bedlam bakes
Jun. 9th, 2010 01:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedlamsbardIn mildly alarming news, but really only about a 3 on my freakout level, I appear to be losing weight again, after gaining some back after coming home from university. Reason this is alarming: uh, I don't have that much weight to lose in the first place. I appear to be down to about 112 now, although my scale isn't too reliable -- I know I'm down a dress size from last year, and I'm reasonably certain I'm down a jeans size as well, though I haven't gone shopping to try jeans on lately. I don't have much in the way of hips, so I always wear a belt with jeans or shorts (not that I'm wearing those at all lately, natch). I mean, I don't usually have much problem finding jeans that fit me, except for length, although my two most comfortable pairs are wearing out and developing holes in awkward places, but I'm mostly annoyed on principle.
On the bright side, my collarbones aren't as prominent as they were during the last couple months of the semester and right after I came back -- seriously, I'm pretty sure I could have hung a clotheshanger off them; now that was alarming -- so either I'm panicking about nothing or the weight loss is elsewhere. (A.k.a., my hips, or lack thereof.) Hipbones aren't as prominent either. It might be muscle mass, since I'm not walking as much as I do in New Orleans. Although I'm eating less now, too, since I'm cooking for myself. I don't know, I mostly find it irritating and not alarming.
A few favorite recipes I just wanted to link to, in no particular order except what showed up first on my Google Docs recipe index:
Snickerdoodle Cake, from My Baking Addiction. This is a great bundt cake with a cinnamon-sugar crust and filling; sometimes the filling ends up falling to the bottom (or what will eventually be the top) during the baking process, but that doesn't really affect the taste. I've made this cake, I think, three times? One of the times was in New Orleans, where I was working with slightly limited resources -- because that was what was available, I ended up substituting some kind of fake butter substitute for the butter, which made it a little greasier but didn't do anything terrible to the texture or the taste, and using brown sugar along with white for the crust. Still tasted amazing. It tastes good out of the oven and good a couple of days later, and freezes well. The time I made it in New Orleans, I ate a chunk of it on my way to my last final. Good, filling, sweet but not too sweet. If you like snickerdoodle cookies (and if anyone has a good recipe, throw it my way), you'll like this cake.
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, from Joy the Baker. My ability to make regular chocolate chip cookies aside, I've never had a problem with this recipe. I don't tend to like chocolate chip cookies because I find them boring, but the whole wheat flour makes this pleasantly nutty and filling. I always use regular whole wheat flour rather than white whole wheat flour.
Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies from Joy the Baker and Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies"> from Smitten Kitchen. Two very similar but not quite identical cookies; the main difference between the two is that the Smitten Kitchen one uses a touch of orange zest as well, which tastes amazing. Both recipes are good -- again, I tend to find both chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cookies boring, but the combination is both tasty and filling, and the pecans add a nice sweet, crunchy touch. Don't skimp on the spices!
Maple Oatmeal Scones from My Baking Addiction. I love these. The oatmeal is barely present in the finish product, just enough for a little taste and texture. Make sure you make the glaze -- it's absolutely necessary, since the scone itself isn't sweet at all and in fact only uses two tablespoons of sugar. Besides, glazing the scones is fun! The glaze itself isn't overly sweet; it just adds a lovely, sweet, maple syrup touch to the scones. (Much better than a maple bar, I want to point out.) I generally halve the recipe, since I feel bad about going through an entire pound of butter, and then quarter the glaze recipe, which gives just enough glaze for the scones. (I think a halved recipe turns out about a dozen?)
Whole Wheat Apple Muffins from Smitten Kitchen. Hands-down favorite muffin recipe ever. They sound stupidly healthy and not at all tasty, which is a foul, foul lie. They're wonderful and filling and cinnamon-y -- in fact, the first time I baked them, over winter break this past year, I actually felt guilty because they just smelled so much like fall that it seemed like a crime baking them in summer. And do make sure to read the recipe carefully, because only a quarter cup of the brown sugar actually goes into the muffins; the other quarter cup goes on top! I've never noticed a major difference in the kind of apple used -- I've used Fujis, Pacific Rose, Jazz, and even a leftover Pink Lady once. The only adjustment I'd make is to only use one apple, especially if it's large -- if it's a really large apple, I'd say only use half to 3/4 of it. But seriously. MAKE THESE MUFFINS. (In fact, I baked another batch a couple of days ago, froze them, and ate one this morning for breakfast. I tend to bake these every few weeks or so; aside from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day master loaf and peasant bread, this is probably my most-baked recipe.)
Brownie Roll-out Cookies from Smitten Kitchen. The only chocolate cookies you will ever need, seriously. They're a little bit of work because they're roll-out cookies rather than drop cookies, but they make up for it in taste. Although the recipe calls for lightly salted butter (or one stick unsalted and one stick salted), I just use all unsalted and add a little bit more salt. I have a salt tooth rather than a sweet tooth, so I like a little bit of salt in my cookies. Makes approximately ten billion cookies; I use little heart-shaped cookie cutters for a one or two-bite cookie. Warning: the recipe calls for you to preheat your oven immediately, but that's unnecessary since the dough is going in the fridge for an hour; just go ahead and preheat when you pull the dough out of the fridge.
On the bright side, my collarbones aren't as prominent as they were during the last couple months of the semester and right after I came back -- seriously, I'm pretty sure I could have hung a clotheshanger off them; now that was alarming -- so either I'm panicking about nothing or the weight loss is elsewhere. (A.k.a., my hips, or lack thereof.) Hipbones aren't as prominent either. It might be muscle mass, since I'm not walking as much as I do in New Orleans. Although I'm eating less now, too, since I'm cooking for myself. I don't know, I mostly find it irritating and not alarming.
A few favorite recipes I just wanted to link to, in no particular order except what showed up first on my Google Docs recipe index:
Snickerdoodle Cake, from My Baking Addiction. This is a great bundt cake with a cinnamon-sugar crust and filling; sometimes the filling ends up falling to the bottom (or what will eventually be the top) during the baking process, but that doesn't really affect the taste. I've made this cake, I think, three times? One of the times was in New Orleans, where I was working with slightly limited resources -- because that was what was available, I ended up substituting some kind of fake butter substitute for the butter, which made it a little greasier but didn't do anything terrible to the texture or the taste, and using brown sugar along with white for the crust. Still tasted amazing. It tastes good out of the oven and good a couple of days later, and freezes well. The time I made it in New Orleans, I ate a chunk of it on my way to my last final. Good, filling, sweet but not too sweet. If you like snickerdoodle cookies (and if anyone has a good recipe, throw it my way), you'll like this cake.
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, from Joy the Baker. My ability to make regular chocolate chip cookies aside, I've never had a problem with this recipe. I don't tend to like chocolate chip cookies because I find them boring, but the whole wheat flour makes this pleasantly nutty and filling. I always use regular whole wheat flour rather than white whole wheat flour.
Oatmeal Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies from Joy the Baker and Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies"> from Smitten Kitchen. Two very similar but not quite identical cookies; the main difference between the two is that the Smitten Kitchen one uses a touch of orange zest as well, which tastes amazing. Both recipes are good -- again, I tend to find both chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cookies boring, but the combination is both tasty and filling, and the pecans add a nice sweet, crunchy touch. Don't skimp on the spices!
Maple Oatmeal Scones from My Baking Addiction. I love these. The oatmeal is barely present in the finish product, just enough for a little taste and texture. Make sure you make the glaze -- it's absolutely necessary, since the scone itself isn't sweet at all and in fact only uses two tablespoons of sugar. Besides, glazing the scones is fun! The glaze itself isn't overly sweet; it just adds a lovely, sweet, maple syrup touch to the scones. (Much better than a maple bar, I want to point out.) I generally halve the recipe, since I feel bad about going through an entire pound of butter, and then quarter the glaze recipe, which gives just enough glaze for the scones. (I think a halved recipe turns out about a dozen?)
Whole Wheat Apple Muffins from Smitten Kitchen. Hands-down favorite muffin recipe ever. They sound stupidly healthy and not at all tasty, which is a foul, foul lie. They're wonderful and filling and cinnamon-y -- in fact, the first time I baked them, over winter break this past year, I actually felt guilty because they just smelled so much like fall that it seemed like a crime baking them in summer. And do make sure to read the recipe carefully, because only a quarter cup of the brown sugar actually goes into the muffins; the other quarter cup goes on top! I've never noticed a major difference in the kind of apple used -- I've used Fujis, Pacific Rose, Jazz, and even a leftover Pink Lady once. The only adjustment I'd make is to only use one apple, especially if it's large -- if it's a really large apple, I'd say only use half to 3/4 of it. But seriously. MAKE THESE MUFFINS. (In fact, I baked another batch a couple of days ago, froze them, and ate one this morning for breakfast. I tend to bake these every few weeks or so; aside from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day master loaf and peasant bread, this is probably my most-baked recipe.)
Brownie Roll-out Cookies from Smitten Kitchen. The only chocolate cookies you will ever need, seriously. They're a little bit of work because they're roll-out cookies rather than drop cookies, but they make up for it in taste. Although the recipe calls for lightly salted butter (or one stick unsalted and one stick salted), I just use all unsalted and add a little bit more salt. I have a salt tooth rather than a sweet tooth, so I like a little bit of salt in my cookies. Makes approximately ten billion cookies; I use little heart-shaped cookie cutters for a one or two-bite cookie. Warning: the recipe calls for you to preheat your oven immediately, but that's unnecessary since the dough is going in the fridge for an hour; just go ahead and preheat when you pull the dough out of the fridge.