A Letter to YOU + A Pina Colada Souffle' Pudding

Dear Readers (or Friends, as I would like to consider you),

I am sorry I dropped the ball on the Blog Every Day in May Challenge.  I was actually having tons of fun with.  It gave me ideas of things to write about that I might never think of, and it pushed me creatively.  Plus, it helped me connect a little more with some of you.  And that was fabulous.

You know how it goes.  Life got busy, I got off track, and well -- here we are, ten days later, just now getting back into the swing of things.  I saw that writing a letter to you was the challenge of the day and I thought, "I am all over that!"

The truth is, I am bummed that missed some of the posts.  Especially the one where I was asked to rant.  I almost never rant publicly (or I do and then promptly delete it) and I was looking forward to being able to do that.  Because -- oh! -- I have some things to rant about.  Maybe I will still have to do that one ;)

But here is the thing -- I made myself a promise awhile back.  This promise went like this: "Tiffany, when your blog and your real life compete for time, your real life will always win.  And there will be no apologies."  And so, here I am today, saying sorry that I dropped the ball on the challenge, but not saying sorry for disappearing.  Because, honestly, that wedding I was in last weekend?  Or the visits I had with long lost friends this past week?  Or exploring a beautiful and new-to-me hiking place on a random Wednesday afternoon?  Or just hanging out with my husband, walking through the local festival, eating beer-battered-deep-fried-mushrooms?  Those moments that make my life beautiful.  And this blog?  It is a place for me to record those moments along with my food journey, not a place to take away time from other things I might want to do.

As we head into the summer months, please know that I will not be around all that much.  I will be too busy enjoying the sunshine and making new memories with loved ones.

At the same time, though, please know that I do love sharing with you -- both having you here and by visiting your pages to see what you are up to.  So, thank you.  Thanks for following along on my journey and thank you for your kind words, you uplifting comments, and your presence in my life.  I truly appreciate it.

With gratitude,
Tiffany

PS -- For Sundays with Joy this past week we made her grapefruit souffle', and it was FANTASTIC.  So much so that my husband asked me to make another one the next day.  I got a little creative with the second one and made my favorite flavor ever, pina-colada.  This may not be the most beautiful dessert I have ever made, but it is -- no joke -- possible my favorite.  If you have never made anything else from me, please let this be the one.

(The recipe looks scary, but after you do it once you will see how EASY it is. Please do not be intimidated!)

PINA-COLADA SOUFFLE’ PUDDING

Recipe inspired by Joy the Baker's Grapefruit Souffle' Pudding, found in the Joy the Baker Cookbook

SERVES 6  •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 55 MINUTES

ingredients

• ¾ cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons sweetened coconut shreds
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 ½ tablespoon coconut cream (from the can)
• 1/3 cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with a rack in the middle and nothing above it.  Bring a teapot of water to boil.  This will be used later to make a water bath.
2. Mix the ¾ cup of sugar, sweetened coconut, and butter in mixing bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 1 minute.  Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating on medium speed until fluffy.  Slowly add the coconut cream.  The egg yolks and coconut cream will need to beat for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the flour and salt and beat until combined.  Alternate between the milk and the juice, and add to the mixer at medium speed until all mixed.  The batter will be soupy.  Place in a large bowl and set aside.
4. Clean the mixing bowl and the paddle very well.  Dry and return to stand mixer.  Add the egg whites and cream of tartar and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 
5. Gently fold the stiff egg whites into the pineapple-coconut mixture, being very careful not to break the egg whites completely.  They should have a bit of fluff to them still.  Carefully pour the batter into the baking dish (medium sized) or ramekins (6). 
6. Place the dish or the ramekins into a larger dish (like a casserole dish).  Carefully pull out the rack in the oven just slightly so that you can place the dishes on there.  Very carefully, add the boiling water from the tea kettle so that it goes half way up the outside dish.  Then, push the rack back into the oven and bake until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  This will be about 37 minutes for a full dish, or about 27 minutes for ramekins.

When it is finished and you pull it out, please be VERY careful not to spill the hot water on you!

The souffle’ can be served warm or at room temperature.  It is best the day it is made.

 COST: $3.76             COST PER SERVING (6): $0.63 

Not Barefoot in the Kitchen -- Banana Pudding Parfaits

I did it!  I am all banana'd out... but I am totally OK with that.  I thought this banana stuff would take two weeks, but four weeks and I am still cooking up bananas!  That's what happens when you have a little of family of two to eat a whole loaf of banana chocolate bread, a whole tub of banana rum ice cream, a whole banana upside down tart, and enjoy a banana panini or two on the side. 

I got home from work yesterday and grabbed the bananas out of the basket when I happened to glance in the mirror above the table... and something made me think back to my college days when a friend said, "You realize that you will have to be frumpy your entire life if you are going to be an elementary school teacher, right?"  Now, I didn't see some super-stylish model staring back at me, but I did see one non-frumpy woman. 

Sure, we have all seen those ladies who roll up to the local elementary school with their homemade dresses from some fabric with little chalkboards and crayons in the print.  Or is that just me that has seen that?  Well, I have.  But I would say that that really is not a requirement for being a teacher.  Trust me.  I personally have three qualifications that must happen with my wardrobe before I walk out the door.  It must be --

Classy
Yes, I am going to be working with children, but I need to look like I care about what I look like, even if the people I spend my time with are not going to notice.  Actually, they do notice.  Eight-year-olds notice if you take time to put together your outfit or not.  And they are quick to comment, either way.  Children are honest like that.

Comfy
With the amount of wandering around the classroom/sitting criss-cross-applesauce (remember "Indian Style"?)/kneeling next to desks to help with math that I do during the day, I must have something that allows me to move accordingly.  Plus, I just might want to join in a game of dodge-ball, and I need to be prepared :) 

Cute
For the first year or two of teaching I allowed the top two qualifications to define my wardrobe.  I looked good, but I didn't always look like me.  Now I make sure whatever I walk out the door wearing is something that I would find myself whether or not I am in my classroom. 

As you can tell, not only do I do budget cooking, but I do budget shopping in all areas.  Pants -- $24.99.  Top -- $11.99.  Sandals (Forever 21) -- $13.00.  Bracelet (which is actually a necklace wrapped around my wrist) -- sitting in my jewelry box since forever.

And yes, those curls are mine.  No scrunching needed ;)

So, what did this non-frumpy teacher do when she got home?  She made banana pudding parfait!

This is my last banana post. 

For now.

What can I say?  We love us some bananas!

From this point on I will go back to the norm -- cooking what I feel like cooking.  But trust me, there will be more banana stuff coming out of my kitchen, and when that happens I will let you know!

Until then, try this.  If you try only one of my recipes I found this year, try THIS ONE!  The homemade pudding is to die for.  I know I say all the time, "This was so good!" (because, honestly, I wouldn't try a recipe that didn't sound like it would be awesome, right?), but trust me on this one -- THIS WAS SO GOOD! ;)



Click button to see more yummy-banana-goodness!



Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 bananas, plus more for garnish
• 12 shortbread or other vanilla-flavored cookies (4 to 5 ounces total), crumbled, plus more for garnish
• Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish

Directions

1. Have ready a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Very gradually (a few tablespoons at a time), whisk in milk, taking care to dissolve cornstarch; whisk in egg yolks.
2. Whisking constantly, cook mixture over medium heat until the first large bubble forms and sputters. Reduce heat to low; whisking constantly, cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, and immediately pour through sieve into bowl. Stir butter and vanilla into hot pudding. Let pudding cool slightly; meanwhile, slice bananas.
3. In six 8-ounce glasses, alternately layer warm pudding with cookies and bananas, ending with pudding and covering bananas as completely as you can to prevent discoloration. Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour, and covered with plastic wrap, up to 2 days.

Cost Per Parfait: $0.95