Best of Just Piddlin': Top 10 of 2013

Thanx for Just Piddlin’ along with me in 2013!

I've had a wonderful year blogging and chatting with you.  Checking over my blog posts, these were the 10 most read posts of the year (no particular order).

Working moms and stay-at-home moms, alike, were represented in these motherhood and parenting posts:

• "Lean In" Isn't Such a Bad Message
• Now That You're a Stay-at-Home Mom
• Shall We Give The Kids a Sticker for Breathing

These dishes perfect for busy moms who want home-cooked food for their busy families were popular:

• Next Best Thing to Fried Shrimp - from Witchery in the Kitchen
• Asian Chicken in the Crockpot - selected as a Circle of Moms Recipe of the Day
• And for birthdays, holidays, or any reason to have cake - Cake Decorating - tips from Fancy Cakes by Leslie

Perhaps I’m not the only one struggling with the “where’s your family from” projects, as many of you read up on Another Family Heritage Project.

Fellow yarn-holics picked up their needles for this one: My First Knit Hat

Folks were busy cleaning out their closets & looking for tips on what to do with those old clothes: Re-Use & Recycle Old Clothes

And friends were looking for answers of why they were de-friended (or justifying why they de-friended folks): 5 Reasons You & I Are No Longer Friends

Was your favorite in the top 10?

In 2014, we'll continue striving to grow Just Piddlin' and make it better - for you, the reader, and me.  To learn more about this whole blog-o-sphere, I attended 2 blogging conferences - Disney Social Media Moms and Blogalicious - conferences will be in the plans again in the coming year.  We received a pile of products and books for review which was a lot of fun and look forward to continuing to bring you great products and recommendations.

Book reviews will continue, but I’ll be changing the reading plan a bit.  I’ll let you know in the beginning of the month the Book I'm Carrying Around and invite you to read along and discuss the book with me.  (I’m busy trying to pick out what to start the year with.)

I’ll still be In the Kitchen, cooking and trying out recipes, especially anything chocolate.  Feel free to recommend any great foods or coffee/chocolate shops you think I should try if ever in your city.

And of course, I will continue to be a busy mom of 4, who is always carrying around a skein of yarn, a book, and my perceptions of the world.  I hope you’ll keep piddlin’ along with me.

Please feel free to let me know in the Comments below what you would like to see in 2014.  We'll see what we can do.

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Ready for Fall Mini-Apple Pies

What would you do if you woke up with nothing to do?  This is the question on many folks’ minds with the recent government shutdown and furloughs.  Living in the DMV area, I have a bunch of friends who work for the government and are finding empty days to fill. Their spouse is off to work and the kids are off to school, and you can only walk the dog so many times.  Most (all?) are not getting paid either, so jetting off to the Caribbean doesn't really make any fiscal sense. So now what?

I've seen some are spending the time volunteering in their kids' schools, something they don't generally have the time to do when working.  Some are getting caught up in their volunteer "work" - reports that need to be sent, emails that need to be responded to, etc.  There are books that are finally being read, closets finally getting cleaned out.

My brother is spending his days cooking and let me borrow this recipe to share with you.  I was going to call them "Furlough Pies", but okay, that just doesn't sound as appetizing. So here's his first Guest post about these cute, quick, yummy Mini Apple Pies.  (You read, while I go dice some apples.)

Many people are intimidated by baking because they think it is this complicated, precise task.  On the one hand, that makes those of us who bake look like culinary masters.  However, the secret is that many recipes are neither complicated nor precise.  I offer you Exhibit A: Mini Apple Pies.  This idea was in the back of my mind because I saw a picture of some a few weeks ago--I can't recall where.  Since we had a handful of apples that weren't being eaten, I threw these together last Saturday.

Ingredients:

•  pie crust (store-bought is fine)
•  about five small apples (enough to fill your cups,
•  some sugar (brown, white, whatever you have)
•  a squirt of some citrus juice
•  vanilla ice cream

Here's the recipe:

1. Peel, core, and slice about five small apples. Toss them with maybe a quarter-cup of sugar (brown, white, whatever) and a squirt of hmm... try orange juice.
2. Cut your pie dough slightly larger than a muffin cup (Use a small bowl or anything round or freehand).  If you ball up the scraps, you can probably roll the ball out into another crust or two. Tuck (don't press!) the crust into your muffin tins.
3. Fill each cup with your apple mixture. Top each with a half-pat of butter (more or less). If you have extra dough, top your mini-pies. If you don't have any extra dough, just tell people that they're tarts.
4. Bake as instructed on your dough packaging.
5. Enjoy with some vanilla ice cream!

If you look up Apple Pie in different cookbooks or online, you'll get dozens of different recipes.  But most if not all the recipes include some amount of apples, sugar, crust, and butter.  That's my clue that apple pie recipes are not that delicate and don't need a whole bunch of precision.  Some other desserts you can try?  Cookies.  Start with a basic cookie recipe (oatmeal or chocolate chip are really flexible) and you can put pretty much anything you want in it (nothing too moist, though) and they should taste good.

Recipe note from Frances: You can also add cinnamon in your sugar mixture, as I did in my Campfire Apple Crisps.  I usually use lemon juice, but I could see where orange might be a bit sweeter.

Share in the Comments: What are you doing with your unexpected days off?

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Cake Decorating 101: How to Make a Beautiful Cake at Home

Let’s blame it on those Food Network cake shows that we feel like every cake has to look ready for competition.  Nothing short of fondant, flowers, birds, fountains, and 6 layers is going to do.  Some frosting slapped on a lopsided cake just doesn’t cut it.

Yes - that is a cake!

But, do we really need all that? Can’t we make a presentable cake for our kid’s birthday or the PTA bake sale without calling in the professionals?  Yes, we can, says the namesake of Fancy Cakes by Leslie.

Leslie Poyourow started decorating cakes after basic lessons, not from a culinary school, but from her local craft store.  Since then, she’s continued to experiment and learn her craft.  Over eighteen years of professionally decorating cakes, she’s been featured on the Today Show and won numerous best cake awards, including The Knot’s 2013 Pick for best wedding cakes.  On the day I stopped by her bakery, she and her team of about 8 bakers, frosters, and decorators, were busy in various stages of preparing cakes for weddings, birthdays, and other happy occasions.

I’m going to share her tips for making a pretty cake at home, but here’s what I learned to be one of the most important ingredients: time.  You can have butter imported from France and sugar straight from Brazil, but if you just throw it all together, you’re still going to end up with that crooked cake that looks like a Kindergarten class frosted it.  Allow yourself time and it will be beautiful.

Start with a good recipe that will give you a firm cake and use the proper pans.  Fill your cake pans to about 50%.

After baking and removing it from the pan, wrap the cake in plastic wrap (not the cheap plastic wrap, use the good stuff) and let it cool completely.  This step will help keep the cake moist while it cools.

Cut off the rounded top for a flat, level cake.

Make the cake level.  I’ve heard this tip before, but I always think I can skip it and my cake will still look straight.  Nope, rarely ever does that work.  Use a sharp, serrated edge knife (the “bread” knife in your set) and carefully cut the top of the cake off, the part that’s mounded.  Now – what do you do with this leftover cake piece because no-one wants to throw away good food?  Two options: (1) give it to your kids to eat or (2) make cake pops and then give it to the kids to eat or make them part of your party celebration.

Use a good icing.

Use an icing recipe that does not include liquid.  A good icing will include the basics – sugar, butter, flavor – but no liquid like water or milk.  We’re talking about the regular fluffy, creamy icing, no fondant, no rolling pin.

Frost your cake with a cake spatula, not a butter knife or spoon or whatever else you have in your kitchen.  It has a nice long handle and your fingers won’t get in the way.  There’s a long edge and you can cover the entire cake in one swoop.

Make gum paste or buy it already made from a cake supply store

Want to be fancy and add special decorations?  Use gum paste, a sugary mixture like fondant, but firmer, that you can buy from cake supply stores or make at home.  It looks like play dough, but it is edible.  When I was there, the decorators were making stars and an Eiffel Tower.  Roll it out, cut out your shape, decorate with piped icing if you wish, stick it on your cake. And how do you get an Eiffel Tower?  Print a picture at the size that you want it, cut it out, and trace it with a knife on your gum paste.  This is something I am really wanting to try.

A little something extra - add fresh fruit (here, raspberries) in between your layers

What if you don’t even own measuring spoons and Betty Crocker is your best friend?  Leslie’s got a few tips for you, too.

• Splurge and buy two boxes of mix.  One is never enough for a decent looking 2-layer cake.  There will probably be left over batter – make cupcakes!
• Store-bought frostings are not made to look fancy in the end, so don’t fight it.  Don’t try anything too decorative, but neatly put your frosting on and enjoy the nice “homemade” look.

Still feeling that pressure to buy the beautiful cake in the bakery window for your kid’s birthday party?  This, I thought, was a gem of advice for us stressed-out, gotta make it all perfect moms.  Leslie said that even if you don’t think you’re a great baker or artist, try it anyway for your kid.  She mentioned, repeatedly, that kids love the idea that mom made their cake and will think it tastes good just because you made this special effort for them.

Red velvet, S'mores, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Nutella, Vanilla, and Cookies & Cream

And how do her cakes taste? You know I didn't get out of there without a chocolate cupcake. And it was delicious! The cupcakes were moist and the frosting was light and not-too-sweet.

Enjoy your baking!

Thanks to Leslie and her staff for letting me wander around her sugar-scented haven.  If you live near the Bethesda, Maryland area and want more hands-on tips, check Fancy Cakes by Leslie’s class schedule.

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Girl Scout Cookie Brownies

As a Troop Leader, Cookie Mom, and mom of three Girl Scouts, there is no shortage of Girl Scout Cookies in our house this time of year.  Combine that with a household love of brownies and we have this tasty, easy treat.

Ingredients
Brownie mix - I used Pillsbury, use your favorite packaged mix or if you're really feeling Betty Crocker-ish, make them from scratch

A box of Girl Scout Cookies - my favorite are Thin Mints and Tagalongs; I think Samoas would work well, too and maybe Do-Si-Dos.

Preparation
1- Place cupcake liners in a muffin tin.  I used different colors to mark the two flavors of cookies, and a another color for plain brownies.

2- Put a cookie in each cupcake liner, pour batter on top of cookies.


3- Bake according to the package directions, or your recipe.

4- Enjoy!

Baker for a day

In another life, I would've gone to cooking school and specialized in baking. I'd also probably weight about 350 lbs., so I guess it's a good thing, I'm living this life.

However, the sweet tooth is still there (I think my dentist has even identified it) and baking and eating sweets is still a favorite pastime. The eve of Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of my best baking days. The big family dinners allow an excuse to offer multiple desserts to accommodate for everyone's favorite. I line the ingredients on the counter, pull out all the pans and mixing bowls, the measuring cups and spoons, make myself a drink (today its pomegranate martini) and pretend for the day that I'm in a bakery.

On this year's dessert menu:
Sweet potato pie
Chocolate pecan pie
Apple pie
Red Velvet Cake
Carrot Cake

What am I missing?