Now back to today...I really don't mind making mistakes, but don't get me wrong it can be very frustrating. I do crack myself up...maybe my neighbors can hear me through the shared kitchen wall and think I'm crazy. I really wondered if they could smell what was happening tonight...my cat ran under a chair to hide at one point. I burned 2 batches of toffee...see photo top left. That is the batch that I eventually threw away. This photo on the right is from the first time I burnt toffee and that experience is going to be a post all on it's own when I share my Christmas experiments. There is a big difference in the level of burnt-ness...this one on the right has some fancy dark brown swirlies going on and a BUBBLE! It was epic. As you can see in the burnt blob above from tonight the color was an even, consistent, shade of brown (which is typically a good thing). However, I had to turn a fan on in the kitchen and open my sliding glass doors to let fresh air in...my poor kitty.
I got right back on the horse, grabbed another pot and tried again. Not too sure how well the second batch came out though...there is a short window when the mixture's temperature reaches the necessary 300 degrees and comes off the stove top before it gets any hotter. I may have missed the window with the second batch. I poured it out anyway, added the milk chocolate layer and the bacon. I will give it a crack in the morning and see how it goes. Thankfully I have plans to be be with my favorite candy critic...Mel is my ultimate judge for true success or failure. I would have made a third attempt but I ran out of butter. Man that never happens.
I was still antsy after playing with toffee so I decided I would make some baby loaves of banana bread...this is a recipe I grew up eating and when I went home to Boston for Christmas my Mom taught me how to make it. I have my own copy of the recipe now and have successfully made it three times since early January. Tonight...
I had already mashed up the bananas before I was reminded I ran out of butter...no problem, I had some cubes of Earth Balance that were set aside for vegan recipes. Eh, how different can it make the bread taste...my Mom makes hers with margarine and it's delicious. I went on and got all the other ingredients together and noticed I didn't have enough all-purpose flour left...but I did have an unopened sack of whole wheat pastry flour. Again no problem...I continued. When I got to the part where I needed to fold in the flour it seemed like there was more than usual in my measuring cup, but I double-checked and it said one and a half. I kept going noticing my batter wasn't as liquidy...the batter was a different hue of brown, but eh...I went on and filled the pan. I set my timer for 40 minutes and started to clean my kitchen. When I got to the measuring cup that I used for my flour I took a closer look and the container is for measuring up to 2 pints not 2 cups. Whoops! So there is 1 1/2 pints of whole wheat pastry flour in my little banana loaves.
They baked A LOT quicker than the true recipe and they rose! I took a bite of one...they are edible, but dry for sure. They will be eaten, but tomorrow a trip to the grocery store to pick up some butter will
Thanks for reading!
Jeannie aka The Imperfect Baker with pretty awesome bed head.