Treasured Tip #9

It's always cheaper to buy in bulk-- but what if you can't consume all of that food in time?  Freezing is the best option.  Separate the bulk item into small plastic sandwich bags and don't forget to write the date on the bag!  Smaller portions defrost faster, but are also more likely to get lost in your freezer.  By writing down the date you placed the product in the freezer, you'll eliminate the chance of finding some mystery meat in the far corner half a year later.  However, make sure to use with care, for some items are best kept out of the cold and can actually spoil easier when frozen.

Chicken Stir Fry Style Dinner

Occasionally, we all come across a night where we just want to get rid of all the leftover produce in the fridge.  This recipe is perfect for such an occasion!  I've made this dish before, when the idea was to simply throw together all the vegetables and other leftovers.  It's a delicious concoction, though, so I planned ahead for this particular night and made the chicken stir fry-style dish for our special dinner guest last week-- a dear neighbor and friend.
This Asian-style meal includes frying all the vegetables, chicken breasts, and rice whilst drenching the whole thing in soy sauce.  Following no particular recipe, I simply invented as I went.  Since there is no measuring involved, the meal comes out differently each time you make it. 
I started out by cutting a few chicken breasts into bite sized chunks.  I fried them with minimal oil until they were cooked, and just beginning to brown.  Seasoning included generous salt and pepper, as well as a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce.  At the same time, I was cooking some non stick rice in the microwave.  Both the poultry and the rice were set aside while the main part of the dish was prepared: the vegetables.

 

These included onions, baby carrot coins, broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini, all cut up into bite sized pieces.  When the carrots and broccoli were no longer that crisp, I added in the chicken.  This mixture received another small dosing of Worcestershire sauce.  My skillet was too small for the large portion that I was making, so I was forced to transfer the vegetables and chicken to a larger pot for this next step.  The rice should also be fried, so it was added to the vegetable mixture on medium heat.  While stirring and mixing everything thoroughly, I added a generous amount of soy sauce, giving the dish its appealing browned look.  

For dessert, there was a scrumptious coconut cream pie with a graham cracker crust.  Sadly enough, the pie was such a hit that it was gone before I had a chance to photograph it.  Another time, then.

But for now, enjoy your chicken stir fry style dinner!

Fondant Covered Chocolate Birthday Cake

For my mother's birthday a week ago, I decided to work with fondant for the first time.  She agreed to be the guinea pig in my experiment, as long as the cake was chocolate.  It turned out very well: four layers, chocolate frosting, a fondant cover, and rose decorations out of the leftover fondant.  The moist chocolate cake was incredibly delicate and the creamy frosting was able to balance out the chewiness of the fondant with the springy texture of the cake.

I'm providing you with the chocolate cake recipe that I used.  It's extremely quick and easy to prepare, practically fool proof, and is made completely out of pantry-friendly ingredients.  This is definitely my go-to recipe for any special occasion!  I found it in the 1987 edition of The Southern Living Cookbook and altered it slightly.  The icing between the layers was a standard butter cream frosting (I added some unsweetened cocoa powder to go with the chocolate theme).

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 cup cocoa
2 cups boiling water
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until smooth.  Set aside to cool.
Cream butter and sugar at high speed of an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated.
Combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; add to creamed mixture alternately with cocoa mixture, beating at low speed of an electric mixer, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Do not overbeat.
Pour batter into 2 greased and floured 10 inch round cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.  Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.
Cut each layer in half horizontally.  Spread desired frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.  Yield: one 4 layer cake.

 

The tricky part was working with the fondant.  It had to be kneaded very well before being rolled out.  Smoothing it out on the cake also proved difficult, and the bottom was simply horrific.  I had a lot of extra fondant, so I created scalloped edges to cover the rips and tears at the bottom of the cake.  It was a lot of fun to create decorations, though.  I might provide a step by step tutorial of the roses later on, but the vines and leaves are pretty straight forward.  I had red and blue powdered dyes specifically for the fondant.  The green was achieved by mixing in a bit of green icing coloring.

I don't believe I'll want to go through this again (I spent the entire day in the kitchen without rest).  Fondant is definitely not for the everyday at home cook.  Nonetheless, it was an extremely enlightening experience that might prove useful later in life.