Sad?? You are Not Alone

     Ever have those moments, in life when all that was important at that very second!, is no longer important, with a life changing event. It was not a life changing event for me, per se, it was rather for  my youngest son.

     In our neighborhood, we are blessed to have nosey neighbors, people who care what you are up to. Moving from rural Putney to Brattleboro was scary and exciting. In Putney, we lived on the third floor of an old house. Never saw your neighbors much. Kinda like living in a tree house. Only problem was the backyard was a straight down cliff. Anyone who travels through that gully, will find baby bottles, blocks and anything else my oldest son launched off our porch.

     My neighborhood is the atypical neighborhood. Sometimes we should be careful what we ask for. All those lonely days, sitting in the tree house wishing for friends,for my son.  I was more excited that we didn't have to climb two staircases. Not going to the laundry mat,a huge plus! You'd think I would not whine having to do one load of laundry, after that. How quickly we forget.

     The best thing about the neighborhood I live in, is that everyone looks out for the kids. Some are little snots and some are littler snots, and there is no shortage of parents that remind these kids to behave on a regular basis. On such person, was Kenny. My youngest would come home often talking about Kenny, how he was a good guy. My husband being from this area knew him, so I was OK with it. The only time I ever met Kenny was when he came to my husband and I, about my son's gift with sign language, if you get my drift. For some reason he enjoyed flipping the bird, if a situation did not turn out the way he wanted.

     Kenny, was the kind of man that never hesitated when it came to the truth. Come to find out my boy, my sweet little boy, has the mouth of a trucker and the sign language to match, and the two little brothers that come over are in it as deep. I am grateful that Kenny was bold enough to tell us the truth, and not the G-rated version. Aren't kids great?

     It is with a heavy heart,  I tell you that Kenny passed away this Tuesday. The worst part about the whole situation was that we heard the news from my youngest son. This is one of the times, that both my husband and I, are not too experienced in. My husband is a very nurturing kind of guy, so we decided, that he should go into battle first. I would follow later with copious amounts of McDonald's.

     This plan seemed to work very well, there was an initial melancholy feel to the room, but as soon as the sedating effect of the food came over them it was OK. Thing is, I never buy fast food, because it generates a feeding frenzy and a subsequent desire for more fast food. Why are there no DEA officers there? I have proof that it insights "I think, we should have McDonald's once a month?", questions like "Are you going to eat that?", and "That is the last burger, we should split it!"

    My solution to an uncomfortable situation is to find food, anything that will lessen the pain someone is feeling. It is natural for me, to want to nurture and bear that pain for them. We are parents, that is what we do. My kids love to make Monkey Bread with me because they can do it themselves. It has a very gratifying effect on them. So when your kids are blue, and only a parents love will do. Make monkey bread with them.

Monkey Bread with Ginger Cream cheese Icing

4 tubes of refrigerated biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Vermont maple syrup
2 1/2 sticks of butter (1 1/4 cup)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Melt 1 stick of butter and set aside. In a Ziploc bag(easiest way) place the granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and give a little shake. Grease liberally with butter or pan spray a 9 or 10 inch Bundt pan. Open tubes of biscuits and quarter each biscuit. Allow the kids to roll into balls, dip in butter and shake in the spice sugar . Layer in the Bundt pan, with the 1/2 cup of chopped pecans until all the biscuits are gone.  In a saucepan melt the remaining butter with the brown sugar and maple syrup, bring to a boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits. Bake in a 350F oven for 35 minutes. Let cool and turn out onto a plate.

Icing

1/2 pound cream cheese
1/2 butter
1 pound powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. When the bread has been turned out on the plate, hand each child, in my case,two butter knives and spread the warm buns until the icing is gone. Pull apart and enjoy with a huge glass of cold milk.

A child is a curly dimpled lunatic.~Ralph Waldo Emerson

That is your last piece of candy!!!!!! I mean it, this time.

     Tonight sugar will prevail.  Kids across America have awoke to await the sunset, enjoying a sweet breakfast of pre-Halloween candy. My son usually quite docile at 9am, is dressed and patrolling the neighborhood, in search of others like himself.  Air horn in hand, skeleton t-shirt and sugar coursing through his veins,he asks when will it be dark?
     One year, my oldest son was a Ninja and he enjoyed all the accessories that completed the look. One small problem though, it was raining, not just sprinkling...flat out raining. I remember my husband giving my son an umbrella, and my usually jovial happy-go-lucky son was crushed, clearly upset with the prospect of carrying an umbrella with his cool looking ninja sword.  What he said, will forever go down in the history books as unarguably the right thing to say, when learning there is no way out of carrying that umbrella...."Dad, Ninjas don't carry umbrellas!"  From that moment on, when I think of Halloween, I think of umbrella toting ninjas.

     I can already tell you that it is only 10 am and my husband has already uttered those all too familiar words.."You better calm down, or there is going to be no Halloween!". While I sit here writing this my youngest is a slow-brewing tsunami of energy, unable to sit still, pacing a path from the kitchen to the living room, speaking in tongues from time to time, making utterly no sense at all. While, my husband patiently awaits the World Series, subdued and irritated all at the same time.

     "Calm down" is the present destination of this years Halloween.  I wonder if my parents, went through the roller coaster of sugar addiction. I, for one am a chocolate bar enabler.  There is not a Baby Ruth out there that I do not love with all my heart.  But what sits behind me, is the Frankenstein of my chocolate addiction.  Swapping candy for cheeseburger Doritos, he laughs and crunches, laughs and crunches as the drug:sugar infiltrates his ability to reason.  "Put that pumpkin down now!", "Quit bothering the cat, he's gonna scratch you!", "Stop it!", and my personal favorite "Knock it off!" are the sounds of a peaceful home.  Home sweet home.
     Last year, my number one goal was to get the kids fed before they went out in search of sugar loot. However, I was a little under the weather with that pesky flu, the H1N1. So you can imagine how heartbroken I was that I could not enjoy my annual intake of mini Baby Ruth bars, gory scary movies and the inevitable sweet crash of the overindulgence of candy, then perfect silence as my youngest slept off his sugar buzz. I was sick, and certainly not what I envisioned my perfect Halloween to be.

     This year, gratefully no swine flu and instead of a recipe of cheeseburger sliders that bombed miserably, which by the way I threw away in the morning. We will be having pizza, which I kinda feel is Halloween food anyway. It's mobile and kids just like it no matter what, the greasier the better. I never had such harsh critics until I had a husband and kids.  God bless them, they tell it like it is.  Which is fortunate for me. I would not like to launch a grape jelly, cream cheese and pickle pizza without a fan club.
     I am going to share my pizza dough recipe again, because it is a fool-proof pizza dough, it works every time(taking into consideration, when the humidity drops the flour gets lighter, so less flour is needed in winter, than in the summer).  What I mean to say is, if the dough is sticky add a wee more flour until it pulls away from the mixing bowl, no longer tacky on the fingers and is elastic. You can add spices during this process if you would like, adding garlic and dried basil gives your dough that much more character.  The possibilities are endless.  Either way, Have a Happy Halloween and if you are parents of wee ones, I hope the evil trickster Senor Sugarpants does not linger to long on your doorstep. ;)

2 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon Fleischmann's Dry Active Yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water(110F to 115F)
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil

In a mixing bowl fashioned with a dough hook, add all the dry ingredients, including the yeast. Combine the warm water and olive oil and pour into mixing bowl.  Turn the machine on low and mix until the dough pulls cleanly from the sides.  At this point you might have to add more flour, just add a little at a time, like 1 or 2 tbs at a time. When the dough is elastic and no longer is sticky to the touch, oil the same bowl that you mixed the dough in, cover with a towel and set in a warm place, until doubled in size.  Punch down and your ready for cheese and your favorite toppings.  Good hot oven is the key to getting a good rise and browning, anything over 400F is a good starting point. 

You wouldn't believe on All Hallow Eve what lots of fun we can make, with apples to bob, and nuts on the hob, and a ring- and- thimble cake.~Carolyn Wells

Float like a Butterfly!!!!

     Ever notice that during the advent of fall, the most beautiful butterflies make their debut only to willow away south.  My pastor's son Travis, loves butterflies, and there is not one thing that he could not tell me about the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly, he has raised and let go of many Monarchs.

The cool thing about the Monarch butterfly, is that they migrate over great distances to more temperate climates, and like the Pacific salmon never make more than one trip, before they wither and allow their offspring to pick up the journey.
     Two things are happening in Mexico each fall, the arrival of the Monarch and the Mexican holiday Los Dia de los Muertos.  It is said that the Monarch returns to Mexico for the protection of the climate and the oyamel fir trees, and the locals welcome the returning butterflies, because they believe that they bear the spirits of their dearly departed.  I, for one would buy that hook, line and sinker, because there is something so serene and omnipotent about a butterfly. It is graceful and divine all at the same time.  To have a Monarch grace your presence means change is coming, perhaps an old habit, a way of thinking or a lifestyle, a new beginning is coming, stop taking life so seriously...no one gets out alive :)

     Los Dias de los Muertos is translated the days of the dead, and is a traditional holiday honoring the dead, right around the same time as Halloween.   The townspeople dress up in the same way as we do, however it is for a very different party.  They parade through town carrying an open coffin and the local vendors toss in fruit, flowers and candy. In the townsfolk homes, families arrange "altars" or "ofrendas", with gifts of fruit, candy, bread and flowers, to honor the those that have left us.  In the afternoon, candles are lit in the honor of the dearly departed.
     The next day, the families travel to the cemeteries to clean the graves of their loved ones. They carry flowers, candles, baskets and blankets, the graves are weeded, the dirt raked smooth, tombs are scrubbed and swept clean.  Some families spend the entire night in the cemetery honoring their loved ones.

     The Aztecs believed in an afterlife, where their loved ones returned as hummingbirds or butterflies, and images have been discovered of the butterfly and hummingbird in Aztec tombs. One thing I remember from spanish class was " Pan de Muertos", and I hope that I am able to do it justice, because my good friend Yaeko, may have a bone to pick with me. ;)

Pan de Muertos

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water about 110 F
3 cups flour
2 packets of dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps anise seed
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsps orange zest
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbs orange zest
2 tbs sugar

Heat milk and butter in a saucepan, until butter is melted. Add warm water.  In another bowl add 1 cup flour, yeast, salt, anise and 1/4 cup sugar, beat in the warm milk then add eggs and orange zest and mix until well incorporated, Stir in 1/2 cup flour and and continue to add flour until  the dough is soft and elastic.  Turn out on to a floured surface and knead until smooth.  Place in a greased bowl and cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.  Punch the dough down and shape into a large round loaf with a round knob on top.  Place on a baking sheet and loosely cover and let rise for an additional hour,  Bake in a 350 F oven for about 45 minutes, Remove from oven, cool and then glaze.  In a small saucepan combine sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and bring to a boil, boil long enough to dissolve the sugar, brush over the bread while still warm and sprinkle with more sugar.

Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you have met your New Year's resolution. ~ Jay Leno

He loves me... He loves me not?

     During this time of the year, the superstitious people come out of the woodwork, and the Irish are no strangers to folklore.  One myth is that the soul of the last buried in the churchyard, must watch over all until another soul enters in, indentured to carry water to those souls waiting in Purgatory, another is when approaching a funeral you must turn back and walk at least four steps with the mourners.  Children born at night were gifted with seeing the fairies, spirits and wee folk, and during the magical time of Hallow e'en people avoided taking short cuts in fear of the spirits or wee folk leading them astray.

     Hallow e'en for the Irish was a time of divination, the completion of the year's harvest, and the remembrance for the dearly departed kinfolk. Even the poorest of households prepared something special for the night.  Oddly enough, what we know as Cabbage Night, has roots in Ireland.  Cabbage was tossed against neighbors door on Hallow e'en to give them a fright.

     Matchmaking was among the favorite pastimes of the Irish.  Special foods were prepared for such an occasion.  Colcannon and Barm Brack were used as divination tools to the future of young women and men.  The word Barm comes from and Old English word , beorma,  meaning yeasty fermented liquid.  It is said that this bread was made with the yeast skimmed off of the top of fermenting beer, and Brack from the Irish word brac  meaning speckled.  Barm Brack is a yeasty bread speckled with dried fruit, and was a tool of fortune telling and divination.  A real party starter in my book!!!  Various objects were hidden and baked in the bread. If the guest had a bean it meant poverty. If the slice contained a button you were destined to bachelorhood. A thimble, the woman would be a spinster. A coin you would attain great wealth and the most prized token of all was the gold ring, which meant marriage, the greatest of all the tokens. Spending your life with your beloved was the far greatest treasure to attain.

Barm Brack

1# mixed dried fruit( raisins, golden raisins, sultanas)
1 strong pot of Irish tea (constant comment works great)
1/2 cup room temperature  milk
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp mixed spice( mixed spice is the US version of cinnamon,cloves, nutmeg, allspice and mace)

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons butter(Cabot)

2 tablespoons sugar

Soak the fruit in the tea over night. Combine the yeast, sugar and milk and allow to form bubbles(activating the yeast), sift the flour, with the remaining sugar, spices and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter. Make a well in the center and add your activated yeast and the beaten egg, and mix until a soft dough forms.  Knead in the fruit until well incorporated.  Place the dough in a well greased bowl and let rise for an hour.  Knead again lightly and form into loaf pans and let rise an additional 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with pearl sugar and bake at 400F  for 35 to 45 minutes or until when tapped it will sound hollow.  Serve with butter and wonderful hot herbal tea.

Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things. ~Robert Louis Stevenson(1850 to 1894)

Gimme me some SOUL--Cakes!!

     Celebrations are important times, important as the air we breath.  It brings those far away closer. Mends hearts and completes us. These gatherings always include food.  In the era of having everything we want, whenever we want, what was it like then?  Back then, food signified rites of passage, appeasing the superstitious rumor and fulfilling sanctified and civilized duties.

     We have evolved from traditions, to protein bars and drive-thrus.   Years ago, we were a superstitious bunch of people, that believed on All Hallows Eve, the dead could walk among the living.  Among the these celebrations, was an old English custom called "soul-caking" or "souling".  Singers went out to beg for cakes in remembrance of the dead, it is said that each cake eaten would represent a soul being freed from Purgatory. Before the advent of Catholic and Christian influences, The Druids did things a bit different, they had bonfires honoring the Gods of Harvest, and some say that the cakes were baked for the bonfires, a lottery of sorts: pick the charred cake, and be the sacrifice for a bountiful upcoming year.  Yikes!!! , or to appease a spirit condemned to walk the earth in animal form. 

     Not all was doom and gloom, it was also a time of celebration, costumed dancers or "mummers" made their merry rounds during Halloween and were given soul cakes as payment for their performance.  Myth said that the departed would return to their homes on All Hallows Eve, candles were lit to light their way, while food and drink were placed out for them. 

Here is a children's song from the 19th and early 20th century:

A soul,a soul, a soul cake.

Please god missus a soul cake.

An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry,

Any good thing to make us merry.

Up with your kettles and down with your pans

Give us an answer and we'll be gone

Little Jack, Jack sat on his gate

Crying for butter to butter his cake

One for St. Peter, and two St. Paul,

Three for the man that made us all.

Soul cake recipe:

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3 egg yolks

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

2 tsp malt vinegar

generous pitch of saffron

3 tablespoons currants

milk to moisten

Cream sugar and butter together until fluffy and light, beat in egg yolks, fold in sifted flour and spices, add vinegar and enough milk to make a soft dough.  Form into flat cakes and stud top with currants, in the shape of a cross. Brush with a beaten egg and bake on a well greased baking sheet at 350 F until golden brown.

At first cock-crow the ghosts must go Back to their quiet graves below.~ Theodosia Garrison

Leaning tower of Pizza!!!

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza this should be a food group in my opinion. In fact it is a perfect food.  I have never met a pizza that I did not like.  When we think of pizza, we assume that it originated in Italy.  But it started its roots in Greece, when they topped large flat breads with oil, herbs, spices and even dried fruit. Eventually it made it's way to the streets of Naples, where vendors sold a very plain sense of the word pizza, mainly to the poor.  Well, the story goes that in 1886 Queen Margherita was so enamored with this flat bread that she summoned a local Chef from his pizzeria to the palace to bake these flat breads for her.  To honor the beloved Queen he topped one of his creations with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil, to represent the colors of the Italian flag.  Who knew, that Queen Margherita would start a pizza a revolution, and this pizza is still to this, day popular in Naples and around the world,what a trendsetter!!

But how did pizza root itself in America? During World War II, while the Americans and Europeans occupied Italian territories, soldiers got their first taste of the amazing dish.  Oddly enough Italian immigrants were selling the pizzas all along, but it was the soldiers that pulled pizza out of the neighborhoods and put it on the map.

Gennaro Lombardi is said to have been the first person to open up a pizzeria in 1905 , in New York City. It was named Lombardi's Pizzeria Napoletana, located 53 1/2 Spring Street.  Unfortunately, it was a little to soon, pizza had not taken off yet.
Italian food, not surprisingly is the number one popular ethnic food, and there are 9,000 pizzerias in New York alone(Tony Modica Pizza Dance Foundation), and a whopping 61,270 pizza joints in the U.S(America Business Lists, Omaha, Nebraska).  October we celebrate National Pizza month and Saturday is the biggest night to order take-out and it is pizza. Three of the top 10 weeks of pizza consumption occur in January. More pizza is consumed during Super Bowl  week than any other week of the year(Kraft Foods,Northfield, Ill.)
Here is one of my recipes for pizza dough...hope it serves you well as it has me.

2 cups All Purpose flour
1 Tbs. dry active yeast
1/2 tsp. sugar granulated
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water (110F to 115F)
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil

combine all dry ingredients and YES the yeast too. Place in a mixer and with a dough hook, add the water and oil combined, mix until it comes to a ball, may have to add more flour...THIS IS OK...add until it no longer sticks to the bowl and can be manipulated with your hands and not stick to them. Oil the very same bowl that it was mixed in and let rise until doubled.  Punch down and your ready to create your pizza de la resistance.  :)

Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French.Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good. ~Alice May Brock

Off with your Bread!!!

So you wanna make some bread?  It seems easy enough, but what do the ingredients say about the integrity of bread?  If they stood alone could they do the infinite job of being BREAD?  I know the answer without even using a life-line. The answer is NO, each step is influenced by the other.
Flour: what roles does flour play?  Flour provides structure to the bread. Gluten in flour forms a network to trap the air bubbles and the starch in the flour helps to set the bread.  In breads that use yeast, we really want that stretchy web to trap the carbon dioxide and steam during baking.  Result, really spongy bread with lots of holes to trap BUTTER..:)
Fat: we all know this word, and it comes in so many great forms. In the bread making process fat covers the gluten particles, so they won't get lost in the mix it is similar to neon spandex on girls in my era(we know who we are) . This fat in bread gives it tenderness and "Where's the Butter?"
Sugar:the main function of sugar in bread is to provide food for the yeast, the more food, the more the yeast multiples and grows giving off carbon dioxide and alcohol, which gives the bread the "Where's the Butter?" moment. Sugar tenderizes the bread and prevewnts the gluten from forming.
 Eggs: We have learned from prior posts that eggs are a leavener, meaning it aids in the structure of bread.  The yolk adds fat, which we found out tenderizes, it aids in a smooth and even texture. Breads that contain eggs just have more depth of flavor and character.
Liquids: Liquids carry the flavor throughout the dough, it acts as the catalyst in gluten formation, it provides steam during baking and promotes tenderness.
Salt: carries a small role but a role nonetheless, it strengthens the gluten stands and adds flavor, it helps regulate the yeast so the bread does not rise too fast.

Yeast: Yeast a one-celled organism multiples and grows using available sugar and water, in the process giving off carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol(fermentation). We "punch down" the dough to help the yeast to decolonize, breaking up the little yeast colonies, giving the yeast more food and air, named the second rise.

Most breads are done when we think they are done.  It is when we over-think the process that we get paper weights. It should be golden brown, firm and when tapped with a finger sound hollow.  Read the recipe before you begin, have everything read before you start and remember it is just food.

                             A Bagel is a doughnut with the sin removed. ~ George Rosenbaum

                                                                

Last but not, Yeast!!!!

Ever looked at yeast and had heart palpitations?  because it stood between you and a great loaf of bread.  Well fear no more. In this edition we will get to the guts of yeast, what it is, how to use it, so next time that loaf of bread won't stop progress.  What is yeast?  For starters it is a tiny microorganism that grows all around us, and it is said to be the oldest plant cultivated by man.  It's purpose is to serve as the middle man in production of carbon dioxide which we all know makes products baked in the oven rise.  Yeast feeds off the sugar in flour and releases carbon dioxide in the process. With no place to go, the carbon dioxide fills thousands of balloon shaped bubbles in the dough.  Once the bread is baked this process is what gives the bread its airy texture.
For the purpose of this being about the everyday cook, I will not go into great detail about Fresh Yeast, this comes in cake form and is soft.  This yeast is very time-sensitive and most often is found in the food service industry. The two yeasts that are available in supermarkets are Active-dry yeast and Instant yeast. (both are known as Fast-rising, Rapid-rise, Quick rise and Bread Machine yeast.)  These are what most recipes call for; one package equals about 1/4 ounce or 2 1/4 tsps . To make sure that your yeast is active and not stale, sprinkle it on hot water , temperature should be about 105F to 115F, if active it should begin foaming after five minutes.  It can be stored at room temperature, until the expiration date but refrigerating it will make it last longer.  Just make sure that the yeast is sealed and kept away from air and moisture.
For many years the only yeast available was fresh yeast or the cake yeast, and it has a very short shelf life.  Fleishmann's Yeast (the brand most often seen in supermarkets) cut the housewife's job on making bread in half by developing a process of granulating the yeast which formed tiny particles that were dried and then vacuum-sealed.  This process allows the yeast to remain dormant until the consumer opens and activates.  COOL HUH???  Yeast should not be scary it is relatively easy to use as long as it is not expired.  One word to the wise, never on a dare or whatever the case may be, you never know....eat raw active yeast, it will continue to grow in your intestines and rob your body of nutrients.. Just saying.....

We are all dietetic sinners; only a small percent of what we eat nourishes us; the balance goes to waste and loss of energy.~William Osler

Buy the girl, Flours!!!

Flour it seems basic enough, but when you go to the supermarket you see more varieties than you bargained for.  In this edition we will talk about flours and their uses.   There are many different flours out there, the most common and widely used is the All-Purpose Flour  When we think of what flour is made from we assume that it is just wheat, but surprisingly it can be ground from nuts and seeds, and the type you use is vital to the finished product.
When we talk about All-purpose Flour it is a blend of hard and soft wheat and can be bleached or unbleached.  When a flour is bleached naturally as it ages it is labeled "unbleached", while it's cousin "bleached" is treated chemically. I can hear you already, "What's the difference"? Bleached has less protein and works well in making pie crusts, cookies and quick breads to name a few.  The unbleached is better suited for the yeast breads.  Which leads me into the next type of flour the Bread Flour this flour is hard and made from a high-protein wheat, and has more gluten than the All-Purpose Flour.  Next for the serious baker we have Cake Flour and Pastry Flour.  The cake flour is a fine, soft wheat designed for making cakes with great volume or simply,better able to maintain that rise in the oven without collapsing.  This flour is chlorinated or bleached which in that process leaves the flour acidic, this in turn distributes the fat more evenly in the mixing process and improves the overall texture of the cake. Pastry flour is also made from soft wheat and falls somewhere between all-purpose and cake flour in terms of baking and protein.  Pastry flour is used mostly for biscuits, pie crusts, cookies and quick breads.  This flour is not recommended for yeast breads.
Self-Rising Flour is a phosphated flour, it has low-protein, and salt and baking powder added to it. This flour is well suited for biscuits, muffins and quick breads.  I would not recommend it for yeast breads.  You can make your own self-rising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsps of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of salt to every cup of flour you use.
Whole Wheat Flour is made from the whole kernel of wheat and is high in fiber, however it is not high in gluten, so often times it is mixed with all-purpose to increase the gluten level in order to make bread.

Semolina Flour this flour is the one that produces the best pasta dough, because it is made from Durum wheat which is the hardest wheat grown.  It has the highest levels of gluten. Because of the gluten content it is great for yeast breads and pasta.

In the last five years, I have noticed a rise in people with celiac disease. This is a auto-immune disease where the intestines have been damaged eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat,barley, rye and possibly oats. I am not familiar with all the wheat-free and gluten-free flours, so I can't begin to tell how to use them.  However I can list a few for you that I have seen. Arrowroot Flour, Brown rice Flour,Buckwheat Flour,Cornflour,Millet, Potato and White rice Flour. 

Welcome to the Church of Holy Cabbage. Lettuce pray.~Author Unknown

Exsqueeze me Baking Powder?

So I have been a chef almost 26 years and I can honestly say that Baking Soda and Baking Powder still confuse me to this day. So, let's explore the world of chemical leaveners.

They both are leaveners which mean that they are added in baking before the cooking process, to produce carbon dioxide which causes it to rise. Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate when combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient like buttermilk,lemon juice and even chocolate causes a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide. This expands under the application of heat causing your little muffins to rise. However, this chemical reaction begins immediately upon mixing so it is important to bake soon or otherwise you product will fall.

Baking Powder contains sodium bicarbonate and a little mother's helper called cream of tartar or it's own personal acid, and to make sure the acid does not get outta hand a drying agent(cornstarch) kinda like a babysitter. Now if that is not confusing enough we have single-acting and double-acting baking powder. Single-acting is activated by moisture so you gotta move when mixed to get it baked, double-acting reacts in two phases, once when mixed so you are not under the gun, and the majority of the chemical reaction happens in the oven.

So, I hear you saying "Fine, I get it, but? When should I use them? The primary goal in using these leaveners is to produce a tasty product with a good texture. Baking soda is basic and will result in bitterness unless combined with an acid. Baking powder contains the acid and a base and has a relatively neutral taste, so most the ingredients are neutral in taste, like milk. So go forth and bake your brains out!!!!!

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.~Harriet Van Horne