Kitty update and Baking Extravaganza.
So, the latest news on the formerly-feral kitties, plus recipes for Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip cookies, Chocolate Shortbread and Easy Bread, under the cut.
Things progress slowly with the hostages, er, kitties. Despite our having blocked it off, they managed to find a way into the space behind the washer/dryer and have holed up there with a vengeance during the daytime. They do, however, come out at night, when the overhead light is off and the night light is running (we see them perched on the washers and hot water heater when we use the facilities), and have been eating/drinking and using the litterbox.
The bad part is that it's difficult to keep visual tabs on them and their health, especially Lumen's, as they recover post-op. OTOH, food consumption and litter usage seem fairly normal, they both seem capable of moving around just fine when they want to, and I'm not seeing blood smears, etc., so I assume stitches are holding OK and healing is progressing. Also, the sense of having a *really safe* bolthole that they've chosen for themselves can do a great deal to ease captive critter stress, and stress is a big problem in situations like this, so . . . hopefully it will all work out. I don't doubt things will come out OK in the long haul, but now I'm particularly dreading the upcoming trip back to the clinic for booster shots, since, if they aren't tame enough in a month or so to be out and moving around, it's going to be a solid stone bitch dislodging the little guys from their "den" and getting them in carriers without hurting them.
Ah, well, something to worry about more as the time approaches . . .
In other news, I was invited to a Halloween bonfire this past weekend, and I made pumpkin (orange) and chocolate ("black") cookies to take along. I was asked for the recipes, and since I got them typed up, I thought I'd c'n'p here. I think I posted a version of the Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip cookies previously (can't be arsed to open another window and dig through tags atm, though), but this is the one I'm using currently.
Also, via cooking for the historical group, I found a simple, Medieval-ish bread recipe in Cindy Renfrow's Take a Thousand Eggs or More ("Rastons," in the first volume) that turned out really nice after minimal kneading and a single rise; it's good stuff and no more expensive per loaf than the bakery bread I was buying at the local Co-op (in fact, I think this stuff's something like $1-2 cheaper per loaf, especially if one considers the size/weight of the loaves). I'm including that recipe for anyone who might be interested in trying it. I baked a couple loaves last night and treated myself to a couple slices of fresh, warm bread with butter on them. Mmmm. Perfect autumn fare!
As a final side note, As a side note, I've gotten more and more into baking with unrefined cane sugar because it's not as aggressively, one-note SWEET! as regular refined white sugar. That said, though, any of these recipes work fine with regular white sugar as a replacement.
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip cookies
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (or less if you use salted butter)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup unrefined cane sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1-2 cups white chocolate chunks or chips
1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, white chocolate chips, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, soften the butter in the microwave and cream in the white and brown sugars, pumpkin, vanilla, and eggs.
3. Gradually mix in the flour blend. Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes. Makes 2-3 doz. depending on how large they are.
Notes: Adapted from a recipe posted here, in turn adapted from the from the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. Peter's version of the recipe also includes 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts, which would be awesome (just about any nuts would work probably -- pecans would be tasty, I bet).
1 cup pumpkin puree is half a standard (large) can of Libbey's pumpkin; I like to use the second cup to make a pie, by halving the recipe on the label (which is designed to make 2 pies). Cookies AND pie out of one can -- pure win!
Chocolate shortbread
1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened
1/2 c. unrefined cane sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional, but I like the subtle flavor it adds)
2 c. flour
1/3 c. baking cocoa
Grease an 8"x8" pan (I like to wipe down the inside with the butter wrappers; fast, easy and economical!). Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, and stir in the vanilla (if using). In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and cocoa, then gradually add them to the butter mix. The end result may be crumbly and not inclined to hold together -- this is fine. Dump it all in the 8"x8" pan and press it down, firmly, into an even layer. Bake for 40-45 min. @350F. Remove from oven and, using a sharp knife, cut into squares while still hot. Let cool in pan. Makes however many squares you cut. The recipe can be doubled for a 9"x13" pan; you might need to cook the larger batch longer, but otherwise everything's the same.
"Easy" bread
These quantities are sized for 1 loaf; I usually double the amounts and make 2 loaves at a time because they fit perfectly on a cookie sheet, and it's not really any more work.
3 1/2 c. flour, divided (I like 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached), + a bit for kneading.
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 package (or equivalent) dry yeast
1 c. (8 oz.) beer or ale, heated until warm (but not hot) to the touch
2 eggs, beaten
Mix together 2 c. of the flour and the rest of the dry ingredients, make a well in the middle, add the eggs and warm ale and stir to incorporate. Mix in the remaining flour and knead (I just knead in the mixing bowl), adding flour if the dough is too sticky. When it's fairly smooth, shape it into a round loaf and put it on a floured cookie sheet, cover with a damp cloth, and set in a warm place to rise until about doubled (roughly 1 hr.). Bake 30-35 min. @350F; bread is done when the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Makes about a 9-10 inch round loaf. The dough could probably be put into loaf pans (probably divided in half, at these quantities), but I haven't tried it to see if baking time would need to be adjusted. Maybe next time.
Anyway, that's the Area 51 news for today, will be answering comments off and on after a bit . . .
Things progress slowly with the hostages, er, kitties. Despite our having blocked it off, they managed to find a way into the space behind the washer/dryer and have holed up there with a vengeance during the daytime. They do, however, come out at night, when the overhead light is off and the night light is running (we see them perched on the washers and hot water heater when we use the facilities), and have been eating/drinking and using the litterbox.
The bad part is that it's difficult to keep visual tabs on them and their health, especially Lumen's, as they recover post-op. OTOH, food consumption and litter usage seem fairly normal, they both seem capable of moving around just fine when they want to, and I'm not seeing blood smears, etc., so I assume stitches are holding OK and healing is progressing. Also, the sense of having a *really safe* bolthole that they've chosen for themselves can do a great deal to ease captive critter stress, and stress is a big problem in situations like this, so . . . hopefully it will all work out. I don't doubt things will come out OK in the long haul, but now I'm particularly dreading the upcoming trip back to the clinic for booster shots, since, if they aren't tame enough in a month or so to be out and moving around, it's going to be a solid stone bitch dislodging the little guys from their "den" and getting them in carriers without hurting them.
Ah, well, something to worry about more as the time approaches . . .
In other news, I was invited to a Halloween bonfire this past weekend, and I made pumpkin (orange) and chocolate ("black") cookies to take along. I was asked for the recipes, and since I got them typed up, I thought I'd c'n'p here. I think I posted a version of the Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip cookies previously (can't be arsed to open another window and dig through tags atm, though), but this is the one I'm using currently.
Also, via cooking for the historical group, I found a simple, Medieval-ish bread recipe in Cindy Renfrow's Take a Thousand Eggs or More ("Rastons," in the first volume) that turned out really nice after minimal kneading and a single rise; it's good stuff and no more expensive per loaf than the bakery bread I was buying at the local Co-op (in fact, I think this stuff's something like $1-2 cheaper per loaf, especially if one considers the size/weight of the loaves). I'm including that recipe for anyone who might be interested in trying it. I baked a couple loaves last night and treated myself to a couple slices of fresh, warm bread with butter on them. Mmmm. Perfect autumn fare!
As a final side note, As a side note, I've gotten more and more into baking with unrefined cane sugar because it's not as aggressively, one-note SWEET! as regular refined white sugar. That said, though, any of these recipes work fine with regular white sugar as a replacement.
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip cookies
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (or less if you use salted butter)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup unrefined cane sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1-2 cups white chocolate chunks or chips
1. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, white chocolate chips, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, soften the butter in the microwave and cream in the white and brown sugars, pumpkin, vanilla, and eggs.
3. Gradually mix in the flour blend. Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes. Makes 2-3 doz. depending on how large they are.
Notes: Adapted from a recipe posted here, in turn adapted from the from the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. Peter's version of the recipe also includes 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts, which would be awesome (just about any nuts would work probably -- pecans would be tasty, I bet).
1 cup pumpkin puree is half a standard (large) can of Libbey's pumpkin; I like to use the second cup to make a pie, by halving the recipe on the label (which is designed to make 2 pies). Cookies AND pie out of one can -- pure win!
Chocolate shortbread
1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened
1/2 c. unrefined cane sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional, but I like the subtle flavor it adds)
2 c. flour
1/3 c. baking cocoa
Grease an 8"x8" pan (I like to wipe down the inside with the butter wrappers; fast, easy and economical!). Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, and stir in the vanilla (if using). In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and cocoa, then gradually add them to the butter mix. The end result may be crumbly and not inclined to hold together -- this is fine. Dump it all in the 8"x8" pan and press it down, firmly, into an even layer. Bake for 40-45 min. @350F. Remove from oven and, using a sharp knife, cut into squares while still hot. Let cool in pan. Makes however many squares you cut. The recipe can be doubled for a 9"x13" pan; you might need to cook the larger batch longer, but otherwise everything's the same.
"Easy" bread
These quantities are sized for 1 loaf; I usually double the amounts and make 2 loaves at a time because they fit perfectly on a cookie sheet, and it's not really any more work.
3 1/2 c. flour, divided (I like 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached), + a bit for kneading.
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 package (or equivalent) dry yeast
1 c. (8 oz.) beer or ale, heated until warm (but not hot) to the touch
2 eggs, beaten
Mix together 2 c. of the flour and the rest of the dry ingredients, make a well in the middle, add the eggs and warm ale and stir to incorporate. Mix in the remaining flour and knead (I just knead in the mixing bowl), adding flour if the dough is too sticky. When it's fairly smooth, shape it into a round loaf and put it on a floured cookie sheet, cover with a damp cloth, and set in a warm place to rise until about doubled (roughly 1 hr.). Bake 30-35 min. @350F; bread is done when the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Makes about a 9-10 inch round loaf. The dough could probably be put into loaf pans (probably divided in half, at these quantities), but I haven't tried it to see if baking time would need to be adjusted. Maybe next time.
Anyway, that's the Area 51 news for today, will be answering comments off and on after a bit . . .