Movin' on Uptown

Toronto Bakes For Japan

So I've moved out of the urban jungle and now living uptown.  I've been living here for 2 months and I'm finally taking a break from baking this weekend!  The first weekend we moved here, I donated 8 dozen cupcakes to Toronto Bakes For Japan.  I made about 4 dozen black forest cupcakes and my sister helped me baked 4 dozen green tea cupcakes (Thanks Sis!!).  The bake sale raised over $30K!!!  THANK YOU TORONTO!

Cake Pops

I bought a whole bunch of goodies from the Bake Sale, but the most memorable purchase was the cake pop.  It was my first cake pop experience and it was scrumptious!  (Oops ... actually my first cake pop was from Starbucks and I was less than thrilled.)  I had burnt some green tea cupcakes in preparation for the bake sale (need to adjust to a new oven).  Reluctant to throw out 2 dozen muffins, I cut off the burnt bottoms and decided to try making green tea cake pops.  These things are not easy to put together.  The cake is mixed with icing and then shaped into balls.  Too much icing and your cake balls will fall apart.  I took a cake pops class a few nights ago at Le Dolci and here is a pic of the final result ...

Vanilla Cake Pops

The Winner of The Chili Contest Is ...

My Vegetarian Chili!  At work, I helped to organize a Cinco de Mayo celebration during the lunch hour.  We had margaritas, chicken tacos (homemade, of course), nachos with all the fixin's and 3 chilis to sample for the chili cook-off.  My vegetarian chili entry actually won!  (I voted for the other beef chili that came in 2nd place.)  My husband told me I would lose to the meat chilis.  But my co-workers told me they thought my chili had a lot of flavour.  My favourite ingredient to add to chili is chipotle peppers.  Some people have been asking me for the recipe, but I don't really remember how much of what I put in it!  I started with a stew recipe and added whatever was in my spice rack to make it taste more like chili.  One co-worker said that my chili technically wasn't a chili because there was no meat in it. Well, my chili was the people's choice.  :)

Vegetarian Chili

(Serves 6)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Onion, diced
1/2 large Red Pepper, diced
1/2 large Green Pepper, diced
3 cloves Garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp salt
A few dashes black pepper
2 Chipotle Peppers (canned), drained and chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
3 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable stock
1 cup Corn
1 (16-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh Cilantro, lightly packed, torn into pieces (stems and all)
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lime

In a stockpot, sauté the onions and peppers in the oil over moderate heat for 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and black pepper.  Sauté 1 minute more.  Add the chipotles, tomatoes, water and vegetable stock, stir.  Bring to a low boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Uncover, add the corn and beans.  Thin with more water if needed.  Cook uncovered for 5 more minutes.  Add the cilantro, lime zest, and lime juice.  Let sit for at least 10 minutes.  Serve.
I actually reheated the chili in a slow cooker for a few hours at work before serving it at lunch, so I think that's when the magic really happened with my chili.
 
Detox to Retox
Like most women, I always think that I need to lose weight.  Lately, I've been eating way too many cupcakes and other goodies.  Since the beginning of April, I have been baking cupcakes almost every week.  For my brother & his fiancée's jack & jill showers, for afternoon tea on Will & Kate's wedding day, and of course Mother's Day.  So I decided that after Mother's Day I would detox for about 5 days.  5 days of fruits, veggies, whole grains, no dairy, no animal protein, no processed foods.  I did that for months after my second Master Cleanse and maintained a relatively flat tummy.  This time, I lasted only 3 and a 1/2 days.  For those 3 days I did hot yoga two days in a row, ate fresh veggies and savoured my morning watermelon fruit smoothie.

Watermelon Berry Smoothie
1 cup watermelon cubes
1/3 cup frozened berries
3/4 cup fruit juice (I used Oasis Wild Berries and Pomegranate)
1/4 cup water
Blend everything in a blender and enjoy!

Winter & Comfort Food

It's winter and I've been practicing comfort food classic recipes.  This Martha Stewart Mac & Cheese has been in high demand since I made it for Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house.

Macaroni & Cheese

I used to cut this recipe in half and used Gruyere cheese.  Since Christmas Eve, I made the full recipe using Pecorino Romano (pronounced with an Italian accent) and sprinkled panko crumbs on top instead of the buttered bread cubes.  It tastes so much better with Pecorino Romano, probably because it's saltier than Gruyere.  I'm not sure what's better for you: Kraft Dinner full of processed chemicals made to taste like cheddar; or cheddar and pecorino romano cheeses, milk, and butter??

Last summer, I picked up a copy of Jamie's Food Revolution from Costco because the recipes looked approachable with lots of pictures.  I finally attempted his Lamb Rogan Josh recipe and it was very tasty!  I don't think it was authentic, but it was quick, simple, and tasty.

What's Baking?

Just before Christmas, I participated in a cookie exchange at work.  I ended up baking green tea shortbread and made them into sandwich cookies filled my green tea icing recipe.  It wasn't too difficult to make (just 5 ingredients!), but there was a lot of butter in them.  I couldn't find a leaf cookie-cutter I liked, so I just cut the dough into 2 inch squares and used the back of a knife to imprint lines onto the dough.

Green Tea Shortbread Sandwich Cookies

And back by popular demand, green tea cupcakes!

Green Tea Cupcakes with Green Tea Buttercream Icing

One more goodie to take with you - Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake.  So easy and delicious!

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Cake & Pastry Flour
• 2/3 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 + 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 + 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/4 cup Canola Oil
• 1 + 1/2 cups Hot Water
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3 Bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup pecan or walnut pieces, optional

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.  Spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray (or lightly grease with oil).
2. In a large bowl, sift flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add sugar to dry ingredients and whisk until ingredients are blended.
3. To the flour mixture add the canola oil, hot water, and vanilla extract; mix well.
4. Now add the mashed bananas and stir batter until well blended.
5. If adding nuts, fold nuts into batter with a spatula.
6. The batter will be quite water-y.  Pour the batter into the the bundt pan.  Bake for about 45 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  (My cake was done after 45 min.)
7. Move the bundt pan to a cooling rack and let it cool for 15-20 minutes.  Use a wooden skewer or spatula to loosen the edges of the cake from the pan.  Remove the pan from the rack and place the rack over the open side of the pan and invert the cake onto the cooling rack.  Continue to cool the cake completely before serving.  Dust icing sugar over the cake and voilà!  Bon appetit!