Babycakes: something for my Vegan friends

With the sad news of food allergies, I've been digging around to find some "edible" choices for baked goods that avoid eggs and milk.  Trust me, they are around, but boy, take care not to mistaken some for cardboard!  Yick!

Then, I remembered purchasing the cookbook from Babycakes, a famous NYC bakery known for it's vegan recipes that are mostly gluten-free and sugar-free, and great alternative for the "healthy" sweet tooth!  Buyers be forewarned, this cookbook has much hype surrounding it, but it's going to cost you a pretty penny to stock your shelves with the needed ingredients AND, after some research of the web, I was disheartened to see some terrible reviews on the poor results from the above mentioned recipes.  So, I took a chance, read through each recipe and decided on my experimental choice: Raspberry Scones.  Not because it was my favorite, but primarily because of the easy directions, and I had almost all of the ingredients available in my pantry.  To my surprise...they were great! NOT a traditional scone texture, but a flavorful and filling treat. In fact, I felt comfortable enough putting my reputation on the line and offering one to not only my daughter, but...hubby.  And guess again, they both really liked the scones.  In fact, I've made the recipe four times now, and each time they dive in for a treat.  That is success in my book!

I wish I could say the same for the banana bread.  Not good.  In fact, run.  Do not walk away if offered a slice - simply run. It's still too soon to completely review this cookbook, so I look forward to another blog with more experiments! Today I will share with you the recipe for Raspberry Scones, and I hope you give them a try.  But first, a few notes to the wise: do not make substitutions, ever.  I'll be the first to admit my ignornace in the art of vegan cooking, or is it wizardary?  Really. The chemistry in vegan baking is bizarre to say the least but hey, Erin McKenna has experimented on these recipes for years - we shouldn't have to!  As well, the directions tell you to use specific utensils at different stages of the recipe that, to me, sound a bit odd (whisking dry ingredients) but please, do it!  Why?  See aforementioned chemistry-in-kitchen bit. Ditto with "sitting times" after the goods are pulled from the oven.  No need to re-invent the wheel here people.

But, know at the end of the baking session, you will have a treat worthy to share with family and that is good for you, no matter your allergy, sensitivity, eating preferences or just trying to live a healthier life.  Enjoy, and please, let me know what you think of these!

Raspberry Scones from Babycakes  (makes 8)

Ingredients

2 cups Whole Spelt Flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 Tsp. salt
1/3 cup coconut OR canola oil, plus more for brushing
1/3 cup agave nectar, plus more for brushing
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot water
1 cup fresh raspberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add the oil, agave, and vanilla, and stir together until a thick, slightly dry batter is formed.  Pour the hot water into the batter and mix.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the raspberries just until they are marbled throughout the batter.

For each scone, scoop 1/3 cup batter onto the prepared baking sheet.  Space the scoops 1 inch apart to allow them to spread.  Lightly brush the tops with oil.  Bake the scones on the center rack for 14 minutes, rotating the sheet 180 degrees after 7 minutes.  The finished scones will be golden and slightly firm.  Remove from the oven and brush with agave nectar.

Let the scones stand on the sheet for 15 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool.  Store the scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Get Growing!

It's that time of year again - the getting-off-my-ass and to Apache Seed to select our fruit and vegetable seeds for the upcoming growing season!  Actually, we are a bit behind, but lets not return to a conversation about our past winter... Apache has a great selection of seeds and plants, as well as everything one needs to get started in the garden from books on how-to to stuff to get-going!  This year, I see some more Mexican plants growing in our patch, especially tomatillos and poblano peppers!  My wonderfully handy and oh so planned husband has already helped out by pre-planting our herb seeds last weekend in hopes of getting a head start!

This is by far the best time of year, if you live in Edmonton!  Time we said goodbye to winter, the snow has melted and guess what I found under some leaves in the backyard last week - chives!  They are far from perfect, but they are green and growing!  Not to mention strawberry shoots and lavender making it's way out of the earth and into our lives for another season.  Yup, something about Spring that puts a kick in your step and releases all that energy we have been storing over the winter.  My husband now spends hours in the garden and we have to decide what to do with the backyard and the impending return of the dreaded fairy rings.  So, if they appear, it's raised beds for more vegetables plus a few more trees and throw in some flagstone walkways for good measure.  If they don't... well, I don't think we will go there!

That means it is time for me to organize my vegetable beds and decide what gets to grow next to what (something like a desk change in my daughter's classroom) and keeping in mind that we need rotate the position of the plants from last year.  Why?  Some plants drain nutrients out of the soil while others provide the nutrients.  Keep circulating them and your soil will remain in good balance.

So, you want to plant a veggie garden this year.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1.  You need to become intimately aware of your planting area, and that means understanding the type of soil in your ground, what direction it faces and how much sunlight the area gets throughout the course of the day.  This information will help you choose the right type of plant to use.   A simple google search will indicate what growing zone your home is in, which removes the mystery of what plants will survive the winter! Because winter cold is, in most regions, the single greatest threat to plant survival, the zones are divided according to the average monthly temperature they experience locally.

2.  From Martha Stewart Living, the importance of crop timing ( vegetable crops fall into two categories): 

Cool-Season Crops: Peas, lettuces, radishes, brassicas (broccoli, kale, cauliflower, collards), and spinach germinate and thrive in the lower temperatures of spring and fall and tolerate light frosts. Many cool-season crops can be direct-sown in the garden around before the last frost.

Warm-Season Crops: Tomatoes, eggplants, summer and winter squash, beans, and corn prefer summer's heat. Plant these only after the soil has warmed. Many warm-season crops require a long growing season and should be started indoors in late winter or early spring or purchased as seedlings ready to be transplanted.

3.  I know it's a bit OC, but consider Mapping Out Your Plants:

Sketch out your plan on paper. Use graph paper and draw to scale, keeping in mind the mature size and habit of each kind of plant. Site larger plants like corn and tomatoes where they won't cast shade over shorter plants. Choose compact varieties if you have limited space. Start small: You can always dig more beds or enlarge existing ones in subsequent years.

Helpful Note #1: The latest newsletter in Goop (http://www.goop.com/) gives some great tips for starting your garden as well as highlighting GrowVeg - a site for garden planners.  This is a fantastic website that not only allows you to design and map out your garden, it will find your home on Google Search, tell you what zone you reside in and cross reference your growing season and the local weather forecast to tell you the optimal time for planting, transplanting, harvesting and concerns like frost.  Brilliant!  Did I mention you can have a 30 day free trial?  Check it out:  http://www.growveg.com/

GrowVeg

At the end of the day, this beginner gardener suggests just do it!  You will have fun and feel a sense of reward harvesting your own crop, no matter how big or small.  It's a great hobby to include the kids and I have to admit, I am spoiled with the help and knowledge I get from my hubby, and couldn't do it without him! my best advice is just do it!    My one recommendation would be to pick up a local book on vegetable gardening that simply outlines the best yield and easiest to grow plants and just become more adventurous as your garden grows!

Helpful Note #2: Here are my pics for some easy peasy veggies to grow and enjoy from your own garden:

Radish and Beets

Lettuce, of several varieties: mixed, spinach, romaine

Cucumbers

Carrots

Peas

Spinach

Tomatoes

And try out some herbs - they add a fantastic smell to your garden and wonderful taste to all your dishes!  I typically plant:

Parsley

Oregano

Thyme

Basil

Sage

Lavender

Epazote (a Mexican herb)

Cilantro

Mint

So, what will our garden look like this year?  Probably the same as last year - the fava beans were a hit, as was the eggplant and variety of peppers: sweet, jalapeno and poblano.  Tomatillos will have the time to form their delicate paper lanterns and produce great green tomatoes for salsa, and I think with the raised beds, we should have enough room to grow additional veggies, maybe parsnip and celery root!  Stay tuned!

Weekly Easy Peasy: Lemon Curd

There are few things better than a homemade lemon curd - the tart and sweet mix of refreshing lemon in such a velvety form that works fantastic on an assortment of gastronomic wonders: pastries, macarons, cupcakes, as a filling in between cakes, in the infamous tart and even spread over morning toast!  Though you can purchase some fantastic house made curd at the Queen of Tarts, if you have about ten minutes, you can make it yourself, save a bunch of cash and feel quite smug with the oooohs and aaahhhhs coming from your family!

In my attempt to get back on the blog path, here is a first of many Easy-Peasy recipes to enhance your life, just a smidge! (Thanks Martha!)

Lemon Curd

Ingredients
3 large egg yolks

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

6 Tbsp. sugar

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

Directions
(makes 1 1/2 cups)

1. Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir sides and bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon,  about 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Remove saucepan from heat. Add the butter, one pieces at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth.

3. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to avoid a skin from forming; wrap tightly. Let cook; refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

NOTE: you can also freeze lemon curd - it should hold up quite well for at least a month.