Hey everyone! I’m a bit late to post this, but here is a new video tutorial that my mom and I created.
I hope you all have fun making our delicious soda bread! Sound off in the comments how your bread comes out if you decide to make it!
Kim
Irish Soda Bread Recipe
We made this easy recipe for Irish Soda Bread for St Patrick’s Day and it came out perfect!
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk(or low fat milk and vinegar)
- Raisins (Optional) 1 small box
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with canola spray or you can line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir dry ingredients together with a fork or wisk. Make a well in the center and add 1 cup of the buttermilk. If you do not have Buttermilk you can pour 1 & 1/2 cups of milk and add about a teaspoon of vinegar and let it sit for about a minute. Combine dry ingredients and buttermilk with a fork, stir until a soft dough is formed.
Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface for 1 minute. Flour your hands too. Form into a slightly flattened circle. Place on a sprayed orparchment lined (or silicone baking mat) cookie sheet. Mark a large 1/4-inch deep X with a sharp knife and bake soda bread for 40-45 minutes. Check on it after 40 minutes. The bread is ready when it is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Yield 1 round loaf (8-10 wedges or slices).
Enjoy!
How to make Guacamole
There is nothing like homemade guacamole.
Making your own Guacamole is easy and fun. Here is how:
You will need:
1 Avocado
1 Lime
2 tsp finely chopped onion
1 small clove of garlic
1 tsp cilantro
1 tsp jalapeno sauce
2 tbsp sour cream
salt and pepper
Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop the contents into a mixing bowl.
Add the juice of 1/2 of a lime. Add the finely chopped garlic and onion.
Sprinkle in some fresh or dried cilantro and add 1 teaspoon of jalapeno sauce.
Add two tablespoons of sour cream and salt and pepper.
Smash the mixture with two forks until creamy.
Enjoy with tortilla chips.
Here is a video we made on how to make this awesome guacamole!
Stressful Days
Hey everyone! I’m blogging to you now from my BlackBerry on the way to school. I thought I’d write about this stressful week I’ve had. I don’t know, maybe because it was a short week teachers decided to pile work on our shoulders? It’s driven me crazy. I’ve had to stay up very late the past few nights to complete the tons of homework that I’ve been having. The most stressful part of school this week was probably the fact that I’ve had numerous tests and only a day to study. That’s happening to me right now. I have a French test in about 2 hours, and I was only given one night to study. I’m going to try my best, but all the teachers right now are so high demand.
All well, I’m really not too concerned about all of this school stuff. I just need to get through today and then I’m free for the weekend. So, how are you guys spending your Friday? Are any of you currently waiting in line for the iPhone 4S? If so, I’m very jealous.
Alright, back to my study hall; I’m cramming for this test as much as possible.
-Kim
iOS 5 is coming!
As many avid Apple fans such as myself know, iOS 5 will be released tomorrow for all supported iOS devices. iOS 5 is Apple’s latest software refresh to iOS devices, and has been highly anticipated since Steve Jobs first revealed it at WWDC 2011. This new software is claimed by Apple to be extremely revolutionary software, and will bring the already innovated and years ahead of the game operating system even further into the future. From what I have seen from iOS 5 (I have not used it myself, yet), many of the features are implemented from the Android operating system, but improved to be even better.
The most anticipated feature, which has been on Android phones for awhile, is iCloud. iCloud is Apple’s new storage system for iOS users, which pushes all your content from one device, say and iPad, to another, such as another iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. The service is completely free in iOS 5, and the only charge will be if you want to upgrade your storage space larger than the free 5 GB you are given to start with. A good thing to note is that 5 GB of space on iCloud is actually a lot, considering that if you backup your device using iCloud, the purchased music, apps, books, Photo Stream, and TV shows won’t count on your storage. So what does iCloud store then, that would take up space? It stores your mail, documents, Camera Roll, account information, settings, and other app data. I have a feeling this feature will definitely come in handy to me, and will help me prevent losing data on my iOS devices, like I have in the past.
In addition to the robust iCloud, there are many other features in the upcoming iOS 5. My personal favorite change to the iOS software is the new notification system. The notifications on iOS 5 are now subtle messages that appear at the very top of your screen. They appear, giving you the option to view them without interrupting your game, tweet, or anything else, then flip back. No longer do you need to have your intense game of Angry Birds interrupted with a pointless notifications that you have to tap to close. Say you ignore that message and don’t feel like replying at the moment. In iOS 5, there is a new notification center, which can be viewed by pulling downward on the area at the top of your iOS device’s screen where the time is shown. There you can view all of your missed notifications, as well as widgets such as the weather and stocks.
iOS 5 is said to have over 200+ new features. Other new features besides the ones I’ve covered include iMessage, the new iOS device messaging system, Newsstand, Twitter intergration, a Reminders application, and improved camera editing features and a quick access to your camera from the lock screen.
There are many other features of iOS 5, and I could go on for days explaining. This software is simply amazing, and definitely worth the download tomorrow. Best of all? It’s completely free. What do you think of iOS 5; I want to know! Also, if you would like to read more in-depth about Apple’s new operating system for iOS devices, check out their site by clicking this link. http://www.apple.com/ios/io5.
-Kim
Back to Blogging: Hectic Day One
Today was planned to be a peaceful day off a week ago…then again, it was a week ago. My Columbus Day turned out to be a hectic day.
It all started Sunday morning, with an email from YouTube, who had sent me an email. They wanted to sponsor a video my mom and I made back in the day for this very blog. If any of my older readers remember, that video was “Kim Vlogs: How to Cook Bacon”. At first, I was ecstatic, as I ran to show my mom the good news. We were both very motivated then to restart the blog here and make more YouTube videos. We decided to make it a plan to spend our Columbus Day that way.
When Columbus Day came today, all was well. It was a day off, so we were able to sleep in. (finally!) Then it came time for us to sign up for our YouTube partnership. We were just about to apply, when we realized our video contained copywritten music at the end, so we weren’t able to submit the video, because the content needs to be ALL ours. That was a huge disappointment to my mom and I. We had to post a new version of the video up that didn’t have music at the end. Now we’re just waiting to get the views on the video up again so we can apply for partnership soon. YouTube partnership is a huge dream of mine, and I look forward to a future of having such a fun job! If you would like to help us get the views back up on our newly posted version of “Kim Vlogs: How to Cook Bacon”, or you just want to learn how to cook bacon, check out the video below.
After posting this new version of the bacon video, I frantically signed into WordPress to rebuild the blog. How do you like the new theme and banner? After a hectic day, I’m happy to say that I am back to blog, and here to stay! Look forward to new videos and future stories of myself and my mom.
-Kim
Super Bowl Party!
I love the super bowl! It gives me an excuse to make all of our favorite snacks and serve them all at once. This year I am going to make hot wings, chili and nachos!!!
Our favorite hot wings are the Tyson wings. They are easy to cook and they come out perfect, no home frying involved. We use Marie’s chunky blue cheese dressing from the produce aisle. It is simply the best dressing you can find. Of course, we serve them with celery and carrot sticks.
The nachos are best with restaurant quality tortilla chips and shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese. We like to add refried beans, jalapenos and salsa, like the nachos you get at “Chili’s”. Don’t forget the guacamole and sour cream on top!
Don’t be afraid to make guacamole. It’s quite simple and tastes better than anything you can get in a jar. First buy two soft(but not too soft) Haas avocados and a fresh lime, jalapeno pepper, onion and some cilantro leaves. Peel the skin off of the avocados, mash in a bowl. Add the juice of one lime. Chop onions (about a tablespoon of small pieces), chop 1/2 of the jalapeno pepper and get rid of the seeds. Add the onion and the pepper to the avocado mixture. Chop some fresh cilantro leaves and add them to the mixture. Also add about a tablespoon of sour cream and a pinch of salt. Mix well and enjoy!
November is Here!
Happy November everyone! I can’t believe it is so close to the end of the year ALREADY! I feel like just last weekend was the end of Summer in August. Time really flies for me these days! But I don’t mind because November is one of my favorite seasons. I start to get excited for upcoming snowfall as the temperature drops. Also, Thanksgiving is in a few weeks! A great oppurtunity to have some amazing foods. Fall definetly has a great peak for some of its flavorful foods. But then there is my favorite part of this month which is Black Friday! I love to see if I can get a good bargain. I have only been to 2 Black Fridays in my life, but I enjoy them besides the crowds because I love to shop for new items (Mostly clothes!). It also for some reason gives me a thrill to be out at about 3am or so shopping in a store. When I go shopping though, I only get a few things. I always laugh thought because it is definetly funny when I see people going crazy buying items because they think they are getting “the best deal ever”. I mean from my prespective living in Connecticut, the prices are about the same with maybe $5 off? I don’t know, maybe it is different in other states but that is what it is like here. All well, I am still excited to go out this year just to have a good time. Anyone else going out for Black Friday this year? I would love your comments. Ok, before I go, I wanted to tell everyone I got a Twitter about a week or so ago. I only have a few followers so far, but I am really hoping to get more! If you see @Kim1314, that is me, and I am following quite a few people so far so feel free to follow me. Oh and I am just getting used to it, so I am not 100% good at it yet, but just give me some time.
Preparing for Halloween!
We are in the midst of preparing for Halloween! First there was Kimberly’s costume choice. Oh my, what to choose; the possibilities are endless. Without taking too much time to decide Kimberly picked a character out of her favorite video game, Kingdom Hearts Two. The character’s name is Kairi. She wears a pink dress covered with zippers and has red hair and carries a giant gold key wrapped in flowers. Now the dilemma was how to recreate this look. With my Mom’s help; a genius when it comes to costume creation- Kimberly sent her grandma lots of photos of Kairi. And the results were stunning.
Kimberly as Kairi from Kingdom Hearts II
The costume is exact! But then it was up to her dad to help her create the giant key. Oh my. It included a trip to home depot and some gold spray paint. Then there was the hairspray fun. Kimberly got some red washable hairspray, which she loved so much she began to streak her hair with it. Yikes. Well anyway we still have some work to do to add to the giant key- it needs flowers and vines. Kimberly also selected some cool shoes. I will show you the finished look on Halloween. 
Here is a picture of the character- an
d the keyblade- . Then we had to shop for pumpkins and of course the candy for the trick or treaters. Just as I thought we were almost ready: we decided on a halloween party at work- oh my. Make a treat and wear a costume- what pressure! Oh well. It will be fun but more preparations! I will probably be a pirate since Kimmie was a pirate a few years ago and I can borrow some accessories from her and I will be making chocolate cupcakes. Does anyone have some great chocolate cupcake batter recipies- for 12 cupcakes?
What time is it?
Hey everyone! I’m writing to you from my new iPod touch; it is really great for WordPress! I just got up about one hour ago at noon and I was so surprised!! I usually never sleep in later than 7am. I am guessing all of this school year is making me really tired when the weekend comes around. So next week is Halloween! It is coming so quickly. Today I am finishing up some props to my costume with my mom. My outfit (thank you grandma for making it!! I love it) is from my favorite videogame, Kingdom Hearts II, and I am being Kairi from the game. I think my favorite part though is that i get to dye my hair red like the character, so that will be a surprise to see! But the dye isn’t permanent luckily. I’ll be sure to post pictures when I have to dress up, which will be Friday night as I am going to a Halloween party which will be alot of fun! Anyways though, I want to talk about French now! So I picked it as my language this year and you would think you’d just have to prove you’re learning the language…well you thought wrong! It really is quite a hassle, we have these grades called Culture Points and you have to get 100 points per markig period to pass! To make the points you have to do multiple projects, I’ve done almost 12, and you get only 5 points per project, so it takes forever to fulfill the 100 points! And I have other homework too, so I never have time for it! In fact I have to do another project today which I am not to happy about at all…..Well before I end this post I would like comments, how are you spending Halloween?
Kim
(here is a picture of the character I am being for Halloween!)
Mother Daughter Blog 