Some New Kinda Baking

I fell in love with the Babycakes bakery in NYC when i was there last year, so was so happy that they created a cookbook to go with it. All things vegan, gluten free and (mostly) sugar-free. Wow, what a specialty! Good thing they are still going strong too. Here`s a preggers me enjoying our finds.
So, i was even happier that my local public library had copies of the book. The wait was LONG but well worth it. Seems like we`re not the only ones that like such good baking. I finally got a copy of Babycakes cookbook from the library recently (the link is to their site and has great photos of the book so you can see it for yourself). And, since i had 3 weeks to enjoy it, we planned to make good use of it, so whipped up quite a few recipes! We enjoyed it so much that we`ve decided it`s something to buy. There were some hiccups though, but in the end each of the baked goods we made tasted yummy. For one, we had to buy a bunch of items that we`ve never used but now stand firmly in our pantry. Like potato starch, coconut flour, and garbanzo bean+fava bean flour. I do appreciate that it`s all to make gluten free goods, but it sure is a lot to have on hand. Also, since i`m in the process of reading The Omnivore`s Dilemma i am floored about the overuse of corn products in everything. Included xantham gum, which is a stable item in gluten free baking. Not sure how to avoid it though, as vegan baking can be so tricky and un-fluffy at times.
That said, there are some amazing, yummy, and creative recipes in this book. Plus, the book is so beautiful to look at - a true porn cookbook! The photos were lovely, and there are so great write-ups of things. There is some name-dropping as well by celebs, but i love them all so i guess it`s okay!...We tried the Johnny Cakes, Fat Pants Cake, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, and coconut icing for the cake. I`ll just share a couple of thoughts with you here for the cakes.

In all, the cake was my favourite even though i had a panic that it wouldn`t turn out. I made it for J`s birthday and had to bake the cakes (3 layer cake and all) MUCH longer than the recipe called for. Also had a nervous moment transferring each onto the serving plate as they were so fragile. The icing was lumpy as the coconut oil seemed to solidify after it was combined with the other ingredients. And, it just didn`t seem sweet enough - i know it didn`t call for `real` sugar but still icing should be sweet. In the end, i just added it into the middle layers and had another vanilla buttercream icing for the outer layer. And, with chocolate chip cookies PLUS chocolate chips and cocoa in the cake already, it was pretty decadent. Once done, the cake was so good, i kept stealing pieces of it and was so glad that there were leftovers after the party.

J made me the Johnny Cakes for Mothers Day. They were lovely. Baked pancakes with cornmeal (forget the comment i made above re: corn!). Nice and fluffy, even though they were dense. I also love the way our maple syrup made this cool spiral pattern instead of just falling off the cakes. A great alternative to standard pancakes, they are very filling!

Now, if only the book had a recipe for the amazing cinnamon buns we had. I guess they have to leave some things out, so that we keep going back to the store!

Getting Ready for Solids

Li'l C will be 6 months any day now, and while i'm not in a hurry to have him grow up on me, i look forward to him eating solids. He's going to be breastfed for a while but i love the idea of making him foods and meals each day, and involving him in all that we do. I know it'll be a lot of work, but with great books like this one i'm sure we'll do fine! I also have one that's called Raising Vegetarian Children so we have all things covered on that front, but finding vegetarian baby/toddler books is hard.

My mom is going to Mexico soon, so i've made a request for oilcloth to put under our table, and C's chair as i've heard it will be messy! I also hope to get a fun enamelware tea set and/or dishes for him to use and play with. I used to have my own cabinet that i played in while my mom cooked when i was a wee one. We'll have to start baby proofing soon too - but i'll make sure to have a special place for C to play in and 'cook' with mommy and daddy.

The squash is from our garden and it'll be his first food. My mom has also put aside her squash and i've made apple sauce with local, organic apples recently. We're starting with veggies and then moving towards grains like quinoa, millet, and oats, along with fruit. It's overwhelming to think about all the stuff that goes into baby food but it's good nightly reading for now.

What sort of first foods did you give your wee ones, and if have any other advice of books and/or simple gadgets for making and serving food, i'd love to hear from you!

Good Crafty Reading

I recently added two new craft-related books to my collection and i wanted to share them with you. I love getting good resource books, and my mom always taught me that investing in a good book is always a worth-it buy. Good advice, mom!

When i was in NYC last year, i never made it to Teany (the vegan cafe co-owned by Moby) and i was a bit sad about that. So, when i came across a copy of their cookbook/scrapbook called teany book at my local Winners store, i jumped at the chance to buy it. Not only does it have some great recipes, it has some great info about teas, health and beauty stuff, as well as some silly tidbits of cartons and photos. A fun cookbook that can also serve as a coffee (or tea!) table book. I recently made their chocolate green tea pudding and it tasted lovely. I unfortunately didn't have enough of all the ingredients so the recipe - that i took to a friend's "choc-luck" (dessert potluck) party turned more into a drink than a dessert. But i think the book is still worthy of mention, because that was my error and not theirs!
The other book that i'm enjoying is Twinkle's Big City Knits. I can't wait to try out some of the fantastic sweater patterns. I'm hoping i can find some good vegan-friendly thick yarns for some of the patterns, but the book is full of wonderful cardigans, knit dresses & skirts, hats, scarves, and tops. A truely wonderful compliment to other knitting books that are geared towards those who would rather use smaller needles or knit argyle and fair isle sweaters. For a preview of some projects, click here. I made my honey a quick hat with not even one ball of yarn, and it was fun to use such large needles and whip up something in just a couple of hours!