TWD: Bagels

You might not believe me, but these two are actually brothers. You might even say they are twins. They are stemmed from the same dough, but were exposed to two different environments to reach their final stage. Below is their life story.

The first one is named Bagel Fail and the second one is named Bagel. 

Bagel Fail started off with his brother, Bagel, as a large, sticky, but springy dough. Together they grew happily in a nice cozy kitchen. Once they grew too big for their home, they were kicked out, punched in the face, and then...sadly, they were split up from each other.

They missed each other, but they could never be together again...

After being brutally attacked, Bagel Fail was immediately rolled, squished, and transformed into a ring toss. He lay sad and depressed in his new home, a baking sheet with parchment paper that had a plastic lid as a roof. He could feel the slight, chilly breeze coming from his new refrigerated environment. He was given a night's rest, but it looked like it didn't do him any good. All he wanted was more rest but sadly, he didn't get his wish. Early in the morning, while it was still dark and dreary, Bagel Fail was taken from his sad home, and was boiled alive, and then baked. He transformed to the experienced bagel he is now. 

Bagel, on the other hand, was given mercy. He was placed in a tightly sealed, glass container and was given a day's rest. He loved his new home. Every hour, Bagel ate and grew happily. Even after a night's rest, he was strong and creating a beautiful and intricate network. When it was his time to move to his final stage of his life, he was ready. Bagel endured the squishing and squashing with vigor. And considered his boiling and baking, a day at the spa. At the end, even though he might have had a little too much sun tanning, he transformed into the beautiful bagel he is now. 

Two bagels from the same origins, lived two different lives. They missed each other every minute they were apart. If Bagel knew how Bagel Fail turned out, he would've been upset, and then immediately, he would've saw Bagel Fail's potential to move to next level of bagelhood, which was to become Bagel Chips. Because everyone knows Bagel is a half full kind of bagel. 

If you would to experience your own bagel stories, check out Heather's blog, Heather's Bytes, for the recipe. Also, if you're interested in looking at beautiful bagels, check out TWD. They're lovely.

TWD: Nectarine Upside-down Chiffon Cake

Labor Day weekend was pretty slow for me. I was a sloth. I couldn't get myself off the couch. I mean...I did get a lot done, I guess. Well, a lot done for being glued to the couch.

I finally got off my butt and made this yummy cake. I really enjoyed the chiffon cake. I loved the super fluffiness of it and how it tasted like angel food cake but not as sweet.

I'm not sure if I'll make it again. I wasn't super impressed by it. I think it was due to the streusel being in the middle of the fluff. However, I did like the combination of the ginger and cinnamon with the nectarines. If I end up making it again, I would probably change up the layering of the items. Maybe even take the nectarines out and make into an ice cream. MmmMM a sweet caramel topping on a chiffon cake and a scoop of nectarine or peach ice cream with generous amounts of streusel on top. Yum.

Yeah...maybe I'll try that.

For the recipe, check out Marlise' blog, The Double Trouble Kitchen, or Susan's blog, The Little French Bakery. They were this week's hosts!

TWD: Popovers

Last week was Julia Child's 100th birthday. When I heard about it I thought I should probably do something to celebrate but I wasn't sure what. I didn't feel like baking anything. Or cook anything. Hmmm...what to do...

YES!!!! I decided to...EAT.

So, the night before, I decided for her big 1 O O, I would have lunch at her favorite taco place in town, La Super Rica Tacqueria. Yeah, I couldn't wait. I pictured myself sitting there with my taco in hand and raising it up, and saying, "I agree Julia, these are excellent tacos." And then I would picture her wink at me and say, "yes." Because she would totally wink.

Sadly, it never happened. When I went by to check out how long the line was (there's always a line), I saw they were closed. Closed on Wednesdays. Sigh....

So, I decided I would get a crepe at the crepe shop. Yeah! Perfect!
Closed on Wednesdays. Sigh....

I ended up eating something super healthy that didn't contain any butter. Yeah, I know, pretty whack. Wiggity whack.

Luckily, that night, my husband made thon à la provençal from Julia's MAFC cookbook. It totally made my day. It was soooooo good. We used our tomatoes from our garden and fresh tuna from the local fishermen. It was so good, we had it another night with popovers.

I love the fact the popovers are just made up of soft insides and crispy outsides. Though, with the tuna, it was a little too eggy for such a savory dish. I actually enjoyed them more when I had them with strawberries and whipped cream. The eggy flavor seemed mesh well with the sweetness.

I made a smaller batch of popovers for breakfast one morning. Those were really tasty. Especially since I added a cube of Scharfe Maxx in each cup before baking. Each popover cavern was encrusted with soft cheese. Way to start the day.

Though my lunch adventure didn't work out, I still think Julia would be happy to know so many people are enjoying her work. Yeah....And I'll just have to go to Super Rica sometime this year and celebrate her 100th. Woo who!

For the recipe, check out Paula's blog, Vintage Kitchen Notes, or Amy's blog, Bake with Amy. They were this week's hosts!

Note: 1 less egg for savory dishes. Keep the same amount of eggs for sweet dishes. Maybe more salt.

TWD: Berry Galette

Berry Galette. Ohhhhh Berry Galette...how much you sadden me. With your sugared fruit filling and flaky free formed crust, how can you be so.......so uneventful?

I guess it's my fault. I'm not a big fan of baked raspberries. I thought I should add some to see if I still felt that way. Yup. I do. The crust wasn't that tasty either. The flavor just wasn't there and the texture was so-so.

I tried to spruce it up a bit by pan frying it. It definitely heighten the buttery goodness from the crust, but it still wasn't fantastic. Yup. Definitely, not a a keeper for me.

My filling was composed of blueberries and raspberries. This week's hosts both did different combinations with strawberries. Maybe I should've tried strawberries. Hmmm...oh well. Check out Lisa's blog, Tomato Thymes in the Kitchen, and Andrea's blog, The Kitchen Lioness. They are this week's hosts.