Dare to Be an Éclair Extraordinaire

Wow!

I don’t think I’ve been so glad for the weekend in quite some time. I am going to spend my 2 free days with no thoughts of college in sight—oh wait, I have a restaurant review due for my Media Writing class next week that I plan on doing today, but hey I talk and write about food on here all the time, so I really don’t consider it as homework! I think I will do a review on Applebee’s..cliché I know, but college students around here love to hang out there due to the fun, laid back atmosphere, and of course good food. Hello appetizers and dessert shots!

Anything noteworthy going on in your neck of the woods this weekend??

If you have some down time, you should rent the DVD State of Play if you haven’t already watched it. We had to watch it in class and do a movie review. I will be watching it again due to the fact that I was extremely intrigued by it!

Oh, and if you by any chance happen to have even more down time, you need to make this recipe I am going to feature today. I figured after a busy week and no baking(which resulted in eating way too many bars for dessert), I deserved to try this somewhat daunting recipe, which in fact turned out to be one the easiest things I have ever made, and mighty tasty as well!

If you don’t know already, éclairs are is a long custard-filled French donut that is based on a cream puff dough. Here’s what I loved about this recipe:

• Comes together in about 15 minutes.
• Original recipe makes 8, perfect amount, or can be doubled.
• Who doesn’t like a creamy chocolate/banana filling.
• Cream puff dough tastes identical to a deep-fried donut without the deep-fried mess and fat. I can’t wait to experiment more with this quick and easy dough.
• Although the recipe calls to pipe the filling via pastry bag into the long donuts, I was running out of time before class, so I opted to spread the filling on top which actually made the powdered sugar dusting stick much better.

So what are you waiting for?! Get out your chef hat and make some éclairs!

Chocolate-Banana Éclairs

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Pastry Cream

• 1/4 c granulated sugar (or Splenda)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp banana extract
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 c fat-free milk (I used Almond Breeze)
• 1/4 cup thawed fat-free whipped topping

Cream Puff Dough

• 1 c water
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 c all-purpose flour
• 2 egg whites
• 1 large egg white
• 1 Tbsp confectioner’s sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

• To make pastry cream, whip together sugar, egg, and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk in the corn starch, cocoa, and cinnamon. Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan; whisk in the cocoa mixture and extracts. Return the milk mixture to the saucepan and bring to boil. Cook, whisking, until thickened. Spoon into a bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface; refrigerate until cool. Fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate.
• Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper or nonstick tinfoil.
• To make cream puff dough, combine the water, oil, butter, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook until butter melts and mixture boils, about 3 minutes. Stir in flour all at once, cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to pull of the side of the pan, 1-2 mins. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in eggs and egg whites, one at a time, beating vigorously until dough is smooth and shiny.
• Fill a large pastry bag or a freezer bag with the corner cut off with dough. Pipe onto baking sheet to form 8 4-inch long x 2-inch wide fingers. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes. Turn off the oven.(If you want to make them like I did, with filling on top, now just take filling out of fridge and spread evenly on each log.) Make a small slit in one end of each éclair. Return to oven for 10 minutes. Let cool completely on rack.
• To assemble éclairs, with a small knife, make a hole in the end of each one. Spoon pastry cream into pastry bag with 1/4 inch plain tip and pipe about 2 Tbsp cream into each éclair. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Adapted from Weight Watcher’s Best Ever Desserts

Nutritional Info: Calories-193 Fat- 9g Sat. Fat-2g Trans Fat-0g Sodium- 24g Carbs-24g Fiber-1g POINTS: 4

Hey by the way, head on over to a new website called Funny Spoon for easy and tasty meal ideas! I’m already eyeing up these!

I Found My Fall Angel

---Finally Friday!!---

Have you ever combined two good foods to get something extraordinary? That’s what happened with this recipe. Two things a lot of people probably have lying around their pantry paired together to create one delicious dessert. Usually I will make something, eat it throughout the week, and get sick of it. With this one, I made it Sunday and wish I had made more! This would be perfect for a fall time/Halloween get together too.

 

 +  =

 

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake with Cinnamon-Cream Filling

Serves:12

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 box Betty Crocker® white angel food cake mix
• 1 tablespoon Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 cup cold water

Cinnamon-Cream Filling

• 2 cups Cool Whip
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1.Move oven rack to lowest position; heat oven to 350°F. In extra-large glass or metal bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan.

2.Bake 37 to 47 minutes or until crust is dark golden brown and cracks are dry. Immediately turn pan upside down onto heatproof funnel or glass bottle. Let hang about 2 hours or until cake is completely cool. Loosen cake from side of pan with knife or long metal spatula. Turn cake upside down onto serving plate.

3.In chilled large bowl, beat cool whip and powdered sugar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Fold in cinnamon. Cut cake horizontally in half to make 2 even layers. Spread half of the filling on bottom layer; replace top of cake. Spread remaining filling on top of cake. Sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice if desired.

Will all the pumpkin recipes floating around this time a year, I would definitely recommend adding this to your list of “must makes”! Let me know if you make it and how you like it =)

The blogenda for next week:

• A new cookie line review
• A pie—oh my!
• A easy fall side dish

Fruit + Veggies = ?

It seems these days we are always hearing messages whether it be in print, on tv, or from your doctor that we should be meeting our quota of daily fruits and veggies. (Find out how many you really need here) For me, it’s never been a big deal, because thankfully fruits and veggies are always welcome on my plate! There is never really a meal that I eat that doesn’t have some type of produce.(Either fresh, frozen, or canned.) But for others who can’t down broccoli, or moms that have picky kids, you need to find recipes that can “sneak” produce in foods in unlikely ways. Today’s recipe contains one veggie and two fruits, so if you eat a slice (which is not hard to do!), you’ll knock off some out your daily fruit & veggie quota.

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes: 16 slices

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2 c cake flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 2 egg whites, room temp
• 1/2 c granulated sugar (or Splenda if you prefer)
• 1/2 c apple butter (I used 1 jar of carrot baby food instead)
• 1/4 c canola oil
• 1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 carrots, coarsely shredded (about 1 1/2 c)

Frosting:

• 1 (8 oz) package fat-free cream cheese, at room temp
• 1 1/2 c confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 c plain reduced-fat (2%) Greek yogurt (I used Yoplait Thick and Creamy Cinnamon Roll yogurt instead)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (nuts are optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 2 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray.
• Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl—set aside. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs and egg whites on high for about 2 minutes, or until thickened. Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture and beat until just blended. Stir in the pineapple, carrots, and raisins.
• Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let pan cool on racks completely.
• To make frosting, with an electric mixer on high speed. Beat the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth, about 1 minute.
• Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on a serving plate. With a narrow metal spatula, spread 1/2 c frosting over the layer. Top with remaining layer, rounded side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle walnuts on the top of the cake.

[[Recipe adapted from here.]]

Carrot cake has to be one of my favorite cakes out there! I think my mom may have passed her love of it on to me—but I’m not complaining! What is your favorite cake to eat? Or are you just a frosting eater? Any super recipes?

The Treat to Start Your Week Sweet

Yes, today is Monday—back to school, work, etc. However, Monday’s don’t have to be completely drab. If you bake a sweet treat, it can help make the day a little more pleasant. But not just any sweet treat, something that is easy to make, but tastes out-of-this-world—today’s recipe qualifies for a Monday sweet treat!

But first, I received a wonderful blog award, “One Lovely Blog” from Taylor!

I will be nominating 10 other bloggers on my next post :-)

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

Yields: 24

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Frosting:

• 1/2 c light cream cheese (block style)
• 1/4 c creamy peanut butter (I used PB&Co Dark Chocolate Dream)
• 1/4 c confectioner’s sugar

Cupcakes:

• 1 c cake flour
• 1 c granulated sugar or sugar substitute
• 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c low fat buttermilk (I used Almond Breeze and added 1/2 Tbsp vinegar and mixed)
• 1/3 c canola oil
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 oz semisweet chocolate, melted
• 1/2 c seedless jam (your preferred flavor—I used raspberry)
• 1/4 c honey roasted peanuts, chopped

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a mini 24-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray.
• To make frosting, with an electric mixer on low speed, beat the frosting ingredients in a small bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside.
• To make the cupcakes, whisk together cake flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg, egg white, and vanilla in a larger bowl. Whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the flour mixture, stirring until just blended.
• Fill each muffin cup 2/3’s full with batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan.
• Meanwhile, fill pastry bag with seedless jam. Carefully insert the pastry tip into top of cupcake. Pipe in about 1 tsp jam. Repeat with remaining cupcakes and jam.

• With a small spatula, spread the frosting over the tops of the cupcakes, sprinkle with peanuts.

..Then you can lick the spoon! And the bowl if you must :-)

Today’s recipe adapted from Weight Watcher’s Best Ever Desserts.

Feels Like Fall Friday

Colorful leaves, mild weather, shorter days, and of course all that great fall food. The fall season is easily my favorite time of year—with the exception of what comes next—winter.

I came across this great website called Sustainable Table which allows you to select your state and month to see what you can expect to see in season in your grocery store.

Here’s some of my favorites in season here:

• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Fennel
• Lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Peppers
• Plums
• Potatoes
• Raspberries
• Squash
• Strawberries
• Sweet corn
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini

What favorites are in season where you are?

Today I thought would be the perfect day to kick off my annual fall baking. This recipe is fast and easy—it is based on a mix, which I usually prefer from scratch, but I’ve had this mix sitting around and I just wanted to use it. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Bars

Yields: 36 Bars

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C cold butter
• 1 pouch(1lb 15 oz) oatmeal cookie mix
• 1 egg
• 1 C finely chopped peeled apple
• 3/4 C caramel topping
• 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

• Heat oven to 350 F. Spray bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, cut butter into cookie mix using fork or pastry blender. Stir in egg and cinnamon. Mix until mixture becomes crumbly.

 

• Reserve 1 1/2 c cup cookie mixture. Press remaining cookie mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake 15 mins. Sprinkle apple over crust. In small bowl, mix caramel topping and flour, drizzle over apples. Sprinkle reserved cookie mixture over apples.

• Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Cut bars into 9 rows by 4 rows.

Come back for a weekend slurp smack down!

I’ve Got the Solution!

Well guys, I have a problem. I guess maybe it isn’t that bad of a problem—it’s an overabundance of garden zucchini. My grandpa is a big-time gardener and they sent me a huge load of zucchini, so of course now I need to find delicious ways to use it! I made some roasted zucchini fries yesterday, cut it up for salads, and can you guess what’s next? Something baked of course! This is an original recipe of mine, so please link back if you happen to use it! =)

Do you have any favorite recipes using zucchini?

Zucchini Snack Cake

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 c packed light brown sugar (I used Splenda brown sugar blend)
• 6 tbsp light vegetable oil spread (such as I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, which is what I used)
• 1/2 c egg whites (approx. 3 eggs)
• 1/3 c unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C of pureed zucchini
• 1/4 C of sweet potato baby food

Topping:

• 1 1/2 C thawed frozen light whipped topping (such as Cool Whip Lite)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Optional- 1 Tbsp mini chocolate chips (I added this after the pictures!)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 8” square baking pan with cooking spray. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, soda and salt; reserve.
• On medium-high speed, beat sugar and butter spread until fluffy (2-3 minutes). Beat in egg whites and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture until combined. Stir in zucchini and jarred baby food.
• Transfer to pan, bake 30 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove from pan; cool. Spread with topping, sprinkle cinnamon and chocolate chips if desired.

 

Tip of the day:

Make sure all your baking flours are stored in an air tight container so they don’t get stale-like. Here’s how I store mine—simple yet effective!

Jungle Time

 

Even though I have never been to a jungle, it’s still on my list of to-do’s at least once during my life. I love the lush greenery, the animals, and of course the fruit that comes from the jungle. My favorite would have to be a banana! (Did you really think I was going to ramble on about an actual jungle ha ha?)

 

Over the past 18 years, I have had my share of banana bread; dense bread, fluffy bread, tropical banana bread, glazed, not-so-good, delicious, etc. This new recipe is based off of this one, but of course I made significant changes that make it go from “just a good banana bread” to one that you want to make all the time! The secret is…

• A jar of sweet potato baby food
• Imitation Banana Extract (found by spices, vanilla, etc.)
• Pumpkin pie spice (you can make your own—see how here)

So grab your bread pan and all of those frozen bananas that you aren’t using for the oh-so-famous banana soft serve(I still need to try this), and be prepared for your kitchen to smell like the jungle and your taste buds to go wild like a monkey! ;-)

Amped Up Banana Bread

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup no calorie granulated sweetener of your choice 
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas) + 1/2 c sweet potato baby food                               
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
1/2 cup no-sugar-added applesauce (I used cinnamon applesauce)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 tsp banana extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine both types of flour,sweetener, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon (in other words, all dry ingredients).

In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, baby food, egg substitute, applesauce, and extracts (all the wet ingredients).

Add this mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just blended. Spoon batter into a large loaf pan (about 9" X 5") sprayed with nonstick spray.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, and then cut into 12 slices. If you like, spritz with some spray butter or spread on some Cool Whip Free.

Enjoy!

Double Whammy

That is the exact word to describe me when this recipe turned out fab! I had been brainstorming a double kind of dessert for quite some time. After perfecting the measurements, I nailed it! I could barely contain myself and knew I needed to share it immediately. Are you sitting down?(obviously you are if your on the computer hehe!)

Let me introduce to you….

Mini Cookie Dough Pies

What do they consist of you ask? Well only some of the best things—a healthy Fiber One crust with a “raw” cookie dough taste(they are not really raw), a mix of peanut butter and chocolate chips with a piping of chocolate syrup! Whoo, that’s a lot of goodness in one dessert—good thing they’re mini! ;-) So grab your mini-muffin tin and get going!

Makes: 16

Ingredients:

• 1 c. Fiber One cereal (original)
• 2 Tbsp whipped butter
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 c whipped butter
• Water
• 1/2 c sugar (I used Splenda)
• 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 c mini chocolate chips
• 1/8 c peanut butter chips, chopped
• Chocolate syrup, if desired

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350  F.
• To make crust, place 2 Tbsp butter in a bowl and mix with 1 1/2 Tbsp water and cinnamon. Place Fiber One in a food processor or blender. Add in butter mixture and pulse until a crumb consistency forms. Like this-->

• Mix together flour, sugar, chips until combined. Add in butter, egg whites, extract, and mix until just combined.

• Spray 16 mini muffin cups with non-stick spray. Take 1 tbsp of “crust” and form a pie-like bottom, making sure to get about halfway up the sides. I found an easy way—>

• Once that is done, take 1 Tbsp of cookie dough filling and pour over each crust.
• If you want to add a shot of chocolate syrup (I did just for fun!), then squirt a little in the middle of each pie.

• Now they’re ready to bake—mine took about 17 minutes, but start checking around 15 because all ovens are obviously different.
• Now the hard part—wait and try not to drool at the yummy smell!
• As soon as they’re done, get them out of the muffin tin and put on a cooling rack. (They should pop right out—if not take a knife and run it around the cookie pie gently.)

 

You may or may not be able to eat just one! The other cool thing about these is they’re totally customizable! Add in coconut, butterscotch chips, cherry chips, caramel chips, mint chips—whatever suites your taste!

Hope you guys liked these! How would you customize your cookie dough bites?

Olive Garden at Home + Giveaway

I was so glad you all liked my my method of making pizza—one of the reasons I love the blogging world is the endless amount of inspiration in the art of cooking that I can both give and receive.. which brings me to a giveaway! This is only the second giveaway since I started my blog almost a year ago, which in my opinion is much too long—I love free stuff! Since a good portion of commenter’s on my last post said they didn’t have access to Joseph’s Lavash bread, but would like to try it, I figured I’d be the one to help ya out! (I would love to send everyone some, but unfortunately, that isn’t in my college budget!) Btw, the lovely Kelly from the Pink Apron recommended the book American Pie to anyone who has struggled with the search for finding the perfect pizza—thanks Kelly! :-)

All you have to do to enter is:

#1-Shoot me an email or comment in this post about what blog you go to for the most culinary inspiration.

#2-Drop me a note letting me know you linked back to this post—the more the merrier!

The contest ends this Friday at 12 pm Central Time & the winner will be chose via random integer.(And this is open to US residents only)

Onto the food business…

I have always loved Olive Garden, but not for the usual reason—most people head there for the pasta, but I am not a huge pasta fan—instead I tag along and eat all the breadsticks :-) And yes, I do order a dish—minestrone to be exact. So much to my delight, when I received the recent issue of Food Network Magazine and their Top Secret Recipe Revealed was how to make Olive Garden’s breadsticks, I couldn’t help but do a little dance!

 

Making breadsticks sounds a bit daunting, but once you see the ingredients and the simple steps, you should be on your way to making these also! My kitchen smelled like an exact replica of Olive Garden, and the taste test definitely passed with flying colors! Now I can have Olive Garden Breadsticks any day the craving strikes! You can check out the recipe here.

But first, check out my breadstick-making adventure..

 

 

See you tomorrow!

Iced, Spiced, And Very Nice

  I got another new addition to my growing pan collection—a mini cupcake/muffin pan. I have been looking for one lately, and scored one at Wal-Mart for under five bucks! I love my heart pans, donut pan, Bundt pans and various shaped cake pans. When I buy em’ I have no set plan of when I’ll use a certain one, but I always find a occasion! Do you have a favorite pan you use? If you are slightly obsessed with different pans, or just have some free time, head over here to look at a store that carries every pan under one roof! Pretty neat huh?!

Well today I am getting my cable hooked up finally. They were booked solid for two weeks supposedly, so I have been watching my share of DVD’s, more specifically all seasons of Full House—I just love that show. =) And unfortunately the streak of nice weather has left the area, rainy skies have been hanging out for the past 3 days, so of course I use it as a perfect excuse to stay in and bake! I had a realization that I am seriously lacking on cupcake recipes on the blog, yet I have tons of recipes to try. So I got out the mini-muffin pan and my trusted Hungry Girl 200 Under 200 Cookbook and began a cupcake bake day. (Btw, this book is my “recipe book of the month”, if you’d like to email me your fav cookbook for next month, I’d be thrilled!)

The cupcakes I chose to make are the Iced 'n Spiced Pumpkin Puddin' Cupcakes—if you’re against the hype on healthy cupcakes, this recipe may just change your mind. I am glad I made them in mini size because they are really satisfying with just a little bite. Plus you can have a couple instead of one big one! I also love recipes that are based on canned pure pumpkin because it is so cheap, and I love having leftovers to eat with random things! Not sure if these are something you want to bake? Maybe this picture will convince you otherwise!

Yes, these little gems even come with a cream cheese based frosting that tops the cake! (literally)

Iced ‘N Spiced Pumpkin Puddin’ Cupcakes

Adapted from Hungry Girl’s 200 Under 200 Recipes

Ingredients

For Cupcakes:

• 2 c moist-style spice cake mix
• 1 c canned pure pumpkin
• 1/3 c liquid egg substitute or 2 egg whites
• 1/8 tsp salt

For Frosting:

• 1/2 c plus 1 tbsp Cool Whip Free, thawed
• 2 tbsp Splenda, or other granulated sugar substitute
• 2 tbsp FF cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 tbsp canned pure pumpkin
• 1 tsp sugar-free fat-free vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the frosting ingredients, stirring until well mixed. Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.

• In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the cupcake ingredients with 1/2 c of water. Mix until blended.

• Line a 12-cup muffin pan (or a 24 c mini-muffin pan) with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute cake mixture among the cups.
• Bake in the oven for 15 mins, until a toothpick inserted the center of cupcake comes out clean.
• Cool cupcakes completely, then evenly distribute frosting among the tops.

Let me know if you try these! Tomorrow’s Friday—ya!

Tales of a Blogger and a Bread Machine

Once upon a time….

There lived a blogger who loved to bake.

Muffins, cookies, and the occasional cake.

And sometimes she even would go the extra mile,

to make homemade bread that made everyone smile.

So when it came about to buy a bread machine,

she knew she could whip up something quite mean.

It gave her arms the chance to rest,

and then came the initial test.

She had to pick what kind to make,

she figured it out and was ready to bake!

She layered the ingredients one by one,

Already this was so much fun!

Her new machine was a Wolfgang Puck,

she hoped it would bring her goodness and luck.

She chose to make a favorite bread,

“Cardamom can’t be beat!” she said.

She bought freshly ground cardamom seeds,

it fulfilled all of her bread-making needs.

3 hours later it was finished,

but the smell of bread had not diminished.

She pulled out the loaf and knew it’d be fab,

she put it on the cutting board to cut a slab.

Fluffy, chewy, and such a delight,

she knew she had done everything right.

Needless to say, she has a new man,

now she’ll throw out her oven bread-making pan.

For the new bread maker is just so great,

so many more recipes--she can barely wait!

The End

Hope you all liked my little rendition of a rhyming tale! Overall I absolutely love my bread machine and so glad I went with the Wolfgang Puck one! It makes horizontal loaves vs. the standard vertical loaf. It has 11 cycles—and I can even make cakes and jam in it! If you’ve been debating on getting a bread machine—do it! I know everyone does not have one, so when I post a recipe, I will try to find a link to a similar one that doesn’t require a machine!

Finnish Cardamom Loaf

Adapted from Better Homes and Garden The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking

Prep time: 10 min

Makes: 1 2lb loaf(27 slices)

Ingredients

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg or 2 egg whites
• 3 tbsp butter or margarine, cut up
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup sugar, or sugar substitute
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 1/4 dry yeast or bread machine yeast

Directions

• Select loaf size. Add the ingredients to the machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Select the basic white bread cycle.

If you haven’t tried cardamom, don’t delay! It’s a member of the ginger family and gives off a spicy-sweet flavor. It is a Far East spice that changed the Western World’s spices forever!

No bread machine? No problem! Click here to do it by hand.

 

 

 

Sweet Summer Eats

  I swear, the Minnesota weather is just so shocking—it’s actually sunny and warm at the same time—this never happens! I hope the sun is shining wherever you are—I know the East Coast has been having some pretty drab weather, so hopefully this’ll blow your way! I have been enjoying the bounty of fresh summertime fruit, and now I am going to be sad when winter comes and the prices sky rocket once again! I’m still doing the last of the unpacking this weekend, but next week I hope to be up and baking in my kitchen! I have some awesome recipes that use fresh fruit for you guys, so thanks for hanging in there!

Recently Brandi from Bran Appetit featured some Healthy Brownies made from scratch that look great! Unfortunately I haven’t fully stocked my pantry yet, so I had to turn to a boxed mix to get my brownie fix. Of course I didn’t go straight for one filled with icky addictives, etc. I tried out the No Pudge Fudge Brownie Mix which I had been eyeing up for quite some time now. I wasn’t sure how they’d turn out seeming how they are fat free, and brownies without fat do not always taste like a real brownie. A little about these:

No Pudge! FAT FREE Original Fudge Brownie Mix first appeared on the shelves of a few New Hampshire stores in August of 1995. Since then we have grown to the point where we have distribution in thousands of grocery and natural food stores across the country. We continue to work hard to expand that distribution so that one of these days, our mixes will be available to everyone right in their local store. Until then, our mail order business makes sure that anyone who wants No Pudge! can get it.

If your not a plain fudge-flavored fan, you can get their cappuccino flavored, raspberry fudge, or mint. All you do is add yogurt and a little vanilla extract if you choose and your on your way to a heavenly plate of brownies! You bake em’ in a 8 x 8 pan, and for 1/12th of the package—only 120 calories and no fat!

 

 

My thoughts: These were beyond good! I had heard previous raves about these, but didn’t know if they could be really all that good tasting. The texture, taste, even down to the heavenly aroma that filled my kitchen. It brought me back to the days when mom would have Betty Crocker brownies waiting for me when I’d get home from school. But, now a healthier alternative—it really couldn’t get any better! =) So please, if you see these anytime, anywhere, get a box stat!

Of course you need something to wash these thick and chewy brownies down with—how about trying this?

I recently decided to give MetroMint’s CherryMint water a try. They were on sale, so I figured now or never! Plus I have recently been on a extreme cherry kick! But minty water? I wasn’t so sure. Good thing I like to take risks occasionally—it was like nothing I have ever tasted. It’s actually one of those things where you should just try it, because me trying to describe it may be kind of loopy. It’s like a stick of minty gum that leaves your mouth feeling refreshed, yet there is a surprisingly strong hint of cherry flavoring that follows. Not artificial tasting at all! And the ingredients list is sure dandy too: purified water, mint, cherry essence. A great no-cal refresher for the hot summer days!

And if those brownies didn’t seem to quiet your chocolate craving, or maybe you can’t find em’ in the first place(although you can order online)—you can always count on some kind of snack bar to be at your beck and call. Recently I received a box of Lemur Peanut Choco Drizzle Crispy Rice Bars to try from the lovely folks at Nature's Path. Immediately I noticed the slew of good for you things about it—Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Whole Grain, Wheat Free, No Trans Fat, and only 8 g of sugar!

My chew review: This tasted like a clone of a Rice Krispy Bar with peanut butter and chocolate to add an extra yum factor! Good thing I got a whole bunch of these, because they truly are super—just be careful you don’t leave em’ in your hot car like I did—they melt! Oops! And isn’t that little lemur just the cutest?

What’s your new or old favorite summer sweet treat?