Showing posts with label crackers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crackers. Show all posts

7.31.2012

July Foodie Pen Pals

Everyone! It's time for another month of foodie pen pals! This month, my pen pal was Carolynne from Chicago, IL. She didn't disappoint with her box. She even listened to what I said when she asked about things I love! 

I told her I was interested in flavored honeys recently, and she sent me a bottle of blueberry blossom honey. After trying it, I realized it was just honey harvested from blueberry plants - not blueberry flavored But still delicious! I used it on some banana chips I made a week ago and they were delicious. 


She sent:
 garlic sesame crackers
pecan caramel turtle
blueberry blossom honey
freeze dried tropical fruit
Qbel bar
Reed's Ginger Chews
Oatmeal Apple Currant cookie 


Something exciting was that the cookie was from a local vegan bakery! How cool is that? It was really moist and delicious. Full of flavor. I loved it. I already know I love those ginger chews, so that was exciting. The freeze dried fruit made a great snack while I was working on the school newspaper, and the pecan turtle was very chocolate-y and caramel-y. The crackers were crunchy and delicious. I still haven't tried to Qbel, but I can't wait. That is something that I have been wanting to try for a long time!

Not to mention, Carolynne has great handwriting. 

Thanks for the package, Carolynne! 

The Lean Green Bean


Wanna join the foodie pen pal fun? Here's the details - just email Lindsay to sign up!

-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!
***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved! 

Much love, 

7.27.2012

Daring Bakers: Crackers

Welcome to this month's edition of Daring Bakers: crackers edition! 

Our July 2012 Daring Bakers' host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encourage us to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love. 

I hope I didn't disappoint! 

Another part of the challenge was that you had to make two different types of crackers using two different methods. You could make hand rolled crackers, icebox crackers, or pasta roller crackers. I chose to make hand rolled and icebox, considering I don't have a pasta roller. 

The first cracker I made was a Boursin cheese, basil, and almond icebox cracker. This recipe was based on one that was given to us for the challenge - a cheddar, rosemary, and walnut icebox cracker. Because I didn't have quite a few ingredients in my pantry, I improvised. My family loved these crackers and they had a  strong Boursin cheese spread flavor. They were also very crispy. Yum. You want the recipe? 


Boursin Cheese, Basil, & Almond Icebox Crackers
Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup Boursin Vermont White Cheddar & Sage Cheese Spread
1 cup + 3 T. all purpose flour
1 t. salt
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1 T. finely chopped basil 

Directions
1. Combine butter, basil, and cheese spread in a mixer. Combine well. 
2. Add flour, salt, and nuts and mix well. Don't over mix!
3. Divide dough in half, Place each half on plastic wrap and form into two logs. Place logs in fridge for anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. 
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 
5. Slice logs into thin slices and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. 
6. Bake crackers for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. They will firm up as they cool. Store in an air tight container and enjoy!

I also made some homemade Ritz crackers. These were hand rolled. You can find the recipe here. 

Oh my word. These were divine. 


Yes, they do taste like Ritz crackers. So buttery and delicious. I put garlic powder on top of mine for added flavor. I could seriously eat an entire recipe of these in on sitting. Luckily, I restrained myself and shared with others :)

A successful challenge, I would say! Enjoy! 

Much love,