Posts tagged savory

We Can’t All Be Princesses

October 19, 2010 · Filed under alcoholic ingredient, My Kitchen, Nomadic Kitchen, not vegan..., other sweets, Philosophy, savory, unusual ingredients · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

We don’t all have fairy god mothers, magic shoes, or leagues of talking animals to help us along our way. What we do have is our own free will and the wonderful people we meet to help us make the days full of love and laughter. After a very long and hard September, I had a weekend with good friends to refresh me.

Pig pickin'

Pig pickin'

Tim And Cristina

first bite 2010

katie, lars, becky

fire sparks

Lars lights a cigar

Pig pickin'

Lars, Becky, and Jenny with me, I had a chance to enjoy the fresh air, campfires, and lots of delicious food. These kinds of weekends are more magical than any movie.

Now that I’m back to normal, after my weekend getaway, how do I continue to celebrate the everyday? Well, I realized, a day without good food doesn’t make for a very good day. I’ve been trying to keep Mondays reserved for family dinners. So yesterday, I bought some herbs de provence for a roast for the fam and fennel for some savory lentils. To round out our first autumn meal together I concocted a new cupcake recipe: the Red Rose. It’s a combination of my favorite everyday tea and rosewater. Sweet, warm and simple, the Red Rose is fit for the everyday princess in all of us.

[This batch was gobbled... New batch and picture coming soon]

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Comfort Food

May 19, 2010 · Filed under favorite, local color, My Kitchen, Philosophy, savory, suggestions, unusual ingredients · Tagged , , , , , , ,

The past couple days, I was really bumming, but I went into the restaurant last night and decided to stop feeling so sad for myself; just get back to running shit and loving my everyday.  It worked.  I had great guests and even when things weren’t perfect, I was able to course correct and really connect with people in a good way.  I even got into a really nice conversation with a couple about their 6 kids, blogging, and baking.  Inspired and feeling full of love, though I went home tired, I decided to get into the kitchen.

So, you may or may not know, the meaning of life is locked in the braided dough of a delicious salteña.  A childhood favorite, I learned how to make it vegetarian recently in the past couple years.  Today, I have reached true baking nirvana: VEGAN salteñas. Last night, I prepped my vegan mod of the traditional filling and I chilled a batch of Terry Romero’s empanada dough over night.  It was perfect.  Less buttery and heavy than the original, these salteñas were just as satisfying and flavorful as I ever remembered.  Check it out:

Original Recipe for traditional Bolivian salteñas is here.  Vegetarian mod.  Ultimate Vegan mod.

Results:

Thank you to everyone who continues to send good vibes to Gimme Dem Cupcakes!

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Love seat

February 25, 2010 · Filed under favorite · Tagged , , , ,

I think I’ve shaken off the narcoleptic haze of Snowmaggedon hibernation and I’m ready to resume the normal operations of the haphazard kt machine.  Weather is one of those great larger than life phenomena that remind us all to stop being such control freaks, me especially.  Through the onslaught of blizzards, I got almost a week and a half of real rest and relaxation.  I totally unwound and unplugged as all the appointments on my Google Calendar went unmet, soups simmered, cookies and cupcakes baked, movies were watched, a little Scrabble was played, and puppy and the bf were well-loved.  That of course doesn’t mean I was unproductive!  I spent a lot of time on researching for Gimme Dem and got a couple new recipes out : 1, 2, 3 4 and  5.  I also totally cleaned my apartment! The really awesome thing about getting snowed in with such amiable company is, they let me buzz around like a nut without getting irritated and when I’m ready to relax they are awesome cuddle buddies.  I’m so glad I got to enjoy the comforts of a warm home and good company, as I hope you all did.

After I got a donation out for Lucky Dog and a special order for Jenny V Friday the 12th, I got to thaw out and warm up with Lars and Cole for a really fantastic Valentine’s in Philly with the goal to see the Jack Rose tribute show.  It was incredibly moving to see so many performers so close to the artist performing in his honor and I felt really lucky to be there.  I don’t leave town much but I continue to be impressed by the nice and talented people Lars has for friends.  Sarah, her roomates and the city of Philidelphia were excellent hosts, stuffing me with good food, canolis, and delicious beverages…  Needs met!

In summary, I hope we all go ahead and pull up a love seat, cuddle, and share some cupcakes because we may realize we have a lot of responsibilities that sometimes get the best of us, but Valentine’s or not, build the world you want and spend time the way you’d like with people you care about.

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PWND by Father Winter?

February 4, 2010 · Filed under local color, My Kitchen, Philosophy, puppy, travel · Tagged , , , , , , ,

So this winter has been a lesson in humility and acceptance.  Father Winter, these Black Ice cupcakes are dedicated to you.  Twice I have attempted to throw together a raucous celebration of Motown and Soulfood.  This week, I took a bit of a f-you attitude towards Father Winter, but considering my wishes are mingling in the ether with millions of other people’s wishes, I probably doesn’t hold much weight.  I guess that free will really matters.  Maybe the wishes of one-girl-working-everyday battling against the millions of weekday-workers in the DC area, it’s more convenient to snow on the weekends… even if it’s the weekends I pick to party.

So what do I take from this?  Snow keeps my income suppressed, people don’t go to restaurants and I don’t get my office hours.  I miss time with people I love, because these events are one of the rare moments I carve out a niche of time for myself and I get to see more people at once.  When I get snowed in, the only one I can play with is Cocoa Bean and her bum leg gets sore after a while.   So what’s a girl to do?

Turn that frown upside freaking down.  Even though it’s super inconvenient, we’re equipped.  I’ve got plenty to keep me entertained if I get snowed in: cupcake experiments, story-boarding for the new stop motion, the Evil Dead Trilogy, and some cookbooks I need to get back to.  I think I’ve gone about how to use my time somewhat the wrong way.  I think I need to revisit my scheduling and build in more free time weekly and not just the time I wrestle free.  Snow or not, I’m probably overtaxing the haphazard kt machine.  I need a little more fun during normal waking hours.  And hopefully, this weekend won’t be a bust.  If we time it right, maybe Beckybot can get snowed in with me or we’ll be able to Gchat and share hot cocoa remotely.  And in the meantime, I can take a trip to my favorite grocers for the party supplies on the off chance Motown and Soulfood turns into a slumber party.  I think I’ll also rustle up some Grumpy Grizzlies to share with Cocoa Bean and my family, too.

Wishing you all safe travels or stayingz- inz!

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You started it!

August 2, 2009 · Filed under favorite, media, My Kitchen, suggestions · Tagged , , ,

So for Lent 2k9 I grilled my homies for the DL on how to be vegan, but I knew I wouldn’t make it without sweets.  My BFFF/muse, Becky, introduced me The Post Punk Kitchen and Isa Chandra Moskowitz changed my life. Not only has she created a series of stunning all-purpose cook books, my personal fave is Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World!

Thus started a strange and therapeutic obsession.  During the most manic period of double shifts, I was churning out individual little friends, fine for anyone between the voyeuristic food pornographer and the voracious teenage stoner.  It’s been a pleasure to leaf through the pages of Isa’s books to tweak and tinker.

Here are a the first few pics from my vegan debut: pistachio rosewater (my all-time fave), the mint chocolate chip, and tiramisu!

There are so many more to try! I’m definitely interested in requests.   Especially concepts that turn actions into sweets.

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