Celebrating Julia Child & Chocolate Mousse

Perhaps the most famous culinary expert of the 20th century was Julia Child.   Often bored and lonely upon her arrival in France with her husband, Julia struggled to learn French and fit into her host culture.  Attending culinary school gave her the joy she had lacked and she quickly mastered French cuisine.  She authored a cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which has been a great tool for cooks in being able to bring French cuisine to the American table.

This year, August 15, Julia would have been 100 years old.  In celebration of her life, and the great culinary inspiration she provided, many bloggers are participating in JC100.  I was contacted and invited to participate, and I eagerly agreed!  Do you remember the movie Julie and Julia from a few years ago?  It is one of my favorites and truly inspired me in my culinary endeavors.  Attending culinary school is a dream of mine, so being able to 'watch' Julia's experience via this movie was a lot of fun.  I've always wanted to try her recipes, so now I get the opportunity! 

Each week we are given a new recipe of Julia's, and we are able to share the recipe with you!  This week's recipe is Chocolate Mousse, a favorite dessert in my husband's family, so it was only appropriate that my in-laws are in town this week and can sample this decadent delight.  

Hope you enjoy!  Bon Appetit!

In, what I would think would have been Julia's fashion, I measured out all of my ingredients into prep bowls and placed them on the counter, in easy to reach places.

I even weighed the chocolate to ensure that I had exactly 6 ounces.  You can't always trust a labeled bag.

Julia may not forgive me for this, but I opted to leave out the orange liquer that is called for in the recipe.  I just couldn't seem to find any in my pantry {ha!}...and honestly, I don't like orange flavor in my chocolate.  This may have caused a bit of a different consistency as I cooked the first part {there was never any foam in mine}, but it ended up just fine.   Her description of the egg yolks and sugar mixture is that it will look like mayonnaise.  She was right.

Smooth melted chocolate, with a bit of coffee and lots of butter {always lots of butter in Julia's recipes} makes for yummy chocolate.

 Beating egg whites is apparently an art.  I'm not sure if I've mastered it, but this is what the 'stiff peaks' should look like.  If you use an electric mixer, the beaters should leave small peaks when you lift them up and off of the mixture.

I believe folding something into another portion of the recipe is best accomplished with the use of a spatula--it makes for gentle stirring.

Hopefully, these pictures and little tips will help you if you endeavor to try this recipe.  And, be sure to check out the other bloggers who are joining in this celebration by looking at the Facebook page.

Chocolate Mousse

A 3-quart porcelain or stainless steel mixing bowl

4 egg yolks

3/4 cup instant sugar {I used regular granulated sugar}

1/4 cup orange liquer

pan of not-quite simmering water

basin of cold water

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until mixture is thick, pale yellow, and falls back upon itself forming a slowly dissolving ribbon.  Beat in the orange liquer.  Then set mixing bowl over the not-quite simmering water and continue beating for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is foamy and too hot for your finger.  Then beat over cold water for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is cool and again forms the ribbon.  It will have the consistency of mayonnaise.

6 ounces or squares of semisweet baking chocolate

4 Tablespoons strong coffee

A small saucepan

6 ounces, or 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Optional: 1/4 cup finely diced, glazed orange peel

Melt chocolate with coffee over hot water. Remove from heat and beat in butter, a bit at a time, to make a smooth cream.  Beat the chocolate into the yolks and sugar, then beat in the optional orange peel.  

4 egg whites

pinch of salt

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.  Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.  Fold in the rest. 

Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

All You Need is a Little Paint

We have moved 4 times in our not quite 6 years of marriage, each time living in a different sized dwelling, using various combinations of our acquired home decor.  My color schemes have changed a few times over the years, and because of that some things that worked when we were first married just don't cut it now.  It's not in the budget to buy new items for each house, so instead I'm trying to work with what I have {as much as possible} and make it the best it can be for our home.  One of my recent discoveries is that if I don't like something the way it is, all I need is a little bit of paint, a few minutes, and I have a new look on an item that makes it fit in more perfectly with my home.

Exhibit A:

This picture was given to me before I was married and it hung in my bathroom.  We used it in our first home, but then it sat in a box in storage for 3 years.  I still like the picture but the gold frame was not my favorite.  I took out a sample paint that I had purchased on clearance at Home Depot {keep your eye out for these sales--I got samples for $0.50}, gave it a little coat, and in about 5 minutes I had some 'new' art for my downstairs bathroom.

The bathroom is not finished yet, I'm still waiting to paint the walls, maybe paint the cabinet, frame in the mirror and get some hand towels, but so far I haven't purchased anything new for this space, I just re-did some old items to make them go with my desired color scheme.

Exhibit B:

NO BEFORE PICTURE, SORRY!

I am pleased to say that I have kept a house plant alive for almost a year now--this truly is a miracle!  I never thought I'd be able to have plants in my house, because I'm notorious for not watering, or overwatering, and they never survive.  This plant was given to me by my mother-in-law, and it remained in the hunter green pot she used to start it for me for about 9 months.  Rather than buying a new pot {those things are expensive!}, my husband simply painted the green one with a coat of yellow paint {using another clearance sample paint, sprayed some white paint on the trellis, and it looks brand new.

The pop of yellow is just what I've been wanting in the kitchen and I love how simple it was to create something 'new'.  

So, look around your house for items that are still perfectly fine, but maybe they're old, worn, or just not the right color anymore.  Instead of going out to purchase something new to replace that item, grab a little paint and fix it up so that it looks perfect in your home!

Back in the Saddle & Book Giveaway Winner

This picture has nothing to do with my post, but it makes me happy!  Hydrangeas are my absolute favorite cut flower and this year, for the first time in my life, I have them in my own yard!  Not just one bush, but about 10!  And, they're blooming beautifully!  The island in my kitchen has a nice bouquet of blooms and I'm looking forward to cutting some more in the next few days.  Next year, I'm going to work on getting some of them to turn blue.  Anyone have any great tips on that??

My little guy turned 1 month old yesterday!  It's amazing to me how fast time flies!  He's already changing and looking older.  He's such a good baby, and I'm so thankful for that!  I'd love to have more continuous sleep at night, but I know that will come in time, so for now I'm just trying to enjoy my precious little bundle!

My desire this week is to get back into my regular blogging schedule, but I'm not sure what that will look like from here on out.  I'd love to continue posting 5 times a week, but realistically that won't always happen.  So, instead, I'm going to strive for 3 posts a week, still keeping a combination of recipes, home projects, and some personal posts along the way.  I hope you'll continue on this journey with me!  I have enjoyed my blog {somehow I missed my 1 year blogaversary while I was recovering from labor/delivery, so I'll try to do something about that soon}, and it keeps me accountable in being creative in my home.  Plus, it's a nice outlet for me in the midst of managing three little ones.  

Yesterday Blogger was not cooperating with me, so I was unable to post.  In fact, I had a great tribute to my mom in honor of Mother's Day, and that has been erased somehow into cyberspace.  Oh, the joys of technology!  I apologize for not posting the winner of the Book Giveaway, but it was comment #19, Roses843.  Congratulations!  You have until Wednesday, May 16, to contact me with your mailing information, or I will choose another winner.  {onlyfromscratch@gmail.com}

Hope you all have a great week!  I have a wonderful recipe using strawberries coming for you soon, plus a few little projects that have been completed around here.  Stay tuned...

Book Giveaway in Honor of Mother's Day

There's a giveaway here on the blog this week, and just in time for Mother's Day!  No, it's not a gift that you will give to your mom, it's a gift that is simply in honor of Mother's Day, because it is a book for children.

The publisher for this book graciously sent me a copy to giveaway to one of you. Here's what they had to say about the book:

"Over 7 million people around the world have discovered their own love language through the best-selling series of books by Dr. Gary Chapman, The 5 Love Languages. But what about our children? Surely they too must have their own unique love language we can learn to speak and understand. Now, in his first-ever children’s book, Dr. Chapman, along with co-author, Rick Osborne, spins a delightfully imaginative story and parallel message to The 5 Love Languages in, A Perfect Pet For Peyton.

Helping parents teach their children these principles of love and allowing children the opportunity to discover their own primary love language, A Perfect Pet For Peyton, conveys principles adults will find meaningful, yet told in a simple, fun and interactive way children can easily understand and enjoy."

In order to be eligible to win this book, simply leave a comment on this post telling me which child you would like to read this book to.


For additional entries:

• Become a follower of Only From Scratch and leave a comment telling me you've done so.
• If you're already a follower, just leave a comment telling me you are.
• Post about this giveaway on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you've done so.

Giveaway ends at 11:59PM, Friday, May 11th.  A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Mother's Day.  

Winner must have a US mailing address.

Crispy Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

I recently picked up a copy of a Food Network magazine at the grocery store.  What about it grabbed my attention?  It was the CHOCOLATE issue!  The front cover tantalized my taste buds and I couldn't wait to tear into it and discover some incredible chocolate recipes.  Near the center of the magazine I was delighted to find several different recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I have always made the classic recipe, printed on the back of bags of chocolate chips, so we've had fun over the past few weeks trying out some of these various recipes.  The one I'm posting today is our favorite so far.  The ingredients aren't too different from the standard, but they get baked at a higher temperature.  I'm not an expert on science in the kitchen, so I don't know why these turn out the way that they do, but the crispy edges and cakey middle provide the perfect textures for a delicious cookie.

Crispy Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Beat in the eggs, then beat in the vanilla.  Add the flour, salt and baking soda; beat until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.  bake until golden brown around the edges but still light in the center, about 8 minutes.  Removed from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

source:  Food Network, March 2012

Framed Photos Matted with Burlap

My in-laws have a photo gallery wall in their stairwell that I have always loved!  Their life and ministry have taken them all over the world, so they have various pictures displayed of special places they've been.  Bradley and I haven't been able to travel extensively together in our almost 6 years of marriage, but we have traveled a little, so we decided to frame some of our favorite 'spots' and begin working on our stairwell.

I had some frames that a friend had given me, so I simply cut some burlap to the size of the frame, placed the picture in the center, and hung them on the wall!  Such a simple project that only cost me the price of printing out the pictures.

Photo from our honeymoon of Mayan Ruins in Belize

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

Highway 1 in California {family vacation 2010}

If you don't have burlap lying around your house {like I do} it really isn't that expensive.  You can purchase it in most fabric stores--you'll find it with other utility fabrics.  I like the texture that it adds to the photos.  Right now I'm keeping the frames in their original stain, but I'd eventually like to paint them an heirloom white.  We have yet to paint the stairwell, foyer and hallways {mostly because of the high ceilings} so until then I am living with builder grade flat paint, which is a great collector for toddler fingerprints!

What simple projects have you completed lately?

Mason's Debut

Since today was the EDD {Estimated Due Date} for little Mason, I thought it only appropriate to share his birth story with you.  I'm so thankful he was two weeks early!  Isabella was 8 days early {you can read her birth story here} and Mallory was 2 days late {find her birth story here}, so I really had nothing to go by with this pregnancy.  Here's how the day began...

April 13:
I woke up pretty early and felt a few contractions as I was getting ready for the day, nothing horrible, but they were noticeable.  Bradley got home from work around 6AM, and I mentioned that maybe today would be the day.  He climbed into bed and I went about my day as normal.  I thought it would be a great day for a baby, but tried as much as possible to go on as though nothing was going to happen.  I didn't want to just sit around waiting for the baby to be born and miss out on life!  The girls and I went grocery shopping, we made banana bread, and I painted a few projects in the garage {posts coming soon on those projects!}.  By the time I had one coat of paint on a chalkboard I'm making, I began to keep track of the contractions I was having.

11AM - The contractions started coming pretty regularly, about every 3 minutes, but this happened for several weeks with Mallory, so I just kept doing housework.  After an hour of this, and having to stand still during contractions, I decided to pack my bag for the hospital.  I wanted to allow Bradley some more time to sleep so he would be rested, should this be the real deal, so I waited until about 12:30 to wake him up and tell him what was happening.  He got ready pretty quickly, put on his 'birthing shirt' {he has worn the same button-down shirt for all the births of our children}, and then we started calling some friends to see who could watch the girls.  This was the only day/time frame that I hadn't really lined up any childcare!  Thankfully, our friends were willing to keep the girls, so we headed out to the hospital.

1:30PM - The girls were dropped off and we were on our way!  I really had no idea what to expect, but I was definitely uncomfortable.

2PM - Arrived at the hospital, told the nurses what was going on and was desperately hoping that I truly was in labor!  I'd had contractions every 3-5 minutes for the past 3 hours at this point.  I got into the lovely hospital gown {who invented those ugly things?!} and they hooked me up to the monitors.  Right away I could see the contractions coming pretty strongly and spiking really high on the charts.  The nurse checked me...I was only at 2 centimeters!!  They wouldn't keep me unless I was 4 centimeters dilated, so they had me drink lots of water and continued to monitor me for another hour.

3:30PM - Contractions were still coming just as regularly, but when they checked me again, I was still only 2 centimeters.  I KNEW I was in labor, though; I've done this twice before, so I could tell this was the real deal.  You can't convince the medical staff of that, though, especially when you're body isn't producing anything.  They chatted with the DR and meanwhile, my contractions started getting worse.  Worse like how I felt when laboring with Mallory dilated at 9 centimeters.

4 PM {ish}- They couldn't keep me any longer, so recommended that we go walk around the mall for another hour and then come back.  I was thinking to myself, "There is no way I'm leaving this hospital!  And, there's really no way I'm going to the mall to give birth to this child on an escalator!"  My genius husband requested that they check me one more time before we left.   They agreed and we were all very thankful to find that I was now at 4 centimeters!!  So, I could stay.

5PM - I GOT AN EPIDURAL!!  I am terrified of needles, and really enjoyed my other two labor/deliveries with no pain meds.  But, this time, I seriously felt much more pain earlier on.  I didn't want to know anything about what they were doing to my spine, and I literally almost passed out right after he stuck the needle in me.  Oh my goodness, though, how amazing it is to not feel ANYTHING!  It was cracking me up to watch the monitor and see contractions happening rapidly and strongly, but not even knowing they were going on.  "Better living through chemistry," as my dad would say.

6PM - A new DR was on call, and he came in to introduce himself, and he checked me again.  I was at 7 centimeters at this point, so he broke my water and we just waited.

6:50PM - Checked again and was now at 10!!  My OB/GYN walked in the door as they were giving me this news and I was thrilled!  I have never had my actual DR deliver my babies, so it was very nice to have him present for this one.

7:09 PM - The pushing began.  Let me just tell you that this was the weirdest thing for me.  I didn't know when I was supposed to push, obviously, because I couldn't feel anything, so it was a bit of a challenge.  That was really the only thing I didn't like about having an epidural.

7:28 PM - After a little help with the vacuum, our little BOY made his grand debut!  I wasn't surprised that it was a boy, as I had thought it would be all along, but Bradley was shocked!  I think he was anticipating have a house full of estrogen for the rest of his life!  What joy it brought me to know that my little guy was born, he was healthy, and just perfect.

My placenta took awhile to detach, so the next hour was VERY uncomfortable for me as the DR had to work to get that out.  I'm SO thankful I had the epidural or this part would have been unbearable.  I lost a significant amount of blood during that time, but they were finally successful and I thankfully didn't need any further medical treatment.

I wasn't able to hold Mason until two hours after he was born, and that was hard for me, but when they placed him in my arms, I was rejoicing in another precious little life that God had blessed us with. He is the sweetest baby and has quickly become such a part of our lives.  We look forward to all that God has in store for this little man!

Ready to push!

First breaths 

Meeting his biggest sister

The girls got Mason a stuffed tiger, and named him 'Tiberius'

Meeting his other big sister

Sweet little baby boy

 

Napping with Granddad

Snuggling with Daddy

Thankful my parents could be here for those first days

Me and my little man

Our growing family