Holy smokies. Has it really been 10 years?

Has a decade passed since I started writing this blog?

I guess it has.

I'll set some thoughts to pixels about the past 10 years, but not today. Yes, I've got something up my flour-dusted and sauce-splattered sleeve--but I need to get a wiggle on to get it sorted.

The past week has been filled with happy things: apart from Cardamom Addict's anniversary, I've also marked my birthday (really, every year is a significant year) and celebrated as my dear friend exchanged "I dos" with his beloved. It's always a special thing when two people who are totally and utterly in love make a commitment to one another. They are both kind and giving souls and I wish them all the happiness in the world.

For three days we fested in a bucolic setting, complete with bright blue skies, a babbling waterfall, green fields, shady trees, storybook black and white Bessies keeping the grass at bay, and a horse who occasionally marked his glee by waggling on his back in his paddock.

As with many such events, not everyone who should attend, can attend. Tucked into a display of photographs of family who have passed away, but not passed in memory, was a photograph of a familiar face with twinkly eyes. You see, my friend who was getting married, was the same person who introduced me to our dear Edna Staebler. While he was not born into Edna's family, he became one of hers.

Edna was a local treasure, literary trailblazer and the woman who introduced the world to the Mennonite cookery of our area, Waterloo County. Regular readers know I've written about her before. In fact, today is the ninth anniversary of Edna's passing.

In honour of Edna, and what she meant to my friend, her recipes were curated by Rose Murray into the weekend's menus: Good As Gold Soup; Ol’ Walper Hotel’s Spinat Salad coquette on German Red Cabbage with Apples & Bacon; Herb & Peppercorn Sirloin with Red Wine Demiglace; Roast Pork with German Mustard, Pepper & Rosemary, with an Apple-Cranberry-Sweet Onion Chutney, Mixed Veg; Loaded Mashed Potatoes, and (of course) the sweets--pies, cookies, butter tarts, and sticky buns.

I could not think of a more perfect edible collection for this celebration.

While I hemmed and hawed about my tenth anniversary post and what would busy my kitchen, I took inspiration from these celebrations and decided to make Edna's sticky buns from her second cookery book, More Food That Really Schmecks.  

And really, how better to recognize Cardamom Addict's milestone than by recognizing a lovely and amazing local home cook--one without airs or pretension--who loved to write?

Edna's sticky buns are made from "Mary Ann Martin's Magic Buns, Doughnuts, and Rolls."  We all need a mother recipe that's easily adaptable--and this one is.  Apart from sticky buns, instructions are given for cream buns, Chelsea buns, long johns, and honey-glazed doughnuts.

The original mother recipe calls for more than 1kg of flour. To make the sticky buns, we are instructed, as any good home baker would, to follow as you would for the Chelsea buns, but use maple syrup and cream instead of butter, sugar and raisins at the bottom of the pan. How much dough to use for the Chelsea buns (and hence the sticky buns)? A piece, of course.

Maple Pecan Sticky Buns 

Adapted from Edna Staebler's recipe in More Food That Really Schmecks 

Yield: One 23x30cm (9"x12") pan

Ingredients:

For the dough
0.25tsp/1.25ml sugar
3Tbsp+1tsp/50ml hand-hot water
1dspn/10ml/7g yeast 1c/250ml water
0.25c/60ml/50g sugar
3Tbps/45ml/40g lard (see notes)
0.25tsp/1.25ml salt
1 beaten egg
3-4c/750ml-1L/450-600g all purpose flour, as needed

For the syrup (see notes)
Maple syrup
Cream or butter
Pecans salt

For the filling (see notes)
Melted butter
Brown sugar
Plumped sultanas

More melted butter

Method:

Start with the dough by blooming the yeast in 50ml hand-hot water, mixed with a quarter-teaspoon sugar. A frothy head should appear after 10 minutes.

While the yeast is frothing, turn on the hob to melt the lard, sugar and salt in the water--even using frozen lard, it doesn't take more than five minutes. Cool the water to not much above a lukewarm temperature.  Temper the egg with this sugar-water solution, mixing well before adding the egg to the pot. Whisk in the yeast.

Create a soft--if slightly sticky--dough by mixing in several heaping spoonfuls of flour at a time--the amount of flour you'll need will be dependent upon your kitchen's mood. When the dough is of a good consistency, give it a light knead before plopping it into an oiled bowl. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free space until the dough doubles in volume (about one hour).

While the dough is rising, butter the baking dish.

Make the syrup by melting the butter into the maple syrup. Give it a good stir and pour into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Tilt the dish so the bottom is fully coated with the buttery maple syrup. Strew nuts on top and give it a light sprinkling of salt.

When the dough is ready, punch it down and roll it out to about a 1.25cm (0.5") thick rectangle. Slather generously with the melted butter and sprinkle with a few handfuls (or more, or less), of brown sugar. Lightly dust with cinnamon. Strew sultanas before tightly rolling the sheet as you would a jelly roll. Pinch the edge to the log to form a seam.

Cut the log into even 3cm-4cm (1"-1.5") stumps and place cut-side down into the prepared pan. Brush the exposed bottoms with any remaining melted butter (or melt some more), cover the dish with cling film and prove the buns until they double in volume (again, about an hour).

Preheat oven to 190C/375F and bake, uncovered, for about 20-25 minutes or until your kitchen is scented with baking and the buns are golden. Remove from the oven and immediately place large baking sheet over the baking dish. Grasp the blisteringly hot dish and baking sheet together (using oven mitts, of course) and turn the buns over, releasing buns and topping onto sheet, so that the nuts and and sticky sauce are now on top.

Let cool five minutes before serving. Serve warm.

Notes:

If you don't use lard, use the same quantity of shortening--the original recipe called for either fat. 

Re: Syrup:
Edna's recipe calls for maple syrup and cream (without quantities). Here's what I did (give or take)--you may want more or less for your buns:

• A scant 0.5c maple syrup 
• 2Tbsp butter 
• Several Jasmine-sized handfuls of pecans (in other words, use your judgement) 

Re: Filling:
Again, Edna doesn't provide quantities, because you really don't need them. I didn't measure, so these are approximations. Again (again), you may want more or less for your buns:

• 2-3Tbsp butter, (melted)
• 1 generous cup of dark brown sugar (enough to opaquely cover the sheet) 
• 1tsp cinnamon -- Perhaps less. Perhaps more. 
• 0.5c dried sultanas, revived in hot water and drained 
• I also used a light sprinkling of both black pepper and hot chilli pepper in the filling--I like it, and I think Edna wouldn't mind.

cheers!
jasmine
I'm a quill for hire!

Mmm…Canada: Strawberry shortcake

 

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, adopted Canadians and everyone who has a bit of Canadianess in side of them :)

One of the lovely things about having an early summer national day is this is the time when some of the most gorgeous strawberries come into season.  From about September until June, we suffer through imports that only a marketer or an accountant in some far off land like Toronto would eat and find palatable: the strawberries I find in the scary megamart conglomerate appear to suffer from some form of gigantism (I often call them cow's heart berries); their rock-hard texture sometimes makes me wonder if these berries were poured into a concrete mould and left to set *too* long; many of the berries are reddish or mostly red with oddly blotched whitish-yellow-green spots (as if someone held the berry in their hand when spraying them with paint, but forgot to turn the berry to ensure it was evenly coated with colour; their cores are as white as snow, and when I sniff them, they smell of…nothing.

Contrast that to the fresh local berries I proffer from my favourite local country market from June until September: sizes very from dainty little gumball-sized jewels to golfball-sized treats (I must admit I prefer the smaller berries that I usually find in August); they are tender and when pressured, yield sweet ruby juices; their happy summer red penetrates the skin and travels through soft flesh to an equally garnet core, and their scent is of…strawberry.

So here we are, in strawberry season, celebrating my fair nation's 147th birthday.  The other week I went to my most marvellous (ex-)manager's house for a bit of a catch up. His lovely wife, upon hearing I would bring strawberries, immediately piped up with shortcake. It was simply lovely…and possibly the best biscuit-style shortcake I've ever had.  I'm asking for the recipe.

So, when thinking about today's recipe, I knew it would be strawberry shortcake--little fluffy biscuits filled with billowy clouds of whipped cream and gorgeous strawberries.  It's red, white and oh so lovely.

The shortcake recipe itself is based on this Canadian Living recipe--I've made some minor changes to the recipe.  The rest is what I call a non-recipe recipe--the strawberries are macerated with balsamic vinegar, and the whipped cream is a crème Chantilly--slightly sweet, and flavoured with a splash of vanilla.

Can you use other fruits or berries?  Of course you can.  But really, in these fleeting months of strawberry season, why would you want to?

Happy Canada Day!

Strawberry Shortcake
Yield: 8-10

Ingredients
For the shortcakes:
200g/2 rounded cups/515ml all purpose flour, + more for kneading 1dspn/10ml baking powder
0.5tsp/2.5ml bicarbonate of soda
0.5tsp/2.5ml salt
25g/2Tbsp sugar, + more for sprinkling
55g/0.25c/62ml very cold butter
1 egg, beaten (see notes)
250ml/1c yoghurt
1Tbsp/15ml milk or cream

For the strawberries:
hulled strawberries as you want (see notes)
sugar, to taste
1tsp/5ml balsamic vinegar (see notes)

For the crème Chantilly:
500ml/2c heavy cream
2 heaped tspns icing sugar (to taste)
1tsp/5ml vanilla extract

Method

Start with the biscuits: 
Preheat oven to: 450F/425F (fan-assist) 230C/200C (fan-assist)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and 25g sugar.

Grate the butter on the large holes of a box grater, and rub into the flour, so there are butter pieces of varying sizes--ranging from the size of grains of rice, to the size of small pebbles and peas. Alternatively, cut the butter into small cubes and cut into the flour mixture, aiming for the same range of butter bits as above.

Mix together the yoghurt and egg an then pour into the flour mixture. Lightly mix together until just combined.

Turn out the very sticky dough onto a well floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Add flour as needed until you have a soft dough.

Roll the dough to a 2.5cm/1" thickness. Using a floured 6.25cm/2.5" biscuit cutter (or larger or smaller, as you see fit), cut rounds of dough. Gather scraps together, re-roll and cut. Place rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with milk or cream and lightly sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 15 minutes. The biscuits should be risen and golden. The bottoms should be a slightly deeper shade of brown and should sound hollow-ish when tapped. If in doubt, slide a paring knife into the top of the biscuit and see that the inside of the biscuit is fluffy and cooked. Set on a cooling rack.

Next, get on with the strawberries: 
Mash them and give them a taste. Add sugar, if the berries need them. Sprinkle balsamic vinegar, to taste. Give the berries a mix and let them macerate.

Lastly, make the crème Chantilly:
Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla together until firm, but still soft.

To assemble: 
Slice a biscuit through its equator. Spoon some of the strawberry juice onto the cut sides of the biscuit halves and then spoon some mashed berries onto the bottom half. Top the berries with a spoon or three of chantilly cream.

Notes: 

• Re: Eggs -- If in Canada: you'll be better off using an extra large egg, as official sizing seems to have decreased (used to be 56g, but I'm now regularly finding 48g eggs in my "large" cartons). I shall assume other nations have kept sizing sense and not followed suit. 
• Re: Strawberries--this is totally by eye. I weighed out how many berries I serve per person, and it came out to about 75g, or three or four medium-large berries. 
•  Re: Balsamic vinegar--if you're using real balsamic, use less than I've indicated. If you're using what's found in your megamart, you may need to boil down the vinegar until it thickens. Let it cool and then use it on your berries.

cheers!

jasmine
I'm a quill for hire!

Happy birthday Edna: Cranberry-ginger swirly buns

A few years ago I, along with a number of bloggers, celebrated the life of my dear friend Edna Staebler with an event called A Day That Really Shmecks.

I wanted to continue celebrating her life, on her birthday, but life happened and continues to do so. This year I may have not resurrected the event, but I am event this year but I'm celebrating Edna today. Maybe next year I'll get my act together and ask people to join me.

One of my ways of showing others I care is to cook for them. Rarely intricate, occasionally zhuzhed, I will occasionally appear, dish in hand with something I hope is as equally heart warming as it is tummy warming.

A kitchen filled with the comfortingly warm scent of freshly made bread will make the world a better place. It's a life axiom. So when a friend was hit with a bit of shocking news earlier this week...the kind where the fug of words just suck away oxygen and thought, I wanted to do something to let her know that that she's thought of and I care. Swirly buns must be made

Edna's Neil's Harbour Bread recipe has become my jump point when making anything of this ilk. The recipe has never failed me and I find almost infinitely forgiveable. In fact the only time it begrudgingly gave me a loaf was when I accidently slashed the top of the loaf prior to baking: the texture remained gorgous, but instead of a wonderful domed crust, a flattened lid formed.

This variation used a warmed, thinned yoghurt instead of water and an improvised filling. I'm not convinced you actually need a recipe for the swirl of any swirled bun (cinnamon buns, included)--just brush with melted butter and sprinkle with as much spiced sugar as you want and then sprinkle handfuls of fruit and or nuts. And yes, you can forgo the sugar and spread chocolate, caramel or go a savoury route and use a cream cheese doctored with herbs, onions or veggies.

Cranberry-ginger swirly buns

85ml hand-hot water
1/2tsp sugar
1dspn traditional yeast
60ml yoghurt dissolved with 100ml hot (but not boiling) water
35g sugar
1tsp salt
40ml canola or some other flavourless oil
420g ap flour (plus more, if necessary)
Melted butter
3Tbsp brown sugar
2Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1/2-1tsp powdered ginger
a couple of handfuls of dried cranberries

Dissolve the yeast and half teaspoon of sugar in the hand-hot water. Let sit for about 10 or 15 minutes until a frothy head has formed.

Whisk in the yoghurty mixture, 35g sugar, salt and oil.

Work in the flour, about a cup at a time, mixing until you have a floppily moist, but easily handled dough. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead, sprinkling in as much flour as the dough needs--until smooth and elastic but still slightly sticky.

Plop the dough into a well-oiled bowl and cover with a damp teatowel, well-oiled piece of cling or waxed paper. Set to double in volume in a warm place free of drafts or other disturbances--somewhere in the 1-2 hour range.

Butter an appropriately-sized baking dish (24cm (8") square if you want nine buns; 23cm x 33cm (9" x 13") if you want a dozen).

Mix the remaining sugars, salt and ginger together.

When the dough has grown to the appropriate size, give it the poke test. By this I mean deeply poke the dough with your index and middle fingers. If the indentations stay, the dough is ready to be worked. If they fill in quickly, then the dough needs rise a bit longer.

When the dough passes, knead it again and then roll it out into a rectangle-I really don't measure, but roughly 30cm x 45cm (12" x 18"). Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with gingery-sugar mixture. Strew the cranberries, on top.

Roll it up, so you have a 45cm-long roll. Cut into the appropriate number of pieces and set into the greased pan, spaced apart to give them enough time to grow.

Return to that warm place, free of drafts and other disturbances, for about an hour, to let the buns grow.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

When cooled, cut the individual buns. Glaze as, how and if you wish.

cheers!
jasmine

What I'm reading: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (opens to my Amazon.ca shop)

I'm a quill for hire!

A tale of two cookies: part two

Where was I?

Oh yes, the second cookie...

So there I was baking butterscotch pecan cookies for the workaversary when I was struck by a moment of brilliance...or insanity (it's sometimes difficult to differentiate between the two):

Why make just one kind when I can make two kinds of cookies?

OOOOH...

I don't know what made me more excited--the idea of offering my colleagues a choice of flavours or the possibility that I might have some left over for ME (the term "ravenous hordes" has been bandied about).

Okay, but what about the second flavour? I was baking at My Dear Little Mummy's as Beelzebub hasn't yet learned to behave like a good little oven, so I was a bit short on options...except for the tub of Nutella I bought on the way over (along with the butter).

For those of you who haven't been enlightened: Nutella is a food of the gawds.

There, now you know. Pass it on.

So there I was, staring at the 400g pot of Nutella, wondering what to do, when it suddenly dawned on me: Nutella cookies.

It may have been the most brilliant thought I'd had all year.

A quick riffle through my Mum's cupboards procured a part packet of milk chocolate chips--she wouldn't mind--she's told me to use up as much of her food as possible while she's away...and I'm a good girl who always obeys her Mummy :)

The only thing was...I didn't have a recipe. Think think think. Nutella is sort of like peanut butter. It had been a while since I last made PB cookies, but I figured I could muddle my way through.

The cookies that emerged weren't cloying. Truthfully, I was worried that they'd take on the supersweetness brought by Nutella, but because I held back (a bit) on the sugar--totally omitted the brown sugar, and just stuck with brown--and added more salt than I'd normally put in a cookie. These weren't chewy as some pb cookies, but they aren't as crispy-dry-hearty as others. They were a nice cross between the two, with a little teeny cakeyness thrown in. I wound up with a chocolaty, slightly nutty-flavoured cookie that went really well with coffee. In that way they were reminiscent of Dorie's World Peace Cookies.

I think they were a hit--I definitely like them. They were very popular in some circles, but others (those poor, deprived souls who weren't brought up with the joys of choco-hazelnut spread) did not go near them. A couple of people who'd never tried the spread ate a cookie...and then another...and then another (even my very young neighbour, who received some of my biscuitty bounty, came knocking on my door--several times--over the weekend wanting the recipe so she could make them with her mum).

Nutella Cookies
Yields about six dozen cookies, depending upon your cookie spoon.

170g very soft butter
200g granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 dsp vanilla extract
250ml Nutella
420g plain flour
1 dsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
250g milk chocolate chips (but I suppose you could use an entire packet of 270g)

Preheat oven to 375F/190C and prepare your cookie trays in the usual way.

Stir together the flour, bicarb and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and Nutella until smooth. Mix in the flour and then fold in the chocolate chips. You will get a fairly stiff batter.

Drop by teaspoonful onto the aforementioned prepared cookie trays. Press slightly and bake until done, about 12 minutes.

cheers!
jasmine

edit: Thanks Dana! I left out half the info on the sugar and texture...they're in now.

Related Post: A tale of two cookies: part one

Daring Bakers: Cheesecake Pops

Every so often something pops into my head as being so common sensicle that I immediately dismiss it because it's so obviously a good idea that someone else has done it and done it better.

Time travel to 1987: Enter the cheeseypop (a frozen cheesecake lolly) into my head...and immediately dismissed in the aforementioned way.

Time jump to 2008 and the April 2008 Daring Bakers challenge, co-hosted by Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell, Cheesecake pops. Chocolate-coated cheesecake balls on a stick.

Okay...my cheeseypops weren't choco-coated, but the idea is the same. A bite-sized cheesecake portion, frozen onto a stick...perfect for parties.

It's like the dessert version of cocktail weenies...except there isn't any dipping sauce...well there is, but it's frozen onto the cheesecake.

Our lovely hosts let us run free with the recipe to a certain extent--we could flavour it as we wanted and decorate it as we wanted. The only limitations were keeping the cheesecake untinted and keep the lolly to a two-ounce size.

OOPS...on both counts...sort of...

I don't know why, but I've been thinking of pina coladas a lot lately. Maybe it's a latent desire to be somewhere...anywhere...where I can just laze about with a book or two. I even went so far as to buy a frozen can of pina colada stuff...which I intend to use in something...possibly a drink.

So, apart from the rum, the two primary flavours are coconut and pineapple. I've never seen coconut cream cheese in the shops, but I have seen it in pineapple Needless to say, instead of buying a regular, cream cheese-flavoured brick for the challenge, I bought a pineapple-flavoured tubblette of cream cheese. Heck, it saves me from looking for pineapple flavouring. But instead of it being titanium white, it's more of a winter white--a creamy-peachy colour. Well, I'd never bought it before, so I didn't know...oh well...at least it wasn't pink like the strawberry or blue like the blueberry (or, I suspect green, like the chive flavoured) kinds.

The original recipe called for five bricks of cream cheese. Since I wasn't making it for a party and I don't have room in my freezer for 35 cheeseypops, I scaled the recipe down to one brick's worth. It was quite easy, since I pretty much do most things in grams and mls. I poured it into my smallest ceramic round baking thingie and it baked up really nicely--it took about 35 minutes to set properly. I also made a mental note that this quantity is perfect for a small cheesecake for two-four people.

When time came to make the little balls, I didn't have a two-ounce scoop and none of the shops I checked in had them. Knowing they had to be walnut-sized I got out my teaspoon and started scooping balling and impaling. I wound up with 12 lollies from one brick...which tells me they were a wee bit too small, but it just means there are more "servings."

I found stabbing each orb with a lolly stick oddly therapeutic. Maybe there's a hidden acupuncturist inside me, maybe in a previous life I was one of Vlad's armed guards. To my surprise, the sticks stuck and didn't tip to the side--nor did the cheesecake slide off when lifted.

After a couple of hours in the freezer, I dipped them in melted dark chocolate and then plunged them into bowl of shredded coconut, left over from the March Challenge, and popped them back into the freezer.

Yummy yummy yummy...and the perfect size (for me). The pineapple wasn't too strongly flavoured, but it was nice with the coconut.

Which got me to wondering...what about cheesey kebabs? Two little cheesecake blobs on either side of a strawberry or pineapple chunks...frozen, of course... or what about doing these with savoury garlic cream cheese (I do like the garlic bonbons at my favourite chocolatrie)...

Nah, it's probably been done before...

If you're interested in making Cheesecake Pops, read Lemon Pi's post (I really like the little lolly holders).

To read what the other DBs did with this challenge, take a meander through our blogroll.

cheers!
jasmine

A tale of two cookies: part one

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way."

--Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

That's in the top two best opening lines I've ever read. The other one is from Iain Banks' The Crow Road--"It was the day my grandmother exploded." Now whether or not I'll use the great Mr. Banks' works for titular inspiration remains to be seen.

As apt a present-day commentary as Mr. Dickens' words are this post isn't meant to be a discourse on current events. No, instead it is the first of a two part series on cookies.

This week was one of my work-related milestones: seven years at the company. For whatever reason, the tradition is whenever you have something to celebrate (birthday, engagement, wedding, birth of a child, divorce, whatever) you have to provide the treats...the same goes for workaversaries.

"Harrumph!" I say and "double harrumph!" at that.

Have they not yet realised that they should be fêting me? Didn't they know that they should have laid a rose petal carpet from my prize parking spot to the front door? And what about the balloon bouquets gracing every doorway? How about having Gerard Butler, Colin Firth and Richard Armitage available at my beck and call? Jeans day??

No, apparently not.

Sigh...

So I need to bring a treat in for the workaversary. I usually do a cake or cuppycakes but this year I decided on cookies. The only thing I knew was I didn't want to bring in regular chocolate chip cookies. Not saying anything bad about chocochip cookies--I've had more than my fair share of good ones--I just wanted something different.

What made my cookie making adventure slightly more annoying was the fact we have a Timmys in our office. Which means we have Timmy cookies...and Timmys makes good cookies (IMO)...especially their caramel chocolate pecan ones. Mmmmmmm....caramel chocolate pecan cookies. Not that I'd make caramel chocolate pecan cookies...just be inspired by them

I rummaged through my cupboard and found some butterscotch chips and pecan bits and added them to the basic cookie recipe I use (which happens to be based on the one found on the milk chocolate Chippits bag). What I like about this particular cookie recipe is that you don't have to use a mixer to do the dough--all you need is a bowl and a wooden spoon.

Fresh from the oven they are a little poofy, but chewy and just so buttery good. Cooled they are on this side of butter-pecan. By far, they were a hit at the office...

Butterscotch Pecan Cookies
Yields about 5 dozen cookies, depending upon your cookie spoon.

150ml melted butter
340g light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 dsp hot water
1 tsp vanilla extract
375g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4tsp salt
250g butterscotch chips
150g pecan bits

Preheat oven to 375F/190C and prepare your cookie trays in the usual way.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, eggs, hot water and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour and then fold in the butterscotch chips and pecan bits.

Drop by teaspoonful onto the aforementioned prepared cookie trays. Press slightly and bake until done, about eight to 10 minutes.

cheers!
jasmine

Related Post: A tale of two cookies: part two

Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side

Okay, now that I've let you have that Musical Youth moment...

...or two...

Since my Time to make the doughnuts post one of Tim Horton's CSRs wrote back with a little info on their Dutchies. No, they don't know why they're called that, but these doughnuts were part of the original Tim Horton offering in in 1964. Fair enough. Baking Soda came up with a very plausible suggestion, when she suggested that the name may have something to do with the Pennsylvania Dutch -- makes a lot of sense to me.

Anyway, my little cakes kinda sorta got all squooshed on their way from the second rise to the oil. I'd forgotten to put some flour on the first tray and when I lifted them out they went from little square cushion about to be tansformed into yummy fried treats to what looked to be pummeled remnants of a pillow fight about to be transformed into yummy fried treats.

Watching the bits of dough bob and float in the hot oil, I must admit that I began doughnut-watching. It's like cloud-watching, finding familiar figures in gathered bits of water mist against a blue canvas, but it's tastier. Think of it as a foodie version of a Rorschach Inkblot Test.

Not sure what you see, but here's what I found:



Left: A hen sitting on her nest, but the photo makes it look more like an alley cat that's been in one too many fights.
Right: A sock puppet.


Left: Astroboy
Right: A heart.




Left: Frankenstein's monster wearing a beret.
Right: Either an ice cream cone or a turkey leg.

Hmmm...notice how I see a lot of food images in food? Wonder what that says about me.

Anyway...so there I was with this collection of doughnuts. Granted a few were eaten that first night, but after a couple of days, they just get a little...well...stale. Not one to let a good doughnut go to waste, I did the only thing I cold think of...

Make a doughnut pudding.



It's quite simple. Instead of using bread or jam sandwiches for bread pudding, simply cut up the stale doughnuts, and let them soak in a sweet, creamy-eggy mixture for a little bit before baking in a 180C (350F) oven until the custard has set. Yummy, yummy yummy.


cheers!
jasmine

Daring Bakers: Lemon Meringue Pie

I think the kitchen gawds have forsaken me...or at the very least, Zao Jun was on a coffee break when I constructed this month's challenge.

This time around, our very own Jen of The Canadian Baker challenged us to make a lemon meringue pie. What a great idea--perhaps it's the foofy meringue, but I've always viewed meringue pies with a whimsical eye. And what could be better with whimsy, but a couple of girlfriends, a hearty lunch, a pot of tea and a good old-fashioned natter?

This pie could have marked my return to kitchen pottering but, in reality, this pie tested my scullery resolve. Quite honestly, if I were a weaker sort, I'd probably have thrown in the towel and headed to the bigscarymegamart for a "home style pie." Yup this pie was as obstinate as a goat...which would have been fine if it were a chevre tart. But it wasn't.

Since I don't have a food processor, my little fingertips usually busy away, rubbing fat into flour until it feels right. Hestia must have sensed my cockiness and decided to knock me down a peg or two...by virtue of a shard of butter. A bamboo shoot-like shard of butter. A bamboo shoot-like shard of butter that rammed itself under my thumbnail, separating it from the quick.

I shrieked. I jumped. I bled....but not into the pastry.

After I washed off my digit and staunched the bleeding I returned to the pastry. It chilled well and it rolled out well. I got it into the pan in one piece.

As I pondered edge fluting, the pie plate fell off the counter and landed crust side up, disposable plate dented. Gingerly I placed the sheet of dough onto an undented plate...and I gingerly tore it. My futile attempts to fix the rip left me with an ultimatum: toss the dough or re-roll it. Quite honestly, I was short on butter so I re-rolled it, totally accepting the inevitably tough crust which would result.

After chilling it...and chilling out a bit...I blind baked it. It looked fine when I took the pie weights off and returned it to the oven. Five minutes later it ballooned like a puffer fish--I'd forgotten to dock the crust. I quickly evacuated it from mum's oven and refashioned the foil and weights. After a slightly-longer-than-called-for bake, the crust looked beautiful.

That jubilant feeling would be short-lived. Sure the cornstarch, sugar and water came together to a lovely opalescent and viscous consistency, but I was sure I was forgetting something as I stood stirring...staring at the whole lemons on the counter. Yup...standing and stirring and staring...at the lemons that should have been zested and juiced.

And there I was with my owie thumb.

Needless to say, I quickly juiced the fruit before I looked at the naked pith from the inner hulls of two lemon halves...as black as ink. Before she left for India, My Darling Little Mummy told me to use those lemons...I just didn't realise I should have used them the day after she left, instead of two weeks later. Thank goodness I brought four extra lemons...

The next day my two friends arrived for lunch. No problems, I thought. All I have to do is plop the filling into the shell, make the meringue and bake the blessed thing.

So I preheat Beelzebub.

Beelzebub does not preheat.

I fiddle with the knobs. My friends fiddle with the knobs. Nothing. We continue on for a great lunch while my disassembled pie remains in the kitchen, disassembled.

Ten minutes after one of my guests leaves, Beelzebub decides he's needed.

Quickly I pulled the meringue together. Big and frothy, white and poofy I shwooped it onto the filled crust and bunged it into Beelzebub's gaping maw. He was in fine form. Too fine. I had to pull out the pie a tad early as the shwoops threatened to turn from a honeyed brown to charcoal black.

I sliced wedges for my remaining guest and myself, serving it with some home-made blueberry coulis. My worries about the crust were unnecessary--yes, it wasn't as tender as I prefer, but it was pretty good. The luscious sunshiney filling was not too sweet and not too tart. But the meringue was exquisite--sweet and almost marshmallowy-soft with the slightest little crisp on top.

To read what the other DBs did with this challenge, take a meander through our blogroll.

cheers!
jasmine

tags: "Daring Bakers" lemons "Pies and Tarts"

You know what it's like

You get a thought into your head and you can't shake it. Regardless of time's passage, regardless of other distractions, that one notion has firmly ensconced itself into your brain...and you can't shake it.

I'm sure you do.

My latest distraction (well, apart from Daniel Craig) can easily be traced to our fabulous Myriam and her marvellous Browniebabe events.

For weeks I've pondered my options. At first it was an ice creamy concept--a luscious, creamy white vanilla ice cream with loads of chewy and chocolatey treasure. As I pored over my options the idea morphed from a classic chocolate brownie, studded with buttons of bittersweet chocolate and pecans to a peanut butter brownie.

Easier said than done. I must admit that in my household, peanut butter is a sandwich spread, something with which I attempt satay sauces, or is simply eaten straight out of the jar...sometimes with a spoon. I exhausted my books and pored over online recipes. I just couldn't find what I wanted: a swirly brownie that married chocolate and peanut butter, not a layer of chocolate iced in peanut butter. I wanted the peanut buttery batter baked into the treat, but not as a homogeneous, all-over pb&c treat...I wanted variances with every bite. I didn't want to read about how I could tweak a packet mix. I also wanted a treat that was fudgey and dense, but not reminiscent of uncooked batter that, um, so many brownies I've had are.

That's not too much to ask, I'm sure.

I saw I wasn't alone in my quest...which led me to this. If I can't find a recipe that gives me what I want, I'll just have to put a couple of recipes together.

As luck would have it, my copy of the UK imprint of Nigella's How To Be A Domestic Goddess arrived (more on that at a later date). I opened it to her brownie recipe and adapted it, thanks to Laura Rebecca's tips.

These are fudgey and dense and have a lovely papery top crust...and quite addictive. My friends and colleagues all came back for seconds...some came back for fourths.

I will warn you. This makes a lot of brownies...a lot of brownies. In its purest state, Nigella's version fits a 33cm x 23cm/3L (13" x 9"/3qt) pan. For these, I used a 38cm x 27cm/4L (10" x 15"/4qt) glass lasagna dish. That's a lot of brownies...thank goodness I have several brownie fiends in my life. The peanut butter batter will not be as loose as the chocolate, so you won't be able to do lovely feathering effects, but that's okay as the mottled caramel and cocoa top is beautiful in its own right.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Nigella Lawson's Brownies (How To Be A Domestic Goddess) and Laura Rebecca's Peanut Butter Swirl

375g softened unsalted butter
375g bittersweet chocolate
7 large eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla paste
560g granulated sugar
225g plus 2 Tbsp plain flour
1 tsp vanilla salt
200g creamy peanut butter
55g unsalted butter, melted

• Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F. Butter and line a 38cm x 27cm (10" x 15") tin.


• Melt together 375g butter with chocolate until glossy and set aside to cool slightly.


• Beat six eggs, 500g sugar and two tsp vanilla. Sift together 225g flour and salt.


• Beat the chocolate into the egg mixture. Add the flour mixture and combine until smooth. Set aside.


• Blend together the peanut butter, remaining 60g sugar, melted butter, two tablespoons flour, remaining teaspoon of vanilla and egg.


• Pour two-thirds of the chocolate batter into the prepared pan, then dot the pan with spooned blobs of one-third of the peanut butter mix. Cover with the remaining chocolate batter. then spoon the rest of the peanut butter batter over top.


• Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is papery and the sides pull away from the tin.

Notes:

• I rarely recommend brands or other such things, but I highly suggest using organic peanut butter and organic chocolate, as they have far less sugar and salt than many other brands.


• If you are using a glass pan, you'll need a longer baking time--mine was closer to 45.

cheers!
jasmine

PS: If said Mr. Craig happens to find this post and wants to try some of these wondrous treats (or, I suppose anything else I've posted about), I am more than happy to oblige him...

tags: Brownies Chocolate Peanut Butter

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Ice cream season is here

Yes, every season is ice cream season (heck, some of us believe that every day is ice cream day).

What I'm talking about is an indication that winter probably won't be back for several month, spring is firmly settled, but summer isn't that far off. It's the day the ice cream parlours open up for the season.

Granted, there are a few who are open all year long (chain-stores, mostly), but around here, there a couple of independents that fling open their doors for six months. These are the places where grape, tiger tail and other none-too-commonly stocked flavours have a home.

They make giant sundaes dolled up with whipped cream, ooey-gooey sauces, fruit chunks and sprinklies--the kind your parents won't allow in the car because of spillage. If they have to weigh out their wares before handing them to the customer, I can't tell--the portions are always very generous.

So yesterday was the day my favoured independent opened up for the 2007 season. And what did we pick up? Bordeaux cherry and pistachio (for TFE) and pina colada and banana (for me). Yummy yummy yummy!

cheers!
jasmine

tags: Ice Cream

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Let them eat...

...cuppycakes!

This week my kitchen was a little cuppycake-making factory. Well...okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I did make many little cakelettes...all destined for the office.

This week a very wonderful person decided, after 30 years at the company, it was time to retire. We'll miss her wisdom, sense of humour and down-to-earth nature--any woman (of a certain age) who still harbours lusty thoughts for men in uniform (specifically motorcycle cops' jodhpurs and "fantasy boots") is a gem.

As a special thank you for everything she's done, I whipped up a bunch of my vanilla cupcakes, topped them with pastel-tinted royal icing (pale rose, blue and lavender) and sprinkled rose petals, sugary flowers lavender on top.

The other cupcake event was my sixth anniversary at my current company. Our tradition is that we bring in the treats (unless it's a surprise or a major milestone). Given the recent warm weather, light and sunshiney lemon poppyseed cakes came into fruition.

The texture is a cross between an angel cake, a regular cake, and a meringue. It's almost snow-white crumb was light and refreshingly lemony. One of my colleagues said it was the perfect after-lunch sweet because it wasn't too sweet nor too heavy. After the cakes cooled, I spread some blueberry butter (akin to jam) on each one, and then topped them with cream cheese icing.

Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes
adapted from an Anna Olson recipe

Yield: 24 cakelettes

6 large eggs, separated
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
225g vanilla sugar
200g cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
125ml lemon juice
3 Tbsp poppyseeds

Preheat oven to 325F/170C and line cupcake pans.

Whip egg whites, cream of tartar and 75g sugar to a glossy, soft peak stage and set aside; in a second bowl mix the yolks and lemon juice. Whisk together the sugar, flour and salt, then mix in the lemony-yolky mixture and beat until thick. Stir in the poppyseeds. Fold in the whites, being careful not to deflate the mixture. Spoon into cupcake liners and bake for 40 minutes or until done (a skewer will come out cleanly and the tops will be a pale golden).

cheers!
jasmine

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A little treat for me

45 minutes ago I submitted my final assignment for the term. Ethics courses are fun but a bit draining.

To celebrate this little milestone, this is what I'll be tucking into: Dufflet's key lime tart. It's amazing what ends up in your basket while stepping out for a litre of milk...




cheers!
jasmine

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Poor Yolkie..

...we knew him well.

Behold, the last Cadbury Creme Egg from my office's tuck shop.

He will be put out of his misery soon...probably on Sunday, after I've submitted my final assignment for this class.

cheers!
jasmine

tags: Cadbury's Easter

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SHF #29: A bread pudding for my mummy

"Hi Mummy! It's me!"
"Oh Jasmine! How is Beanie?"
"Beanie thinks he's starving."
"Of course he does--because you don't feed him. How's little Hagia?"
"She's okay. She has night duty, so I don't see her that much."
"And Zeusie?"
"I think he's okay. I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks."
"Mmmmm..."
"How are things there? How's Daddy?"
"It is so hot here. During the day it is 85. I have to bath so many times. Daddy is only coughing a few times at night."
"Well, that's better. I have a question. Do you have any of those cocoa beans left?"
"Oh yes. Go downstairs into the basement. Go into the room under the kitchen. The are in the near buckets. NOT the far ones."
"Okay, thanks."
"Why, what are you going to do?"
"I wanted to make a pudding."
"Oh, I ground some beans and put them in the kitchen. Use that. It's easier than grinding them yourself."
"Oh. Okay. Where did you put them?"
"In the cupboard."
"Uh huh. In which cupboard?"
"The one next to the stove, on the top--you'll need the stool. You can't reach it."
"Uh-huh. And how did you put it up there?"
"I used the [step]ladder."
"Uh-huh."
"You know, I wanted to tell you something."
"Mmmm?"
"I haven't been able to eat anything yummy because of the diet the doctor put Daddy on."
"Mmm-Hmmm?"
"I'm like Beanie. I see all that chicken, but I'm not allowed to have any. Have you made him some chicken? You know he would like some."
"No, I haven't made him any chicken lately."
"There's some in the freezer. Take some and make it for him."
"Yeah. I think he's fine with the cat food. Anyway..."
"Oh yes. Where was I? I decided to make bread pudding. I haven't had anything nice in so long. I thought if you were here you would eat it with me."
"Yeah--it's so nice--"
"--with that yummy crunchy top. Yes. Listen. I got the eggs and the milk and the bread. I got everything, and you know what?"
"You realised Daddy isn't supposed to eat eggs while he is takes his medicine?"
"No. Don't be silly. The pudding is not for him. It was for me. And you, if you were here. No, I forgot one thing. Just one little thing"
"What? Butter? Vanilla? Sugar"
"I forgot the oven."
"You forgot to set the oven."
"No. Listen to me. I forgot I had no oven here [makes a melodramatic fake crying noise]."
"How could you forget you didn't have an oven?"
"I don't know. I just forgot."
"Well...you have a microwave, why don't you use that."
"Don't be silly. You can't get a nice crunchy top with that microwave."
"But the one you have here can be turned into a normal oven--"
"No. Daddy bought this one and I can't do anything with it."
"I see."
"I really wanted that pudding. It was going to be so nice and crunchy and sweet."
"I know, Mum."
"Oh, and how are you doing?..."

That was a conversation I had with my darling little Mummy a couple of weeks ago, when I found out about Emily's SHF theme: Raw Chocolate. My heart went out for her. I mean, I know what it's like to get so far down that process only to have a crucial item not be there. And my mummy does like her bread pudding...

So, instead of making the chocolate mint pudding I wanted to make with the cocoa beans she has in the basement, I decided to make a bread pudding. The more I thought of it, the more I started craving Nutella. Don't ask me why. I just did. So...I decided to make a Nutella bread pudding with a chocolate custard made from the cocoa beans my mum ground up.

The sandwiches were slathered with butter and Nutella--easy peasy. The custard was made of five egg yolks, half a litre of cream (1 1/2c heavy cream and 1/2c water), a rounded tablespoon of sugar and a big heaping serving spoon of cocoa powder. Pour the custard over the bread and let it soak in a bit. Bake at 180C/350 F for about 30-40 minutes.

I know the picture may not look like much, but trust me...it's nummy.

cheers!
jasmine

tags: SHF

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SHF#28: Sweet Seduction Round-Up

When I put out the call for participants for this month's Sugar High Friday, Sweet Seduction, I was very curious to see how foodbloggerdom would rise to the occasion.

Well...all I can say is we are a lusty little lot, aren't we?

Whether we are cooking for the one we love, would like to love, or simply ourselves, these food bloggers came up with deliciously sweet and creative ways to let their true feelings be known.

Of course, there's lots of chocolate, but there are also creamy puddings, astringent citruses, juicy berries and chewy cookies.

Please take the time to visit these wonderful posts. There are great stories and lots of suggestions as to how to make your next sweetly seductive moment truly memorable.

Thanks so much to everyone, especially Jennifer who started this fabulous event 27 Sugar High Fridays ago.

Jessica of Small Time Cooks – Eve’s Pudding
Jessica decided to create an homage to one of the original seductresses and her fruit of choice...

Swee, A Self Proclaimed Foodaholic- I love you honey
Swee's creativity is quite amazing, complete with a marzipan teddy...bear...



Béa of La Tartine Gourmet – Plum Cakes
Béa's contribution is a two-day celebration...




Elodie of Mon Petit Biscuit Cuit - Moelleux au chocolat, avec son coeur coulant
Mr. Darcy, please contact Elodie for her Chocolate Declaration of Love--and Elodie, if he responds, please let us know...

Veronica of Veronica’s Test Kitchen - Vanilla Brown Butter Almond Tea Cake with Crème Brûlée Filling
This fabulous little cake has a sweet and creamy filling...quite lovely...

Freya of Writing at the Kitchen Table - Honey and Goats Yoghurt Panna Cotta
Freya brings forth one of my favourite desserts, assisted by one of my favourite culinary journalists...


Devra of Puu’s Cookbook – Blood Orange Truffle Cake
A story of a cheesecake-obsessed suitor, trying to impress Devra, a non-cheesecake lover...



Monica of Pastry Princess - Peanut Butter Crème Brûlée
Monica creates a memorable dessert that combines crunchy, creamy, sweet and a little salty...





Sarah Lou of One Whole Clove – Maple Meringues
Quintessentially Canadian flavour in a crisp and melting little cloud...



Sara, The Winemaker’s Wife - Meringue Heart Sandwiches with Kulfi
Very romantic...



Laura - Truffles Nefarious
By far, one of my favourite titles...



Maggie of Applesticker - Raspberry-Prosecco Gelatin & Clementine-Raspberry Trifle
Double the pleasure...





Alwyn of Tsokolate – A Sweet Heart For My Sweetheart
Alwyn decides to tell us of a previous Valentine's Day...






Lara of Cook and Eat – Chocolate Beet Mash Cake
Lara presents a seductive dessert in shades of rose...





Eva of Sweet Sins – Valentine’s Day Chocolate Pudding
Eva's tale of mugs united, separated and reunited brings a smile to my face...




Madeline of Gourmet Peasant – Regine Truffle
An inspired sweet...




Ann of A Foodie Froggy - Ispahan
Inspired by Pierre Hermé’s Ispahan, Ann made this for her sweetie...





Jerry of Cooking By The Seat of My Pants – Chocolate Port Wine Cake
A delicious treat for his sweetie...




Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar – Nutmeg Scented Cupcakes with Caramel Ganache
I'm not sure which to swoon over--the nutmeg, the cakes or the ganache...



Karen of Cherry Leader – Valentine’s Berry Flan
I adore the contrast of the berries against the creamy filling...




Helen of Tartlette – Lemon Cream Tarts
Another Pierre Hermé -inspired treat..





Michelle of Je Mange La Ville – Chocolate Gingerbread and Pecan brownies
Spicy, sweet and just a little nutty...



Anna of Morsels and Musings – Black Forest Cake
Jonas: are you reading this?



Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey? – Chocoholics Cake
Beautifully rich, deep and sweet...and covered in chocolate...



Anne of Anne’s Food – Five Citrus Salad with Pomegranate
A visually stunning treat...




Kristin of Dine and Dish - Ice Cream Sandwich
Kristin contemplates loss and how to be remembered...




Leticia of Food, Wine and Friends - Coeur à la Crème
A very sweet Valentine's Day indeed.




mrbunsrocks of Definitely Not Martha - Nigella Lawson's Chocohotopots with Berry Coulis
Who'd have thought such a clever bunny would have such luscious tastes...



Emily of Appetitive Behaviour – Milk Chocolate Brownies
Emily is a girl after my own heart in that there can never be enough sweet seduction, or seduction by sweets...



Y of Lemon Pi – Coconut Jelly with Black Pearls
Y sounds very lucky to have B and B is very lucky to have Y...




Marion of Il En Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux – A Very Sweet Nut Tart
Marion remembers this very sweet nut tart...





Latifa of Flavours - Warbat
Latifa seduces us all with this Arabic dessert...




Maria of Passion Fruit and Mangos – Czech Torte
What a lucky boyfriend to have this as a post-Valentine's Day treat...



Esther of Boxcar Kitchen - Mocha chocolate mousse with raspberry liqueur compote
"...even those non-chocolate lovers, has succombed to its chocolatey wiles...."




Michelle of Making Food. Eating Food – Chocolate Pear Cake
Thanks to her hubby and Donna Hay for this wonderful cake...




Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice- Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ivonne was simply overcome and baked this...



Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasm – Turtle Fondue
This choco-caramel fondue is enough to get anyone in the mood...





Ulrike of Küchenlatein – A Royal Parfait For My Sweethearts
Another beautiful citrussy creation...





Jen of Milk and Cookies – Chocolate Clementine Cake with Chocolate Syrup
This meditation on love and seduction finishes with a very tasty treat...




Megan of Chez Megan – Chewy Oatmeal Toffee Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chips
Megan thinks these aren't seductive...she's wrong...



Gemma of Dressing For Dinner – New York Baked Cheesecake
A very creamy and delicious treat for the one she loves...






Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess – Banana Split Brownies
I think these are amazing...





Alice Q. Foodie – Heart-Shaped Chocolate Chip Cookies
Where there's a heart-shaped cutter, there are tasty results...



Jennifer of Egg and Soldier – Chocolate Sambuca Cookies
Jennifer combines a number of aphrodisiacs for these seductive mouthfuls...



Sam of sweet pleasure: plaisir sucré – Orange Salad and chocolate creameaux
Our sweetie Sam offers two very different seduction techniques...



Meredith of Cooking 101 – Black Pearl Cupcakes
Is there anyone who won't be seduced by these...

Haalo of Cook Almost Anything Once - Crème Brûlée
Haalo, as usual, will never disappoint

Avital of Le Petrin – Bolanzo Apple Cake
There's a reason Eve seduced with an apple...





Brigitte of Küchendunst aus Singapur - Rocky Recchiuti brownies
Quite honestly, "marshmallow" is one of my favourite words, and Brigitte devises a chocolatey temptation with them...



Danielle of Habeas Brûlée - Pink Grapefruit Ginger Cream Cookies
I laughed when I read Danielle's sweetie's reaction to these...




Quellia of All Things Edible – Croissant French Toast
Sometimes fantasy is what we need...





Julie of A Mingling of Tastes – Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Mini Peanut Butter Cups
Seduction comes in many forms...including peanut butter and chocolate...



Ales of Preserveless - Lemon Curd Ice Cream
Homemade lemon curd turned into a rich and creamy dessert...



Barbie2be -- Barbie2be's Chocolate Bread Pudding
A wonderful way of seducing someone special...




Holly of The Glutton – Molton Chocolate Cake
Dark, oozing and sweet...

Vincci of Ceci Ce N'est Pas Un Food Blog
Vincci thought this was unsexy...but I didn't...






Abby of Confabulation in the Kitchen - Cream Cheese Mints
I think these are adorable...




Brilynn of Jumbo Empenadas - Two Soups
Yes, yes, yes...I know this is a seductively sweet event. Poor Brilynn had a rotten run of luck with her cakes and posted about these instead...




Me - Honey Almond Cheesecake
Almondy-creamy-honeyliscious...





Well...I don't know about you, but it's getting more than a little intense around here. I think I must go and rest a bit...

For those of you with a bit more stamina, Emily of Chocolate In Context will host SHF29: Unrefined Cacao. Creat culinary treats using cacao beans, cacao nibs, or untreated cocoa powder. Anyone with access to cacao at its source will also be invited to use ingredients that are even more raw--such as cacao pods or pulp, or cocoa butter. She's busy being the itinerant traveller, so the full post isn't up yet, but she will have more info up a bit later.


cheers!
jasmine

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tags: SHF