And Never Resign To a Typical Life

It's a wonderful rainy Tuesday as I'm sitting here dreaming and wishing I were in Portland, listening to the wonderful jazz of Bill Evans and Duke Ellington and I finally feel as though I have a little luxury free time now that the school semester is one week away from being over! Thank goodness. I still have to draw up a design for my cake decorating final and I have no idea where to start but I'll get to that eventually. I'm finding way too many great things all over the net that are getting me inspired, like some of this stuff, for example...

-These great prints by Eva Juliet (Art Culinaire & Parsley) and her amazing beet chip snack bag art that is absolutely genius

(Photo and recipe for Beet Chips from Sunday Suppers)

plus this is really cute

-These wonderful watercolors by unitedthread on Etsy

-This owl music mobile on Ferm Living

-DesignSponge's Orlando, FL city guide is pretty comprehensive compiled list of great sounding boutiques and shops, restaurants, and places that make me want to book a ticket to go there right now! These places especially: Stardust, Blue Bird Bake Shop, Ethos Vegan Kitchen, Etoile Boutique, Pom Pom's Tea House, Raphsodic Coop Company, etc, etc. WOW. I could go on and on! Who knew Orlando was such a hoppin' place?

-All of these products from Fine Little Day have made me fall in love...

-This cast iron bathtub couch on Etsy is pretty genius

-Ferm Living pretty much has all of my dream home decor

-Indian "indie" music = my new favorite

-And I've also discovered some pretty great photographers lately that make me want to drop everything and enroll in the Brooks Institute ASAP. One of these days.

*Kristina Gill

*Carlie Statsky

*Karen Mordechai

*Margaret & Joy

*Marcus Nilsson

*Seth Smoot

*Mikkel Vang

*Janne Peters

*Jennie Love

*Line Klein

-THXTHXTHX, a genius blog that posts a 'thank you' note a day. A wonderful reminder to be grateful for the small and quirky things in life.

-This cupcake (and cookie) website with great cupcake recipes and photos... I love getting new ideas! Flourless Beet Chocolate Cupcakes, Sour Cream Fig Cupcakes, Parsnip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting?!? I am in love.

-This great Australian mag, Frankie, has quite a lovely blog that I will now frequent very often

-Shutterbean's Peanut Butter Bacon cookies! WHATT?! Yes. Oh yes. I do think I will have to make these soon.

-And I ordered used copies of each of these (both for under $20) although I rarely EVER buy movies on DVD after I see them but this is a special case because they are two of my favorite movies EVER and I will never get sick of their awe factor

-Oh yes, and I saw Broken Bells (and the Morning Benders) last Friday. Okay show--James wasn't as cool as he used to be back in the day, 6 years ago, in The Shins age. He seemed a bit PO'ed but I would've been too if my microphone wasn't working 10 seconds into the first song after a 45 MINUTE SOUND CHECK. Idiots. They sounded great though and Brian Burton's fro was distractingly beautiful.

Check out this video by the Morning Benders. It's my current favorite song and this version of it just gives me the chills and I love it a million times more. How I would give my left foot to have been in that orchestra. Holy moley.

-Aaaand I will also see She & Him this Friday! I'm way more excited for M. Ward than Zooey although it will definitely be a treat regardless. I'm glad I liked their 2nd volume better because the 1st didn't do much for me. And the best part is that they will be playing at a venue less than 5 minutes away from my house. It's a little mind blowing.

That's all for now.

Mango Banana Macadamia Cake with Lime Buttercream

Finally! A baking recipe! I've been (forced) back in the kitchen thanks to my cake decorating class. I'm back in action for the time being. Last week we had to create a birthday cake and do some simple decorations. I wanted to make my dad a cake for his birthday that was a few weeks ago but he already had a cake so he took a raincheck and I made it last week instead. Birthdays are supposed to last for the whole month anyway, right? Anyway, it worked out great. I put a lot of thought into it...

Staring off into baking space, thinking of all the possibilities...

Frosting, flavors, pipings and decoration, colors... it takes a lot of mental (and physical) labor. Money, time, energy, and creativity all go into it but it's all so worth it!

Four hours later (plus or minus some), this is what manifested:

Mango Banana Macadamia Cake

with (Vegan) Lime Buttercream Frosting!

"Keep Calm, Bike On"

inspired by this popular quote:

(although I just now realized I unintentionally wrote "bike on" instead of "ride on" but that's okay, more original that way I suppose!)

I baked the cake one day ahead of time in two small 6-inch cake pans because the recipe was made for one 9-inch round cake pan. I love making mini cakes--they're way easier to frost, too! The space was a little cramped for decoration and I didn't put in too many cake decorating techniques, but I don't care, it was great for practice. The recipe comes from a cookbook for sale at my place of employment that is a benefit for hospice. One day I thumbed through it and found this incredible recipe for the mango cake and I was fortunate enough to be able to make a photocopy of it. Really pretty simple ingredients that go amazing together. My only real problem with it is that it calls for a large deal of honey. Now don't get me wrong, I love honey. It is THE Ayurvedic sweetener. But, as you may see, a precaution is that it should not be heated. Added to already heated/warmed/hot things, yes, but actually cooking or baking with it? Big no no. When heated above 108 degrees F, it becomes transformed into a gluey sticky-like substance that is difficult to digest and is considered a toxin since it adheres to the tissues of the body and is difficult to remove. Plus the good qualities of honey (enzymes, minerals, etc) are destroyed. Alas, I was in a pickle. I would like to say I found a better alternative, but I did not. So, this time and this time only, I used the honey, I'm ashamed to say. I couldn't really think of anything better that would go well with the olive oil and other flavors of the cake. Maybe organic brown sugar or sucanat, who knows, but I have to say it did turn out pretty darn amazing. Probably one of the best cakes I've ever made. Super moist and delicious, almost like a carrot cake (but better if I do say so myself). I doled out portions to my entire family and everyone raved about it. But next time, no honey. This was just an experiment...

Since it didn't call for an icing, I added one from VCTOTW, figuring the Lime Buttercream Frosting that was made for the Coconut Lime Cupcakes would be best for the tropical flavors and spices of the cake. I was on a quest to practice with a vegan buttercream because 95% of the things I tend to bake are vegan. There really is no major difference between dairy buttercream and non-dairy buttercream. You just use a "healthier" non-hydrogenated shortening and non-hydrogenated margarine (Earth Balance). It's no different. Powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and whatever else and you're good to go! It turned out great to be great to work with. As you can see, I'm pretty stoked with the results... baking makes me so happy!

Enjoy!

Mango Banana Macadamia Cake with Vegan Lime Buttercream

Adapted from Andy Rojas, the Hospice Cookbook (I don't remember the name) and VCTOTW

The Mango Banana Cake:

3/4 cup olive oil

3/4 cup honey (eek!)

4 eggs

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cardamom

a pinch of nutmeg

2 ripe mangos, finely chopped

2 small ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 6" cake pans. Beat oil and honey together with an electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sifted flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Then add the fruit and nuts. Bake (approximately) for 1 hour (plus or minus 10-15), or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean. Frost with lime buttercream when cooled.

Vegan Lime Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine

4 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (approximately 3 limes worth)

1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Beat the shortening and margarine together until combined well and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and lime juice, beat for another 5-7 minutes or so until fluffy. Add the zest and mix to distribute. Chill until ready to use.

As for the decorations, that's for you to decide. :) Now get on your aprons and have at it!

Poached Eggs on Portobello's with Goat Cheese

For those of you that are unaware that Sophie Dahl, previous model and daughter of Roald Dahl, has a cookbook out, and if high quality cookbooks with gorgeous, inspiring photography with simple and delicious recipes are up your alley, then you are in luck.

"Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights" is seriously the bomb. I've had this cookbook for almost a good year now but haven't put it to the test much. Previously it was only available through Amazon by import but apparently you can get it now with much ease through Amazon directly. Anyway, nearly every recipe has a beautiful photo that pairs along with it, and the book is divided up into the four seasons (yay! it's more Ayurvedic than I thought!). She includes stories and musings as introductions to each season and why she loves the particular recipes and foods. There are even European and U.S. metric conversions so you don't always have to scratch your head, look up your reference books or do the calculations. In Autumn, there is Indian Sweet Potato Pancakes, Rice Pudding cereal with Pear Puree, Buckwheat Risotto with Wild Mushrooms, Eggplant Parmigiana. For Winter, enjoy "Hangover Eggs", Grilled Bananas with Greek yogurt and Agave, Warm Winter Root Vegetable Salad, Curried Parsnip soup, Brown rice Risotto with Pumpkin, Mascarpone, and Sage, or Roald Dahl's Chicken Curry. Springtime Scrambled Tofu with Pesto and Spinach, Grilled Figs with Ricotta and Thyme Honey (unfortunately they're out of season in Spring... I'm a little confused on this one), Asparagus soup, Prawn Avocado Grapefruit salad. And Summertime! Breakfast burritos, Homemade Muesli, Avocado soup, Beetroot soup, Coconut Curry with Prawns, Wild Rice Risotto. Convinced? You should be. It's rare that I want to recreate almost every single recipe from one single book. Just talking about it inspires me to cook from it more, which is the point I guess. Anyway, the first thing I've made out of it thus far has been poached eggs on portobello mushrooms with goat's cheese. So easy, simple, and delicious! Especially when I get too breaded out and am not in the mood for oatmeal or toast. It's a nice and light breakfast that is quite satisfying. I also added some mixed salad greens below the mushroom like it showed in the picture although it was not required in the recipe. Mushrooms and eggs are a great pairing, especially for breakfast. Poaching eggs is my new favorite thing. All you need is a little vinegar and you've got the best egg under the sun. Try it out for yourself.

Poached Eggs on Portobello Mushrooms with Goat's Cheese

from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights

Serves 2

2 generously sized portobello mushrooms

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

2 thick rounds of soft goat's cheese

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of white vinegar for poaching

1 sprig of fresh tarragon (I used thyme)

baby spring mix (optional)

Preheat the grill (I used a George Foreman grill because it's so easy). Wash the mushrooms and remove the stalks, season with salt and pepper and give them a glug of olive oil; a spoonful should do. Crumble the goat's cheese.

Pop the mushroom stalk-side up under the grill for about 5 minutes (or just press your grill cover down). While they are searing away, poach the eggs in a pan of gently boiling water (a teaspoon of white vinegar should stop them separating).

You can do one of two things with the goat's cheese: you can add it on top of the mushrooms when you put them under the grill, so it browns, or you can put it on just after they come out.

You should poach the eggs for about 3 minutes if you want them soft in the middle (5 if you want them stern and unyielding). Drain them, put them on top of your crumbly goat's cheese/mushroom mix, scatter some chopped tarragon or thyme on the top, grind on a bit of pepper, and voila!

Speaking of other great new and beautiful cookbooks out there in the world emphasizing seasonal eating, I recently purchased "Earth to Table: Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm" that includes essays, recipes, and how-to's about the concept of Slow Food and the importance of supporting local and organic farmers. For example, there is a write up on how to go foraging for fiddlehead ferns or morel mushrooms in the Spring, or how to compost or start an herb garden, how to can and preserve fruits and vegetables. There are certain chefs featured and interviewed from Seattle to Florida. Recipes from here include ones like Rhubarb Compote, Gnudi with Ramps, Morels & Fiddleheads (Gnudi is apparently a "naked pasta"... intriguing), Milk & Honey bread for Spring. Summer includes Watermelon Agua Frescas, Eggplant Caponata, Corn Soup, and Pickled Beets. Fall (my personal favorite, of course) inspires me to want to make every recipe--Mulled Cranberry Cider, Heirloom Beet Salad with Feta and Pumpkin Seeds, French Onion Soup, Squash, Sage, and Pancetta Pizza, Roasted Mushrooms, Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Apple & Parsnip Puree, White Truffle Risotto with Cauliflower, Mile-High Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Seed Brittle, and Roasted Autumn Fruits with Torched Sabayon. Winter recipes include a Venison Pub Pie with Chestnuts and Parsnips, Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad with Watercress and Horseradish, Rabbit Stew with Herbed Dumplings, Bread and Butter Pudding, Spiced Hot Chocolate, and Oatmeal Molasses Bread. Oh me oh my. I love books like this.

So many cookbooks, so many recipes, so little time!