Everyone Friendly Party Cupcakes

about 3 weeks ago the babycakes bakery released their self titled cookbook. yes! as a baker who revels in the "alternative" side of baking and a woman who has a type 1 diabetic father that likes to ignore my repeated pleas to skip dessert; this bakery is a god sent. all of the recipes are sugar free (using agave which has such a low GI level its safe for diabetics - and good for everyone) and gluten free (which is also good for everyone). the main fat of choice is coconut oil which as we know is a "good" fat that actually helps our bodies metabolize fats better and supplies nutrients to boot.

in an attempt to support this bakery i'm not going to post the recipes online, because they really are masterpieces and you should buy the book. mom i'll email them to you ;). but i will post tantalizing pictures to whet your appetite.

the cakes pictured here are miniature versions of the vanilla cakes with chocolate frosting. i add sprinkles - which technically is against the rules since they may cause and allergy reaction considering who knows what the heck is in them. but since i don't have any allergies that i am aware of and i just couldn't resist how cute they looked with the sprinkles, it happened. don't they just transport you back to your 6th birthday party or what?

Roasted Cherry Tomato Whole Wheat Pizza

last weekend i went to a friends apt that i hadn't seen in a while. actually its the friend that involuntarily put josh and i together (long semi-interesting story). anyways the night turned out to be a total bachelor dude party, with poker and the whole nine.

back track with me a bit. earlier that day when my friend called me up he mentioned that we would probably grab some pizza and a few beers etc etc. needless to say - i had my heart set on the pizza. by the time i arrived everyone had already partaken in eating and beer to a extent that no one agreed with my pleas to order pizza from the place literally two flights of stairs away from us. ugh! guys right? such bad hosts. so i was aggressive enough and after a few hours of hassling everyone with the occasional threat of the place closing and leaving us all to starve in that NYC luxury apartment i was joined in placing an order. i chose the pizzas that i was denied last time when my friend somehow still thought i still didn't t eat meat - huh. i should stay in touch more i guess. it was a thin crust with pineapple, bacon and basil. amazing. i scarfed it down and then trekked back to my little apt. to do something other than watch basketball and mediocre poker playing.

for a week now i have been obsessed with pizza. i really don't make it enough. its so easy, versatile and cheap there are no excuses not to. and so i did just that today. you have to use a whole wheat crust - its just simply better. better people, better - that means just use whole wheat. I added in cornmeal into the dough this time and it was perfect; adding just enough crunch at the ends.

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH

1 1/2c whole wheat flour

1/2c cornmeal

1c AP flour

2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 tbs olive oil

1c warm water

*in a large bowl sift together the flours, cornmeal & salt

*stir in the water and oil w/ a wooden spoon. stir until it becomes to difficult.

*turn out dough onto floured surface and knead with your hands until smooth and elastic

*grease a large bowl, put the dough into the bowl and turn to coat w/ oil

*cover with plastic and let rise to double 1-2 hours or put in frig and let rise for a bout 6-8 hours

*preheat oven to 525F, sprinkle your pan w/ cornmeal or flour

*divide dough into 2 (for larger) or 4(for smaller) balls, let rest covered for a few minutes.

*w/ your hands press and/or pull the dough into a round, again let set cover a few minutes

*roll out the rounds to your desired thickness (i always go for a thin as possible)

*place on prepared pan and lightly spray or brush w/ olive oil

*top w/ your desired foodstuff and cook for 10-15 minutes until everything is golden and to your liking. see below for what i used and was more than delighted with.

ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO & CILIEGINA MOZZARELLA

1c cherry tomatoes, cut in half

4 oz fresh ciliegina mozzarella, each piece cut into thirds

1c homemade** roasted tomato basil soup

2 tsp dried basil

**i make a lot of this soup in the summer and freeze, if you don't happen to have any of your own homemade (which i understand is highly unlikely) just use good quality store bought.

*heat soup to a medium simmer in a small sauce pan

*in a small cup (shot glass works well) combine 1 tsp cornstarch w/ 2 tsp water

*add mixture to the simmering soup stirring to combine well, let simmer a few minutes then take off heat

*spread as much sauce as you prefer on to prepared dough

*continue with the remaining ingredients - its a pizza, don't freak out about it!

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

Cheese Stuffed Sun-dried Tomato Tortellini

i stand by my "basics of tortellini" trio, but these little guys are sooooo delish. i woke up this morning knowing i needed more butternut squash tortellini but there was a half empty tube of sun-dried tomato paste and an opened container of ricotta that needed to be dealt with. standing there in my kitchen, contacts still sticky and annoying it came to me: sun-dried tomato pasta stuffed full of cheese! yes. the smell of the pasta alone is tantalizing enough but add the cheese and really its heavenly. a simple pink or cream sauce is a must with these.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PASTA

2c AP flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs sun-dried tomato paste

1/2c hot water

*combine the salt and flour in a bowl, make a well in the center

*add the paste, oil and water mixing with a fork gradually incorporating the four.

*once its too difficult to stir dump out onto counter and knead with your hands, adding water if too dry and flour if too wet.

*wrap in plastic and let sit for 30 minutes

*do with it as you please

CHEESE STUFFING

1/2c pecorino romano cheese, grated

1/2c parmigiana reggiano cheese, grated

1 1/2c whole milk ricotta

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2c whole wheat bread crumbs - i make mine from my daily bread leftovers

1/4c finely chopped parsley

salt

1 egg

*combine all in a bowl, mix well to combine. cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.

Mushroom Spelt Tortellini

and the second of my favorite tortellini trio destine for the freezer. being me i made the pasta spelt this time just to see how it would taste and for of-course the added nutrition. all i did was replace the whole wheat in the pasta recipe for the spinach and ricotta with spelt. enjoy!

MUSHROOM FILLING

1 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1c hot water

2 shallots finely chopped

1/4c olive oil

2 lbs various mushrooms chopped- i used button, shiitake & baby bella

1/4 c chopped parsely

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2c parmigiana reggiano

1/2c whole milk ricotta

*reconstitute the porcini in the hot water for 30 minutes, drain reserving 1/4c of the soaking water.

*chop the porcini and set aside

*heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes

*add the parsley, cook for 1 minute

*add the mushrooms, cook for 10 minutes until all the liquid released is cooked away

*add the reserved porcini liquid and cook for 5 minutes until all the liquid is cooked away

*take off heat and let cool a bit

*add the ricotta, parmigiana, salt and pepper mixing well to combine

*chill if not using immediately

Spinach Whole Wheat Tortellini

i adore tortellini. even more i love to make my own, which is exactly what i am doing today. somewhere around once a month i devote a weekend to tortellini making and thus stocking up the freezer with a small assortment of delicious little pasta pockets. really i can't think of anything better than knowing you have a fabulous fall back dinner in your freezer just waiting for you to boil up, sprinkle with olive oil and devour in less than 15 minutes.

to me there are about 3 standard tortellini filling all of which equally deserving of attention and praise: butternut squash, spinach & ricotta and wild mushroom. of those three the easiest to make has to be the spinach. get yourself a small package of frozen spinach, defrost, drain and mix. you got yourself a stuffing.

and being myself i had to make the pasta whole wheat, just for good measure. oh and don't think for a minute that you can buy wonton wrappers for this. seriously people they are called wonton wrappers. did i say anything about making wontons? not to mention they are old and sitting around a grocery store being gross and born in a factory. really! pasta is so simple and easy there are no excuses. invest in a pasta rolling machine and it will serve you well for the rest of your pasta making life.

WHOLE WHEAT PASTA DOUGH (eggless)

1c AP flour

1c whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbs olive oil

3/4c hot water

*combine the flours and salt in a bowl, make a well in the center

*pour in the hot water and oil

*begin mixing with a fork, gradually in corporation the flour into the water

*when it starts to get difficult to continue, turn out onto a floured surface and begin to knead

*add flour if too sticky or water if to dry, the dough should be firm and elastic

*wrap in plastic wrap and let sit 30minutes

*cut off about 1/5 of the dough and roll it out with your pasta machine - or a wood roller if you are real old school

*do with it as you please

SPINACH AND RICOTTA FILLING

1 1/2c whole milk ricotta

10 oz frozen spinach

1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

1/4c chopped fresh parsley

1c parmigiana reggiano

1 egg

salt

*defrost the spinach, drain all the liquid out and chop if needed

*combine all the ingredient in a bowl, cover and chill if not using immediately

*depending on how big you want your tortellini then you will use more or less - use your judgement here. but i generally like to stuff as much as possible into each one.

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