Food Coma

I like to eat. It’s probably visible in my appearance; I’m a bit of a fluffy person. It really doesn’t bother me, I can do all the things I like and I watch what I eat. I know I’m healthy; I can climb up the stairs in my house about 5 billion times a day and not go into cardiac arrest. I enjoy my fluffiness and it drives the husband wild, so we are good to go. 😉 About 4 years ago while in Hawaii with my husband I coined a term… food coma.

Being a young military family you realize that celebrating Valentines on February 14, Christmas on December 25 or my birthday on November 26 (Hint: I ❤ Le Creuset. 😉 ) isn’t all that important. My husband and I began to celebrate holidays and birthdays whenever we were together and near the original date. One of “our” dates is January 16, 2008. Yeah it’s usually the day after pay day for some or just the middle of the month for others, but for us it’s Valentines day! 😀 It’s also the day that my husband proposed to me. October 10, 2003 we got married and he officially proposed to me January 16, 2006. Funny, I know but that’s a story for another dish. 😉 My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary with a day at the beach and some junk food. He knew I wanted an iPod and decided to see how bad I really wanted it but throwing out a wager for it. He said if I had a #7, large with a pumpkin shake from Jack in the Box, I could get it. I thought in my brain “Yum, I can do that. I like all aspects of that bet.” But I failed to realize how LARGE a LARGE is from Jack in the Box. Not only is the hamburger the ultimate but I also had to eat a LARGE milk shake AND curly fries. Crap. I enjoyed most of it and it was delicious. I went almost into a euphoric state. I had a nice full belly from the hamburger but I had to finish that milk shake. I started sippin’ slowly but the bottom of the cup wasn’t getting closer. But I wanted my flippin’ iPod! I wanted it! LOL I eventually finished but went into a food coma, which includes laying in a fetal position to not stretch out the bulging stomach and cause awful pain, I was taking short breathes due to the fullness of my stomach cavity. It wasn’t a happy site but guess what? I got my iPod! There aren’t many things I will willingly eat myself into a food coma… except… cornbread-anything.

Guess that happened last night? I was in a cornbread-ish cake induced food coma and I’m paying dearly for it today. LOL

This weeks TWD was a great cake. I used corn meal because I could not find polenta and I also substituted dried cranberries for figs. We aren’t much of fig fans here. This is a great cake and was very moist. I will say it tasted more like a pound cake then anything to me. But you all know how I feel about anything corn bread-ish. 😉 haha!

Check out other TWD bakers here.

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake

5 oz dried cranberries

1 C medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal

½ C all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 C ricotta

1/3 C tepid water

¾ C sugar

¾ C honey (if you’re a real honey lover, use a full-flavored honey such as chestnut, pine, or buckwheat)

Grated zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 ½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Toss blueberries into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry.

Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and beat until light. Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.

Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the cranberries. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top. Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely.

See you there!

Here they are. This is my precious cargo for my journey to Peabody’s Housewarming Party. I decided to chose this dish for her party because, frankly, it’s cold and just the thought of mango and kiwi reminds me of the beach with a tropical fruit in one hand and my hubbys hand in the other. Seeing as it’s a bit snowy in Peabodys neck of the woods, I hope that these cloudy creations will maybe bring her some heat from the tropical sun. Don’t worry everyone, with all this sun we’ll be getting, I’ll make sure to bring the sun block. ;-]

Eclairs filled with honey cream, topped with mango and kiwi.

For the Eclairs

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition. With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a No. 10, or larger, tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake 20 minutes more, until hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the top. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Honey Cream

1 cup Heavy whipping cream
3 TBSP honey

Place the cram in the chilled bowl of an electric mixer, stand mixer or a medium mixing bowl. Using the wire whip attachment or a hand held mixer, whip the cream on medium speed until it is frothy.

Add the honey and continue to whip the cream on medium speed until it holds soft peaks.

Cut up 2 mangos and 1 kiwi into slices or any fruit you like.

Cut the eclair in half and add a generous amount of cream and top with your favorite fruit. And enjoy.