Domestic

[rowyn]

Last night I felt very domestic. I spent most of the evening cleaning, and did a decent-ish job on the living room and the bedroom. Usually I start with the kitchen, work my way through the living room, then on to the bedroom, by which time I'm too sick of cleaning even to consider tackling the perpetually revolting den. I skipped the kitchen this time, partly because it's in better shape than the rest of the apartment, and partly because Lut's more likely to clean the kitchen than any other room. (Those two facts are not unrelated.)

Then, once I finished with the bedroom, I made brownies for the "food day" today. I need to start making sugar cookies instead: two other people brought in brownies and one other brought a chocolate cake. We've also got two sets of chocolate chip cookies.

I don't like the brownie recipe I used, either. Anyone got any favorite dessert recipes to share? The trouble with making something more complicated is that I like to keep the ingredients for everything I make on hand, and in a form that won't spoil. Eggs are a problem. Do eggs come powdered? Eggbeaters last a while as long as you don't open the container, but I'm not likely to use the whole carton in one week. I couldn't make sugar cookies because I'd've had to go to the store for cream cheese. That's to make the kind of sugar cookies I like, anyway.

Probably didn't help that I overbaked the brownies, either, but they came out edible. Not that anyone's going to eat them, anyway, with all the other food to choose from.

By the time I was done baking it was about bedtime. I puttered around on the computer a little, looking at emails on the "Trust Me" campaign. Gen sent in her character sheet: my first PC! Whoo! But brennabat is going to be moving again and will be offline for around a week at some random point in the near future. Bleah.

I kept waking up early this morning, from various uninteresting dreams, including one where I thought Lut was giving me a ride to work (this was very disorienting when I finally woke up for real, as I'd dreamed I was running late, and here we both are still in bed -- oh, but wait, I've got another hour left after all). And another that involved a former co-worker I'm fond of, one who retired years ago, before Baby Bank became Toddler. Something about her and this new guy that didn't like her, thought she was making me unproductive or something. I didn't like him. And other odd bits. I remember lying half-awake and half-dreaming, being annoyed at something trivial that had been said to me in conversation several days prior. Strange morning.

I was still tired when I got up. I'm still tired now, for that matter. I've had tons of food, junk and otherwise, to eat today, and lots of Diet Coke, but I'm not pepping up at all. No sugar rush for me. Sugar crash, maybe. I can't remember if I took a vitamin today or not.

I really want to go home and go back to bed. I should do some writing tonight. Mother, if I clean the den, may I be let off from writing? How about going to the grocery store -- do I still have to do that?

I really am tired. Sometimes I miss being able to ask someone else for permission not to do things. It was a lot easier to talk my mother into thinking I was sick and shouldn't have to go to school than it ever has been to convince myself.

Comments

[minor-architect.livejournal.com]

Hey, nothing wrong with being domestic every now and then. Our places gotta get cleaned sometimes, or we'd be eaten by the clutter. It does tend to animate itself if it lies around long enough. ;-)

Speaking of favorite desserts, I have two: Ginger-Peach Crunch Pie and Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake. Both very yummy, both very easy to make. The second dessert is prolly simpler than the first, since you don't have to hunt up fresh peaches and crystalized ginger for it. You want the recipes?

As for powdered eggs, I know there are powdered egg whites on the market, but I haven't seen any powdered whole eggs. Some of the fresh store-brand egg white products also come in 2 egg serving cups (three to a pack). So you could get those, keep one in the fridge for baking or omelets or whatever, and keep the rest in the freezer, to be thawed as needed.

[rowyn]

Could I fake the first with canned peaches? :) It sounds yummy!

Good idea on the packaged eggs, too -- I think I saw some of those little packs the last time I went shopping, but I didn't give it any thought at the time.

[minor-architect.livejournal.com]

Could I fake the first with canned peaches?

You can, but I think fresh peaches make it taste the best. (Of course, peaches are plentiful where I live. In the Carolinas, peaches in the summertime are like coals in Newcastle! ;-) So I think the 6-7 medium-sized peaches in the recipe equates to 3 or 4 cans of sliced peaches, drained of their juice.

Here ya go:

Ginger-Peach Crunch Pie

6 or 7 medium-sized peaches, peeled and sliced
¼ cup crystallized ginger, chopped
Sugar to taste
1 box of Jiffy yellow cake mix (any other plain yellow cake mix can be used; I like the Jiffy brand because 1 box is exactly what you need for 1 pie)
¼ cup brown sugar
½ stick of butter, melted

Grease a 9" pie plate. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Mix the peach slices with the ginger and pour into the pie plate. Sprinkle the sugar over the peach and ginger mixture. (Use less sugar if you want a tart pie, or more sugar if you want a sweet pie.) Spread the cake mix over the top of the peach and ginger mixture, then spread the brown sugar on top of the cake mix. Drizzle the melted butter over the pie. (It helps if you poke a few small holes into the top of the pie before adding the butter, so that the excess will seep into the pie and not run over the sides of the plate.)

Bake for two hours (yes, this is a long time, but it will allow the peach and ginger flavors to blend beautifully). Serve warm with your favorite ice cream!

[rowyn]

Mmmmm. Sounds nummy. Would it work in a cake pan, do you think? I don't own a pie plate. ;)

[minor-architect.livejournal.com]

Hmm. If the cake pan was wide enough, and fairly shallow, it might work. Of course, crockery and glass products are better for making crustless fruit pies, since the fruit won't burn as easily in those types of bakeware. If you do use a shallow metal cake pan for this recipe, just be sure to check it every so often.

Let me know how it goes! :-)

[rowyn]

Or, um, I could just get a glass pie plate. Wouldn't kill me, I'm sure. ;) I'll let you know if/when I take the time to try it! I'll have to find crystallized ginger first, but I don't think that'll be too hard.

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

The worst brownie is still better than the best crabcake :)

[rowyn]

Actually ...

I like crabcakes.

No accounting for taste, I know. :)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

We have no problems using up eggs-- they seem to figure into a lot of our cooking at home. I suspect this would cause Gen some problems if she ever came over to eat. I'd have to make sure to choose eggless recipes.

Ew, dreams about work... Work should stay at work!

[gen.livejournal.com]

I can have eggs in moderation. Three whole ones might give me problems though. But I can also take acidopholis beforehand and it won't be as much of a problem.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Okay, no need to worry then. The only thing we cook that uses a lot of eggs would be some kind of steamed salted egg whipped up with hamburger and veggies mixed in, which would be served on rice. It may sound odd but it's a good one-pot meal.

[rowyn]

When I used to make pancakes on a regular basis, I'd go through them at a good clip, too. But I haven't been doing much cooking lately, and the last few times I've bought cartons, I've ended up throwing most of them away.