Treats from the Tipsy Turtle

So life has been pretty sucky recently. The effects of staying at home and not having my usual activities to recharge my batteries are taking their toll. I know I am fortunate in so many ways and I continue to feel blessed but the reality is, I'm not in a great mental space. I started this blog to keep my brain busy and occupied but looking for new recipes to try has gotten complicated; I find that I only want to make comfort food and that often results in a lot of carbs and sweets. So, I am revamping things. I will still quest for new things to make but I will also share my tried and true dishes that I often make for my family's meals. Here's one from my pal, Marlyn. We've been friends since the 7th grade and we started our barbershop journey together. We've been in quartets together, many performances and she's been my director twice! My youngest son is named for her husband Tom and when she showed me an ultrasound picture as her way of telling me that she w...

I first made Paul Hollywood's tea cakes for Easter. I loved that the dough was easy to make and wonderful to handle and have been wanting to make it again. The unfortunate thing is the mixed peel ingredient is pretty hard to find in Hawai'i when it's not Christmas. I did have an interesting possible substitute though. They are just as their name indicates; sweet little cubes of apple and cinnamon with a soft chew. The flavor and smell made Chris and I think of Tomoe Ame, those sugary Japanese candies wrapped in edible rice paper. The texture was much softer though. Eric didn't think so. Ah, what does he know. And to make things more interesting, there's also orange... And raspberry! Since I am substituting for mixed peel, I had to use orange. And the apple and cinnamon clearly wanted to be included so I went half and half with the usual measure of sultanas, AKA golden raisins. The jammy bits and golden raisins were added to the nicely risen...

Last week I received some specialty baking items from King Arthur Flour. One is Dutch process cocoa powder and the other is espresso powder. Dutch process cocoa is made from cacao beans that have been washed with potassium carbonate before they are processed. Since the washing removes their acidity, Dutch process will not react with baking soda. That's an important detail in something like a quick bread that relies on the chemical reaction between baking soda and an acid to create the air that will make the bubbles that will make the rise...in the house that Jack built. Wasn't that a children's story? Anyway, it's Monday and I didn't get much sleep last night. To cut to the chase, I decided to make brownies. Since the cocoa and espresso powder came from King Arthur Flour, I chose a recipe from their website. Here's the cast! The cocoa powder is mixed with the eggs, salt, baking powder, vanilla extract and espresso powder. The espresso is optional but...

I swear I didn't name it. My sister had sent me the link after I posted about making falafel. My friend, D, loves hummus but doesn't like it when it's gritty or chalky. This seemed like it would be right up her alley. Today's cast! Once the skins began to loosen, I drained the water and put the beans into a pot on the stove. Over medium heat, I sautéed them with some baking soda. The soda is supposed to make them less gassy. I'll keep you posted on that one. After a few minutes I added the water and brought it up to a boil. There's a whole lot of foam at the beginning. Skim it off and discard it. Let the beans simmer for about 20 minutes or until they can be easily split. Here's a perfectly cooked bean; the skin slides right off of it and it separates easily into two halves. In order for the hummus to be "ethereally smooth," all the skins must be removed. I don't mind doing this (see my post on Falafel) but cooked ...

I'm always looking for ways to make chicken breasts more interesting. They are a big chunk of meat but because they are so lean, they don't do well in the crock pot, my favorite way of cooking large portions of meat. As they insist on drying out, I find that quick baking or frying works best. Today's cast but minus the eggs. I was thinking of doing an egg wash but decided against it. Remember the lemon syrup and goop from the other day? They're going to boost this recipe! I got some avocado oil and butter going in a large skillet. The recipe said to pound the chicken to flatten them but I wasn't in the mood. I butterflied the thicker pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper. I dredged the pieces in flour (seasoned the flour, too!) and put them into the hot oil and butter mixture. The butter had already turned brown but never fear! That makes the sauce even more flavorful. I cooked the chicken for about 4-5 minutes on each side. There ...