The Baking Bird

Top 60 Favorite Tracks of 2011

2011-12-23T18:04:00.000-08:00

These top 60 played songs of the year were blasted many a time on my 6:30am drives to school (in the pitch black) before clinic, on my way home from clinic after a exhausting stressful day gazing at the sunset, long drives in the rain, short drives in the sun with the windows rolled down, Portland road trips (x2), runs in the forest, runs on the pavement, runs on the beach, runs on the treadmill, and every other time in between imaginable. I tried to limit myself to 50, but it got a bit out of control. I couldn't help myself. This was a great year for new music, if I do say so myself.
Enjoy.Track list:

The Decemberists - Don't Carry It All
The Parson Red Heads - Burning Up The Sky
The Dead Trees - Slow Faze Fast
Vetiver - Wonder Why
Nomadic Firs - Vines
Radiation City - The Color of Industry
The Cave Singers - All Land Crabs and Divinity Ghosts
Tennis - Deep In The Woods
Fruit Bats - Dolly
Incan Abraham - Wailing Wall
Youth Lagoon - 17
The Generationals - Ten-Twenty-Ten
Bon Iver - Michicant
Nurses - You Lookin' Twice
Little Dragon - Twice
NewVillager - Lighthouse
My Morning Jacket - Outta My System
Caveman - My Time
Bachelorette - Blanket
The Caretaker - Camaraderie At Arms Length
Siskiyou - Twigs And Stones
Cotton Jones - Down Beside 'Em
Lord Huron - The Stranger
We Are Trees - Colorado
Secret Cities - Portland
The Babies - Meet Me In The City
Givers - Saw You First
Grouplove - Tongue Tied
Oregon Bike Trails - A Summer Thing
Beirut - Santa Fe
Death Cab For Cutie - Monday Morning
Gardens & Villa - Black Hills
James Blake - Lindisfarne II
Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know
U.S. Royalty - Equestrian
Feist - How Come You Never Go There (Clock Opera Remix)
Mind Spiders - Don't Let Her Go
The Beets - Friends Of Friends
AgesandAges - Souvenir
The Red River - St Bernard's Lily
Fort Lean - Dreams (Never Come True)
Cults - Oh My God
William Fitzsimmons - The Winter from Her Leaving
Bear Hands - Crime Pays
My Pet Dragon - Moonshine
Cotton Jones - Egg On Sea
Pokey LaFarge - Mississippi Girl
Matt The Electrician - Osaka In The Rain
San Cisco - John's Song
Jared Mees and the Grown Children - Shake
Rubik - Laws Of Gravity
Computer Magic - Electronic Fences
Dignan Porch - Like it Was Again
Therapies Son - Touching Down
Of Monsters and Men - Lakehouse
Blind Pilot - We Are The Tide
Iron & Wine - Tree By The River
Woods - To Have In The Home
Solander - Flod
Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean

Candied Rose Petal & Chocolate Cookies

2011-12-21T21:54:00.001-08:00

A NEW RECIPE! Finally! I have to admit I'm pretty excited to say I finally tried out something new in the kitchen. And, of course, it isn't something in the traditional sense. When I've been deprived of real baking time, I typically end up going baking crazy. This particular morning, I ended up with a hankering to want to make something with this:

Particularly cookies with this...

SO. There has been this recipe on my bookmark watch list for several months now ever since I discovered it on Epicurious--CANDIED ROSE PETAL CHOCOLATE COOKIES. Holy smokes. Anything rose water, petal, or candied jam related, I'm all over it--roses in food express love and elegance. The last time I had the pleasure of frequenting an Indian grocery store, I just so happened to pick up some of this amazing rose petal jam spread by the name of "gulkand". Surprisingly, there are many benefits and uses for this extraordinary invention. According to the link above, it's an Ayurvedic tonic. Rose products are known to reduce excess heat, redness, and inflammation (Pitta) in the body, due to its sweet, astringent and cooling properties. It is quite useful for Vata imbalances, as well. Apparently it is a great remedy for acidity, in addition to fighting fatigue, lethargy, muscular aches, itching, improves memory, eyesight, and is a good blood purifier. Also rich in calcium and antioxidants. I don't know about you, but I'm sold on this stuff! The National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine (NIAM) has listed additional benefits when one consumes gulkand (10-12 grams) on a regular basis:

strengthens the digestive system (reducing hyper-acidity, gastric and duodenal ulcers)--P
increases urine output, given to those with water retention--K?
helps reduce menstrual pains, aids to treat dysmenorrhea--V/P
prevent acne, foul body odor--P
heal mouth ulcers, strengthen teeth and gums (!!!)--P, K
increase virility, aphrodisiac--V, P, K
for those suffering from heart and cardiovascular disorders, acting as a catalyst to facilitate effective uptake of medicines, controlling ailments ie. arrhythmia, HBP--P, K
combat epistaxis (bleeding through the nose...I recently learned a lot about this!)--P, K
reduce burning sensations of the palms of hands and soles of feet
reducing stress, calming the nervous system--V
in small quantities, reduces frequency of loose stool; in larger quantities, acts as laxative--V, P
reducing side effects of allopathic drugs (antibiotics, anticancer drugs, etc)

Other suggestions are to use it in making sweets, milkshakes (see link below for lassi), ice cream, a filling for cakes and pastries. I'd love to see how it would turn out in a cardamom-scented macroon (the next big baking challenge I'd like to tackle). The only noted contraindication is for diabetics, mostly due to the sugar content, and for those with a high kapha imbalance.

Several years ago, I posted a recipe for something very similar, a sweeter version of this, incorporating it into a lassi. The gulkand has a stiffer texture due to less liquid and sugar, more like dried candied rose petals. It is prepared in an airtight glass jar that sits in the sun for several hours a day, typically from 10am-4pm (ironically the "Pitta time of day"), for up to a month.

So long story short, I ended up making some superbly delicious cookies with this stuff. Out of this world delicious. Divine intervention delicious. The rose and chocolate combo are to die for. The contributing author of this recipe apparently has a cookbook(!) and I am so intrigued! If his other recipes are as good as this, then it's definitely going to make its way into my Amazon.com wishlist and cart ASAP. I was a bit hesitant to how much of this gulkand stuff the recipe called for: 1/2 cup. And 2 cups of chopped semi-sweet chocolate (I used this stuff for the first time, by the way, and I will never go back). But just trust it. Go with it. You'll be more than pleasantly surprised. Even my dad that hates floral-y, rose scented girly stuff said they were good, so that's saying a lot. Maybe his excess Pitta was talking. But either way, I'll take it as a compliment.

Candied Rose Petal & Chocolate Cookies
by Vikas Khanna
recipe from Epicurious
makes about 2 dozen

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (I bet ghee would be even more amazing!)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream or regular milk
1/2 cup gulkand (rose spread)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely chopped semisweet chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, sugar, and brown sugar together in the microwave for 30 seconds on low power. Let the butter-sugar mixture cool just a bit then blend in the egg and egg yolk. Add the heavy cream/milk and rose spread. Stir until just combined and set aside. Do not overmix.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and carefully fold into wet mixture. Gently add the chocolate, mixing it well. Freeze the dough just until cold and firm, about 5 minutes.

3. Using a 2-oz ice cream scoop (or your wonderful intuitive eyeballs), drop the dough 3 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes (it took me about 15), or until the edges begin to brown. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack shortly after.

Stuffs

2011-12-20T18:28:00.000-08:00

This winter break, I promise I will upload all of my Portland adventures.

PROMISE.

I'm tired of neglecting these sorts of things.

Oh yeah, and if you're down to listen to some new awesome music, check these out...

That's all for now, folks.

Gettin' drunk on winter brew and baking some awesome treats for my girls.

Life couldn't be better.

Chocolate Pumpkin Icebox Cake

2011-11-19T15:50:00.001-08:00

This 3rd semester of dental hygiene school has been gnarly. GNARLY. Unable to bake hardly anything at all, maybe a few boxes of pre-made pumpkin cake mix for a bake sale here and there. When I finally had a few minutes of downtime, I had a chance to open up the latest issue of Sunset magazine and they had a whole spread of three pumpkin chocolate recipes.

My goal is to make them all at some point, but this particular one stood out to me first:

No-Bake Pumpkin Chocolate Icebox Cake

I'll admit, it was the stenciled fall leaves that got me.

But hey, this was AMAZING guys. Super easy and super delicious and tastes just like a pumpkin version of tiramisu. You just stick it in the fridge and let it do its thing. I used neufchatel cheese instead of regular cream cheese and I think it's much more tolerable that way. It would be way too rich with regular. I also only had an 8x8 pan (not 9x9) and that worked out totally fine. My version didn't turn out as pretty as Sunset's--my fall leaves came out a bit indiscernible. So that's why you get their picture instead. It's way more inspiring.

No-Bake Pumpkin Chocolate Icebox Cake

Serves 12

Ingredients

3 packages (8 oz. each) neufchatel cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

2 tablespoons half-and-half or whole milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

28 chocolate graham cracker sheets (12 oz. total)

Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Preparation

1. Beat cream cheese and sugars in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Then beat in pumpkin, half-and-half, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy.

2. Lay enough graham crackers in a 9x9 in. pan to cover bottom (cut to fit if necessary). Spread a quarter of pumpkin mixture over crackers with an offset spatula. Layer 3 more times, ending with pumpkin mixture.

3. Cover; chill overnight. Set leaf cutouts (trace them on paper) on top and dust with cocoa, then remove. Cut cake into squares.

Motivation to keep on keepin' on.

2011-10-12T19:10:00.001-07:00

Motivation to keep on keepin' on., a photo by msconnections on Flickr.

I'm still alive. I swear.

Started a Tumblr

2011-07-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

Check it.

EDIT: Here's Tumblr #2, a site now dedicated to my Portland Foodlandia series alone.

(Yes. I'm addicted.)

Stuff for the Soul

2011-06-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today has been a very fulfilling soul-nourishing kind of day.

Went to study over a cup of "bowl of soul" (fig and cinnamon steamed tea, soy milk, and honey with lots of delicious froth... I've died and gone to heaven) at Verve for several hours, sang this song out loud (very, very loud) about four times, eating lots of delicious chocolate tea cookies, drinking more tea out of my favorite mug, and it's raining. Thank GOD for the rain. Oh yeah, and dreaming about Portland. Yeah. There's always that, though. Check this out:

As I quickly scanned the list, I realized I've been to about 40% of these places (and some more than once).

Not bad for just 3 visits.

I know what shit's good.

So yeah, I imagine this is going to be a pretty rad book that I will never need but of course will pick up and thumb through every time I see it at the bookstore.

Oh hey! And a rad illustrated guide to mixing your own cocktails.

Oh yes, and here's some Etsy drool.

Oregon State print. NEEED.

These are a few of my favorite words: douglas fir, NO SALES TAX, microbrews, mountains, PORTLAND, loggers, runners, mushrooms. Love it.

Always sound advice...

Some gold grillz.

(But not for $1,200, thanks.)

Speakin' of teeth, my summer anesthesia class is going quite well.

I started off with this:

and progressed to a real human yesterday and ROCKED IT.

Gave an infiltration and ASA injection all in less than 5 minutes.

I wasn't nervous ONE BIT. I didn't shake. I didn't pull blood.

Have I done this in my past life already or something?

Oh and let me introduce you to my new loves:

I haven't owned a pair of Campers since FOREVER.

Yay for being able to switch up my shoe routine and not having to wear Dankos every single day.

New favorite blog: What Should I Eat For Breakfast Today?

Yummy foodz, pretty photography.

WANT.

More beautiful food porn here and here.

New favorite cutie girl blog alert.

Oh yeah and I made ghee on the full moon two weeks ago. And NAAN! For the first time!

Nothing better than making deliciously spiced indian flatbread and straining butter in the middle of the night with good company.

If you haven't heard about all of the benefits of making ghee on the full moon, allow me enlighten you. In the Vedic culture of India, ghee is made on the full or waxing moons, which is known as "shukla paksh", the "white part of the moon". All of the qualities the moon represents increase to their maximum during this phase of the moon cycle, and since the moon is considered to rule/control "soma" (the juice or essence of life and plants) and the Vedas speak of milk as the essence of grass or plants and consider ghee to be an essence of milk, this apparently plays an essential role in producing the very best possible ghee with all of it's encompassing properties. Yeah, call me crazy, but at least it encourages me to make sure I get my ghee-making time in once a month.

I've been wanting to devote and entire post about ghee and how to make it, but for now I'll leave you with this. And if you're just so inspired to make some naan along with it, here ya go. The next full moon is July 15. Mark your calendars ;)

Take a Long Drive With Me

2011-06-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

When there isn't much else to say, at least there's music.

Beet Cake, Mixes, & Clever Cards

2011-06-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been addicted to making 8 track mixes on this website 8tracks.com.

Have any of you heard of this/been listening/created mixes?

Let me know... I'd love to hear some new stuff!

Here are all of mine so far...

Second of all, I was browsing the local bookshop today looking for a birthday card for my friend and came across this awesome one and couldn't resist... I wish I would have bought the entire stack to give out to hygiene friends/teachers/cohorts!

Too awesome.

And here are some more great ones... I love this company!

I can't remember the last time a greeting card actually made me laugh!

So clever.

The most beautiful cooking/baking video documentation I have ever seen.

How to make a beet cake.

I'm gonna do it.

Oh yeah and to keep up with this ice cream trend I seem to have been going on (on average, about every other day this past month? NEWS FLASH: ice cream is a health food!), here is something you need to be aware of (if you are not already):

Ben & Jerry's "Late Night Snack".

More like "Late Night Crack".

CHOCOLATE COVERED POTATO CHIPS.

Enough said.

It's okay.

You're totally allowed to make a mid-night trip to Safeway in your PJ's and slippers just to acquire a pint of this. I won't tell anyone... the secret's safe with me.

You probably wear cute PJ's too, so that's totally allowed.

Just don't run over your neighbors cat as you frantically pull out of the driveway...

I know you're on a mission now.

Between homemade ice cream sandwiches, late night post-bar nothing-is-open-"I reluctantly have to resort to Cold Stone" runs, Humphry Slocombe in the city pre-Iron & Wine show going (peanut butter curry and cinnamon brittle, anyone?), and the new local Penny Ice Creamery (pistachio cardamom chocolate chip, balsamic cherry), I have been on the longest ice cream kick of MY LIFE! No joke, folks. I swear I'm not pregnant. But my hormones have been pretty whacko lately and all I have been wanting is cold creamy goodness. A little salt and sugar mixed in don't hurt either. Oh lovely hormones... you make the world go 'round.

Oh yeah, and because ice cream and beer go so well together and one without the other on a warm summer evening would just be a sin, here is a new seasonal one out by New Belgium: Somersault ale. Being a fan of all things limited edition and seasonal, I bought a 6-pack today and must say it's quite delicious. Looks like it is temporarily replacing the past summers of Skinny Dip. As it's described on the label:

"Somersault Ale is a fun roll around on the tongue and a perfect, summer lounge-around beer that is easy to drink. Color is blonde with a suggestion of amber. Somersault tumbles out with citrus aroma from Centennial hops, a tuck of soft apricot fruitiness, completed by a smooth, upright finish with oats that were fermented in a long, slow mash. Somersaults all around!"

Yum! At least some beer descriptors don't sound as pretentious and ludicrous as most wine labels... I can handle talkers like this. I'm glad I just now discovered their website! I'm diggin' the food pairings and un-recipe "recipes". The peach goat cheese arugula candied walnut salad may be the next to-do on the list...

And a lovely new Vetiver song (that I just can't get enough of) to leave you with for now...

Avocado Mango Cheesecake

2011-06-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

WHATTTT?!? Yes. Avocado mango cheesecake. You can stop giving me weird looks right about now. I already know what you're thinking.

Everything about this just sounded right. A nice, cool dessert for a summer day and an excuse to get that good HDL boosting avocado fat. And it's actually quite light, also. The gelatin cuts down the need for the typical 4 packages of cream cheese type recipe. You really can't even taste the avocado, either. The citrus zests with the lovely anise-spiked graham cracker walnut crust compliments it all very well.

The recipe recommended topping it with a raspberry sauce but for some reason I thought I could improve on the suggestion. Luckily I didn't have to go much further than my freezer because thank goodness I already had some frozen pureed mango! AHA! Avocado + mango = pure love. Yay!

Anyway, yeah, this is awesome and definitely making its way into my "keeper" recipe box. It should make its way into yours, also.

Cheers to making more avocado incorporated desserts in the future! This one's next. And probably a few of these, too.

Look... I've already eaten so much of this my nails are turning green!

Just kidding! I'm on an avocado lime green kick, though and I'm sure loving it.

You know you want this.

Avocado Mango Cheesecake

serves 10

adapted from The Amazing Avocado

3/4 cup shelled walnuts
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon crushed anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt (lemon salt and/or fleur de sel)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1 lemon and/or 1 lime
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 fully ripened avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
8 ounces neufchatel, softened and cut in pieces

Heat oven to 350°F. In food processor, pulse walnuts until finely ground. Add graham cracker crumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar, anise seeds and salt; pulse just until combined. Add 2 tablespoons water; pulse until ingredients are thoroughly combined and resemble wet sand. Press into bottom of an 8 1/2-inch springform pan. Bake 18-20 minutes until lightly browned; cool completely.

In measuring cup or small bowl, combine gelatin with 2 tablespoons water; let stand for 5 minutes. With vegetable peeler, remove strips of lemon/lime zest (skin portion only). In saucepan, combine milk, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla and zest; bring to boil. Add gelatin; simmer until gelatin has completely dissolved, about 1 minute; strain and discard lemon zest. In food processor, combine avocados and cream cheese. Pour hot milk mixture into processor; process until very smooth. Pour into baked crust; cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or until set. Remove side of pan; cut cheesecake into 10 slices. Serve with mango sauce (if desired).

For the mango sauce: puree frozen cubes of mango or buy the already pureed frozen packs at Trader Joe's. Submerge into warm water to liquefy and snip an end of the packet. Drizzle on top of individual cheesecake slices. Trust me on this.

Vegan Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles

2011-06-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

Just to warn you, these are probably the most addicting cookies I have made all year.

Not that that's a bad thing. But I'm just sayin'... they're that good.

Vegan. Chocolate. Spicy. Sugary. Salty. Cinnamon-y. Crackle-y. YEAH!

And it's worth mentioning... these are rad ice cream sandwich cookies. Like, blow your mind rad. I've eaten five (sandwiches) in the past 24 hours. FIVE. Filled with pumpkin ice cream, vanilla bean, and german chocolate (with coconut and caramel).

Yeah. I'm going to start my period any second. TMI.

Ok, bye.

Vegan Mexican Chocolate Snickerdoodles

Makes 24 cookies

adapted from VCIYCJ

For the topping:

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cookies:

1/2 cup canola oil

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

3 tablespoons almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon chocolate extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon chocolate salt (or regular)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the topping ingredients together on a large dinner plate. Set aside.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together the oil, sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in the extracts.

Sift in the remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added, mix until you've got a pliable dough.

Roll the dough into walnut-size balls. Pat the dough balls into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2-inch discs. Transfer the dough balls to a baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes; they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. And let the addiction begin.

Pumpkin Gingerbeer Scones

2011-06-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the unfortunate mishaps that occur in daily life can end up being a positive thing in the long run. One in particular led me to these pumpkin scones. Let me explain.

Take, for instance, the day I fumbled and dropped my iTouch in a sink half full of water at the gym. No biggie, right? It would dry and be okay. Apple has to make these things at least somewhat waterproof, right? To say the least, that was end of that iPod's life. In a sink in the gym's bathroom. (I guess somewhat appropriate since it did spend most of its time there... the gym, I mean.)

Anyhow, the Apple Genius guy broke the news that the battery had most likely already corroded and that was the end of that puppy so yes, I ended up having to buy a new one. A brand new generation 4 iTouch... $300. BUMMER. But, looking on the bright side, this one has a camera and can take videos or whatever and you could even "use it as an iPhone". Whaaa?! Yes, so he said. That was enough to sell me but I still think he's a liar. Anyhow, I ended up stumbling upon an awesome new app for Foodgawker as I was going gaga over the endless possibilities of new applications I could download. Dangerous techy foodie land territory. Uh oh.

As you could imagine, over the first few days of playing with this new toy and drooling over foodie pics, I ended up with a hefty list of saved favorite recipes that I would hopefully someday have the opportunity to make. And one morning, I went ahead and made these, because pumpkin and I need to frequent each other on a semi-regular basis when it isn't officially Autumn.

Simple little pumpkin biscuit scones. I had some gingerbread beer sitting around from the holidays and so booze alone is enough to get me motivated to bake. Yes yes. Really quick and simple to make, and of course I added in a little something extra to pimp it up--crystallized ginger and a chai-spiced sugar glaze on top. And then made it into a really yummy breakfast dish by topping one with some plain greek yogurt and freshly sliced strawberries. Because that's what you should do. Pumpkin ginger strawberry shortcake for breakfast... you know you wanna.

So yeah, hi, happy Autumn in Spring! And thanks to being clumsy and dropping iTouches in water because apparently you can end up with some pretty awesome pumpkin scones that (kinda) make up for it!

Pumpkin Gingerbeer Scones

adapted from here

2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp ground ginger
A pinch of fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/2 cup ginger beer

Milk, for brushing

Optional chai glaze:

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon chai spice

splash of water (adjust to make a "glazey" consistency)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sift flour, powdered sugar, nutmeg and ginger together in a large mixing bowl. Form a well in the centre and add cream, pumpkin puree, and crystallized ginger. Using a flat bladed knife, begin to cut wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Gradually begin to add ginger beer until there is enough to form a soft dough. The mixture should hold together but not be sticky. (You may not need to use all the ginger beer.)

Working quickly and gently, gather dough together on a floured surface. Try to handle the dough as little as possible, using lightly floured hands to stop dough sticking to you, and pat the dough into a rectangle about 2-3cm thick. You can lightly knead the dough with your hands for a smoother appearance but overknead it and your scones will be tough and hard. Cut out rounds using a 5-6cm scone cutter (push the cutter into the dough, don't twist) and place next to each other in a lined/greased heavy based baking dish that has sides (scones baked close together will rise higher and thus be lighter). Brush tops with milk then bake for 12-15 minutes, or until scones are cooked through and golden on the top. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then cover with a tea towel (to stop them going hard) until you are ready to serve. You may also make the simple chai glaze to drizzle on top if you so desire!

It's Official!

2011-06-02T17:44:00.001-07:00

I made it through my first year of dental hygiene school!

(Although it honestly still hasn't hit me yet...)

How is this possible?!?!?

Perhaps I'll have more time for blogging now? Hopefully...

(Pictured above: Vegan Oreo Cookies 'N Creme Cupcakes)

Only Floss the Teeth You Want To Keep

2011-05-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

I made a mix.

There are songs about teeth on it.

Go figure.

I've been wanting to do this for quite some time now.

This is part one, featuring Sparklehorse, The Antlers, and Wilco.

Part two soon to follow.

Lean Green Peanut Butter Machine

2011-05-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Five reasons why I am stoked to share this awesome smoothie recipe with you:

1. It's delicious.

2. It tastes like a peanut butter milkshake. (Trust me.)

3. It has a gargantuous heaping amount of fresh spinach leaves in it.

(Beta carotene, vitamin E & K, what whattt!)

4. It has more than just spinach in it--how about some mango, butternut squash, and a date? Talk about powerhouse meal with loads of veggies in it that you can't even detect. Jessica Seinfeld would be proud. It's pretty "deceptively delicious".

5. Did I mention that it's delicious? Yeah. Can't rub that in enough.

Oh yeah, and the whole thing fit PERFECTLY into this glass. Right to the top.

Talk about satisfaction...

I was stoked on myself for that alone.

It's the little things in life, I tell ya.

Sooooo yeah. I wasn't in the mood to cook dinner last night. I was tired. Exhausted. Over it. Totally over it. I was jazzed to make some roasted root veggies for dinner but, alas, I had unfortunately neglected my purple beets a bit too long and they were molding. Did not want to go to store. Screw it. So I resorted to Plan B.

Like I said, it's like all you need in a meal. There's some orange stuff hiding in there that you can't see. And the spinach? You can't taste it at all. I. LOVE. SPINACH. I am the spinach queen. It's always in my fridge. If it's not, I'll drive to the store just to buy spinach. Loads and loads of it. I would drive a thousand miles in the snow for spinach (at least I'd like to think I would). That's how fond I am of the stuff. Can't live without it. Did I mention Trader Joe's sells pretty hefty bags full of it for only $1.99? Steal. Major steal. I don't know what I would do without Trader Joe's. (And their organic Valencia peanut butter. Holy crap. I've tasted a lot of peanut butters in my life and I still have to say, hands down, it's outsmarts, outwits, and outplays any other peanut butter on the planet. Yes indeed.)

It's wonderful for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or even dessert! It's pretty much heaven and not to mention healthy! This really gets my day going and I feel so energized. It's all that green stuff. Go green, I'm tellin' ya. It does wonders for me, at least... And it's full of FIBER. Your body is going to love you and every cell will be smiling. And I bet it will help keep those nasty boogie monster viruses away! It's been going around.

Ok so on with the recipe. But I can't really say it's a recipe since I made it up and I don't keep track of things I throw in but I'll try my best. I kinda go crazy and experiment with things like this. You can substitute any sweetener (maple syrup or honey, perhaps, or none at all) for the pumpkin butter. But it's really nice. Here goes.

Lean Green Peanut Butter Machine

Makes 1 serving--by yours truly

1/2 frozen mango or 1/2 frozen packet mango puree

1/2 cup frozen butternut squash (raw is ok)

1 date, pitted and chopped

1 gigantic handful of fresh spinach leaves (ok, about 1 cup packed)

2 tablespoons natural crunchy peanut butter

3/4 cup unsweetened original almond milk

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin butter

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

a few dashes of ground cinnamon

a few dashes of ground ginger

1/2 scoop of any smoothie protein powder, such as this (optional)

Blend everything until smooth! Drink immediately and tell your body how much you love and appreciate it! Because it loves you, too. I think I have to go and make one now.

Foodlandia: Broder

2011-04-30T18:27:00.001-07:00

BRODER

2508 SE Clinton St.

Portland, OR

Breakfast – Lunch: Everyday 9AM-3PM
Dinner: Thursday-Saturday 6PM-10PM

Oh Broder. How I love thee. This place frickin' rocks. The whole menu is glorious. The food is glorious. By far, one of the best breakfasts I've ever had in my life. Yes. It's that damn good.

I mean, c'mon, you can't win my heart over any more by having roasted acorn squash with fried sage leaves as a vegetable side dish. And having humungous cardamom sweet rolls bigger than the size of my face. Over-easy eggs cooked to perfection with funny yolks and sweet apple sausage. Not to mention the hidden apple pancakes below the eggs, mixed in with the luscious sour cream and maple syrup. By far, my dream breakfast. Better than my dream breakfast. Holy crap.

Hipster, casual kitschy Scandinavian decor, cute ceramic dishes, this place is five stars, hands down. I can't wait to try their aebleskivers. I can't wait to try out their dinner! Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam? Yes, please! As Portlander M.Ward would say, "oh, take me back and try me one more time". Oh boy, it would be more than one more time.

Yes, indeed.

Additional pics: here and here.

Cake Inspiration, New Music, & Lovely Things

2011-04-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

After taking a cake decorating class last Spring, I can appreciate the hard work that goes into something like this even more...

The Royal Wedding Cake

Crazy, eh?

And even more gorgeous cakes...

These inspire me to further my cake decorating education/skill.

This lovely-sounding Elderflower Lemon Cake, spotted on the Kitchn. I'm in love with elderflower anything and this seems fitting with a hot cup of tea on a Spring afternoon. Here's also a recipe for Elderflower Jam Tassies (meaning "small cup" in Scottish). Looks like I need to purchase some of this sometime soon...

YUM!

The Great Food Series.

"Throughout the history of civilization, food has been more than simple necessity. In countless cultures, it has been livelihood, status symbol, entertainment - and passion. In the GREAT FOOD series, Penguin brings you the finest food writing from the last 400 years, and opens the door to the wonders of every kitchen."

I would like to collect and read all of these, please. Thanks.

The cover artist is a genius. So in love with her reinvention of covers for classics. Gorgeous!

(She's the woman that's been making these also, if they look familiar to you...)

A few are already available on Amazon but some will take awhile to be printed here as they are from the UK.

A few I'm particularly excited for:

Buffalo Cake & Indian Pudding

The Well-Kept Kitchen

Everlasting Syllabub and the Art of Carving

Love in a Dish and Other Pieces

The Campaign for Domestic Happiness

Ahh I'm dying to read them all!

Also now lusting after this F. Scott Fitzgerald collection:

Music I'm really enjoying lately...

Ok, back to studying for midterms.

More Portland food porn soon.

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins

2011-04-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

Sweet and savory.

Salty and spicy.

Cheesy and pumpkin-y.

Yes. You heard that right. Pumpkin. IN APRIL. Go ahead and shoot me.

This is my dream muffin.

But really, pumpkin in spring time for me, is that really such a surprise? If I could have it my way, I would make it autumn every day. Autumn every day is my idea of a utopia. Baking something with pumpkin in it every day is my idea of a utopia. Combining pumpkin with cheddar cheese, cayenne, black pepper, and brown sugar is my idea of a utopia (muffin).

In my defense, at least 8 lonely, neglected cans of pureed pumpkin have been in my stockpile since last fall, and they called my name.

My father called me out on the can of pumpkin puree sitting on the kitchen counter this evening as I was gathering my ingredients to make these. "Yeah, so?" "It's not Halloween!", he exclaimed. "Hah, dad, you should know me by now. I'm the pumpkin queen! Is it really that much of a surprise?" Didn't think so.

Um, so, yeah, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito have done it again. I'm quite impressed. You make any recipe out of a bakery baking book and it's pretty much bound to be bomb. I can't wait to make these again and again and again. K, thanks guys.

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins

adapted from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented

makes 12 muffins

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin puree

3 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 1/4 cups (about 4 oz) grated sharp cheddar

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray each cup of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with a little bit of vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and yogurt. Add the eggs and butter and whisk until combined.

In another large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, and brown sugar. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well, and fold until just combined. Fold in three-quarters of the cheese.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar and pumpkin seeds on top of the muffins. Bake them for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the muffin pan cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing the muffins. Serve them warm or reheat later!

Surprisingly I found these to be quite a delectable fare alongside a scoop of "old tyme" vanilla ice cream and some sliced strawberries. Just sayin'. That's what I ended up doing with mine and I thought it was the shit. They would also probably do pretty well alongside some creamy tomato bisque or something of that nature... this is better than that grilled cheese sandwich. A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER.

Foodlandia: Gold Dust Meridian

2011-04-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

GOLD DUST MERIDIAN

Rosie Lee Cocktail, Canton Lemongrass Martini, Classic Mac n' Cheese, Lentil Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwich & Salad combo, Prawns in some saucy delicious bourbon sauce?

3267 SE Hawthorne Boulevard

Portland, OR

website

We came for happy hour and I have to say I left rather damn happy. Swanky little place on Hawthorne with a nice romantic ambiance and suitable, appetizing food. Very strong cocktails. I'm not much of a hard liquor fan, but every now and again some gin and vodka sets this girl straight, especially if you add some rose petal syrup or ginger liquor to the mix. Give me my own little individual serving of some of that mac n' cheese (pictured above) and I have no complaints. I used to think that no one could top the mac n' cheese my preschool teacher used to make. I dream about the day of somehow rediscovering the exact recipe that even slightly mirrors the same aroma that it used to bring about in the kitchen, and the happy song my taste buds would sing every time it was served.

This mac n' cheese brought me back to preschool.

At least pretty close to it.

(But I'm 22 now and am able to drink grown-up cocktails WITH my mac n' cheese so not really. I rather like this combination of events together better.)

All of the other food was pretty damn good, as well.

I would totally go here again. Great little place for drinks AND food that will make you happy.

Foodlandia: The Screen Door

2011-04-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

After recently returning from my second excursion to Portland within the last four months, stuffing my face full of delicious and extraordinary top-notch cuisine, experiencing the best of some of the best there is, I've realized it might be wise to put all of that food photography to use and do some restaurant reviews. Somewhat of an overwhelming task, I have to admit, as I feel as though I've covered a lot of ground. But all the more to share with you!

I don't think I met one meal I didn't like. I swear, there must be something in the water up there. Chefs are held to a higher standard, perhaps? More creative and precise palates? All I know is that Portlandia = foodie paradise. And quite conceivably the number one reason as to why I want to plant my roots in such a place.

So here goes: I now present to you my foodie restaurant experiences from Portland, OR. Or, what I like to call, Foodlandia.

Enjoy.

THE SCREEN DOOR

2337 E Burnside St

Northeast Portland 'hood

Southern, Cajun/Creole

website

Oh goodness. The dear Screen Door. How I love thee. My first breaking the fast meal of my stay. And it definitely set the stage. Arriving around noon time for Sunday brunch, the one hour wait was pretty inevitable. Running on practically nothing and ready to eat a horse, I convinced myself it would be worth the wait. After looking at their sample menu online (brunch, veggies) multiple times before I arrived, I would not be discouraged. Talk about dream menu! Every single item on the veggie menu sounded completely GENIUS. Any restaurant that incorporates winter root veggies like butternut squash, sweet potatoes, beets, parsnips, or chard is a winner in my book. GIVE IT TO ME.

The atmosphere was lively, loud, and full of beautiful Portland people: young, tattooed hipster parents with their gorgeous well-behaved babies, groups of fixie-riding hungover friends nursing their Bloody Mary's, and couples so cute they make you wanna puke.

I knew I was in the right place.

Waitress with arms full of buttermilk fried chicken and sweet potato waffle dishes.

Delivering to a large group of hungover, 20-something year-old males.

They all ordered the same thing. And ate every last bite.

A side order of the sweet potato waffle and maple bacon.

Root vegetable hash with chard on a bed of parsnip puree.

Over-easy eggs.

Toast.

Heaven.

Alabama scramble? With grits.

Thankfully my eyes weren't much bigger than my stomach. I was happier than a pig in shit. Pretty much all of my favorite foods coming together in one awesome meal. Words cannot describe the degree of foodie contentment that came over me.

Most delicious comfort food ever.

One of the best breakfasts of my life.

I hope you're convinced now. What else do you want me to say? Here's more evidence, if you need it.

If you've never had a lesson in patience, this will teach you. The patience was worth it.

PS. The Portlandia television series filmed a scene in the kitchen of this restaurant, dubbing it as the "Porch Light" undercover. Can't fool me. I recognized that yellow building and blue sign in an instant! Apparently the grandiose gastronomical chef culture of Portlandia has gone to the heads of Armisen and Brownstein. And probably a few others.

Reminders Especially Needed On This Day...

2011-03-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

Pointing the way

"What seems to be standing in your way is not really standing in your way. It's pointing the way. What looks like it's holding you back is not really holding you back. It's building your determination to move forward.

The mountain is steep and treacherous, yet it gives you a pathway to get to the top. The work is challenging and complicated, and yet it gives you a way to create achievement.

Don't you dare despair when things get tough. Rejoice in knowing that the reason you're encountering so much resistance is because you're moving so powerfully ahead.

Look in the direction from where the resistance is coming. That's where value lives.

Feel your determination as it grows stronger each time you push forward. Now you have what it takes to bring great things to life."

-- Ralph Marston

Also, this makes me happy:

Because on sucky days we all need to be reminded of the nice things in life that keep us going and cultivate gratitude.

Vegan Chocolate Agave Trailmixers

2011-03-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

So I've had this Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar baking book for over a good year now and sadly, haven't put it to the test much. Isa Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romano always know what they're doing, as you can tell by the majority of 5 star review on Amazon. Veganomicon, Vegan Cupcakes, Vegan Brunch... they rule the vegan world. Ranging from your good 'ol chocolate chip cookie (sans eggs, butter, or milk) to "Sell Your Soul" pumpkin cookies (not your typical fluffy and cakey kind, either), peanut apple pretzel drops, mexican chocolate snickerdoodles, whole wheat fig bars, spiced sweet potato blondies (why haven't I made these yet?!), pumpkin pie brownies, irish creme kisses, lemon bars, lazy samoas (take that, girl scouts!), chocolate chip chai spice shortbread, and last but not least, cookie dough scoops (just to give you a sample out of the 100 recipes available). Insane. You're bound to want to make every single goddamn one and curse them for being vegan cookie goddess geniuses.

These cookies will make you want to go out for a hike (hence the name), and just as a warning, you'll probably need to bring a big tumbler of almond milk (or whatever milky liquid suits your fancy) along with you, as well. You really won't even need to bring the trail mix. All you need is this cookie. You've got the pretzels, chocolate, peanuts, dried cranberries, malt balls, white (and dark) chocolate chips. What more could you want? (Yeah. The white chocolate probably doesn't make it vegan anymore, but WHO CARES. I live 700 miles away from Food Fight grocery and am not a hard-core vegan anyway.)

I can guarantee you'll love these and will never be able to tell they're vegan.

See you out on the trail!

Chocolate Agave Trailmixers

Adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Makes about 20 cookies

1/4 cup almond milk

1 tablespoon apple sauce (or ground flax seeds)
2/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

generous 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup of chopped mix of white & dark chocolate malt balls, pretzels, peanuts, etc found in bulk

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup whole roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick baking spray.

In large bowl, whisk together milk, applesauce, oil, agave nectar, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined. Sift in all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix to form a soft dough. Fold in chocolate chips, nuts, and dried fruit and all of that good stuff.

For each cookie drop about 2 tablespoons of dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets. If the dough is sticking, spray the spoon/dough scoop with nonstick spray. If desired, lightly flatten cookies with the back of a measuring cup sprayed with nonstick spray.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until firm. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Store in tightly covered container.

(Variation: whisk in 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder to liquid ingredients before adding dry stuff! Supposedly this subtly enhances the deepens the cocoa flavor.)

My Roots Have Grown But I Don't Know Where They Are

2011-03-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

Music.

To make up for the lack of recipes lately.

You can blame it on this:

Pretty much all that's been on the brain.

My latest favorite. Can't get enough.

And of course, this is always great on a cold, rainy day, drinking a cup of tea and doing some studious reading.

And I'm looking forward of seeing these following 2 bands play together in a few months.

I'm IN LOVE with this new band.

And last but not least...

Vegan GF Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel

2011-02-21T19:04:00.000-08:00

So I just finally got around to watching Cupcake Girls. I never watch TV. NEVER. The only two television series indulgences I will ever give into are Mad Men and Portlandia. Other than that, the room I spend the least time in is the one with a TV in it. Conveniently, my dad is the one that hogs it every night anyway. But we have that "on demand" digital cable thing and every now and then when I feel like I need to force myself to be a couch potato (especially since I continue to have these reoccurring achilles tendonitis flare-ups on my right foot and I am stubborn and have the worst time following R.I.C.E... I like to run, dammit!), I turn to the remote control. Mainly in the search for cooking shows, mind you. So tonight I was pleasantly surprised to find four 20-minute episodes of these two women in the cupcake business! And I have to say I am definitely reconsidering opening a cupcake bakery business after all of that. I admire what they do and they seem like awesome ladies, but holy moly. Talk about stress. But they also admitted they were never bakers and never made or baked their recipes before. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. But hey, I guess it's a business. Still very insightful, especially about hiring proper employees, having quality test-controlled products, all of the little idiosyncrasies that go along with owning a bakery business (weddings, holidays, etc). For now, I think I'll be satisfied enough to live vicariously through them, thanks.

Anyhow, I haven't had much of a sweet tooth lately. Which I guess is convenient, as I'm back at it, in school (finally cleaning teeth now!), and haven't had any time to bake. But when this last rainy 4-day weekend rolled around, I found the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the few extra cans of pumpkin puree lying around that I sadly neglected around the holidays. So I turned to Veganomicon. And realized that it was time I got around to making this awesome pumpkin coffee cake that I've been meaning to make for years because, you know, pumpkin and I have a very special relationship.

This is seriously the most dense, moist, and deliciously spiced pumpkin cake my taste buds have ever witnessed. It's perfect. Pretty much a coffee cake, but better. And what could be better than coffee cake?

Something with pumpkin in it. In a 9x13 inch cake pan.

Duh.

If I don't open a cupcake bakery, I'll at least open a store with all things pumpkin. This will be on the menu.

(Oh yeah, and I've been experimenting with gluten-free flours lately just for fun because experimenting is what I love and do best, so I modified this recipe to make it gluten-free as well. I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour.) Enjoy.

Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel

Makes 16 squares

Adapted from Veganomicon

Pecan Streusel:

1/4 cup gluten-free flour blend

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Cake:

1 (15-ounce) can pure pureed pumpkin

3/4 cups non-dairy milk

3/4 cups canola oil

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups gluten-free flour blend

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Prepare the streusel: In a small bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, and spices. Drizzle in the canola oil with your fingertips until crumbs form. Add the chopped pecans and mix.

Prepare the cake: In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, soy milk, oil, granulated sugar, molasses, and vanilla. Mix well. Add roughly half the flour, the baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and spices, and use a fork to fold everything together. Add the remaining flour and mix gently until combined. (Don't use a hand blender.) Blending with a fork helps maintain the texture.

Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it out with a spatula. Scatter the streusel on top as evenly as possible. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted through the center comes clean.

Remove from the oven, let cool, and cut into squares. Small squares, big squares, any which square you'd like.

Helpless Blues

2011-02-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

FINALLY.

May 3.

I was raised up believing

I was somehow unique

Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes

Unique in each way you can see

And now after some thinking

I'd say I'd rather be

A functioning cog in some great machinery

Serving something beyond me

But I don't, I don't know what that will be

I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

What's my name, what's my station

Oh just tell me what I should do

I don't need to be kind to the armies of night

That would do such injustice to you

Or bow down and be grateful

And say "Sure take all that you see"

To the men who move only in dimly-lit halls

And determine my future for me

And I don't, I don't know who to believe

I'll get back to you someday soon you will see

If I know only one thing

It's that every thing that I see

Of the world outside is so inconceivable

Often I barely can speak

Yeah I'm tongue tied and dizzy

And I can't keep it to myself

What good is it to sing helplessness blues?

Why should I wait for anyone else?

And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf

I'll come back to you someday soon myself

If I had an orchard

I'd work till I'm raw

If i had an orchard

I'd work till I'm sore

And you would wait tables

And soon run the store

Gold hair in the sunlight

My light in the dawn

If I had an orchard

I'd work till I'm sore

If I had an orchard

I'd work till I'm sore

Someday I'll be

Like the man on the screen

Hipster Nerding Out: Beards, Birds, & Portland

2011-02-01T21:35:00.001-08:00

If you haven't yet heard of the new TV series on IFC Portlandia, you better get on it. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen kind-heartedly mock stereotypes, personalities, and lifestyles commonly found in Portland, OR folk and it is frickin' hilarious and rings true in so many ways. This is the kind of stuff that makes me roll on the floor laughing and not too many television series shows enable me to do that (Seinfeld is pretty much the only one), so basically yes, it's won my heart. It's quirky and awkward and lovely and honest. Especially since I love and adore and am obsessed with Portland as much as I am and can't wait to live there, this will fulfill my desires from afar in the meantime. I can live vicariously through them and recognize streets, businesses, landscapes, and personalities that I've previously encountered, all from the comfort of my own (living) room. Ah, the things I have to look forward to.

One of the skits they have done is about how we can't seem to get away from this bird thing that's everywhere. And it's true. I can shamelessly raise my hand and claim that I am guilty of it, too. I mean, my blog is called The Baking Bird, after all. I love my owls. I love birds. What can I say. Everyone else seems to, too. I mean, just type in 'bird' on Etsy and you'll roughly get back 207,000 results. 1250 pages worth. That'd take quite a while to sift through. So it's just great that they've brought this whole obsession to light and maybe we can question why in the hell did this whole bird thing get so popular anyways? Who cares. Just watch it. (I actually ended up in this retail store that they're in called Land on Mississippi Ave. the last time I was there aka. a month ago and purchased a shirt. So I was totally stoked to have recognized it and say HEY! I WENT THERE! Yeah, I love it when things like that happen. I'm a dork.)

Anyway, do yourself a favor and watch a few episodes of this. You may not be interested in Portland at all, but I promise you this will make you laugh. Check more of it out here and here.

And on to more chocolate. These Mast Brother guys from New York make chocolate and have beards and I'm a sucker for both. And I'm a sucker for the packaging, as well. What can I say. I really want to try their stuff, except there is a minimum amount required to buy that'll run you for about $100. Looks like I'll just have to save for a plane ticket someday instead. Anyway, these guys hop on a SAILBOAT to search for cacao beans throughout the world. Jesus. Stop it right now.

Chanterelle-Potato Salad with Bacon, Shallots, & Thyme

2011-01-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

So I won a copy of the new Sunset cookbook, thanks to their amazing giveaway last October, as I explained in 75 words or less what makes me a "great Western cook". Word for word, I couldn't tell you exactly what it was that convinced them, just how I love to experiment combining new and unexpected spices, flavors, and reinventing classics. That I like to make up cupcake creations involving chocolate, coconut, and curry, for example.

So, cool. Yeah. I won a ginormous compilation of Sunset recipes.

I feel pretty special.

I bought some chanterelles the other day without any real particular plan in mind. It's hard to pass them up when they're half the price they normally go for per pound. I had faith that I'd find something interesting to do with them somehow. So after staring at them in the fridge for a bit too long, I turned to this nifty resource to find this lovely recipe involving chanterelles, baby yukon potatoes, bacon, thyme, and shallots. A fancy potato salad of sorts. Fancy restaurant status potato salad. I'm typically not a huge white potato fan, but I'll go for these little creamers every once in a while if it's paired with something worthwhile. And this was definitely worth while. I scattered it on top of some spinach and fried up an egg and it could definitely be a $15 brunch menu item at a restaurant in Portland. Just sayin'. The smells coming out of the kitchen were FANTASTIC.

Chanterelle-Potato Salad with Pancetta, Shallots, and Thyme

Serves 8 (I halved the recipe)

12 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms or 10 oz. shiitake mushrooms
6 ounces slab pancetta or thick-cut bacon, diced (I used cinnamon bacon)
3 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved lengthwise (if potatoes are longer than 2 in., cut into quarters)
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium shallot, minced
1/3 cup Chardonnay or other white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (skipped this)
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/2 cup White-Wine Vinaigrette

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Wipe chanterelles with a damp cloth or scrape with a knife to remove dirt; cut away dry, woody parts. Tear mushrooms into 1-in. pieces.

2. Cook pancetta in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until crisp and browned, about 7 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels, reserving drippings.

3. Toss potatoes with 3 tbsp. reserved pancetta drippings, garlic, thyme, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Divide potatoes between two 9- by 13-in. glass baking pans. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until tender, well browned, and crispy, 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm.

4. Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add shallot and cook until soft, 1 minute. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add Chardonnay, remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, and remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper; scrape up browned bits and cook until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes.

5. In a large bowl, toss together potatoes, mushrooms, pancetta, tarragon, and chives. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve warm (with an egg!).

I Hate Perfume. And Love Chocolate.

2011-01-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I have yet to find a perfume that I like. I've never been a fan. Most scents give me headaches or I get sick of smelling the same after about two weeks. Typically they're too pungent, flowery, nauseating, too "grandma" smelling (not that I have anything against awesome grandmothers but I think you know what I mean). I don't want to smell like a beach or the sky or like an armpit, thank you. In most cases, I like the smell of cologne more than I do perfume. I like scents. I like essential oil blends. Anything earthy, woodsy, anise-y smelling. Anything grounding. Scent really is a powerful thing that can affect mood, emotions, memory, heart, energy, outlook on life, what have you. This states it so well:

CB ON PERFUME
"I was once asked to sum up my work in three words or less. It took me about two seconds to arrive at:
“Scent is Life.”
And so it is. We live because we breathe and with each breath, we smell. This is inevitable. The Sense of Smell is our first and most immediate link to the world around us. It reminds us of what (and who) we love. Smell is perhaps the most complex sense we possess and possibly this is why it is the least understood and most often taken for granted… Yet we also know, that none of the other senses can touch us so profoundly as scent. Not even music can stir the mind & heart so powerfully as one tiny whiff. Scent is always individual. Your sense of smell is one of the most unique things about you – more individual than your fingerprints, than the shape of your ear, than the pattern of your retina. Your sense of smell is one of the most important factors that defines you as YOU. The way you respond to any scent is unlike anyone else’s – no one remembers what you do, no one feels what you feel. There is a reason you remember certain scents so fondly – it’s the way nature designed you. Scent is the record of your own special life – it’s your experience. My mission is to capture that experience. I bottle it so you can have it, use it and love it whenever you wish. I can give you scent experiences you never dreamed possible. I create perfumes as unique & individual as those who wear them. And I use a great many scents never before thought of as “perfume”. But I know these are just the scents that really hit us where we live – they’re the ones we remember and love. These scents are life.

To me, this is what the art of perfume is all about."

I've been searching for quite a while now for a signature scent that speaks to me, as my nose is very particular. I definitely know what I like and don't like. Anyway, that being said, when I found out about this particular company, I Hate Perfume, that makes amazing scent blends minus the alcohol, I was stoked. Speakin' my kind of language. Each scent has its own intriguing story described so well, which I completely adore.

So I just now bit the bullet and ordered myself a few 2 mL bottles. Take M3 November, for instance, consisting of Pumpkin Pie, Fallen Apples, Bonfire, Wood Smoke, Dried Grass, Fallen Leaves, Wet Branches, Damp Moss, Chanterelle Mushrooms and a hint of Pine Forest. Pretty much anything and everything I could ever adore and more and now I get to SMELL LIKE IT. Holy crap. Of course, I'm blindly assuming that it will smell as good as it sounds, but seriously, how could it not be great? Alongside that, I'm also looking forward to smelling (strictly) like Pumpkin Pie (#154), and Burning Leaves. Burning maple leaves, that is. I can hardly wait.

Now that thy nose will be satisfied, let's talk about the tongue and those taste buds while we're at it...

I just busted out this Cherry Rooibos chocolate bar by Vosges a few seconds ago and I'm pleasantly surprised. African rooibos tea, dried Michigan cherries, hibiscus, vanilla, salt, and milk chocolate. Gorgeous. What more can I say? Although none of their chocolates or confections have let me down. I'm pretty much a huge fan of this entire line. Oh what I would do to be back in Caesar's Palace in their Las Vegas boutique. I was overwhelmed. I mean, c'mon, check out these other amazing creative concoctions... these people know how to combine flavors, for real. They never cease to impress me.

This White Chocolate Enchanted Mushroom. For $75. Oh my gosh. Ridiculous!

55% soft dark chocolate praline + organic Reishi mushroom + white chocolate shell decorated with red dots

Standing nearly 6 inches tall and weighing 1.3 pounds, each Enchanted Mushroom is filled with a soft, dark chocolate and hazelnut blend, made and decorated by hand

Should you find yourself in possession of this precious prize, a helpful hint…one side will cure your mind and the other will cure your body. With a nibble off the first side of the Enchanted Mushroom or as some say, "toadstool," you will feel your blood begin to flow with a powerful boost of antioxidant immunity. The opposite side will yield increased wisdom and happiness.

Legend has it that should you eat an entire Enchanted Mushroom under the light of the full Alder Moon in April, immortality will be yours. Be careful what you wish for.

I've previously tried this Enchanted Mushroom bar, and holy moly, is it genius.

I luckily found a package of this while I was in Portland, as I remember loving the sample I had at the food show last winter. Lemon myrtle, lavender, vanilla, and white chocolate cocoa mix. AMAZING.

Best idea to rip off at home for a lovely weekend brunch: chocolate chip bacon pancakes.

I pretty much obsessed over this at the food show.

I mean, duh.

It's like a 4-in-1 breakfast.

Pancakes. Bacon. Maple syrup. Chocolate chips.

Sweet, savory, salty and doughy deliciousness.

See more new baking mixes here.

Their ice creams also rock the planet. (I wish they were available again in stores.)

Naga Ice Cream : sweet Indian curry + fresh young coconut + creamy custard ice cream
Red Fire Ice Cream : Ancho & chipotle chili peppers + Ceylon cinnamon + dark chocolate ice cream
Pandan Ice Cream : pandan leaf + dark chocolate ice cream
Wattleseed Ice Cream : Aboriginal wattleseed + roasted macadamia nuts + creamy custard ice cream

They also do sweet celebratory gift packages as well, like this rose champagne with rose truffles. I think I would die and go to heaven. One of these days I'm going to order that for myself. Perhaps once I graduate from dental hygiene school. It's gonna happen.

Here's also a gift set with the bacon bars and some good Rogue stout.

How about a subscription to some chocolate ritually arriving at your doorstep on the full moon every 2 months? Like a CSA box, but with chocolate. ON THE FULL MOON. Perhaps just in time for that friendly visitor. I'm sorry, but it doesn't get much cooler than that. Hefty price tag, but if you've got it, why not?

And this.

The milk chocolate truffle collection.

Curry, violet, banana, bacon, cashew.

I would gladly welcome this on my doorstep any day.

And check out these white chocolate "Hip-Hop" truffles.

"This decadent truffle combines white chocolate, Krug ® Champagne and gold leaf—echoing rap's transition from music to a culture of "bling" popularized in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The word "bling" was first used in 1999 by rappers B.G., Juvenile and Baby Birdman on their track Bling Bling to celebrate their flashy wealth and expensive diamonds. It quickly became a fad, infiltrating rap and hip-hop music until recent years, when the phrase became too commonplace to garner the same street value. Since then, many artists have spoken out against the bling lifestyle, criticizing it as promoting materialism in lieu of responsibility. Even still, "bling" remains a part of hip hop history."

Love it.

Oh Vosges, how I love thee.

(I swear I don't work for this company... I just want everything.)

Currently.

2011-01-19T13:25:00.001-08:00

Currently baking: a persimmon cream pie with a graham cracker gingersnap crust.

Currently wishing: I could stay in my pajamas all day. And that I had an ice cream maker to enable me to make this.

Currently hoping: I'm not getting this sicky bug floating around.

Currently curing: an herbal apple cider vinegar with basil and mint.

Currently loving and devouring: this persian rose petal cardamom tea concoction.

And streaming the new Iron & Wine, Kiss Each Other Clean.

Currently waiting on: a few pairs (5) of these glasses to arrive in the mail to try on (for free!)

This company rocks. All frames are no more than $95, free shipping, lenses included, and they give a pair to someone in need whenever a pair is purchased (similar to the Tom's thing...). I'm sold.

Currently intrigued by: these goat milk caramels. Flavors like vanilla bean, coconut & lime, honey, and chocolate sea salt. Genius.

Currently reading: these inspiring words. Daily.

Currently craving: these gluten-free cherry walnut oatmeal cookies.

Currently inspired: by this Food Swap! Another reason why Portland is genius. I want in on this next time... more of the inside scoop here.

Currently digging: these nesting, feather, and musician calendars by the Wild Unknown.

Currently enjoying: my new Keep Calm posters. Unfortunately it seems I somehow skipped the "floss on" and "curry on" posters... too bad, I'll have to make another order.

Currently curious about: Root, an organic Pennsylvanian made spirit consisting of some wonderfully-sounding herbs and spices--birch bark, smoked black tea, sugarcane, sassafras, orange & lemon peel, allspice, anise, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Holy moly.

A few recipes that caught my eye: autumn leaves (the name in itself, obviously), making caramels, raisin creme brulee, willow (one of my favorite names ever), mango lassi (!), ginger root sling, etc. I just might have to get me some of this.

More later.

Fennel & Mustard Frittata Gratin, plus other nice things

2011-01-18T20:48:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Kylie and I am addicted to cookbooks.

Scored all of these for $35 today.

Thank you, Logo's, for your "5 dollar & under cookbook sale" that never ends.

(Yes, I am addicted. Amazon cookbook wish list is also grossly growing by the minute...)

Today was pretty rad. One of those rad days where the sun is shining, it's not too hot and not too cold, and you roll the window down and hang your left arm out the window as you're driving to feel the air run between your fingers. And you feel pretty badass blasting some new awesome music (ahem, Decemberists). It was so blissfully pleasant out that standing in the express line at Trader Joe's for 20 minutes just to buy a box of Yogi ginger tea didn't bother me at all.

So yeah, purchased the new Decemberist's album that came out today, The King Is Dead. It's pretty frickin' rad. In addition to The Head and the Heart, Yeasayer live at Ancienne Belgigue.

Currently streaming Broken Social Scene live playing on YouTube from NY. I wouldn't mind streaming live shows from my bedroom more often. This is quite nice and convenient, actually. Not to mention free.

Umm, yeah. Lots of good stuff.

Ate some pretty awesome food, too.

So awesome that I wanna tell you about all of it:

Invented a new smoothie creation consisting of...

-1 cup almond milk

-1/2 avocado

-1 frozen banana

-handful frozen blackberries

-1/2 cup carob powder

-1 chopped date

Blend that shit up and savor the goodness.

Also made some vegan gluten free waffles. Savory butternut squash gluten free waffles. Last night I premade the savory squash part (includes onions, curry powder, chutney), and incorporated it into the batter with rice flour, spelt flour, garam masala, and cayenne. Served it as a late brunch/lunch, topped with a few scoops of cottage cheese, and some left over tempeh bell pepper, sweet potato and onion stir-fry fajita mix. Topped it all off with some homemade jamaican banana jam and a bit of maple syrup. Heck yes.

Dinner? Roasted a spaghetti squash (never doing the hot water bath steam EVER again... roasting is the answer to EVERYTHING), sauteed some crimini mushrooms in a bit of ghee and dry white wine (one of the most divine smells ever created), added in some red curly kale, and cooked that for a few minutes. Then, I had a few bulbs of fennel that needed to be used so I referred to my handy-dandy collection of vegetable garden cookbooks, and made a fennel and mustard frittata/gratin. The recipe called for puff pastry, but alas, none was on hand, so I made it my own by omitting it and it was frickin' delicious regardless. For the mustard, I used a bit of my homemade apricot bourbon mustard that I made for the holidays. And I topped it all off with a bit of lemon salt, a squeeze of a lemon, and a few sprinkles of bread crumbs. See recipe toward the end.

So I ate all of that together with some leftover savory mashed butternut squash. Then I topped the spaghetti squash with the kale and mushrooms, a few shavings of grana padano and a bit of goat cheese, and had a bit of this fennel gratin on the side. Everything was very complimentary and went perfectly together. Not to mention frickin' delicious. And vegetarian. Perfect winter dinner if I do say so myself.

Fennel and Mustard Frittata/Gratin Bake

Serves 4

3 fennel bulbs

4 Tbsp ghee

5 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

3 Tbsp mild grain mustard

s&p

freshly ground nutmeg (optional)

bread crumbs, for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8' square pan or round baking dish of any sort you'd think would be pretty to bake it in.

Cut off the hard base of the fennel and remove any damaged parts. Cut the fennel into strips. Melt the ghee in a pan, add the fennel, cover with a lid, and cook for 12-15 minutes.

Break the eggs into a mixing bowl. Add the sour cream, and beat to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, the curry powder and mustard, and mix well.

Arrange the fennel in the bottom of the tart, pour over the sauce, and place in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

I've also been enjoying this Weizen immensely with a nice slice of lemon.

Ok bye.

Portland, You've Blown Me Away (Again)

2011-01-14T21:57:00.000-08:00

I went to Portland to end the year of 2010 and to begin the year of 2011.

I miss it.

More than you can imagine.

It was definitely the icing on the cake for 2010 being one of the best years imaginable.

And it was also a great beginning, foreshadowing what I have to look forward to in the future...

1. portland, oregon, 2. se portland, 3. butternut french toast, 4. snow, 5. what i miss, 6. ace hotel, 7. broder, 8. hitachino nest, 9. blue skies, 10. natalie & i, 11. clyde common, 12. powell's, 13. favorite

It'll be there waiting for me.

(Pictures and restaurant reviews of the best food you could possibly imagine to come soon.)

Oh Me, Oh My, Here Comes The Pie

2011-01-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

So apparently cupcakes aren't cool anymore. Perhaps we've reached our creative cupcake peak as a society, but I know I certainly haven't yet. Truthfully, I haven't been baking them as much as I used to. But they're still awesome in my book.

God knows why, but pie is the new thing that is fly. I hate trends. I'll be the first to tell ya. I really do. I resisted following them in high school, especially clothing and style trends. I didn't want to (and still don't) conform or be like anyone else and I really just don't like people telling me what to think is cool or isn't cool. Force me to like something and I'll despise it even more. Thanks but I never asked for your opinion and I'm going to make my own decisions about who to be and what to wear and what to buy and what to like and still be awesome. That's just how I roll.

So when I saw this article on NPR's website the other day (Cupcakes Are Dead. Long Live The Pie!) I thought, "oh, dear... please no.... pie?!? Why PIE???" But it's inevitable, I suppose. Seems like some are just impatiently waiting for the cupcake thing to die off. I don't know why! But someone's gotta constantly find the new niche and capture America by storm and make a million bucks. I guess I'm just kinda sick of these announced foodie "trends". Interesting, though. Really.

So why is it I'm not so enthused about pie, you may ask? Because they're a pain in the ass. That's why. Every single recipe I've found for a pie requires the typical two sticks of (rock-solid cold) unsalted butter, flour, salt, and ice water ratio, requiring one to devote practically an entire day (or two) to the darned thing once you chill it and roll it and re-chill it and cut it and crimp it and lattice it, yadda yadda yadda. It's a put-off. Hence to the reason why I've only made one (now two) pies in my entire lifetime. Cupcakes are so much more low maintenance. I like low maintenance. (This all depends, of course, on how involved you get, and I tend to get myself quite involved and go all out but hey, I think it's more rewarding and a higher expression of creativity making individual chocolate mustaches and flavored buttercream frostings and roses than making a damn criss-crossed tutti frutti pie).

I'm starting to sound really negative.

That isn't my intention.

I suppose I have kind of grown into being a pie grinch.

But after reading all of these "convincing" arguments about this new phenomenon, I caved.

Cupcakes vs. bacon vs. pie.

(Source: The Huffington Post)

I suppose, on the other hand, you could say that pies can be "healthier" and more nutritious than cupcakes. They're filled with fruit and more natural sugars, less processed flour and processed white sugar. You can use what's in season. Pumpkin, berries, pears, rhubarb, strawberries, squash, apples, peaches, mangoes, cherries, what have you, for a sweet kind of pie. Or you could go the savory route with veggies, some kind of protein, herbs, cheese (any kind of pot pie or quiche-type pie). I get that. That's awesome. But there's still that crust. Not like there's anything wrong with that, of course. I'm just skeptical.

I can't help the fact that the latest issue of ReadyMade magazine just so coincidentally landed in my hands (thanks, Ty), featuring the hottest new up-and-coming pie bakery in Brooklyn, New York: Four & Twenty Blackbirds. These two cute baking girls with their cute aprons and their amazing-sounding cranberry sage pie, vinegar chess pie, bittersweet chocolate cherry nut pie, and PEAR ANISE PIE got to me. I couldn't stop thinking about wanting to make this pear anise pie, I tell ya. Licorice and lemon spiced Bartlett pears with a few dashes of old fashioned bitters? YES PLEASE. I hemmed and hawed about whether or not to buy all of the ingredients to make it, especially after reading over all of the daunting steps several times. But I just told myself to go for it and not look back (a good attitude to have in many aspects of life, y'know?).

These Four & Twenty Blackbirds girls. They're (slowly) opening up my heart to the world of pie. Piece by piece. Bit by bit.

Make this and see why. So yeah. Hi. I baked you a pie.

Pear Anise Pie

Recipe from Four & Twenty Blackbirds, via ReadyMade magazine

Serves 8

For the Crust:
2½ c all-purpose flour (I used 1½ white whole wheat, and 1 cup white)
1 t salt
1 T sugar ½ lb (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 c water with ice
⅛ c cider vinegar

One day ahead (or hours before), make crust: Whisk flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add butter and toss. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour, working quickly until mostly pea-sized pieces of butter remain.

Combine the ice water and vinegar and sprinkle 4 tbsp over the flour mixture and mix with a spatula. When the liquid is fully incorporated, add more, 1-2 tbsp at a time. Mix until dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining.

Squeeze lightly with your fingertips to bring dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more liquid if necessary.

Divide dough in half, shape into flat discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour (overnight is preferred) before using. (Personally I just stuck it in the freezer for an hour or so and this worked fine.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll the bottom crust to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Leave about ½ inch of the rolled out crust beyond the pan’s edge. Chill in the fridge.

Roll out the top crust and cut into 1-inch-wide lattice strips on a piece of parchment paper placed over a baking sheet. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the lattice and chill it in the fridge.

Prepare your filling:

6-8 Bosc or Bartlett pears, just barely ripe and a little firm
Juice of 3 lemons
¾ c white sugar
4 T all-purpose flour
2½ t anise seed, divided, or 1 t anise extract
⅛ t allspice
¼ t salt
2 dashes of old fashioned bitters (I used Underberg)
1 egg
1 T milk
Demerara sugar

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Core, peel, and slice the pears to about ¼ inch thick with a sharp chef’s knife. Place in a large mixing bowl and coat with the lemon juice to prevent browning. Add in the anise extract if you are using.

Combine the sugar, flour, 1½ tsp anise seed (if not using extract), allspice, salt, and bitters in another bowl; lightly whisk to combine.

Gently combine the pears with the flour and spice mixture.

Remove the crust from the fridge and gently place the pear mixture into it.

Arrange the lattice crust on top and trim or fold the ends to match the edge of the bottom crust. Roll the crust in from the outer edge to seal the two layers together. Flute the edges, going around the crust, pressing the top and bottom crusts together with your fingers.

Place pie in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up the crust.

Remove pie and brush crust with remaining egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar and anise seed.

Bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes on a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack until crust just starts to brown.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, move the pie to the center rack, and bake for 45-55 minutes more. Pie is finished once juices are bubbling, you can easily poke a knife or skewer into the pears, and the bottom crust is browned. (Using a glass pie pan makes this easier to see.)

Cool, slice, and top with freshly whipped cream with a little honey stirred in. (Or vanilla bean ice cream, which is what I'd recommend...)

So does this mean I'm going to throw all my vegan cupcakes taking over the world cookbooks out the window and change my cupcake bakeshop opening dream into a 1950's housewife style pie baking one? Probably not (but you never know). Would you say that I'm convinced? Hardly. I still think they're way more time consuming and a pain (in the ass) to make. The results? Yes, they can be quite delicious. Yes, they give off that seemingly cool, put on your hand sewn apronand take out your retro vintage cookbook that grandma gave you and rolling pin sort of vibe. But I'll still take my love for cupcake baking any day over this stuff. (Although I would like to try my hand at their other recipes because the combinations sound way too damn tasty, creative and awesome to pass up. That's what wins me over.)

CUPCAKES, YOU ARE STILL #1 IN MY HEART. FOREVER AND ALWAYS.

LOVE, KYLIE.

Here's some more anti-cupcake, pro-pie posts, if you're so inclined...

-Pie to Cupcake: Time's Up (NY Times)

-2011 Food Trends: Pie Is The New Cupcakes (Betty Crocker)

-Top Food Trends to watch for in 2011 (NY Daily News)

Butternut Squash Tarte Tatin

2010-12-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Holy mother of God, this is freakin' incredible. I might even dare to say it's quite possibly the best dessert I have made all year (and I'm allowed to say that being that there are only 2 weeks (!!!) left). Um, yeah. Thank you Matt Bites for making my life a thousand times better by inventing this heavenly creation of butternut squash goodness. My life is now complete.

And you could say I'm biased, as butternut squash is probably, by far, one of my top 5 favorite foods. But others can attest. It was a hit at a Christmas dinner party potluck last evening. Some went back for seconds. We had to restrain ourselves to make sure everyone had their equal share. After my first bite, I honestly wanted to run away with the rest of it and my plate and have it all for myself. No. I would never do that...

The smell of this baking in the oven almost killed me. And almost didn't make it to the party in one peace. Roasted butternut squash with a caramel cinnamon nutmeg butter sauce on top of a buttery, flaky pastry crust. This was my first time working with puff pastry! I was scared for so long (just like the phyllo dough) but it wasn't bad at all. In fact, this may quite possibly be the easiest dessert I have ever made. You just have to roast the squash before hand, melt some butter and sugar in a pan, add the spices, put it all in a square pan, and place the puff pastry square on top of it. And then you invert it like an upside-down pineapple cake once it's done. SO SIMPLE. I had never made a "tarte tatin" before and this surely won't be the last. It kind of reminded me of a caramelized, crisp cinnamon roll but better. Wayyyyyy wayyyyy better.

I'm in love.

Butternut Squash Tarte Tatin

Serves 8, apparently

Recipe from Matt Bites (thank you!)

4 cups butternut squash cut into 1-inch cubes
1–2 tablespoons canola oil
a pinch of salt
¼ cup butter
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg
1 (about 8-oz) sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed

For the squash: heat oven to 400˚F. Toss the squash cubes in 1–2 tablespoons of canola oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and roast until tender, about 30-35 minutes, turning once during baking to insure even cooking and browning. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the caramel.

With the oven still at 400˚F, move the oven rack to the top position.

Melt butter over medium heat in a nonstick skillet, stir in sugar and cook until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes, swirling skillet often. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg; pour caramel into an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan. Place roasted squash over caramel. Unfold the puff pastry over the squash and fold any excess pastry down the sides of the pan and under. Prick the pastry with a fork all over and place in already hot oven for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate, being careful not to burn yourself. It’s hot! Cut and serve. I imagine it would be fantastic served alongside some vanilla bean ice cream and/or some whipped cream. But hey, I don't want you to piss your pants. That's your decision.

Winter Woodland Baking Inspiration

2010-12-15T19:57:00.001-08:00

Winter Woodland Christmas Cake

Winter Woodland Gingerbread House

The faux wood grain!

The owl!

The mushrooms and leaves and acorns and squirrel!

Done by this lovely blogging baking artist, Torie Jayne.

I am so inspired.

That is all.

Roasted Butternut & Green Bean Salad

2010-12-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

My favorite salad to make this time of year.

And any time of the year.

Thanks to my lovely friend introducing this recipe to me one night as it was accompanied next to some pumpkin ravioli, I have made traditionally made this awesome salad around the holidays for the past 2 years now. This year for Thanksgiving was no exception. It's simple, healthy, and tasty with the tang of a homemade garlic mustard dressing. The recipe calls for pine nuts but since those things have been more expensive than gold lately, candied pecans, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds do the trick just fine. Dried cranberries or fresh pomegranate seeds would also be nice in this. Some crumbled goat cheese, perhaps. But butternut squash and spinach = two of my top favorite things in life. I couldn't live without them. And you shouldn't either.

Roasted Butternut & Green Bean Salad

recipe from here

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 3cm wedges

1/4 cup olive oil

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

24 ounces green beans, topped, halved diagonally

1/4 cup more olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp dijon mustard

5 ounces baby spinach leaves (or more?)

1/2 cup nuts (pine, walnut, pecan, pumpkin)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place the pumpkin, in a single layer, on the prepared trays. Drizzle with the light olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, cook the beans in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until bright green and tender crisp. Drain. Refresh in a bowl of iced water. Drain well.

Whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, combined vinegars and mustard in a small bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Place the squash, beans and spinach in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with the balsamic dressing and gently toss to combine. Sprinkle with pine nuts and serve immediately.

Ginger Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

2010-12-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

Goodness gracious. Only 14 more days left of school for the semester and then I can officially say I survived 1/4th of dental hygiene school. I am so damn proud of myself and the progress I have made and all of the new skills I have acquired. Jumping into something I pretty much knew completely nothing about and (surprisingly) excelling as well as I have been. It's a good sign. Waking up at 6:30 most mornings, full days at school Monday thru Friday, has been a bit of an adjustment. Granted, it could always be worse, but it ain't easy. (This is also a nice reminder.) But really though, time has flowwwwwn by. Unbelievable.

That being said, Thursday mornings are the only weekday morning that I can "sleep in". My body's internal alarm clock doesn't really understand that concept, but at least I try. Usually I end up going for a long run, hitting the books, grabbing something quick to eat, then heading off to class to take radiographs in the afternoon. But today I decided I wanted to change that up a bit.

I got up. I did some yoga (my back and legs are thanking me--thank you, yoga). Meditated. Then meditated upon what to make for breakfast. Pumpkin. Ok. Oatmeal. Not again! Hmm, how could I make it even tastier than normal? I KNOW! BAKED pumpkin oatmeal!

I think I might explode.

I actually recall seeing several recipes in the past for pumpkin baked oatmeal and always thought, who has a darn hour to wait around for that thing to bake? When I'm hungry for breakfast, I'm hungry, dangit! I didn't think I could be able to handle it. But today I made myself.

It wasn't so bad.

It was worth the wait.

Warm. Comforting. Gingery. Pumpkin-y. Raisin-y. Nutty. Delicious. Healthy. Goodness. Pretty much just like pumpkin bread pudding. And there are caramelized bananas on the bottom as a nice surprise, too. Is it breakfast, dessert, or a breakfast dessert? I'll let you decide.

And now I can save myself some time in the morning by not having to make a pot of my usual pumpkin oatmeal! Awesome.

(I just now had my second serving of the day as a dessert warmed up with a few bites of The Penny Ice Creamery's brown butter spiced pecan, winter squash, and brown butter sage ice cream. They are wonderful compliments to any Fall-related dessert, let me tell ya. I kind of died and went to heaven.)

(Oh yes, and I do in fact take pictures of my breakfasts on my front porch in my pajamas for the entire neighborhood to see. I hope they find it as entertaining as I do.)

Ginger Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

Makes approximately 4-6 servings

Adapted from here

canola oil cooking spray

1 Tbsp ghee

2 large yellowish-green bananas

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup dried fruit (I used half raisins, half chopped dates, and a little chopped crystallized ginger)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp chai spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 tsp pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat an 8-inch square or round baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt the ghee in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced bananas and cook for about 2 minutes, gently flipping to evenly brown both sides. Add cinnamon and maple syrup and let the mixture boil/thicken for about 30 seconds. Spoon the bananas into the bottom of the dish in an even layer. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, dried fruit, nuts, brown sugar, baking powder, and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin puree, egg, grated ginger, and maple syrup.

Stir the oat mixture into the milk/pumpkin mixture. Pour over the bananas in the dish.

Bake for 15 minutes at 375, then turn up the oven to 400 and bake for another 15 minutes until the top is slightly crisp and browned. Optionally, if you dare trying, you could bake the entire thing at 400 for probably about 25 minutes and be okay, I just wanted to make sure the center would set and not be gooey/raw. It's up to you.

Allow to cool a few minutes before serving. Tip! Great alongside a dollop of vanilla or plain yogurt.

Greek Leek, Winter Squash & Spinach Pie

2010-12-01T20:06:00.000-08:00

It is just me or are phyllo dough recipes popping up everywhere during this holiday season?

I swear. They're everywhere.

For the longest time, I have to admit, phyllo dough has intimidated me. I'd see people buying it all the time at the grocery store I worked at, assuming these lovely people were going to go off and make some delicious Greek spanikopita dish for dinner because that was the only thing I thought you could use phyllo dough for. And I was envious. And, like I said, intimidated. I wanted to make spanikopita SO BADLY but for some reason couldn't bring myself to purchasing two-hundred tons of fresh (or frozen) spinach, a fat block of feta, and this phyllo dough stuff.

So in the meantime, I just bought the frozen version already made to go into my oven from Trader Joe's. Thank you, TJ's. I love you.

Well, anyway, about a month ago, I found a great recipe to make an appetizer involving pumpkin (out of that lovely pumpkin recipe book I raved about not too long ago), phyllo dough, peanut butter, mango chutney, and curry paste. They sounded too good to be true. So I made them for a Halloween party. They definitely turned out delicious, a little pain in the butt to make because of the phyllo dough, but so worth it.

And then I had trillions of phyllo sheets leftover that I wasn't sure what to do with.

So I stuck them in the freezer, and a few weeks later, I came upon this wonderful recipe from the NY Times that caught my eye: a Greek Pumpkin and Leek Pie.

Oh my gosh. YUM! Pumpkin, leek, feta, herbs, and phyllo dough! Sounds like a pimped out pumpkinized version of spanikopita that would be so much more amazing. Of course I modified it a bit. Only had one leek on hand so I used frozen spinach, and didn't want to peel and roast an entire pumpkin so I used part pumpkin puree from a can, frozen winter squash puree, and roasted a few pieces of a buttercup squash. OMG.

Admittedly, the phyllo dough still isn't my best friend. But that'll come with time. It's a gradual relationship. Regardless, it turned out delicious and as good as I had hoped. Would be a great vegetarian main dish for any time this fall/winter.

This is my new favorite.

I still have about 15 sheets of dough left though. Help! Help me find something to do with it. Please?

Oh and of course I pimped it out with an amazing winter salad cause that's how I roll.

Mache salad greens, roasted parsnips, avocado, green beans, persimmon, and pomegranate.

Greek Leek, Winter Squash & Spinach Pie

(It's better than spanikopita!!! I'm telling you!)

Makes approximately 8-10 servings

Adapted from NY Times "Greek Pumpkin and Leek Pie" recipe

2 1/2 pounds of a combination of pumpkin and squash puree, and roasted buttercup squash chunks

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large leek, white and light green part only, cleaned and chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 cups frozen chopped spinach

1/4 cup dried dill (or fresh if you have it)

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)

2 jumbo eggs, beaten (or 3 large eggs)

Salt & freshly ground pepper

12 sheets phyllo dough

1. Combine all the squash in a bowl, mash with a fork (I left a few chunks of the buttercup whole). Stir in the herbs, nutmeg and feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick frying pan. Add the leeks. Cook, stirring, until tender and just beginning to color, five to 10 minutes. Add the spinach and garlic, and continue to cook until fragrant for a few minutes and until the water from the frozen spinach slightly evaporates. Remove from the heat, and add to the pumpkin. Beat the eggs, and stir into the pumpkin mixture.

3. Brush a 10- or 12-inch tart pan or cake pan with olive oil and layer in seven sheets of phyllo dough. Place them not quite evenly atop one another, so that the edges overlap the sides of the pan all the way around. Brush each sheet with olive oil (or a mixture of olive oil and melted butter) before adding the next sheet. Fill with the pumpkin mixture, and fold the edges over. Brush the folded-over phyllo with olive oil, then layer five more sheets of dough over the top, brushing each with olive oil (or a combination of melted butter and olive oil). Crimp the edges into the sides of the pan. Pierce the top of the pie in several places with a sharp knife. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the top is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. Recrisp the crust if necessary in a low oven for 10 to 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Saffron Kalakand

2010-11-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

During my studies up at the Mount Madonna Ayurvedic Institute, one of my fellow cohorts brought in the most AMAZING dessert one weekend as an offering to Ganesh. (We would always have a Ganesh figurine in the classroom and would either give him flowers, sweet treats, breakfast leftovers, what have you, every weekend.) I had no idea what it was sitting over there in the corner, but I could definitely tell Ganesh was pleased. A round pie dish filled with a white, creamy looking pudding with ground pistachios scattered in the "om" symbol. Once it was time for us to spoon out a sample, the sweet aroma of cardamom, ghee, and pistachios filled up the classroom. Smiles were soon to follow. My goodness. This was simply heaven on earth. I had never had such a thing before. We were all exclaiming how amazing it was and asking her for the recipe and what was in it. Homemade paneer. Sugar. Cream. Milk powder. Cardamom. Pistachios. I think that was it. She insisted she would email all of us the recipe ASAP but that never happened. And I kicked myself for never writing down what this incredible Indian dessert was called.

Every so often I would think of this dessert and wonder about what it was exactly. It started to drive me nuts, to tell you the truth. So one day I took it upon myself and checked out a book from the schools' library, The Indian Grocery Store Demystified. I wasn't expecting to find this particular recipe in there, but sure enough there was a list of Indian desserts. I was determined to find it. It HAD to be in there. Burfi? No. Halva? After making a sweet potato version, definitely not it. Kalakand: a popular Indian and Pakistani sweet made out of solidified, sweetened milk and cottage cheese (aka. paneer). Also known as a cheesecake made from sweetened milk with chopped nuts and sometimes saffron and edible foil. AHA! Thank goodness!

So of course I resorted to Google for some Indian Kalakand help. I knew they wouldn't fail me. Most of the recipes I found were to be cooked in the microwave, which I was definitely skeptical about, but I remember my friend saying that's what she did, also. After searching for quite a bit, I started to wonder if a pumpkin version existed. Because if it didn't already, it was about to be.

I went off of this Microwave Mango Ricotta Kalakand recipe, substituting pumpkin puree for the mango. And oh my goodnesssssssss. I think I am on to something.

Pumpkin. Ricotta. Pumpkin pie spice. Cardamom. Saffron. Pumpkin seeds. Ghee. I think I just invented the perfect Ayurvedic dessert. Kind of a drier, cheesier, textured version of pumpkin pie with minus the crust.

SOMEBODY STOP ME.

Brought this to a Halloween party and it was perfectly different than anything anyone had ever tasted. There were mmm's and ahh's so I think it was quite a success. That's good enough confirmation.

Pumpkin Saffron Kalakand

Serves 10-12 people

1 1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese

2 cups pumpkin puree

1 tbsp ghee

3 cups fat free milk powder

2 tbsp sugar (although I think it could have easily used 1/2 cup or so)

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp saffron threads

raw pumpkin seeds, for garnish

Combine all ingredients (except the pumpkin seeds) in a large microwave safe bowl.

Microwave in 4-5 minute intervals, for a total of about 14-15 minutes, stirring in between. It may take longer depending on how much moisture is in the pumpkin and ricotta. (It took me almost 20 minutes, I believe, which is kind of ridiculous and makes me think it would be easier to bake in an oven to prevent my microwave from exploding. Next time.)

Stop microwaving when the mixture is a thick curd-like texture and has lost most of its moisture. You want to be able to form a small ball with your fingers.

Pour into a greased, glass 9-inch pie dish.

Garnish with extra saffron threads (optional) and the pumpkin seeds.

Let it cool and put in the refrigerator to make it set better.

You can cut into any desired shape. Cookie cutters are also very appropriate and fun! I made a few owls and pumpkins but it was too late by the time my camera got to em. :)

Enjoy! And I'd love to hear your feedback. I also think some more ghee would be delicious in there for more flavor.

Here are some additional kalakand recipes I found that I'd love to experiment with next time:

-Pistachio Rosewater Cardamom Kalakand

-Video: How To Make Kalakand (including how to make homemade paneer)

-Microwave Kalakand

-Pine Nut Kalakand

DIY Owl Cupcakes

2010-11-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, more owls! But check out these cupcakes.

Seriously. Clever.

Especially the cookie wings.

One more thing to add to my baking to-do list...

I wish there was more time in the day.

I have so much I could talk about.

But at least we're "falling back" this coming Sunday.

One hour is better than nothing.

Flickr Faves

2010-10-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

1. Greens_Rec, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Caramelized Figs, 5. Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake, 6. Pistachio Rosewater Cupcakes, 7. bookends1, 8. migy2, 9. migy1, 10. MFNW_CaveSingers_KEXP-3755, 11. les chouettes detail, 12. avocado, 13. today, 14. fig and champagne sabayon gratin, 15. cupcakes!, 16. Untitled, 17. Nest..., 18. words...quote...writing on a woman's arms: "never allow someone to be your priority", 19. Untitled, 20. the pork pub, 21. Untitled, 22. Pickathon Poster, 23. Ana Ventura Prints, 24. Untitled, 25. worthwhile, 26. Today's wedding cake!, 27. 0731 breakfast, 28. toastedcoconutcurls, 29. Untitled, 30. breakfast 8.4.10, 31. Wildflowers, 32. room8, 33. Tamarind & Sweet Potato BBQ Tempeh With Polenta Stuffing, 34. IMG_4018, 35. tall, 36. sunday breakfast

I've been baking a lot. Recipes soon to come. Hopefully tomorrow.

Happy Owl-oween!

Two of my Favorite Things: Owls + PB

2010-10-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

So I've realized that I've started posting on here more often, regardless of the fact that I've been busier with school than ever. I'm a bit surprised, myself, that I've been able to do so, on top of all the baking I've managed to squeeze in. But I've realized something. It's what I have to do to stay sane. I need a creative outlet. Something to get my mind off of TEETH, for goodness sake. Something to help me recognize myself. It's an identity crisis of sorts, really. My entire lifestyle and schedule and just life in general has completely changed, 180 degrees. And this is what makes me happy. I just want to bake and obsess over finding awesome recipes and cute owl things and waste my time a little. So, with that being said, I'm just trying to not feel guilty about it. It's a distraction, I'll admit. But I feel as though I can't focus on the stuff I do need to do otherwise. Yadda yadda yadda. On with the show.

Yeah, so, before I eat my breakfast and head out the door in the morning, my vice is looking at my favorite blogs. And then I somehow manage to open up about twenty five million tabs within 10 minutes before I leave (or rather, I realize I'm running a few minutes late...). Like this morning for instance, I found this super awesome owl pillow:

Cost Plus also has some of the cutest owl stuff available known to man.

I have to stay out of that store.

And these chocolate peanut butter monster brownies from the CPB Gallery!!!

They remind me of Ugly Dolls.

And how cute is this idea?!?

Peanut butter pumpkin cookies!

Speaking of peanut butter, I currently have a batch of vegan peanut butter banana bread baking, experimenting with this new peanut flour stuff from Trader Joe's. I'm totally curious. It smells pretty darn good, but we'll see. Trying to figure out what else to use this stuff for. I'm sure the possibilities are endless... perhaps also try out this peanut butter dutch baby recipe with this in place of regular flour?

Oh yeah, and I wanna make this. Except with pumpkin instead of mango.

I have visions.

Gold Digger Chocolate, Mad Men, DIY Log Cabin, & other Nifty Things...

2010-10-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

Just discovered this awesome chocolate company that lets you customize your own chocolate bar combinations! You can add up to five ingredients (spices, nuts, candy, herbs, even 23 karat GOLD flecks!) to a dark, milk, or white chocolate base. All starting at around $3.85 a bar (not including extras), it ain't cheap. This particular combination I made up would end up costing me $15. FOR ONE BAR.

But hey, great idea to rip off and maybe do on my own at home? They even do bulk orders for parties or weddings, allowing you to put your own photo in the middle of the dang chocolate bar!

Crazy, huh?

"Tropical Island Bar"

-dark chocolate

-banana chips

-coconut flakes

-mango dices

-pineapple dices

Pure chocolate bling aka "Rizzoli & Isles" bar.

-dark chocolate

-23 karat gold flakes

"Fresh Face Forward Bar"

-dark chocolate

-dried cantaloupe melon

-blueberries

-goji berries

-roasted sunflower seeds

-organic flax seeds

"Trick or Treat Bar"

-milk chocolate

-candy corn

-fall leaves

-candy bats

HOW CUTE IS THIS?!?

Also happened to stumble upon these great black and white photos from the set scenes of Mad Men. I love this show, although I am ashamed to say I am behind by like 2 seasons, practically. Saving them all up for a crazy Mad Men marathon weekend party, I suppose?

Joan is my idol.

-Also just discovered this really awesome artsy design blog that has sucked me in a bit these past few days: Lox Papers.

-Instructions for how to build your own log cabin. So freaking rad. Ever since I was little and had a log cabin building doll-house set, I have had dreams of living in one some day. This might just be what I need to make that dream come true!

-Design Squish, a blog about all things I adore: nature, trees, art, design, sustainable living.

-Eight sweet lavender recipes from the Kitchn, in addition to sweet potato cakelets and jack o'lantern cocktails.

-Also completely in love with this wallpaper over at ModCloth (that is temporarily out of stock). That website is dangerous.

I actually DO need some wall hooks and these might be a winner...

Now as far as food goes, here are some recipes that have me excited:

-Sugar Pumpkin Lasagna

-Lavender Dark-Honey Chocolate Tart with Cardamom-Lemon Crust

-Rosewater and Pistachio M'Hencha

-Cornbread Pudding Baked in Acorn Squash

-Spiced Pumpkin Butter Pancakes

-How to make your own pumpkin syrup

-Mexicali Sliders with Mango Sauce, Guacamole, and Yam Fries

-"Killer" Halloween Desserts

-Creamy Pumpkin Penne with Crispy Sage & Toasted Pecans

Holy moley. I just need some extra time, money, and energy. I WANT TO MAKE EVERYTHING!

Date-Nut Butternut Squash Muffins

2010-10-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Alright, we'll I'm not going to waste any time with this one. These are, hands down, the best muffins I have ever made. Better than any pumpkin or bran or blueberry or vegan whatever muffin there might have been, these are #1 ruler of the Muffin Kingdom. And, yet again, I went off of a recipe but tweaked it a bit. I bought this particular book, Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year (might perhaps be the #1 ruler of any pumpkin or baking book to exist... I know, big statement, but it's pretty much the shizzle) in Seattle three years ago and remember being astounded that someone was genius enough to come up with a cookbook with a ton of fabulous pumpkin-including recipes. I pretty much squealed with delight in the middle of the Elliott Bay bookstore. There are recipes for every style and part of a pumpkin you could ever imagine. Sometimes I have to shame myself for not utilizing it more often. I want to make everything in it: roasted ginger pumpkin-pear soup, wild mushroom pumpkin risotto (and sage-pumpkin risotto), blue cheese and pumpkin galette, pumpkin chutney, pumpkin pizza with gorgonzola, pork stew with pumpkin and prunes, crepes with spinach and creamy pumpkin sauce, mexican pumpkin lasagna, ten different versions of pumpkin bread, coffee cakes, scones, white chocolate pepita apricot pumpkin bars, pumpkin baked alaska, lemon pumpkin strudel, pumpkin-rice pudding... okay I'll shut up now before you kill me for making you so hungry and enticed. I suppose typing out all of the recipes that I've been meaning to get to stirs up the motivation process and reminds me.

So yeah, back to how amazing this muffins are. My grandparents even called and left me a voicemail this morning exclaiming how they were (are?) the best muffins they have ever had. I can't delete it, it's so precious. I have already listened to it 3 times. In her twangy Texas accent, "Hi Kylie, this is Nana, I just wanted to say those muffins were the best I've ever tasted, including the Silver Spur or the Buttery" (um, if you had any idea how amazing the pumpkin muffins or any other baked good those places make, that's saying a lot). Then she goes, "and your Pops agrees..." (hands over the phone). Pops: "Me too." (In the background) Nana: "Well, you could've said more... but, you know..." (phone clicks).

They crack me up.

So the recipe originally calls to use pumpkin, but I have had this can of butternut squash puree lying around for a bit too long, saving it for something "special" or a rainy day, perhaps, and this was my chance to be daring. So I went for it and have no regrets. Also used 1/4 cup of walnut oil and 1/4 cup of Smart Balance EFA butter in replacement of 1 stick of unsalted butter. I tend to go for oils > butters in muffins as they tend to turn out more moist. On top of that, there is a buttload of pureed dates, in addition to the moist squash puree, so over all this is definitely not a dry muffin. Me no likey dry muffins. And dates are amazing. And so is butternut squash. And figs. Basically what I'm saying is you'd be crazy to not make these.

And I couldn't resist topping a few with fresh fig slices.

These muffins practically scream Autumn.

Date-Nut Butternut Squash Muffins

Adapted from Pumpkin: A Super Food for All 12 Months of the Year by DeeDee Stovel

Makes 12 muffins

2 eggs

1 cup canned, unsweetened pureed butternut squash

1/4 cup walnut oil

1/4 unsalted butter

1 cup dates, pitted and chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup spelt or whole wheat flour

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of clove, cardamom, & ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cup liners (bonus points if you use ones with Halloween/autumn themed cheer).

2. Whisk together eggs, butternut, oil, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in the dates, walnuts, and pecans.

3. Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, cardamom, ginger, and salt into the pumpkin mixture. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until it is just moistened.

4. Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan when cool and either cool completely on wire rack or eat immediately. I would recommend the last bit.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

2010-10-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Autumn! Why is there only one week left of October?!? It went by wayyy too fast (but I'm not complaining since that means I'm half way done with the school semester!) Oh how I wish it could be October all the time... anyhow, I've finally managed to go a little pumpkin crazy the past few weeks at least, thank goodness. I've needed something to balance out my busy studious life. Pumpkin patching, baking, and eating are all enough to make me pretty stoked on just about everything in life. All I need is pumpkin. Seriously.

Or maybe I could just turn into a pumpkin.

That would be really cool.

(I probably will turn into a pumpkin at the rate I'm going...)

My lovely friend Tyler and I went to Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch up highway 1 a few weekends ago and had a pumpkin freak-out. It was awesome. The October issue of Sunset magazine featured this place as one of the best farms to find "offbeat" pumpkins. So of course that sparked an interest. And I got about 5-6 pumpkins and squashes that ended up costing me only $20! Way cheaper than I expected. Maybe it was because I had a little self control (as opposed to the other years I've gone). It was pretty darn cool. I just wish some place around here carried cheese pumpkins! I've been searching all over for them. But they may just be an east coast squash because of the climate. I'm not sure. More research is needed to be done... supposedly they are the best pumpkins for pies and soups. Maybe I'll have to resort to buying some seeds perhaps...

As far as the baking and eating goes, this vegan chocolate pumpkin date (fat-free) bundt cake is what started it all off. It was a recipe from the Vegetarian Times cookbook that I'd had dog-eared for quite some time, but I added my own spin on it by using spelt flour (bad idea) and by mixing a little cocoa powder in there for an extra twist. How did it turn out? Not so good. Dry. Flavorless. Boring. But the chocolate sauce made with brown rice syrup and almond extract was quite good! So, needless to say, I won't be posting the recipe. It's just a bit disappointing. The words "fat-free" should have been cautionary enough. No oil in vegan baking is just bad, bad, bad. A big no-no. Add to that spelt flour and what you get is yikes! dryness. So yeah, there you have it. If you're looking for a NON-vegan version of this (what inspired me to make it with the cocoa swirl from the get-go), maybe try out this recipe. I think I'll go that route next time... it calls for buttermilk and eggs. How can that fail?

So as much as I do love vegan baking, this little experiment turned me off a bit from it. I haven't given up on it of course, but I suppose it turned me into the complete opposite direction. Like into the direction of eggs. Cream cheese. And BUTTER.

Yes. You heard that right.

That equals out to be these delicious pumpkin cheesecake bars!

I have never made or baked with cream cheese to make any sort of cheesecake before. I'm typically not a cheesecake kind of gal. It is usually sickeningly rich and after the first few bites, I'm over it. But you can give me a piece of pumpkin cheesecake any day and I'll happily take it off your hands. Who knows what brought on this craving, but I was certainly feeling it one afternoon and I was in the perfect baking mood. And I just so happened to have a block of neufchatel cheese. Only one though, so my cheesecake cake had to be scaled down into bars because typical recipes like this one typically call for four packages or so. I find that a bit unnecessary, especially as it can add up cost-wise pretty quickly! So I made it into bars by using a few various recipes. And they came out amazingly well. Not too rich, just the right amount of creaminess, spiciness, pumpkin and graham cracker goodness. And those little bits on top are crystallized ginger, incase you were wondering. Pretty much is equivalent to the cherry on top. Yes, I'm pretty proud of this one. Just wait. Make it and you'll understand.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Makes 8-12 bars, depending on many factors of course... (you may not want to share)

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

zest of one lemon

For the filling:

8 oz. neufchatel cheese, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of cloves and cardamom

Directions for the crust:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until the crumbs look moistened by the butter.

Press into an 8x8 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or so until the crumbs look a little browned.

Let cool slightly.

Directions for the filling:

With a handheld mixer, beat together the cheese and sugar on low to medium speed until combined. Add the eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, and spices and beat on low until all combined and smooth.

Pour over the crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until set and slightly browned on the edges.

Cool and/or refrigerate and cut into bars (or cut em up with cute cookie cutters!)

Amazon is my Vice & Some Nice PB Pumpkin Banana Bread

2010-10-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

Between taking my first set of radiographs on fake patients

and molding gum paste into maxillary 2nd molars for my tooth morphology class...

(Another student made this one out of rice krispies and marzipan! GENIUS! She deserves the award for best 3D mold interpretation project!)

...I somehow seemed to manage getting in a little baking last week, in addition to splurging a bit on Amazon (I'm blaming it on my "lack-of-baking" deprivation). For some reason, the Amazon.com credit card I have been using for the past year or so is really ending up to be quite beneficial in its rewards. Since I practically spend half of my income (or lack thereof) on the site, it makes sense. The "reward points" have been adding up. So basically I ended up getting all of these books for the regular price of one! (Baked Explorations retails for $30). So I feel pretty good about it. Anyway, I finally got my hands on Viva Vegan! (vegan latin food) by Terry Hope Romero and I am looking forward to making these recipes in particular: tostones with avocado and palm ceviche, all of the plantain recipes (sweet and nutty roasted stuffed plantains, bite-size green plantain sandwiches), calabacitas, quinoa-oyster mushroom risotto, creamy potato peanut stew, creamy corn-crusted tempeh pot pie, portobello feijoada (brazilian black bean stew with portobellos), creamy potato soup with avocado, hearty pumpkin and cranberry bean stew, sancocho (vegetable, roots, and plantain soup), tropical pumpkin soup, black-eyed butternut tostadas, black bean-sweet potato tamales, beans rice and sweet plantain empanadas, horchata, crepes with un-dulce de leche and sweet plantains, fresh mango and guava bread pudin, sweet potato sweet mash, oh my gosh I could go on and on. Although I am not a huge fan of spicy (or acidic) food, the recipes she shares include almost more than half of my favorite root vegetables and fruits--lots of pumpkin, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, plantains, mangos, you get the picture. Yes. I am stoked.

And, as mentioned above, I immediately bought the new Baked Explorations dessert book because I wanted some new ingenious recipes with more jaw dropping, lustful photography by Tina Rupp (as in their first cookbook hit, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, although, confession, I haven't made a single thing out of it once... the eye candy alone is good enough... someday though) that inspires me to want to open a bakery immediately and create a storefront and shell out books as half as amazing as Matt and Renato. How about some pumpkin cheddar muffins, double-chocolate loaf with peanut butter cream cheese frosting, a whiskey pear tart, mississippi mud pie, and some cowboy cookies? It's pretty much a must-have for anyone who appreciates the fine art of baking, along with food photography. It's a drooler, that's for sure.

Here is a cute little trailer for the book that kind of made me die a little inside the first time I saw it...

Wow. All I can say is wow.

And then, (as if I am actually able to have some leisurely reading time), I finally got around to purchasing my own copies of some Thoreau. Particularly, Walden: or, Life in the Woods and Meditations of Thoreau. Perfect autumn reads. The pictures below are where I want to be. And his words will help take me to that place of peace.

So here is what I have managed to bake lately. I totally made it up and combined three of my favorite things into one and got all crazy with the version of my favorite vegan banana bread recipe. Peanut butter. Pumpkin. Bananas. I wanted all of them, all at once. I basically pulled ideas from about four different recipes. Pumpkin bread, a peanut butter banana bread, this recipe, etc. I also made it all hippy and healthy and stuff by using spelt flour (which may make it gluten free although I'm not entirely sure?), agave for sweetener, and bit of ground flax seed. See? HEALTHY. The latest October issue of Cooking Light did a big article about banana breads and variations on the theme and their peanut butter glaze for this recipe looked irresistible. So here's how it all came together. It didn't turn out bad but I think I would tweak it again in the future by either adding the applesauce, more bananas, more peanut butter, or more pumpkin. I'm not sure which, but it needed more moisture or something. I couldn't put my finger on it. Oh and we had an ant infestation over those few days and even though I had the lid on this thing over night, ants totally invaded the sides of it. I tried to save it as much as humanly possible without getting grossed out. I wasn't about to throw this in the trash without trying it. Those damn ants. Yeah, I was pretty pissed. At least they liked it. That says something.

Vegan Peanut Butter Pumpkin Banana Bread

Bread:

3 large very ripe bananas

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup agave nectar

2 tablespoons molasses

2 cups spelt flour

1/4 cup ground flax seed

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of clove

pinch of ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze:

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon soy milk

1 tablespoon peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas, pumpkin, and peanut butter really well. Add the agave, oil, and molasses, and whisk briskly to incorporate.

Sift in the flour, flax seed, baking soda, spices, and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. The top should be lightly browned and a knife inserted through the center should come out clean.

Meanwhile, you can make your peanut butter glaze. Combine powdered sugar, soy milk, and peanut butter in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over bread after it is baked.

Lily likes to study, too.

And sleep.

Saw this in the girls bathroom stall several weeks ago and it resonated with me. (I always have my camera on me now because I am the "class historian" which basically means I get the lucky job of photo documentation until we graduate!)

I am super excited for an adventure I have planned for tomorrow. I am going to Farmer John's pumpkin patch up highway 1 in Half Moon Bay to score some unique pumpkins for decorating and eating, and hopefully buy some heirloom seeds! It's going to be awesome. And then I plan on heading to San Francisco afterward for some brunch and ice cream sampling. I plan on taking loads of pictures!

Oh yeah, and did I mention how much I love October? I LOVE OCTOBER. Seriously, I am the happiest girl alive right now just for the lovely weather and the orange tint of the afternoon sun and the crisp cold smell of autumn in the morning and pumpkin foods everywhere. IN LOOOOVE.

Shrimp Enchiladas with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips

2010-09-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Folks, I have just discovered my new love and it is shrimp enchiladas in a green chili verde sauce with roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips, and goat cheese. The fact that I just got these out of the oven a little less than two hours ago and am posting the recipe so soon is enough to prove that they are out-of-this-world amazing. The combination of shrimp and root vegetables is definitely unexpected but incredible. Your taste buds are in for a great surprise.

I finally made a point to make something nice in the kitchen this weekend, so that I'd have lunch to bring to school or have for dinner the next few days. And it totally did the trick. I went on a crazy Epicurious bookmarking rampage and found a ton of new and amazing Bon Appetit recipes, and this was one of them. I have to admit I have never actually made enchiladas before. Yes, I've made "traditional" chicken enchiladas with red sauce, cheddar cheese, and olives with my mom at times, but this is different. WAY different and a thousand times more amazing. And I made these all on my own and bought all of the ingredients myself. What a big girl I am. Hah. Anyways, these will knock your socks off. But only if you tweak them a bit like I did. Don't tell anyone, but the secret is swapping out goat cheese for the queso fresco (but I mixed it with a little feta also). It helps cool down the medium spiciness of the salsa verde and tomatillos. Your taste buds will thank you and have died and gone to heaven.

One day if I open a restaurant, these will definitely have to be on the menu. Garnish with a little avocado, cilantro, and lime and you're good to go. Ahh. These are SO GOOD! If this kind of comfort food doesn't help ease your feet into the breadth of autumn, I don't know what will.

Shrimp Enchiladas with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Parsnips

Serves 6

Bon Appetit October 2010 issue

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 pound parsnips, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
12 ounces red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams; about 2 small), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 red onion, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 large garlic clove, peeled
1 small jalapeño chile, halved, seeded
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup chopped green onions (about 6)
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles (preferably fire-roasted), drained
2 cups purchased salsa verde or mild tomatillo salsa
1/2 cup crema mexicana, crème fraîche, or sour cream, divided
8 ounces cooked peeled deveined shrimp, coarsely chopped
12 5 1/2- to 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas
8 ounces crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese (about 2 cups)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toast cumin seeds in small skillet over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Cool. Transfer to spice mill; process until finely ground. Combine parsnips, sweet potatoes, and red onion in large bowl. Add ground cumin, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, chili powder, oregano, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt; toss to coat. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Roast vegetables until soft and browned in spots, turning occasionally, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool. DO AHEAD: Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 375°F. With machine running, add garlic and jalapeño through feed tube of processor and process until finely chopped. Add cilantro, green onions, and drained green chiles. Using on/off turns, process until coarse puree forms. Add salsa; process to blend. Transfer salsa mixture to large deep skillet. Add 1/4 cup crema and stir over medium-low heat just until warm (do not allow to boil). Remove from heat. Season salsa mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.

Measure 1 cup roasted vegetables; set aside. Transfer remaining vegetables to processor. Using on/off turns, process until coarsely chopped. Transfer to large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to incorporate evenly. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, cook until just softened, about 15 seconds per side (do not allow to brown). Transfer tortillas to paper towels to drain. (I skipped this step. I really don't think it is necessary.)

Spread 1/2 cup salsa mixture over bottom of 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Place 1 tortilla on work surface; sprinkle generous 2 teaspoons crumbled cheese down center. Top with generous 1/4 cup roasted vegetable filling, arranging down center atop cheese. Roll up tortilla and place, seam side down, in prepared dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese, and filling. Scatter reserved 1 cup roasted vegetables over enchiladas. Spoon remaining salsa mixture over. Sprinkle with any remaining cheese; drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup crema (whisking if necessary to loosen enough to drizzle). Bake enchiladas until heated through, about 20 minutes.

Read More.

Currently Freaking Out About...

2010-09-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

The new October issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Pretty much this is the main reason I look forward to the end of September every year. This reason alone. I live for this seasonal issue of Martha. Seriously. Ever since my pumpkin and halloween obsession started four years ago, I have kept and collected every October issue of Martha since '06 in a separate magazine stack nearby. This makes me want to throw on another pumpkin party! Ah, I can only dream for now. Someday in the near future I will have the time to carve a bagillion pumpkins and make a cake like this. Oh my gosh, I just love it all so much.

Chocolate Fig Pumpkins

Pumpkin-Chestnut Soup

Marzipan Pumpkin Petit Fours

Savory Autumn Leaf Pies

White Bean & Sausage Stew in Pumpkin Bowls

Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies

Butternut Squash Pizza with Hazelnut Dough

Rigatoni with Roasted Pumpkin & Goat Cheese

Yes, I am pumpkin obsessed and I love Martha.

The end.

Emily Abigail is a Sweetheart

2010-09-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

Hey look guys! I'm famous! Fellow amazing blogging friend Emily Abigail was so kind enough to ask me if I wanted to be interviewed on her blog! I am so flattered. I kind of forgot I answered these questions a few weeks ago so this was a nice surprise. Thank you Emily for the publicity!

(If only I could update more. I. Am. Swamped.)

Ch-Ch-Changes

2010-08-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I quit my job after five years yesterday. My last day couldn't have ended on a sweeter note: the best hugs, high-fives, and kisses West of the Mississippi, a Bon Voyage cake and sign, seeing all my favorite customers, smiling so much my face hurts. I will dearly miss all of my lovely coworkers and favorite customers. Such a bag of mixed bittersweet emotions, but more on the hopeful and positive side. At least I wasn't the only one quitting--coincidentally, my favorite darling sidekick Shae also decided to leave (after being there for quite some time, also). It made it a little easier to get through the day knowing I wasn't the only one, and that we could both relate to each other and give each other brave but worried smiles whenever we had little freakouts and wanted to cry. I'll be back during winter and summer break again, so it's not completely the end. Although it feels like it. Time to close one door to open another.

Our dear boss bought us a cake from the Buttery!

My going away gift to my boss: peanut butter bacon cookies,

and a homemade card with nearly an essay written in gratitude.

So very thoughtful and sweet.

I love all my coworkers.

The next door opens at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. Dental Hygiene program, here I come. I've heard nothing but fantastic things about the program, regardless of the fact that, as a 2nd year student exclaimed to me, that it has been the "hardest thing she's ever done in her life". Time to focus on just school 24/7 and see if I can still manage to maintain sanity and a social life simultaneously. I have no idea what to expect and look forward to just rolling with the flow. It'll be good. Real good. My lunch is all packed and my mirrors and probes are ready to be sterilized.

So, with that being said, I have no idea where that leaves the future of this blog. I really do hope I can mess with it every now and then, but I'm not putting any pressure on myself. I'll do what I can do if I can do it. The majority of my cooking and baking will most likely consist of making big pots of kitchari Sunday evenings to have easy meals throughout the weeks, and maybe a few batches up cupcakes here and there to help out with bake sale fundraisers. I don't know. To be honest, it's just safe to say I know absolutely nothing at this point. I'm diving into this thing with an open heart and mind, a blank slate.

Bring it on.

"Back To School Shopping"

2010-08-26T10:26:00.001-07:00

School starts in less than 5 days.

I'll be taking 15 units = full time to the max.

I quit my job (of 5 years) in less than 3 days.

Which means... cash flow? Non existent, pretty much.

Big changes.

But that isn't stopping me at all from splurging on "back to school" items that will help get me through the year.

Seriously. It's ridiculous. I need to stop. There are times when I can go a little crazy, I'll admit, but I'm good 99.9% the rest of the time. I swear I've been to every office supply store in town (and out of town) just to stock up on notebooks, pens, highlighters, organizing boxes, and binders (why are these stupid pieces of plastic $10 a piece?!? it's just PLASTIC for crying out loud... these corporations are getting away with MURDER!) and then of course I take myself to the locally owned bookstore to see all the cute supplies they have available and I end up with this:

Yes. OWL TEA.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

Organic classic bergamot Earl Grey with fragrant Jasmine floral notes.

Yep.

And that's not all...

A retro inspired blue diamond tea tumbler.

Doubled glass walls.

For owl tea to take with me and get me through dental hygiene school.

I needed it, really...

BlueQ, you are extremely dangerous and threatening the life of my check book.

But I love you.

They even have teas to help you be a better parent, erase your past, and live forever...

Sounds good to me.

Check out the rest of their (genius) tea collection here.

Let's see, I also picked up the Indie Rock Coloring Book.

And Urban Outfitters taunted me with this new cupcake book.

Because I am so into making weird cupcakes.

Rosewater Champagne, Surly Temple, Lemongrass, Tandoori, Curry Cardamom, Pancakes and Bacon, Avocado and Black Pepper, Thanksgiving, and the Punkin Donut are all flavors I can't wait to try.

I will need to bust this out for the fundraising bake sales, I know it...

And then I figured a few motivational mantra magnets would be needed to look at in my locker on a daily basis to get me through the next 2 years (and the rest of my life, for that matter) whenever I have weak moments and tend to doubt myself...

Winston Churchill.

Alexandra Stoddard.

That is all. For now.

Semi Homemade: Beet Gorgonzola Ravioli with Wilted Maple Frisee

2010-08-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

When I first discovered these new, locally handmade raviolis just a few weeks ago, I nearly flipped a lid. Beet ricotta gorgonzola raviolis?! I couldn't believe my eyes. Especially at the $7.99 price tag. For just eight of 'em. But hey, you gotta live it up sometimes, especially for $1 per piece amazing raviolis. So I gave in. And made myself the most delicious, semi-homemade lunch of the century. I don't have exact measurements, but this is basically what it boiled down to:

-1 package of these guys, boiled for about 4 minutes

(you can also be adventurous and make your own with wonton skins, like this recipe explains here, although I personally had a bad experience with the skins falling apart and red beet insides spilling everywhere)

-1 head of frisee, chopped the bottom off

-warmed up a little ghee and walnut oil in a pan on medium/high heat, added a handful of chopped walnuts and lemon zest and sauteed for a few minutes

-added the frisee to the pan, along with a few tablespoons of maple syrup, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some freshly grated black pepper

-lightly tossed the frisee in the pan with a spatula, then put the lid on to cover it for a few minutes for it to wilt

-topped the ravioli on top of the wilted frisee on a plate, then garnished a little extra gorgonzola on top

IT WAS DIVINE. And so easy! And gourmet! The flavors were all great together. I'm pretty stoked on it. And next time I'll try it with the yam or butternut flavor.

Speaking of vegetables, I just discovered Claire Nereim's new Seasonal Vegetables of California poster. A few years ago I bought this print of seasonal fruits in California (it's probably the most expensive piece of art I own thanks to the cost of the framing) and I absolutely love it. It's something that will be the star of the show in my future kitchen. Anyway, maybe, just maaaybe at some point I'll buy this one too to compliment the other. I think she's genius.

Some other cool things I've discovered on the net lately:

-a PBJ DIY ice cream cone

-how to bake cupcakes in bulk (note to self: read thoroughly!)

-this woodland themed birthday party is so effing cute and amazing and perfect it almost makes me want to cry

-this rose geranium ice cream with pistachios recipe from the Kitchn

-this cardamom-vanilla shortbread with white chocolate and rose petals recipe, also from the Kitchn

-Rose Mint soda recipe (found via the Kitchn)

-a non-alcoholic wine substitute! (I rejoice! especially for all of the alcohol-sensitive people out there in the world like me that struggle with wanting to drink but also not wanting to at the same time)

-this DIY cabin in the woods, from the August issue of Sunset magazine (seriously, my dream house... and it's in Oregon... can it get much better than that? I'm drooling)

Alright, that's all for now!

Humphry Slocombe: The Hipster Ice Cream Parlor of Ice Cream Parlors

2010-08-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

I like weird food.

I like unique food.
I like creative food.

I like ice cream.
I like weird, unique, and creative ice cream flavors.

So when I discovered that a little ice cream shop in San Francisco--Humphry Slocombe--could deliver all of these in one, I was immediately excited. Thanks to a slow afternoon at work one fine day several weeks ago, I was able to catch up on some reading in the New York Times magazine and was intrigued by the featured photo of an ice cream shop with the decoration of a taxidermied double-headed cow plastered to the wall above the red-leather swivel stools.

So on my latest trip to San Francisco to run the half marathon, I made a point to stop by there on my way home. I dialed the address of this baby into my GPS and off I went into the Mission District. It was perfect ice cream weather: typical overcast Bay Area skies with a little bit of sun peaking out. I easily found (free!) parking on Harrison St. about a block away from the shop that Sunday afternoon, and was instantly greeted by these fantastic Warhol replicas the second I walked through the door.

Luck was on my side--the line was short and sweet. Apparently they had just opened at noon, so all flavors were in stock. The assortment of 12 flavors rotate daily. Sometimes hourly (if they sell out). I had crossed my fingers that the infamous "Secret Breakfast" would be showcased. And sure enough, there it was, right before my eyes. BOURBON. AND CORNFLAKES. IN ICE CREAM. Yes. How do you like that one? The ice cream proprietor, Jake Godby, has over 100 crazy ice cream flavored recipes in his back pocket, although he claims he "can't sell cupcakes to save his life" (ahem... call me, Jake, if you need future business partner). He claims "I only make ice cream I think tastes good" (NY Times). And let me tell you, it does.

Some flavors that have piqued my interest (so much so that I don't mind randomly driving the hour and 20 minute drive there just to take my chances on trying every single one at some point in my life):

-Black Walnut

-Candy Cap

-Candied Ginger

-Elvis (the "Fat Years")

-Green Tea-Black Sesame

-Guinness Gingerbread

-Harvey Milk & Honey Graham Cracker

-Honey Thyme

-Milk Chocolate Tarragon

-Peanut Butter Curry

-Pom Coconut Ale

-Pumpkin 5 Spice

-"Red Hot" Banana (yes, Red Hot candies in banana ice cream)

-Salted Licorice

~~-Secret Breakfast~~

-Skull Splitter Root Beer

-White Chocolate Lavender

And sorbets & sherberts:

-Cucumber Ice Milk

-Dirty Girl Strawberry

-Golden Beet Saffron

-Hibiscus Beet

-Jesus Juice (red wine + coke)

-Pineapple 5-Spice

I think you get the picture.

Pictured below are the flavors that were available that day:

The girl behind the counter was super friendly and didn't mind at all handing me samples of almost every single flavor (I couldn't help but feel semi-guilty with all the spoons they must have to wash constantly). I was curious about the Balsamic Caramel and before I could ask to try it, she already scooped me out a bit. After himming and hawing for a few good minutes, I went for a double-scoop combo (on a sugar cone) of the Secret Breakfast and the Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee. Bourbon. Cornflakes. Coffee. Ice cream for breakfast anyone?

And it was only $3.75! Pretty darn reasonable, if you ask me!

I also considered taking home a hand-packed pint of something, but I asked the cashier her opinion if it would survive the trip home and she as unsure as I was.

Next time I'm bringing freezer bags!

(Photo: From NY Times article)

So I just sat myself down and had a great gastronomical experience.

And stared at the double-headed cow.

And took a billion pictures.

And felt super content.

And fantasized about my future blog post that I am now writing about Humphrey Slocombe.

Because I secretly wish I could have been that interviewer/writer/photographer from the NY Times.

Instead, I'm doing this (unpaid) from the comfort of my living room.

Just for pure self-enjoyment and nostalgia.

And because you owe yourself a visit to this establishment sometime in the near future.

So yes, Humphry Slocombe, I love you. I am a believer. And I will return to you once again. Very soon. Like, in about five days, actually. Hopefully I'll be able to cross off a few more of those flavors from that list. In the meantime, I'll just have to live vicariously through your Twitter and Facebook feed. And once I have the chance, will definitely be giving you 5 stars on Yelp.

If you go:

Humphry Slocombe

2790 Harrison St (between 23rd St & 24th St)

San Francisco, CA 94110

Neighborhood: Mission

(415) 550-6971

www.humphreyslocombe.com

Mon-Sun 12pm-9pm

Cash only