There has been very little knitting, small progress in the garden, and quite a few food recently. I credit all the work stress. Let's start with this morning, then work our way back... way back.

What to do with more raspberries? I still have raspberry jam in the cupboard from last year. Perhaps I need a food mill, to make raspberry puree ...

first raspberries

It took three thermometers (two were outrageously inaccurate), 3 recipes (tried 2 last year), new recipe and 3 batches later... I think I found the one that gave me the texture I was looking for.

1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water

Easy recipe and yield good results. Heat cream + butter + salt, cook sugar + corn syrup + water to golden, then pour cream mixture to caramel. Cook to 248°. firm ball stage. They hold their shape and I used Lyle's Golden Corn Syrup (instead of corn syrup).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Our raspberries are not as prolific as last year. Maybe it is the cool and wet spring, or maybe it is suppose to be bi-annual, or maybe who knows... I picked about a cup last week and about three cups yesterday. I asked G whether he likes raspberry jam. "Yea". So I found an epicurious recipe for raspberry jam and ended up with a 2:3 ratio - 2 cups of sugar with heaping 3 cups of berries. Easy, tasty .. mmm.

Up the hill from where we live
where the fuzzies and I go on walks
neighborhood has perfectly manicured landscapes
there is a section of pavement
where these panises are allow to color outside of the line

*Double yoke egg!

This week was J's and N's birthdays and J & N invited us over for dinner. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! So I had a break from
tasty nom nom. But I gave in to two bread products - brioche and hamburger buns. I have made other rich egg bread like challah and pulla. Although leftovers make very yummy bread pudding, I was never happy with the texture / taste. But G seems to think pulla is suppose to be 'dry' so you can butter (or add jam) and toast. Hmm. Anyways ...

I tried the Basic Brioche Recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum. It is a sticky buttery eggy rich dough. It came together in the stand mixer just fine and was easy to handle once chilled. I shaped it into loaf and baked. It made an outstanding loaf of brioche and very tasty french toasts.

The hamburger buns recipe is from King Arthur Flour. It is also a very simple recipe and I kneaded it by hand. It makes a good sandwich roll, sturdier than store-bought buns, a little chewy, but not as much as say ciabatta.

Bread. Yum.

I used the Hipstamatic camera app on the iPhone. It reminds me of when Photoshop filters first came out ...

Tried my hand at making marmalade / jam again. This time, I grated some blood oranges & a lemon. The taste is wonderful but the mixture was reduced too much. It was setting but the temperature wasn't right. Next time, I will trust the finger-test. This batch is a like jam, with no visible rind. I also made a smaller batch with sliced oranges. The slices did not break down as much as I thought they would. That batch have a chunkier consistency.

My first experiment in making and 'jarring' marmalade. I found a recipe that is simpler than most of the canning recipes I've seen. The process was straight forward, messy, gooey, sticky, and everything I thought it was.

I tasted it last night and it was good. Due to lack of foresight, I don't have bread in the house. Therefore, I have no idea what it taste like on .. toast!

I tried making my first canelés about ten years ago, "BG" - before Glen. It was featured in some magazine ... I went out and bought some molds, not the proper $$$copper$$$ ones, and ended up in disaster. Then a few years later, I tasted my first one at Essential Bakery , along with bostock (a french toast like pastry made with brioche), lady slippers ...

Fast forward to last year, J and I stopped at Honore Artisan Bakery during a trip to the Nordic Heritage Museum... I had another one (along with a lot of different macarons).

This recipe showed up recently ( I think J shared it with me). And I read through entire thread on eG. This attempt was slightly better than my previous one a decade ago, but not quite there yet. I am sure I will be experimenting ... again.

P.S. Envious of these cute molds.

Today is the official start of meteorological spring in Seattle. I spotted this bug on the gates this morning. No clue what it is.

Sunny and 55 today. It is absolutely gorgeous outside. I planted this pussy willow many years ago, 'temporary' at the south side of the house. It is in a terrible spot and needs to be moved.

The Camelia always starts the season. It came with the house and it is that shocking magenta color.

G and I stayed home and had a very low-effort evening. I made little chocolate cakes for us. He went to the store and bought ice cream. It was very nice after yesterday's Chinese New Year meal.

My version of comfort food. Law Bok Gow - Chinese daikon / turnip cake. Mom likes to make them for me when I visit. This version is a combination of recipe from talking to mom,epicurious, and appetite for china.