Tuesday, February 7, 2012

One Month In

We are a little over one month into this wonderful thing they call marriage (who are 'they'?)

I'll try to not be boring and only talk about the things I (attempt to) bake, the forever lasting job search, or my husband.

But let's face it, I'm an unemployed housewife who loves her hubby and (wishes she could) bake. So deal.

So what does the first month of marriage look like for a couple of Big 12 grads?
- moving over 2000 miles
- owning a home
- hosting a Super Bowl party for "non" football fans
- giving your husband a rectal suppository...twice a day for 4 days
- exploring (and sometimes failing) at cooking/baking
- endless job searching
- hours of Super Mario Bros. with your best friend

What's in a name?
Our blog title comes from the distance that was between us as we dated.
1521 miles.
One of our best friends, Zak, even wrote a song and named it 1521. You can listen to it once I figure out how to post songs on this thing. In the meantime, you can check out some of his songs here.



Kitchen Adventures
The current thorn in my side is the M&M cookie. Or any cookie for that matter.
1. oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Result: too crunchy... and I mean rock hard

2. M&M cookie
Alteration: broke down and bought shortening (gross) to render the aforementioned crunch problem
Result: too gooey... and I mean warm dough with a browned bottom

3. M&M-Walnut cookie
Alteration: Walnuts added, obviously. Also tried a temperature adjustment-> one batch @ 325 for 15 minutes and one @ 375 for 9 minutes
Result: 375- not bad, still gooey center
325- did not set timer, tried to cut a pineapple, remembered at 30 minutes, thus extra crisp, but surprisingly OK cookie.
COOKIES- still learning...

CUTTING PINEAPPLE- (SORTA) FAIL

On the Jukebox (aka Spotify)
During this post I jammed to the tunes of Drew & Ellie Holcomb of Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors. We played their song "Hung the Moon" at our wedding when we cut the cake. I dig 'em... you should too.


So, that's all folks (for the first post anyway).
Much love from our happy little family.
Love,
Kaleb, Ashley, & Grandpa Ron
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8 comments:

  1. KathleenFebruary 7, 2012 at 4:58 PM

    I can't wait to read about the things you (attempt to) bake, the forever lasting job search, or your husband!!! Also, I want to know about the M&M cookies ;) Where's your cookie sheet placed in the oven? What's the sugar/butter ratio? Love that you tried to cut a pineapple and forgot to take out the cookies in the meantime..

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    Replies
    1. Kaleb and AshleyFebruary 8, 2012 at 7:56 AM

      This was the cookie recipe I used.
      http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/08/worlds-best-m-cookies-recipe.html

      But in the future I would really like to find healthier recipes... I don't mind the sugars, but the butter/shortening bugs me. I have seen that you can substitute coconut oil... but I want to work out some kinks before I get all hippie weird on people.

      Delete
    2. Kaleb and AshleyFebruary 8, 2012 at 8:43 AM

      oh! and i put it on the very middle shelf...

      Delete
  2. SheaFebruary 8, 2012 at 6:20 AM

    Hey Ash! Love to hear that marriage is good :) So cutting pineapples...I learned (in a college class no less) to cut the skin (pokey part) off first and then just cut around the core, we usually have thin long slices. Also I have read that you know when a pineapple is ripe when you can easily pull a leaf out of it (I don't know if thats true?) Hope that helps! Love you guys!

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    Replies
    1. Kaleb and AshleyFebruary 8, 2012 at 7:52 AM

      sweet shea! thanks for the tip! the pineapple had picture instructions, but i think i didn't have a very good knife for it... and i think your way sound easier!!

      Delete
  3. NikoleFebruary 10, 2012 at 9:15 AM

    Hang in there, Ashley! I didn't know anything about cooking or baking before I got married, and I had some pretty epic fails in the kitchen--but that is how you learn! There is light at the end of the tunnel, my friend! Keep practicing and don't give up! I can also try to help if you have any specific baking questions.

    As to your m&m cookies--I don't know about your technique for mixing the cookies (creaming the butter and sugar? Keeping the dough cold?) but I did notice from the picture that your cookie sheet seemed to have kind of a dark finish and it definitely had sides. Cookies do best on light-colored, sideless cookie sheets--dark-colored pans absorb too much heat, and the sides will actually reflect heat back onto the cookies and overbake them! A quick fix is to actually turn the cookie sheet over and put the cookies on the bottom so they don't get the residual heat from the sides (although this doesn't fix the color issue)...

    Here is a link to an article on drop cookies by a lady I really like: http://baking911.com/learn/baked-goods/cookies/types/drop/chocolate-chip She is focused on talking about chocolate chip cookies but this woman is a baking master. She has tons of answers to common baking problems and mistakes and explains it all really clearly. Some of her stuff on her website you have to pay for, but there is a lot of free info too.

    Anyway, sorry so long--take care!

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    Replies
    1. Kaleb and AshleyFebruary 10, 2012 at 9:27 AM

      "A quick fix is to actually turn the cookie sheet over and put the cookies on the bottom so they don't get the residual heat from the sides" <-- i love stuff like this...

      thanks for the tip!! :)
      Baking is funny, we still eat it even if i don't succeed...

      what i really want to do is make it healthier. I'm having a hard time being OK with some of these ingredients... have you ever used oils to substitute for shortening/butter? i have read about vegetable oil, coconut oil, and even applesauce!

      Delete
  4. Kaleb and AshleyFebruary 10, 2012 at 9:25 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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