fail muffins

Once in a while, I screw up a baking/cooking adventure. I know, it doesn't sound possible, right? Ha!

Yesterday, I was the Master of Multitasking in the Kitchen. I prepared ingredients for crock pot tomato soup, potato and veggie and Polish sausage for last night's dinner, and I made a double batch of zucchini bread. No big deal. Right.

Side note: there are no pictures of this exploit. Imagination is more fun, right?

So, as I chopped up the zucchini and doubled all the ingredients for the recipe, which happens to be hubby's favorite summer treat, I somehow managed to completely skip the sugar. I didn't realize this until after I'd baked 18 muffins and a loaf of bread. I cracked open a perfectly golden muffin, only to find out that it tasted...savory? Cardboard-y? Not even like stuffing or a crouton... just plain old bad. I blame it on pregnancy making me forget the essentials in life: Butter and Sugar.

I cried. Like, all-out wailing for about 30 seconds. The rational half of my brain did eventually take over so that I could put on my sunglasses and drive to pick up hubby, but seriously. This was devastating to me at that moment. How do you even forget the sugar in a baked good? Baked=sweet in my house! What was I thinking?

So I dumped about a cup of sugar into the remaining batter (probably too much sugar), and baked the remaining dozen muffins. I called my mom, who recommended that I try to incorporate the mistake muffins into something savory, perhaps as a stuffing or an addition to meatloaf. I texted my good friend, Sarah, who suggested poking holes in the bread and drizzling simple syrup in to make it all better, and slathering honey on the mistake muffins.

After I had recovered enough to face my kitchen full of dishes and fail muffins, this is what I did: I stabbed the loaf of bread all over with a knife (that was fun), and spread some spreadable honey all over it like icing. It melted down into the bread pretty quickly, so I added more and set it aside. Thanks, Sarah, for the good idea.

On to the muffins. I crumbled them all into a bowl, pulled out the Betty Crocker cookbook, and looked up a recipe for bread pudding. I added the requisite eggs, sugar and milk, putting in half a stick of butter to make up for the fact that I don't have any heavy cream to add. I soaked the bread, poured it in a 13x9" pan, and baked it. It now appears to be an acceptable dessert. And I've gone through a dozen eggs at this point.

The loaf of bread is now pretty tasty, though the texture is a bit strange. The sugar-added muffins turned out a bit crunchy because of how much sugar I added - laughable, but delicious, anyway. At least there are a few muffins that hubby can love!

All this to say, mistakes happen. They make me cry. Hubby holds me and lets me get his t-shirt all wet with tears, and tells me he loves me even though I'm not perfect, nay, because I'm not perfect. He's pretty wonderful. And then I'm forced to imagine new possibilities, to try new things, to make cavalier efforts, and to accept failure with sweet, sugary success.

Maybe I'll buy another zucchini. Maybe I'll wait until next year.

A happy story

When a bridal shower was thrown for me at the church where I grew up, my dear hubby was blissfully unaware that men don't usually attend bridal showers. Admittedly, I didn't tell him, because I wanted him there! We both had a great time, and it was clear to everyone that we certainly belong together - we bring out the best in each other, as you can see below!

Here we are, modeling our new "hats" - err - nesting mixing bowls. This great set of three mixing bowls is by Architec, whose slogan is "live smart." Live smart, indeed. I love the design of these mixing bowls. Here's why:

• They come in great, bright colors! Mine are yellow (small), lime green (medium), and aqua-blue (large).
• The sizes are generous. The "small" one is actually big enough for a cake mix or 13"x9" brownie mix.
• They're taller than they are wide, making them great for stirring something splashy like a thin pancake batter. They are also round at the bottom, and oblong at the top - a really neat, unusual design.
• They have a grippy rubber bottom, so you can effectively stir one-handed if needed - thinking ahead to the one-day necessary child-on-my-hip-while-making-dinner thing.
• Genius addition? A pour spout. But what makes these unique is that the opposite side is slightly higher, making a great spot to grip as you pour!
• A bonus for me and my tiny hands and wrists: these are sturdy, thick plastic, but they're not too heavy to pour, even when they're full. Love.

It's not often that I'll commit to hand washing a kitchen product, either, but I've only ever hand washed these - partly because of their height, which is too tall for the top rack of the dishwasher.

So, you can imagine my disappointment when I was washing my yellow bowl and the rubber grippy on the bottom just fell out! Sad day.

Here's where Architec gets my vote: their customer service rocks. I called their 800 number, which is listed on their website. I reached a recording, as expected, and customer service was the second option. I expected to be waiting for minutes with nasty hold music, but instead, I heard a dial tone and someone picked up immediately. She was clearly a native English speaker, and introduced herself right away. She listened carefully to me as I told her how much I like these mixing bowls and how disappointed I was that the yellow one had fallen apart. I asked what she might be able to do for me, fully expecting that she'd offer me some sort of coupon or apology. Instead, I was briefly put on hold, for maybe a minute, total, and she was back, offering to send me a replacement... for free! Wow!

Oh! And there wasn't any hold music at all...such a treat for this music student. 

So, now I'm awaiting my replacement bowl, with a smile on my face and a mission to seek out more Architec products for my kitchen. You should, too!

prototype: stand mixer cover version 1.0

I really would like a fancy-pants mixer, like the KitchenAid Artisan. That's not in the budget. If I had one, I would buy a pretty quilted cover for it, like this one. I have, in fact, created a wish list at Bed Bath & Beyond for that very item. And more. Someday.

However, I do like my vintage Sunbeam stand mixer. And if I cover it, maybe people will think I have a super-nice mixer. I know it doesn't matter. I just care anyway.

Here's version 1.0, made of a vintage sheet that also lives in my house as a bag and an apron.
First, I measured the length of my machine - about 14". It's 4" wide at the top, and 10" wide at the bowl. Side pieces ended up being about 13" tall by about 12" long. I need to add a little more ease for my final cover - probably an extra inch added to every measurement. I used 1/4" seams, and I think I'll stick with that.
I think I'll also add a second layer of fabric and some batting, and do some practice quilting before I put the pieces together. Just vertical lines. Nothing fancy.
For the top, I tapered the piece from 4" wide at the front to a point at the back. It seems to work well, but again, I need slightly more width. Will do that next time. And maybe I'll add some pretty piping.

But for now? My mixer is cute and covered. Win.

happiness is leftovers

Leftovers stored in pretty containers are even happier.

I'm enjoying my new (vintage) Pyrex collection!

thrifting

Thrifting is one of my favorite things. Here are this weekend's successes:
Cleats for the hubby ($5), a new game ($1), four glass-covered Ball jars ($1 for four), a string trimmer (not pictured, but $10), a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law (also not pictured - haha), Pyrex refrigerator dishes ($12 for two!), blue glass vase ($5), and two rhinestone pins ($4).

A closeup of my new refrigerator dishes.
I'm already using the yellow dish to make lime jello today!

the pretty pins! Do you have any ideas for how I might use them? I'm thinking they might make a great decorative clasp on a small purse...