Lemon poppyseed yogurt with raspberries and cream

There are a two things that are on my dietary blacklist: bagels and muffins. They've reached the status of Do Not Eat, ever. EVER!!

These are also two of my favorite things. Funny how that works out, isn't it? Some days I wake up with an insatiable urge to devour everything in sight, and at the top of this list is always one thing: lemon poppy seed muffins.

To overcome these binge eating meltdowns, I've come up with a few recipes that sate my longing for all things carbohydrate, and leaves me feeling happy and full. This is one of those recipes.

Almost painfully easy, inexpensive, and quick: this is the perfect recipe for a girl (or guy) on the go. Throw it together in a cup on the way to work or class, and eat it on the way.

Ingredients:
Lemon yogurt
poppy seeds
fresh berries
soy creamer (optional)

In a small bowl or cup, mix the yogurt with poppy seeds to taste. Top with fresh or frozen berries of your choice, and drizzle with soy creamer. Sprinkle poppy seeds for garnish. Enjoy.

That's it. Seriously. I told you it was easy.

Peach vanilla cake

I am still here!! I have been so busy with school and work lately, that I haven't had time to make anything lovely. On top of that, I lost the cord that connects my camera to my computer. This photo was taken with the camera on my phone.

This is a little cake I baked for a dinner party I had on Friday. Recipe to come!!

Spice-kissed turtle shells.

If you want to use this recipe and avoid honey, go ahead and use your favorite sweetener. Agave nectar, pure maple syrup, or brown rice syrup should all work fine. Get creative! Baking, in my humblest of opinions, is not so much a science as everyone else seems to think.

So now that that's out of the way, let's get the party started. Save these muffins for one of those dreary rainy days, or for a day when you're feeling homesick. The warm ginger and peanut butter will make you feel right at home.




Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups dark brewed tea (I used cinnamon apple spice)

Preheat the oven to 325. Brew the spiced tea of your choice, add 1/2 teaspoon honey and set aside to steep. Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Add peanut butter and mix until crumbly. Take the remaining honey and drizzle it over the mixture. Do not overmix. You want this to be more of a ribbon than anything else. While the tea is still warm (but not boiling), add to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Grease or line a muffin pan and fill to about 2/3 (this is the one situation where you actually WANT a muffin top!).

Because I used a mini-muffin pan, I only baked these for about fifteen minutes. Bake longer if you're using a larger pan. When all else fails, revert to the age old trick of sticking a toothpick in your muffins. When the toothpick is batter-free, you're good to go!

Making the peanut butter glaze is a bit less exact. Warm some peanut butter until it is slightly thicker than a syrup. Add honey, cinnamon and ginger to taste. It should be the consistency of molasses. This is a really essential part of the recipe because without the glaze, the muffins are a bit dry.

To assemble: dip the cooled muffins in the glaze and set aside until the glaze thickens. A carob drizzle adds a nice visual touch, and gives the muffins an extra kick of warmth!




Apples and cinnamon peanut butter really make me think of home. What sorts of things remind you of home?

Petit Fours

I'm coming clean, here. I love tiny desserts. When I go to bakeries, I spent a good ten minutes eying the colorful suckers before I finally settle on a loaf of bread.

So, naturally, when I heard that a friend was having a birthday, I jumped at the chance to make single-serving cakes. I had a box of seedless mandarins sitting around, begging to be used, so I decided to attempt to whip up some sort of spiced orange cake.

What I came up with was this: layers of alternating cakes - one featuring candied mandarins, and one earl gray spiked and syrup soaked. For the filling, I used raspberry preserves and raspberry buttercream frosting.

I decided to attempt to challenge myself, so I bought a candy thermometer and set about making my first batch of poured fondant frosting.

It ended up looking okay, but the taste was cloying and unpleasant and just left something to be desired. After trying it out on one cake, I used a bit as glue for raspberries, tossed the rest of the batch, and left the cakes basically naked and chocolate-drizzled.



I wasn't planning on posting this when I started out, so I eyeballed the whole thing and didn't write down any of the measurements. Next time someone has a party, though, I will definitely be writing this one out for you guys!

Coconut poppyseed pancakes

I don't eat breakfast very often, but when I do, I like to make something decadent. Pancakes and waffles are two of my favorite things, but they can get very boring if you make the same buttermilk pancakes every time.

Luckily, pancakes are also one of the easiest things to make interesting Try this recipe out and see if you still find pancakes boring!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp cold earth balance
1 1/2 C coconut milk
1/2 tbsp poppy seeds

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl, and cut in the cold earth balance until the mixture is crumbly. (I know this sounds strange, but it really makes a difference!) Mix in the coconut milk 1/2 cup at a time, then the poppy seeds. You should have a mixture much thicker than you are used to for pancakes.

Grease a heated pan with earth balance, and scoop some of the batter onto the pan. You should have to push the batter around to get it to spread to the right size. These pancakes will not bubble like regular pancakes!! Keep a close eye on them and flip them at your own discretion.

Enjoy!



I topped my pancakes with a bit of leftover lemon frosting and raspberry preserves. Yum! I think they would also be great with currants or something else very tart. What other ideas do you have?