All Paired Up

I was thinking about buying thin socks when I went to the mall this weekend and saw this box on sale.

Why anyone would wear unpaired socks is beyond me.  It destroys all sense of balance and harmony.  And yet here was a box of socks for sale where none of the socks made a pair.

Who would get this box knowing that they would never end up with matching socks?

I honestly thought I would be the LAST person in the world to buy this box until I found a second box.

Problem solved.  

Order has been restored to the world. 

I can rest easy now that each of the six socks has a matching pair. 

 

Gnome is Where the Heart Is

Gnomes are often found in the garden. They are associated with good luck, positive energy, bountiful harvest by providing guardianship over animals and families.  

I have this (not so) secret fondness for gnomes. I don't know when it started or what it is about them I love. All I know is that I find them so cute.

My kids already call me the crazy clock lady.  So I take pictures of interesting gnome merchandise instead of purchasing them so I don't end up being the nutty gnome mom.

We passed by a Christmas store while we were in Banff, Canada. Check out the price tag for the 6-piece gnome pageant. This is definitely a 'take picture' gnome, rather than 'take home' gnome.

I was tempted to buy this Christmas mat since the price tag was kinder to the budget but I reminded myself that I would not know where to put the mat and that I would probably have a hard time cleaning it when it got dirty.  I snapped a picture of it before leaving the store.  I'm glad I did because when I passed by the store the week after, they were all sold out.

I have a lot more gnome pictures on my phone but I still have to dig them up. These are the more recent ones.

Ensaymada for the Win

I was all set to make Japanese milk bread the other week because RD is home for the Christmas/New Year break. I had placed flour + yeast + sugar + salt into the mixer bowl and was about to add the egg when I realised that added all-purpose flour instead of bread flour.  Not wanting to risk coming up with a sub-standard loaf of milk bread due to the insufficient protein content of the flour, I decided to start over.  

I poured out the flour mixture into a tupperware, measured out a new set of dry ingredients, and proceeded to make the milk bread.  The milk bread turned out fine but the tupperware with the flour was left sitting on the counter for ages.  

I googled and flipped through bread recipes and figured I could probably use the flour mixture for ensaymada.  The decision was made last Saturday, when I asked the kids what they wanted me to bake.  I started with "What do you guys want, ensaymada or...." 

I did not even get to finish my question because both RD and MyGirl answered "Ensaymada!" without waiting for the other option. 

On Sunday, I started the dough in the afternoon before we went out for dinner.  I added other ingredients as I went along, not really following any single ensaymada recipe.  I punched down the dough and formed the ensaymada when we got home.  They were done before 10PM.

The recipe needs to tested several more times but I am documenting it before I forget what I did.  It made 16 pieces about 60 g each.

Ensaymada for the Win  

2 ½ c          all-purpose flour

1 to 1 ½ c   bread flour

¼ c              sugar

1 T              yeast

1 t               salt

2                 eggs

½ c              warm milk

¼ c              unsalted butter, softened (cut into cubes)

               

1.       Combine dry ingredients in a stand mixer bowl.

2.       Mix for a few minutes to combine.

3.       Add eggs and milk into the mixer.

4.       Beat about 5 minutes on low, scraping down sides as needed.

5.       Add butter a few cubes at a time.

6.       Beat on medium for 5 minutes.

7.       Increase speed and beat additional 15 to 20 minutes.

Add flour a few tablespoons at a time as needed.   Do not add too much flour. 

The dough should not be dry and not completely non-stick.

Do the window pane test (stretched dough does not tear) and aim for sticky-tacky dough (pressing  the dough will cause it to stick but it easily releases without leaving much dough on your hand/ finger).

8.       Let dough rise until double in size.

9.       Punch down dough.

10.    On a floured surface, divide into 16 pieces about 60 g each.

11.    Roll dough piece into a log and coil.  (Alternatively, form into a dough ball after folding dough over itself several times and rotating 90 degrees.)

12.    Place into greased moulds and let rise 30 minutes or until double in size.

13.    Bake in pre-heated oven at 350F for 12 – 15 minutes.

14.    Once out of the oven, remove from moulds and let cool on rack.

15.    If desired, serve with butter, sugar, and grated cheese.

Zoom In

When RD surprised us with a visit last July, I requested that they pose for this picture. The picture in the frame on the bookshelf is currently the wallpaper on my phone.  

JULY 2023

This is the bookshelf photo found in the white frame.  It was taken at our first rental when GI came over to celebrate his birthday.

SEPT 2018

The 2018 photo was taken to recreate the photo on the bookshelf at the time.  The bookshelf photo in the brown frame was taken at Cebu Avenue when they were still very young.  

This is one of my favourite pictures of the kids.  

5-Star Cinnamon Rolls

I wanted to have some bakery-like cinnamon rolls. I remember having cinnamon rolls at various at Cinnabon or Saint Cinnamon stores in Manila.  The rolls were prepared on site and I enjoyed watching them roll out the dough, spread the butter, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar, roll up the logs, etc. 

I have made several batches of cinnamon rolls over the years using different recipes.  The recipe from The Pioneer Woman was the one I used when I made rolls to give away one Christmas.  For some reason, I decided to check google for my new cinnamon roll adventure.  

I decided to try one that claimed to be the BEST cinnamon rolls in the WORLD, and one that would lead me never to go back to any other recipe once I had tried this one.  

What can I say?  The recipe made truly excellent cinnamon rolls.  The cream cheese frosting made it so much better.

Will my quest for a cinnamon recipe end with this one?  I cannot make that promise.  What I can say is that I normally don't bother to rate the recipes I try but I took the time to give this one a 5-star rating. In addition, I am 100% sure I will get a request for this recipe to be repeated.  

I made the dough on Friday night.  

They were in the fridge overnight.  

The second rise happened on Saturday morning.  The rolls were ready in the afternoon.  

We enjoyed the cinnamon rolls with the cream cheese frosting at dinner and for Father's Day breakfast.

CINNAMON ROLLS 

Makes 9 cinnamon rolls.

DOUGH :

·         ¾ c warm milk

·         2 ¼ t active dry yeast

·         ¼ c granulated sugar

·         1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

·         ¼ c butter, melted

·         3 c bread flour, plus more for dusting

·         3/4 t salt

FILLING :

·         2/3 c dark brown sugar

·         1 ½ T ground cinnamon

·         ¼ c butter, softened

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING :

·         4 oz cream cheese, softened

·         3 T butter, softened

·         ¾ c powdered sugar

·         ½ t  vanilla extract

 Instructions 

1. Heat milk in microwave safe bowl on high for 40-45 seconds (110 degrees F).  Sprinkle yeast on top of warm milk, add 1 t of the sugar and let bloom. 

2. In bowl, place flour, rest of the sugar and salt.  Make a well and pour in yeast mixture.  Add egg, egg yolk and melted butter. Mix until well combined.  

3. Knead 8-10 minutes until dough forms. 

4. Transfer dough ball to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. Allow dough to rise until double in size (~ 1 to 1 ½ hours) 

5. Transfer dough to a well-floured surface and roll out into a 14x9 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ¼ inch margin at the far side of the dough.

6. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Press down cinnamon sugar over buttered dough.

7. Tightly roll dough up along the 9-inch side.  

8. Cut into nine 1-inch sections.  

9. Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9x9 inch baking pan or round 9 inch cake pan. Cover and let rise for 30-45 mins.

10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake cinnamon rolls for 20-25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges.  Let cool 5-10 mins before frosting. 

To make the frosting: 

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. 

2. Beat until smooth and fluffy. 

3. Spread over cinnamon rolls and serve immediately. 

 

Great Discount

I work from home on Thursdays.  I decided to pass by Coles on the way home from church because I wanted to get carrots for the beef stew planned for dinner.  

As I entered the grocery, I was thinking of what else to pick up while I was there.  

We had milk in the fridge, so no need to get milk.   

There were only a few apples and oranges in the fruit bowl, so maybe I get some fruits.  

We were down to two pan de sal, so maybe I should get some bread.  

I picked up a bag of mandarins after getting the carrots.  I walked over to the bread aisle then changed my mind about getting bread.  I decided to check if there was bread flour on sale.  Last time I checked, there was a sign for bread flour on sale but it was already sold out.

Over at the bread aisle, I was thrilled to see that they had restocked the flour on sale.  The big 10 kilo bag was on sale at $20 from $27.   

I moved the bag closer to the edge of the display rack then mulled over the purchase.  Should I just ask MacGyver to pass by after office and get the flour with the car?  Or would I be able to manage the 10 kilos all the way home?

I decided to return the mandarins and buy the flour.  I figured I went to the store to get carrots, at the very least, I should go home with carrots.

I proceeded to the self-check out lane with the bag of flour and the carrots.  

When I scanned the flour, the display rang up $27.  

Wait a minute!  I thought this flour was on sale!

I called the Coles lady over and explained that I thought the flour was on sale.  We walked over to the flour aisle and I showed her the tag.  

"Oh, this sticker is out of date," she said after looking at the tag. "Don't worry, you will still get it at discount.  I just have to check something out."

She walked over to the main counter and spoke with her supervisor for a long time.  She came back and apologised for taking so long.  Then she said, "Since there was a price error, you get the flour for free."  

Whoa!  I was only looking to get the 25% discount but 100% discount was infinitely better.

Naturally I thanked her and said I would never say no to free flour.  In my mind, I was so happy that I decided to get the flour myself instead of waiting for MacGyver to get it with a car at a later time, even if it meant carrying the bag all the way home.

Popular Japanese Milk Bread

What kind of bread should I try with my new pans?  MyGirl requested that I make Japanese Milk Bread.  

I checked Google and discovered that the NYT Cooking site had great reviews for their Milk Bread recipe. The second runner up did not even come close.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to decide to stick with the one that New York Times and over 2,200 people have given their thumbs up.

It was a good thing that back in 2021, my high school classmate Eclair introduced me to Bake With Paws and her Yudane vs Tangzhong method because the way the NYT recipe was written, the half cup of water was not in the list of STARTER ingredients.  I had added some water into the pan when I was making it because the roux seemed too thick and did not approximate the tangzhong I had made in the past.  

Admittedly, the additional water was in the main recipe so if I had followed the recipe to the letter, I would have seen that I needed to add water.  It was only when I had finished and re-read the recipe and gone through some of the comments in the site that I realised how glad I had followed my instincts to add water, instead of relying solely on my (poor) speedreading skills.

Check out the NYT Cooking site for the actual recipe.  Below is my rough set of instructions.  The sugar in the dough can be reduced to 2 T if one does not want the bread to be too sweet.

This recipe is definitely a winner.  

JAPANESE MILK BREAD 

STARTER
o    ⅓ c /45 g bread flour
o    ½ c /120 ml whole milk
o    ½ c /120 ml water  

DOUGH
o    2½ c / 325 g bread flour
o    ¼ c / 60 grams sugar
o    2t / 7 g active dry yeast
o    1 t /4 g salt
o    1 egg
o    ½ c / 120 ml warm whole milk (+extra for brushing on the unbaked loaf 
o    ½ c starter 
o    4 T / 60 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces at room temperature (+ extra for greasing bowl and pan)   

 

1.   In small heavy pot, whisk starter ingredients together until smooth.  Simmer over medium low heat, stirring often, until thickened but pourable (~ 10 mins).  Spoon will leave tracks at the bottom of the pot when it is ready.  The starter is good for two loaves.   

2.    In stand mixer bowl, combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt.

3.    Add egg, milk and ½ cup starter. Turn the mixer on low speed and knead for 5 minutes.

4.    Add soft butter and knead another 10-12 minutes until the dough is smooth and springy (will still be tacky).

5.    Lightly butter the inside of a bowl.  Shape dough into a ball and place in prepared bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (~ 40 to 60 mins).

6.   Punch down dough and transfer to work surface.  Cut dough in half. Lightly form each half into a ball, cover again and let rise 15 minutes.

7.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

8.   Using a floured rolling pin, gently roll out one dough ball 12 x 6 inch oval. (Dough should be moist but not sticky.)

9.   Make a 6x6 square by folding the top 3 inches of the oval down and the bottom 3 inches up. Then roll up the dough into a fat log, then place the log in the buttered pan, seam side down and crosswise, nestling it near one end of the pan. Repeat with the other dough ball, placing it near the other end of the pan.

10. Cover and let rest 30 to 40 minutes more, until the risen dough is peeking over the edge of the pan and the dough logs meet in the center. Brush the tops with milk and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven until golden brown and puffed, 35 to 40 minutes.

11. Let bread cool in the pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and let cool at least 1 hour. (Cutting the bread too soon will cause bread to deflate.)