Bejeezus Issue 11

Hey hey, Bejeezus 11 has hit the stands. And to be honest, it is the best looking one yet (thank you Mperfect). If you want to buy one from J or I, holla. Or you can subscribe here. It's cheap, it's local and it's radd.

Awesome

Our daughter is amazing. This shit is exciting. (Your money shot, Jessica).

Home and in Good Company

Alicia and the babe.

Sam and the babe.

We're home! We have to administer IV drugs for a few days, but at least we're all home. Thank you Sam and Alicia for doing our laundry, making us meals and being amazing and supportive friends. J and I are running off of 6 hours of sleep in the last 48 so forgive us if we aren't on top of returning phone calls or e-mails. Goodnight Blog.

Mary Jane Rebel Pierce

She's here! We can't believe it's a girl! But we're pretty stoked. There is some fluid in her little lungs and she has to spend some time in the NICU before she can be released to the public. But she's strong and we're hoping to have her home by Saturday.

Raspberry Nectarine Pie

J's favorite dessert is a Raspberry Pie. He asked me for one this weekend. This never happens so I obliged speedily. But I, of course, had to mix it up a little and add some nectarines in the mix. The real Raspberry Pie is baking today, but the Raspberry Nectarine was last night's masterpiece. J picked up some Vanilla Gelato from Cafe Glace and we (the inseparable four who share a common goal of 806 E. Washington Street) snarfed it down while watching "Not Francy" get stuck for $15,000 on Weeds. It was a good night. (Might have been better if I would have had a baby).

Recipe: (For Crust)
2 1/2 cups Organic, Unbleached Flour
1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter (cubed, cold)
1/2 Stick Earth Balance Shortening (cold)
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp (+) cold water

Put all ingredients into a mixer or food processor and mix/pulse until the mix is mealy with some pea-sized buttery lumps. Then add the 5 tablespoons of water and stir or mix until just combined (do not over mix). The dough should stick together. If not, add another tablespoon of water and mix a little. Repeat if you have the same issue. Once dough sticks together (but isn't sticky) separate it into 6 parts on a piece of large wax paper. Push in a forward motion on all six parts to spread the fat out a little. Then mix all parts back together into one ball. Last, separate into two balls, wrap each ball in wax paper and let chill in fridge for an hour.

Filling:
3 organic nectarines (cut into 1/2 inch wedges)
2 cups of organic raspberries
1/2 lemon squeezed for juice
1/8 cup granulated quick-cooking tapioca pearls
1/8 cup corn starch
3/4 cup sugar

Throw the nectarines and raspberries in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Whisk the tapioca, starch and sugar in another small bowl.

Preheat oven to 425. After an hour of refrigeration, pull out the dough balls and roll them out on a lightly floured piece of parchment with a lightly floured rolling pin. Once you roll your pastry balls out, mix the fruit with the sugar mixture and have ready to go. Put one rolled-out piece of dough in the bottom of the pie pan. It works well if there is about 1/2 inch of dough around the edges after you fit it in place in the pie pan. Pour fruit filling in dish. Cut the other rolled-out pie dough disc into long strips and weave it on the top of the pie filling. Mush all the dough that hangs over the edge with your fingers into some kind of orderly shape.

Bake the pie on a piece of foil for 20 minutes at 425. Then turn the oven down to 375. Lightly cover the pie with foil so your crust doesn't burn and bake for another 40-60 minutes. You know what a pie looks like. So, when it looks done you should pull it out. Let it cool for an hour or two. Serve warm with Vanilla Gelato. Yum.

Like a Kid in a Candy Store

Beautiful knobs look delicious.

Striking
Candy
Milky

Mesa Remodel

I'm getting pretty crafty. I'm almost getting so crafty that I deserve my new nickname, "Ready Made" (thank J for that one). But mostly I'm happy that I'm finally knocking out my to-do list.

Paint ugly, peeling orange table in bathroom - check.

Aunt Jemima No More

So my brother and I grew up making this stuff at least once a week. It's easy.
You simply pour all ingredients into the bag,
knead the plastic bag and pour contents
into the included baking pan.







But recently I haven't been able to locate this nostalgic treat on the grocer shelves. Normally I would avoid box products and opt to make my own anyway, but pregnancy brings on nostalgic craving in full force and I've wanted this particular Coffee Cake a few times over the last nine months.

It seems that my brother and sister-in-law have recently had similar cravings and found themselves "lucky" when they discovered one of these mixes in my mother's pantry. (Side note: My Mom and David travel for a living + Mom doesn't cook + David, being the Minnesotan he is, hordes food for years = Pantry full of good intentions). Poor Ryan and Heather; It should have come to no surprise that said Coffee Cake mix was possibly older than our youngest brother.

So, as an Ode to Ryan and Heather, I created this:

But I have to be completely honest here. I also first attempted these:
These were my attempt at making a Vegan Coffee Cake. I was a little let down with the overall flavor (as I am craving a specific taste) and so I then created a homemade Coffee Cake with regular ol' ingredients. I have to say, I am rather pleased.

For the Vegan Crumb Cake Recipe I used, click here .
I will be making another Vegan attempt at this breakfast treat. I just need to do some research.

Recipe:
(For Cake)
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup vegan cane sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (I used kosher, but I think granulated salt would be better)
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature gooey)
1/2 cup soy milk
1 large egg

(For Crumbs On Top)
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached flour


Preheat oven to 400. Grease a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix together butter, soy milk, and egg with whisk attachment in mixer. Then mix in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into greased cake pan of your choice. Then make your crumb topping. Whisk together butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Add flour. Mix with your fingertips until looks like a crumb topping. Sprinkle crumbs over top of cake. Bake cake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Eat.