For Fans of the Middle Geek

Remember - You knew him when...

In this video you can actually see him.

In these videos, the sound is lots better, but the drummer is mostly hidden.

Where is AbFab going now?

AbFab is off on another adventure leaving Friday night/ Saturday morning. (depending on your opinion of 1:00 am)

Can you guess where she is going?

Some hints:

It will take us two days by van.

The humidity and heat are even worse than St. Louis in July (so I have been told.)

I hope to see a beach at least once.

More hints later.....

What a Great Entrance!

Hi Aunt Sally-

I think this would be a great addition for Rob and Erica's wedding. Don't you think?

Gooey Butter Cookies

Gooey Butter Cake is a St. Louis tradition. The story behind this cake is that a baker was trying to make a cake and mixed up the proportions of sugar and flour. The resulting mistake was so good that people asked for it. Recently Paula Deen has published a recipe causing people not from St. Louis to give her credit for the cake. Now I love Paula Deen, both of her boys and everything she deep fries or butters, BUT she did not invent Gooey Butter Cake.

St. Louis bakers are not content with just making the cake and now make Gooey Butter Cookies. I love these cookies and try hard not to buy them because I will eat them until they are gone. Please understand how honored you all should be are for me to attempt making what, if it is successful, a borderline addictive substance

All of the recipes that I found online started with a cake mix. Seriously that is really cheating. So I found a recipe that claims to be the original St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake recipe and I will attempt to make cookies out of it. (Also I hope to make the cookies Gluten Free, Dairy and Egg Free --- wish me luck!)

This is the recipe I started with....

St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

1 c all-purpose flour

3 tbs sugar

1/3 c butter or margarine

1 1/4 c sugar

3/4 c butter or margarine

1/4 c light corn syrup

1 egg1 c all-purpose flour

2/3 c evaporated milk

powdered sugar; optional

This is the recipe I used (invented/ made up)

Allergen - Free Gooey Butter Cookies

that are just plain delicious

1 1/3 cup rice flour + up to 1/4 cup more

2/3 cup corn starch

1 1/4 cup + 3 T sugar (I was going from the recipe above so it was a weird amount)

1 t. Baking Powder

1 t. salt

1 T. Egg Replacer (I use EnerG brand)

Combine all dry ingredients. (I put mine in a bag so I could make the cookies more quickly later that day.)

In a stand up mixer.

1 cup Dairy Free Margarine

Cream until soft then add

1/4 cup white Corn syrup

Sift in dry ingredients. (I like to sift any flour but I find rice flour has a much better texture when sifted.)

Add 1/4 cup Coconut milk (I used the top part of the can which is mostly cream.)

I tested a couple cookies at 350 for 8-10 minutes. They spread out just a bit too much so I added the 1/4 cup of rice flour and I chilled the batter in the fridge in between batches.

Results:
Was the recipe easy to follow?

It was as easy as any cookie recipe. Making the dry ingredients ahead of time made the mixing quicker.

Did the dish taste good?

It was so VERY VERY good. Oh my!

Would you make it again?
Definitely we will make this again. I think next time I might try a bit less sugar and then roll the cookies in powdered sugar.

Guess what else the Middle Geek did on summer vacation?

Whip it Up 2009 - Chocolate Pudding

What do you do when you are hungry for chocolate pudding and there are no mixes in the house? You turn to Google of course! We scanned through a few recipes and found this one .

It was a recipe for a crowd though and although the Geek household feels more crowded with everyone home on summer vacation, I did not think we needed that much. I cut the recipe down by a third and only tweaked it a little.

Chocolate Pudding for a Geek

1/4 c. cocoa powder

1/2 c. sugar

pinch salt (at least 1/4 teaspoon)

1/6 c. cornstarch (we used the 1/3 cup, guesstimated about half full and then threw in a pinch more.)

2 c. rice milk (we used Trader Joe's brand)

1 tsp vanilla extract (I never measure this I just throw it in.)

a small chunk of Giardhellis unsweetened chocolate (maybe 1/4 ounce)

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a large pot, until blended thoroughly. Heat over medium-high heat until it comes to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate chunk and vanilla. Pour into serving bowls and refrigerate. Makes six small servings.

Results:

Was the recipe easy to follow?

Very easy, the Middle Geek measured most of it.

Did the dish taste good?

Thumbs up for a creamy rich pudding.

Would you make it again?

We may never go back to box mixes again!!

Whip it Up 2009 - Holiday Favorite

This summer I am shopping in a new and different way. I am supporting local harvest by purchasing a share of a farmer's crop.

I have also discovered Angel Food Ministries . This is an awesome way to make your food budget go further. I love their Allergen Free Box. For the first time in a long time, I can go to my freezer for an easy meal of Chicken Nuggets for the little geeks. They are very happy too.

They have several choices of food to purchase and the last few months I have bought the "Latin Flavors" produce. It contains a little different variety each month and has key limes, jalapenos, pineapples, mangos and lots of other stuff.

This month it contained Yucca Root. I have seen these in the grocery store but I had no clue how are what you could use it. So I went (of course) to google.

I found a great possibility at this blog

Cassava Heavy Cake

First I peeled the Yucca root (also know as Cassava and Manioc and probably other names). I was afraid that was going to be difficult but I used a vegetable peeler and it was easy.

Unfortunately the second root was rotten on the inside, so I had to adjust ingredients on the fly (and cross my fingers).

I used my food processor to shred the yucca root. I looks like it made about 1 cup shredded.

1 can coconut milk

1 Tablespoon Vanilla (I LIKE vanilla)

1 Dash cinnamon (I like cinnamon only a little)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix two heaping Tablespoons of Cornstarch with just enough cool water to make a mixture and add to above.

Melt 3 Tablespoons of Margarine (to stay dairy free) in the pan -using the microwave.

Pour batter into the melted margarine.

Bake at 350 for 1 and 1/2 hours.

The result

This cake/ pie was delicious. It has a texture like Pecan Pie or Chess Pie, very smooth and slightly gooey. Fabulous!!

This is also my first entry for Whip It Up 2009