A sourdough starter is something of an elusive creature- At least to me, that is. A creature that creates unparalleled artisan breads, that one can store in the refrigerator for decades as long as it stays fed; it sounds more like a fairy tale than an actual ingredient used to raise loaves. Hoping to see the magic first-hand, I was thrilled when Bazu so kindly offered me some dried starter to work with about a month ago. While I couldn’t wait to get my wild yeast prepped and baking, the timing was not in my favor. It arrived just as we had begun to clear the chametz out of the house for Passover, and then I was trapped on campus for another couple of weeks. Storing the starter in the freezer with fingers crossed, it was only yesterday that I could “activate” the little beasties… Although I wouldn’t exactly call them active now…

I knew things had gone awry as soon as I unwrapped the plastic. What had once been a dry powder was now a wet, sticky dough. Hm, not so good… But maybe it still works! It was frozen, after all, I reasoned with myself. Dutifully mixing in fresh flour and water, letting it sit over night, and then pouring off what appeared to be hooch in the morning, I hoped for the best. Of course, it wasn’t actually bubbling at all… but then, what do I know about sour dough? Plans for my first batch of sour dough English muffins continued as scheduled.

Mmm, doesn’t that look good? “Look” being the keyword, because the last thing you would want to do with this pucks is actually taste them. Yes, they look so puffy and nicely risen, but trust me, it’s all a facade; Deep within each brick lies not airy bubbles, nooks and crannies, but instead a solid chunk of gooey dough. I should have taken the numerous hints tossed out before getting my hopes up, but alas, one bite of this disastrous dough makes it undeniable: The sourdough starter is dead.

Maybe sourdough and I were just never meant to be.

… And on May 4th, that was my beloved dog’s day- Or to be more precise, her birthday! I can hardly believe it myself that this little puppy who’s been the love of my life since I was in elementary school is now 11 years old. Since I’ve been getting a lot of questions about her lately, I thought I would take this opportunity to give her the spot light and give you guys some answers.

As you may have already gathered by now, she is a she, even if the majority of people simply assumed the opposite. Her name is Isis, pronounced “eye-sis,” something that it seems is difficult to decipher just from the spelling. Don’t worry, we still have family members that can’t spell it correctly anyways! What many readers picked up was that yes, she is indeed a Basenji; an African-Egyptian breed that hates getting wet and simply adores warm weather. That’s why you’re likely to find her doing this in the summer:

Sunbathing. You know it’s nice and hot out there when she’s willing to spread herself across the pavement!

While many guides will tell you that Basenjis are barkless dogs, they won’t tell you that they can still be quite noisy, just in different ways.  She doesn’t exactly “yodel” as they say, but she does whimper, grumble, whine, yip, and otherwise make her presence very well known.  Barkless does not equal silent by any means!

If you have more questions, shout them out, because I honestly can’t think of too much else to tell you. She’s just a simple, sweet little pup.

So to celebrate her birthday, as per usual, I baked her a small cake made with peanut butter and oats. To give it some extra “flair,” I frosted the top with some leftover tofu cream cheese. A treat fit for a human, even!

She started off by cautiously licking off the frosting, much like any other excited child… But it wasn’t long before the teeth came out! From there, it was pretty much all over.

Happy birthday, Isis!!

Space is at a premium in my shoe box of a dorm room. Barely larger than your average closet, I can pretty much touch each wall without leaving my bed- And believe me, I have very short arms! Mercifully, it is a single room intended for only one occupant, so it’s not as if I’m tripping over another person in these already cramped quarters. By the same token, it’s awkward to invite friends over when you pretty much need to sit back-to-back in order to be comfortable. The smallest of my companions are sometimes inconvenienced as well, but to my great delight, it seems as if some have adapted beautifully to the less than optimal conditions.

Peeking out from behind a row of text books and novels, three clever kitties took it upon themselves to conserve space on my bulging bookshelf. Stacked up in a tower of rectangular plush bodies, I was worried that they might be uncomfortable, or even worse, be at risk to topple over. After much reassurance and a day or two without incidence, they found that they actually preferred this arrangement, happily balancing close to each other. And with all the room that they’re saving me, who am I to argue!

Available at MochiMochi Land, you can now knit a set of compact cats for yourself. No matter how spatially compromised your home is, they’re sure to fit in perfectly!

Having been on the culinary scene in one form or another for over 4,500 years, yogurt is a staple in many diets, and for good reason. All you have to do is watch tv for five minutes before being bombarded by the recent ads touting yogurt’s healthful bacteria and restorative properties. Beyond just the health benefits though, the uses and different varieties are endless, providing the backbone of many baked goods, cold soups, and even simple parfaits. The non-dairy version has been around for barely a fraction of the time as the original, but like a newborn modeling their older sibling, it has progressed rapidly to a more mature and delicious form.

The latest mutation of this vegan delight is made by Turtle Mountain, previously known solely for their decadent frozen desserts. Coming from such a sumptuous background, I naturally assumed that these newest offerings would share that level of luxury, a step above the standard cultured soy- And even with such high expectations, I wasn’t disappointed.

With five different flavors to choose from, this line is short but sweet.

Starting with Vanilla as a basic jumping-off point, I was impressed with this yogurt before the spoon ever reached my lips. A quick stir proved how thick and creamy the consistency was, far more substantial than any other brands I’ve encountered yet. This translated into a very rich mouth-feel, delivering a sophisticated bouquet of floral vanilla notes along with the faint, characteristic tang of yogurt. While some people may equate “vanilla” with “plain,” this concoction would prove them wrong! Good enough that I wasn’t tempted to add extra flavorings or toppings to it, this would undoubtedly be excellent to dip fresh fruit in as the warmer months progress.

Next up I chose Blueberry, my go-to variety when it comes to flavored yogurts. Lifting the lid, I discovered it was an alluring shade of purple/blue, concealing bits of berries scattered throughout. These chunks added some good texture, livening things up so that it didn’t become monotonous to shovel down. With an authentic blueberry flavor, albeit very sweet, it was breath of fresh air for my breakfast routine, and actually gave me a reason to be happy about waking up so early.

This was all just beating around the bush though, because the one flavor I was most interested in was the infamous Cinnamon Roll. After all, how could something be pastry-flavored? It sort of implies a certain texture and format, so I could only puzzle over how a baked good might be incarnated into a creamy soy product. Let me tell you, the answer (and taste) is surprisingly delicious. No kidding, this one blew my socks off! So sweet, creamy, and indulgent, with a strong overtone of cinnamon and almost buttery notes in the background, it’s hard to describe exactly how it all worked to create such a harmony of flavors, but it definitely does. Although it’s a bit over the top for a daily breakfast option, it’s a wonderful treat that I certainly would have trouble refusing.

Moving back into familiar territory, Raspberry was the next target on my hit list. A deep shade of pink that bordered on purple, it was an impressive reminder of how unnecessary synthetic coloring is when you use quality ingredients. Tart and tangy, the sweetness in this one was very nicely offset by the natural essence of raspberries. Turning up a few errant raspberry seeds every other spoonful or so, it was a nice reminder that it was the real deal in here, not some artificial chemical cocktail. Served with frozen berries on top, this is one unbeatable snack.

Finally, all that remained was Peach… Which, I must admit, I had been avoiding for as long as possible. You see, I have a rather tenuous relationship with peach-flavored things. For some reason, they just don’t usually strike my taste buds as a good thing, even though I don’t usually have a problem with the fresh fruit. Swallowing my fears along with a mound of yogurt, I noticed that this one was a bit grainer in texture than the previous choices. The pieces of fruit in there exacerbated that fact a bit, and some of them were even downright crunchy. Not my idea of a pleasing consistency! Over all, it was pleasant enough, but I would have to say it was my least favorite of the bunch. Of course, if you’re a diehard peach lover, this may be just your thing, so I wouldn’t write it off altogether.

So if you’re still lusting over those thicker styles or decadent flavors of dairy-based yogurts, a cup of So Delicious soy yogurt could be just the thing to sooth your cravings!

[Written for Go Dairy Free]

…Or really, island of misfit pictures. Hopefully none of you have been there too often, as it’s a terribly sad place, where all the blurry, over-exposed, and badly framed photographs go to die. Having sworn up and down that none of my own captures would ever find their way into that forsaken place, my heart sank all the way down to my small intestine when I discovered just that nestled into my very own hard drive. Sequestered in a quiet corner of my computer, there they lay for well over a year, waiting hopefully for their turn to be featured on the blog. I’m saddened to say that now it’s just too late; They’re no longer up to my personal standards, and to foist such amateurish work upon you, my dear readers, would make me feel like a rip-off artist. Any story that accompanied such poor illustrations would be instantly cheapened, so bear with me through this post while I simply clean out the plushies in my closet.

Second photo ops are not an option, as all of these toys have moved on to other homes, but I’d like to take a moment just to remember them, and give a few of these photos their moment in the sun.

Sheldon

Pug and Chihuahua

Cat Keyboard Buddy

Simple Lion

Another month, another Daring Baker Challenge. What I want to know is where the month of April went! Did I forget to set my alarm and sleep through a solid chunk of days? Or for that matter, did I even get to sleep once, since the longer days of sunshine have persuaded me to add in a few hours to my daily routine? Either way, I found myself scrambling to get this one done, and I’m almost embarrassed to present my haphazard results after browsing through so many other far more impressive and professional works of pastry art.

Right off the bat, this one didn’t sound too difficult; Cheesecake pops. We’re talking cheesecake, scooped into balls, skewered onto lollipop sticks, and dunked into chocolate. What could be bad about that? Modifications were pretty basic, and conversions from regular cream cheese to tofutti was a no-brainer. I happened to have vegan sour cream on hand, so that replaced the egg, and I also used potato starch instead of flour because I wanted to share these with family during Passover. Finally, there was little choice but to scaled down the recipe in a big way, because there was no way I could justify shelling out the cash for 5 tubs of tofutti cream cheese for this little side project. Adding in just a touch of peppermint oil for a refreshing flavor to contrast with the chocolate, I set up a miniature water bath in an 8-inch round cake pan- My small batch of cheesecake batter fit perfectly!

Patience became a thing of the past once the base was fully baked and out of the oven- Forget waiting 3 hours for it to “thoroughly chill;” I tossed the whole thing into the freezer straight away, anxious to finish up and get a taste! It was a very forgiving recipe and no harm came of my haste, so before long I had 18 lovely lollipops dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in either chopped pistachios or cacao nibs.  Just do me a favor and ignore their partial nudity, as I had just finished munching away on my chocolate chips when I realized that they would be needed for other applications… My remaining supply was a bit limited.

While unimpressive in appearance, these little morsels of creamy goodness were a wonderful treat, and were certainly easy enough to consider making again for a gathering or party. But until then, I beg you to go look at the other Daring Bakers’ creations, as their talent really puts me to shame this month.

Peeling a ripe banana early one morning, it quickly became apparent that there just wouldn’t be enough to top even my modest bowl of cereal. It’s not that it had been half-rotten or already nibbled on, but it was just so small to begin with.

No, this just wouldn’t do. So what does one do with a tiny banana…?

Make tiny banana nut muffins, of course! Now, that’s a satisfying way to use up an otherwise too-tiny fruit!

Growing up in a household where nothing gets thrown out, you become accustomed to a good deal of clutter, and the frequent searches for items that become lost in the disarray. Most of the mess is hidden away in closets and beneath beds, but the clutter often creeps out from its hiding place and makes organization impossible. It’s certainly nice to have just about every craft supply I could ever ask for right at my finger tips, from piles of yarn right down to old glass jars and odd buttons, but the abundance tends to obscure that one thing I’m looking for. Want a certain book? Well, I can find plenty of old magazines and news papers, but it would seem as though this book had never even been put to print. Even things that are right out in the open can get sucked into the scenery, and a cell phone placed in the wrong spot will seemingly vanish.

The bright side is that more often than not, rediscovered treasures are found on a nearly daily basis. Poking through the bookshelves in our seldom-used family room yielded just such a surprise the other day, but it wasn’t just some odd trinket this time.

Standing no taller than an inch in height, this creature wasn’t just tiny, he was practically microscopic! Nestled in amongst books that were 10 times his size, this mini elephant was having one heck of a time trying to crack one open. I could tell he was book lover at heart, and would have poured over every last text in the house had he been able to reach them. It’s a good thing I happened to spot him and help out, otherwise it could have been ages before he got to even one book!

With all of the old volumes we have stored there, I’m certain that he’ll be able to find whatever it is that he’s searching for. However, with so many books to get through, I’ll know where to find him for quite a while to come!

[On an unrelated note, I've been having difficulty accessing my email, so I'm sorry I haven't yet responded to your emails.  Hopefully the problem should be cleared up soon!]

Scrambling to whip up a dessert for the Passover Seder tonight, there was barely enough time to figure out what to make, let alone actually make it. While I can’t offer you any new recipes to this time around, I can share a picture of my creation; A gussied-up, single serve, plated version of my Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake, which can be found in my book.

In this variation, I used a pan that would give me individual little squares to make each serving a bit more special, and I put the “topping” on the plate to act as a sauce. Still wanting to keep the same sort of pattern on top, I made little domes out of caramelized sugar to finish them off instead.

For this version that’s kosher for Passover, I replaced the crushed cookies with 1 1/4 cups almond meal, 2 tablespoons potato starch, and 1/3 cup cocoa powder. Simple, and gluten-free, too!

Happy Passover!

When is a brownie not a brownie? Sounds like a stupid question, but I might argue that the color is generally the key, and perhaps the richest, darkest brownies of them all should actually be “blackies.” However, there’s a different reason entirely why I might suggest that these humble bar cookies above get a new name. You would never guess from looking at them, or even tasting them, but these are indeed the infamous black bean brownies that everyone was talking about ages ago.

Upon first seeing this creation, I reacted in the same way that I would imagine most of you are right now; shock and horror. Beans, in sweet baked goods?! What horror, what torture! Flicking quickly away from the recipe, I tried to cleanse my mind of the idea. How could it possibly be any good, after all? Those poor, misguided food bloggers…

And yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about them. After turning the idea over and over in my head a million times, intense curiosity took hold and refused to let go. When I had an afternoon with a bit of free time, I decided that I would just try it out- Just to prove that they were no good, mind you- and put this concept to rest once and for all.

Watching the food processor pulverize those black legumes, it occurred to me that I was being unfairly critical. After all, I had been so bold as to put lentils in cookies, and those were thoroughly enjoyed by every last taster, of adventurous palates or not. Giving up my prejudice against the questionable recipe, I only altered it to reduce the amount of apple sauce, since it seemed that others had had trouble with them setting up. Doing so caused them to be a bit flat, but no less of a revelation.

No, I’m not going to lie, these are not the cookies you turn to when you’re looking for some serious chocolate indulgence, a mouthful of rich, sugary fudge; These are admittedly “healthy” tasty. But as some one who’s constantly stuffed with sweets, it really was a nice change of pace. The beans are really impossible to detect, and warmed for a few seconds in the microwave, they’re definitely a worthwhile treat that won’t have your conscience up in arms.

Even if you’re not prepared to take the leap and try making some blackies for yourself, just remember that bias has no place in the kitchen; It could prevent you from getting a bite of some seriously delicious dishes.