, I am almost out of apples.
I decided to prepare my pumpkin by microwaving it. It worked--the picture below shows pumpkin that has been microwaved on the left and raw pumpkin ready to go into the microwave on the right. Then I set out to find all the ingredients. We had all the spices, but the evaporated milk we had on hand was very old. It did not smell bad, so in it went. Enough spice and who will know that it came from the last century.
I decided I did not want to bother with a traditional crust, and since I like making crisps so much, I decided to modify my crisp recipe to make a crumbly crust, and that was a mistake.The website warned that the pumpkin mix would be watery before it was cooked, and mine certainly was.
I cooked them a bit too long, and my crust alternative did not work out well. However, the pies were not only edible, but actually quite good. However, they would never win any baking awards.
Maybe I should have just stuck to apple crisps. It is pretty much the same recipe I used for rhubarb crisp, rhubarb-raspberry crisp, rhubarb-blackberry crisp, cherry crisp, and peach crisp, though I have switched to the oven because I have scaled it up. (If something works, just keep going with it.) Unfortunately, I am almost out of apples.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Educational cookies
The good Karen in the education department brought in lots of deserts today. There was banana bread, some kind of muffins, brownies, and other sugar-filled delectables.
Thanks, Karen.
Thanks, Karen.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Apple Crisp with a Twist
A few days ago we went over to a neighbor's orchard and picked some delicious Winesap apples. I was so happy to get the apples, because we've had several freezes at night and I had thought the apples were ruined, but in fact they turned out to be just fine. When we got the apples home, my husband dried some apples in the dehydrator and I decided to make an apple crisp.
I like apple crisps because they are easy to make and don't take many ingredients: flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and oatmeal. Except I was out of oatmeal. I searched all my cupboards but couldn't fine any. There was no way I was going to drive an hour each way to town to get some oatmeal, so I decided I had to be creative or do what I dread: make a pie crust. The creativity won out, and I realized I had some granola cereal. It was made with oats, plus had some extra ingredients that had to be good.
Then I got out my newest gadget. When we picked the apples, the people asked if we had an apple peeler. I told them I had a regular vegetable peeler, and they looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe because I had three boxes of apples and they knew how long it would take to peel them with a vegetable peeler--like until about Christmas. So when I got home I got online and found this cool apple peeler.
It worked like a charm, and it only took a few seconds to peel the apple. Plus Desert Boy was entertained watching the wheels go round and round.
Here are the results of the peeling. I actually peeled 11 apples, but nine made a much more symmetric and pleasing picture. 
The next shortcut step was to slice them. I have never used one of these before; I know, I must be from the Dark Ages or something. Anyway, I found out how much fun it is to slice an apple in one fell swoop and have it fall apart in eight pieces. I felt a bit artistic as I did it, like I was looking at a flower, with the slices falling open like petals.
Then I added cinnamon and sugar. The cinnamon came out a little faster than I expected, but fortunately I like it a lot.
Then it came time to make the topping. When I'm feeling really with it, I make the topping first, but today wasn't one of those days. Please notice that this is an action shot--the mixer is on--I thought it would make the photo more dramatic.I put the topping on the apples, put it in the oven at 375 degrees, and promptly forgot to set a timer or look at a clock. Apple crisp is one of those dishes that fills the house with a wonderful odor, so it really wasn't far from my mind. Except when I went out to rake leaves.
It all ended well, though, I rescued the apple crisp in time, and was ready to dish it out when I realized I hadn't taken a photo of the finished product (hence the spoon). It turned out delicious. The granola cereal gives it a little extra flavor. I think that I might put a few raisins on top the next time I use plain oatmeal, they add a nice texture and color to the dessert. Speaking of desserts, I have a separate blog called Dessert Survivor. I don't post on it often, but Dessert Survivor picks up the slack. If you want to see some desserts, head there. 
In real life, the dessert isn't really done when you take it out of the oven. There's always the cleanup!
If you want to check out this cool apple peeler, click on the photo.
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