Why is there cat hair in my mixing bowl?

Oh. Nevermind. Mystery solved. On to other matters...(yes, I washed the bowl before using it).

I've been very lax in my food porn, as I have made tons of things lately, but never pulled out the ole camera to prove it. This past weekend I made Mom's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies from Vegan Planet and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Did I take pictures? Nooooo. I made them to take on a visit to some friends in Nashville, who I was staying the night with. The oatmeal raisin cookies killed, as usual, and the chocolate chip cookies had a surprisingly different, yet awesome flavor. I wouldn't have made them if not for the fact that I was out of margarine, and needed an oil based cookie recipe. I'm glad I did though. They came out flat and chewy, and the recipe called for maple syrup, but I used brown rice syrup instead. Here's what I made the weekend prior to last that I managed to get pics of:

Cranberry Sesame Cookies, courtesy of Celine at Have Cake, Will Travel. These cookies definitely needed to sit overnight to develop their flavor. I tried one still warm, and was like, 'meh.' I took them to work the next day and they flew out of the container and into people's mouths. I tried another, and was like, 'now, that's a cookie.' Amazingly sweet and nutty, and healthy tasting in a good way.

I also had a bundle of bananas that were beyond rotten - just the way I like 'em. So I pulled out my trusty Veganomicon and made the Lower-Fat Banana Bread. Perfect, as always, and with walnuts inside and granola sprinkled on top to make it pretty.

As I mentioned, I was visiting friends this weekend. During a trip to an evil chain pet store which shall remain nameless (she needed rat chow...), I was peer-pressured into adding two new members into my family:

Meet Thelma and Louise. Two little lives saved. Oh, and they are perfectly safe from all my cats.

Um...

I guess I have a lot to catch up on. Might as well jump right in...

First up, a few weeks ago we had a welcoming party at work for a new department head coming in from another state, and we wanted her to feel welcome. Every shindig we have consists of nothing more than a potluck. I made the Enchilada Casserole from Fat free Vegan, and the Lemon Coconut Bundt Cake from V-Con. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the casserole, which was very pretty with the blue corn tortillas I used, but it was very well accepted and I even had some recipe requests. The bundt cake was superb. It was devored by the next day. I was worried because there was some other bundt cake competition (a banana bundt cake brought by someone who was supposed to bring a pie), but my bundt triumphed. Despite being loaded with coconut and lemon, both flavors were very light and not all in your face. I did have a bit of a problem getting it out of the pan. The top on one side stuck to the pan and I had to "repair" it. I put all the pieces I could back in place, drizzled it with a powdered sugar glaze and stuck flaked coconut to the top. It covered it well.

From this angle you can't see my boo-boo, but I would have done the same thing even if it didn't have a blemish. Bundt cakes are so plain, and I don't do plain.

Now this, is all up in your face. As it should be.

Moving on to finished knitting projects...

I have finished two scarves recently, both in the same feather and fan pattern, but with two different yarns. Both have a different look about them. I like how changing yarns and needle sizes can alter the way one design looks. The first one:

Yes, it is sideways. It's actually draped over a door and I wanted to get as much of it in the shot as possible. Here's an up close and detailed photo:

The next scarf is the same pattern:

The detail is a little more noticeable and tighter. Up close:

Here's the snood I mentioned before. A snood being a tube scarf that you wear over your head. Duh.

Another sideways shot. Pink Floyd lyrics in the background.

Now on to this past Sunday. I wanted to make something themed for Valentine's Day for my co-workers, so I made heart shaped cookies. I made both sugar cookies and chocolate cookies. The sugar cookies are from here, and the chocolate roll-out cookies from here. The chocolate ones tasted like Cocoa Puffs. I haven't had Cocoa Puffs in years, but it is amazing the flavors that the brain remembers. Anyways, I followed both completely, I didn't alter the recipses like I do with everything else. I wasn't in the mood to deviate. Both turned out soft, and stayed soft, the next day. I decorated them both with icing, which I colored pink for the sugar cookies and reddish for the chocolate (and I added raspberry extract). Here's what I was working with:

Da tools.

Da dough, chillin'. I made a full batch of sugar, and a half batch of chocolate.

Da cookies, coolin'. I didn't get a shot of the chocolate ones cooling, though. Pretty, huh?

And just because I like close-ups.

Here's the finished products:

I just went all Jackson Pollack on the second and third batches. I got over 40 cookies, total. About 30 of those made it to work, and by the end of the day yesterday, 10 had survived. I don't expect there to be any left after today. I would say my best received cookies overall.

Cue The Victory Music!

Today, I made the V-Con Lemon Bars (recipe on the PPK, too). On the outside, I am quietly excited that they turned out so well. On the inside, I am jumping up and down with the Rocky theme music playing. I just don't even know what to say. Actually, I don't know if I have ever had a lemon bar before. Now, I have a belly full of lemony jelly. I was worried they wouldn't work. For one thing, I have never used agar flakes before, and another thing, I didn't have any arrowroot so I used cornstarch instead. Here's how it started:

The crust. No problems there. Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention I halved the recipe. I didn't want a whole pan of failure on my hands, and now I regret it since they turned out AMAZING.

After cooking the goo. Sweet, sweet lemony goo.

Precisely three hours after chilling in the fridge, and sprinkled with sugar. They set very well. Actually, I checked them after an hour and they had already set quite a bit. I waited to be on the safe side. It was hard, trust me.

Perfection on a plate. Sigh.

In between all the goo-chilling, I made cookies. Surprise. Friday I bought a package of Cool Mint Oreos and wanted to put them to good use. I went with this recipe from Have Cake, Will Travel (originally from Cookie Madness). I went as is with the recipe, only adding about a 1/8 teaspoon of wintermint oil to the mix. Overall they have a nice minty flavor, and the green Oreo filling adds color. I got 15 total.

Christmas Baking Wrap-up

The cookies were a hit, to say the least. Monday morning I marched my goods into work with me, and Tuesday morning I was presented with empty containers and lots of thank yous. Tuesday afternoon I got a phone call from a friend who received her box in the mail. She was overwhelmed by all the goodies. She said she would have to ration them out to her husband or they would end up as his dinner. The damage is as follows:



Many thanks to the post office who keeps coming through with their promise of a "next day delivery."

Before I added the fudge. This bucket went to the maintenance guys at work. A bucket full of cookies and fudge does not last long with 30 dudes around.

Cookies for a department upstairs from me. They are always so good to me. Lesson learned: when you're good to me, I give you food.

I didn't get a pic of the leftovers I took for my office. Obviously I don't like them nearly as much, as I didn't even bother to wrap them up pretty. I threw them in a tupperware container.

This afternoon, I made Zucchini Spice Gumdrop Bread. After reading about adding gumdrops to Zucchini Bread here, I just had to do it. I searched for the perfect bread recipe, and decided on the Zucchini Spice Bread in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen. I picked this book up used last summer, and I have yet to use it until today. I followed the recipe as is, only subbing safflower oil instead of melted butter, using two flax "eggs," half ww pastry flour/ap flour and a cup of gumdrops instead of nuts and raisins. It was a very low sugar bread, perfect for the gumdrops as they add a good bit of sweetness. I used Dots because they are my favorites. I overdose on them every year at Halloween. They are the only thing in the candy dish I am interested in, and they disappear fast. I quartered each one and sprinkled about 2 tablespoons of sugar over them in a bowl and rolled them around in it, until they were somewhat coated. I was short about a quarter cup of shredded zucchini, but they turned out great. They are moist and spicy.

When cut open, it looks very similar to a fruit cake.

Talk about creative thinking. The woman that thought this up is a genius.

Bake-A-Palooza: Day 2

After building my baking stamina up yesterday, I was able to bake with no pain today. I also had no distractions, therefore no ruined goods. First up, I whipped out La Dolce Vegan to make Wolffie's Peanut Butter Cookies. No subs, only I got more cookies than the recipe stated. No surprise, my cookies are either too big or two small.

They're taking up the bottom and half of the second tier. They are crispy and peanut buttery, though I have never been a big fan of crispy, so these are in no danger of being eaten by me before leaving the house tomorrow. I busted out my personal favs, the chocolate chip cookies from here, and used a Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate bar instead of chips. I put it in a lunch baggie and beat the crap out of it. It felt kind of good.

I love how the beat up candy bar makes the cookie look like it imploded. Ha. I realized as I was finishing up this batch that I was running out of EB sticks. I frantically searched for an oil based recipe. I wanted to make oatmeal raisin cookies, and the recipe I wanted to try called for 2 1/2 sticks. No way. I turned to Veganomicon, because I feel it could never steer me wrong. Inside were the Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Only, they called for brown rice syrup. It is impossible to find brown rice syrup within 50 miles of here. I happened to have EXACTLY 1/3 cup of agave nectar in the cupboard. The bottle was literally sputtering out the last drops. Sigh. Anyways, the cookies are dreamy. They are chewy and have an AWESOME flavor.

There's the raw cookie guts taunting me.

Up close, and loaded with raisins. I also ended up with about 37 cookies, rather than the 30 stated. Once, again, my boo-boo. Any boo-boo that results in more cookies is an alright mistake by me.

Finally, I made Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge from Peanut Butter Planet by Robin Robertson. I absolutely love this book. Everything in it uses peanut butter or peanuts. Truly amazing. I've made the Fantasy Brownies before, and they rocked my tiny little world.

Fudge: It's What's For Dinner. I wish. Here it is hardening in the fridge. I licked the wooden spoon until I was in danger of getting splinters in my tongue. It was THAT good. I was willing to risk a splinter.

I am tired. I need a nap.

Bake-A-Palooza: Day 1

Five straight hours of baking. Five hours of sugar and 80's music. This was the beginning of the Christmas baking season. Today I managed to knock out three varieties of cookies and some brownies. I had two pans of brownies, but sadly, the second pan didn't turn out well. I scalded the chocolate, therefore giving them that burnt taste. In my (careless) defense, I was on the phone at the time (multi-tasking!). I started out with a full batch of these pecan sables that I have made previously. I did add some chopped pecans in addition to the ground pecans. Made a big difference flavor-wise. The end result all wrapped up and ready to go in the mail (the picture was an afterthought):

I had my cookie agenda planned out last weekend, but on an impulse last ngiht I decided to try the Rumnog Cookies from V-con. Only I had no rum. So they are more like Rum(less)nog Cookies. I briefly toyed with the names, "Noggies" and "Nookies." Both sound kind of dirty. The cookies are pretty though, and have a nice spice to them. Instead of plain ole s'milk, I used Silk Nog, and also used it in place of the rum.

Preeeeeety. Now, this is the point in which the phone rang, and I was distracted during the entire time I made the Ginger Sparkle Cookies from VWaV and the brownies. Only the brownies suffered. I made the Ginger Sparkle Cookies earlier this year for my co-worker's and they sucked them down. I expect more of the same this time.

Here's another pic of my multi-tiered cooling racks; a must-have when you have no counter space.

I had already started wrapping the cookies up in clear plastic wrap when I remembered that we had colored wrap from the previous year. I know blue and pink aren't Christmas-y, but it will have to do. The "Noggies" waiting to be packed away.

The gang altogether. Ignore my trash can. Please.

Brownies fresh outta the oven, pre-cut. These were the only survivors. They weren't so pretty when I packed them up in foil though. These are the the same as the brownies I posted before. Once I find something I like, I tend to get in a rut. A yummy rut.

Slightly underbaked. Maybe by a few minutes. It just makes them fudgier.

I had planned on making two more types of cookies today, but I went out this afternoon and didn't feel like making anymore today. Tomorrow there will be more. Oh, there will be. There can't be a Day 1, without a Day 2.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Redux

Saturday I was left to my devices - all alone in the house with a cookie craving. I tried to ignore it. I tried to fight it. I tried to talk myself out of it with the reason that I didn't have any chocolate chips. None of those tactics worked. Turns out I'm an easily swayed wimp. I pulled out a candy bar from my stash and chopped it up for a half batch of these. I made no changes other than the chocolatey chunks, as they were perfect already. See what I mean?




Though, this batch did come out somewhat fuller, thicker. Whatevs, they were good.

Purdy.....

Their beauty is blinding. Okay, so it's the oven light.

"Finger" Cookies...Part Deux

In true, and more timely, Halloween fashion I made bloody finger cookies again this weekend. The only difference being that they are a slightly more festive green color.

After about 14 fingers I got impatient, so I took the rest of the dough and made a giant hand; a "Herman Munster" hand. Man, do I love The Munsters.

Coooooooookies

Cookie orgy! These are some amazing chocolate chip cookies. Seriously. Thin and chewy. See recipe here. Ch-ch-check it out.

These cookies are not shy. See that up close and personal pornolicious shot? Mmmm, melty...

On a non-baking, yet still food related note, I snapped this pic at a local grocery store the other day:

Truth in advertising? I don't know if anyone else even noticed. Certainly not the person stocking the candy.

Food Porn Extraveganza!

In a marathon baking session this morning, I managed to make two different kind of cookies and two kinds of muffin tops. Yesterday at Goodwill I found a muffin top pan for only a couple of bucks - it was love at first sight.

First up, a Blackberry Rhubarb Cornflour Muffin Top. Very loosely based on the Strawberry Jalepeno Muffin recipe from ExtraVeganZa. These are tart. I love tart. Not to mention fluffy and moist. I used applesauce instead of oil, and unbleached naturally white flour along with the corn flour.

Next, I made the very best Pumpkin Muffins from VWaV. They really are the best. Once again I used applesauce and a combo of whole wheat and naturally white flour. I halved both muffin recipes to get 6 a piece, as my muffin top pan only has six "tops."

Here we have the Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies from VWaV. I added walnuts, raisins and used applesauce. I halved the recipe and got about 13 cookies. I always make my cookies too big. Not that I am complaining.

Saving the best for last, obviously. Bloody Finger Cookies. I saw the recipe here last year, but didn't get around to making them until now. They are tons of fun to make, and look super fab.

Up close

Butt shot

One more for good measure, and because I am so proud. These bad boys are getting mailed to a friend tomorrow. They will go perfect with the little devil hat I made for her son.