A Kitchen Experience: Doughnuts

 For the last six weeks or so, my 5-year-old son has been asking me to make him "bread with sugar."  It wasn't until I sat with him to watch Disney's The Princess and the Frog that I realized he wanted beignets.  Hot, crispy, fried dough floating in a sweet cloud of powdered sugar. . .

I tried a recipe from Nola Cuisine.  The instructions were direct and easy to follow, but the results did not meet expectations.  The beignets were puffed, brown and crisp.  However, the yeasty, slightly rich flavor reminded me of a bread-maker loaf:  definitely home-baked, but with little care and heavier than I like.  I wanted a melt-on-your-tongue light interior with rich flavor, a crisp exterior and just enough salt to balance and enhance the sweet topping.  Enter Daring Bakers, an group of food-minded people who accept a challenge to try a new recipe each month.  

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I chose to complete the challenge using Alton Brown's yeast doughnut recipe.  The recipe includes a few more steps (and at least four mores dishes) than I would have liked, but the results, oh my. . . why did I ever buy doughnuts at the store?

The chocolate glaze recipe is also from Alton Brown.  
I halved the recipe thinking it would make too much.  
I ended up fudging a maple glaze and rolling the remaining doughnuts in cinnamon sugar.  

Tips and tricks should you decide to make these at home:

Candy and frying thermometers must be immersed to a certain point to accurately read temperatures.   If the liquid is too shallow to meet this need, lay the thermometer down for an accurate reading.

The idea of fried food sitting in cooking grease appalls me, so does wasting paper towels.  To conserve, drain foods on a wire rack set over newspapers.

AND THE PHOTO CONTEST WINNER IS...

You'll have to check my website to find out. Click on www.drhallowsdc.com to see the winner.

Thanks for your votes.

Salutations,
Sam

The Website Photo Contest - Please Vote

It's time for me to update my family photo on the banner of my chiropractic website (www.drhallowsdc.com). I need your help though. Below are the four finalist photos. Please vote for your favorite via email or comment left. The photo with the most votes wins.

Deadline May 4th.

You'll Think I'm Crazy

I started "couponing" a couple months ago. It takes some time and a little effort but it's been worth it.

I went shopping on Tuesday and bought these things:

• 2 Land O Lakes Spreadable Butter containers
• 4 boxes Fiber One Granola Bars
• 3 boxes Nature Valley Granola Bars
• 1 box Curves Granoloa Bars
• 12 Double Roll package of Angel Soft
• 4 Single Roll package of Cottonelle
• 3 packages of 80 Walgreens Paper Plates
• 1 Glade Plug-in with Lavender Vanilla Scented Oil
• 1 Reach Toothbrush, and
• 1 Scotch Tape

I paid $.30 cents for the tape (we really needed it) and $1.03 in tax.

That's right, I got all this for $1.33!

So Much to Blog About

Wow! Life moves fast and I feel like I will never catch up on this blog. So, I'll just give you quick story on all . . .

Anna Sleeps Through the Night

On August 2, I laid Anna in the crib in the kids' room while I read them bedtime stories. She fell asleep and I told Jenny and Jackson I would come get her in the middle of the night.

I woke up at 6:45 AM and freaked out a little because I didn't know where the baby was. I found her quickly, fast asleep in the crib. She did the same thing the next night, and the next . . . !

Jackson is a Model at Heart
Jenny wears a hat when she walks with Grandpa. Of course, Jackson has to have one, too. I got him a hat the other day. When I walked in the room later, he had it on sideways.

I promise I did not coach him or ask him to pose for any of these pictures. I also know he has never seen a GQ.

Jenny's First Day of School

Jenny started full-day Kindergarten on August 11. She wanted her hair to look like a crown. This is the best I could do. She was excited to see her friends from Ms Dougherty's class last year.

First we found Emily . . . . . . . . . . . then Vance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and Tyler.

Overall, school is going well. And I am getting better at having Jenny gone all day.

We've had some more intricate hair days:

And fun with hats:

There's plenty more to tell, but it will have to wait for another night.

I went walking with Grandpa!

Have You Ever Thought of This?

One of the trillions of things your body does without so much as a conscious thought from you, is to replace dead and dying cells with new, healthy cells.
It’s happening right now. Even more so when you sleep: New intestine lining, every 2-3 days. New stomach lining, every 5 days. New skin, every 28 days. New liver, every 42 days. New bone, every 90 days. New red blood cells, every 120 days.
Your body creates 1,000,000,000 new cells every hour. Over time, this renewal process replaces the old you with a whole new you. This is what allows us to heal. It’s also why continued chiropractic care can be so helpful.
Your body relies on your current pattern and structure as a guide for the placement of new cells. Regular chiropractic care helps establish new, healthier patterns and structures. This is why ongoing chiropractic care, even when you don’t have an obvious ache or pain, can be beneficial. This has created an entirely new way to see health. It’s called: wellness.

Me, Vance and Tyler

One time when Vance came over and Tyler, too, we played with paper dolls that we made. When we were done, umm, we played with them.

We played that we went to a resaturant and there was a walk-in freezer there and we all went in. When we came out, Vance was Tiger Man, Tyler was Crocodile Guy, and I was Rainbow Fairy.

Tiger Man and Crocodile Guy and my friends, the rainbow fairies, and me all came out of the restaurant. Tiger Man and Crocodile Guy did not remember the way back to my house. So we made rainbow sparkles on the way to my house.

Then we all were back to my house. But we had to go into the walk-in freezer. But we forgot that, so we had to go back. We had to go back in the walk-in freezer and then we turned back to our own selves and walked to my house.

THE END

A day in the life . . .

It's summertime and I am trying to be a better mom to Jenny and Jackson. That means Anna has to learn how to calm herself and I guess that is good for her, too. She does a great job teething on her own fingers. She has two teeth on the bottom and top teeth on the way.

Jenny and Jackson woke up an hour before me, so they got to watch PBS this morning. I gave them an incentive (read: bribe) to turn the TV off by breaking out the Play-Doh. They played happily for almost an hour. Then we played sprinklers outside on the patio.

After a "snack lunch" of peanut butter crackers, cheese sticks and applesauce, we read books on the couch and then had "time for books" in bed with Jackson for his nap. Jenny entertained herself with on the computer while I took care of Anna. Then she and I made Oatmeal Cake together. Sam got home for lunch just in time to help with licking the batter. The finished cake was light and moist with a tender crumb. There was a light taste of cinnamon. The topping was sweet and crunchy with toasted coconut and pecans. I think I'll make this one again.

Everyone was asleep, but I hear Anna. Time to log off for the night.

Inaugural Post

Yesterday, I called my parents and in-laws; so excited to tell them how my baby girl was changing and growing up. Mimi said, "If you had a blog, everyone would know by now." I guess I want every one to know. . . this little girl can get around.

I was making freezer jam yesterday and placed Anna Kay on the floor by the kitchen. By the time I finished one batch (about 20 minutes), she had scooted on her back al the way to the piano (about 8 feet). Three months old, one tooth and already in motion.