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Wendy Irene
Welcome friends, Please enjoy the newest tarot readings for each sign. Warmest Wishes! AquariusPiscesAriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornWith love,
Wendy Irene
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Having the opportunity to spend some time at home baking brings me immense joy. In a world full of convenience there's something really special about homemade. I hope the videos relax you, and inspire you to make time for the things that light up your heart. Homemade Sourdough BagelsAfter my dough was thoroughly mixed and kneaded, it took about 20 hours of rising time. Followed by another 5 hours of rising in the bagel shape under a damp towel before I boiled and baked the sourdough bagels. I boiled the bagels in water with baking soda and brown sugar for approximately 30 seconds per side, then baked them at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. Homemade Chocolate CupcakesWith love,
Wendy Irene Hi there! This week I used the sourdough starter I made at the beginning of March to try making sourdough hamburger buns. I am really happy with how they came out. I'll share the ingredients I used, and the recipe link I followed for inspiration. Sourdough Hamburger BunsIngredients: 1/2 cup active sourdough starter 3/4 cup warm water 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup earth balance (vegan butter substitute), melted 3 Tablespoons honey (use local to help with allergy season) 1 teaspoon of salt 1 egg Egg Wash: 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon of water As you can see from my ingredient list I didn't make these buns vegan because I used local honey and organic eggs, but you could easily replace the honey with sugar and omit the egg, making the dough a little less rich but I think it should still work. For recipe inspiration - Farmhouse on Boone: Sourdough Hamburger Buns https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/sourdough-buns Last week, I attempted making sourdough bagels. They came out a little flat. I didn't let the dough rise nearly as long as I probably needed to for making a sourdough bagel without added yeast. Sourdough Tips:
Sourdough LoafIngredients: 1/2 cup active sourdough starter 1 1/3 cups water 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons salt Wishing you a beautiful day!
"The sight and scent of a newly baked loaf has a romantic appeal that transcends all other culinary achievements." ~ Elizabeth Luard With love, Wendy Irene Welcome Spring! Who's excited for the beautiful spring blossoms to start opening everywhere?! We've got tulips and all sorts of gorgeous plants starting to push through the ground. So far, we've planted onion and garlic starts, and there's little pepper plants for the garden starting to sprout under grow lights in the basement. Wishing you sunshine and blessings! Please enjoy the most recent tarot readings by astrological sign. AquariusPiscesAriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornWith love, Wendy Irene "If baking is any labor at all, it's a labor of love. A love that gets passed down from generation to generation." ~ Regina Brett Baking brings me so much joy! There is something so deeply rewarding about creating with your hands and heart. This year I really want to fit more baking back into my life. The past several years I've been so busy with work I haven't made enough time for the things that create a lot of happiness in my life. I recently decided I wanted to learn something new and try making my own sourdough. On March 3rd I began my first sourdough starter. Many days later I had my first loaf of sourdough bread. It took patience and daily care to go from a new starter to a loaf of bread, but it lit me up inside and I'm so excited about it I had to share! "God gives us the ingredients for our daily bread, but he expects us to do the baking!" ~ Chip Ingram Now I have 2 starters going. A spare just in case because I'm still a beginner at this sourdough thing. In case you're wanting to try something new and baking appeals to you, these are the two links that helped me the most in creating my first sourdough bread. How To Make Sourdough Starter - Good Housekeeping https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/cooking/a32416409/how-to-make-a-sourdough-starter/ Beginner’s Sourdough Recipe - Farmhouse on Boone https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/beginners-sourdough-bread-recipe There's so many sourdough recipes to try, and much more to learn! "The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight." ~ M. F. K. Fisher Warmest Wishes, Wendy Irene Please enjoy the most recent tarot readings by astrological sign! AquariusPiscesAriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornWith love & gratitude,
Wendy Irene Please enjoy these readings! AquariusPiscesAriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornWith love and gratitude, Wendy Irene Happy New Year! Sending you so much love and warm wishes. Please enjoy these tarot readings! AquariusPiecesAriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornWith love,
Wendy Irene Ingredients: 2 ½ cups pecans, large pieces or halves ½ cup water 1 cup cane sugar ½ tsp. sea salt ½ tsp. cinnamon 1/8 tsp. ginger 1 Tbsp. vegan butter substitute (I used Earth Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread) 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract You Will Also Need: Candy thermometer Silpat Silicone Cookie Sheet Liner (optional) Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with a silpat (optional). Spread pecans out evenly on the baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 5 minutes (set your timer!). Turn the oven heat down to 250 degrees F and place pecan pieces aside on a plate or in a bowl. Allow baking sheet to cool down. Once cooled, wipe off the remaining crumbs so it is ready to use again. Reline the baking sheet with the silpat if using. Grease the baking sheet or silpat with 1 Tbsp. vegan butter substitute. In a large non-stick saucepan, or in a regular saucepan greased with vegan butter substitute, clip a candy thermometer to the side. Add water, cane sugar, sea salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Turn heat to medium high and stir frequently until sugar comes to a boil, use caution as it becomes very hot. Once the sugar is boiling stop stirring and cook over medium heat until the candy thermometer reads 235 degrees F. On my thermometer this is just about at soft ball stage. Using caution, remove the hot caramel from the heat, and quickly stir in vanilla, followed by the pecan pieces. Poor the candied pecans onto the greased baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees F for 30 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes and 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on the silpat if you lined your baking sheet, or if not cool pecans on waxed paper. Store in an airtight jar or container. With love,
Wendy Irene Ingredients: Nut layer: 1 Tbsp. vegan butter substitute, room temperature ½ cup pecans Caramel layer: ¾ cup vegan butter substitute, I used Earth Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread ¾ cup cane sugar 1 ½ cups almond milk ¾ light organic corn syrup (organic recommended to avoid GM corn) ¾ tsp. sea salt 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract Chocolate layer: 1 - 10 oz. (283.5g) bag semi-sweet non-dairy chocolate chips You Will Also Need: Candy thermometer Directions: Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. Place pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes. Add toasted pecans into a food processor, and pulse a few times until the pecans are coarsely ground. Alternatively, you can chop pecans or crush them in a zip top bag. Grease generously a 9x13 inch pan with 1 Tbsp. vegan butter substitute. Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly over the bottom of the greased pan. Set aside. Measure 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and set aside so it is ready to add to the caramel as soon as it comes to temperature. In a deep sided pot over medium heat add ¾ cup vegan butter substitute, sugar, almond milk, corn syrup, and salt. When the ingredients combine turn heat up and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Insert a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature of the caramel. Continue to boil and stir the caramel until the temperature reaches 285 degrees F, soft crack stage. Please use caution it is very hot. When the caramel has reached 285 degrees F, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Poor the caramel over the chopped pecans. It helps to spread the caramel by pouring it around the pan because it hardens quickly. You may want a second set of hands to hold the pot while you scrap the caramel out. Spread the caramel as evenly as you can with a metal spatula or butter knife. You’ll need to move quickly. Set aside and allow the caramel layer to harden. Meanwhile, in a food processor add the chocolate chips. Pulse the chocolate chips about 40 times until they resemble crumbs. Scrap down the sides, and run the food processor for one minute. Scrap down the sides and allow the chocolate to rest for 1 minute. The chocolate will become a solid mass. Using a clean, dry spatula break the mass apart. The process of running the food processor for 1 minute, scrapping down the sides and letting the chocolate rest for 1 minute is going to be repeated 4 or 5 times until the chocolate becomes a smooth, fluid consistency. This is a method for tempering chocolate that I learned from watching Alton Brown. Ideally you want the chocolate to reach the temperature of 88 - 91 degrees F but not rise above 94 degrees F. When the chocolate becomes a melted consistency use a candy thermometer to check the temperature. If it is not close to 90 degrees F you can run the food processor for 30 seconds or so longer, and check the temperature again. Tempering the chocolate gives the chocolate a pretty shine and makes it snap when it is hardened and you break it. If you don’t have a food processor you can alternatively melt the chocolate in a double broiler, or in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the hardened caramel, and allow the chocolate to set and become firm. I did this by placing it in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Using a thin metal spatula or butter knife, pop the toffee out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Using a heavy sharp knife cut the chocolate caramel pecan toffee into large chunks. Start by cutting the toffee into large chunks because you can always break them smaller if desired. My personal favorite way to store the toffee is in an airtight container in the fridge. Toffee makes a wonderful homemade Christmas or hostess gift. With love,
Wendy Irene |
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