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Young & HungryIf you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen! |
| 9 December |
Despite the fact that the Baking Bonanza has been in progress a couple weeks now, I actually just started my holiday baking last weekend. This year I decided to go with the 3 Bs of Baking: Breads, Barks, & Biscotti! I’m using said theme to strap some boundaries around what usually turns into a big cookie catastrophe, for my kitchen anyway. Hopefully keeping within these three categories will enable me to tie a pretty little bow around my baked gifts while still allowing some creativity.
We will start with biscotti aka cantucci. For the sake of this holiday season and my Nonna from whom the base recipe comes we will call them biscotti. The biscotti series is going to come to you in four installments, one variation per installment, and will conclude with the orginal (and best) recipe from which all the other recipes were created. I know my mother is asking why mess with a good thing? Well, Mommy dearest, I can only post the real deal one time and there are over 360 days in the year. That, and you know me well enough to know I’m a meddler.
What I was surprised to learn was that after many not so perfect attempts at meddling with various biscotti recipes, these actually turned out just right! They don’t have the traditional essence of anise that make the original recipe so unique, but if you prefer or like these flavor combinations or just want to spice things up a bit these are all quite delicious! There is a METHOD to the madness and I was happy to learn that if you keep to the basic ratios and processes defined in the original recipe, the world is your oyster!
| 28 October |
Farewell Red October! And welcome winter?! I know October was coined red with the Russian Revolution, but I’m going to dare to say I deem orange more appropriate. Lest we forget that October brings changing leaves, pumpkins, and Halloween, the birthday of my orange haired friend! So in case it wasn’t already evident, you’re going to be on the receiving end of a multitude of recipes containing pumpkin, the first of which is already in your possession. Don’t fight it.
Pumpkin recipe #2 of the season comes as a result of a co-workers birthday which, in essence, means baking time. While I deliberated over the many usual birthday options – cake, cupcakes, well I guess that’s about it – I resolved to make something more diabetic-friendly and went with pumpkin breakfast bread. After some research I was more or less dissatisfied with the recipes on the many diabetic and diet sites so I took note of the necessary sugar substitutions, found my favorite recipe, and voila – a reduced sugar pumpkin masterpiece was made!
| 28 September |
Do you recall the days of Chewy granola bars and bagged lunches? The way peanut butter and jelly mixed with tater tots and chocolate milk to create eau de cafeteria? And scrambling down the hallways back to class, never failing to linger at the table just a little too long? Sadly those days are gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still pretend. We still scramble and we still eat granola bars. It’s just that the lunchroom table has been replaced with the parking garage and S’mores Chewy Granola Bars have been replaced with an ever growing variety of $2-3 “power” bars. Chewy will always hold a dear place in my heart, but, to be honest, they could have held a larger place in my belly. Thank you Cliff, Kashi, and Powerbar for at least creating a more substantial snack. One that satiates for a period of longer than the five minutes or less it takes to consume said bar. Funny how much energy we expend sitting at our desks with no escape for recess, afterschool sports, and the long backpack laden walk home… Or not.
But I still want a somewhat hearty snack – sedentary or not. An adult snack, if you will. It doesn’t matter that what I really want is a Nutty Buddy bar; I was conditioned to just say no to such detrimental desires long ago. Conditioned to replace processed delights with “whole” foods like fruit, cheese, and nuts. So here’s my Whole Foods solution to snack time. I promise it won’t fail to satiate your inner child’s need for chocolate and peanut butter and that it’ll keep you power-ed up all “school” day long!
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