Imagination.

This purty little treat was presented to me.

Black Forest Cake.

This buddy was doused in liquor and chocolate ganche... and it was gluten free.

Please, just imagine what it tasted like.

Doubt.

Every supermarket advertises their quality of freshness. 

And then you get something, come home and find its gone bad, putrid, rotten, whatever you want to call it, before you even brought it home.

So you go back upset and return and get your money back.

Now they don't seem too "fresh" anymore.  You have your doubts.

I have never doubted that Fresh and Easy was "fresh" but I really don't doubt it now after finding this.

When you buy shrimp, it's already beheaded right?

That's what I thought until I found this little ticket staring at me.

Love shrimp, hate seeing their faces.

My sister was asleep when we found him.  Yes, I'm calling it a Him. My mother decided to take a picture of him with my sister in the background for proof.

Pizza.

History of Pizza : A dish of the poor people, it was sold in the street and was not considered a kitchen recipe for a long time.

Now it's a kitchen recipe and the rich and the broke enjoy it equally.

There's a place in down town El Cajon called the "New York Bakery."

Way back in the day when gluten was digested with ease, the New York Bakery had pizza.

Not just any pizza. This bad boy was on an inch of fluffy, yeast risen crust.

In one bite, a rich, buttery, light crust filled your mouth.  Absolutely amazing.

It ain't back in the day no more, but its all good.  I gots yo' back.

A gluten free fluffy pizza crust.

Yeast is scary.  It's commonly know as a leavening agent for breads,pretzels, buns, crusts, you name it.  Anything that is light airy and needs to rise. 

Yeast uses the fermented sugars in the dough and turns it into carbon dioxide and ethanol.

There are many other leavening agents such as eggs, baking powder and baking soda, but those aren't going to create the air pockets needed.

Yeast is scary because it's a live micro-organism that multiplies with the right temperature while feeding off of the right amount of sugar.

Too hot, you kill your yeast.  Too cold, it doesn't do its job.

Just follow the recipe.  You'll be safe, but just follow the recipe.

Please read the page thoroughly: Pizza Crust

Something New.

What you enjoy doing becomes pointless when it isn't a challenge.  It becomes boring.

It's like solving a puzzle you've already solved.

It's still going to take time and effort to solve the puzzle, but it become far less gratifying when you know what to expect.  But you may learn a new way of solving it.

It doesn't matter if you graduated from school twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years ago, you're always learning.

Being out of school doesn't mean you shouldn't do homework.

People gain much more appreciation for the things they've learned or inform themselves about.  Understanding the steps, the time, and the effort that has been put into what you enjoy.

Saying you want to do something you've never done before, researching it, studying it, and finally doing it, makes life all the more satisfying.

Lemons.

All of a sudden there are lemons everywhere.

The yellow studded trees gives life a fresh spark.

Seeing all the lemons is a reminder of the season we're in and the season to come.

Its fresh.

Hot summers and nice afternoons at the beach are all just around the corner.

Not to mention homemade lemon curd and scones for breakfast

and  pitcher of lemonade after a cool evening dinner.

All of it is coming fast maybe too fast for some, but enjoy those small things in life just the same.

Such as Lemon Bars.

I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten. 

*Its VERY important all of your ingredients are room temperature.  Especially the eggs, butter, and lemon juice.

Galletas.

Simplicity is constantly stressed.  It may be tiresome to hear but it all really comes down to this:

"You don't know what you got till it's gone."

Its the 100% truth.

Don't believe me?

Fine.  So be it.

Just do me a favor and answer this question for me.

When was the last time you had crackers?  Galletas?

Glutinos doesn't count.

When was the last time you  had herb crackers?

Gluten free.

What was that? Speak up I couldn't hear you.  I'm sorry I missed that, could you repeat that?

Ha!  That's right!

You haven't, have you?

And you haven't had any that taste like this.

Do you know what this means?  I'm going to answer that question for you, no, no you don't know what this means.

This means you can go on a picnic and have crackers to snack on.

If you have guests, you have an excellent cracker to with that excellent cheese.

You can have liverwurst and crackers again.

You can munch on ham, cheese, and crackers again!

This....is truly epic.

It really is.

And that is simply why you, must make these: Rosemary Crackers.

Take it from Dawn.  My baking buddy.  We just stood there looking at the crackers nibbling off of pieces.  We couldn't believe the fact that we were eating gluten free crackers.  You'll react us when you realize how long its been since you've had a cracker, and that it simply tastes that good.

*And liverwurst is properly enjoyed with Dijon or just plain mustard. Just fyi.

Clockwork.

The Little Theatre at Grossmont High School held the production of Clockwork.  A family of hicks with a murder mystery to solve.  Every time someone bit the dust, (you didn't feel bad because they were so dang annoying) the old and broken Grandfather Clock would ring.  In the end, ringing a total of twelve times, each for every character.  Even down to the angry maid, to the phone obsessed teenagers.  It was a hilarious comedy and a job well done.  I come into the picture with a cake.

It was suggested to paint the numbers.  When doing research, I came across  Simple Chocolate Painting and saw how truly simple it was.  So I thought, heck, let's just do the entire thing in chocolate.  So that's what I did.

Lesson learned?  Try your recipe before using the recipe.  Usually Martha treats me good.  I don't like the woman necessarily, but hey, she knows how to write a good recipe.

I chose a yellow cake with raspberry filling.  When trying the trimmings of the cake it tasted more like a sweet biscuit or sweet cornbread than cake.

This cake was not gluten free or dairy free, because I didn't make this cake myself.  So yes, I ate gluten when testing the cake. 

It was good.  But it didn't suit the occasion.  The flavors said, "Champagne Brunch" or "High-End Tea Party,"  not a High School Cast Party.  I'm thoroughly disappointed, but it is what it is.  And I have good friends who were supportive regardless of its taste.  Along with a little sister who insisted it was amazing.

I will say this, I am proud of myself.  I've never done anything so artistic with a cake...or food for that matter.  I had fun with it.  It's fun to watch chocolate chips turn into a clock. Haha.

Pasta Dish.

There are so many things that are classified as a "Pasta Dish."

Mac n' Cheese...Lasagna...

Basically anything incorporating noodles baked into a sauce.

Basically, hate to say it but, its a casserole.  The term of a casserole is so vague.

But that's okay when it tastes good.

Tah-dah! 

Garlic Red Wine Meat Pasta...Dish.

Muffins.

It's important to reward oneself.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes are a tremendous reward.

But so are muffins.

Banana Chocolate Chip Ginger Muffins, that is.

This is a simple quick bread recipe, but along with any other quick bread recipe, can be turned into muffins.  For the golden/slightly crisp feature leave it in the oven for 30 minutes.

Cookies + Cake.

Is it a crime as a woman to be tired of chocolate?

Because I think I am.

After eating and breathing chocolate with the last cake, it's time for something simple.

Classic and simple.

Clean and non-complex.  That's what simple is.

Something as simple and as cheerful as a Cake-Batter Cookie.

Random.

Smiles.

Being content.

Random. (Brownies with a touch of Almond)
<----

cLAssIc.

Nothing is classic.

Not according to this web address.

And that's not a bad thing.

It's simply better.  After dinner, no one has to go home burping, farting, or bloated.

Or grumpy, because you're stuck with one of these people...

No one said you have to give an arm and a leg...or nose...to go home burping, farting, bloating-free.

Use your resources.  Use Tinkayda Lasagna Noodles.  Use them for Lasagna with Turkey Sausage Bolognese.

Cookie Monster.

How could anyone blame Cookie Monster for loving cookies??

If anything, he should be a favorite of Sesame Street for all of the foodies out there.
You taste a cookie that's so darn tasty that you just want to gorge your face with cookies like good ol' Cookie Monster.
For a hot moment there they considered making him "Veggie Monster."

Common now people, really??

Promoting healthy eating habits is essential for all.  But destroying Cookie Monster??!

He eats cookies with letters on them.  How much more mental stimulation do you want?!

For parents perhaps, but not foodies.

These cookies are simple and bomb-diggity: Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Sayings.

Mothers always say, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."

Flexibility is key.

It allows you to tailor things to your specific needs and wants.

Otherwise known as improvisation.

Cooks do it all the time.

Artists too.

Scientists included.

I'm sure the oven came about with some improvisation...somewhere down the line.......pretty sure...???

There would be one recipe for each type of food if it weren't for some improv.
Tonight, in order to eliminate meat, Soyrizo was used in place of chorizo.

** If chorizo sausage isn't in the fridge, finely dice a bell pepper in addition to those called for, use the halved cherry tomatoes and the finely diced onion.  With a little olive oil in a preheated pan, fry the chorizo, or soyrizo, until slightly crumbly.  Then, combine your veggies - as listed above -  into the pan. Saute until tender. And stuff the bell peppers.

That's just one way to skin the cat.

Information.

This is formally a post of information.

I've been asked some specific questions regarding some past posts.

Question #1: Can you post a recipe for the Pomegranate White Tea?

-Technically, yes.  Yes I could post a recipe for tea, but I lack the motivation and patience to do so.  Rather, I like to go to the World Market or Fresh and Easy and acquire my tea in that way.

Question #2:  What is the recipe for the chocolate cake?

- I apologize, for I do not know the answer to that question.  You would have to ask Pamela.  I just simply enjoy the mix.  This delightful cake, found in a neatly packaged bag named "Pamela's", can be found at Whole Food stores, Henry's or Windmill Farm's.

Casserole.

Casserole.

That word means so many things and oh so many words come to mind...

Condensed Soup, for one.

Canned meat.

..and vegetables.

It makes me think of Tuna Noodle Casserole too....ew.

Which is notorious for being horrifyingly disgusting.

Long story short, casseroles have a bad name.

Most of the time.

No longer do people go running and screaming when they hear the word. Thanks to this book.

Its amazing how such simple ingredients can melt into such amazing flavors.

Such as this:

Resources.

Sometimes you just don't have the time to make a cake. When that becomes the case, its vital that we turn to a trustworthy source.

Pamela's Cake Mix.