Sugar is Just Sugar

Recently, I had the experience of watching Cupcake Wars with my niece who loves the show... her favorite is the critiques. She gets all excited about who is going to win and in all seriousness, all of the contestants are very professional and skilled at what they do. The fact that one person may make a mistake or create a "hideous" "flat" "flavorless" cupcake, according to Florian is probably just good TV drama and also based on the ridiculous ingredients they force them to use in a cupcake.  I mean, seriously, who wants to eat a salami cupcake??? That is just disgusting and wrong.

For the record, I'm extremely close minded in the sense that I think certain words in cooking have meaning. Not everything is a cupcake just because it is cooked in a muffin tin and wrapped in paper. To me a cupcake is SWEET... always sweet...it is a dessert. 

Other things that are in the shape of a muffin and are savory, would be some kind of a biscuit or maybe even a pie... not a cupcake.  Doing savory cupcakes makes me sick just to think about it. I know- I'm so old fashioned. But who asked me anyway? nobody...  

One day, when we were watching Cupcake Wars, with my family- it was the perfect opportunity to get into the kitchen and do our own creating. I looked up a basic vanilla cupcake recipe that was very easy using google. I know that cupcakes are flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and leavening. A recipe gave me the right proportions and we had everything we needed. And we got my dad's secret icing recipe which is impossible to improve upon and bound to secrecy. We wanted basic ...because we were going to have fun decorating.

We emptied the secret stashes of candy that they had tucked away in their rooms, or in the freezer for a special occasion, and we dumped it all out into little containers and using plates and knives- they began to create. It was pure joy. There really were no rules and I enjoyed seeing them take liberty with Sugar.

Sugar has gotten so villified in the media with more and more pressure being placed on people who eat the stuff and more and more horrible comparisons for people who make anything sweet. So there is that old saying that anything good is either ILLEGAL, IMMORAL, or FATTENING... but I really think that is the wrong approach to take with Sugar. Is it really wrong to love sugar? Is it wrong to have any emotional feelings about it at all? After all- it is just sugar. Not awesome. Not horrible. Just sugar.

I think it is more healthy to have a balance of LIKING it, Eating it, and then also knowing when you need other healthier options. Its not always a cupcake day- and too much of a good thing can make you sick....
but who wants to only eat salad, or only lettuce... that kind of restrictive perfectionism won't get us anywhere...

we need to have fun with our food-
and to be in control of our own appetites-
EAT it. Don't Eat it. Full. Hungry....
and .... hmmm...I prefer Spinach today...
we should aim for FREEDOM...

not some kind of puritanical goal.

Delightful Inspirations

Stuffed Portabello
Because it was over 100 degrees I did not want to grill outside!  So I devised a way to Smoke/Roast my Portabello inside using a sauce pan , some Bragg's Amino Acid, Bay Leaves, Garlic, and salt. I created a steaming bath- that infused the portabellos with these flavors and it worked really nicely. Then I placed the mushrooms with the liquid in the refrigerator in a sealed container to chill. 

I proceeded to make the stuffing using fresh Nature Sweet yellow and red grape tomatoes. I had just listened to interviews about this companies philosophy of treating their staff with utmost respect. They treat their staff as skilled workers and really build them into leadership roles. I wanted to buy these tomatoes because I love them and I love their philosophy. I sliced the tomatoes and in a bowl mixed...

fresh snipped basil leaves, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Pink Himalayan Salt, Fresh Ground pepper, Fresh Squeezed Lemon ... 

I also added chick peas to add more protein .

this mixture was placed in a sealed bowl and chilled in the refrigerator for about one hour. 

When we were ready for dinner, all I did was make the pasta- with olive oil, and assemble the stuffed portabello mushrooms. 

*Laying the mushroom on the plate and filling with the salad (I had already removed the stems- but don't throw them out- they are delicious- ) 

It made such a beautiful presentation.

In actuality, the portabello mushroom was firm and meaty in texture, salty and dense in flavor. It was really tasty. Offset by the fresh crunchy tomato and earthy basil. 

It was perfect for a hot summer day- and very filling.

Go AWAY Cold ...Juice

I desperately needed some boost of vitamins because I felt achy and chilled and I knew I had a bug.

So last night, I pealed myself out of bed and went in the kitchen to do some juicing.

I had :
2 oranges-( and I juiced with the peel so I would get all the beautiful nutrients from the rind.)
1 bag of cranberries
1 bag of celery

I juiced all of that-

and in the refrigerator I had a pitcher of iced Cinnamon Tea

I mixed the juices in with the tea, and added two measuring cups full of water-

and shake.

I drank two glasses before bed and It had a strange effect.

At first it gave me the boost I wanted.
and I miraculously felt better.

Then it was like the Chills came back with a vengence... and I collapsed for the night.

This morning I woke up at 5:45am really super hungry and feeling better.

So I resumed drinking my concoction.

I'm on my second glass - struggling my way through because now I got the chills again.

I'm thinking this really works because I have already gone to the bathroom a ton- -Which is a good way for the body to get rid of all the junk inside. And overall- its like I crave this juice now.

The taste was very bitter at first, but I seem to have adapted to it.

Well, this is the last bit of it- and hopefully I'll sleep some more and be good to go!

Enchanted Feast: Resurrecting Old Dreams

Enchanted Feast: Resurrecting Old Dreams: I'm back to the CAFE concept but I really don't know why. It would be so much work. Am I really prepared to do that much work. I&#39...

Resurrecting Old Dreams

I'm back to the CAFE concept but I really don't know why. It would be so much work. Am I really prepared to do that much work. I'm not sure. I guess I always imagined that I would find happy partners along the way and join forces. Wonder Twins Power Activate. But that hasn't happened yet. So far, its just me -

But something I realized while volunteering for Mobile Loaves & Fishes through Riverbend Church is that there is a whole lot of incredible work being done already in the city of Austin and maybe I don't need to reinvent or overinvent any new wheels.

Maybe the thing to do is to just participate in the flood of energy going in a direction that helps the underpriviledged.

And maybe that is exactly what I am going to focus on doing this year. Just volunteer wherever I can and meet people. This is my new networking strategy. Don't pay for networking- Volunteer and meet great people. And see where that takes you.

Featured in the picture is an Asian Slaw...
RED CABBAGE, cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, green onion, shredded carrot, fish sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings. It came out so good.

Cooking Smarter

Let the oven do the work---
Load up a good baking pan with Greens, seasonings, Fresh Fish- make separate dishes at the same time--
the seasonings will not spread to the other dish- they will stay where they are- unless there is liquid involved.

Tonight I did Fish on a bed of Greens--- one was ARTIC CHAR, and I seasoned with Curry and Sumac, and Salt, and Butter, and Black Cumin Seeds... on the other side I did a bed of greens- with Catfish- seasoned with Za'atar, Salt, Mint, Butter...

Each fish cooked separately- at the same time!! I had a delicious dinner within 20 minutes, and I have dinner or lunch ready for tomorrow.

So easy. So fast. and I got to sit and relax the whole time.

Maseca vs. Areparina

 Maseca is "instant corn masa flour"-- very fluffy and soft, almost feels like sand- very finely ground
Areparina is "precooked corn meal"---feels more dry and gritty but is still very finely ground
ADD warm water- slowly until the dough sticks together into balls, roll out in your palm and flatten into small corn cakes.

 FRY in hot oil until crispy on the outside, don't let them touch because they will stick together.

 Can you guess which is which????
(top Areparina, bottom Maseca)

to eat- you can slice them open and add butter and salt, or you can poke holes in the top and let the butter drip down into the corn cake.

The DIFFERENCE: The Areparina is precooked- so the inside tastes much smoother and light in taste-
The Maseca is more of a true "flour" and has a doughy taste to it.

Both are good, they have their own sweetness to them, even though we did not add any sugar to the flours. The corn has a natural mild, refined flavor.

This is good with Beef- or Chicken- as a side dish for many Colombian Favorites. We like them for breakfast, but you can serve with soup, or even Chili.