Auradell's Blog

Veggie Pizza

2012-01-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

I received a new baking book from a friend when I was working at the zoo. I just now have had a chance to try some of the recipes out. I have made 2 desserts and 1 savory dish from my The Baking Bible. Last night I made a veggie pizza and it turned out delicious! I love this book except for the fact that it is made for Europeans with the measurements and the wording. I am not used to graham crackers being called "sweet biscuits" haha. I will try to have more pictures soon!

Everyone Loves Homemade Cookies!

2011-11-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

I plan to sew a whole batch of these cuties before the end of the month to hopefully raise some Christmas present money :) I have to say the bigger on is my favorite and I think I will make more of him. I have so many smaller scraps left that I will have to think of some little plushies to make as well. Maybe some cat toy sized cookies :3

Glücklich Martinstag!

2011-11-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

November 11th is the day that German children celebrate Saint Martin. This holiday is a reminder to be kind to one another. Since I am a German major, I went and helped my German teachers and their children make lanterns (as well as my own). We then lit our lanterns and walked around ECU campus singing German songs. It was a lot of fun even though it was cold and I'm glad I was able to experience it. For more info on the holiday here is a site explaining it :)

My Lantern :)

Anime con sewing projects

2011-11-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

I try to make all of my costumes whenever possible since it's usually cheaper and much more satisfying that buying a premade one. I only had time to make one new costume for Nekocon this past weekend in Virginia. It was a very small con and if it hadn't been for the people I hung out with it would have been quite a let down. It was only about a third of the size of AZ and not many people brought more than one cosplay so we saw the same people over and over instead of a constant stream of new costumes. It also would have been a lot more fun if I had not been sick and up to my ears in homework but that couldn't be helped. I was very pleased with how my Rin from Blue Exorcist turned out. I was able to find a handful of other people cosplaying from the same show so that made it even more fun. I spent about 7 hours sewing my characters familiar in the show, a cat named Kuro (Blacky). I LOVE how well she turned out even if it did take a lot of work and I got a lot of compliments on my tail (made by me), cosplay, and how well my Kuro turned out. Over all a pretty good weekend I'm just exhausted from all the walking and lack of sleep. Hopefully I'll be able to get a group together for Katsucon in February so I'm going to have to start working on a new cosplay for that!

Brrraaaiiiinnnnnsssss

2011-11-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

My amazing mother sent me a box full of Halloween stuff to my apartment as a surprise a couple days before Halloween (I know, late post). In it was a book on how to make zombie felties. I plan on making several of them but so far I have only had time to make the zombie bunny. He's so tiny and terrifyingly adorable. ^_^

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

I am having a very laid back Halloween this year mostly because I haven't really had time to do anything other than school. I did dress up and go to a friend's party and then watch some halloween movies. No baking to show off this year but I have been doing some sewing so I'll be sure to post that soon. :)

Amaterasu hat

2011-10-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

The title says it all! Been sewing a lot and since it's getting cold thought I'd make a hat :)

MIA

2011-07-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting anything in a long time. I've been doing an internship at the San Diego Zoo for the summer. I wasn't able to bring anything with me so I haven't made any cakes but I have been baking and cooking. I'll be sure and get back to work on decorating cakes as soon as I'm back in NC :)

Ocean Bracelet

2011-04-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have taken a break from cakes after my very busy month of March. Instead I made a bracelet for my friend. The design is not my original idea but based on a bracelet she liked by Disney who wanted $70 for it... I cost me about $30-40 to make it. I think it turned out really well for my first time making a bracelet with no instruction. The shells are real ones I found in my collection from beach trips. I have a ton of stuff to make more jewelry so I think after exam are finally over with I will make up so more pieces :) If anyone would like something just let me know! I will have plenty of time over the summer.

To-toro Totoro!

2011-04-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

After watching many of Miyazaki's movies, My Neighbor Totoro has to be my favorite. I started getting my boyfriend into his movies too and he also loves Totoro so that's what I decided to make him for his birthday! This cake was so much fun to make and turned out so pretty. I would really like to make more cakes with his characters on it. I also made my boyfriends birthday present which is the nanerpuss from the Denny's commercial. I am starting to get better at sewing with all of the little projects and cosplay outfits. Hope to have more little projects posted later :) Happy Birthday Hunter and Tanner!! <3

Pokemon Cake!

2011-04-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure my whole generation at least played Pokemon when they were little if they are not still doing so today. Well, my friend is one of those people who still loves Pokemon so for her 21st Birthday I made her a Pokemon cake! Her favorite Pokemon is Luxray so I made a little one out of fondant which she kept afterwards to dry out :) I love that you can do that with fondant. I made a chocolate Pokeball cake with vanilla buttercream and a band of fondant around the middle. I liked how it turned out but because I was rushed and it was really hot out the buttercream started melting...So I was not happy about that. But everyone loved the cake and how it tasted so that's all that matters! Happy Birthday Rachel! Glad you liked your present :D

Wordless Wednesday: Sweet face

2011-03-24T06:53:00.001-07:00

Kitty and Yarn Ball Cake

2011-03-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my mom's birthday last weekend and I made a new cake! Took a while for her to figure out what she wanted me to make for her but she was happy with what I came up with. I got the idea from a cake book I found a while ago. I wish I actually had the book so I could've used the actual directions but I think it turned out pretty well with me just using the picture as a guide. I made a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and then my homemade fondant. I really need a bigger cake container. I had to wait till 10 min before singing happy birthday to put the kitty on top since the cake lid would've smashed him otherwise. I have more cake next week for my friend's birhtday then my boyfriends then mine! Can't wait,this is such a busy month for me but I'm loving it.

Adventures in Gaming

2011-03-11T22:16:00.000-08:00

Well I baked cupcakes for RUaGamer?'s grand re-opening last Friday. There was a really good turn out and all my cupcakes got devoured :) Sorry for the lack of pictures but they were nothing special. I just made chocolate with vanilla frosting and yellow with chocolate frosting. Loving my new job and being able to play for free. I finally beat Dead Space at 1am this morning! It was so much fun but it kept scaring my friend who was watching me play (and no, it was not a girl...). I got the pro Military suit for beating the game and it kind of makes me want to play the game again just because I'm wearing that. Since I get to play for free at my job I started playing Dead

Space 2 tonight and so far it's amazing. Hope to beat it this weekend! :D

(Military Suit of Left)

Oh and new pics of my mom's birthday cake soon!

Just another Tuesday

2011-02-22T05:52:00.000-08:00

I had been hoping for more cakes to do but no cake orders yet. I think I might make a cake just for the fun of it and take it to work or something. If I have the time I will definitely work on that this week. My mom, one of my best friend's, my boy friend and his brother, and a couple more all have birthdays in March! So I can't wait to be busy and covered in flour and buttercream again ^_^ I also might go and take another Michaels class once I get some money and find my certificate for the first class...don't really want to have to take that one again. So here is an older picture of my blue tongue skink baby, Lafoo. I'm off to take a midterm now, wish me luck!

Neue Rezepte machen mir Spaß!

2011-02-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

After taking some Valentines cupcakes to class with me Monday I have a couple of people interested in ordering from me! I have one order from my German teacher. I have never made a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake but I LOVE playing with new recipes. I found a vegan one that she thought sounded good from Vegan Dream and I got to work. I changed up the recipe a bit to fit her personal requests and tried to go with my own look instead of the traditional rings on top. It was a quick and easy cake to put together but it was very small. I was expecting to fill the bunt cake pan I was using but it only came up about half way so if you want to make this recipe for more than just a couple people I would really suggest doubling it. I like the way it turned out and I hope my teacher and her husband are not disappointed!

Valentine's Day Treats

2011-02-14T09:30:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone had a lovely one, I certainly did! My wonderful boyfriend came to see me at school and took me out to our favorite restaurant in Greenville, Tripps. He brought me a dozen roses as well :) Before hecame over I was busy the whole morning making sweet bite sized treats for him. Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting on one plate and Chocolate cake with buttercream frosting on another. I love making cupcakes so much because you can decorate each one a different way as opposed to an entire cake. I took the rest to my classmates today which was much appreciated in my noon class. I'm hoping to get some cake orders after this since I also gave out my card with the cuppy cakes. I have a LOT of birthdays coming up in March so I will be a very busy baker and blogger soon. <3

Go Packers!

2011-02-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

I am not much of a football fan. I have never sat through an entire football game but I do root for teams from the cities I've lived in. Since my brother was born in Wisconsin I've been a Packer fan most of my life. SOO glad they won the super bowl! I think I watched the Black Eyed Peas half time show and maybe 10 min of the game off and on. Good job guys, suck it Stealer Fans! ~.^

Dead Space Cake

2011-01-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

This is the cake I made for my brother's 19th birthday back in December. It is Issac's helmet from Dead Space (video game for those of you who don't play). The cake is red velvet, covered in vanilla butter cream and then MM fondant. This cake was pretty easy and only took me about a day and a half and I made everything from scratch. I have an awesome picture of us cutting it open but it's on a different card that I don't have right now. I have not had many cake requests and have been too busy with classes to play on my own. Hope to have some more pictures up soon though. Hope everyone had a great MLK long weekend!

Christmas noms 1

2010-12-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

With my German oral exam, final exams, Christmas shopping, and work I have had zero time to bake or blog. However, now that I finally have a break I intend to catch back up a bit. I LOVE watching the food network/cooking channel and I saw a Martha Stewart Christmas special the other day and decided to make some of her cookies. In my haste to get these cookies made as Christmas presents I did not get any pictures but I can assure (as can my boyfriend) that they turned out delicious. I made Martha's Noel Nut Balls and Chewy Molasses-Spice Cookies. The latter were by far my favorite and the only ginger bread type cookie I have found so far that I like. Maybe I've just had bad ginger snap experience (I know there's a difference but I had only had the snap so I thought they all tasted that bad). I am going to be doing some more baking before Christmas which is coming up fast. I have also been doing a lot of hand made Christmas presents which I hope to post pictures of soon (probably after Christmas so none of the receivers see their presents early :P ). If you are wanting to make some of your own decorations or just make something as a family, FamilyCircle.com has some great ideas on their site. I hope everyone has their shopping done and if you don't... good luck. More holiday baking, cooking, and crafts on the way!

*Picture from MarthaStewart.com*

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-17T18:58:00.001-08:00

Vegan MoFo Day ???

2010-11-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

I am soooo sorry for the lack of posts!! I can't believe how much time flies when you have no free time O.O I will do my best to post a lot for the rest of the month. I will definitely have a great Thanksgiving post for you wonderful readers! I think I'll post a dessert today since it's getting to be that baking time of the year. Have you ever seen that huge, delicious looking cake at Panera? Their coffee cake is suppose to be amazing and I love having a little something sweet to go with coffee so I found this awesome recipe and can't wait to make it for either Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Vegan Coffee Cake

Topping:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or medium)
4 tbsp Earth Balance, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cake:
1 cup vanilla or plain soymilk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup packed brown sugar (light or medium)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
Egg replacer for 1 egg, mixed with necessary water according to package directions (I like Bob’s Red Mill Brand)
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F
9 x 13-inch glass baking dish, greased
Serves 12

1. Topping: In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, melted Earth Balance and cinnamon, mixing well. Set aside.

2. Cake: In a measuring cup, mix together the soymilk and vinegar to create “buttermilk” and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder, mixing well. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl), combine the sugars, oil, applesauce and vanilla, beating well. Add the reconstituted egg replacer, beating on high speed until well beaten, about 20 seconds or so. Alternately add both the reserved “buttermilk” and flour mixtures to the mixer bowl, beating just until smooth.

3. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle reserved topping evenly over batter. Bake in preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven, place on a rack and let cool completely before cutting cake. If desired, lightly dust cooled cake with powdered sugar.

(picture courtesy of Google Images)**

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-10T03:25:00.000-08:00

Vegan Mofo Day 9

2010-11-10T03:09:00.000-08:00

Some people (not me) love french toast so it would be pretty upsetting to have to give that up on becoming vegan. But of course, like most recipes, there Is a vegan version that even I find pretty tasty. This recipe is going to be based on serving size but I just eyeball it. If you know how to make regular french toast this recipes should be no problem for you.

Soy/almond milk
Sliced white bread (sour dough)
Cinnamon
Sugar
Cooking spray

Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip both sides of one slice of bread into the milk. Place into a heated and lightly sprayed pan. Cook until one side is golden brown and then flip. Place onto a plate and add cinnamon and sugar and TaaDaa! Awesome cruelty free French Toasties.

***Beautiful picture courtesy of Naomi

Sushi Cheese Cake

2010-11-08T06:41:00.001-08:00

I'm glad I finally have a cake to share with you :) It was my room mate's boyfriend's birthday yesterday and she asked me to make his cake. He loves cheese cake and sushi so she loved the idea I found to put the two together. It didn't turn out quite as pretty as I had hoped but they both loved the taste and how they looked and that's all that matters in my book. Especially since I'm very critical of my work. The chocolate wasn't easy to work with but it didn't take as long to put together as I had anticipated.
More cakes on the way soon! I've had a lot of requests so we'll see how many actually follow threw. Can't wait :)

Vegan MoFo Day 8

2010-11-08T06:36:00.000-08:00

YES! Finally caught up. My lovely readers will have plenty of recipes to choose from today ~.^ I gave you more of a summery recipes so now I'll give you a fall/winter recipe. Again it is a stuffed squash dish and is twice as filling as the zucchini. This is also a pretty easy recipe as well as inexpensive. This recipe will serve 4 hungry people but be prepared to feel stuffed when you're finished.

Stuffed Acorn Squash
2 acorn squash
1 cup wild rice (Buying the boxed kind works great)
2 veggie bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
a small yellow onion
2-3 stalks of celery
1/4 cup (or so) chopped walnuts
1 1/4 teaspoon (or so) each dried tarragon and sage
a dash of garlic powder
salt and ground black pepper TT

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Start cooking the rice. I just use the seasoning that comes with the boxed wild rice and then add the salt, pepper, and garlic. But feel free to use plain wild rice.

3. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Put a little oil on the cut sides and in a casserole dish then put them cut side down in the dish. Roast them for one hour, or until they collapse easily when pushed with a wooden spoon.

4. Chop the onion, celery, and walnuts. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Put in the onion and saute it for about 3 minutes, then add the celery and saute it for around 2 more, then add the walnuts and saute a little longer until the onion is translucent, the celery is on the soft side, and the walnuts are a little toasted.

5. If the rice isn't done yet, turn off the flame and stir in the vinegar, tarragon, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper. If the rice is done add that to the pan and then add the vinegar and spices and continue heating it a little to meld the flavors.

6. Your squash should be done by now so spoon the rice mixture into the cavity and voila! This is a great meal all by itself! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. :)

Vegan MoFo Day 7

2010-11-08T06:16:00.000-08:00

If you have not gone to Vegweb yet I highly recommend it! It's a whole community of vegan and vegetarian cooks sharing recipes and giving cooking tips. I have found a lot of really good recipes and many of them have become favorites of mine. I prefer recipes that focus on vegetables instead of ones that try to imitate meat meals. This zucchini recipes is great for the summer when it's vegetables are in season and it's very easy to make. This recipe is for one person but can easily be modified to feed more people.

Zucchini Boats
~ 2T olive oil
~ 1 zucchini
~ 1 red bell pepper
~ 1/4-1/2 onion
~ 2-3 cloves garlic
~ Sliced mushrooms (cooked or raw) TT
~ 1/2 c diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
~ Salt and pepper TT
~ Handful of chopped fresh basil
~ Whole wheat bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Slice zucchini in half and scoop out the insides making sure to leave a rim and not poke holes in the bottom of the zucchini (make a boat). Place the insides in a bowl.

3. Add oil to a baking sheet and rub the inside part of the zucchini in the oil and then place on sheet so scooped out area is facing up.
4. Dice onion and add to a oiled and heated pan. Saute till translucent and then add minced garlic. Cook for a minute or 2 and then add mushrooms. If using cooked mushrooms, cook long enough to heat through but if using raw, cook until they have released their juices.

5. Add bell pepper, tomatoes, and zucchini insides. Cook until tender and add salt, pepper, and basil to taste. Depending on the ingredients you use, there may be a lot of juice and so this will determine how long you simmer the vegetables but it usually takes around 15 min.

6. Add bread crumbs and mix to absorb some of the juice and help everything stick together and adjust seasoning. Fill up the scooped out zucchini with vegetable mix. You may have left overs which taste great eaten by themselves.

7. Place in oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until Zucchini boats are tender when poked with a fork. This dish is surprisingly filling because of the amount of vegetables. Even my omni family members love this recipe and it's nice to have when I don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

Sadly once again not my picture but at least it's one of the actual recipe.

Vegan Mofo Day 6

2010-11-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Asian food and they make is so easy to make most of the meals vegan since the focus is on vegetables and grains and only use meat as a flavor element. I recently discovered Sukiyaki and it's become one of my favorite Japaneses dishes. It's a great recipe to use for a hurried meal since you can pretty much just use whatever vegetable you have in the fridge.

A handful of shirataki noodles or cellophane noodles
7-8 shiitake mushrooms
1 block enoki mushrooms
1 medium negi
1/2 Chinese cabbage (or Bok choy)
1 yaki-dofu (grilled tofu)
For sukiyaki sauce:
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsps sake
5 T sugar
3/4 cup water

Chop up all of the vegetables into bite size pieces. Traditionally you are suppose to have a pot on a portable stove and cook everything at the table but I just make it on the stove and everyone severs themselves that way. Mix sauce ingredients and add to pan. Add all ingredients to the pan, making little piles for each different food. Simmer and use chop sticks or a wooden spoon to make sure everything gets cooked in the sauce. Cook until desired tenderness and serve.

If anyone has a tasty traditional Japanese recipe please feel free to share!
*Pictures as soon as I get my hands on some Sake!

Vegan Mofo Day 5

2010-11-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know this is kind of cheating since it's not food but now that it's cold I have found myself drinking a soy chai latte at least once a day. Because I of Hiatal hernia I can no longer really enjoy coffee but I find my chai even better. How ever, I am getting tired of blowing $4.30 at Starbucks because they charge me extra for soy...even though it's the same price as regular milk now -_- Sooo I came up with an easy way to make this at your house and save a trip and money.

You'll need:

Chai tea bags
Water
Soy/almond/rice milk (I use almond)
Emulsion blender (or if you're lucky and have money, an espresso machine with a steam wand)
Honey

Since in the cafes they use a concentrated chai blend, one tea bag it's going to cut it. If you use fresh tea leaves or the stingless teabags (which are stronger) one should be fine (or a half filled tea steeper) but you'll need 2 tea bags of the kind with the string if you want that strong chai flavor.
Add 1 cup milk of choice to a sauce pan and turn heat to medium and then add 1/3 cup water. Add tea bag(s) to the milk mix and slowly bring to a boil stirring occasionally.
Once the milk starts to boil, turn off heat and remove tea bag. Now is where you can use the emulsion blender or steam wand or even just pass the mix back and forth between the pan and a cup or bowl until frothy since that's part of what makes it a latte.
Add honey for your preferred sweetness and enjoy on a cold morning! :)

(I did not take the lovely picture but found it on photobucket)

Vegan MoFo 4

2010-11-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

What's better on a weekend night with friends than a warm cheesey pizza?! The only problem is, there are (in most cities) no vegan pizza places. Not to worry, you can make your own and it will be a lot tastier than any delivery. After doing a little prep work with the dough, the rest of the pizza takes no time at all. Just add toppings and bake. Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:
1.5 cups warm (115degree) water
2 packets active dry yeast
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for bowl
2 T sugar
2 t coarse salt
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour

1. Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 min. Brush another large bowl with oil.
2. In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil, and salt. Stir in flours with wooden spoon until sticky dough forms (I usually just use my hands at this point). Knead a couple of seconds into a ball. Transfer to oiled bowl; brush top of dough with oil.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. With floured hands, kneed until smooth, about 2-5 min. divide into 2 balls (the whole thing makes an XL pizza).

Baking:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Use a pizza pan or a large upside down cookie sheet and cover with oil. Roll out dough to desired size and thickness. Fill with desired toppings. Bake until crust is a golden brown; about 18-20 min.

My Vegan Fillings:
I usually chop up some fresh tomatoes and saute them with mushrooms, fresh herbs (basil and thyme), and onions. When that is the desired consistency I add it to the dough and then cover either in fresh goat cheese (I know, not vegan but I love it!) or vegan mozzarella. I think that's the only store bought vegan cheese I have liked so far that actually acts and tastes like real cheese. After the pizza is done I top with some more chopped fresh herbs and ENJOY!

WARNING! This pizza (because it's wheat) is VERY filling but you may find it hard to stop your self from eating 3 thick slices. Have fun making your own pizza :)

Vegan Mofo Day 3

2010-11-04T05:08:00.000-07:00

I have another healthy tasty breakfast idea for my readers this morning. I love oatmeal and it's even better now that the weather is actually staying cold.

1 c almond milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 banana
craisins/raisins TT
Cinnamon TT
Raw assorted nuts, chopped

~ Add almond milk to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
~ Add oats, raisins, and craisins. I like adding them now so that they plump up a bit.
~ After oats have cooked for a while and the milk has reduced, add the cinnamon.
~ While the oats finish cooking, place a peeled ripe banana in a bowl and mash with a fork.
~ Add cooked oats to the bowl, stir. Then add the mixed nuts and stir. Enjoy!
~ On days after I work out I like to add some vegan protein to this as well

I have had to work several late nights but tonight I will be done early and can actually make a dinner post as well :) Sorry for the lack of pretty pictures but it still tastes wonderful so I don't mind.

Vegan Mofo Day 2

2010-11-03T03:29:00.000-07:00

Due to my terrible internet I have fallen behind already! *sigh* But I shall be caught up after today. I think today I will share the best tofu scramble ever! I use to eat an egg white omelette every morning for breakfast so when I became vegan I started to crave my morning eggs. After trying several scrambles and almost giving up, I found this delicious one in a Women's Health magazine I believe. I've had it for a couple years now so I can't quite remember for sure but I do know the recipe which is all that matters :) Honestly, most of these recipes (and all recipes really) are to taste (TT) so I'll just write it out how I make it.

Oil (just enough for pan)
1/4 block firm tofu, drained/squeezed of excess water
Onion, chopped TT
Turmeric
Black beans
Salt and Pepper
Salsa
Tortilla

1. Heat pan with oil and then add chopped onions. Saute till translucent and just starting to caramelize.
2. Crumble tofu into pan with onion.
3. Stir to evenly heat then add turmeric, salt, pepper, and black beans. Stir again to distribute spices and then saute for another couple min. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking.
4. Turn off heat and add salsa. Mix it all up and then add to your Tortilla for a Mexican breakfast burrito or just add to some toast.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Sorry for the lack of pictures. I will try to add one next time I enjoy this recipe or if someone would like to send me theirs I will be glad to post it. :)

Vegan MoFo Day 1!

2010-11-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is my first time joining in durning Vegan MoFo so I will try my best to not disappoint! :) I think my plan will just be to share some of my favorite, easy vegan entrees and snacks. Since I just told everyone how good the vegan cookies are that I made I thought I'd start off with that one. I personally enjoy these with dark chocolate but feel free to add caramel, peanut butter, or whatever else tickles your fancy!

2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt cinnamon, to taste, optional
vegan chocolate chips, to taste
1 cup raw sugar (turbinado)
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in chips. Make a well in the center and set aside.
2. In a medium size bowl, add together sugar and oil; mix well. Add the vanilla and then add the water; mix well. Add the wet to the well in the dry. Mix it well but be careful not to overwork it. Add more chips if you need to.
3. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Put them in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets (top to bottom & 180 degree rotation). Bake another 4 minutes and check them. The cookies are done when they seem a little bit softer then you want them to be. They will harden up some as they cool. I usually go in two minute increments from here until they get to where I like them.
4. Take them out when they are done and move them to wire cooling racks. If they split or come apart when you try to remove them let them sit on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to the racks.
Enjoy!

Sadly this was the only picture with my cookies.

Halloween Goodies

2010-11-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

I plan all year for Halloween weekend and then it's over so fast. My friend and I decided to finally have a bake party this year. I made some recipes I had and some new ones but they all turned out great :) I started my day off right with a lovely Halloween green smoothie. So tasty and healthy, maybe it canceled out a couple of the cookies I had later that night ~.^
I spent all day baking for what turned out to be only 9 people but everyone that was there loved my baked goods and we all had a great time. I made my personal favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe that I found on Vegweb. I love playing with it by adding cinnamon or chunky peanut butter and they always turn out delicious.
Next I made vegan red velvet cupcakes with not so vegan cream cheese frosting brains. I usually don't care for frosting but this stuff was perfect! Turned out to be a great consistency and not too sweet (if there's such a thing when it comes to frosting).

I love this time of year for all of the spice and pumpkin recipes so I had to make some pumpkin cupcakes. I topped theses with a thin layer of the left over red velvet icing as well as fondant ghosts. They were so much fun to make and I love the way they turned out!

I wanted Hunter to help me with the baking (just because I love when he helps ^.^) so I waited for him to make the sandwich sugar cookies. I bought the cutters a year or two ago at a William Sonoma sale and was so happy to finally use them. They did a good job but the cookies were so time consuming we were almost late for the party. I'm glad I made them though since they were everyone's favorite. Since I didn't really have the time or the money to get all vegan ingredients, the chip cookies and the red velvet cupcakes where the only vegan items.

Ms Yuki also decided to help by trying to ninja all of the goodies when I was not looking.

We had a great night with our friends and dressing up which is my favorite part of Halloween. I was able to find pretty much everything for my Heather Mason SH3 costume and what I couldn't find I improvised.
Hunter was The Spirit from the movie but didn't want to wear his mask in the picture so he's just dressed as my arm candy ~.^ The rest of my Halloween weekend was spent watching movies with Hunter and studying for my awesome chemistry exam which was this morning at 9am! Thanks teacher ^_^ I hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready for an awesome month of Vegan food with the 4th Vegan MoFo! This is my first time signing up and I hope I don't disappoint! I will try my hardest to post Something vegan everyday like a good blogger. :)

Exams, work, and cosplay!

2010-10-13T03:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long dry spell in posts. I'm pretty sure only my family reads these posts anyway but that's ok :D I have been too busy to do much in the kitchen other than quick meals for myself. I had 3 exams back to back last week and several coming up in the near future. I do have a couple cake orders for the upcoming months and will definitely have pictures for Halloween. I can't wait! I love Halloween and this year my friend and I are going to do something I've always wanted to do and that is have a Halloween party with FOOD! She and I are going to bake, make some finger food (nothing fancy we Are college students), and decorate her place. Not totally sure what I'll have time and money to put together but I will take a lot of pictures. My boyfriend and I are working on costumes not only for Halloween but also for AUSA which is coming up in November. I'm going to be Heather Mason from Silent Hill 3 and he's going to be the Spirit (movie version) for Halloween. No, we don't match at all but we're making up for it at AUSA ~.^

(Kisuke and Yoruichi costumes are almost finished!)

More good news! I finally have a job again. It took me two months due to my jobs lack of communication skills with their managers but I've made it on the schedule. They better not try to make me work this weekend during the State game which is my first and only ECU football game or on Halloween. I've worked too hard on both of those to miss.

I was also able to find my Joanna a home over the break! I hated to give her away but I didn't have the time, money, or room to take proper care of her. Plus the person I gave her to built her a custom wooden cage before I even gave her to him so I know he's going to take good care of her :)

Hopefully it will stay cold soon and I can try out some of my hot recipes from my Veganomics cook book. I love fall and the recipes that go along with it ^_^

Win an awesome shirt!

2010-10-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

Giveaway time indeed! Who wants to win a rad shirt of your choosing from Akumu Ink?! Of course in the size of your choice in either male or female *^_^*(link on the designs below)

To enter, all you have to do is blog and/or tweet about this giveaway
and leave a comment with a link to your post/tweet, or do both to have
more chances to win (Other forms of promoting this giveaway are
encouraged). A winner will be picked at random.

(click here to see what you can win! so awesome)

Asian Salad

2010-08-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Do you like Panera's Asian Sesame Chicken Salad? I LOVE it! I don't like the cilantro (why do we not call it coriander?!) but everything else, especially the dressing, is awesome. However, unless you want to shell out at least $6-$8 for this yummy salad you're out of luck. Until now! I played around with the ingredients for the dressing until I found one that tasted pretty darn close to the one at Panera. I looked at what some other people had tried but I think mine is the closest. I am very picky about salad dressings so now I can finally enjoy some without having to drive 35-45 min and pay for the overpriced restaurant salads. Hope you enjoy! ^_^

1/2 c Rice vinegar (rice wine vinegar is the same thing, just be sure it's not the seasoned kind)
1/8 c Light (not roasted) sesame oil
1T sugar
2 packets Sugar substitute (or 3 more T sugar if you prefer)
1T or TT lime juice
Boil sugar, substitute, and vinegar till sugar is dissolved. Let cool completely to allow it to thicken a bit. Pour into a tall bowl. Then, with a hand blender turned on medium, slowly add sesame oil till desired flavor. Add juice a little at a time until it's to your liking and then blend again to keep the emulsion. Pour over a bowl full of mixed greens, sesame seeds, sliced almonds, pepper chicken, wonton strips and ENJOY!
The wontons can be easily made by buying some wonton wrappers in the fridge section of your supermarket and slicing them into 1 inch strips. You should probably use peanut oil but I was out so I used safflower oil instead. When the oil is heated, drop 2 strips in at a time flipping once. It only takes about 4 seconds per side if your oil is nice and hot. Remove from the oil just when they start to brown because they continue to darken after you pull them out. Lay on a paper towel or two to soak up the extra oil.

The bread in the picture is whole wheat chickpea bread made by me ^_^

Yuki is finally relaxing a bit after her spaying. She's been running around like a crazy girl since I brought her home yesterday.

Jelly Burgers

2010-08-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

I love going to the Grand Asian Market in Raleigh and looking around for new things. Usually I try to buy at least one thing I've never had before and this time I decided to buy Jellyfish. I had never even seen it as a food and, even though I had no idea what I was going to do with it, I bought a bag of natural jellyfish to try out. I found this awesome recipe for Jellyfish Burgers and since I had a ton of red potatoes fresh from the garden I decided to give it a try.

I didn't have everything so I had to modify it a bit but they still turned out amazing. Everyone loved them and there's plenty of left overs for lunch tomorrow ^_^ I hope everyone enjoys the recipe. We had ours with a side salad which was just the right amount of food. So get out there and help Japan eat up their Jelly infestation!

Homemade Vegan Ice Cream

2010-07-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have been dieing to make some vegan ice cream since it's impossible to find any around here and it's been SO hot! I don't have an ice cream maker but then I found a method to make it with out one. So tonight I tried it out. It was so much fun! I used the directions from this site and the recipe from this Vegan Ice Cream blog. I made Rocky Road with peanuts, pecans, and almonds. It was fun to kneed the ice cream and it only took 15 minutes! My mom stole a taste and we both agree it turned out delicious! I didn't have arrow root or coconut milk so I used soy milk and corn starch. As I said though, it turned out great. Gir liked it as well O.O

Master Clubs Cake

2010-07-19T17:43:00.001-07:00

Made another cake for my mom's friend but this time it was a gift for her friends. I'm not sure what it was for other than it was a church event. She gave me a patch to go off of for the design and then I did my own thing (the dots). I was very happy with how it turned out, it looked just like the patch. This one was a white cake with vanilla buttercream. Glad to have all the cake business/practice. Hope they keep coming ^_^ I'll be going back to ECU in about a month but I hope to still find time to work on cakes. I can't wait to get back to school but I'm not looking forward to going back to Greenville, that place has nothing but at least it's only for another year or so. Anyway, Thanks to all my loyal customers!

Sushi Time!

2010-07-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

I have been craving sushi a lot this month for some reason. I have actually had it 3 times this month...I know, I'm bad lol But I love it. So, to save some money, I made some for my boyfriend and I on our date night. I attempted to make dynamite rolls like they make at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse. I didn't have the exact ingredients so I just used what I had. I made them with sushi rice, nori, peppered eel (needed teriyaki), lump crab meat, avocado slices, hot sauce spread, tempura flakes, and teriyaki sauce. They turned out pretty and they tasted pretty good but not what I was hoping for. Hunter liked them so that's the important thing :) Also made a really good udon noodle, kale miso soup and served that with left over sushi rice. I made mango Dofu for dessert which was insanely sweet Asian jello. Went to see Predators after that which was REALLY good! Lots of action. I highly recommend it if you like the other Predator and/or Alien movies.

Flower Power

2010-07-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

I recently made a birthday cake for my mom's friend. It's a chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream and, what I like to call, Kirby Pink marshmallow fondant <( '.'<). I love how the colors looked together. I love purple ^_^ The only issue I had was after the cake was delivered, it started melting a bit about an hour later. Sadly this is what happens when your air conditioning cannot keep up with the terrible NC heat and humidity. But everyone, including the birthday girl loved the cake. Happy Birthday Maxine!

Bento..er...Plate!

2010-07-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

Last Asian one! For today at least... Promise. Not only did I make this nummy lunch but I also made my mom a bento for her dinner before she left for work. Bummed that she has to work on 4th of July but it's ok, going to the boyfriends house instead. Doing a family grill out on Wednesday so I get 2 days of grilling :) I made lightly steamed carrots, broccoli, and zucchini with soy sauce, tuna salad with celery and carrots, a happy rice ball, and some grapes. I guess I did a very good job naming my kitten Yuki; she ate my left over rice and a grape lol Silly little Asian kitty. Wish I had a picture but I didn't have my camera. Next post will be grilled noms :)

Yuki taking a nap after her lunch ^_^

Japanese Breakfast

2010-07-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time finding things to eat with all my stomach problems, that's why I went vegan for a while. That's a very hard diet to have when you live in Hickville, NC. I've been watching a lot more anime recently and I've noticed that every dish they eat (and they eat/cook a lot in anime) looks SO good! I would love to move to Japan and eat rice, sushi, and vegetables every day. Since their diet is the healthiest in the world I thought I'd try adding a couple dishes to my every day meals. This morning I made a Japanese breakfast. I have never had rice and miso for breakfast so I had to guess on portion sizes. Even though I only had 1/2c rice and about the same amount of soup, I was stuffed! I couldn't finish my rice which I ate last. I really want to go get a Tamago pan from the Asian Market next time I'm in Raleigh. My tamago turned out alright for using a round pan but they look much prettier when you have the right tools. I'm still not going to eat meat other than fish but I'll incorporate eggs back in I guess. The tamago was not greasy like most eggs I've eaten in American restaurnts. They were light and fluffy and a little sweet. Can't wait to experiment some more! Don't worry, I will have 4th of July stuff to post later =P

Guitar Cake

2010-06-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

I finished making a Birthday cake for my friend Joel's 21st today. I decorated the cake to look like his guitar. I didn't have straight wire so I used really thick thread for the strings. The cake is red velvet (so I guess the guitar will bleed when stabbed o.O) with vanilla buttercream. I LOVED making this cake and just HAD to add a cute little dinosaur (inside joke lol). I can't wait to give it to him this afternoon. Happy Birthday Joel! Hope you enjoy eating it as much as I enjoyed creating it ^__^
PS I just made business cards so hopefully I will have more cakes to play with!

BP Oil Clean Up Solution - Save the Beaches!

2010-06-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

The Wisconsin-based textile company Monterey Mills has a big heart - they were one of our generous donors at Maker Faire. They've proposed to BP a huge improvement to the booms being used to soak up oil from the water in the Gulf, but their proposal has gotten lost in the tens of thousands of suggestions BP has received, and BP has yet to respond. Check out this amazing demonstration of what wool can do, then spread the word until BP can hear us.

Feeling Creative

2010-06-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

There were a ton of cute and very original items being sold this past weekend at Animazement. One of these, which I mentioned in my last post, were sushi pillows. They were very expensive and not very detailed. I decided I would make some instead! I love building and crafting things and, even if the cost of supplies ended up being the same as buying a pillow, I would have that feeling of achievement by doing it myself. So the next day my mom and I went to the fabric store and bought enough for me to make a couple large pillows and then several small. I had never used a sewing machine before so my mom had to help me get started but I got the hang of it pretty quick. I just finished tonight and, even though it's not perfect, I am very happy with it. Not too bad for my first time EVER sewing more than a couple little stitches by hand. I look forward to making more pillows and maybe coming up with my own ideas for crafty, fun toys like at the convention.

Animazing Weekend!

2010-06-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

I had an amazing Memorial day weekend! I was able to finish the birthday cake and get ready in time to go to Animazement Saturday. The car cake did not quite turn out like I had wanted it to and in the rush I forgot to take any pictures. I made the car out of chocolate cake layers with vanilla buttercream in between. I carved it into a car, covered it with buttercream, and instead of fondanting it like I should have, I decided to try just using buttercream. I was afraid that if I used fondant that it would cover up the detail work I did when carving the car. I should have know better though since I don't decorating with just buttercream very often. I mounted it on a yellow sheet cake and then decorated it. It looked like a car when I was finish but I didn't feel it was good enough. My client knew it was my first carved cake though and her son loved it so, at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.

Vendors

We headed to Animazement around 3pm which was a LOT later than I had hoped. It wasn't cheap for the all day pass so I wanted to be there as much as possible. We still had a great time though. There were so many amazing costumes and vendors selling their adorable and unique items. There was one lady selling sushi shaped pillows. I thought they were adorable but when I looked at the price I couldn't afford what she was charging. I just can't find reason in blowing that kind of money on a pillow... I did, however, find a stuff Ryo-Ohki for a very low price. I have been looking for that silly thing for at least 6 years now and have only been able to find it for at least $50 or more.
We went to dinner later on and then came back for the Rave. It was my first and it did not disappoint. Hundreds of people cosplaying and dancing around it a lot of fun. People were also dancing with glow sticks which made for some amazing pictures.

I got to go on stage with a group of people and dance! I have never done anything like that before either but I didn't feel nervous at all. It was just a room full of people, having fun, and dancing however the music moved them, there was no judging. We ended up not getting home until around 2am and then watched some Anime until 4am. My feet were killing me since I spent half the night in high healed boots but otherwise I had a great night with my friends. Next year I really want to cosplay. I would have this year but we decided to go the night before so I didn't have time.

Killer Week

2010-05-28T17:28:00.001-07:00

I have been on the go non-stop this week... I have had 2 cake orders needed for the same day. I believe my teachers have no life because I've had to spend hours sitting at my computer reading online lectures, stories, and writing papers. I am finally caught up (for the most part) now and look forward to at least one day of fun with my friends at Animazement tomorrow. The first cake I made this week was a graduation cap cake for my friend from Panera. Once again this was a first time for me and it was the cake from hell... Everything seemed to go wrong, especially the fondant. I'm wondering if the extreme humidity that has hit NC has something to do with it. I swear when you walk out side it feels like you've run into a wall. Anyway, I finally finished it this afternoon and ran it out to my friend's house.She and her family loved it. I saw her graduation cap and it's the exact same color as the cake. I had been worried about that since it was such an unattractive color but I was right on. I made the top out of fondant and cardboard (yum!) and she wanted a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream again. Hope she and her family like it and that she has a great day at her graduation tomorrow! :) Now I'm working on the Dukes of Hazzard General Lee car. Having never made a carved cake I was really nervous but it's turning out pretty well so far. I just have to finish it tonight since the birthday is tomorrow and I won't be here. Totally off topic, I spent 2 hours and $50 on Joanna at the vet today because when I put her in the tub yesterday she had a hard time breathing. The vet looked her all over and in her mouth. She said she looked totally healthy and her lungs sounded fine. Turns out, lizards can have panic attacks... At least I know she's healthy. She's also gained 150 grams since her last visit about 2 months ago, so she's growing fast! Hope everyone has a great memorial day weekend! I will have more pictures for the cake and Animazement soon! <3 style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">

Girly Polka Dot Cake

2010-05-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have been dying to make a colorful dot cake! I see them all the time on cake sites and in decorating books but I pretty much only make what other people want. A lady I work with told me she needed a girly cake and left the decorating up to me. She loved my polka dot idea and gave me a few more details like flavor and colors. It was so easy and fun to make. I made the chocolate cake recipe I made in my last cake and my layers didn't shift this time! I think I have finally figured out my evil freezer. Anyway, vanilla buttercream and, as always marshmallow fondant. Her daughter didn't know she was getting a cake from me but had requested that I make one for her. I feel so loved ^.^ She loved it when she picked it up and later told me how good it was. Making 2 more cakes for next weekend...Not sure how that happened but I will be kept very busy for the rest of the month. One more birthday cake and a graduation cake. I love having a different kind of cake order every time :)

Hope you had a great birthday Emily!

Win a Razer Mouse!

2010-05-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

Razer Naga!

^^^^^^^^^^^

Click on this link and enter for a chance to win an awesome Razer mouse! I LOVE mine and would recommend them to anyone. So go check it out. Even if you don't win the mouse you could still win a T-Shirt. Who doesn't like a free shirt?! :)

Warlock Cake

2010-05-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

After making my boyfriend his Moonkin cake, naturally one of my other friends wanted a World of Warcraft cake as well. So for Dylan's birthday this year I made him a cake based on his character, a Blood Elf Warlock. I would have loved to do more with this cake but I only had a day to work on it so I did as much as I could. I used a new chocolate cake recipes from my book Collete's Cakes. It called for coffee and almond extract which made an interesting but amazing (and very sturdy!) cake. I topped it with vanilla buttercream and, of course, marshmallow fondant.
The little felhunter on top of the cake did not want to cooperate but I finally finished him and, at least for the pictures, was able to keep his little tentacle things to stay in place. I really wish I had taken some picture before the hot, 45 min car ride to my friends house but sadly I was running late already and didn't have my camera. A bubble formed under the fondant and made me very sad but it still tasted great! Just wish I had a picture of it when it was all nice and smooth.

I was so happy to add the little felhunter to my collection! They are one of the reasons I rolled a lock ^.^ Dylan wanted to eat him but he would have either thrown up or gouged himself on one of the 4 wires I used to put it together. Everyone loved the cake which always make the hours I put into each cake so worth it! I have 3 more cakes this month so far so I hope to have lots of pictures for you!

Tanner trying to murder my cake!

I'm 21!

2010-04-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

I turned 21 yesterday! My amazing boyfriend hung out with me all day and made sure I had a great time until I went out with the girls that night. I got to order my first drink at Jack Astors called a Frozen Raspberry Twister which was pretty good. Did I have a vegan cake for my birthday? Yes. Who made it? Me of course! :) Hunter even helped me by coloring fondant and cutting out the ghosts. He's an awesome helper :) I made a Pac-Man cake with ghosts around it. The level on the game was 21 and the high score is my birth date. Several people in the restaurant came over and asked to see the awesome cake everyone was talking about and after dinner I gave our server a slice. He came back and told me how much he enjoyed it and thanked me several times which made me feel amazing. I really need to make some cards to give out to people who like my work... But back to my birthday. After dinner and cake we went to The Ale House and shot some pool. I thought it was going to be kind of quiet since it was a Monday but no...I had forgotten that it was the basketball Championship game. Duke vs. Butler, so of course the place was packed. We still had fun and I got to try two more drinks. I got a kamikaze and a Red Headed Slut (love the drink names lol). The latter was Much better than the first which tasted like acetone. It was so nice to be able to have some girl time. We had to cut the night a little short sadly but I can't wait for us all to get together again! Thank you everyone for making my 21st birthday a memorable one!

(I don't know why it does this to my pictures sometimes -_-)

Birthday Cake

2010-04-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hunter and his brother just turned 21 this past Tuesday yesterday so today I made them a birthday cake. I was going to make a WALLE cake but around 10pm last night I figured out about how long it was going to take and how many supplies I was going to need. It was going to take me way too long on my own so I started brain storming. There was no way he was going to get a regular cake after my awesome chess board cake I made him last year. Hunter really likes the Moonkin form on his druid in World of Warcraft so I decided to go with that. It was so much fun and everyone loved it. I made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting (his favorite) and then used my new grass piping tip for the decorations. We just got a ton of little wild pansies in our yard so I picked a couple of them to add some more color to my cake. I'm making my cake tomorrow for my birthday Monday! I can't wait! I finally get to have a girls night out. I miss having girl time. I hope everyone has a great Easter!

Beehive Cake

2010-03-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

Thursday was my mom's birthday but we are celebrating it today. Since she love Winnie the Pooh, I decided to make her a Beehive cake. I also bought her a Pooh figurine by Jim Shore. This was my first sculpted cake as well as the first cake I had ever made that was more than two layers. I had some trouble with the cake layers in the beginning because they kept wanting to crumble and lean. After I got the initial buttercream layer on and into the freezer it set up just fine and didn't fall over. I kept the cake in the freezer over night and today I covered it in fondant and decorations. For some reason my cake started sweating really bad. I had to put a fan on it after I covered it with the fondant to dry it and to keep my bees from falling off. The bees are having some trouble staying on still. I think they might be too heavy but I added a couple of toothpicks to help them out and it seems to be working for now. My only big concern is transporting it to the party tonight... My cake holder is not tall enough so I think I'm going to have to use a box. Hopefully none of the decorations will fall off. I surprised my mom with it this morning and she LOVED it. Of course I thought it turned out alright because I'm my biggest critic but she kept going on and on about how pretty it was and how much she liked it. :) Make all my hard work worth it. I would've had the cake finished a bit sooner (and with less stress) if I hadn't felt so terrible. Someone at work got me sick so I had to take a lot of nap breaks while working on the cake. But I finally have it finished and my mom adores it. She said she doesn't even want to eat it lol It's a chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream and marshmallow fondant.
Oh and if anyone knows the best place to get a cake board I would love to know. Lowes said they could give me a piece of plywood but couldn't cut it in a circle so I have no idea where else to go. Enjoy the pictures and any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Win a FREE Knuckelbiter!

2010-03-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Plush Team is offering a chance to win this insanely cute plush by abbydid. Visit the Plush Team blog for more details on how to win!

Cheesy Vegan Enchiladas

2010-03-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

Although this is not a baked good, it is a very good recipe! I figured since it was going to be a couple weeks before my next cake I'd share a few delicious dishes instead. I love going to VegWeb.com and this is where I found this recipe. I modified it a bit because I did not have all the ingredients. It turned out delicious! I made them for my omnivore mom and I for lunch and she loved them. She didn't even add any real cheese which to me means it's a perfect vegan dish! One more note about the recipe. I only used 2 cans of beans and only 6 tortillas and I still had about 2-3 cups of the filling left!

Cheesy Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups water
1 teaspoon mustard
4 tablespoons margarine
10 tortillas
2 small cans enchilada sauce
3 cans beans (white kidney, pinto, black), drained
2 medium onions, chopped 1 can olives, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro(I used dried parsley), 1/2 cup salsa (optional)
I also added about a cup of diced, sautéed mushrooms

Directions:
In medium-large saucepan, combine flour, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder. Add water and mix thoroughly. Heat on medium heat until bubbling and thick. Remove from heat and add mustard and margarine. Set aside 1/2 cup of cheese sauce in separate container. Add onion, beans, olives, cilantro and salsa to sauce. Mix it up. **Pour a 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Place a tortilla in pan and cover in enchilada sauce. Spoon in filling. Roll and push to one end of pan. Continue until all tortillas filled. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce on top and then spread reserved cheese sauce on as last step. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until brown, 30-45 minutes. Makes: 6 servings, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 30-45 minutes

** I would add a little more than a 1/2c since some of my enchiladas stuck to the dish.

(Not my picture)
I topped mine with some mashed up avocado with a little lime juice. A very filling, tasty dish. Enjoy!

On a non-food related matter, I am very happy to announce that Joanna is finally 100% healthy and has gained 40g since the last time she was at the vet! Her amputated tail and toe are all healed, she no longer has pneumonia, and she is shedding and growing like a pretty baby Savannah monitor should!

Crazy Valentine's Weekend

2010-02-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is no big deal in my book. It's fun to give and receive cards and a flower, go out to dinner, and then have some alone time with your significant other. I am not big on my boyfriend wasting $70+ on flowers that are just going to die in a couple weeks or anything like that. It's just a good day to show each other how much you care (so everyday should be like V-day!) My actual V-day night was nice. Hunter took me out to eat at a nice downtown restaurant that had a vegan menu as well as regular food. They had violins playing on the little stage and every now and then they would walk around the tables. The food was pretty good and our server gave me a red carnation before I left. We then rented UP and The Perfect Getaway (both insanely good!) and just relaxed at his place for the rest of the evening. Thank you Hunter for an lovely night and for being such an amazing person!
Friday and Saturday before Valentine's were anything but relaxing. I had to work all day and we were very busy. After that I had to pack up and drive home so I could work on my friends birthday cake. She wanted an ice cream cake covered in hearts since her birthday was on Valentine's day. I had never made an ice cream cake before and was a little worried but I had found several recipes and my aunt helped me out a bit. Long story short, after having several mishaps in the kitchen with missing ingredients and stubborn cake layers, the ice cream layer of the cake would not set. It was in the freezer all day and almost all night before I threw in the towel and had to call my friend. I ended up making her a white cake with vanilla butter cream, marshmallow fondant, and covered in fondant hearts. I only had Sunday morning to do the entire cake, baking and all, so I didn't get to do as much as I had hoped but I got a text from her that night after dropping it off with her parents and everyone LOVED my cake :) She said a bunch of her family wants cakes now and they loved not only the look but the taste of the cake. I was so relieved since this was my first fondant cake and because I wasn't able to make the cake she originally wanted. I definitely have a lot of practicing and learning to do in my cake decorating career. I am really enjoying tackling new projects and learning new things and look forward to my cake making future!
I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Focaccia and Snow

2010-01-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

Last weekend for our anniversary I made Hunter dinner (which is my favorite thing to do!). I usually like trying something knew every chance I get but I'm low on money so I can't get too crazy with it. Soup, salad, and bread is always a great meal so I thought I'd play with that. In culinary class last semester we made an awesome soup called Vichyssoise. It's a leek and potato soup served cold (yuck) but I skip the chilling part and enjoy it nice and hot. That turned out wonderfully! I didn't add any cream to it either just because I'm not a big fan. I also made a vegan Caesar salad dressing. It didn't taste anything like real Caesar dressing but was still pretty darn good. Then there was the focaccia... I have to say I've gotten pretty lucky and most of my first tries in the kitchen turn out fantastic. This one, not so much. It still tasted great! But it turned out more like a bread stick than a big, fluffy loaf I was hoping for. The starter had to ferment for 16 hours, then rise for one, punch down, rise again, spread in pan, then rise for 2 and 1/2 more hours! My house is pretty cold unfortunately and I think maybe that was the reason it didn't rise like it should have. But it was still a lovely, delicious dinner and of course Hunter ate up everything :) That's all the thanks I need.
Finally after waiting all winter we have snow! It is suppose to snow 6-12" all together. That's the most snow we've seen in a couple of years. I'm suppose to still be going to work tomorrow but I like at the bottom of a hill...There might be no way out lol At least that will give me plenty of time to play and make snow men! Hope to have more pictures up tomorrow.

Cuppycakes!

2010-01-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

I have had a very busy day of baking and decorating! I've been wanting to learn to do some decorating on my own and work on building my portfolio. So today I made some vegan chocolate cupcakes and some (almost vegan) vanilla honey cupcakes. I decorated the chocolates with pink buttercream and marshmallow fondant roses with leaves. It was my first time making fondant and only my second time using it to decorate.

The vanilla ones I topped with a circle of fondant and then
made them look like Ace playing cards. It was a lot of work doing
everything from scratch but it was good practice. My friends even
bought them from me so I at least got paid for my work. They also all said they were delicious! Hoping to play some more this weekend. Enjoy the pictures! Hopefully they'll look even better with a little more practice.

The Joys of Crème

2010-01-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

Wednesday in Hot and Cold desserts I got to make my first Crème dishes! What excited me even more was the fact that this meant we were going to be using a blow torch in class! Yay for the pyromaniacs! We first made a tart shell for our Apple Custard Tart. We then made 6 small Crème Caramels. It turned out beautifully, especially since I had never made one before. My teacher also said upon tasting it that it had great mouth feel and looked wonderful. Great was to start off a new class. She also said the same about my Crème Brûlèe.Using that blow torch for the first time was a little tricky. Not sure how many Crème Brûlèes I'll be making in the future but it was a lot of fun. Sadly I had to leave before my apple tart finished so I didn't get a picture of how it is suppose to look before serving. I just bought a tart pan at William Sonoma today with a Christmas gift card and can't wait to break it in. Hunter (my boyfriend) has never had a tart before so I intend to make him his first this week. We made beautiful small pear tarts in baking last semester and I have been dying to veganize the recipe so that I may try one as well.

Garde Manger!

2010-01-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

Back to school! I have Cake Decorating and Design, Garde Manger, and Hot and Cold Desserts. Cannot wait to dive into the cake decorating but so far I like Garde Manger the best! It's all about how to plate stuff and make you food look amazing. Tonight we made a mayo based dressing, a vinaigrette, and a cooked dressing. The vinaigrette is probably the only one I would ever use again lol Not a big dressing fan. Plus they weren't very vegan with all their butter, milk, and egg yolks. Then we made a tomato rose, an orange basket, a radish flower, a scallion flower, and strawberry fans. I've always loved the fruit and vegetable carvings and they weren't as hard to achieve as I thought! I was worried about this class because it's from 5-10pm but it was so much fun. Did not feel like 5 hours at all. Can't wait to see what else we'll do! I have Hot and Cold Desserts for the first time tomorrow. The first day was actually last Wednesday but I had e coli (we think) and was throwing up for 6 hours Tuesday morning. So needless to say I was not there but my friends told me it was a lot of fun and they got to make bread pudding and cheese cake :)

Vegan Stop Sign

2010-01-09T11:16:00.000-08:00

I had to run to my house today and pick up somethings. When I was driving through town I saw this stop sign and just had to take a picture of it. I wish I could be the one to take credit for it but sadly this is not my work. Good to know there are other veggies in this area!
I am taking up the vegan diet again! I have bought a couple of Brendan Brazier's books: The Thrive Diet and Thrive Fitness. I really want to gain muscle but have had the need for animal based protein drilled into my head all my life so I'm unsure how to get the nutrition I need for a strong healthy body from a vegan diet. These books look like a great resource to help me gain more knowledge on becoming a strong, healthy, fit vegan! I can't wait to get the books and get started. I've already cleaned out my fridge and given all my meats and cheeses to my Mom. Wish I could get my family to join me but unfortunately the only real grocery store around them is Walmart. It's a lot easier being veg when you have places like Whole Foods (even if they do cost you an arm and a leg) and Trader Joe's (best place for cheap, delicious produce ever!). Hope to keep you posted and start feeling better and stronger soon!

Green Smoothie

2009-12-30T07:21:00.001-08:00

I keep seeing people make green smoothies and hear about how good they are for you. I have been wanting to make one but have been scared to try. The thought of putting dark leafy greens in a smoothie just doesn't sound too appealing. Today I was brave and decided to make one. Verdict? Delicious! It didn't turn out to be green because of the blueberries but there were still plenty of greens inside. :) I used a handful of spinach, blueberries, strawberries, a banana, papya, cinnamon, soy protein powder, wheat germ, and water. I didn't even taste the spinach because of all the fruit. Glad I finally took the plunge and tried it out. I found a blog with a lot of good looking smoothie recipes if anyone would like to try one out as well.

Crescent and Quiche

2009-11-20T13:02:00.000-08:00

Today was our last real baking lab. Why don't I sound up set... It has been an alright class. It would have been better if I had been assigned to a better teacher. Hopefully next semester will be better. We made plain crescent rolls, chocolate filled pastries, and stuffed crescent rolls with out croissant dough we made two weeks ago. We were suppose to use ham and cheese to fill them but, since I don't eat ham, I used pear, onion, Gruyere cheese, and cream cheese. They turned out very puff as you can see. But I had a tiny corner and they were quite tasty.
I didn't try to the chocolate one or the regular crescent roll since I'm doing the Body-for-Life program. Only been a week so far but I'm hoping that if I exercise and eat like I'm suppose to I'll start seeing results soon :D Anyway, back to baking. I bought the stuffed crescents so I could actually eat one on my free day tomorrow and to share with my mom and Hunter.
We also made a quiche out of pie dough that we made and froze a good 5 weeks ago. I filled mine with thyme, basil, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese. It needed to be turned half way through but oh well, it was my first quiche and we were ready to get out of there.
I am so ready to start cooking for Thanksgiving! My mom asked me if I wanted to make everything and I said yes of course. I warned her that it was going to be all vegetarian but she said that was fine. I've been looking at several of the blogs I follow and Vegweb for ideas and I think I know what I'm going to be making. No more class till after Thanksgiving but, sadly, I do have work Monday, Tuesday, and probably Wednesday. I'll post more about the "feast" closer to time. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Get your Christmas shopping done now ~.^

Oh and here's a recent picture of my baby Joanna! She even struck a pose for me. She is so cute and getting so big! She just seems to be having trouble shedding for some reason, so I've been giving her baths. They are very good and fast swimmers!

Puff Pastry

2009-11-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

We have been working on puff pasty for the last couple of weeks in my baking class. For those of you who have made it before from scratch you know how long it takes to make that dough...It's ridiculous. But I still might attempt to make a vegan version for Christmas eve or maybe even Thanksgiving. We made puff pastry and croissant dough last Friday and today we finished up the puff by making it into a Napoleon, a Fruit Band, and Voul Au Vent. They were easy to make once all of the dough was ready. The fruit band just took a very long time in the oven. While it looked beautiful before and after baking, I would much rather have had some brie and apricots in puff pastry instead of the extremely sweet apricot and frangipane filled pastry topped with apricot glaze. Way too much.
The week before we also made a mushroom and shallot filling for our voul au vents. They were cute and easy to make as well but I could only stomach one. I think it was due to the butter in the puff. It was like eating very rich Ritz crackers. So yes, I was a very bad veg and tasted my work. I hope that if I veganize the pastry it won't be so rich. Even before I became vegan I did not like butter and now that I'm not use to eating it, it's even worse. I did not take any pictures of the Napoleon partially because I forgot and also because I was not that happy with how it turned out. I didn't try this one either because it was nothing but puff, pastry cream, and chocolate glaze. Yeck, no thank you

.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween! Hunter and I went up to Chapel Hill to the Eccentrik Festival in our Steampunk outfits. It was a lot of fun and the bands were great, especially Unwoman. I encourage everyone to check her out, she has an amazing voice and rocks the electric cello. When I talked to her after her performance she said she had been playing for 20 years! Amazing. I have always wanted to learn a stringed instrument.

I had wanted to make more goodies this Halloween but I ran out of time and people to eat them! So I just made 1/2 a dozen Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting. I started with have cake, will travel's recipe and tweaked it a bit due to not having all the ingredients. They turned out really well and Hunter obviously liked them because he ate almost all of them. :) Don't you just love those lucky people who can eat like that and not gain a pound?! I'm going to be in charge of Thanksgiving this year and it will be vegan! I might make 2 main courses if there is an absolute need for meat but I am not going to make 50 different side dishes. I hate how Thanksgiving has turned into a stuff-your-face-till-you-can't-move holiday. So I am making a simple, healthy dinner for my mom and brother this year. I've been looking up recipes and can't wait to cook for everyone! :)

Culinary Classes

2009-10-21T05:16:00.000-07:00

I have been very busy in both my Culinary and Baking classes. Sadly my phone is retarded and did not want to take any pictures for me. I brought my camera instead but guess what?! It died as soon as I tried to use it...Someone does not want me to take pictures of my work lol I might buy a disposable camera to take to my classes. Here are just a few pictures from some older labs. I made Almond Tuiles, Chocolate Chip Almond cookies, and Fancy Tea cookies.
The next week me made Chocolate Dipped Eclairs, Swans, and Cream Puffs.
Of course I did not try them but I brought a swan home to show off my work to my boy friend and he said it tasted wonderful. :) This lab was fun and easy just time consuming. I would like the make the chocolate dipped and swans again.

We made pasta from scratch in my last cooking lab. It was so much fun! We made Goat Cheese and Herb Ravioli, Shrimp and Cheese Tortellini, and Vegetable Lasagna. They turned out lovely. I really wish I could have taken a picture, especially of the tortellini, but my phone would not cooperate. This week in my baking lab we made tarts. The week before we made three different kinds of pie: Apple, Cherry, and Coconut Cream. The tarts we made this week: Pear Almond tarts and Fresh Fruit tarts, both topped with an apricot glaze. I didn't care much for the glaze, it made the tart look messy after spending all that time arranging the fruit. I took this picture before adding the glaze and I'm glad I did.
I will try and take more (and hopefully better) pictures while in my labs. I know I could always make these recipes at home but what would I do with all of that food?! Anyone care to buy some baked goods? Just email me! :)

New Cookbook!!

2009-09-18T03:48:00.000-07:00

I just bought the new Vegan Yum Yum cook book yesterday. I've been following her blog for a while and always look forward to the next recipe post. I have already made her Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta and it was delicious. The pictures and recipes look amazing! I can't wait to dive in and try these wonderful looking dishes. Thank you so much for the beautiful book Lauren!

Sourdough

2009-09-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to make a sourdough starter but was always so intimidated by them. They sounded hard to start and like they took a long time before you could use it in bread. But I found a really easy step-by-step website and took a shot at making a sourdough starter. I only took a couple of days before it was ready to make bread out of. I didn't let it rise long enough so it didn't turn out as tunnel-y as it should have and it was not as sour as I had hopped. Not bad for a first attempt though. I now have plenty of sandwich bread :) I have another starter growing in the fridge and hopefully I'll do better with this one. I love the taste of the bread but that starter smells terrible! I guess it lives up to it's name in not only tasting sour but also smelling sour.
If nothing else, being in my baking class is helping me at home. My bread turns out much prettier and is a lot easier to handle now that I know what to look for and what order to go in even if the directions for the recipe don't tell me. I can't stop playing in the kitchen! At least I know I will not get tired of baking and that this will be a great career choice for me. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to work and class tomorrow!
Oh! If you have yet to see Julie & Julia, you HAVE to drag your husbands/boyfriends to go see it! My mom paid for my boyfriend and I to go see it because she thought we needed to see it that much. He wasn't to thrilled about going because we both thought it was going to be a chick flick (which neither of us enjoy) but boy were we wrong! It was far from being a "romantic comedy", it was hilarious and a wonderful, true story. We were both laughing the entire time. I highly recommend it. I know movies are pretty pricey now a days but go to the matinee!

It's the Nannerpus!!

2009-09-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

*sigh* I miss that commercial... But I have some amazing banana recipes to share! I love making whole wheat pancakes with oat flour and bananas and recently I found a new light and fluffy recipe. I did not have my usual recipe with me so I looked around online and found a vegan blog called Holy Cow!. This is her wonderful recipe for whole wheat pancakes:

Whole Wheat Vegan Pancakes

Ingredients:
Dry:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Mix the dry ingredients well and set aside.

Wet:
1 1/2 cups soy milk
2 tbsp flax seed powder mixed with 6 tbsp water
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Mix together the wet ingredients and add to the dry. Mix gently until the dry ingredients are just moistened. There should be some lumps remaining in the batter.
Heat a nonstick or cast-iron griddle. Smear lightly with a few drops of canola oil. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter on the griddle and let it cook until bubbles appear at the top of the pancake and the underside is golden-brown. Flip over with a spatula and cook the other side until it is lightly browned.
Serve hot with a pat of vegan spread and maple syrup.

They were wonderful! I enjoy topping mine with some Earth Balance and 1/2 cup of fresh-from-the-yard blueberries. A great way to start your morning.
Last night (instead of studying) I made some banana bread out of my room mate's forgotten bananas. I just can't resist blackening bananas :) I found this recipe on VegWeb and it turned out a lot denser than what I'm use to but forgot all about that once I took a taste. Best banana bread I've ever had! No offense banana bread baking family members. A brown sugar/cinnamon, slightly hardened crust formed on the outside giving it a sweet, slight crunch. I can't wait to make this again for family dinner around the holidays!
Moist and Delicious Banana Bread

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 very ripe bananas
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. In a small bowl, mash bananas, and add 1 tablespoon oil, vegan sugar, vegan brown sugar, and vanilla. In a separate small bowl (I use a short drinking glass) mix 2 tablespoon water, 1 tablespoon oil, and 2 teaspoon baking powder. This is to substitute using an egg. It gets fizzy, but don't panic, it turns out great. Add this mixture to the first small bowl and mix well. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. I like to sprinkle some extra cinnamon on the top to make a nice crispy cinnamon crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a wooden toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool for about 10 minutes, and slice it up!

Serves: 1 loaf

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Enjoy!

More bread

2009-09-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Not only have I been making a ton of bread in my baking class, but I have also been busy kneading away at home. I never get tired of playing in the kitchen ^.^ We braided challah and made knot rolls two weeks ago and then this past Friday we made cinnamon rolls and brioche. I forgot to take a picture of my most recent work :( But I did get a picture of the challah.
My friend Rachel recently went to Europe! (so jealous) She was nice enough to think of me and bring me back a beautiful bracelet and a jar of real Italian pesto! It has some Parmesan in it but hardly any so I looked past the fact that it was not vegan and used some to make bread. I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs have cake, will travel. I made the Spelt Pesto Bread. It turned out fantastic! It made two loaves so I froze one and enjoyed the other. I made some little "mozzarella", tomato, and basil sandwiches with my new bread and they were delicious. Money's been kind of tight here recently due to having to buy everything I need for my culinary classes among other things so I've been trying to bake a lot of my own bread. I can't wait to try out some more of Celine's recipes! They all look so beautiful and delicious. I highly recommend checking her blog out if you love baking, especially bread. I'm going to have to watch my waistline though lol hard to stop eating hot, fresh bread. Mmm... ^.^

Went to the Exotic Animal Show in Raleigh yesterday. There were a lot of corn snakes, ball pythons, and leopard geckos. I was hoping for a bit more variety but it was still a lot of fun. My room mate wanted some more corns so she had a good variety to choose from. It's fun to see all of the different creatures people bring and allows you to meet a lot of breeders that you might not have known about other wise. Hope everyone has a great labor day weekend! Don't forget to stop wearing white by Tuesday :P

Busy Baker

2009-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have been the worst blogger! I have just been so busy. I had a bake sale to try and help raise money for non-profit animal shelters. I sold cupcakes and cookies for a dollar. I ended up making around $50 all together. Not too bad but I was hoping to make more. I had a couple people order a dozen cupcakes. One order was chocolate peanut butter and they turned out wonderful! Everyone loved them especially my peanut butter loving boyfriend who, of course, had to taste test for me. :P He loves his job. I ended up making way too many chocolate chip cookies though. One batch made about 50...So I ended up just giving most of those away.
I started school last week at Wake Tech. It's so nice going to class and learning about cooking and baking! We even made yeast rolls and baguettes in my lab Friday. I was not able to make them vegan since they wouldn't turn out the same as everyone else but I can always tweak the recipe and make them at home. I took my creations home for everyone and they did not last long. A friend of mine asked if I would make her son's birthday cake last weekend. She wanted something kind of detailed but I told her I would do my best. I found a picture of a cake online and just went off of that. This was my first time playing with fondant so I wasn't 100% sure that I was doing everything correctly but I did my best and I think it turned out alright. The only thing I really had a problem with was the paint. I used egg yolks and food coloring gel. It didn't work too well but I got by. There has to be a better recipe or a place to buy paint. If anyone has any suggestions or links it would be greatly appreciated because this was all I could find. Her son, his friends, and their parents all loved the cake and kept asking where she got it. Hopefully I'll get some more business soon. That would be an awesome way to make money while in college!
I'm all moved into my new place and have already baked in the kitchen a couple times. Today I thought I'd try a recipe out of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I bought it about a month ago but haven't really had a chance to make anything. So, as I previously stated, since my boyfriend loves peanut butter so much, I decided to make the Peanut Butter Cupcakes. He won't even be able to tell they are vegan (especially since there is only one vegan ingredient in them). I had one while I was cleaning up and they are so yummy! I highly recommend this book if you like baking cupcakes whether you're vegan or not.

Birthday Cake and Kitty Treats

2009-08-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

I made my first Birthday cake since my Wilton classes! It was for my little twin cousins. Their favorite colors are pink and purple so I made pink and purple flowers. The butter cream was a bit too thin so they didn't sit as nicely as I wanted them too but they turned out alright. I thought I would make fondant butterflies to add to the cake but I ran out of time and Michael's didn't have any fondant so I made chocolate butterflies instead. I got the idea and instructions from a fellow blogger (Cake on the Brain). My butterflies were no where near as pretty as hers but they looked pretty good for my first time. It doesn't really matter what I think of the cake because my little cousins LOVED it! They both gasped and then gave me a hug. I had plenty of left over butterflies just in case and they had me decorate each of their cake slices with butterflies. My family also Oowed and Ahhed over it which is very rewarding :) If they like this level of decorating skill, I can't wait to see what they do when I am able to do much more complex decorating. One cake down, two more to go.

Today I am making kitty cookies =^..^= I had to take my baby to the vet Monday and felt terrible about it. Especially when they told me he needed his rabies shot (even though he never leaves the house...). He was such a good boy and never even mewed when he got his shot, I think that deserves a treat. I looked around till I found this recipe from Healthy Recipes for Pets:

Cat Cookies

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp catnip
1/3 cup CATMILK
1/3 cup powdered milk
2 T butter or vegetable oil
1/4 cup Soy flour
1 egg
2 T Wheat germ
1 T Unsulfured molasses

Preparation & Cooking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients together. Add molasses, egg, oil and milk. Roll out flat onto oiled cookie sheet and cut into small, cat bite-sized pieces.

Bake for 20 minutes and let cool. Store the cookies in a sealed container.

I didn't have soy flour of catmilk so I used flax meal and a mixture of 1/2 milk 1/2 water since milk is not good for cats. (Just as a side note, do not give your cat soy milk, especially if it is a male. It's extremely bad for them, it can cause infertility and liver damage.) He seemed to enjoy them :) Probably would have liked them better if I had topped each cookie with some smoked salmon.

I have been a busy baker this week! I also made some vegan whole wheat bread. It is so yummy! I was worried when it called for molasses but you don't really taste it. I got my recipe from Vegweb, great place for recipes and answers to vegan questions. Hope you like the pictures and the recipes!

Final Wilton Cake...

2009-07-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well, you would think by the time I got to cake 3 it would look the best but...I had to drive an hour home to bake my cake plus I was rushing because I had to drive BACK the same day. So I didn't do the best job (putting it nicely) putting on my top layer so it looks like someone punched it sideways :( I made a strawberry cake this time and, since I'm on my fast, just made it with animal products. It got so FLUFFY! lol I guess because of the eggs, I don't know. But it was so light, it was kind of a pain to work with. Not to mention frosting...for some reason fruit cakes are very crumby. We did the "famous Wilton roses" to top our cakes. Also a bit of a nightmare. My icing would not get to the right consistency. It was so thick that it hurt my hand and made me shake to try and pipe the roses. The petals wouldn't even stick to each other. Not a very fun class. I was ready to leave but I kept working at it and finally the last couple turned out alright.I know it's no where near my best cake so far but I learn from my mistakes and it's not like it's for a special occasion. (No idea why this picture won't rotate but at least you get a better view of the flowers). I have been asked to do two more cakes! My little twin cousins' birthday cake and another lady asked me to do her son's birthday cake as well. Plus I still have the wedding cake to do later on this fall. ^.^ I love that all these people come to me for their special occasions, I just hope I can meet their expectations. I would love to one day be as good as all these people on TV if not better. There's not many cake decorators in my area so I think I could make a killing. Especially since my only competition would be Wal*Mart... Not very intimidating lol

I am almost done with day 3 of my fast and am still going strong. Definitely feeling the hunger pains though, even when I have my tea and juice. I can't wait to try out some of the vegan recipes I have found. I've even managed to find some lower carb ones but most of what I find are casseroles, pastas, and pot pies. I even found some vegan cat treats but my baby is a boy and they are not suppose to eat much vegan kitty food. I want to make a personal vegan cook book of my favorite recipes so I will definitely be sharing some of those with everyone!

A couple of recipe ideas

2009-07-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

I started my Fast today so I won't be cooking for a while sadly... I will be making my final Wilton Cake Wednesday so I will definitely post pictures of that. I am fasting to help detox my body and give it a chance to "clean house". It's really not that bad, just drinking real fruit juice (none of that high fructose corn syrup stuff) and teas.

I did make a couple of things a while ago that turned out really good so I thought I'd share. I made an awesome vegan potato salad. I am not a big bacon fan and so I didn't put any vegan bacon in it but I'm sure it would add a nice touch :) I just used Nayonaise, spicy mustard, celery, chopped onion, lemon juice, boiled red potatoes, and of course salt and pepper. I just kind of did it to taste. I tend not to measure when I'm cooking in my tiny dorm kitchen. I put it in a covered bowl and left it in the fridge over night. It turned out really yummy!
I also made an amazing salmon dish courtesy of Chef Gordan Ramsey (one of my favorite chefs!). I got it out of his Healthy Appetite recipe book. Wonderful Asian, honey marinade and it's really quick and delicious. Just pop in the oven and bake for 6 minutes then put on a bed of spinach and sliced radishes. Dribble a tahini dressing over it and voila! you are done. I know I'm not suppose to eat fish because I'm vegan but I only have it every now and then. Can't give up my sushi!

Second Wilton Cake

2009-07-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here is my second Wilton cake. We did drop flowers and shell borders. I made a red velvet cake (my favorite). I wanted to use cream cheese frosting but we have to use the butter cream for practice. This cake is also vegan except for the flowers and border. I just have one more cake to bake for my last class. I was hoping we would be doing Fondant and Gum paste but it turns out there is a whole other class devoted to that. Maybe I'll take another class when I get up to Raleigh if my college cake classes aren't starting yet.

This past weekend I also made birthday cupcakes for my friend. All he told me was he wanted chocolate. So I asked him if he wanted cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or a concoction of all three! Guess what he chose lol I know he probably thought I was kidding when I said I would do it. He was pleasantly surprised when I brought him a plate of brownie and white cake swirled cupcakes with "cookies and cream" icing and an Oreo cookie half on top. They did not last long. :)
I recently ordered Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World! I'm so excited and can't wait to start playing in the kitchen some more. I'm trying to find some more easy and not very expensive vegan meals. It's hard making all these dishes that call for six different kinds of fresh vegetables or some ingredient that I would have to go to Whole Foods in Raleigh for. My fridge is tiny and likes to freeze things. When I move to Raleigh I will have a regular size fridge for the first time in two years and a HUGE kitchen! I cannot wait! I'm sure my room mate won't mind me cooking and baking. I'm also having a hard time finding meals that don't include a lot of carbs like pasta. But like I said, it'll be easier when I move and will be within 10 minutes of Trader Joe's, the Asian Market, and Whole Foods.

Food Inc.

2009-07-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of the new movie Food Inc? It's suppose to be actually showing and talking about the food people pour into themselves everyday. When I first read about it I thought it was going to be some extremely disturbing movie with footage of slaughter houses but after watching the trailer I was reassured. I really want to go see this movie. I don't know if I can get many people to go with me but I'm going to try. I was shocked and disturbed when I read the slaughter house section of Skinny Bitch. I don't know how anyone can read that and still want to eat a cheese burger or even an omelet. I get kind of frustrated when I say I made a vegan dinner and people say "UGH! disgusting!" What do you people think vegan means? Grass and dirt? If you eat an organic fruit salad hey! you just ate something vegan. I am not a perfect vegan but I do my best. I support PETA and have told several people about Skinny Bitch. I read the ingredients before I buy things to make sure they are safe. I am vegan not only for the animals (and the environment's) sake, but for my health. Not only am I reducing the amount of chemicals and junk that goes into my body, being vegan has almost totally gotten rid of my Hiatal Hernia (hereditary stomach problem) symptoms! That's definitely worth never eating a chicken sandwich again!

What I really don't get is that a lot of people DO know something about what's happening to their food before they receive it and it doesn't seem to faze them!? Ok, lets say you're favorite burger is from McDonalds mmk? You have been eating there for years and LOVE the taste. Now what if you found out that your burger was actually not made of cow meat but dirty cow dicks? Would you eat that burger anymore? Of course not! (I would hope) Yet when you tell people that the burger they are eating has been (if nothing else) pumped full of steroids that cause cancer along with a HUGE list of other health problems, they say, "But it tastes good and I don't want to give it up". I just don't get it. I've asked a lot of people if they know what's in their food and many have heard about the terrible conditions in slaughter houses and don't care. It's cheaper and faster to go through the drive threw and get some artery clogging, rotting animal flesh than to actually have a healthy meal.

Sorry to rant but I had to get that out lol I hope lots of people go to see Food Inc. and it makes them sick and change their minds about the food they eat. So what if it tastes good? If it's going to kill you, wouldn't you rather give it up? There are so many delicious healthy foods out there that you won't even miss it. You'll feel so good after getting all of that junk out of your system you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. I have experienced this first hand. I felt great after getting all the animal products and non-organic foods out of my fridge. Have a wonderful, healthy day everyone!

Here is the trailer for Food Inc. if you have not watched it yet:

First Wilton Class Cake

2009-07-16T07:32:00.001-07:00

Tuesday I baked a 3 layer yellow cake with a raspberry filling for my cake class on Wednesday. I made it vegan of course and I also made a delicious vegan butter cream to cover the cake with. We had to do a rainbow design with a star tip in class the next day. Mine was the prettiest and got compliments (which isn't saying much since there's only 3 of us in that class). But I felt like I did pretty good for my first time working with butter cream to that extent and using tips. The cake tasted amazing but was kind of rich. Everyone loved it even though they picked on me because it was vegan. *sigh* Oh well, I don't think JoCo people will ever be able to wrap their heads around the benefits of at least eating LESS meat and junk if not stopping all together. I'm definitely going to try to do better on my next cake and can't wait for the fondant class. Sorry for the short post, I have a lot to do today. Enjoy the pictures!

Bring on the cake!

2009-07-09T03:56:00.001-07:00

I just went to my first Wilton cake decorating class yesterday morning. We (myself and 3 other women) didn't actually get to bake anything but I did learn some stuff I didn't know (just a little though). We learned about butter cream, all the different tools we will need for the class, and some techniques. The only decorating we did was piping a border around the bottom of the cake the instructor had used to show us hot to ice a cake. It was the first time I had piped a shell design (know that I actually knew how after looking in the book) and everyone kept complimenting me on it. Telling me I did it like a pro and how all the shells were the same size. It made me feel really good :)

Next Wednesday we have to bring in a cake, tools, butter cream icing, coloring, and a turn table. We actually get to play this time. I can't wait. We got to choose between a character cake or just a two layer cake. The two layer one's going to have a rainbow piped onto it (ok?) but she said it doesn't have to be the awful colors in the book (and there was much rejoicing!). I'm not sure what colors I'm going to do yet but it's definitely going to have some purple! My friend is letting me use her kitchen, since she actually has an oven. I can't wait to get started, going to have to start brain storming.

Besides the fact that I want to get some technique and knowledge under my belt before I go to baking and pastry school, my friend wants me to make his wedding cake (*gulp*). I was flattered that he would ask ME but I also have never made a wedding cake and have never even touched fondant in my culinary life. There's going to be a fondant and gum paste class at the end of the month in the Wilton series and my friend's wedding is not till October. So hopefully between now and then I'll have enough practice to make a cake for him. I am so excited about it but on the other hand, this is not a Birthday cake...it's a WEDDING cake! Wedding's are suppose to be the one day where every thing's perfect. I would not for the life of me want to ruin that for anyone by bringing a Wal*Mart looking cake. Everyone loved my chess cake but I would Never bring that quality of cake to a wedding. I am a perfectionist, so if I give it a stamp of approval, it's probably pretty good. It's hard for my work to please me.

Good news about that is the flowers he wants are one of the easiest (so I've been told) to make out of gum paste: Calla lily's. Also it's not going to be a 5 tier monster, just a small 3 layer fondant covered cake. I want to jump right in and start but I'll be patience and wait for the class. If anyone has any good advice, pictures, videos they want to send me please feel free!

Vegan weekend

2009-07-07T08:36:00.001-07:00

I have decided not to post my tattoo because I think I want it to be my little "mascot" for my bakery. Don't want anyone to take it.
Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I was in the kitchen the whole weekend. I have recently decided to go as vegan as I can afford. It's also very hard to find a lot of the vegan products that are suppose to be in your local whole foods store. Living in NC is hard if you don't like greasy, artery clogging foods. I was able to hit up Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods but still was unable to find a lot of stuff I see in many vegan or just cooking show recipes. But back to the holiday cooking.

I made a Grilled Tomato Bruchetta as a starter. Then I took yellow squash, zuchini, red onion, red pepper, snap peas, and yukon gold potatoes and made shishcabobs with a rosemary vinegarette. Very yummy. For the main course I made Portabella mushroom "sliders" with sauteed onions on top on whole grain rolls with sweet potato fries on the side. It was a lot of slicing and prep work but it all turned out wonderful. My mom and grandma loved everything. They didn't miss meat at all :) I didn't care for the sliders that much but I would definitly make everything else again. I got all of the recipes from this month's Vegetarian Times. I also got my dessert idea from the magazine but I switched it up a bit. The Summer Pudding recipe called for Angel food cake. Making this cake vegan would be a lot of trial and error due to the large amount of eggs used in a traditional angel food cake. So instead I made a pound cake. It stayed so nice and soft that I was able to mold the cake into the bowls and then fill it with the fruit syrup. One fed three people lol But it just depends on how big the cups you put them in are.
In addition to 4th of July grilling, I also made sushi this past weekend. I made one of my boyfriend and my favorites, Spicy Tuna Roll. Then I tried a couple new things: Phili Rolls and California Rolls. I was able to make my Phili rolls vegan with some Tofutti. My Cali rolls I filled with red snapper instead of crab and it was the first time I had ever made an inside out roll. I think I like making them and eating them better that way. They all turned out really well, especially the Philli rolls. Obviously everyone liked them since they were pretty much gone that day.
I am on the look out for easy, non-spicy vegan recipes if anyone has suggestions. I've been wanting to go vegan but, as a student, didn't know if I could afford the cost of the foods or the long drives I'd have to take to get them. After reading Skinny Bitch, I knew I couldn't eat meat anymore...If you've read it you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you should, it's a real eye opener. I still eat fish but I try to not eat any other animal products. I hope you enjoy the recipes I've posted!

Bubbles and Stabbing

2009-06-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been a very bad blogger... I am sorry. I've just been very busy and have not been baking much. I went to California with my boyfriend for two weeks! It was so much fun. The weather was perfect, no humidity or bugs. I didn't want to come home. It was nice to see my family and to have a chance to relax. I made a couple of pizza's and different things while I was out there but nothing new or exciting. While I was out there I read an article about a woman wh opened up a cupcake shop. I decided to go check her bakery out. It wasn't much but it was cute and she is obviously doing quite well. I got a mini Party Girl. It was a bit too much icing for me but this is coming from the girl who rarely eats junk food. The name of her shop is Cupcake Love. So if you're ever in Solana Beach and want a cupcake go see her.

Well today is full of fun stuff! I made Boba for the first time today! I use to have to wait till I went to California over the summer before I could enjoy this treat but then I found a place in Greenville! Of course I find the place right before I move... So I went to an Asian Market in Raleigh and guess what I found?! A package of boba with instructions. So excited. I made one today for lunch in a strawberry banana smoothie. Pure Gooey Bliss.

I'm also getting a tattoo today. I have been wanting to get another one for a while but wasn't sure what to get. I don't like getting random things on my body. I want them to mean something to me. Since I want to be a cake decorator I thought I'd get something that has to do with baking. I really think cupcakes are cute so I took those thoughts and made something up. I tied a couple of the things I love in life together to make (what I think is) a really cute tattoo. I can't wait to see how it turns out and I'll be sure to post some pics when I get back!

Easter

2009-04-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the late post. I made some sugar free yellow cupcake with left over vegan chocolate icing from my birthday cupcakes. I decorated them with some edible Easter grass (Target), Dove Dark Chocolate Eggs, and Reese Pieces eggs. Everyone loved them. I made them specially for my boyfriend since his favorite is yellow cake with chocolate icing and his favorite candy is Reeses. ^.^ I also helped with brunch after church. I made a spinach egg roll. That turned out...ok. I'm a perfectionist so if it's not perfect, I'm not happy with it. Everyone liked the taste, and it was good, I just didn't like how it looked. The rolling didn't go so well and it kind of fell apart. Oh well, food is suppose to taste good and it did so I guess I didn't do too badly. I also made buttermilk biscuits for the first time =) They turned out a little small since I didn't have a biscuit cutter and used a drinking glass instead. They were very tasty though.
The Easter bunny was very good to me this year (yes he still visits me). I got some baking stuff which always makes my day. Didn't get my Easter egg hunt due to the fact that we couldn't find the box with the eggs in them. Oh well, I still have an IOU when we find them! Hope everyone had a blessed and fun Easter and didn't eat too many chocolate bunnies or peeps!
I also made an awesome pizza over my long weekend. I had made one before but without a pizza pan so it didn't turn out as nice. This is the best pizza I've ever eaten. It's not greasy or anything. It's mushrooms, mozerella and goat cheese, with some parsley sprinkled on top and a few other things tossed in for flavor. The best part though, is the wheat crust! It's amazing! My boyfriend and I think I should just make some bread stick out of it next time lol I might do that next time I make some pasta. Yummy!

Birthday!

2009-04-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday! And what better way to spend it than in the kitchen ^.^ I made some cupcakes this morning instead of a cake (not a big cake eater). My mom was surprised when I told her I wanted to make my own birthday cupcakes AND cook my birthday dinner. lol I don't mind, I love cooking and baking so I'm still having fun on my b-day. I made Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Chocolate Kahlua Buttercream Frosting. I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs have cake, will travel. The frosting turned out really well! I made one with Kahlua and one just plain chocolate for those weird people who don't like kahlua. The plain chocolate one turned out very creamy and smooth because of the milk where as the kahlua one wasn't shiny and a bit thicker. No one will ever know they are vegan *sinister laugh*
I just made dinner for everyone and they loved it of course. I am trying to teach my brother portion sizes so he was a bit disappointed when there were no seconds. He'll be ok, there's still cupcakes and he doesn't need seconds anyway. I made some Flounder with seafood seasoning on the stove. I served it over a bed of white rice with broccoli on the side. I love broccoli :) I originally was going to serve the fish with a sauce from my Cooking Light magazine. When I finished the sauce though, it tasted like butter...I'm not a big butter person and decided to just toss it out and stick to the seasoning. Granished with scallions and a little bit of soy sauce for the rice. Yum!
Everyone ate my cupcakes and I waited till they had already started to tell them they were vegan. They still loved them, even my boyfriend who ate one of each. He has a bit of a sweet tooth. They were very good and pound-cakey. I would definitely make them again. I had a great birthday and thank everyone for my presents and b-day wishes!

Pita Bowl!

2009-04-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

I think it'll be the next big thing :P I was making Pitas yesterday and for some reason my second batch got a bit dark and harder than they should have. I wasn't about to throw them away because the bottoms where still soft and all but one was still usable. I cut the hard part of the burnt one off and filled it with lettuce, cheese, and chicken salad. I was pretty good. I just picked it up and took bites out of it. ^.^ Very Nummy.

Going Green?

2009-04-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

I am seriously considering going vegan... Most days out of the week at least. I love sushi way too much to go 100% veg. I have been browsing around and I know I wouldn't mind the food, it all looks and sounds delicious. My problem is the price of the groceries I would have to buy. I am a college student who can't find a job and I don't have a stove or oven either. I'm hoping maybe someone will comment and let me know what they think.
I would not be going vegan because I think eating animals is wrong, that's what they are there for. That and being cute of course. Don't worry PITA people, I only eat the ugly ones (chicken and fish). I would be going veg for health reasons. My stomach has become very sensitive for some reason and I think that maybe changing over to a more plant based diet might help. We shall see. I'm going to go check out Whole Foods and Lowes Foods tomorrow to see about how much their vegetarian foods are. I already drink Light Silk and eat tofu every now and then but that's about as far as I've ever gone. I know they aren't that much more expensive than regular products but I've seen other things that are kind of pricey.
Another of my big concerns is even being able to FIND some of this stuff. I don't know how many times I've had a recipe and gone in search of the ingredients just to have to people at the grocery store look at me like I'm stupid. Living in North Carolina is hard for those of us who don't wish to eat everything fried. I'm hoping when I move to a bigger city this fall that there will be more choice as far as groceries and restaurants. Wish me luck and any comments or advise would be greatly appreciated!

My First cake!

2009-03-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, this isn't the first cake I've ever made but it's the first one I've made since I decided to become a pastry chef. I made this cake for my boyfriends birthday last Saturday. I spent all the night before make the 3D chess pieces and board with candy molds. I had never used molds before so it was a bit of trial and error. Everyone thought I had hand carved the pieces lol Saturday morning I started working on the cake. The checkerboard cake pans made thing go pretty smooth. While I was waiting for my cake layers to bake I started making whole wheat pita bread from a recipe out of my Cooking Light magazine. They turned out very well. Great taste and very fluffy :) Assembling the cake was fun and easy as well. I felt like I was on one of the cake decorating shows I watch and new without a doubt that this is absolutely what I want to do the rest of my working life! It was also my first time piping a design besides names too. I definitely need to practice that some more as well. When everything was iced I placed the checkerboard chocolate pieces on top and popped it in the fridge until it was time to go. The molded chocolate pieces were very sensitive to warmth. Just in the time it took to place the pieces on the cake they started getting soft.
That night I took the cake over to my boyfriends house and when his parents got home I made him go in the other room while I set it up. When I was finished they all stood there in amazement. That was by far my favorite part of making the cake or anything I make for people. They were surprised once again to find that even the inside was checkerboard! Everyone loved it's looks and its taste which was a butter cake with dark chocolate. It was very tasty and I was very pleased with all of it. I also made snickerdoodles from a Martha Stewart recipe for my boyfriend's twin brother. He obviously enjoyed those as well since half the plate was gone by the time I left.
I had a great weekend baking and can't wait to learn more and try new things! I'm finally going to school to learn this stuff this fall. My birthday's this Sunday but I don't think I'll be making my own cake. Hope everyone had a good weekend as well. Take care!

Valentine's Day!

2009-02-19T15:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm a little late but as promised, here are the pictures and the menu from Valentine's Day. I made all of this for my boyfriend and myself over the course of 3 hours so that each course had plenty of time to settle. I was nervous he might not like something but he LOVED everything! I decorated the table with my nice dishes and a center piece I made ^.^

First was the Fig and Toasted Almond Brie which I served with baguette slices.

The second appetizer was steamed oysters. I had never had oysters before. Despite how strange and someone gross they looked in the jar, they were pretty good. Always up to try new things. =)

After that settled I made up some Spring green's salad with Heart Shaped Croutons I had made and a Olive Garden copy-cat dressing. The main course was Sesame Seared Tuna with a ginger dipping sauce that I found on Martha Stewart's website. That was wonderful!

Finally for dessert I served Raspberry Mouse filled Dark Chocolate Boxes. I had a bit of a hard time making the boxes the night before. I had to make the cookies, dip them in dark chocolate and then when they cooled, glue them together with chocolate dipping sauce and left them in the fridge over night to set. They didn't want to stay in place when I was making them but they were practically inseparable by the time I served them. lol
We watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and WALL-E and gave each other a little gift. Over all it was a wonderful Valentine's Day. I love being able to cook for the ones I love. Hope everyone else had a good V-day as well! Take Care!

Craziness

2009-02-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been forever since I've posted on here but things have been really crazy. I haven't had a chance to cook or bake anything here lately except what I can make in my dorm room. But Valentine's day is coming up and I've been very busy trying to make it perfect! I'm not going to say what I'm doing yet but I will definitely take pictures and tell everyone what I did. ^.^ I'm hoping it won't cost too much to make everything. Money is kind of tight this year so my boyfriend and I didn't want to do too much for each other. I can't help it though, I love giving people gifts.
I found a school in Raleigh that has a culinary arts degree program! I can even specialize in baking and pastry. I want to go there next year but I want to make sure that I would have the same job opportunities as I would if I stayed at a University and got a 4 year degree in Hospitality Management instead. I feel I should just go to the Culinary school because I don't want to manage some chain restaurant, I want to be the one actually making and designing the cakes. We'll see, I'm going to go talk to the people at the school Friday and get all my facts straight first. Think that's all for now, post more after V-day. Take care!

Happy Snow Day!

2009-01-20T05:58:00.000-08:00

ZOMG everyone! It's snowing! For some of you it has probably been snowing for the past month or a lot longer. For me, this is the coldest it's been all winter and the first snow I've seen in at least a year! I can't wait to make some snow cream ^.^ I hope it sticks enough to at least make some snow balls or a tiny snowman. We are suppose to get about 6 inches so I hope the weather man was right! So exciting. I use to live in Wisconsin and Iowa so I'm use to the snow but the people around here... They run to the store and get bread and milk. That was the strangest thing I had ever heard of when I first moved here. This county is also not prepared for snow, so I can kind of understand why people freak out when it does. Today is the inogeration, oh joy. Because that's really what I'm going to want to be watching when there's 6 inches of snow on the ground just begging to be played in. I'm just ready for him to get in office and for people to stop going on and on about him. He got elected, first black president. Good for him, now shut up about it. There is going to be 2 million plus people at this thing or some crazy number like that and a massive amount of security. I didn't like any of the people running this year so I didn't really care who won. All the decent people dropped out early. The only reason Hillary and Obama got so far was because she was a woman and he was black. And I didn't care that he won. What did bother me was that the night he won (around midnight on a school night) all of the black people at my school started running around in the streets screaming and chanting "we won, we're taking over!" "Obama!". If you've ever seen the South Park episode about Obama, then you know how it was on my campus. Rediculous. But enough on that. Like I said I'm tired of talking and hearing about it. Hope everyone is enjoying the weather today! Make lots of snow angels and snowmen! Be safe and warm.

Ouch

2009-01-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know me, you know that I like to be stabbed. I have 8 wholes in my ears, belly button pierced, and 3 tattoos (and I'm far from finished with my body art). I was looking at google images and found this... I don't know that I could ever go that far. Maybe if I could keep my industrial I would do it. Has anyone else ever seen this before? In real life? That looks pretty painful. She must have slept sitting up for a year. I know that was totally random, just thought it was post worthy. Take care!

Back to school

2009-01-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while. I just havn't really had anything to type about. I don't want to bore my few readers with what's going on in my life everyday; I try to stay food/baking based in my posts.
The last time I baked was for money! After bringing Christmas cookies to some friends and fellow employees, I had 3 cookie orders! Some of the people I gave cookies to also told their family members who have told me that they would pay me for baked goodies as well. I am so ready to just open a wedding and specialty cake store and maybe even a cafe. College is taking too long...If it wasn't for the fact that I want (and pretty much need) a college degree of some kind to fall back on, I'd just be working and living at home. I want to just go to some pay-as-you-go cake decorating classes. Good news is there are some right here near my university. The only thing with that is, I have no oven or room to practice what I do learn in the classes. =/
I have been looking for places to live next semester. There are some pretty cheap places...if I want to live with 2 other people. I would almost like to live by myself though. I have been up at school for 3 days now and my roommate hasn't come back yet. It's actually been very nice having my own space and then just hanging out with people when I actually want to see them, not when I'm forced to everyday.
I have also been trying to find a job. I am NOT going to work at an Outback again. I think if you can make it at an OB you should be automatically hired at any other restaurant. I would like to work at a Barns and Noble or Starbucks. A lot of places aren't hiring right now but I really need the money so I'm hoping I can find Something (even a serving job) in the next month.
I have not been able to cook at school except for with a little George Foreman Grill, until now! My mom bought me one of those electric skillets. I have actually been able to have eggs for breakfast! I love that thing. It makes living here bearable. I just hope my roomy doesn't try to use it; she doesn't wash anything with soap and with my luck she would probably use a metal spatula or something *.*
I'm going Monday to job hunt and turn in applications. I'll also swing by and talk to someone about the decorating classes. I really wish someone on here who has the same interests would talk to me and give me their opinion! I guess I should just do some more searching. *sigh* Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable week!

Ginger Bread House!

2008-12-23T22:32:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend and I made a Ginger Bread house for the first time. I used a piping bag with a tip and he used his fingers. So you can easily tell who did which sides =P It was a lot of fun. I think more of the candy decorationg pieces ended up in my boyfriends tummy than on the house. It turned out ok but then when I went to move it from the table to the counter, it caved in on itself. lol It was still fun to make and it's not like anyone was going to be eating it or anything. One of my cats would probably have knocked it over anyway. Hope everyone has a Great Christmas! Don't get any coal.

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on Christmas baking. I have been in the kitchen almost none stop for the past couple days. I wish I had more time, now my presents won't even get to where they need to go by Christmas =/ But oh well, treats still taste good a couple days after. I have made a bunch of different kinds of cookies and also some butterscotch caramels. I had a few cookies that I didn't know what to do with so I decided to try out piping for the first time. I think they turned out pretty good. For my first time at least =) I have to make roles and Christmas dinner dessert. I'll probably end up making cupcakes or something since my brother is picky. They have some really cute desserts on Martha Stewart's website. I love her stuff but some of it is kind of hard to make, especially the crafts. I finally found a cake decorating book that I liked. I'm going to attempt to use fondant soon. I'm kind of scared, I've read a lot of mixed reviews on it. Some people tell me I shouldn't buy the pre-made store stuff and others say it's fine. I've also heard that it's very sensitive to make and if you don't really know what you're doing it's easy to mess up. So if anyone has any suggestions I'd take them gladly. I am getting money for Christmas that I am going to use to buy some cake decorating and fondant tools. I might get some fondant at Michael's just to experiment with.
I am going to go see The Tale of Despereaux today. It looks really good and I hope it isn't full of little kids. I am all done Christmas shopping and am pretty much done baking as well. Now it's time to relax =) I hope everyone else is finished too. Other wise you are either very brave or very dumb to wait this long to shop, it's going to be crazy. Hope everyone has a good rest of the weekend!

NC has no love for bakers

2008-12-14T09:21:00.000-08:00

I am finally free! I just finished all my exams Friday and can start to unwind. I did not do quite as well as I would have liked but with everything I've had going on this semester, I was happy to pass with the grades I received. I plan to do better next semester not only because I need to but also because I think I will actually be enjoying what I am doing. I start taking my Hospitality Management classes so I'll be learning about something I can actually use in life and care about. I can't wait to start baking presents! ^.^ I can't believe it's only 11 more days till Christmas. If anyone has any kewl cookie ideas or decorating tips, I would love to hear them =)
Drastic subject change but I want some people's opinions. I have been looking at the only Arts school near me and they really don't seem to offer what I want. I really want to go into cake decorating but there are no baking/decorating schools anywhere near me. I think the closest thing is about 8 states away. I didn't know if maybe I could just work for someone and learn from them or if I really need that degree or some form of school. The place here does offer beginning pastry baking or something like that. For any cake decorators/bakers out there, what did you do? Did you just buy some books and learn on your own, friend teach you, went to school? I would really appreciate some helpful feed back.

Finals -_-

2008-12-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

I have a love/hate relationship with the end of each semester. I am so ready to get out but I hate tests. One more week and I am done! I really want to just go straight to the Arts school but I guess these days it's really better to have something to fall back on. At least I'll be cooking in some of my classes next semester ^.^ I have been coming home a lot of weekends and cooking a lot of lefts overs lol I made this soup the other day out of all the left over veggies and some turkey. It was amazing! Of course my boyfriend (aka taste tester) and my family gobbled it up really fast. I also made another loaf of that bread and it turned out even better than the first. My favorite thing to make are sweets but I don't want to give everyone diabetes so I think I'm going to wait till closer to Christmas. I'm glad I like baking because I have no money to go out and buy everyone presents.
My friends dragged me to the Twilight movie. I had mixed feelings about it. I LOVE the books and everything Stephenie Meyer but the movie...I'm not sure. A lot of people who had not read to books liked the movie. But most of the people who had read the books thought it was just alright. My friends loved both so I guess if you haven't read the books, you'll probably like the movies. You had better go read the books afterwords! They are amazing. A must see on DVD is WALL-E. Anyone who has not seen it, I don't care how old you are, rent it now! You will love it, promise =)
If anyone is reading this, you should really go check out ShamsD and IcingDreams' blogs and flickrs. They are both amazing. I hope to one day be as good as they are. Take care!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

I made my first pie ever! =D It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I made a Sweet Potato Pie (crust and filling) from scratch. I was in charge of everything but the turkey and stuffing for Thanksgiving this year so that was my dessert of choice. I also made a sweet/russet potato mash, green beans, and whole wheat roles. Everything turned out great! I decorated the pie crust with leaves I cut from the extra crust dough and I put a couple on top of the pie as well. I usually hate pie crust but this one was a Martha Stewart recipe and it was wonderful. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I have to write papers and study for finals now. I might take a break and make some left over turkey dishes. ^.^ Chao!

Third Time's a Charm

2008-11-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

I've always thought blogs were silly. I started doing one on myspace and then my English teacher MADE my class do one, but I've never really gotten into it. I have been looking around at some peoples photo-blogs and such and have noticed that a lot of people in the arts are using them for feed back and to show the world their work. Well I would like to do the same thing. I don't have much at the moment but I'm hoping to change that before too long. I am going to become a pastry chef and would love to bounce ideas and my work off of people for feed back. I still have two more years till I go to culinary school but I cook and bake at my house all the time. Yesterday I made my first loaf of bread and it turned out GREAT! I was so excited. I actually just ate a sandwich from it =)

I want to mostly do cakes and cupcakes when I start out. But one day I would like to open a cafe and sell bread, cakes, cupcakes, coffee, and other different things. I hope to improve and have more to show as time goes on. I look forward to feed back and ideas!