One Handed Cooking
I haven't been doing too much cooking this summer after breaking my wrist in July. I was wearing a contraption called a wristjack all summer.
Right before I got my device off I did some cooking for a friend's birthday party. It was a Hawaiian themed party and I wanted to see how gumpaste flowers would turn out. I consulted a baking 911 website. There was no way I could mix any from scratch and Confectionately Yours had Bakels gumpaste available Wire and the gumpaste flower tools also seemed like necessary purchases. I used paste food colors and mixed some green and some dark pink dough. It was like playing with play dough. My theory was that it was good therapy for my almost healed hand. Thankfully I was able to locate my pasta maker. Using a heavy marble rolling pin would have been dangerous with one hand. I might have wound up with a broken toe!
The pasta maker rolled out the dough perfectly after it had been sprinkled with a little cornstarch. I 
was experimenting so I wasn't at all sure how the flowers would turn out. I cut circles and then cut them in half for the plumeria petals. The tips of each petal were cut to make them look more realistic. Then 5 petals were put put together and squeezed at the bottom. The tool called the umbrella tool helped make the centers look pretty good. The petals were a little floppy so I had to prop them in tiny cookie cutters to dry. I free handed some leaves and got the bright idea of cutting the edges with some (brand new-never used) zig zag scrapbooking scissors. That worked great. Freehanding the edges of the hibiscus leaves worked fine. From a whole circle I cut 5 leaves, leaving them attached at the middle. I had molded some sort of a stamen for the hibiscus earlier. If I'd had two hands I might have tried to make them look more realistic, but they looked like the ones on my Hawaii towel. Good enough! I squished everything around these stamens. Bigger flowers were floppier flowers and I was fresh out of tiny cookie cutters, so I used quick release foil and molded it around the flower.
was experimenting so I wasn't at all sure how the flowers would turn out. I cut circles and then cut them in half for the plumeria petals. The tips of each petal were cut to make them look more realistic. Then 5 petals were put put together and squeezed at the bottom. The tool called the umbrella tool helped make the centers look pretty good. The petals were a little floppy so I had to prop them in tiny cookie cutters to dry. I free handed some leaves and got the bright idea of cutting the edges with some (brand new-never used) zig zag scrapbooking scissors. That worked great. Freehanding the edges of the hibiscus leaves worked fine. From a whole circle I cut 5 leaves, leaving them attached at the middle. I had molded some sort of a stamen for the hibiscus earlier. If I'd had two hands I might have tried to make them look more realistic, but they looked like the ones on my Hawaii towel. Good enough! I squished everything around these stamens. Bigger flowers were floppier flowers and I was fresh out of tiny cookie cutters, so I used quick release foil and molded it around the flower.OK, one day later and the flowers really weren't drying very hard. Again, experimenting, I used my toaster oven at 150 for abount 20 minutes. 200 toasted the white flowers a bit. The hibiscus stamens flopped in the oven so I propped them up with more foil. Everthing came out nicely and looked good after I added some yellow to the centers of the plumeria, painted the stamen of the hibiscus yellow and added some red to the middle. Vodka and gel color worked great. Gumpaste holds up on fondant but melts into wet frosting. Adding the flowers to the cheesecakes right before serving would be recommended.
The only other thing I cooked this summer was this coffee cake. Pillsbury is one of my favorites and I've wanted to try this for years. It was a bake-off winner back in 1991.
Blueberry-Poppy Seed Coffee Cake
2/3 cup sugar1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 egg
1 1/2 cups Pillsbury BEST(R) All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
2 tablespoons poppy seed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed, drained on paper towels
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons Pillsbury BEST(R) All Purpose or Unbleached Flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk, or as needed
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour bottom and sides of 9 or 10-inch springform pan. In large bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar and margarine; beat until light and fluffy. Add lemon peel and egg; beat 2 minutes at medium speed.
Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, poppy seed, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add to margarine mixture alternately with sour cream, beating until well combined. Spread batter over bottom and 1 inch up sides of greased and floured pan, making sure batter on sides is 1/4 inch thick.
In another medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients; mix well. Spoon over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 55 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 10 minutes; remove sides of pan.
In small bowl, blend powdered sugar and enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm cake. Serve warm or cool.
Yield: 8 servings
Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, poppy seed, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add to margarine mixture alternately with sour cream, beating until well combined. Spread batter over bottom and 1 inch up sides of greased and floured pan, making sure batter on sides is 1/4 inch thick.
In another medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients; mix well. Spoon over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 55 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool 10 minutes; remove sides of pan.
In small bowl, blend powdered sugar and enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm cake. Serve warm or cool.
Yield: 8 servings
