Baking frenzy: key lime bars

I've was recently experiencing a renewed baking frenzy. I think this phenomenon that comes and goes like a mood. I was saving this recipe for just this occasion in order to use up my stores of fresh lemons and limes that are steadily rotting away because I can't consume them fast enough. This recipe only used up about 2 of my limes, which are yellow and look like lemons, so I ended up adding a lemon in there as well. So I have plenty more for another recommended tasty treat. Though I don't know if my waistline can handle the sudden influx in sugar. Thank you to Amy for the recipe. Won't publish it here, but hit me up if you want it. This is the same tasty treat that Amy included in her Xmas goody bags last year for those of you who were lucky enough to claim them before they were gone. These were very easy to make, uses a ton of coconut. I didn't realize they involved cream cheese, which I hate, but I loved them despite. Next time i will just use more lime juice to cut through all the creaminess. They apparently freeze well, but we didn't have any leftover for storing after I gave a bunch away to my new culinary fans.

2010 Birthday

Happy birthday to my darling husband. Won't get all gushy here. But wanted to show off my culinary feat for the day. Orange poppyseed cake (with lemon cream cheese icing): Turned out kinda like a big muffin. 

We celebrated the event combined with our 3rd anniversary over the weekend with a trip to Tasmania. Yes I know its a bit cold going in that direction but it was a cheaper option for a mini get away. More about that in photos later. 

Moms potato roll recipe

Cinnamon rolls

Monkey Bread

Potato rolls

Recipe:

7 tsp yeast dissolved in 3 cups of warm water for 15 minutes

Add:
1 3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup veg oil
1 cup of potato flakes (or I used 1 cup of freshly mashed potatoes which makes for a slightly lumpy mixture)

Slowly incorporate 6-8 cups flour
Knead and let rise twice
Bake at 350 degrees F until brown

Moms potato roll recipe makes a ton of dough. What to do with it all when all I wanted was some gooey, cinnamony buns?. I ended up with all of this... And am now feeling quite the baker.

Amy help! How do I make milk pie

Oh I wish you were awake right now cause I can't for the life of me remember how to make milk pie like when we were little. It's a rainy, dreary day - my favorite- and I had a hankering for something crunchy and caramely. But settled on trying to recreate this. It's still a bit soupy though after one hour of baking. Are you supposed to add an egg? I rembered the can of evaporated milk (always a staple in house when we were growing up) and sugar inside my rapid pie crust. Was gonna call you or mom but it's 2 am your time so I hope this will suffice.

More Carrot Cupcakes (w/ the Recipe this time)

Best way to get rid of the extra carrots going bad in the fridge. I am liking the idea of sneaking vegetables in desserts, probably get more vitamins in my diet this way. Can't possibly be losing any nutrients in the baking process either, since its a closed system.

Carrot Cupcakes, with Cream-cheese frosting:

Oven at 160 degrees C (about 375 F)

Mix: 1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cups raisins

1 carrot, peeled and grated

3 eggs

3/4 cups milk

100g butter, melted

Bake in muffin tin for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through (test with a skewer).

Cool on a wire rack

For a Dessert, if you so choose, top with cream cheese icing: 250g cream cheese + 50g softened butter + 1/2 cup icing sugar

But I'm not a fan of cream cheese.

For breakfast, Richard will probably just smear plain cream cheese directly.

Peanut butter blossoms

To get rid of the excesses of peanut butter on this rainy Thursday I
opened my cookbook to the peanut butter blossoms page. Recipe says it
originates from aunta Nini's kitchen. And I've been saving these
Hershey kisses just for this recipe since November. Ran out before the
end and had to use some cadbury old gold dark chocolate squares. The
effect is just not the same. Let me also just say that the non-stick
jelly roll pans Amy gave me for Christmas are awesome. Thanks Amy!

Channeling Nigella

We got the Nigella Bites DVD from our webflicks subscriptions. Watched the whole series one rainy afternoon and was inspired to create some tasty treats. So I proceeded to create a square version of her Flourless Chocolate Cloud Cake. Ingredients include dark dark chocolate and eggs (the whites and yolks used separately) as the rising agent. I included touches of orange rind and triple sec to lighten up the dark chocolate richness. The cake is finished with a heaping dollop of freshly whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. Yum, though a lot of work to end up with something very similar to a brownie. I might just stick with my Mom's fabulous and classic Katherine Hepburn's homemade brownie recipe cause then I can get fudgey, gooey, goodness.

Stoned

What to do with excessive amounts of plums, apricots and peaches rapidly ripening in the fridge given to us by Richard's Gran? And how can you say no to food, especially when you can bake and freeze everything? So this is what resulted:

Apricot Anarchy Cake, off the Epicurious Website, made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar! - turned out kind of like a tart. Richard devoured, but I was a bit weirded out (and Apricots are not my favorite) and opted for the...

... Plum Streusel coffeecake instead. Also off the Epicurious website. Similar to my Mom's Plum Streusel Kuchen, but with more crumb. We eat this stuff for dessert with Vanilla Frozen Yogurt. 

And we got apricot sauce for ice cream, peach bellinis, peach pie with apples and raspberries, lady finger trifle, and more out of all the stone fruits we had in the fridge. The remainder are now stored in the freezer ready for smoothies.

Amy's Input into my baking trials

Direct from the Master Baker herself: "There are not many good sugar substitutions in baking, I think I like the agave nectar the best- no strong fake sugar after taste.Nothing beats sugar in browning.  We didnt experiment much in school with different fats, butter is best tasting and what is used almost exclusively in most formulas. Also I have never had much inclination to try other fat subsititutions. Try vegan cookbooks- esp fat substitutions."


Thanks Amers! don't know where I am going to find Agave nectar here, I might have seen some in the fancy health food stores in South Melbourne. And I am an avid believer in butter, real butter with all the fat, but I was trying to look out for those who aren't like me. I'd like to take this opportunity to promote the use of ALL-natural foods (that come from mother nature) and that includes butter. I recently received an email extolling the ridiculous properties of margerine that make it most similar to plastic. No wonder we have cancer and heart disease plaguing the population with all the processed junk that we eat. Animals and insects avoid the stuff and humans should take a lesson from that.


I have always tried to create dishes and baked delights from scratch hoping to achieve some resemblance to my mother's home cooking which is 100 times better than anything I could buy in the store. Recently, with our move back to civilization, I am try to incorporate more seasonal, fresh, organic, locally grown produce and meats (buying from farmers markets and  butchers - St. Kilda Veg Out at the Peanut Farm Reserve on the 1st Saturday, and Gasworks in Albert Park on the 3rd saturday of the month) so that I know  and have confidence in what is in my food. Haven't figured out the cost differential of this behaviour, but I take comfort in promoting a return to healthy living and having respect for the earth and our food producers. 


Amy - Another problem you might be able to help me with: What to do with all the leftover egg yolks after making stuff like angel food cake and meringues that only use up the whites?

An exploration into Granola

I know, its not a very exciting post, but this is what I get up to these days and its been frustrating not being able to find the things that you prefer in a foreign country. You learn to improvise. One thing you can't find here is Granola. You can't find granola anywhere in this country, its ridiculous! They tend toward muesli, which almost always has nuts in it (I am not allergic, I am just not a fan). Not to mention I can't find honeynut cheerios either, but thats another story. So I supposed that making granola is easy enough, found a simple recipe online and threw something together yesterday so that I can have something to eat on my morning probiotic-rich breakfast yogurt. Ran out of honey though, so I substituted brown sugar melted in the microwave. Oats, sesame seeds, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, coconut, raisins, cranberries all baked in the oven with a little veg oil and the honey/brown sugar goo - pretty healthy. Could use a bit more sweetener though, but that can always be added later on. It was pretty easy and I'll be sure to whip some more when I run out of this batch. All set for breakfast.

This version of granola is a combination of ideas taken from Epicurious.com, my reliable one-stop search engine for recipes of anything I happen to fancy. Its not as comprehensive a recipe library as one one think, but it rather stocks only the best, tried and tested, recipes published in the likes of Bon Apetit and Gourmet magazines, featuring celebrities and chefs like Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver (my two favorite) I love their nonchalant, non-apologetic, and trendy vibe that they bring to their kitchen making tasty, fast treats. Although their food can be a bit British (and in the metric system), so you'll have to sift through that stuff and learn how to convert (or buy a scale). You can create your own profile and store the recipes that catch your eye, print out grocery lists, and read pretty reliable and up-to-date reviews, making the research process of cooking/baking a breeze and taking the risks associated with new baking trials away. There's even an iPhone app to gain easy access on the go.

Srumptuous Carrot cupcakes

A Kitchen Bitch Production for the day: Yummy Carrot Cupcakes with a cream cheese icing. Has raisins in it and not too much sugar (brown sugar was called for) and only 100g of butter. Got the recipe out of the weekend newspaper. Not bad, though I am not a fan of cream cheese. Somebody else liked it lots however. More of a muffin though - which makes it a great breakfast treat. Must find substitutes for sugar and butter so I can feed this to the health-conscious.