5 New Things

So this Fourth of July weekend, I had 4 days off in a row! I made a list of things to get done. For the most part, I accomplished it.

1) Find a new hiking trail/waterfall.
-Done. On the 4th, I went up Winding Stairs Trail and found Miuka Falls and Secret Falls. There will be a post about this soon.

2) FINALLY finish Vanity Fair (the novel, not the magazine).
-Done. I technically finished it the 5th while at work, but I've been reading this freaking book for 4 months now. I kept getting bored and reading other things.

3) Try 6 new recipes.
-Almost. I got 5 done, then ran out of money for ingredients and room in my fridge.

4) See some fireworks.
-Done. I went to Clemson's fireworks over the lake and ran into Sarah (the incoming lighting intern), and two other Clemson theatre kids - Josh and Jeremiah. I also watched Seneca's fireworks through the trees from my front porch.

This post is about the 5 new recipes I tried. I'm quite pleased with the way all of them turned out (except number 4... we'll get to that).


The first thing I tried was homemade crackers:





They taste just like Cheese-Its, even if they look nothing like them.... They're cheesy and toasty and awesome. I will definitely make them again with some kind of dip. I could have let them bake a bit longer... they were still a little soft, but I kind of like them that way.


Number two was homemade chocolate pudding from scratch:



It was super easy, even if it didn't come from a little box. It's super sweet, though. Might have to cut down on the sugar next time. Still better than pudding cups. :-P

My next conquest was Hawaiian Bread:



It's amazing! There's pineapple and coconut in it, so it's sweet but not too sweet. I should have cut the recipe in half, but I put one loaf in the freezer for later. Maybe when my parents are here. :-) Since I think this was my favorite, I'll post the recipe at the end.


The fourth thing was Baked Cabbage:



This is the only recipe I wasn't thrilled with. It's from a PA Dutch cookbook that I got for Christmas. I don't know if I did something wrong, or if it's just a weird recipe. You boil the cabbage for a few minutes to get it soft, then you bake it after putting flour, sugar, salt, pepper, milk, and cheese on top. The weird thing was the milk.... It didn't get soaked up or made into a sauce or anything... it was just cheesy cabbage in hot milk. It wasn't bad... just... really weird....


My final experiment was Streusel-Filled Coffee Cake:



This was excellent, as my co-workers will attest. A little dry since I didn't make coffee to go with it, but it was a nice pre-work snack yesterday.

I consider my long weekend of baking, reading, and hiking to be highly successful. Be on the look out for a Miuka/Secret Falls post!

As promised:

Hawiian Bread

Ingredients:
28 oz. can crushed pineapple, with juice
10 oz. pkg. flaked coconut
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

Method:
-Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

*hint* I put the pineapple through a food processor after pouring the juice into the mixing bowl. I wanted smaller chunks of fruit. You can skip this if you want bigger chunks.

Enjoy!