On Baking

        I never really baked when I was younger-my mom can be a bit of a control freak, and never deviates from recipes.  I didn't get a chance to truly start cooking and baking until I had my own apartment junior year.  By then, I realized that I wasn't half bad at food preparation, and that I actually enjoyed it.  I used to read recipes every night before I went to bed, and I would think how I could tweak the recipe and make it even better.  My roommates and I made bread almost every week, sometimes more, and I started making a wide array of desserts-cakes, cookies, brownies.  Some things came about better than others, but it was always highly edible and usually pretty tasty.  

       When I became vegan in '07, my philosophy began to shift-I stopped using eggs and butter, and began to think more about what was in the food I was making.  I was baking quite a bit less by then, but I was still cranking out a big cheesecake every now and then, even if I wasn't eating it myself.  I still had roommates, and even better, roommates' boyfriends, who would eat anything and everything I made.  But then I moved into an apartment by myself, and I pretty much stopped baking.  There was no one to feed!  

         I've never really enjoyed baking for myself-I enjoy baking to make others happy, one of my strange altruistic hobbies in life.  I occasionally get a craving for a home baked vegan cookie, but that's a pretty rare occasion.  All the while, I started thinking about baking less, but baking with quality.  I eat mostly organic foods these days, and I try not to eat much, if any refined sugars or nasty flour (bleached and bromated. yuck!)  It's given me a new baking and cooking philosophy-to only make foods that I would actually want to eat.  That means not using weird ass shit to decorate cakes (like that strange Wilton dyed gel) or corn syrup or shortening or whatnot.  I've been following those rules pretty well these past years, and I'm excited to more seriously commit to that practice.  Thus, my baking resolution for the coming year is to make (mostly) organic cakes.  I fortunately discovered a fabulous cookbook "Organic and Chic" (from Sarah Magid, a custom cake maker in NYC) which, despite it's cutesy title, is a nice tome addressing cake decorating and desserts, without gross things.  Baked goods can have some weird ass stuff in them, and I don't think it's necessary.  This cookbook reminds me that cakes can be simple, delicious, and healthful (at least for junk food.) and I'm excited to try making some good cakes.  I've always avoided making cakes, since they're a bit finicky, but I've always admired the cake decorating process, especially with fancy shows like Ace of Cakes and other Food Network shows.  I don't necessarily need to make a 3-d bulldog cake or a replica of the Eiffel Tower, but it would be nice to make a lovely lavender cake with rose frosting.  So that's what I'll be doing this year.  Baking and frosting cakes.

There will always be cooks who can bake standard things better than me-traditional cookies, Woman's day styled cakes (graham cracker bears in a gel and gummy swimming pool), etc, but I'd like to commit my niche to using real food, and leave it at that.  

listening to: the new LCD soundsystem album.  (Seeing them in the end of October! Party it up with Sleigh Bells!)

Crazy Bitch in the Kitch: Part One

I thought I'd share some of my FAVORITE recipes and recipe alterations/tidbits for your seasonal days of baking, if you're into that. Let's start simple:

The Ultimate Oat Flour Cookies (technically, these are wheat-free, but depending on the celiac needs of your friends, there may be traces of wheat in the flour, and you should use another flour)---adapted from the postpunk kitchen www.theppk.com

1 3/4 Cup Oat Flour (organic is yummiest)

1/2 tsp baking soda (try to avoid arm and hammer- they test on animals)

1/4 tsp salt (sea salt!)

1/4 cup brown sugar (or raw turbinado sugar)

1/2 cup sugar (evaporated cane juice sugar, or I just combine the sugars to make 3/4 cup of what's on hand)

1/3 cup canola oil or melted margarine

1/4 cup soy milk

1 TBSP flax meal

1 tsp vanilla (alcohol free)

3/4 chocolate chips (milkfat/butterfat free)

So this is the easiest recipe ever- I can make it in like 6 minutes. Sometimes I race against my oven to see if I can beat it's preheating cycle. But anyways, mix the flax seed and soy milk together in a cup- this will be your "egg". Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl, all the wet ingredients in another bowl, then combine them. Add yourself yo' chocolate chips, and you're in business. First of all, this is one of the yummiest batters ever, and it's vegan and there's no eggs. Bake them at 350 for 11-12 minutes for good gooey-ness, or for longer for softish.

Top secret optional alterations:

-substitute canola oil for a tasty peanut or walnut oil for a fab nutty flavor

-add spices of your choosing, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, etc, to make a really zesty cookie

-add dried cranberries and/or nuts to make it look more wholesome.

Julia's favorite applesauce cardomom Bundt cake: this is adapted from a food and wine mag submission from a few years ago that my dad passed on to me. I just veganized it, since I never have eggs on hand.

1. 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting: Use non bleached flour!!!!
2. 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar: see above
3. 2 teaspoons baking soda
4. 2 tsp cinnamon
5. 2 tsp ground cardamom : You can always do more with the spices- you can never have too much!
6. 1 teaspoon salt
7. 1 teaspoon ground cloves
8. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
9. 2 cups unsweetened applesauce: Make sure there's no high fructose corn syrup in your Mott's!!!!
10. 2 TBSP flax seed meal
11. 4 TBSP water or soy milk
12. 3/4 cup vegetable oil
13. One 12-ounce bag semisweet-chocolate chips
14. Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

This is a pretty self explanatory recipe as well- mix the flax seed and water/milk into a paste as you did before. Mix all the dry ingredients and all the wet ingredients separately, then add them and stir in choco chips. Pour into a 12 cup Bundt pan, which has been buttered/sprayed/floured. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr, 15minutes then let cool for 20. Do the toothpick trick for the cake if you're unsure of doneness. If you're not into vegan stuff, just check out the original recipe and add your eggs in as needed.

Lastly, here's a seasonal link for your christmas tune enjoyment.