Brown Rice Pudding

-nectar of the gods-

this.recipe.makes me very very happy. firstly; i adore rice pudding. i love it warm. i love it cold. i love it sweet. i love it savory (aka risotto). and being you know, somewhat health conscious i have been trying to pin down brown rice pudding for - and i am not exagerating here - years. years people. sometimes it was totally disaster: pellet textured rice imprisoned in rubbery milk mortar. sometimes it was just simply not right: your taster just looks puzzled at the first bite (the worst feeling in the world). i think my biggest problem layed in my resistance to pre-cook the rice. as much as i love the idea that the rice is completely fused with the sweetened milk from the get-go, cooking long grain brown rice this way is just not going to workour for me. maybe you can pull it off, i most definately can not.

precook that rice, or use left over from chinese take-out whatever you like just make it easy on yourself and trust me that this is delish and somewhat, yeah ok i'll call it nutritious.

BROWN RICE PUDDING

adapted from honey & jam

1c long grain brown rice, steamed in 2 1/2c water

1 tbs butter

2 1/2c whole milk

1 1/2c skim milk

2 tbs cane sugar

3 tbs honey (or agave or maple - i used a combo of maple and honey)

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed

*combine milks, sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla seeds in large pan over medium heat

*bring milk mixture to boil

*add the cooked rice and butter, bring to a moderate simmer

*stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes - do not let it boil over or scold

*take off heat, remove cinnamon stick

*serve warm or chilled

Birthdays and Cakes

-evidently i was very ready for that raggedy ann and andy cake, or a balloon-

1st birthdays are awesome. i can't say i remember mine, but i am sure that it was rockin' because well, my parents rock - thusly i rock - right? hmm. anyways mostly what i can remember are birthday parties held in my garage. yes i said garage, don't knock it until you've tried it. basically you get a bit of an indie-rocker feel to your party.

well anyways i love my birthday - so much so i made my mom give it to me a month early. i love my birthday not so much for the presents and attention - i don't really take either of those very well. i love my birthday because its always at the time of year when the weather finally gives in and gives us a break with some sun and warmth - maybe even a few flowers and some grass. life just seems better, or at least that its working towards that.

it seems that another little lady shares my birthday zone. Meet Harper Willow, April 1st 2009 only 26 years 362 days younger than me.

- miss Willow munching down on cake, a little more chill than me -

close enough. evidently she really like bananas and although they may not be my fruit of choice i am more than happy to comply with this fellow spring chick's wishes and provide one serious 1st birthday cake. there are 8 full bananas, roasted to perfection to really bring the fruits flavor to in your face status. the honey and cinnamon in the frosting is just enough to make you say m

mmm - warmth!

BANANA CAKE w/ HONEY CINNAMON FROSTING

8 ripe bananas, skin on

3c cake flour

1 1/2c sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

8oz butter, melted

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla

1c finely chopped pecans (for the sides of cake - optional, but pretty)

*preheat oven to 325F, lay bananas in a single layer on baking sheet. roast 15 minutes turning once until the skins are black.

*let the bananas cool then remove from skins and mash.

*turn oven to 350F, lightly grease (3) 9" cake pans

*sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg

*beat together the butter, eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas to an even consistency

*quickly combine the wet ingredients with the dry

*pour into prepared pans and cook for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean

*let cool completely before icing

HONEY CINNAMON FROSTING

8oz butter, room temp

1tbs milk / water

2 1/2c powdered sugar

2tbs honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

*beat the butter to light and fluffy

*beat in milk for a about 3 minutes

*add in cinnamon and honey, beat well to combine

*gradually add in the powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want

Skinny Cinnamon Rolls

-light, guiltless cinnamon rolls, woohoo!-

about 3 years ago during a weekend visit upstate i made josh and our friend dave cinnamon rolls. these rolls were full proof, i'de made them for years as a special treat for my friends back home in Louisiana. they're about the size of your head and loaded (like any heart stopping breakfast indulgence does) with a pound of butter. well, though they'd always been a hit with my deep fried southern cohorts and josh and dave devoured them - they also didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day. and for those lord of the rings fan; they were renamed "elvin rolls". very funny.

i never made them again. as a cook i want people to eat numerous times during a day - who else is going to dispose of all my kitchen creations? alright so starting about a year ago josh has been nagging me to take a try at cinnamon rolls again. finally i agreed but only under the stipulation that they would be lightened up - significantly.

valentines rolled around and i got to work. these rolls are best eaten right out of the oven or same day. comparatively they have very little fat content so they dry up pretty quick. but the good news - they were a hit (josh ate 3) and rendered the eater able to eat lunch and dinner with out suffering.

SKINNY CINNAMON ROLLS

1c warm skim milk

3 tbs melted butter (divided)

1/3c sugar

2 1/4 tsp yeast

3 3/4c AP flour

1 egg, beaten

1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

2 tbs butter, melted

7 tbs packed brown sugar

1 tbs ground cinnamon

Icing:

3 tbs melted butter

2 tbs milk

1 tsp vanilla

1c powdered sugar (more if needed)

Make rolls:

*combine milk, butter, 1tbs sugar and yeast - set aside until foamy (about 5 minutes)

*add egg and remaining sugar

*stir in 1c flour, let rest 10 minutes (will get bubbly)

*add in 2 1/2c flour and salt, stir until a soft ball forms

*turn out onto surface and knead for about 5 minutes adding small amounts of flour as needed to keep from sticking to hands

*place in oiled bowl, cover and let rise about 35 minutes until doubled in size

*punch down, cover and let rise another 35 minutes to double

*punch down again, let rest 10 minutes

*meanwhile mix together the the brown sugar and cinnamon for filling

*roll dough out into a 18 x 11 rectangle

*brush the rolled dough with the 2 tbs melted butter

*sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over buttered dough

*roll the dough, tightly, into and 18" log

*cut into 1" pieces, place on greased pan, cover and let rise about 35 minutes until desired size

*preheat oven to 350F, place risen rolls in oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes until they begin to get a golden hue

*let cool in pan for 10 minutes

*combine all ingredients for the icing, adding more sugar to get your desired consistency

*drizzle the icing over the rolls - and enjoy!

Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

once again we failed to finish off the bunch of 7 weekly bananas received in our standard grocery load. why is this so difficult? i'm not sure if josh isn't secretly abandoning the last 2-3 bananas on purpose as part of a cruel plan to see what baked goods i will transform the sweet mush into. well, if this is so i keep falling for it. i have a serious problem about throwing any kind of food item away. i will eat anything before tossing it in the trash, which now that i think of it - is not such a reasonable philosophy. usually if something is calling to be thrown in a trash can, you should not be consuming it. hm, ok well with that said...

the cupcakes are pretty close to perfect! the bananas give the added flavor, moisture and sweetness which means less fat and sugar. the addition of the warm spices make this a great fall-into-winter treat. i mean how many versions of pumpkin bread and chocolate mint can one person take during the holidays? give me some fruit please! we ate three of these cupcakes yesterday - yeah they are just that good. if you want you can double this recipe to get a full 12 (this makes 6)

BANANA CUPCAKES w/ HONEY CINNAMON FROSTING

3/4c AP flour

1/4c + 2tbs sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2oz butter, melted

3/4c mashed bananas (2 very ripe)

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

*preheat oven to 350F, line muffin pan

*sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg

*in separate bowl lightly beat egg

*add egg, butter, vanilla and banana to flour mixture

*stir to just combine

*pour into prepared pan, cook 20 minutes until toothpick is clean

HONEY CINNAMON FROSTING

1/2c + 2tbs powdered sugar

2oz butter, room temp

1 1/2 tsp honey

1/8 tsp cinnamon

*cream all ingredients together until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes.

*** i ended up finely chopping walnuts and adding to the top - just to be fancy***

Gluten Free Banana Pecan Bread

i know - how many breads can one person make in a week?! well let me explain. I order most all of my groceries from an online grocer here in the city. you shop, they deliver the next day whenever you choose. sometimes they fubb up your order. nothing huge, but sometimes i'll get a conspicuous can of dog food or a yukon gold potato in place of a sweet potato - you get the picture. so this time around we received an extra bundle of bananas - which brought our total supply for the week to 12. this may seem plausible to a family of four - or someone who ate bananas everyday. but alas i don't eat them unless in baked goods and really only get them because it is one of the only fruits josh will eat without a coating of butter and sugar.

alright so lets make some baked goods! first off is this great gluten-free banana bread. i love it. high in protein and fiber, low in sugar. its the perfect way to start your day - woohoo!

I used ghee in this which is an kind of cultured butter. a friend of mine from india loaned me a bit of it awhile back after i quizzed him on its uses, etc ect. But, understandably if you do not have ghee on hand just go ahead a use coconut oil in its place. ghee gives an incredibly rich "depth of flavor" to this bread that you just can't beat.

GLUTEN-FREE BANANA PECAN BREAD

3 small - medium bananas, mashed

4 large eggs

1/2c honey

3 tbs melted ghee / coconut oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4c arrowroot

1/2c coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1c chopped pecans

*preheat oven to 350F, grease your loaf pan

*whisk together the eggs, honey, ghee/oil & mashed bananas

*in separate bowl sift together the salt, cinnamon, arrowroot, coconut, soda & baking powder

*pour the egg mixture into the dry, mix to combine

*fold in the pecans

*pour into prepared pan and cook for 50 minutes

Persimmon, Date and Pecan Bread

up until about 2 years ago persimmons were one amongst a list of fruits that i was convinced simply could not be purchased from a grocery store. my father (in my mind) is the persimmon master. every time he would walk through the doors of our camp and plop down a few of those oddly cartoonish orange fruits i would get so excited because, in all seriousness those perfectly ripe little guys were a heavenly mix between an orange and jello. our family favorite ritual is to peel a few of them (enjoy all the mess), throw them in the freezer for about 30 minutes then gorge ourselves on the amazingly complex textures and tastes of this low country louisiana delicacy. as a matter of fact when josh and i were in town visiting my family a little over a month ago my dad trucked a few into the house. don't you love how some things never change?

when i moved to NYC i began to notice that persimmons were sold in the grocery. this was an interesting phenomenon considering this was never the case in louisiana. the logistics would never work out - from what i knew these things are all mush. try putting that in a pyramid and leaving it out for a week or two in hopes some poor schmuck would buy one. well i bought one one day - i just needed some kind of comfort food and this seems perfect. that was a horrific experience - yikes. biting into one of those, thinking you will get a mouthfull of sweet goo was like drinking from a cup filled with sprite when you thought it was water.

needless to say i had never heard of the other persimmons that happened to look just like my childhood ones. these are so grandly called FUYU persimmons and as i discovered; they are not suppose to soft and gooey like my beloved memories. ok, i can accept that then, but what the hell do you do with them then? make bread i suppose. i was rummaging around blogs and found a recipe for persimmon bread. alright then - lets make some changes and do this!

i really like the finished product, its great for breakfast or afternoon snack.

PERSIMMON, DATE & PECAN BREAD

1 egg

2/3c sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c grated persimmons (about 3)

1/3c oil

1 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

1 1/2c AP flour

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp (heaping) cardamon

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2c chopped pecans

1/2c chopped dates

*preheat oven to 350F, grease a loaf pan

*whisk together the first 5 ingredients (through to oil)

*in separate bowl sift together the salt, flour and spices

*mix in oil mixture to just combine

*fold in pecans and dates

*pour into loaf pan and cook 45-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean

Pear Up-Side Down Gingerbread Cake

its full on autumn here in NYC and we had an extremely overdue dinner date with our newly parented friends over in williamsburg. so there is no way in hell i could show up to their place without some kind of sweet treat. no way.

with that credo established - ummm what the ?! i have no kitchen! but i do have a skillet. okey dokey lets do it, lets make a freakin cake in a skillet. i suppose its not that crazy of an idea. its done all the time, i think. my only word of wisdom here is don't use a skillet with a plastic handle - that's all i'll say about that. besides the smell of stressed molten plastic that wafted through the apt; everything was perfect!

i've actually never made an up-side down cake. something about it reminds me of old ladies. right? like a pineapple upside down cake with cherries in the middle - ha! well i got over it and glad i did, i love this cake! make sure you use ripe bosc pears, they need to be able to "melt" into the cake. i'm such a foodie - melt? anyways the dinner and company was great as always with those guys. think josh wants to move to london with them. and katy claimed the cake reminded her of childhood - rock out, i'll take a slice of that!

PEAR UP-SIDE DOWN GINGERBREAD CAKE

For Pears:

2 ripe bosc pears, peeled, cored sliced in 8

2oz butter

3/4c packed light brown sugar

For Cake:

2 1/2c AP flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground clove

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1c pure cane syrup (or molasses)

1c boiling water

4oz butter

1/2c packed light brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

*preheat oven to 350F

make pears:

*in a large, deep, non-stick skillet heat the butter over medium heat until foam subsides

*lower heat to low & sprinkle evenly the sugar over butter, let cook 3 minutes undisturbed

*place the pear slices around the skillet, cook 2 minutes undisturbed

*take off heat

make cake:

*sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg and salt

*in separate bowl combine cane syrup and boiling water, stir to combine

*in separate bowl cream together butter and sugar to light and fluffy

*add in egg and vanilla, beat to combine and fluffy

*in 3 batched alternately add in the dry ingredients then the syrup mixture into the butter mix. end on the dry ingredients and mix to combine

*pour batter evenly over the prepared pears

*place the (melt proof) skillet in the oven and cook 40-50 minutes until toothpick comes out clean

*let cool only about 5minutes then run a knife around the edges of the skillet and invert the onto a plate - enjoy!

Pumpkin Apple Nut Loaf

so i'm back - kinda sorta.

got hitched, got swine flu (seriously), attended two after the fact receptions and have the apt packed up and ready to move on out. so like any home purchase - it takes longer than you think. i sadly packed away my kitchen so there hasn't been much baking lately. but i couldn't take another weekend void of fun treats so i trekked downstairs to duane read and got myself a few disposable baking pans in various shapes and sizes - then got to baking.

lesson here: disposable baking pan are worthless. yeah worthless. basically you have to increase cooking time by 50%, don't ask me why. seems to me the pans; basically made from thick foil would cook faster. just untrue. everything comes out all doughy and weird. like i said increase cook time by 50%.

fortunately, after "fixing" the cooking time for my pan's shortcomings, this loaf came out great! below is the correct cooking time if you are using real pans. i am trying to clean out the pantry and i have a ton of canned pumpkin from thanksgiving last year as well as mini packs of pecans my mom mailed me a while back that were getting rancid. throw it all in and happy autumn!

PUMPKIN APPLE NUT LOAF

Topping:

1 1/2 tsp flour

2 tbs brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp oil

Loaf:

1 1/2c flour

1/2 tsp (scant) salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp clove

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ginger

1c canned pumpkin

1/4c + 2 tbs canola oil

1c sugar

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1 apple, peeled and finely chopped

1/2c chopped pecans or walnuts

* preheat oven to 350F, grease 2lb loaf pan

*mix together all topping ingredients and set aside

*sift together flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, and ginger

*in separate bowl whisk together the pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar

*add wet to dry ingredients and stir just to combine

*fold in apples and nuts

*pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with topping

*cook for 50 mins - 1 hour until toothpick comes out clean

Cashew Pumpkin Pudding (Gluten/ Sugar Free)

lately i've been dipping back into my vegan/raw living foods days. surely to my friend's regret. but i promise you all that i still eat everything else - seriously - EVERYTHING. so i stumbled onto the greatest food blog ever (or least for this week): elanaspantry. i found this recipe for a pumpkin pudding and for multiple reasons, one of which being that i have about 6 cans of pumpkin in "pantry"/coat closet/folding chair storage/everything that will unreasonably fit. they were left over from when i made a trip home about a year ago and there was a sale on pumpkin so my mom and i stocked up. thus i now have a few servings of delish pumpkin and cashew pudding sitting in my frig. yum! oh and by the way just a warning: don't be too shocked by the price of agar - its like $200 a pound - but you will only need a fraction of that unless you just decide to go crazy. that's your call.

CASHEW PUMPKIN PUDDING

(via elanaspantry)

1/2c raw cashews

1 tbs agar flakes

pinch sea salt

1 1/4c boiling water

1 1/2c roasted pumpkin, pureed

1/4c agave

1 tbs vanilla

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

pinch clove

1/4 tsp lemon zest

*process cashews, agar and salt on high to a powder

*add in boiling water, mix on high

*add pumpkin, agave, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and zest. blend to smooth

*pour into your favorite containers and chill of about 30 minutes to an hour

Tofu Mexican Chocolate Pudding

i eat a ton of chocolate. really more than anyone probably should. the first thing i eat everyday is dark chocolate squares and i usually eat some kind of chocolate before bed. i realized my addiction (seriously) recently when i when to see josh for the weekend and realized his rundown little semi-bachelor pad had no traces of dark chocolate - i'm talking 90-95% dark chocolate, i can sometime drop as low as 72% if i am desperate. so i woke up ate my breakfast and everything seemed to be fine until about 2 hours later when i just felt like i needed something. i must have drank about 4 large green teas and still dragged around. finally i found a small little grocer that had a few squares of 80% chocolate that looked to be about 8 years old and marked 50 cents each. frantically i bought one and literally walked out the door sat on a bench and inhaled the chocolate. ahhhh it was like a drink of water after a 5k run. yeah so i have a problem.

with all that said i stubbled across a NYtimes recipe via mark bittman for tofu chocolate pudding. i made a few healthier substitutions, some proportion alterations (ok i completely changed it) and this delicious pudding came out of it i like to think its "healthy", relatively. i don't suggest leaving out the spices - if you must you can leave out the ancho chili, but trust me its very subtle.

TOFU MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PUDDING

12oz silken tofu

4oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

2oz unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ancho chili powder

1 tsp vanilla

1/3c + 2tbs agave syrup

*combine all in a blender to completely smooth

*chill for about an hour

Honey Whole Wheat Walnut Cake

about every 3-5 months josh and i actually coordinate our schedules long enough to make a trip out to our friend dave's "farm". why the quotations? because to me a farm has animals of some kind or a product or some form that is farmed. i have grandparents that are real farmers and yes they have cows, chickens, sheep (which i loathe. ugh what the hell is up with sheep?), corn, rice, crawfish. i mean you name it those two farmed it and it was nothing fancy just a little house, a barn, bunch of land and lot of animal poo.

so when this amazing 80 acres of land that is filled with random pieces of art from the previous owner: mr. alan d'arcangelo, is called a farm it just don't sit right you know? i would have to say its more a camp. yesss. a camp. my parents have a camp. in other words its the weekend house built out in the middle of the woods in the town my father grew up in. just a get away from the big mean city/office. yeah a camp - not a farm just a place you go to be difficult to get in touch with. am i right?

non-the-less, every time we make it up to the catskills to visit the "farm" i make sure we stop by the local old man's house who offers a gallon of local honey for $18. yes that is correct - a gallon! so needless to say we love honey in this apartment and when i came across a recipe for a honey walnut cake what was there to stop me? of-course i snuck in some whole wheat for good measure and before you know it you've got breakfast for a week.

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT WALNUT CAKE

3/4c roasted and finely chopped walnuts

3/4c whole wheat flour

3/4c AP flour

1c honey

1c unsweetened applesauce

3 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

*preheat oven to 350F, grease and flour a 8 1/2" spring form pan

*sift together the dry ingredients

*in a separate bowl combine the honey and applesauce until smooth

*add the eggs one at a time

*add wet to the dry, mix to just combine

*pour into prepared pan and cook for 45 minutes or until toothpick is clean

*right when you take out of the oven drizzle 2-3tbs of honey on top, brush to evenly distribute

Juiced Up Carrot Cake

so josh is gone. he left monday night and won't be back to corrupt my strictly healthy dietary requirements with his seemingly unquenchable - yet starting to gradually wane - need for delicious sugary treats. i admit it: sugar and butter are delish. but sooner or later i have to get back on track, not just for me but for my poor salivating father who has to sit through these posts, week after week. sorry dad.

anyways so my plan while alone for the next 8 weeks (josh is back mondays and tuesday) is to gather a decent amount of reasonably healthy baked treats. that and kick the habit of eating cereal for dinner when alone (ugh how sad is that?). i can do it!

so here we go: healthy treat number uno. i packed away the week's supply of "daily bread" with josh and i wanted to make something i could convince myself was a healthy substitute to house my almond butter for lunch at the office. pack in the fruit, vegetables, nuts and whole wheat and viola! one day i may try to substitute the sugar with maple syrup or honey. one day.

JUICED UP CARROT CAKE

1/2c whole wheat flour

1/2c AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2c + 2tbs sugar

1/2c peeled and grated granny smith apple

1/2c peeled and grated carrot

1/2c grated zucchini

1/4c + chopped walnuts

1/4c buttermilk

2 eggs

1/4c canola oil

*preheat oven to 350 F, grease a loaf pan

*sift together the flours, sugar, soda, cinnamon & salt

*add the apple, carrots, zucchini & walnuts - stir to combine well

*in a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, oil and buttermilk

*add wet to dry and mix to just combine

*pour into prepared loaf pan and cook for 45-50 minutes until toothpick is clean

*let cool completely before slicing in.

Snickerdoodles

when i was about 10 years old i "invented" a cookie that had cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top. they were my brother's favorite. but his preferred action to take when i was baking them was to hover around the kitchen when i was baking and right as i took a sheet of hot cookies out of the oven and placed them on the counter he would lean over - just as close as if he was going to inhale a nice big cloud of the delicious smell- and let out a supernatural, teenage male burp. he would burp all over my hot cookies. would you like to eat those cookies? yeah i'm still not sure where he came up with that little number, but it was executed in perfect elder brother style.

so anyways, he liked these cinnamon cookies i would make; and being a teenage boy he would eat somewhere around a dozen in one sitting (along with the infamous 32 oz "big gulp" of milk) while watching a new episode of the simpsons or beavis and butt-head. unfortunately a few years later i figured out that i was most definitely not the inventor of cookies with cinnamon and sugar. yes it is true- i did not invent snickerdoodles.

i am personally not a huge fan of these cookies, but i seem to be the only one. these are the first thing i ever baked for josh, and like my big bro he ate a ton of them. they are always welcome when i bring myself to make them. so here's to it!

SNICKERDOODLES

8oz butter

1 1/2c sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 3/4c flour

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbs sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

*cream the butter and sugar together to smooth and fluffy

* add in egg one at a time beating well between each

* sift together the flour, baking powder and salt

* add to the flour mixture to the butter mixture, combine

* cover in plastic and chill for 2 hours

* preheat oven to 350F

*combine the cinnamon and sugar in a plate

* roll chilled dough into 1" balls and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture

* place on your prepared cookie sheet and cook for 10-13 minutes

Ginger Snaps

if you look up ginger in the thesaurus you are given the synonym "sparkle". oh sparkle! of-course who wouldn't put the two together?

synesthesia is a condition in humans where our senses are literally crossed. so you can hear colors or smell words. strange yes, but it is believed that when we are born our senses are all crossed. over time we learn to separate and classify our experiences into the 5 basics we learn. psychedelic, yes but that alone proves to me that this crossing is possible in all of us and that we all subconsciously understand this mishmash of senses.

eat a slice of ginger, fresh or crystalized, and tell me what you feel. i bet its sparkly. who doesn't want to be sparkly? i do.

think about fireworks, just about as sparkly as you can get. the burst of twinkly perfectly engineered symmetrical balls of colored flame shoot through the sky. all your attention is focused on what is unfolding before you and you ease into it just in time to see the glittery leftovers fall.

yeah, ginger is sparkly - not sparkle, that's completely different. since i can't leave anything well enough alone, i dipped these guys in a pool of turbinado before putting them in the oven to give it some extra jazz, aka make them sparkly! i like my snaps extra snappy so i cook then a tad long and cut a bit thin.

GINGER SNAPS

2c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground clove

5.5 oz unsalted butter, soft

2/3c sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4c cain syrup (i only use STEEN'S)

1 egg

* combine all dry ingredient, whisk to make sure evenly mixed

* in separate bowl cream the butter to light and fluffy

* add sugar to the butter, beat until smooth and creamy

* beat in egg, cain syrup and vanilla

* gradually mix in the flour mixture. mix to combine.

*roll into a log and chill for 2 hours.

* preheat oven to 350 F

* cut the chilled, stiff log of dough into 1/8" to 1/4" thick rounds.

* smash one face of the round into a plate filled with turbinado, put cookie sugar side down on a lined baking sheet.

* cook for 10-13 minutes, depending on your required snappyness level.

PEAR WALNUT CRUMBLE MUFFIN

josh, if left to himself would eat coco-puffs for breakfast. i kid you not, ok maybe he would settle with some cinnamon toast crunch. both of which have basically no nutritional value. how can someone start their day with that? so every now and again i venture and make him some muffins for saturday morning breakfast. and when i do i try my hardest to cram as much fresh fruit and nuts in these little guys as possible. its one of my only chances to get fruit into his diet.

like banana bread you should opt for very ripe bananas for the maximum sweetness and taste - same with the pears. who wants to bite into a unripe pear? yick! pears should not have the same consistency as apples people! go for the ones that are more like a peach - a ripe one of-course. enough of my preaching... eat ya breakfast!

PEAR WALNUT CRUMBLE MUFFINS

1 pear, finely diced

3 tbs brown sugar

3 tbs sugar

3 tbs vegetable oil

1 banana, mashed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbs milk

1c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 c chopped walnuts

* preheat oven to 350 F and line muffin pan

*toss the pear, brown sugar and regular sugar together to coat

* beat together the mashed banana, oil, vanilla, milk and egg

* sift together in a separate bowl the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt

* slowly add the flour mixture to the banana mixture. stir just to combine.

* fold in the pears and walnuts

* spoon into your prepared muffin pan.

* make crumble:

CRUMBLE

2 1/2 tbs brown sugar

3 tbs chopped walnuts

2 tbs flour

1 tbs cold butter, cubed

1/2 tsp cinnamon

*combine sugar, walnuts, flour and cinnamon

*with your hands cut in the butter into the walnut mixture. mix until it has a nice evenly crumbly texture.

* spoon even amount on top of your muffin batter filled pan

* cook muffins for 25 minutes.

Carob Chip and Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

according to josh, and every other man i've ever met: under no circumstances should raisins be included in any desert of any kind. ok

since my wonderfully pregnant neighbor moved out a few months ago josh is my main consumer. so here we are with oatmeal cookies that plea for a nice plump dark fruity dose of raisins - what do i do? i pulled out my ridiculous list of specialty health food items and the perfect answer was carob chips. they are perfect! if you aren't familiar with carob:

the carob tree sits within the legume family and creates pods that hold about 5 little beans. Those beans are what we nosh on (after some processing of-course) and they taste oddly like chocolate, but with a fruity undertone - like the offspring of chocolate and raisin. so people who are allergic to chocolate or vegan or attracted to novelty food items like me dig on this tasty little bean. evidently ancient egyptians loved it too.

add in a healthy dose of walnuts and you can tell yourself these are "a health indulgence" and eat them for breakfast.

CAROB CHIP & WALNUT OATMEAL COOKIES

3/4c + 2 tbs all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (it has to be fresh - has. to. be.)

4 oz unsalted butter, softened

2 tbs sugar (optional)

3/4c packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2c carob chips

1 3/4c rolled oats (old fashioned)

1/2 c chopped walnuts

*preheat oven to 350 F

*shift together all the dry ingredients, then whisk to combine

*in a separate bowl cream the butter to a light color

*add sugar(s) and cream to light and fluffy

*beat in egg then vanilla

*gradually add in the flour mixture

*fold in the carob chips, walnuts and oats - make sure all is well combined, but do not over work the dough

* taking a heaping tablespoon full, roll into a ball and place on prepared cookie sheet

* lightly smash down the balls to about 1/2" thick

*bake 12-14 minutes to lightly browned