Daring Bakers' Challenge: Quick Bread

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was - Lis!  Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own.  She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

Spring is in the air in my part of the world so I wanted to choose flavors that complimented the season and would be appropriate for an Easter Brunch.  I chose to make a pineapple coconut quick bread.  I love this combination of flavors because they always remind me of summers on some tropical beach.

Ice Cream Brownie Tarts

Mr. RK loves chocolate.  His favorite dessert is something chocolate with some chocolate on top, covered in chocolate.  When it came to making a special Valentines Day treat, I wanted to make a dessert with all of his favorite ingredients.  I started with some chocolate brownies, which I covered with chocolate ice cream and topped with chocolate chips, chopped almonds and raspberries.  Then, just to be sure I had enough chocolate, I drizzled the top with fudge sauce.  I think I got it all in there. 

First Signs of Spring

The first signs of spring come in February in Northern California.  It starts with the asparagus. They begin to pop their tender little heads out of the ground, teasing you with the promise of grilled garlic spears.  I also keep an eye on the blueberry plants, watching for the first blooms.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: Perfect Biscuits

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host.  Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

Aud is from Australia where biscuits are called scones and scones are called rock cakes.  Here in North America, these are biscuits.  Her recipe and more importantly her techniques were excellent, these biscuits were very light and fluffy and didn’t call for as much fat as most recipes.  I followed her recipe substituting the butter with Earth Balance butter substitute and Spectrum butter flavored palm shortening.  I also replaced the cow’s milk with rice milk to make a heart healthy, vegan version. 

We Finally Have Rain

California has had, so far, the driest winter since 1883.  Yesterday, we finally got some rain.  A lot of rain in fact.  So today, when the sun came out after a particularly heavy downpour, I went out to the garden to check on things.  Of course, my Director of Pest Management followed me.  She goes stir crazy when she has to stay in the house because of the weather.  She immediately climbed to the top of the apricot tree to get a better view of things.

Toasted Tempeh Tacos

I’m eating lighter this month, trying to keep my meals simple, low in fat, gluten free and heart healthy.  We love Mexican food and eat it often so rather than frying tempeh in oil to make a taco filling, I grated it and toasted it in the broiler to give it a crunchy texture without the extra added fat.

Pear Almond Barley Salad

I realize that I haven’t posted any new recipes since the new year.  Like many Americans, I’ve simplified my diet by focusing on fruits, vegetables, bean and grains to try and shed the “holiday pounds”.  I’m avoiding sugar, flour and high fat foods and it’s working.   Eating green salads as a main meal in winter is difficult for me, I like to eat a warm dinners, so I came up with this combination warm and cold salad.