Strawberry Muffins

I LOVE strawberries. It is one of my all time favorite foods. When I was a little girl my parents took my brother and I strawberry picking. Needless to say my basket was always half empty. Soon the Strawberry Festival will be here and I cannot wait for all things strawberry. So in keeping with the theme early I thought I would try a muffin recipe using some strawberries I had. I finally found a recipe that was healthy. And I wanted it that way so I could have a guilt free morning treat.

I think the next time I make these I will either use all white flour, almond flour or cake flour. Something a little lighter then whole wheat flour. And I don't like the dryness that whole wheat flour can give. The strawberries definitely keep it moist. And the flavor is scrumptious. But definitely stay tuned for a Strawberry Muffin re-make :)

Now on to the treat of the morning....

Makes 1 doz. muffins

1/2 c. margarine (1 stick), softened

1 cap full veg. oil
1 egg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. sugar
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. white flour (you can use only white if you prefer)
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. FRESH strawberries, chopped

For the top of the muffin

2 Tblsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Cream the sugar and butter, then beat in the egg. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients.

Mix the milk into the sugar mixture, then mix in the dry ingredients. Beat until smooth.

Stir in the strawberries and spoon into muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Careful, the strawberries are very hot!

My Hawaiian Taste Buds

On the way home today I start thinking I had not done my test kitchen recipe in a long time. What was I going to make. I thought about making something with apples. A nice puff pastry with apples, cinnamon, raisins and some walnuts. Mmmmm, yes that sounds comforting. But then the apple fairies dancing in my head disappeared and I started thinking what about something with coconut and pineapple. Hmm what if I add banana to that and Macadamia nuts. Then it hit me....a Banana Pineapple Coconut Macadamia Nut Cake. LOL a long name I know and I am sure I will find something clever to name it. Has to be more clever then the Hawaiian Surprise. Ha! And since it was a test recipe and I only needed a little(since I am off sweets while training), I decided on cupcakes. And I tasted....(shhh don't tell my trainer)

...and tasted

All I have to say is HO-LEEE COW!!! This was the most moist, tenderly soft textured mix of flavors. And with the Coconut Butter-cream with the toasted coconut and chopped macadamia nuts....mmmm mmm mmm! Delicious! I am so curious how this will turn out as a cake.

Stay tuned more to come. I may just post the recipe. :)

Health Nuts with a Sweet Tooth

Some months ago I was asked by a mommy-to-be to do a baby shower cake. The twist, she was a vegan. I had never made a vegan cake, let alone even thought it would taste good. The internet is my friend, so I googled and yahoo search trying to find a recipe that works. The frist recipe looked promising. It told of moist mango veganism in all it's glory. The result, COMPLETE FAIL. The cake was flat, super wet and looked very much like a deflated cheesecake. The taste wasn't that much better either. Very starchy tasting. So the search continued.

Then low and behild a recipe mix that worked. Fingers crossed, with some advice from my granny and wah lah!!!......

My Apple Almond Spice Cake w/ Caramel Butter cream was born. Now some may argue that because of the sugar aspect it is not vegan. But she was a no animal product kind of a girl and the sugar got a pass. So, this has been he rave at baby showers, weddings and get together's. And to my surprise has been the topic of conversation over all the other cakes. I am still working on other cake flavors so tune in for more vegan cake surprises.



Caramel Pecan Pie

As a request for a friend I made a Caramel Pecan Pie. I had made a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan pie and a plain Pecan Pie before but never caramel. I wasn't sure how to pull it off so that the distinction of the flavors stood out. But with the assistance of Caramel Chews...eureka!!!!

My girlfriend was unable to pick up this order, so I had a pie on my hand right when I swore off sweets. To my great fortune we had guests that weekend and I was able to put it out to be tasted. It looked to good not to taste, so I had a tiny taste and man oh man was this a good pie. Not too sweet and very chewy. The caramel stood out and mixed very well with the traditional taste of a pecan pie. Needless to say this was the result from what my company thought.....

It feels great to create something and have nothing but an empty container to let you know that it was all good :)