Homemade Strawberry Fruit Roll Ups

It's been over 5 years since I last attempted to make strawberry fruit roll ups.  In my last go, I had a hand blender and used parchment paper to line a baking sheet.  This time, I've got upgraded kitchen gadgets and a kitchen helper (the boy).

3 cups of strawberries - washed and roughly chopped
3-4 tbsp sugar

I preheated the oven to my lowest temperature (170F).  We pureed the strawberries and sugar in the blender.  Next we poured the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat.  I evened out/spread out the mixture over the baking sheet.  Then I placed it into the oven.  Now we wait... 6-8 hours.

They turned out pretty good - just a bit crispy around the edges.  Four rolls were eaten before I got a chance to take a picture.  I loved how easy it was to peel off the silicone mat!  Now I want to get a second mat so that we can make two batches at a time.

I want to experiment with some different fruits to see what my fruit-picky kid will eat.

Ready-made GF Cookie Dough

I was at the Save-On-Foods grocery store earlier this week and noticed that Pillsbury has gluten-free options.  Excitedly, I bought the Gluten-Free Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and the Gluten-Free Pie and Pastry Dough.

The dough felt a bit on the greasy side, but it was quick to scoop out of the container and pop them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  I baked them in the oven for 12 minutes at 350F and they came out soft in the centre and slightly crispy on the edges.  My son didn't wait for them to cool completely before devouring one.  It tastes ok to me (which means it's sufficiently sweet enough for my sweet tooth and the rice four taste isn't too strong) but because they're so quick and easy to make, I would probably buy them again if I get a cookie craving and didn't feel like making cookies from scratch.  I'll give the pie crust a try next week and maybe use it for little tarts or something.

November 24, 2014: Follow up about the pie/pastry dough.  I used the Pillsbury GF Pie/Pastry dough to make 3 5-inch chicken pot pies.  It was easy to roll out but did fall apart a little when I tried to transfer them into the pie pans.  I cooked the filling on the stove top (cream of mushroom soup, with celery, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, peas and chicken), baked the shell of the pie crust at 400F for about 10-12 minutes, added the filling and covered the pies with dough, then baked for another 15 minutes.  It tasted ok (or as my husband likes to say "interesting" - turned out better than he expected - so it was edible), but it did leave an undesirable after-taste in my mouth.  I think we probably won't be using this dough again any time soon.  Sorry I didn't take any pictures.  I was running behind schedule, started making dinner late... and the kids needed to eat.

Weekly Update: November 14-18, 2011

This week Isaac made 2 mini loaves of bread in cooking class.  One was a rye bread and the other was a cranberry loaf.  I really liked the cranberry loaf, but Daddy thought it tasted too much like fruitcake for his liking.

 

On Tuesday Auntie K and G came over for a morning play date.  We made blueberry pancakes together.  They brought over some chocolate zucchini cake.  I need to remember to return her container.  As it neared 1pm, Isaac and G went a little crazy running around and chasing each other.  I think they both had a good time.  We need to organize our mini playgroup Christmas party soon.  In the afternoon, Isaac napped in the stroller while I went to the library to return some books and pick out some new ones.

Wednesday morning we arrived a little late to preschool.  Normally we're there before they open the doors. I guess we left the house a tad late.  I returned some more books while Isaac was at school.  When I got home, I noticed that the number of items we have at home and the number the computer system says we have checked out doesn't match up.  Isaac has 24 items at home, so keeping track of everything is tedious (since he messes up the pile).  Anyhow, I've had problems with books not getting checked in at least a couple of previous times so I try to keep on top of checking up after I make returns.  I was able to clear the book off our account, but they didn't want to do a shelf check to verify if it was there or not.  I'm tempted to go and look for that book the next time I stop by that branch.

Wednesday afternoon and evening Isaac complained about having a tummy ache and had diarrhea.  On Thursday morning, he still had diarrhea, but was acting completely normal otherwise.  He couldn't go to school so we played at home all day.

Friday we skipped out on meeting up with his playgroup friends.  Actually it was more because I was too tired to go.  My sleep schedule is a bit messed up at the moment because my nap times are at bad times.  I found Isaac's Christmas present at Value Village.  He's getting a 250 piece set of TinkerToys - it was complete though 2 pieces were broken (so I tossed them out).

Currently dvd requests: Dora the Explorer.  He likes the music and most of the characters except for Swiper the Fox.  He also likes watching All About Volcanoes - it's a video for young kids (about K-Grade 4 level).  I might borrow other videos from that series to see if he likes any of the other topics.

Lego Train Set Arrived!

Yay, my new deluxe lego duplo train set arrived by courier this afternoon.  The box is sitting on our living room floor.  I don't know if we should open it now or wait until Isaac's birthday.  It comes with a lot of track some unique pieces (like a conveyer belt) and a battery powered train.

Isaac's latest obsession with Totoro hasn't faded yet.  He always asks to watch Totoro every day.  He's even starting to say "Totoro" very clearly now - instead of just referring to the little girl in the show, "May".  I'm considering getting some sort of Totoro toy for Isaac.  The problem with many Totoro toys in stores is that often they are just selling imitation copies... Usually some proportion of the Totoro features are off.  If I'm going to get a knock-off, I might as well make him one myself.  I might show Isaac another anime called Spirited Away.  It's a bit scarier than My Neighbour Totoro, so I don't know if he'd like it or not.

Yesterday while I was napping, Daddy was watching Isaac.  He took a slice of orange and tried to swallow it whole... he ended up choking and threw up.  Apparently he was ok because he wanted another slice of orange afterwards.  When I got up, I asked why the couch was wet - so Daddy told me what happened.

The last few days he seemed to be regressing a little - will sit on the potty but refused to go, and he even pooped in his diaper (even though I gave him a chance to go on the potty about 10 minutes before).  Today I made an effort to get Isaac to go the to potty more frequently (bribing him with Daddy's Totoro pull toy).  So far his diaper has been dry for the past 6 hours.

This afternoon, I tried out to make white chocolate flourless cakes.  Isaac helped with adding ingredients into various pots and bowls, and he also helped with some stirring.  When I put his "cooking table" away, he got upset (and wanted to do more cooking).  It reminded me about some cooking classes for kids I read about.  In Vancouver there are some "cooking" classes that are offered for 2-3 year olds.  There are about 10 spots per class, 10 sessions that run for 1.5 hours once a week.  If these classes are offered again in the summer or fall,  I might try to register Isaac for one.  He would have a blast!

Note to myself: I reduced the recipe for 5 servings and it was enough for about 3 mini loafs.  The cakes turn out very yellow because of the eggs.  I didn't test out the fondant recipe last week, so I will try it tomorrow.  I need to see how hard/easy it is to prepare, much it makes, how it tastes, and how tricky it is to handle.  I'm still undecided about using this cake recipe for Isaac's birthday cake.

Late Night Cake Baking Session

Waiting for Daddy's flight to land. According to the Air Canada website he's delayed by an hour and won't be landing until 1:57am. That means he probably won't get home until closer to 3am if he can catch a cab right away.

I'm trying out the Flourless Chocolate Cake I recipe from allrecipes.com.  When I bought the ingredients, I didn't have my shopping list with me so I didn't realize that I needed 18 chocolate squares. I ended up buying only 8 semi-sweet chocolate squares, so I just halved the recipe and used a loaf tin instead of a cake pan.

I don't have a double boiler so I used the microwave method to melt the chocolate - I put the chocolate into a bowl, microwave for about 5-7 seconds, take out the bowl and stir, stir, stir... then repeat until all the chocolate has melted.  I didn't run into any problems with burning the chocolate this way.  I also don't have an electric mixer, so I just hand mixed everything.  I can imagine that it would be faster and more evenly mixed with an electric one... but I do what I can with what I have.

Anyhow, the cake was pretty easy to make.  It's still baking in the oven, so I'll have to see the results in about 10 minutes.  It will still need to chill overnight, so I won't get to taste it until later.

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We tried the cake today.  Daddy doesn't think it tastes quite like cake or a brownie... he doesn't seem to like it.  Personally, I like it.  It's really dense and rich and extremely chocolatey.  It is sweet (I used semi-sweet chocolate), so I can see how some people might find it too sweet.  I didn't add any sort of frosting or fondant on top.  Isaac liked the cake.  His response: "More please".  I'm still deciding if I'll use this recipe for his birthday cake or not.  I might still go with it, and purchase a mango cake as an option to people who want a "real" cake. :)

I picked up ingredients to make fondant, but was too lazy to attempt it today.  Maybe I'll give it a go tomorrow or another day during this week.

Making Bread Monsters.

I found a recipe in the book "Baking with Tiny Tots" by Becky Johnson. We spent part of the afternoon making some bread rolls and shaping them into "monsters" that look like porcupines. Isaac helped with some stirring and kneading. He was upset when I took the dough away.

Instead of using raisins, I used chocolate chips. All the noses and some eyes fell off during the baking process! Maybe I should've sticked with some sort of dried fruit.

I put it in the oven for 15 minutes - and it came out too crispy. The bread rolls were very dense. I'm not sure if I measured out the yeast properly, or if the yeast was active or if I messed up the process where I'm supposed to allow the dough to rise.

Not so tasty but at least they looked cute. Maybe I'll try this recipe one more time or substitute it with a different bread roll recipe.

Snacks: Strawberry Leather

Strawberries are in season!  I love strawberry fruit rollups but haven't been able to find any in local grocery stores for the last few years.  I never really considered trying to make some for myself until I saw a recipe on a blog.  Then I looked up several recipes and decided to try the Strawberry Leather Recipe on Epicurious a try.

I looked online and found a local farm that produces five varieties of strawberries.  I looked up the varieties and found that the Albion is supposed to be sweeter than average.  I had my hopes set on trying this variety out, but left the fruit stand disappointed.  We picked up 2 packs of strawberries anyways.  I used up one pack to test out the recipe.

4 1/2 cups of halved strawberries

3/4 cup sugar

I blended the strawberries and sugar, then sieved out the seeds.  I brought the strawberry puree to a boil and lowered the heat (medium low) - simmering for about an hour.  The strawberry puree almost boiled over and Daddy helped me transfer it to a bigger pot.  I watched over it and stirred it frequently.  After, I lined two trays with parchment paper, added the strawberry puree as thinly and evenly as I could.  Would be better if I had a silicone baking sheet - since the parchment paper warped/wrinkled.  I preheated the oven to 200F and baked one tray for 2 hours and the other for 3 hours.  I left both trays to continue to dry and cool on a cooling rack overnight.  I cut them into strips and rolled them up.

Result: the 2 hour tray had some mushy spots that didn't dry enough - but the pieces were softer.  The 3 hour tray had dried completely, but was a bit tougher (especially around the edges).  I might have to try 2.5 hours next time.

I tried to offer some to Isaac but he didn't want to try it at all.  He did taste it after when I had him distracted (watching a dog), but he's not very interested in the strawberry leather.  Oh well, more for me.