Refreshing Summer Tea

My mom told me about a tea she saw on "Dr. Oz" that supposedly aids in weight loss. It requires the use of green tea, tangerines, and mint leaves. I'm not really all that big on green tea and tangerines are really hard to find, even at the "Taj Ma-Teeter" on Friendly Ave, so I made the tea with a few substitutions.

Here's the recipe from Dr. Oz:

Dr. Oz's Tangerine Weight-Orade Recipe

For a powerful metabolism-boosting drink, try Dr. Oz’s Tangerine Weight-Orade. 

It contains: green tea, shown to boost metabolism 12% by drinking 

just one cup; tangerine, with a chemical composition that

 increases sensitivity to insulin and stimulates genes that 

help to burn fat; and mint, a calorie-free flavor enhancer.

In a large pitcher, combine:

8 cups of brewed green tea

1 tangerine, sliced

A handful of mint leaves

Stir this delicious concoction up at night so all the flavors fuse together.

Drink 1 pitcher daily for maximum metabolism-boosting results.

Here's what I did:

~2 Family sized naturally decaffeinated black tea bags

~1 navel orange, sliced

~fresh mint leaves, muddled

~water & ice

I don't know much about its weight loss claims, but its a great alternative to water and sweet tea and it is very refreshing and easy to make!

Memorial Day Weekend - The good and the buttery.

So I decided that I wanted to start a blog related to the different foods and things I attempt to bake, cook, grill, whatever - mostly so I can look back and remember things that went well and also things that need a second try. I tend to want to cook or bake when I'm bored and have some time on my hands, so at least this way, I'll save myself some time in remembering recipes and blunders that happen. Obviously, mental notes are only helpful if you remember them.

So I had one major project I wanted to attempt - CUPCAKES. Cupcakes are usually the easiest thing in the world, but I wanted to get fancy. After some major google researching on flavors and all that, I decided that lemon cupcakes with almond buttercream frosting would be delicious so I started making out a grocery list. I checked the pantry and decided the only things I might be short on were eggs, white sugar, lemons, and butter. Well... I got to the store and realized that I should have written down whether I needed regular butter or unsalted butter - I just chanced it and went regular. I got home, pulled out the recipes I was planning to use and then realized that I only had all-purpose flour... not cake flour, so I had to do some re-researching to find a substitute recipe. Needless to say, the cupcake experience was not all I hoped and dreamed, but I still had fun.

Here's what I went with:

CLASSIC VANILLA CUPCAKES 

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 to 1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup cold milk

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bake Time: 18-24 minutes.

Yield: 12 cupcakes.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture; stir in milk.

*I did 1 tsp. vanilla & added fresh lemon juice and rind from 1 lemon. In the future, I would suggest using 2 tsp. lemon extract and lemon rind as the lemon flavoring was barely detectable. 

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Buttercream Icing (I halfed this and had enough for probably 64 cupcakes... I only made 12)

(Following is a recipe that is a Classic Buttercream Recipe. Silvia Weinstock published the recipe in her book: Sweet Celebrations The Art of Decorating Beautiful Cakes by Sylvia Weinstock with Kate Manchester. Simon & Schuster - http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/ButtercreamRecipes.htm)

The author says: "All my cakes are done in buttercream icing. It's a finer finish and tastes better. Once you try this buttercream icing, you will never use a commercial icing again."

Ingredients:

3-1/2 cups white sugar 

13 large egg whites

3 pounds (12 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into half sticks 

6 tablespoons clear vanilla extract *I did 3 T Almond, 3 T Vanilla*

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and 3/4 cup water, mixing with a wooden spoon until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Place the pan on the stove, and use a clean pastry brush to paint the area just above the water line with water. Turn the burner on to medium and heat, watching the sugar mixture to be sure it does not caramelize or burn. Lay a candy thermometer in the pan and simmer the sugar-water mixture without stirring until the thermometer reaches 240 degrees F (soft-ball state); this will take about 5 to 7 minutes.

As the sugar nears the required temperature, place the egg whites in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Using the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at medium speed until they turn from opaque to white and begin to hold soft peaks. They should be at least double in volume in about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not overbeat.

Turn the mixer on high and very carefully and slowly pour the hot sugar mixture in a very thin stream near the edge of the bowl and into the stiffly beaten egg whites. Beat for 20 to 35 minutes on medium to high speed. The egg whites will lose some of their volume and the mixture should resemble a very thick meringue. The outside of the bowl should be moderately warm to touch.

At this point, reduce the speed to medium or low and add the room temperature butter pieces, one at a time. The mixture will break and begin to look like cottage cheese, but don't worry. Keep the mixer running, continue adding butter, and let the mixer whip the buttercream until it begins to get smooth once again; this could take up to 10 minutes. Once the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and beat for five minutes more. The buttercream is now ready to be colored or chilled. (If the buttercream is too soft, chill for 10 minutes and then whip again. If this doesn't work, cream 4 tablespoons of chilled butter, and then gently whip the creamed butter into the buttercream, 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until the buttercream is smooth and there are no lumps.)

Makes about 12 cups, more than enough to ice and decorate most cakes; Leftover buttercream can be frozen for up to three months.

***I was interested in this recipe because it looked complicated and I was willing to try the egg whites. If you're into really fluffy whipped frosting, this may be for you, but I prefer the heavy sugary stuff that crunches in between your teeth, so this wasn't my favorite. ALSO, the regular salted butter was a terrible mistake. Regardless of flavorings and sugar, this tasted like straight up whipped butter. Basically, I just made butter muffins with whipped butter topping... oh well, at least they are pretty!!!! I used a star tip for the icing and covered with yellow sugar sprinkles and lemon zest.

So here's a picture of the butter muffins, I mean Lemon-Almond cupcakes...

Separately, we grilled out on Saturday night and everything was DELICIOUS. We bought some decent sirloins and I seasoned them with olive oil and Montreal Steak seasoning and grilled to medium rare; seasoned some asparagus with olive oil and Cavendar's Greek Seasoning and grilled; sauteed some vidalia onions and mushrooms in olive oil, kosher salt; cracked black and red pepper, and balsamic glaze, and put all of that on top of some ready-made sour cream and chive mashed potatoes. Top that!

Anyways, I think it was a successful weekend of food making... and I learned a lot for next time!