Baking, Working and Tying the Knot

I haven't updated in a long time and a lot has happened.

Let's start with baking. Last time I posted about cookies I was coming to the conclusion that everyone has their own idea of a perfect chocolate chip cookie. Some like them thin and crispy, some like thick and chewy and others puffy and cakey. So I have been researching and baking... a lot. And there are a few things that everyone needs to know that will make their cookies, whatever the style, better than the others.




Tip #1: Use real ingredients. Cookies are not diet food. And although I can and have tried healthy versions of a lot of things that are not diet food, it just isn't worth it with cookies. Use real, unsalted butter. Fresh eggs. Real vanilla. This is the only way.

Tip #2: Use high quality ingredients. Sure cookies made with cheap ingredients taste good, because the chocolate chip cookie is pretty much tasty in any form. But to make the cookie truly great and over the top use high quality chocolate, european butter, good flour, good sugar. It gets expensive. Trust me I know.

Tip #3: Let the dough rest. Not just overnight. But for a good 48 hours at least. 72 hours is best. I know this is difficult to do. Patience is a virtue right? With cookies it really is. I tried this not too long ago and right out of the oven I really didn't see a difference and I was a little disappointed. But once the cookies cooled a little I got it. It gives them a more complex flavor. You will see.

Tip #4: Make large cookies. Use at least a 1/4 of a cup, but preferably 1/3 cup of dough. This allows the cookies to cook more evenly. Plus nobody wants a bite size chocolate chip cookie. I know I don't.

Tip #5: Double the vanilla. I sometimes even triple it. 1 tsp is never enough.

In regards to cookie preferences, here are a few other tips.

If you like texture: Add toasted nuts and ground up oatmeal. My aunt Doreen turned me on to the oatmeal. You put in a blender and grind it into a powder. I have played around with different amounts. I like a lot because I am a texture-aholic. But this gives the cookies lots of chew and texture and with the nuts, heaven.

If you like a nuttier, richer flavor: Brown the butter and use dark brown sugar.

If you like cakey cookies: Double the baking powder and substitute 1/2 of the flour for cake flour. However, cake flour weighs less than all purpose flour. So you have to add 2 tbsp of cake flour for every 1 cup of all purpose you substitute. (1 cup all purpose flour = 1 cup + 2 tbsp cake flour)

If you like flat cookies: Let the dough come to room temperature before baking.

If you like chewy cookies: Increase the brown to white sugar ratio to at least 1/2 brown to 1/2 white

If you like crispy cookies: Make sure you bake for the full time and that the white sugar ratio is more than brown sugar.

Happy Baking!



Now onto the job situation. I have been endlessly looking for work. Sadly the music therapy market is not great right now. Funds are being cut in a lot of facilities and guess what gets cut first... Awesome.

I interviewed for 2 jobs. 1 at a school district where I was up against 100 other applicants. Bet you can guess I didn't get that job :) The other was for a neuro rehab hospital for a temporary position replacing a recreation therapist. They ended up hiring a rec therapist, BUT they have asked me to come in a do a few contract hours.

So after these disappointments I decided I needed to break out my marketing skills. Thankfully the amazing Alicia Clair (professor of music therapy at KU) had us learn how to market ourselves and music therapy. I kinda hated it at the time, but it has been so helpful. I put together some marketing packages and started sending them out to facilities that do not currently have music therapists. This process has definitely been a learning experience. I have found out that even if you clearly explain music therapy and provide tons of information, you will still get phone calls saying "We would like to schedule you for a PERFORMANCE." And I just have to keep telling myself, "Don't get annoyed, just educate. That is all you can do."

But to wrap this rambling up, I have a few contracts set up and I was just offered a pretty large one! BUT the best news is that on Monday I am going to a skilled nursing facility to speak to their administrator about starting a full program at their facility! I am a little anxious about that, but if all else fails I will have enough contracts to get me by. Which means, in just a few short weeks I will be a working Music Therapist!!!



Tying the Knot
As most of you probably know, Chris and I are going to tie the knot! We have not set a for sure date yet, but we are pretty sure it will be in September 2011. We will keep everyone updated as we know more for sure information. We are very happy and excited for this new chapter in our lives.

New Experiences

I recently made a personal goal for myself that each week I am going to do something that I have never done before. It doesn't matter what it is really. Big or small. I just want to have a new experience each week. It is so easy to get caught up in the comfortable monotony of things that are familiar and I don't want to do that. This was my first week since I made this decision and I did not 1 but 3 things that I have never done before. Busy week.

New Experience #1: Presenting at a Conference
On Friday, my supervisor and I gave a music therapy presentation at a recreation therapy symposium. This happened to be my mid-term project. I put together the presentation and the handouts and my supervisor and I presented it together. The conference was small and pretty laid back but it was still a first and a pretty big accomplishment I think. The presentation went really well and I got a lot of positive feedback.


New Experience #2: Eeyore"s Birthday Party
As I'm sure many of you know Austin has a motto that you see on bumper stickers, t-shirts and signs all over the city: "Keep Austin Weird." Well, a yearly tradition celebrating the Winnie the Pooh character Eeyore's Birthday is clearly an example of this. Apparently there is a story in Winnie the Pooh when Eeyore thinks everyone has forgotten his birthday however they throw him a surprise birthday party. This huge celebration has been a tradition since the 60's and involves a lot of... let's just say weirdness for lack of a better word.








New Experience #3: Kayaking
One of the coolest things about Austin is that there are a lot of outdoorsy things you can do right in the middle of the city. This morning my aunt and I got up early and rented Kayaks. The spring and river that you can go on is completely calm, it's not like white water rafting or anything, but still pretty cool. You can go right by downtown. Then we went and had bloody marys after kayaking. Great Sunday morning.

Faux Pho

(This post is overdue, thus two posts in one day)

I have been really in the mood to cook lately. I'm thinking that it may have to do with me feeling stressed about the unknown of where I will be when my internship ends. There is something about chopping, stirring and creating something delicious that is so therapeutic.

One thing that I have been thinking about learning how to make is Pho Vietnamese noodle soup. It is so comforting and delicious. So I've been reading about it and boy is it a process. I sort of expected so. But when I say that it is a process, I mean an all day over the stove type thing. That kind of cooking is not so therapeutic to me, so I figured out a way to make a really good faux version. The other night I tried it out and it was a success!!



Kristin's Vietnamese Meal: Spring Rolls w/Peanut Sauce and Faux Pho

Peanut Sauce
1/3 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Chili Oil

Combine in a sauce pan, heat until simmering. Make a slurry (flour and water mixture) and add a tsp at a time until the desired thickness.

For Broth
32 oz Beef Broth
1 package Pho Spices
1 White or Yellow Onion
3'' Piece of Ginger

For authentic pho, leg and knuckle bones are boiled to make a homemade broth. I decided to use beef broth for the closest tasting fake version. Chicken or vegetable stock would be alright as well. There are also a number of spices that you need to boil in the broth. Luckily there is an awesome asian market near by and they sell these spice packets with everything you need. I assume that most asian markets have something similar. This makes things a lot cheaper so you don't have to buy everything separate.



Pictured you can see that the spice packs come with cinnamon, cardamon, star anise, coriander, cloves, fennel and a mesh bag to put the spices in.

Pour spice packet in a dry pan and slightly toast over low heat to bring out their aroma. Once cooled put into the spice bag. Slice ginger and onion in half and put under the broiler for 5-7 minutes until charred. Put all ingredients in a large stock pot. Simmer for 30 minutes. Strain broth.



For Soup
8 oz. linguine-style rice noodles
8 oz. medium-soft tofu, cut into small cubes or thin slices

Cook noodles according to package instructions. Once cooled rinse them under cold water and divide between 4 bowls.

For Table Salad
Fresh Cilantro, Basil and/or Mint
Bean Sprouts
Jalapeno Slices
Lime Wedges
Hoisin Sauce
Sriracha Sauce

Arrange table salad ingredients on a large platter and set in the middle of the table along with sauces.



To serve, top the noodles with tofu. Ladle the bubbling broth into the bowls. Season your bowl to your liking with the table salad and sauces.

Kelsey's Coconut Mocha Blended Coffee

Blended coffee drinks are one of my major weaknesses. There are two Starbucks within walking distance from my work and some days I am very tempted to go get a sugary, caffeine fix that is too much money and too many calories. However, my awesome sister taught me how to make blended coffee drinks that taste better than Starbucks and are much better for you. This drink is so delicious and I take it to work in the morning when I know it is going to be "one of those days."

Kelsey's Coconut Mocha (slightly modified)
1 Cup Almond Milk
2 Tbsp Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup
1/4 Tsp Coconut Extract
1 Tsp Instant Coffee
1 Tbsp Splenda
1 Cup Ice


Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Cal: 65; Fat: 0... AMAZING

In Search of the ULTIMATE CC Cookie

So I haven't done very many updates about work lately. Honestly, it's because I'm in that mid-internship funk and I am more than ready to be done. It's not that I don't think there is still more to learn. I learn something new everyday. But 5 1/2 years of school and a 6 month internship seems like forever!!

And you know actually my beliefs about music therapy have changed a lot. It was sort of banged into our heads in school that Music-As-Therapy (the music experience as the main therapeutic aspect) was pretty much the only way to go as a music therapist and Music-In-Therapy (with more talking and processing of the music experience) should be rarely if not ever used. I understand the reasoning behind this. We want to be a credible profession so if we use only Music-As-Therapy we are doing something no other professional could do and also we can get more concrete data from our patients. But in a psychiatric setting this really doesn't make much sense, because outcomes are not so tangible. Patients need understanding of their disease, understanding of healthy coping skills and wellness skills and this cannot really totally be achieved with just Music-As-Therapy. I struggled with this in the beginning but I have come to realize that in this setting I have to change my thinking. The music interventions in themselves are therapeutic with the patients, but in this setting I have come to realize that if I do not process what we just did, draw parallels to life, discuss, and use other therapeutic techniques then I am not being the best therapist I can be.

Anyway, I'm rambling. On to the subject of cookies.


I have recently started a quest to find the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe. Of all things baked, chocolate chip cookies are probably my favorite. So I have been reading recipe after recipe of those that claim to be the best. One thing I am realizing is that most are really not that different. They all pretty much start out with the same base recipe and then proportions are changed a little or unique techniques such as browning the butter, shredding the butter or adding yeast are used giving each person their claim to the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. And you know where that base recipe comes from?... Nestle Toll House.
I think that Nestle Toll House cookies were actually the first thing I baked by myself. I was in my first apartment and I think I thought that baking was a grown up thing to do so I got a package of chocolate chips and followed the recipe on the back. The recipe is darn good too. I have used it many times.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. .
This recipe makes a crispy cookie on the outside and a little chewy on the inside. It stays a little flatter than I like but I have found that if you chill the dough and cook them on foil the cookies stay a bit thicker.

This week I tried two different cc cookie recipes that claimed to be the best. The first batch I took to work and the second are in the oven at the moment.

Attempt #1: cookies that are slightly thick and chewy. A few too many chocolate chips for me and not really anything special. I made a change of using browned butter instead of softened. This added a slightly caramel flavor which was good. Original recipe from Debbie Borsick on allrecipes.com. As you can see, the recipe is exactly the same with addition of vanilla pudding mix. Overall I thought that Nestle's were just as good.




Attempt #2: cookies in the recipe were advertised as thick and chewy. They did turn out chewy but not so much thick. I did think that the flavor was better than the first but not extraoridinarily. The original recipe calls for European butter and you are supposed to shred it instead of letting it soften. I did shred it, but I did not splurge on the European butter. Maybe this is what makes it so over the top because as you can see, this recipe is also VERY similar to Nestle's. I made sure to weigh the flour because 3 cups sounded like a lot and doubled the vanilla to give it more flavor. The dough was awesome before baked, but after cooking they were good but nothing really special. Recipe is from VanillaSugar food blog



So the quest continues. All 3 recipes are good, really good. But I am still holding onto hope that their is something better. More over the top. Maybe I will try the 2nd attempt again with European butter. Maybe I will try to find a recipe that is more far away from the original of Toll House. But I think this may be a long journey of trial, error and probably too many cookies than I need to be tasting.

Lawrence Cravings and Suga' Pies

THE CRAVINGS
Since moving away from Lawrence I have missed some of the beloved town's staple restaurants. The two most missed being Pizza Shuttle and Free State Brewery. Pizza shuttle has held a special place in my heart for late night greasy food cravings when we've probably had a little too much to drink. What could be better than their hot perfectly baked pizza delivered to your door at 2 am? Free State Brewery also has a special place in my heart mostly for their amazing house made beer but also for their Cheddar Ale Soup! On rainy evenings, such as this one, I day dream about a comforting bowl of that soup.

All of this reminiscing about my beloved college town and the restaurants that are so far away could be somewhat depressing. HOWEVER I have had a chance to satisfy BOTH of these cravings in the last week. Both were indulgent, but every once in a while you need it. It all started last weekend when Chris and I met in Oklahoma City. This is the halfway point between Austin and Lawrence so the two of us decided to take a weekend trip. We both got in late Friday night and immediately went looking for a late night eatery (neither of us had eaten dinner.) As we drove around trying to find something better than McDonald's, a shiny sign caught Chris's eye... ... PIZZA SHUTTLE!!!

We were both a little confused. Isn't pizza shuttle a Lawrence and Manhattan original? How could this be? But honestly, I really didn't care so much about how or why there was a Pizza Shuttle in OKC, I cared only about devouring that delicious pizza that I crave so often. We stopped, ordered our pizzas and questioned the workers a bit about if they were related to the one in Kansas. Come to find out the Pizza Shuttle in Norman, OK is actually the original.This made me a bit sad because I always thought Lawrence had something truly unique and original. The person who opened the ones in Kansas started at the in Norman and then modeled his off of their business. The two are not affiliated with each other. But the good news... Pizza Shuttle in Kansas is far superior to that of it's original. What I had surely satisfied my craving, but the Lawrence folks sure do it better!


Now on to Free State. Chris made me aware a few days ago of an article posted in the Lawrence journal world giving the recipe to their infamous Cheddar Ale Soup. I instantly knew exactly what I was going to be making for our upcoming potluck at work. After reading the recipe I was not surprised as to why the soup is so amazing. It contains all things that are bad for you but taste sooo good. Butter, Cream Cheese, Cheddar, Heavy Cream, Beer... need I say more? Yes, I should give you the recipe.

Free State Brewing Company Cheddar Ale Soup
3 tablespoons salted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup minced yellow onion
1/4 cup small diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup small diced green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Free State Ad Astra ale (I used New Castle, because sadly you can only get Free State beer in Lawrence)
3 ounces cream cheese
3 cups cream
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Fresh parsley and thyme to taste
6 ounces grated Alma white or yellow cheddar cheese

In 1 tablespoon butter, cook onion, peppers and garlic until onion is transparent. Add remaining butter and flour, stir well and cook mixture on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add beer in small increments, mixing smooth after each addition. Cut cream cheese into smaller chunks and add to mixture. Mash and stir cream cheese until it is completely melted into mixture. Gradually add cream to mixture, mixing smooth after each addition. You may want to use a whisk at this point. Add seasonings, stir and heat to 160 degrees, being careful not to heat beyond this temperature. Add cheese in three increments stirring smooth with a whisk after each addition. If cheese is not melting after 30 seconds, check temperature and add heat if necessary. If soup is thin, add more cheese. If soup is thick, add milk. Serves 6-8.

Needless to say, everyone at work loved it and there was not a drop left over. Are you really surprised? I'm not. And my craving is satisfied for the time being.



THE PIE
Last, but certainly not least I want to talk about my lovely sister for a moment. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting her in LA and we had a really great time. During the trip we spent a lot of time talking about our love for food and cooking and baking and we fantasized about opening restaurants or catering companies or baking businesses. Well for her, this dream has come true and I couldn't be happier for her. In the course of 2 weeks she has come up with a business idea, put it into action and gained a ton of support!

Her business: SUGA' PIES She has taken what she learned from our grandmother and her love for baking and turned it into a homemade pie business complete with to your door delivery and unique versions of pie called Lolli-pies.
Congratulations Kelsey on following your dream and sharing the love through pie!

To know more about SUGA' PIES visit www.sugapies.com and check out the article about her on an awesome LA food blog www.fdinla.blogspot.com

Easter Carrot Cookies with Orange Glaze

If you are from the midwest you are probably very familiar with Carrot cookies with Orange glaze. If you are not, you probably have never heard of them but you definitely need to try them! Some form of this recipe has always been around my family and friend's holiday parties. And it seems that carrot cookies are fitting for the Easter holiday, so I made some for work and my family with colored frosting to make them more festive. This time I made them vegan because I took them to work and I want everyone to be able to enjoy them. You can easily change up the recipe to use eggs and butter if you like. Enjoy!

Easter Carrot Cookies with Orange Glaze

1 Cup Vegetable Shortening

2 Tbsp Water (These two ingredients can be substituted with 1 cup Butter)

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 Applesauce (can be substituted for 1 egg)

3 Tbsp Orange Juice

1 Tbsp Orange Zest

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

3/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Cup Shredded Carrots

Orange Glaze

2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 Tbsp Orange Zest

2 to 3 Tbsp Orange Juice

Heat oven to 350F. Combine shortening, water, sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add applesauce, orange juice and orange zest. Continue beating until well combined. In small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in small batches to large bowl until well mixed. Stir in carrots.

Use a melon baller or teaspoon and drop dough rounded onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely.

Combine powdered sugar and orange zest in small bowl. Beat at low speed adding enough orange juice for desired consistency. Frost cooled cookies. If desired, make glaze in smaller batches and add 2 drops of food coloring for make pastel colored gaze for Easter!