I want to bake, I want to bake, I want to bake!!!

But I can't.

I have been looking at all kinds of baking blogs and even joined the Daring Bakers website for monthly challenges. All of it has me itching to bake but I really need to find some boys who are willing to take on the caloric responsibility of my baking so that it comes out of my oven and into their bellies not mine.

The search continues!

Okay this isn't about baking..

But the smell eminating from my oven right now is so delicious I had to share it. I spent a good 20 minutes searching the web for something yummy to do with a pork tenderloin..and finally "stumbled upon" what smells to be a winner.

Take your loin, trim it, wash it, pat it dry.

Take 1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs and brown in 1tbsp of olive oil
Remove from heat and in a bowl mix in 4tbsp horseradish, salt and pepper to taste

In a separate bowl mix 3tbsp spicy (or dijon) mustard and 2tbsp mayo (I used light mayo since the flavor will be pretty much masked by the mustard anyway).

Place your loin(s) on a baking sheet (I put parchment on my baking sheet) slather with the Mayo and Mustard combo. Then cover with breadcrumb mixture.

Put in the oven at 450 for 25 minutes. Let rest before cooking.. it smells really good and I had to write about it.

I am still resisting my urge to bake, although I did scour the web today looking for interesting baking blogs and found a bunch that I really liked. I think you can see them on my blog, so by all means venture out and visit some! Once the store gets off the ground I am going to be hosting an entire site with a community area and a favorite links page so that all of my CraftBake customers can have instant access to other CraftBakers from around the globe!

As for the rest of my night.. I just need to figure out what to serve with this pork..and what wine to drink!

Amish Friendship bread is crap!

I babysat this damn bread for 10 days, mashing the bag, adding ingredients, tending to it like a mama bird waiting for an egg to hatch. The day finally came to bake it off, I was hopeful but certainly not expecting a miracle. Which is a blessing because it was awful! I followed the instructions, sugared the pans, mixed the batter in a glass bowl with a wooden spoon, poured it in the pans and baked it as directed for an hour.
It didn't smell great, it certainly didn't look great, and it tasted horrid! Certainly not the success that my spring celebration carrot cake was. Which by the way it was DELICIOUS!

Friday night..game night..

The ritual of friends gathering on a Friday night to share some laughs, eat some food, and drink some libations is not new. My friends are insane and we play ridiculously competitive and raunchy versions of games like Scattegories, Scene It, and Balderdash to name a few.. there is almost always pizza and beer...and I am the dessert bringer.
This Friday I was asked to bring the dessert and an amazing chinese chicken salad (which I won't go into because this is a bakers type blog). I get so excited when I talk about baking and when I think about getting this store off the ground. It will be incredible the day I open the doors and spread the love!
But, alas, today I just bake. A quick search of the net revealed a "Spring Celebration Carrot Cake"..hmm carrot cake sounded good and the recipe looked delicious. So made it I did! I haven't had the chance to taste it yet, but the frosting is yummy and the cake feels super moist. I can't republish the recipe because it is copywritten but I found it at Foodnetwork.com and have included a picture (I made a round version because I didn't have two square pans, go figure!)..

Confiming my conviction

Last night I attended a Pampered Chef Party, not something I would normally do but it was to raise money for breast cancer and I am all about protecting the future of my boobies. Pampered Chef, just like every other cooking store, tries to cover a little of everything. They have some interesting stone ware baking pieces but other than that I am not impressed by the tools they recommend for bakers and I am not convinced of the quality for the price.
I did buy a couple of pieces and when I get them home I will test them out and let you know how they worked out. But what this party really did was confirm my conviction to open my store. Everyone I talk to "gets it," which has to mean that I am explaining it well and that my passion and love for it translates. I hear the warnings from everyone, the choruses of "you'll work 24/7" and "you won't make any money for years" and the loveliest of them "there is no way to open a mom and pop type store in this economy." I refuse to hear those chants, well maybe I don't refuse to hear them but rather absorb and put in the effort to not let them be my downfall. I don't mind the notion of working 24/7, I grew up in a family business and some of my best memories were working hard all weekend long right next to my parents. I would love that to be the future of my life and my future families.
Today, life is good.
I have an interview, for a company that no longer has a job open for me, on Thursday because the hiring manager was impressed with my resume and with the feedback from the recruiter. And I had a phone interview this past Tuesday that went really well and should be hearing back from them sometime next week. Maybe my future is looking up..remember, getting a job is the sticking point for me getting money to start my store.
Wish me luck!

One last note.. I knew that Pampered Chef and I were not in the same league when they baked a boxed chocolate cake with store bought frosting in the microwave..it was alright but by no means delicious and certainly not something that I would encourage CraftBakers to do...if you need a cake in 8 minutes, go to your local bakery and support a struggling business...

oh the silly heart..

a deleted blog posting..

A job????

A new job would mean I am one step closer to this store! Yeah! I think I will have an interview this week. Not the most money in the world but better than no job and no money for sure!