Luke, I am your Father. Er, your Daddy.

When my husband gets into the kitchen, sometimes things of pure evil come out of it. And by pure evil, I mean pure deliciousness, of course.

For our Sunday morning breakfast, I made some bacon and scrambled eggs. He took that, added some shredded cheese, and wrapped all of it up in pieces of fresh pizza dough from our local pizzeria.

And THEN (prepare to go to the Dark Side)...

...each "breakfast ball" was then dropped into the FryDaddy, and fried to a golden crisp puff. Part breakfast sandwich, part donut, it was quite something to behold.

Feel the force...of your arteries clogging, your heart stopping...yes, yes, I must rule the galaxy and beyond...(heavy breathing)...

I'm pretty sure I passed out after eating it, with a big smile on my face.

Walnut and Date Granola

I don't know why I don't make this all the time. It's so good and good for me. Maybe because I won't make/eat other food while I have this around the house. It's great with fresh fruit and yogurt, with soy milk for breakfast (and sometimes lunch and dinner) or just on it's own when I want something crunchy to chew.



Ingredients

• 3 cups old fashioned oats


• 1/3 cup oat bran


• 1/3 cup wheat germ or ground flax seed


• 1 cup walnuts - chopped


• 2 tablespoons light tasting olive oil


• 1/4 cup apple sauce


• 1/4 cup brown sugar


• 1 cup dates - each cut horizontally into 4 pieces


• About 1/4 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


2. In a large bowl, stir oats, bran, wheat germ and walnuts together.


3. In a small bowl, whisk oil, apple sauce and brown sugar. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix.


4. Distribute evenly in a greased or non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir. And bake for 10 more minutes or until golden.


5. Stir in dates. Drizzle honey over the granola. Stir. Let cool completely and store in air-tight container.

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes With 7-Minute Frosting

For Jude's birthday, we decided that I would try a cupcake recipe from the February issue of Martha Stewart Living, which was all about cupcakes. The cake part was pretty good (reprinted below), but it was the 7-minute frosting that was challenging/fun part. All I can say, is thank God for my KitchenAid mixer, or I would never be able to make half of the stuff that I do. In honor of that fact, a bunch of us pitched in and got Jude a stand mixer of her own, so that she can experience the triumph of stiff peaks and whipped goodness that the rest of us do. Be warned, the 7-Minute Frosting takes a lot longer than 7 minutes, but it's gorgeous and worth the effort.



Coconut Cupcakes

Makes 24

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Seven-Minute Frosting
• 1 1/3 cups large-flake unsweetened coconut*

*I was unable to find this, so I just toasted some of the leftover sweetened coconut that I had and sprinkled that on top of the cupcakes. It had a nice effect.

Kale Chips

These are brilliant.



Recipe from chowmama.com.

I substituted rice vinegar for apple cider vinegar and used 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and the chips were a bit too salty. Mine became crispy only after 20+ minutes in 400 degrees oven.

They disappeared so fast I might have to make multiple batches next time. I wonder if they will stay crisp for a few days. If I have these on hand whenever I crave salty snacks, I will be the healthiest snacker ever!

Ginger Blackberry Apple Cobbler

I wanted to add more fruit to my diet. The only fruit I have been eating are oranges and those little mandarin oranges. Can't wait for the summer when berries and stone fruit are seasonal again. For now, I'll use frozen fruit and apples. To make it not so boring I added fresh and ground ginger. I worked out pretty well once the initial shock to the spice subsided.



Ingredients

• 4 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced


• 1 pound frozen blackberries


• About 2 inch knob of ginger - peeled and chopped


• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour


• 1/4 cup Agave nectar


• 1 egg


• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil


• 3/4 cup plain yogurt


• 1/4 cup brown sugar


• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar


• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.


2. In a large bowl, toss apples, blackberries, chopped ginger, 1 tablespoon flour and Agave nectar together. Pour into a 2.2 Qt. or larger baking dish.


3. Whisk egg, oil, yogurt and brown sugar in a clean bowl until well combined.


4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Pour into the wet ingredients. Stir until well blended


5. Spoon the batter over the fruit. Combine granulated sugar with ground ginger and sprinkle over the batter.


6. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool about 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

Chicken with Ricotta and Thyme over Spinach

I got this one from Jamie Oliver's Happy Days with Naked Chef. And I was indeed happy. The original recipe was called Pan-roasted Guinea Fowl with Pomegranates and Spinach. It was a little weird stuffing cheese under chicken skin. But the chicken came out soft and juicy with distinct smell of thyme.



Ingredients

• About 3 pounds whole chicken


• 1 cup ricotta cheese


• 2 teaspoons dried thyme


• 1 tablespoon butter


• 1 clove of garlic - peeled and chopped


• 1/2 cup white wine


• 1 pound fresh spinach


• Olive oil


• Salt and black pepper

Chicken pieces in a pan coming out of the oven.
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.


2. Separate chicken legs and wings from its breast. Cut the breast in half. Mix thyme with ricotta. Stuff the cheese under chicken skin. Rub the with salt and pepper.


3. In an oven proof pan, heat about a table spoon of olive oil on a stove top. Lightly fry the chicken until its skin is slightly brown.


4. Add chopped garlic and white wine to the pan. Cut butter into small chunks and dot over the chicken.


5. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes.


6. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a stove top at high heat. Add a handful of spinach at a time to the pan. Cook the spinach for a few seconds until just wilted.


7. Serve the chicken over spinach with chicken juice from the pan. Make about 4 portions.

Child (well, Young Adult) Labor

My cousin Emily was visiting from NYC over the weekend, and she was anxious to get into the kitchen to make some cupcakes (really, I swear). We came home from an afternoon at the museum with about an hour to spare, and whipped up some Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting in practically no time. Can I just say, I love having a sous chef? Emily is a good baker herself, so she knows her way around a measuring cup and a stand mixer, which helps tremendously. To be honest, I think I was the sous chef and she was the one in charge.

I had to go to an event that evening, so I left her to finish the frosting and decorating. She did an awesome job! I guess that sweetness just runs in the family.

Coke Adds Life...to Beef Short Ribs

Someone left a liter of Coke on my kitchen counter. I don't drink Coke, but it reminded me of Coca Cola braised shortribs that I had had at a restaurant some years ago. Time to bust out the slow cooker!

I found this recipe online, and it turned out great. Do not be afraid of using cola - it creates an amazing braising solution and sauce that is neither sticky nor sweet. It makes a lot (filled the slow cooker to the brim), so next time I might try and halve it. One change that I made was to use boneless short ribs - I bought about 2-3 lbs, vs. the 7-8 lbs of bone-in shortribs called for in the original recipe. The flavor was all there and it was a lot less work. No need to be too exacting when chopping the vegetables - they get strained out in the end.

It makes a lot (and would be ideal for company), and the leftovers are even better. The first night we had it with roasted fingerling potatoes, and the following night with garlic mashed potatoes. Mmmm.

Sláinte!

Nancy pointed me in the direction of this recipe a couple of months ago, and I thought that there was no better occasion to make Irish Car Bomb cupcakes St. Patrick's Day (well, the week of, anyway). Wheee, these have a lot of alcohol in them. The cake is extraordinarily moist and delicious, much better than previous Guinness cupcake recipes that I have tried. My ganache turned out very very strong (I admit to spilling a little bit of extra whiskey in there, ooops!), and I halved the recipe for that and was plenty. I also got tired of waiting for it to cool & thicken, so I added cocoa powder and it was perfect. I changed the frosting to a cream cheese based one, and now I have adjusted it to leave out 1 T. of Bailey's which would make it just right.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Makes 24

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting
1 8 oz. pkg of cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 C. confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons Baileys

Make the cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.
• Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
• Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend.
  
• Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.
  
• Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 20-25 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling:

• Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.)
• Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.
• Let cool. I whisked in about 1/3cup of cocoa powder to thicken it up which worked very well.

Fill the cupcakes:

• Cut centers out of the cupcakes using a round cookie cutter, an apple corer, or a knife. I used a knife. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way.
  
• Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
  

Make the frosting:

• Whip the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.
• When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes. Dust with cocoa powder.

Good to go - off to spread some Irish cheer!

News

We are undergoing a spring clean here at Sweet & Simple Bakes. You may notice items being moved around or things slightly changed. But don't worry the site will remain open for viewing as normal. Both Maria and I hope you like our spring clean :0)

Best wishes Rosie & Maria xx

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Another bread from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor. And it was extraordinarily delicious and soft. I know I used at least 3 tablespoons of sugar - a lot for a loaf of bread. But it was not just the sweetness. The crumb, the texture, the flavor - everything about this bread was phenomenal. On top of it all, it was 100% whole wheat!



I wanted to make another batch of this right away but I had to stop myself - considered that I finished the whole loaf within two days. This was not good. It was whole grain and everything. But too much bread is still too much.



Armed with this book, I think I will become a whole wheat bread goddess.

Coconut Pineapple Muffins

I woke up one late morning wanting to bake something unfuzzy and quick. I came up with these. I baked them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and they came out beautifully domed and slightly brown. But they are a little dry. There's something missing too. Maybe some limes, or more salt, or lots more sugar. This one still needs improvement.



Just as a note to self. Here are the ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut


• 1 cup all purpose flour flour


• 1 cup wholewheat flour


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 2 eggs


• 3/4 cup milk


• 1/4 cup Agave nectar


• 2 tablespoons light tasting olive oil


• 1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple in its own juice

Counting

I absolutely love this video. I have watched it about 10 times now. Be sure to click on the HQ button at the bottom right of the screen - worth it.

Shades of Winter

Beautiful organic Swiss Chard from the Alemany Farmer's market last Saturday. So tasty, so good for you. Sauteed it in a pan with olive oil, garlic, toasted pine nuts, and lemon juice. Like a patch of sun on a rainy day: uplifting and divine.

Macarons, not Macaroons. A Very Important Distinction.

When you do a search for "Macaron" on the internet, it comes back asking "Did you mean Macaroni?"

No, I did not mean Macaroni. I did not mean Macaroon, either, although many people get the two words confused.

Macarons are a delicious cookie sandwich, invented in the 18th century by Laduree. They consist of 2 macarons with ganache in between. Unlike macaroons, which are dense and heavy coconut cookies, macarons are light and delicate. They come in beautiful colors, and were used in Sofia Coppola's movie "Marie Antoinette".


The best macarons I have ever had were in France. When I was in Toulouse with my mom a few years ago, we came upon this wonderful patisserie, and they had so many amazing flavors, or "parfums", of macarons. They were small and lovely and bursting with flavor. It turns out that the patissiere knew my boss Michel at the bakery in Winnetka, IL where I worked in high school. Small world! We sat outside and chatted with him while enjoying these heavenly treats.



There are a couple of places where you can buy macarons in San Francisco. The best ones to date have been from Miette, my favorite being the Grapefruit, which they have on occasion, and my friend Kristina is kind enough to buy for me on a regular basis! The tops are more textured than the ones in France, but they are delicious nonetheless.


Recently, a new macaron shop opened in Hayes Valley. It's called Paulette, and it is the second brick-and-mortar location for a bakery in Beverly Hills. They are so particular about how they make macarons, that they are shipped up from LA to SF, rather than being made here.


I recently stopped in with my friend Jude on a rainy Sunday to check it out. Oh la la, they were so exquisite! We tried 8 of the 10 flavors that they had on display that day: Pistachio, Coconut, Lemon, Chocolate, Sweet Wedding Almond, Violet Cassis, Jasmine Tea, and Coffee. The flavors were so distinct, flavorful yet delicate, and the colors of the cookies were to die for - right off of a fine arts palette.


I have been dreaming of them ever since. At $1.60 each, they are not as cheap as say, a bakery cookie - but to have a little piece of finely crafted luxury in your mouth, I think that they are well worth it. I can't wait to go back and indulge once more!

Wholewheat Bread with Oatmeal and Flax Seeds

My life is so awesome... I just received my brand new camera, a Canon SD1100. I love it. It's just like my old one except better - lighter - and slimmer. And I baked the best and softest 100% whole grain bread. Nothing makes me happier.


Look! No red tint and no need to crop out red strip!

I borrowed Peter Reinharts' Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor from the library. Read the whole thing cover to cover in 3 days. The book introduced the idea of delayed fermentation, just like no-knead bread, but with a twist. I want to call it delayed double fermentation. He suggested that flour with a bit of salt be fermented separately from yeast to let enzymes develop flavors from the flour and grains, while at the same time small amount of yeast and flour are fermented for a long time to develop gluten and different set of flavors.



I prepared this loaf of bread in two nights. The first night mixing and fermenting. The second night combining, kneading and baking. The result was the softest home-made whole grain bread. It's amazingly flavorful and tender.

I might have to buy this book. I already started my second recipe from the book: wholewheat raisin bread. Can't wait to bake it tomorrow night.

Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies

For our next Sweet and Simple Bake I’ve chosen this easy recipe for Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I’ve baked these cookies with success numerous times and are a firm favourite in my home. These cookies are a heavenly balance of crunchy and chewy, savoury and sweet and are simply addictive. If you are trying to be “healthy”, substitute raisins or nuts for the chocolate chips. I hope everyone will love this cookie recipe and if you have any questions or queries, please leave a comment under the recipe and we will endeavour to reply as soon as possible. Happy baking everyone!

The recipe can be found here.

If you are a food blogger, we ask that you kindly write a post about your bake and link back to us at Sweet and Simple Bakes. Let us know that you completed the bake and we'll list all the blogs that accomplished the bake. If you don't have a food blog and care to share how it went, feel free to contact us at sweet2simple[at]googlemail[dot]com

The posting date for the Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies is 1st April 2009.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone’s entry!

Maria and Rosie x

Blueberry Flax Muffins

I adapted this recipe from Flax'N Apple Muffins on the side of Hodgson Mill ground flax seed box. The muffins came out delicious. I was impressed. I have to look for more recipes from their website. I love that they have the same amount of flour as fruit (1 1/2 cups each) plus 1/4 cup of flax. The muffins are very lightly sweetened with Agave nectar.



Ingredients

• 1/4 cup ground flax seed


• 3/4 cup wholewheat flour


• 3/4 cup all purpose flour


• 2 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1 egg


• 3 tablespoons light tasting olive oil


• 1/2 cup milk


• 1/4 cup Agave nectar
  
• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries - unthawed (I used frozen wild blueberries from Trader Joe's.)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a muffin pan.


2. Whisk flax, wholewheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a clean, dry bowl.


3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg, oil, milk and Agave nectar together until well blended.


4. Stir the wet ingredients onto dry with no more than 10 strokes. Fold in blueberries.


5. Drop by tablespoon onto prepared muffin pan. Bake for 18 minutes. Let cool for a minute in the pan. Remove from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

Apple Cobbler

I said to someone over the past week that I preferred crisps to cobblers. They are both fruit-full dessert with the same level of ease to prepare. Then I wondered if that's still true since I haven't had a cobbler or made one for a long long time.

After a batch of these Granny Smith apple cobbler (which disappeared within 2 days), I had to admit that I lied. I love cobblers. I want to make more of them.



Ingredients

• 6 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced thinly


• 1/2 cup Agave nectar - divided


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 1 egg


• 3 tablespoons light tasting olive oil


• 1 cup non-fat plain yogurt


• 1/2 cup all purpose flour


• 1 cup wholewheat flour


• 1 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees


2. In a large bowl, toss apples, 1/4 cup of Agave nectar and cinnamon together. Transfer to a deep dish pie dish or 9x9 baking dish.


3. In another bowl, beat egg, oil, Agave nectar and yogurt until well combined.


4. Mix all purpose flour, wholewheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Stir into the wet ingredients with wooden spoons.


5. When almost all the flour gets wet (it's ok to have some dry streaks), spoon onto the fruit. Sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for about 20 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Sweet and Simple Monthly Bake - Cherry Bakewell Cake.

It’s our tenth baking challenge here at Sweet and Simple Bakes! We have scrumptious Cherry Bakewell Cakes for you to feast your eyes upon from our S&SB bakers here in our round-up.

All your entries look delicious; however, I (Rosie) am sorry to read that there have been a few problems with this recipe for some of our bakers. It comes as a disappointment when a bake doesn’t seem to turn out as expected; Maria and I bake each recipe before posting to hopefully overcome this problem.

We would like to thank everyone for all your continued support here at Sweet and Simple Bakes and we do hope that you will continue to support us with our bakes each month!

*If there are any late entries, I will endeavour to add you to the round-up as soon as possible!*

Natalia @ Gatti Fili E Farina

Sowmya @ Creative Saga


Maria @ The Goddess Kitchen

Arundathi @ My Food Blog

Rosie @ Baking Cakes Galore

Starningblue @ Deery Lou Aromas

Jin @ Smell & Taste My Memory

A huge round of applause for all our Sweet and Simple Bake bakers this month – well done everyone!!

Could we please ask that we all take time to visit each other's blogs and leave feedback, thanks!

Rosie & Maria xx