Cooking up a storm

A family of three living on one person's salary is hard, especially when that one person works in higher education.

Angel food cake with orange zest

To manage our budget to the best of my abilities without compromising on quality, I cook.  I cook a lot.

I don't always stop to think about how much more I cook than other people but my friends assure me that my cooking exploits are far above & beyond what most people do.  It's totally normal for me to go home, play with Kaelen and Rosemary, catch up with Gene on the world's news, then start dinner.  After dinner is cleared, and Kaelen is down for the night, I'll relax for a bit then head into the kitchen to granola, yogurt, or to set up a casserole for the next day.

Here's our menu from last week:

• Monday - broccoli and sausage with preserved lemons* (similar to this recipe), ice cream*
• Tuesday - pizza* (toppings included leftover chicken skewers from work event, green onions, and a sliced leftover baked potato... surprisingly delicious)
• Wednesday- another pizza*: ham and bell peppers
• Thursday - there's a 1-pot spaghetti recipe making the rounds on facebook (like this one) so I made a modified version of it: canned tomatoes*, stock*, some have-to-eat-today fresh tomatoes, leftover marinara, pesto, garlic, seasonings, carrot slices, browned beef, and spaghetti in a pot, simmer 10 mins.  Toddler- and husband-approved.
• Friday - salad, then to a retirement party
• Saturday - spinach & sundried tomato* calzone, orange angel food cake* with local strawberries
• Sunday - spinach & salmon frittata*

* homemade or home-canned

In the past week I've also made blueberry muffins, hummus, scrambled eggs, ice cream, a veggie omelet, granola, cookies, yogurt, and various espresso drinks.

Kaelen must have a hollow leg, judging by how much he can eat right now.  This was his serving of the salmon & spinach frittata.  He is 18 months old and keeps us very busy.

I guess that kind of explains why I haven't been blogging much lately.

My life as a mommy now includes homemade cake, shears moved out of reach of the ever-growing toddler, squirt guns, and bubbles.

Sometimes I forget which way is up.  Or that the cupboard is not the fridge.

Lucky for me, I found this within an hour of having done it.

If you, like me, somehow find yourself with a bevvy of egg whites leftover from having made ice cream, use them up by making something delightfully summery.  Now, if only I had time to work out in my yard.

Alton Brown's Angel Food Cake

From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cake flour, sifted
12 egg whites (the closer to room temperature the better)
1/3 cup warm water
Zest of 1 orange (or 1 teaspoon extract of your choice)

1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.

In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, water, orange extract, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).

In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, water, orange extract, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least an hour before removing from pan.