Cookie

• 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour (*I used King Arthur Wheat/Gluten Free Multi-purpose flour)
• 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder (*I made my own baking powder: 1/4tsp baking soda+1/2tsp cream of tarter = 1tsp of baking powder)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 C plus 2 tsp butter, room temperature (*I used Earth Balance Soy Free butter)
• 1 large egg

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar.
2. Beat in the butter and the egg. Continue mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. (I found that while the dough wasn’t sticky enough to roll, I could press it flat with my hands like the recipe said and then use cookie cutters to cut perfect circles. If you just care about the taste, then there is no need for the cookie cutters. Also, remember this is a chance to get creative and use all kinds of cookie cutters.)
4. Bake for 10(if still too soft bake an additional 5) minutes at 375 F. Set on a rack to cool.

Cream

• 1/4 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter (*I used Earth Balance Soy Free butter)
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening (*I used Earth Balance Soy Free butter)
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar (*I made my own powdered sugar)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla.
2. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
3. To make a cookie, pipe teaspoon-sized blobs of cream into the center of a cookie using a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip. (If you don’t have a pastry bag, you could easily just spread the filling with a knife or use a Ziplock with the corner cut off as a pastry bag. I had a pastry bag, but I only had a star tip. The tip doesn’t matter much.)
4. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. (If you do this really fast, it will look like you are spinning records. See above.)
5. Eat the cookies using whatever method you prefer. I like the take apart, lick the cream, then eat the cookie method. Be sure to save some to make oreo cupcakes!

Chicken, Brazilian Black Beans and Penne Pasta

*For the chicken all I did was take all natural chicken breast and cut it into strips and seasoned to taste (salt&pepper, garlic, onions)

Brazilian Black Beans
Ingredients:

1 TBS oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp grated ginger (or minced)
2 cups diced tomatoes (1 can, with juices)
1 TBS tomato paste (dissolved in coconut milk)
1 cup lite coconut milk
4 cups (2 cans) black beans (drained and rinsed)
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:
• Saute the onion and garlic and ginger in the oil.
• Add tomatoes, coconut milk (with dissolved tomato paste) and stir – cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the black beans and crushed red pepper.
• Stir and simmer until heated (about 10 minutes)

Filed under: Cooking Tagged: Brazilian black beans, chicken, dinner, meals, penne pasta, recipes ]]> http://ohhelizabeth.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/brazilian-black-beans/feed/ 0 ohhelizabeth Blackbeanspenne http://ohhelizabeth.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/its-not-a-secret/ http://ohhelizabeth.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/its-not-a-secret/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:45:08 +0000 ♥ Heather ♥ http://ohhelizabeth.wordpress.com/?p=185 ]]> Lately, quite a few people have asked me about what I use for my photography, “I have a Canon 60D and my photos never come out like that?!”. Well, there’s a lot to a photo than just taking it. No photographer (that I know) uses an SOOC(straight out of camera) photo.

I have a Canon Rebel XTi that I have had since 2006. It came with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II Lens that, just a few months ago, I dropped down a flight of stairs onto the back patio (Yes, I very much wanted to cry).  What I am using now until I can afford to buy the two lenses that I am looking at are vintage Pentax lenses from my dad’s old Ricoh camera.  I have a 50mm 1.2 and a 50mm 1.7.

I shoot ALL of my photos in manual mode (M) and as a RAW file. I never never never shoot in JPEG/JPG. EVER.

Raw image files are sometimes called digital negatives, as they fulfill the same role as negatives in film photography: that is, the negative is not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image…The selection of the final choice of image rendering is part of the process of white balancing and color grading.

You can go to the Wikipedia page to read more on the RAW format.

I do all my editing in Adobe Bridge and Adobe PhotoshopCS5 Extended.
Adobe Bridge

Adobe Photoshop CS5

Raw Menu

Just look at all the settings you can mess with.  I believe with a JPG you only get maybe 2 or 3 options.

I messed with the Temperature, Exposure, Recovery (helps with over exposed/white areas) Blacks, Contrast, Vibrance, Saturation, Tone Curve and Noise Reduction (there wasn’t much but I like smooth photos)

The quilt I’m working on is the popular Disappearing Nine Patch. It’s ranked for beginners. Not my first sewing project (I made a pillow a LONG time ago and have made 2 Boppy covers) I’m doing it all by hand. Sewing machines are too much work for me, lol.

Yesterday, I surfing around searching for recipes and came across one from CornFreedom.com for Banana Cupcakes. My son loves bananas and cupcakes so it’s just perfect. I did have to alter the recipe a bit to make it dairy and wheat free. I was so surprised at how GOOD these turned out. Light, fluffy, sweet and most of all FLAVORFUL. They didn’t last but maybe five minutes. My super picky sister even liked them and she doesn’t like anything, lol.

Banana Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (approximately 3 medium sized)
1/4 cup Butter (*I used Earth Balance Soy Free butter)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup flour (*I used King Arthur Wheat/Gluten Free Multi-purpose flour)

Preheat oven to 300F

Cream the butter in a bowl and combine with the bananas. Add the sugar.

Beat the egg in a separate bowl and combine with the banana mixture along with the vanilla.

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Mix well, and then stir into the banana mixture.

Spoon the mixture into paper-lined muffin pans, about 2/3 up in the cup. Bake for about 20 minutes or until an inserted knife or toothpick comes out dry.

Remove from the pans and cool.

Note: The cupcakes can be served once they are cool. To keep them fresh for a few days, refrigerate. For longer storage, freeze.