Croissants My Husband Makes

Yeah, I'm still alive. Just going through, you know, LIFE, cuz it happens. Thanks to everyone who checked up on me. To make a long story short, what was supposed to be a 30-mile move got delayed several weeks. But every thing is fine now. Most of the boxes are unpacked, the family is slowly getting back to our normal routine and finally picking up the camera.

For now, I give you my husband's labor of love: croissants. He would make the dough the night before so we can have freshly-baked croissants for breakfast the next day. Always a special treat.

Seven Layer Gelatin and Yogurt Dessert

(These were taken back in January and finally get to post it. Finally!!)

The title pretty much says it all. A fun dessert my kids (heck, any kid at heart) can not resist.

This dessert can be done a variety of colors. I usually ask my kids to pick what colors they like. They can be done a variety of shapes, too! These ones were simply cut into cubes but I've used different cookie cutters to cut them into other fun shapes -- stars were very popular with my boys. :)

I used this recipe and substituted yogurt for sour cream which makes it a somewhat healthy dessert. And speaking of yogurt, do you make your yogurt? If not, you should give it a try and you'll be hooked. Check out Jude's site for his how-to on homemade yogurt.

I never knew making yogurt was so easy. I let my husband make it since he really enjoys the process. He is like my Alton Brown, putzing around the kitchen with a thermometer talking about proper temperature and such, very cute!

And lastly, make sure your refrigerator is level to make sure you get the stripes to set evenly. If you want more Jello layer recipes and ideas, check out Mary's blog (aka The Food Librarian).

Pomegranate Jelly

My husband and I are very lucky to have friends that are gardeners. A good friend's pomegranate tree has yielded plenty of fruit and we were given loads of pomegranates to enjoy. So for days, the boys, D. and I would eat one (sometimes two) every day.

After a couple of weeks, we barely made a dent on our pomegranate stash. But we also know we won't be able to enjoy these fruits once the pomegranate season is over. My husband had a great idea to preserve them so we can enjoy them in the summer as much as we are enjoying them now.

Pomegranate Jelly
makes about 9 cups

5 cups freshly-squeezed pomegranate juice, from about 15-20 fruit
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 packet (1 oz) powdered fruit pectin
6 cups sugar

1. In a 6-quart stockpot or Dutch oven, combine pomegranate juice, lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Stir in sugar and bring back to boil, stirring constantly every 2 minutes. Let the mixture come to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes over medium heat.
3. Skim off any foam that appears on top and discard.
4. Let mixture come to room temperature. Once cool, can be refrigerated for about 2-4 weeks. Or can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months.

so good, it's almost gone

My husband then used standard canning procedures for this jelly. That means sterilizing jars, submerging filled jars in water bath and so on which I will not through here. You can find more information about canning here.

This recipe makes a lot of jelly so you may reduce recipe in half. To make juice from fresh fruit, D ran the arils (seed sacs) through a juicer a few times. If you do not have access to fresh pomegranate, you can substitute bottled juice.

[On a side note, my husband made these weeks ago with the kids. I took plenty of pictures of the kids having fun in the kitchen. My youngest who just learned how to test a corn's freshness (by piercing a kernel with your fingernail, btw) tried to show off and tried it on a pomegranate. Let's just say red pomegranate juice splattered all over his face! Hilarious and so cute! I was going to post all these pictures but our hard drive crashed a few days ago so all the pictures are lost for now. :( All my other food pictures are gone, too. My husband is currently working on salvaging what he can so will keep you posted.]

UPDATE 2/10/09: Yay, hubby got the pics! Here's my son, the show-off. ;)

Philly Pretzels

It was our turn to bring snacks for my 8 year old's Pony League game yesterday. Since the Philadelphia Phillies is the 2008 World Series Champions, my husband, D, thought these soft pretzels will be great to pass out. He woke up extra early (6AM) to bake them and even printed out this note for the kids in the team:

Philadelphia Phillies
2008 World Series Champions

If you were to watch The Phillies at a home game, you can bet that you would be munching on some fresh-made Philadelphia soft pretzels. So close your eyes, take a bite and let your imagination take you there.

D was raised in Philadelphia and has not been back for 20 years. A Philly pretzel is one of the 3 things he misses from Philly. Cheesesteaks and Italian Ice are the other two.

We were about to leave for the game when he got a call from the team coach that all games for the day are cancelled due to poor air quality (because of the brush fires all over SoCal). D was a little disappointed but told him we can bake them again for the team party in two weeks.
We got to enjoy lots of pretzels yesterday. And I bet while munching these fresh-made Philadelphia soft pretzels, D felt he was back in Philly, even for just a little while.

Philadelphia-Style Soft & Chewy Pretzels Recipe