I received a bag of rhubarb stalks from a coworker today, and although I’ve eaten rhubarb before, I’ve never actually brought it into my own kitchen. Which means I need to do some research about putting it to use. Seeking inspiration and knowledge in Ripe by @nigelslater . Leaning towards baking/roasting the stalks in bulk, then portioning them out for a couple of different baked goods. What’s your favourite way to prepare rhubarb? #rhubarb #acookintheorchard #afternooncoffee #anthromug #bake #baker #baking #moody #monogrammug #cupofcoffee #mugshot #bakingproject #locallysourced #locallygrown #nigelslater #coffeegram #cookbook (at Bellingham, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzbouunAy1Z/?igshid=14jvwg4hi48r6
I tried out The Squeaky Mixer’s character sheet cake recipe a few days ago (with Wolverine as my character of choice) and I’m actually quite surprised at how good it turned out!
Link to the Original Recipe: www.squeakymixer.com/post/desi…
I didn't know how else to start this off, so I borrowed Jim Nantz's line. Don't tell him.
Welcome to this World Cup culinary project that I have ridiculously decided to name Stoppage Thyme. I'm not usually a fan of puns, but this one was too funny to pass up. I realize not everyone is a football/soccer fan, which means I'll probably have to explain the pun more than twice. Wish me luck.
I've been an avid follower of the Sally's Baking Addiction blog for years and have always admired her monthly baking challenge contest from afar, drooling over the delicious-looking entries and never once considering trying it for myself. Then, this April, her baking challenge of the month was croissants. It was her most anticipated and most complex baking challenge to date -- and for some reason, my insane brain ate it all up. I saw the challenge announcement go out at the beginning of April, including all the delicate steps, all the dough laminating and all the time it takes before you're finally able to pop one of these buttery masterpieces into your mouth, and I just thought, "I have to do this." Challenging feats attract me. None of the much-easier cakes or pies from months prior ever compelled me to get in the kitchen and try it for myself until this crazy multi-day croissant challenge came around. So I budgeted some time one weekend... and I rolled... and laminated... and laminated again... and laminated again. And they came out SO WELL!
But as I stood there in my kitchen, staring at these golden French pastries before me and drowning in an aroma of butter, I knew I was in trouble. I suddenly had an nagging urge to bake my way across the globe, trying recipes from as many countries as I could. When could I do this? And could I blog it, Julie & Julia style? How would I keep it relevant? ...I could do it for the FIFA World Cup!!
We brainstormed the logistics of it over a bottle of Rosé one night, and here's the plan I decided on. I'll pick a country from each pool-play group to advance to the Round of 16, and I'll make a dessert representing that country. When the group stage ends, we'll have 16 countries remaining. I'll then start baking (or cooking!) dishes for the countries that are still alive in the tournament all throughout the knockout stage. When we get to the finals, we'll have two teams remaining. I'll make something representing each of those teams. The entire World Cup tournament consists of 64 matches played from June 14 to July 15. I basically have a month to do this.
Did I mention I'm also moving apartments + traveling + committed to 29 barre classes for the Pure Barre national studio competition in June? Yes, 29 classes. I realize there are only 30 days in June. I am insane.
I've chosen one team from each of the eight groups to advance and one "Wild Card" country, and I'll be baking something sweet for each of them. That's nine desserts to start. I have my nine countries picked out, but I'll reveal them as we go. I can't wait to taste everything. :)
For those of you who don't know, I worked in sports (writing, promotions, media relations, event operations and TV) before I jumped over to the corporate world three years ago, and I still do it on the side for college events every year. I miss the writing quite a bit, but I miss the stats much more. Especially with soccer! My last full-time sports gig had me writing previews for every 2014 World Cup match and I was a freaking encyclopedia. With each dessert post I do on here, I'll probably preview the team a little bit and explain why I picked them. If you don't care for the sport, you can skip over that part and dive into the recipe and food photos.
So here we go! Hopefully you know the World Cup drill:
32 countries divided into eight groups of four
Two teams from each group advance after round-robin play to give us our Round of 16, knockout style
Sixteen teams become eight, which become four, which become two in the final
A champion is crowned!
We also get a third-place match between the two semifinal losers. Sorry. I couldn't find a nicer way to say that.
Here are a few tidbits about this year's World Cup:
This will be the 21st installment of our beloved quadrennial tournament
Iceland and Panama are in the tournament for the first time ever
Peru is back in the tournament for the first time since 1982 and Egypt makes its first appearance since 1990
Italy did not (!!) qualify for the first time since 1958. Could've made an awesome cannoli.
Other shocking absences this year:
Netherlands - Three-time World Cup runner-up, with their last second-place finish coming as recently as 2010.
New Zealand - Part of the Oceania Confederation. They won the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament, but the confederation winner doesn't get an automatic bid to the World Cup like you'd think. They have to play the fifth-place team from the CONMEBOL qualifying tournament, and the winner gets a bid. They played Peru and lost, 2-0, on aggregate. Oceania gets no representative in the World Cup.
Chile - This one still rocks me. Back-to-back Copa America Champions, 2017 Confederations Cup runner-ups. This summer won't be the same without Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Bravo...
Cameroon - Similar to Chile! They just won the Africa Cup of Nations last year.
United States - ...........................
The tournament starts June 14, but the last of the international friendly matches start May 28. Since I have to do nine desserts in the first round, I'm going to start when the friendlies do and hope that I'm done by the time the group stage ends. Catch you soon!
