SWAK and Unwrap

I have to admit, I've lost interest in the Daring Bakers. I love baking, but it is hard to bake on someone else's agenda. I don't really want to put a lot of effort into making food I don't really want! I haven't lost interest in cupcakes though. Here is my latest creation. I call them "SWAK Babycakes" as they remind me of Terry's Chocolate Oranges ("whack and unwrap"). These cupcakes have dense brownie bottoms and are topped with orange flavored buttercream. Delish!

PS I just checked out the Daring Bakers challenge for October and it was French Macarons . . . maybe I will have to try those out after all!

How do you like your beets?

Despite appearances, these are burgers are Botanical:

They are vegan, containing a whole variety of veggies along with rice and nuts. They are delicious and the recipe comes from the Rebar Cookbook.

Daring Bakers June Challenge - The Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

So, during this challenge I learned that so much butter can leech out of pie shell that you can (almost) start a grease fire! Who knew? Due to this somewhat unsettling fact, my tart was not fully cooked. Despite it all, I think it turned out pretty well.

Here is the (butter filled) shell:

With my homemade rhubarb jam filling:

And some (slightly gross looking) Frangipane:

Ahh! What happened?

Despite it all, my Rhubarb Bakewell Tart was pretty tasty. The proof is in the pudding:

Thankyou to Jasmine and Annemarie for hosting this challenge.

Daring Cooks June Challenge - Potstickers

This month’s Daring Cooks Challenge was Potstickers/Goyza and was brought to us by Jen. I am not a fan of pork or shrimp or cabbage (yes, I know, I am picky) so I developed my own vegetarian version and made several attempts.

First, I made a root vegetable mixture in whole wheat wrappers. The beets made everything purple and the whole wheat flour was too chewy.

I tried again with white flour. Much better, but the filling still wasn't my cup of tea so made a pesto and white bean filling. Mmmmm!

I loved this version although I found the mixture too wet for the water and flour based potsticker wrappers - they tended to leak a bit (see above). To compensate for this, I switched to a egg and flour based pasta. So, although it was not my intent, my vegetarian potstickers eventually morphed into lovely Pesto and White Bean Tortellini! Perfect! I forgot to take a picture of my final version, but maybe next time!

It's Strawberry Season!

Mmmm. I love berries. I think that raspberries are my favourite, but I was recently reminded of the bliss of a perfectly ripe strawberry when I bought some from a local orchard. I don't know when I last had a decent strawberry, but these berries reminded me of the "fake" strawberry flavour in lifesavers.

I just HAD to capture the strawberry goodness I discovered, so I made jam. Two batches. I made a batch of uncooked freezer jam and a batch of traditional pectin free jam. They are both delicious.

The traditional jam (front) tastes very much that: sweet, sticky, traditional jam. The non cooked freezer jam (back) tastes like perfectly ripe strawberries. I can't decide which one I like best. My cat, Ollie, was convinced that he also likes jam. I am not so sure how jam fits in with an "obligate carnivore" diet, but who am I to question good taste?

I also recently made my Strawberry Fields Forever Cupcakes. I make them with frozen strawberries, but I bet they'd be even better with local fresh berries. I might have to test that theory :)

Daring Bakers April Challenge - Cheesecake

It's Daring Baker time!  The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I try and stay away from all things dairy and decided to make my cheesecake using this tofu cheesecake recipe.  As my "creative twist", I replaced the lemon juice in the recipe with espresso and added about a quarter cup of cocoa powder.  I used crushed chocolate wafers for the crust.  It didn't turn out tooooo badly, but no matter how much I wish and pray for tofu to magically turn into things it is not (i.e. cream cheese), it just doesn't.  Next time I make cheesecake I think I will splurge on the dairy!

Mocha Cheese(tofu)cake

Thank you to JennyBakes for hosting the April challenge!

My "Spa at Home" Weekend

I took five days off for the Easter weekend.  I didn't have anything special planned, but felt like I needed a "breather" from work.  As a single girl with only a cat for distraction, I find that work plays too heavy of a role in my life.   So, as I do not have the funds for a vacation or trip to the spa, I decided to treat myself right this weekend with lots of sleeping, yoga, walks on the beach and healthy eating. My weekend wasn't quiet as relaxing as I'd hoped (it never is), but I did do lots of sleeping and followed my "cleansing" eating plan.  I am already a vegetarian, but I also omitted flour, sugar, dairy and eggs from my diet over the long weekend and plan to do so for a few more days.  Here is a sampling of what I made (and ate!).

I started off each morning with a bowl of oatmeal and berries, but replaced my usual brown sugar with agave nectar.  Mmmm.

My first new recipe was Vegveeta Cheese Dip.  Despite the name and colour, this dip has a very small resemblance to cheese although it is a nice warm and creamy dip.  

For a treat, I made Peanut Butter Granola Bars.  I replaced the butter this recipe called for with coconut oil and replaced the marshmallows with extra peanut butter and some honey.  They are very dense and much more crumbly than regular granola bars, but still delicious!

                                   

Another meal I made was Warm Potato Spinach Salad with Pine Nut Dressing.  I omitted the olives and peppers this recipe called for and added strawberries instead.  This recipe is wonderful and I will be adding it to my repertoire.  

                                  

I also made one of my favourites, Creamy Broccoli Soup.  I originally got this recipe from O Magazine, but now just make it from memory (I think!).  All it contains is an onion, a potato, broccoli and vegetable stock.  I sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on top.  

I am most proud of my final recipe for the weekend.  This is my own "recipe" so I will call them "Granola Girl Muffins".  Now, I rarely use a recipe when baking muffins so I will probably never be able to replicate these, but considering that I thought I would end up with sugar-dairy-wheat-egg free rocks, I think they are fantastic.  I used a combination of oat bran and spelt flour for the "flour", honey for "sugar", arrowroot powder and a banana for the "egg" and soy milk as the liquid.  They also contain peanut butter and a cup of crumbles left over from my granola bars (above).  They turned out moist and delicious!

My long weekend of "relaxation" has now come to an end.  I wish I could have another 5 days off, but rather than dwell on that, I am off to take a bubble bath!