UNLEASHING MY INNER BAKER

I am so proud of myself! For someone who has always considered themselves a terrible cook and even worse at baking, it feels like a monumental achievement to whip up something my family absolutely loved. The inspiration for my culinary adventure harkens back to nearly 30 years go a friend's delicious cake at her daughter's birthday party. The cake was incredible, but it was the frosting that really stole the show, so light and fluffy, it had everyone buzzing with curiosity about its ingredients. When I learned that the magic was simply Cool Whip and pudding, I couldn't believe how easy it was. Who knew such a delightful treat would be so easy to create.

Recently the cake popped back into my mind, sparking a determination to create something similar on my own. As I recalled my friend's recipe, I knew the base had to be a box cake mix, but I was unsure which one. I decided to go with lemon, a flavor I had always loved. I bought lemon curd for the filling because I remembered the cake had a zesty punch, though I couldn't pin down if it was lemon curd or pie filling. Breaking some culinary rules, I opted for a single layer cake instead of the traditional two layers, using an injection took to disperse the lemon curd through the cake's moist center. Finally, I found a Cool Whip frosting recipe online and topped it off with a sprinkle of fresh lemon zest. The result? A creation my family became instantly obsessed with, devouring the entire cake and begging for more. It's ironic that I, who always shied away from the kitchen, could produce something so delicious, but the satisfaction of their enjoyment is more than enough to make me beam with pride

You can find the frosting recipe here: All Recipes 

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FROM ORCHARD TO TABLE

Every year at this time, our family eagerly anticipates our annual apple-picking outing. It's a cherished tradition that brings us all together, with the girls delighting in the thrill of plucking ripe apples from the trees while I can't wait to transform our harvest into delicious handmade applesauce. Among the various varieties we encounter, Sweet Tango apples have emerged as my absolute favorite. Their unique blend of sweet and tangly flavors makes them incredibly versatile for all types of applesauce recipes, whether I choose to add sugar or go the healthier route with no sugar at all. For myself, I prefer the pure taste of the apples, relishing the natural flavors, while my daughters enjoy a richer, sweeter version infused with brown sugar.

As the autumn sun filters through the leaves, creating a picturesque backdrop, we gather our bounty and return home, excited to jump into the kitchen. I have two favorite recipes that never fail to bring smiles. The first is a simple, no sugar added applesauce that highlights Sweet Tango's natural sweetness, where I gently cook the apples in the crockpot with a touch of cinnamon until they are tender and then mash them to the perfect consistency. The second recipe is a delightful brown sugar version, where I cook the apples in the crockpot with brown sugar and pumpkin spice, creating a luscious treat that my girls can't resist. Each time I make applesauce, not only do we create a delicious fall staple, but we also weave unforgettable memories together that make this season truly special. 

Here are two of my favorite recipes for you to try:

With Sugar

Without Sugar

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MET WITH A NUTRITIONIST

My new doctor has a group of people that are part of her healthcare team and so far everyone she has sent me off to see I've been impressed with. My most recent appointment was with a nutritionist. She went over my medical record before meeting with me so she had plans for me the moment we sat down to speak to each other. 

First priority is to find foods I can tolerate and gain weight so she had me experiment with cassava flour today. I've had cassava before in the form of pasta but hadn't eaten it since getting sick again back in December and never worked with the flour. I cooked up two tortillas, added some almond butter and blueberry jam (100% pure fruit) and ate both. It was a nice change from eating the same foods over and over for months. I hope my body handles it well. 

Normally not handling well means becomes abdominal pain, bloating, loose stools, and horrific reflux. Fingers crossed for a good outcome. 

For anyone interested in a gluten free no grain flour alternative, the recipe on the bag is:

3/4 casava flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 Tbs olive oil

1/3 cup warm water.

Mix together well and then make six balls. If the consistency is a little dry just add a tiny bit more water. Roll out the balls in between two sheets of parchment paper and place on non stick square griddle pan on medium heat and wait for bubbles to form on each side like you do with a regular flour tortilla. 

The cassava tortilla is close in taste to a flour tortilla but a little more doughy tasting. 

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RECIPE SHARE

Since going back to a lacto-vegetarian diet I am always on the look out for recipes that fit my diet choice and since, in my opinion, good vegetarian or vegan meals are hard to find for picky eaters like me I get really excited when I come across one that I actually like so I am happy to share this one.  If there are any other picky eaters out there on the look-out for a meatless meal this recipe is for you.   

If you love artichokes you will want to make this.  CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE RECIPE. I almost ate the entire pan just by myself.

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YUM! PASTAAAAAA

I am not one to share a lot of recipes, only because I really don't know how to cook that well.  I pretend I know how to cook and my family pretends to like what I cook but I'm really not that awesome.  BUT... I do have this one meal that I cook pretty well, the entire family loves it and we eat it way too often so I thought it was the perfect meal to share :-)

I got it out of the Food Network Magazine back in 2011 and I love it because not only is it super easy and fast to make it tastes wonderful!  You can make it into an almost all organic meal for very little cost.  I say almost because I'm not sure if there is organic vodka (???)

Just know that my sloppy cell phone picture taken in my dimly lit kitchen doesn't do the meal justice.

Ingredients

Penne Pasta (Bionaturae Organic Penne)

2 Shallots (from our garden)

Butter (organic valley)

Garlic (from our garden)

Crushed Tomatoes (we use whatever  organic brand Valley Natural Foods has available).

Vodka (whatever brand is the least expensive - can you tell I know nothing about vodka)

Heavy Whipping Cream (organic valley)

Parmesan Cheese  (organic valley)

red pepper flakes (optional since I've tried with and without and not noticed their contribution to the taste) 

Basil (on the list but I don't add it because my hubby hates basil)

Cook 2 minced shallots in a skilled with butter over medium heat until slightly softened, 3 minutes.  Add 1 minced garlic clove and a pinch of red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds.  Remove from the heat.  Add 1/2 cup of vodka, a 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes and some salt.  Simmer, stirring, 7 minutes.  Stir in 2/3 cup heavy cream and simmer until thickened, 3 minutes.  Stir in 1/2 cup grated parmesan and a handful of torn basil.  Toss with 12 ounces cooked penne.

I've changed the recipe a little, I add about 4 small shallots and I use about 4-5 cloves of garlic (we love shallots and garlic), which creates a stronger taste and a chunkier sauce but either way (my way or the original recipe) it tastes very yummy!

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HOLIDAY COOKIE SWAP

When you can't do an "in person" cookie swap with friends you go for the next best thing...

A VIRTUAL COOKIE SWAP!

The participants and rules are:

So here are my recipes:

Salted Caramel Brownies

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter

8 oz. plus 6 oz. Hershey's semisweet chocolate chips

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate 

3 extra-large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules, such as Nescafe

1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 Tbs. of sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. all purpose flour, divided

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

5 to 6 oz. good caramel sauce, such as Fran's

2 to 3 tsp. flaked sea salt, such as Maldon

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Butter and flour a 9x12x1 1/2 inch baking pan.

2. Melt the butter, 8 oz of the chocolate chips and the unsweetened chocolate together in a medium bowl set over simmering water.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes.  In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee, vanilla and sugar.  Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature (it is very important to allow the butter to cool before adding the chocolate chips, or the chips will melt and ruin the brownies.)

3. In a medium bowl, sift together 1/2 cup of the flour, the baking powder and salt and add to the chocolate mixture.  Toss the remaining 6 oz. of chocolate chips and the remaining 2 Tbs. of flour in a medium bowl and add them to the chocolate mixture.  Spread evenly in the bottom of prepared pan.

4. Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick come out clean.  Do not over bake!

5. As soon as the brownies are out of the oven, place the jar of caramel sauce without the lid in a microwave and heat just until it's pourable.  Stir until smooth.  Drizzle the caramel evenly over the hot brownies and sprinkle with the sea salt.  Cool completely and cut into 12 bars.

Note: the above recipe isn't a family recipe, it was just something I found in the Food Network magazine that turned out to be a big hit with my knitting group and my family so I figured they were awesome enough to share here :)

Holiday Rolo Melts

I have no idea what these are called, I just made them because the recipe was on the back of a rolo bag and again, another hit with everyone I shared them with.  They are yummy and really easy to make.

1 bag of holiday pretzel rings

1 bag of rolos

1 bag of glazed pecans (found in the baking section of the grocery store)

1. pre-heat the oven to 350

2. line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

3. lay out as many holiday pretzel rings as you can fit on the parchment paper

4. place one rolo in the center of each pretzel ring

5. place cookie sheet in oven 1-3 minutes (test every minute because some ovens melt the rolos faster than others). 

6.  when the rolos is melted (usually in about 2 minutes), remove from oven and set the cookie sheet on counter.

7. place a glazed pecan into the center of every rolo, push down until the chocolate fills the pretzel (if it doesn't fill the pretzel then the rolo and pecan will fall out of pretzel when it cools).

8. you can allow the rolo melts to cool on the counter until hard enough to eat.  I usually pop mine in the fridge to cool them quickly.  

and even better than what is above...

More Recipes!

Please stop over to visit the blogs of the wonderful virtual cookie swappers.  All of these awesome ladies have great recipes to share and bake a million times better than I do so don't miss out!!  (a few may not have finished uploading their recipes yet so stay tuned because all recipes will be live soon).

ALINA

CARRIE

KATHY

MONICA

TERESA

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OFF THE COB: SWEET CORN CHIPS

Ok... I needed to blog about this young man.

A while back Andrew Zimmern (Minnesota's famous chef) had twittered about this Kickstarter fundraiser for a guy named Cameron Sheldrake.   Cameron is a young entrepreneur that started a company called Off The Cob Sweet Corn Tortilla Chips.  His chips are unique in that they are made using real sweet corn, they contain no artificial ingredients, no artificial coloring, they are certified non-GMO, gluten free, and

cholesterol free. When Cameron was looking for backers on Kickstarter I decided to give a little.  Now knowing that the company is legit (yes, I do worry about that on Kickstarter) I wish I had given more.  

The other day a package arrived for me and when I opened the box and discovered a bag of chips my first thought was "who in the heck would send me chips?" Forgetting about Cameron's Kickstarter Project.  When I found the handwritten thank you note it all came back to me.  

I was really excited to try the chips but I'll be honest, I didn't expect them to be very good.  I've purchased several types of chips at the Natural Food Store and I have always found them to be either too salty, not salty enough, lacking taste or being too hard, etc... but I wanted to know what "sweet" corn chips taste like so I tore open the bag and started eating :-)

I have to report that Cameron's Sweet Corn Chips are the best I've ever eaten.  My family and I devoured the entire bag in a matter of minutes, they were sooooooo yummy! Lots of flavor and just the right amount of salt. I'm bummed that we don't carry the chips locally yet but perhaps soon.  Luckily, the chips are for sale out east in some Whole Foods Stores (for those of you who live out that way) and they are also sold on Amazon (for those of us who don't live out that way).  Now I'm just waiting on my delivery so I can make some guacamole to eat with my chips :D

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NOPE, THOSE AREN'T POTATOS

I've been wanting to make this apple butter for a while now but I tend to avoid things if I sense I may be risking failure, especially when it comes to food :( Well, I went apple picking with the intention of using some of the apples for this very purpose and it had already been over a week since we went apple picking so I figured it was time to give this yummy sounding recipe a try.

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CHRISTMAS HAS COME AND GONE

All that preparation for a moment that comes and goes so quickly. Now it is time to move on to bigger and better things... like... pictures.

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I'M THANKFUL 3 MONTHS EARLY.

Who said we have to wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful. Actually, our family boycotts Thanksgiving. I would explain it but it's a long story. So, while I haven't been blogging quite as often as I should be, I've accumulated several things I'd like to say "I'm thankful" for.

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