Pumpkin Pudding

Another one of those dishes I forgot to take a picture of before it was too late! This was my pumpkin pie substitute to suit the gluten-free way of life. I made this earlier in the day as I wasn't too confident in the recipe - it turned out great and I wish I had just made it while we were eating dinner. Not only does it smell fabulous, the consistency was superior when it was sampled straight out of the oven as opposed to being warmed up later. Regardless, it's a unique Thanksgiving dessert that everyone could enjoy:

Pumpkin Pudding
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (Jason had pureed a pumpkin last year and we had a few containers still left in the freezer)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cups half-and-half or light cream

Butter a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Heat oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk or beat on low speed until blended. Pour into the prepared casserole and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If desired, serve with sweetened whipped cream and cinnamon sugar for sprinkling.
Serves 6 to 8.

MY REVIEW: I served this both with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar. Every seemed to enjoy it!

Honey-Mustard Lime Crock Pot Chicken

For this crockpot chicken, I did have to go and purchase the chicken drumsticks but everything else I had on hand. The ingredients are very simple and it takes 10 minutes to throw it all together. I found it on this Meal Planning website and it had already been adapted from a non-crock pot recipe on another blog:

8 chicken legs (I removed the skin as crock pot + chicken skin = slime)
1/2 cup honey mustard (or 2 tbsp honey mixed with 1/3 cup Dijon Mustard)
1 lime, juice and zest (or 3 tbsp lime juice)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, and stir to evenly coat the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until chicken is cooked all the way through. I cooked on high for about 3 and a half hours. Serve with rice (and steamed broccoli!) to spoon extra sauce on top.

In the spirit of using up some of the things in the freezer, I made a gluten-free crisp with some frozen raspberries and cranberries from our vast collection of frozen fruit.

Now this - I really don't have a recipe for! I was trying to experiment with alternative, natural sweeteners as opposed to putting brown sugar in the topping. The topping is a mixture of rice flour, quick rolled oats (gluten free variety), honey, agave nectar, chopped walnuts & 1/8cup margarine. I baked it in the oven at 350 until it smelled good. Aren't I just the best recipe writer ever??

Both of these dishes were a success! Its amazing the things you can throw together when you really start digging around in the freezer.

Gluten Free Crepes

Crepes were always one of those things I never imaged I could successfully make. After I fell in love with a street crepe in Paris, I added it to my "list of things to do when I get home". I recently saw that local blogger Chris, from 'Eating Is The Hard Part', made some gluten free crepes! He used a flour mix from the GF Patisserie in Cochrane which I just so happened to make a stop at on Saturday. Wanting to try my new flour and craving a sweet treat, I attempted my first crepe. Here is the recipe, as posted on Chris's blog:

2 Cups GF Patisserie Flour mix
1 1/2 Cups Milk (adjust to make thin batter)
4 Eggs

1. Blend, or whisk the ingredients.
2. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into hot, greased pan.
3. Cook 1-2 minutes a side.
4. Remove to cutting board and fill with anything your heart desires. Ham. Cheese. Fruit. Ice Cream. Steak. Spinach…

My crepes were filled a thin layer of nutella and topped with stewed raspberries.  I was very surprised at how easy these were to make! The crepe pictured above was my middle crepe - I made one thinner and one thicker than that. The thinner one was much easier to flip and tasted so delicate and perfect. I will definitely be trying these again soon and getting a little more creative with fillings and toppings. 

Figs

** I just entered this photo into a gluten-free photo contest!! Wish me luck! **

Lately I've been reading a lot about figs. Not on purpose - the subject just seems to pop up in the books I've been reading lately. My big plan was to make a blackberry sauce to go on roasted chicken tonight but couldn't find any decent looking blackberries... and then figs popped up! A neat little bag of figs called to me from next to the berries. Seeing as how I've only had figs once (on a sandwich at Earls about a year ago), I used the tips and ideas found on the back of the bag to make my dessert. It suggested dipping the figs in some chocolate and then coated them with crushed nuts. Turns out I had a 85% chocolate bar in the fridge that I was not really digging so I figured that would be just the thing to coat my little figs in. I crushed up some walnut pieces to roll them in after and voila:

Four lovely little figs dipped in chocolate and coated in walnut pieces. I love the crunchy little bits inside the figs and the completely natural sweetness. They were pretty good but better yet, good FOR you. Figs and I have a very bright future. The fruit and vegetable section is my safety zone at the grocery store now. I'm completely free to try anything I like and I don't have to waste my time reading labels. It's 100% less stressful than eating out!

Who knew the day would come when I would appreciate cooking and cleaning my own kitchen more than letting someone else take care of it? Making my own food and cleaning my own mess is the most re-assuring thing I can do at this time. I know exactly what's going in my belly and my belly thanks me everyday.

 Oh and in case you're wondering what I had instead of blackberry sauce on roasted chicken.... nachos (que paso brand is gluten free) made in the microwave with tomatoes, olives and guacamole. It seems pretty weak in comparison but I'm kind of glad I couldn't find those damn blackberries. It's way to hot to turn the oven on!

The Best Foccacia Bread!

Tonight my entire meal came from the rebar cookbook (which you can read more about here). Although everything did turn out, I think the foccacia bread stole the show! I had eaten this foccacia bread before (made by the lender of the rebar cookbook) and it was fabulous. Never in a million years did I think I could pull something like off since I usually stay away from yeasts and bread. I took a picture of it before going in the oven because it looked so pretty and I was still not confident it wouldn't fail miserably in the oven:

Here's the finished product:

And it was just as delicious as it looks! I was pretty pleased with myself for this accomplishment. I took a picture of the recipe (click to make it bigger):

To go along with the bread I made some pasta from the rebar cookbook as well. The only thing I had to substitue was dried basil for the fresh basil leaves. My basil plant has seen better days (namely the day it was purchased... it was all down hill after that day):

And lastly, a fruit crumble. I used mango, rhubarb from the garden and frozen strawberries.

In the topping I added some slivered almonds. It was delicious and we have lots of leftovers! Bonus. Here's the recipe:

All in all, a very successful meal. Jason was racing in Canmore all weekend so I thought I'd make this meal a little more special than usual and he said it was the best recovery meal he's ever had. We've got a little bit of everything to take in our lunches tomorrow too.

Some Sweet Treats

I've got a few sweet recipes from the past few days to share today. First off - a baked banana with coconut:

 

For those who can't stomach the strong flavor of banana - look away now (mom). I found tonnes of recipes for this method on the internet. Some included marshmallows, chocolate or even peanut butter. From all the different recipes, I took what interested me and made my own baked banana. All mine had on it was some melted margarine, lemon juice and coconut. It was simply baked in the oven @ 375 for about 15 minutes (until soft and coconut browned). I did not wrap mine in tinfoil but some websites suggested that as well. Jason drizzled some chocolate sauce for the finishing touch. 

 

I could tell this was not really a hit as Jason kept repeating "I'm eating a hot banana" and "this is a hot banana" the entire time he ate it. It was definitely a bizarre flavor and I can't say I'm eager to make it again. It was kind of baby food meets ear infection medicine - in a bad way. 

Now onto something a little more successful: Bomb-Chelle Brownies! The recipe comes from my good friend Rachelle - hence the "Bomb-Chelle". It's a long story, but I had been presented with the challenge of making brownies that were more magnificent than the Daytona 500 for my dad. He has yet to taste them, but with the help of Rachelle, I'd say I owned this challenge:

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs (make sure you have 4 before starting or you might have to run to the store in the middle of this recipe! that would suck... i imagine...)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. (I made mine in individual silicone mini-hearts)
2. Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish (or plop into your mini-muffin tin/cups)

4. Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting. (I found that about 15 minutes did the trick for mini-brownies)

These brownies were very good - Jason and his sister ate the broken ones and gave them 2 thumbs up. The true test will come tomorrow though when we find out how they stack up against the Daytona 500. 

Now speaking of Jason's sister, she came by and delivered these Valentines cupcakes for us today:

 

So cute! Thanks Kate - we're saving them for dessert tonight. 

In other news, I'm drinking this interesting beverage as I type:

It's beer mixed with cherry juice. I can see this tasting very good on a hot summer day! 

Also - a question for Edmontonians. Have you ever seen individual sized bread bowls anywhere? I made chili for this evening and really wanted to serve it in some cute bread bowls! I could not find any so I settled for some longish crusty buns.

Cinnamon Buns

I made my first batch of cinnamon buns today. Well, I made them yesterday but they were consumed today. I tend to shy away from things that require rolling dough because I have this image in my head of dough sticking to everything and ripping or crumbling apart. This dough did none of the above!

These are a good option if you want something quick as there is no waiting for dough to rise in this one. I chose to use half whole wheat flour in this recipe for no other reason than we were running low on white. The whole wheat flour made them taste kind of healthy so use all white if you want something more decadent and rich. All in all, this recipe was incredibly simple to prepare, the dough was easy to work with and I'm happy with the results. Jason said they were "chewy and satisfying". Here's the recipe:

• 2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half all purpose)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup dark raisin (left these out)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons margarine, melted

Filling

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 4 tablespoons walnuts, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (a little more if you wish)

1. Spray a 9 inch baking pan and preheat oven to 425°F.
2. In a small bowl mix the filling ingredients together, mixing well.
3. In large bowl combine the sugar, raisins, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Add yogurt and oil, mix well together until you have formed a dough.
5. On a lightly floured surface knead the dough 8-10 times.
6. Roll the dough out to a 8" x 10" rectangle.
7. Brush dough with margarine and sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough.
8. Roll up jelly roll fashion, Pinch seam to seal.
9. Cut into 12 1-inch pieces.
10. Place rolls slightly touching in the prepared baking pan.
11. Bake for approx 17 minutes or until golden.
12. Place on wire rack for 10 minutes.
13. Serve warm.

Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti for a Sunday afternoon

Yesterday, Jason and I went to Da Capo for lunch. He had a gift certificate kicking around from a bike race last year and we just so happened to be in the area and starved half to death. It's a little Italian cafe owned by a cyclist and seems to be very popular with local bikers as Jason recognized almost everyone in the place. We had pizza (delicious) and some drinks. On the counter was a big glass container full of double chocolate biscotti. I don't usually like chocolate but for some reason these just looked so rich and perfect that we had to get one. It was so good that I found myself inspired to make some at home today. I found this recipe and gave it a try:

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar (I didn't have any of this but it would have added a nice decorative touch)
  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a large baking sheet.
In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.

On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.

On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack. Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and frozen, 1 month.

MY REVIEW: These didn't compare to Da Capo's but I'm on the right track. I think the initial 35 minutes was a little much as they were pretty dark on the bottom. They are also mini biscotti! I thought the 12" x 2" log would grow a little but it pretty much stayed the same size.

JASON'S REVIEW: They were very gooood (he requested there be lots of o's).

Upside-down Apple Cake

Upside-Down Apple Cake
Cooking Time: 60 minutes or less Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Ingredients
1/3cup (75 mL) butter, divided (i used margerine)
½cup (125 mL) light brown sugar
1tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
2cups (500 mL) peeled, cored and thinly sliced apples (this was 2 large apples for me)
½cup (125 mL) sugar
1 egg
1tsp (5 mL) vanilla
1cup (250 mL) flour
1½tsp (7 mL) baking powder
½cup (125 mL) milk (i used skim)


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9 in. (23 cm) round cake pan.
2. Measure 2 tbsp (30 mL) of the butter into the cake pan. Place the pan on the stove over low heat just until the butter is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in the brown sugar and lemon juice. Arrange the apple slices on the bottom of the pan in whatever decorative or haphazard manner you wish. This is a good job for a kid who wants to be artistic. But the cake will taste just as good if you simply spread the apples out randomly.
3. In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the remaining (approximately 3 tbsp/45 mL) butter and the sugar until well mixed. Add the egg and vanilla, and continue beating until fluffy. In another bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder.
4. Add the flour mixture by large spoonfuls alternately with the milk, beating after each addition. Next, spread the batter over the apples in the pan and place in the oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until cake is lightly browned.
5. Remove cake from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen it. Hold a plate over the pan and, all at once, flip the thing over.
6. The upside-down cake should now be properly upside down, and your apple arrangement should be clearly visible – if somewhat transformed. If any stubborn apple pieces remain clinging to the pan, just scrape them off and rearrange them on the cake.
7. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, ice cream or vanilla yogurt.

MY REVIEW: I was pumped when I found this on a website that featured recipes for kids. Embarrassing, yes, but they tend to be foolproof and have more creativity involved. This one was no different - I enjoyed arranging those apples and it tasted pretty good too. I only have spring form round pans and although lined with wax paper, it still leaked into my oven. Once it cools down, we are going to steam clean it for the first time. So if you do have an actual round pan, use that! The cake was pretty flat when it came out but I'm not sure if it was supposed to rise anymore than it did.


JASON'S REVIEW: Very good with ice cream and beer.

Mini Chocolate Cheese Cupcakes

So after I say farewell for the year, I end up making these adorable little cupcakes. I hope you've been checking back or you might miss something good! I made these for my potluck lunch at work tomorrow. I can't remember where I got this specific recipe but there's lots of similar ones on the internet. They are commonly referred to as "Black Bottom Cupcakes" as well. Here's how I did it:

Topping
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 (6 oz.) pkg. mini chocolate chips (I didn't have any of these, but I had some little skor chip things and they worked)

Cake
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. Hershey's cocoa (Superstore brand seemed to work just fine)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
1/2 c. cooking oil
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix topping ingredients together; set aside.

Blend all cake ingredients together. Fill cups 1/2 full with cake batter; add 1/2 teaspoon topping (I used a toothpick at this point to swirl around the topping). Bake at 350 degrees about 15 to 18 minutes. Makes about 60 (made about 45 for me) cupcakes. Use the petite sized paper cups in the mini muffin tins.

 It's like a little cheesecake baked into a cupcake! 

NOTE: Two things I wanted to mention, these taste kind of gross when they first come out of the oven.. like hot cheese. Once they cool, or better yet, have been in the fridge for a while they taste MUCH better. Also, I used my hand mixer for the first time making these! My wrist was in heaven. 

Chicken & Gravy with Glazed Carrots and Mashed Potatoes

Since we both had the day off today, I decided to put a little more effort into dinner than I have been able to lately. Brought out a bottle of our red wine to accompany it too!

We took one of our huge chickens out of the freezer on Monday in preparation. When I say huge I mean.....

Jason was in charge of the chicken, as he always is. Since my 9 year stint as a strict vegetarian, I have never felt fully comfortable cooking meat.  I don't think he made any sort of rub this time - just put it in the oven au natural. He also made his delicious gravy. To go along with the chicken, I boiled some potatoes (still from our garden!) and mashed those up. I found this recipe for Balsamic Butter Glazed Baby Carrots on RecipeZaar and gave it a shot:

Balsamic Butter Glazed Carrots

Ingredients
1 (1 lb) bag baby carrot
2 cups water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter (margerine)
2/3 teaspoon minced thyme
2/3 teaspoon tarragon (didn't have any of this)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions
1 Combine carrots and 2 cups water in the dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes or until crisp tender.
2 Drain carrots and keep warm.
3 Cook balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
4 Stir in brown sugar and butter until smooth.
5 Pour vinegar mixture over warm carrots, toss to coat.
6 Stir in thyme, tarragon and salt and pepper.
7 Serve immediately.

For dessert, I wanted to try out my new beautiful ramekins! Here they are before going in the oven:

I found a fairly simple recipe for Chocolate Lava Cake and tried it out:

Chocolate Lava Cake

Ingredients (4 people):
6 oz. Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate (or use your favorite 70% dark chocolate bar)
6 oz. Butter (diced, room temperature) (I actually used butter!)
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup Flour
Butter for Ramekins (I just sprayed vegetable oil)

How to Make It:
Preheat oven to 350°F
1. Melt chocolate on low flame in a bain-marie (double boiler). When melted, take of flame, and… (I put it in the microwave. I'm so fancy.)
2. Stir in diced butter, until it melts.
3. In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar, until it starts to whiten.
4. Stir in melted chocolate and then the flour.
5. Butter 4 individual ramekins, and pour in chocolate batter.
6. Cook for about 10 minutes. (Closer to 20 in our fantastic oven)
7. Tip ramekins upside down onto dessert plates and serve. (Perhaps wait about 5-10 minutes before doing this)
Voilà!

I tried to capture the inside oozing out as best I could:

As you know, I'm not a chocolate fan. Once Jason was finished his, he happily moved onto mine:

MY REVIEW: Great dinner! We've been having lots of macaroni and perogies lately. The carrots had a nice flavor but they looked kind of dirty. I guess that's not a big deal if the flavors there. Potatoes were great and chicken nice and moist. If you like chocolate, you must try the lava cake. Very rich and gooey and warm.

JASONS REVIEW: Effin' fantastic. The lava cakes blew my mind.

Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

Here are my mystery cupcakes! Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting. This was actually my first attempt at making my own frosting... I still need to work on the consistency I think. I also need to purchase a huge sack of icing sugar apparently! I found the recipe on the Cupcake Frenzy blog. Here it is:

Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes

1 1/3 cups plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup cocoa powder
45g butter, softened
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
frozen raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (350 F). Line muffin tins with cases.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk and beat well.
5. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full. In each individual cup, place a frozen raspberry and push down a little way into the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave to cool in tins for at least 10 minutes, then frost when completely cool.

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

The recipe for this is really imprecise. Basically you have to play with the quantities until you get the colour and consistency you want.

150g butter, softened
2-3 cups icing sugar
frozen raspberries, quantity depends on how much of a raspberry taste/colour you're after
1/3 cup milk

1. Cream the butter. Add the icing sugar and raspberries and beat well. If you find you need more liquid in the frosting, add milk gradually.
2. Frost away!

So I was able to practice my piping bag skills with this recipe and also work on my stirring arm. I will admit, Jason had to take over once it started to get thick.

What I learned from this is to plan the plating before doing the plating. I didn't like the way they looked initially on the platter, so I took them all off and started over. This results in damaged cupcakes and a crummy plate.

MY REVIEW: The cupcake flavor was good - the chocolate/raspberry combo is a great mix. The icing could be perfected still. Must practice! Anyone want a cake? Jason can't keep up with me.

JASON'S REVIEW: They were delicious.

Spaghetti & Meatballs with Chocolate Cake

Tonight, I made Jasons favorite: spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were actually made yesterday and they're turkey. I'm sure I've posted the recipe I've used before... nothing fancy. Just a spoonfull of italien seasoned breadcrumbs, 1 egg and 1 pack of ground turkey. To prevent the pasta sauce from soaking into his bread, I created an aluminum foil barrier. This did not work.

I felt like baking tonight but didn't really have any exotic ingredients. As we know, Jason enjoys the odd slice of chocolate cake. I found this interesting recipe:

This is a foolproof moist chocolate cake. Remember mayonnaise is just eggs and oil (If it wasn't for that comment, I would probably have been too grossed out to make this. It puts it all in perspective). 
Great recipe from Sally Pasley's Tao of Cooking cookbook.
by Missy Wombat

(1 layer cake)

1 cup mayonnaise (I had 1/2 fat!)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/4 cups flour
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Mix mayonnaise, water, sugar and vanilla together until well blended.
Sift cocoa, flour salt and baking soda together.
Stir into liquid ingredients and mix just until blended.
Pour batter into 1 greased and floured sandwich cake tins[8-9 inch size].
Bake in a preheated 375 deg F oven for 20-25 minutes (or 40 if your oven isn't accurate like ours) or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool and then ice (If you click on the link for the recipe, it comes with what looks to be a good recipe for icing. I just used some extra safeway icing I had in the fridge! 2 weeks until my cake decorating classes start and I've never made my own icing).

I then proceeded to decorate it really strangely with shavings of white chocolate and little multi-colored chocolate balls. Again, cake decorating classes start next week!

JASON'S REVIEW: He definitely liked the meatballs and spaghetti. He hasn't tried the cake as our washing machine is broken and he's trying to fix it. I'll let you know when he tries it. I'm interested to see if he can guess the secret ingredient.

MY REVIEW: I didn't eat either of these. I say we need a new oven though...

Birthday Cake!

Although I do not have time to type this recipe out tonight, here's a peek at the cake I made for my brothers birthday yesterday!

Details to follow after the long weekend. I'm off to the mountains!

Cake!

Today I got my first "springform" cake pan. I'm trying to gain some basic baking knowledge before I go to NAIT in November. My mom took me to a huge cooking supply store and I was inspired to bake a cake when I got home! I always heard about making your cakes in these springform pans but never really understood, and possibly still don't, what they were. There is still much research to be done on how to use these properly but I couldn't wait so I gave it a shot today!

The occasion: Jason rode his bike for 2 hours (and had nothing to eat but cereal I found out later!) That's the only occasion I could think of.

I was looking for a really basic chocolate cake recipe and ended up finding one on this website. If you check out the website you'll find a recipe for frosting as well - I opted for the rest of my pre-made Safeway icing in the fridge! Here's the cake recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups water

1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
2. For Cake: In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl and beat on high speed of mixer 3 minutes. (I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I don't have a mixer. Any mixing is done with my own 2 hands/arms/wrists/shoulders. One day I will have the red mix-master!)
4. Alternatively add flour mixture with water to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. (Mine took probably 45-50 minutes because I have a super lame oven. Just keep your eye on it.)

Here it is after I unlocked the springform:
Pretty nice! I guess this type of pan is popular for making cheesecakes. I can see why.

I microwaved my chocolate icing and poured it on top of the cake. I spread it around a bit and let it spill over the edges. I plopped a few fresh raspberries in the middle as well just for color!
I'm not sure if you're supposed to invert the cake onto the platter or if you're supposed to level off the top with a knife... I chose to just put it upside down because the bottom had a really flat surface. It is kind of sitting on a dome but maybe it will flatten once the cake cools. This is where the extra research comes in!

JASON'S REVIEW: The best chocolate cake I've eaten all day. The icing is silky and the chocolate cake is moist and the raspberries add a delicious sweet punch. (Jason may sound sophisticated in his reviews but really he could barely get his helmet off before eating a slice in 3 bites. I had to coax the review out of him between mouthfuls of his second slice)

MY REVIEW: I had a fork full from Jason's plate and the cake was very good! I'm usually not a big fan of chocolate but this cake was perfectly moist if I do say so myself. This recipe is a keeper.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

I saw the movie Julie & Julia last night and loved it! It inspired me to do a little experiment today. I won't spoil the whole movie (because you should all see it), but there is one scene where Julia makes a chocolate cake and her husband pretty much eats the entire thing with his hands. After the movie, my grandma asked me if that's what Jason would do if I made him a chocolate cake. I couldn't really say because Jason has never had that sort of a freedom with a chocolate cake. When I bake, it's usually for someone else or a special occasion. That means his consumption is heavily monitored. I got to thinking... what would Jason do with a cake to himself?? No limits.

So, when Jason got home from work today, this is what he found on the kitchen table:
I even iced it!
After the first bite, he had to go put his "eating" pants on.
Honey was enjoying the smell immensely.
Who am I kidding... she's always on the table. I like to pretend it has something to do with the wonderful smell of my cooking. But clearly it does not... she was bored with the entire situation.
All in all, Jason did not eat as much as I imagined. Or perhaps my cake was not as good as Julias? Hard to say. Here's the leftovers:Anyways, here's the recipe I used if any of you are interested in trying this experiment.

3/4cup sugar
1/2cup flour
1/2cup walnuts
1/2cup coconut
1/2cup cocoa
1/2tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2cup melted butter

Mix ingredients as written. Bake about 20 minutes. Ice while warm.

That is honestly all I have written down on this recipe card! It was from a friend of my grandmas and it's pretty much fool proof. I don't have the time/temperature down yet. I just start checking it every 5 minutes after 20 minutes and the oven was at about 300. It's very easy to prepare though! You only get 1 bowl dirty.

JASON'S THOUGHTS ON THE EXPERIMENT: It was tasty. It was chewy and satisfying and I've never had chocolate cake for dinner before. I hope I get chocolate cake for dinner every night.

PS - You may have caught a glimpse of my new typewriter in the first picture! Here it is - in all its glory:
$5 at a garage sale, works like a charm and weighs about 23098lbs. It has no home yet so it sits on the kitchen table. I've already used it once for a gift tag and hope to get lots of use out of it for cards and such!

*Update: Approximately 15 hours after the brownie came out of the oven, it had been fully consumed. That included a large portion for breakfast.

Mediterranean Chicken Breasts with Avacado Tapenade

For some reason, I bought an avacado on our last grocery shopping trip. Actually, I bought it because I love avacados but I don't usually buy random things I don't have a recipe or a specific use for. It was super ripe today so I had to find something to do with it! I tried a recipe from RecipeZaar this evening:

Ingredients

* 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
* 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
* 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
* 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 garlic cloves, roasted and mashed
* 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (i sprinkled a pinch of normal salt)
* 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
* 1 medium tomato, seeded and finely chopped
* 1/4 cup small green pimento stuffed olive, thinly sliced
* 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
* 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
* 1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and finely chopped

Directions

1.
In a sealable plastic bag, combine chicken and marinade of lemon peel, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Seal bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2.
In bowl, whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons lemon juice, roasted garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix in tomato, green olives, capers, basil and avocado; set aside.
3.
Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Grill over medium-hot coals for 4 to 5 minutes per side or to desired degree of doneness.
4.
Serve with Avocado Tapenade.

Then for dessert, I brought out my raspberry coffee cake I made last week and tried it for the first time!

JASON'S REVIEW: He's busy right now as we're going to a concert in 13 minutes.. but he liked it all. He said I should just make the coffee cake with white flour next time because the whole wheat makes it taste gummy or something. I agree.

MY REVIEW: I liked both entree and dessert! I don't really know what "Tapenade" is.. if it goes on top of the chicken or just on the side? Either way it had a great flavor and there was no leftovers so I did something right. I have some more raspberries in the fridge so I think I'll make another coffee cake this weekend. It was pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

Easy Raspberry Dessert

I brought some of my previously made granola out of the freezer this evening for dessert. I put it in a mug with some fat free lemon yogurt and a big handful of raspberries. I don't know if this is really a recipe, but it's very good!

JASON'S REVIEW: I can't believe it's not healthy. (That's a direct quote. I don't really get it either. His mouth was full of it when he said it so I think he likes it)

Lemon Chiffon Pie

I tried to capture the disgusted look on Honey's face when she smells something citrus-y. You can't quite see the horror in this picture. Anyways, this is a pie I made tonight that can't be made without another epicure spice - lemon chiffon. It turned out very good and tart. Here's the recipe:

1 pre-made pie crust (mine was 8")
1 package light cream cheese
1cup fat free plain yogurt
2tbsp honey
3tbsp lemon chiffon spice
1/4tsp vanilla

Basically mix everything up, pour it into the pie crust and freeze it for at least 2 hours before serving. Delicious!