Immigrant Pie

Never in a million years did I think that anyone else would pick the same holiday tune as me for this month's You Want Pies With That? challenge. When I saw yesterday that Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies had made a Fairytale of New York Pie, my jaw dropped. Not only that, but her take on it is brilliant. (It's an Irish drunkfest in a pie. The Pogues would love it.) I've been frantically searching for another seasonal song that moves me like that one. Nope. No such luck.

So I finally decided to soldier on. The number of religious customs and holiday traditions that merge in our family is just astounding. I'm amazed at how my husband's and my families carried their culinary heritage, from Latkes to Swedish Rosettes, with them to this country. The Pogues' song of heartbreak and drunkenness speaks eloquently of the dreams of the old world and new and their loss. To bring them together, I placed a traditional style European apple tart on a thoroughly American sweet potato crust.

Now I'm voting for Natashya.

Flax Seed Pasta

During my pre-motherhood existence, I had started to learn to make homemade pasta. The Kid's egg allergy, which we discovered a year postpartum, completely derailed that line of line of culinary exploration. That is, until now. (Drumroll, please.)

I decided to try substituting flax seed meal for eggs in pasta dough. To my complete and utter astonishment, it created lovely workable dough, which made pasta with a nice tooth and nutty flavor, slightly reminiscent of soba noodles. My old recipe called for 3 Cups of flour, 3 eggs, and a pinch of salt. Here's the new version:

3 C flour (I used King Arthur bread flour)
3 Tbs flax seed meal + 1/2 C water, blended
1/2 C water in addition to flax seed mixture
1 tsp olive oil
large pinch of kosher salt

Using a stick blender, pulverize the flax seed meal and water to get maximum glutinousness. (Heh.) Mix flour and salt together on a flat surface and make a well in the center. Pour flax seed mixture and olive oil into well and mix into flour. While mixing, add in the additional 1/2 C water, using less or more if necessary. Use a dough scraper to bring ingredients together and knead until it becomes a stiff, uniform dough. Form into a ball, then place in a plastic bag and allow to rest for at least half an hour. (The rest period for my dough was somewhat longer.)

Cut off smaller pieces of dough, flour well, and run through a pasta machine from higher to lower settings, then cut into desired shape. (I recommend using a pasta machine rather than shaping by hand, though you could roll it out with some muscle and give it additional rest periods covered in plastic to make the dough more easily workable.) The dough did best at the second to lowest thinness setting on the machine for the final pasta. I divided my batch and made half as flat noodles and half as pumpkin filled raviolis.

For noodles, simply cut with the machine or by hand, then separate onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet and place in freezer for 30 minutes. After the half hour, use immediately or move into a freezer bag for longer storage. To cook the noodles, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add frozen noodles to water, allow to return to a boil, then reduce temperature and cook for six to eight minutes, checking for doneness before draining pasta. The thickness of the pasta will determine the length of time needed, so watch closely.

Since the noodles reminded me of soba, I made a quick miso glaze for them:

1 C water
1 Tbs miso paste
1 Tbs corn starch
3 mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 green onions, chopped
sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

Combine water, miso, and corn starch in a small pan. Whisk together until smooth. Add mushrooms and green onions, and bring to a boil while stirring. Mix with noodles, sprinkle sesame seeds and serve immediately. (The green onions are better if they are added after it has been boiled, but I habitually overcook onions in deference to The Kid's palate.)

Pumpkin Ravioli

I baked a small, 3 pound pumpkin for an hour at 350°F after cutting it in half, removing the seeds and pulp, rubbing the exposed surface with olive oil, then placing it open side down in a baking dish. It produced almost exactly 3 C of cooked pumpkin, which was more than I needed for the mild filling:

2 C cooked pumpkin
1/2 C coconut milk
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix with a blender until smooth.

My ravioli making technique is atrocious, but since it's been about six years since I attempted to make them, I'll just apologize for the unappealing pictures and post them anyway. I think, though, that I felt I had to use the ravioli mold which has been gathering dust for that time, and they would have been much nicer and less tedious if I had just made larger raviolis by hand.

Since I am the wrong source for directions on how to make ravioli, I'll just let you know that the mold needed to be sprayed with olive oil before having the dough placed on it and that I used more of the coconut milk instead of eggs as glue for the little dumplings and then I'll leave you to your own devices.

Once you have produced your tiny darlings, allow them to dry on a cooling rack for at least half an hour. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook them for 3 to 5 minutes. Toss very gently with a little olive oil and salt and serve immediately.

I'm sending these recipes both to Madhuram at Eggless Cooking for her fantastic Flax Seed Meal Egg Replacement Event and to the always inspiring Presto Pasta Nights, which was begun by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and will be be hosted this week by Nilmandra of Soy and Pepper.

Cornbread & Turkey Bacon Lunchbox

The Kid loves cornbread, so when I had some leftover, I paired it with turkey bacon to pack in his lunchbox. I also decided to try out an idea I've had for cooking the turkey bacon so that it is both easier to pack and less likely to crumble.

First, the contents of the lunch are a piece of cornbread baked in a cast iron scone pan to get the triangular shape, two slices of turkey bacon, green grapes, a few baby carrots*, and a dinosaur cookie covered in chocolate. (I'm still tweaking the recipe for roll out cookies, but hopefully I'll have it up soon.) It's accompanied by the usual apple juice/water mix and a monster sticker (roar!) for Halloween season.

Turkey bacon is another favorite of The Kid's. It's a lot chewier and less brittle than the nasty, greasy pork kind, so I thought it might be possible to place it in a more convenient shape, then cook it in the microwave for a longer period at a lower setting.

To hold the turkey bacon in position, I slid two slices in curves onto a skewer on a piece of paper towel. I tried to make sure that the bacon supported itself on its side, so it didn't fall over onto itself.

I turned the microwave down to the defrost setting, and cooked the turkey bacon uncovered for between ten and fifteen minutes, checking it regularly. (I may have let it go longer than necessary, since I'm a salmonella phobe.) There was a little bit of splatter, but much less than I was afraid might happen.

I had mixed results. Once slice turned out perfectly, the other did indeed collapse onto itself and cook into that position. I put both of them into the lunch box, anyway.

*Say, aren't those carrots in one of those little food cups? I thought you said you were going to keep it simple and resist the siren call of the bento. It looks suspiciously like someone got a box of goodies from Ichiban Kan!

Well, [looks down at feet] the carrots and the dinosaur do need the food cup to successfully cohabitate! The truth is that The Kid is in a lunch rut, where all he wants are Sunbutter and jelly dinosaur sandwiches, grapes, and pretzels. So I had the excuse I needed to succumb, and may be drifting into bento territory in the near future, or at least poaching some techniques.

I'm submitting this lunchbox to Margo at Coffee and Vanilla for her awesome monthly Wholesome Lunchbox Round Up, as well as trolling around over there myself in search of some new ideas!

Lavash Crackers and Avocado Dip

To my surprise and delight, this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was dedicated to the dietary restricted bakers, those of us who muddle through the challenges vegan, gluten free, or with food allergies. To make the challenge even better, it was hosted by two of my very favorite bloggers, Natalie of Gluten A Go Go and Shelly of Musings from the Fishbowl. They chose a recipe for Lavash Crackers from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Bakers Apprentice, asked us to make a dip, gave us gluten free options, required that everything be vegan, and otherwise set us completely free to choose flavors and toppings.

I may have gotten a little carried away, so I'll refer you to the original recipe for instructions on how to make the crackers, and just list the ingredients I used for each of the four versions I made. The crackers did not take the full 15-20 minutes to bake, and all of these were done in 12-16 minutes. These are all half batches, which is what I generally make when I'm experimenting, so I'll definitely double the quantity when I'm making them again, except for the water/baking soda mixture for the first cracker. The Kid will also probably request that I use dinosaur cookie cutters, instead of these shapes!

There's a commercial pretzel cracker on the market that I really enjoy, but my son is unable to eat due to his food allergies. So the first cracker I made was a Pretzel Cracker.

• 3/4 C bread flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp canola oil
• 1/4 C water at room temperature
• 1/4 C water + 1/2 tsp baking soda
• kosher salt for sprinkling
  

The only variation in technique for this cracker (the rectangular one), was that I used a pastry brush to spread the water and baking soda mixture onto the crackers instead of misting them with water. This was the flakiest cracker with the closest to a commercial taste and texture.

The next cracker I attempted was a Corn Cracker (the round one). It would made an excellent healthy substitute for a deep fried corn chip.

• 1/2 C bread flour
• 1/4 C corn meal
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp canola oil
• 1/4 C water at room temperature
• kosher salt and additional paprika for sprinkling

I'm always amazed by what the gluten free Daring Bakers are able to accomplish without wheat. Rice crackers are some of my favorite, so I decided to be daring and try making Sesame Rice Crackers (the flower shaped ones). I had a little trouble with the rise, and they are somewhat hard, but the taste makes them worth trying again.

• 3/4 C white rice flour
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 C + 1 Tbs water at room temperature
• toasted sesame seeds for sprinkling

Next, I decided to make a sweet version, a Maple Wheat Cracker. This was probably the least attractive, but best tasting of all four variations.

• 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• 1/4 C bread flour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 2 Tbs maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp canola oil
• 1/4 C water at room temperature
• turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Finally, I made an avocado dip to accompany the savory crackers. It wasn't a hard choice. Just so you understand how I feel about avocado, if forced to, I'm not sure I could choose between it and chocolate. This dip is simple, but unlike a spicy guacamole, the taste of the creamy fruit shines through.

• 2 ripe Haas avocados
• 2 tsp lime juice
• pinch of garlic powder
• kosher salt to taste

Peel and quarter the avocados and place in a medium bowl. Add the other ingredients and mash together with a potato masher. Serve immediately.

I loved how thrifty and practical these crackers were, while still giving me so much room to experiment and be creative. Many, many thanks to both Shelly and Natalie for such a wonderful challenge!

Buttermilkless Biscuits

This is the biscuit recipe I've been tweaking with the extraordinarily enthusiastic assistance of The Kid. The last few times we've made this, he's gone racing to his room to get his Ratatouille chef's hat and apron, which just adds to the adorable. He is so very proud of himself for making these biscuits, and I am grateful for his love of cooking and baking, which will hopefully stand him in good stead as he navigates his future with food allergies.

1 Tbs lemon juice + plain soy milk to equal 1 Cup
2 1/2 C all purpose flour, plus additional as needed
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C dairy free margarine, i.e., Earth Balance

Mix lemon juice and soy milk in a nonreactive measuring cup and set aside. Preheat oven to 450°F. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium largish bowl. Cut the margarine into small pieces, then rub into flour mixture until nice and crumbly, but stop before the margarine begins to melt! Slowly pour lemon juice and soy milk into flour mixture and stir until combined.

Stop now and evaluate your dough. It should be very sticky. If you are baking without assistance, continue. If there is a short person helping, I suggest adding a small amount of flour (no more than 1/4 C) until it becomes slightly more manageable. The resulting biscuits won't be quite as tender, but the amount of mess on and surrounding your child will be considerably less.

Thoroughly dust hands and surface with flour and gently turn out the dough onto it. Lightly flour the dough, and press out to about one inch in thickness. Fold the dough in half, then repeat half a dozen times. Now gently pat out dough to anywhere between one half and one full inch, depending on your preference. Using the biscuit or cookie cutter of your choice, cut out biscuits and place in nonstick baking dish. Push the remaining scraps together to cut out the last few and add to pan.

Bake for fifteen minutes or until tops turn golden brown. Serve while still hot. We like ours with margarine and honey or blueberry preserves, but they are always gone before I can get a picture!

My husband has requested that I create an allergy safe sausage gravy to pour over them, so that should be coming soon.

I am submitting our biscuits (with some trepidation, since I've seen the amazing dishes in previous ones) to Lore of Culinarty for the Original Recipes Round-Up.

Very Daring Almost Gateau

When I saw this month's Daring Baker challenge recipe, Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream from Great Cakes by Carol Walter I almost decided to sit this one out. The cake chosen by the host, Chris of Mele Cott, sounded delicious, but the idea of substituting for all those eggs, nuts, and liquors was, well, challenging.

The original recipe calls for ground hazelnuts, 7 egg yolks, 5 egg whites, and 1/4 C of clarified butter. The first time I tried to make the cake, I used oat flour plus a few tablespoons flax seed meal to substitute for the nut, tofu to substitute for the egg, dairy free margarine for the butter, and added lemon juice and baking soda to get some lift. I've had some bad experiences with tofu in the past, and sadly, this first attempt to modify the recipe did nothing to change my opinion of the much maligned soy product.

The second attempt, which you see here, had Ener-G egg replacer instead of tofu and did not include the lemon juice and baking soda. The cake itself tasted amazing, virtually identical to a nut based cake, but had not risen at all. I made do with two layers instead of three, and put the rest of the cake together, using one of my own buttercream recipes with strawberry preserves instead of cherry and adding a thin layer of strawberries between the cake layers, since the poor thing was so short!

The cake itself wasn't a great success, but as usual I learned some new techniques and now have a really great substitute for nut meal in recipes. Be sure to check out all the other Daring Bakers, so you can see what the cake is supposed to look like!

Belated Danish Braid

This post is long overdue, so my apologies to all the Daring Bakers who have stopped by to check on my pastry, and who I've also neglected to visit. (As my mom said, "That Danish Braid has been proofing all week!") First, thanks to Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What's Cookin'? for setting such a great challenge. (Yes, that's the same Ben, who was nice enough to send us our beloved Pop-A-Lot.) Due to his allergies my son had never eaten any kind of pastry, so I've contemplated trying to adapt a recipe, but hadn't been brave enough to do so. Kelly and Ben chose Sherry Yard's Danish Braid recipe with its fragrant, spiced dough, which was helpful when baking something that usually depends on butter for its flavor. (The original is in The Secrets of Baking.)

Rather than post the original recipe and my adaptation, I'll send you to Kelly for the original version, and just give you the changes I made to it. For my attempt I halved the recipe, which is why the quantities of the ingredients are so different.

For the dough (Detrempe):
1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 C coconut milk
2 Tbs granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C fresh orange juice
1 1/2 C + 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

For the butter(less) block (Beurrage):
1/2 C coconut oil
2 Tbs all-purpose flour

The original recipe called for two eggs. I left the yeast at a full packet, rather than halving it to compensate for any rise that would be lost. Since the coconut oil provides plenty of fat, I simply increased the amount of orange juice to compensate for the liquid removed from the recipe. It seemed to work well.

This was the first time I've used coconut oil for baking. I chilled it, as the butter in the original is, and quickly discovered that the expensive stuff becomes extremely hard in the refrigerator. I had a terrible time measuring it correctly. As difficult as it was to get out of the container, the oil came together beautifully with the flour and spread perfectly. If I use coconut oil for this technique again, I'll measure it warm, then chill just the portion I'll be using.

Forgetting that I was making half a batch, I rolled the dough out too thin and had a little leakage when folding the dough for the first time. I gave the dough one additional fold in half after the first turn and didn't have any other problems with it.

After resting overnight, I rolled the dough out to its final dimensions to match my cookie sheet rather than the recipe. (I twirled up the scraps of dough, sprinkled them with some sugar, and baked them into some yummy little breakfast treats.) I'll confess right now, I used a ruler to get these even strips!

For the filling, I had planned to use two mangoes, but one of them had mysteriously disappeared from my kitchen. So I cooked up the remaining mango with an eight ounce can of crushed pineapple to make up for the missing fruit. The filling didn't look very appetizing, but it tasted amazing.

The braid came together easily, but I realized later after seeing some of the other DB posts that I should have planned better to close the ends of the braid. I painted it with some of the leftover coconut milk and sprinkled it with turbinado sugar, then let it proof. The sugar should have waited until it was ready to bake, since the crystals tended to dissolve in the coconut milk

I was very pleased with how the braid turned out, and am actually looking forward to making more laminated dough in the future! Thanks again to Kelly and Ben for a great challenge.

Still Proofing...

It turns out I'm an alternative, procrastinating, Daring Baker. (Will need to update my profile at the forum, someday.) Here's a tease of my tropical Danish Braid: I used coconut oil and coconut milk as replacements for butter and milk in the dough. The filling is mango and pineapple. Instead of an egg wash, I painted it with more coconut milk and sprinkled it with turbinado sugar. I'll let you all know how it turns out and post the complete recipe this evening after I recover from the birthday party we're going to today!

Turkey Loaf, Herpetological Style

It was getting late, I'd had a long day at work, and I just didn't have any ideas about what to fix my child for dinner. So I asked him what he wanted, fully expecting the answer to be "noodles with peas," which is The Kid's favorite default meal. Instead he announced, "I want to have snake for dinner like the snake I make with Play Doh," holding up his purple Play Doh snake to demonstrate.

Great. That wasn't going to happen, since I didn't have three hours to let dough rise, which was the only possible snake construction material that popped into my head. I looked through the contents of my freezer looking for other dinner possibilities. That's when I spotted the tube of frozen ground turkey and inspiration (or something) struck.

This was very much thrown together, since it's been years since I've made any kind of a ground meat loaf. After all my effort, The Kid was absolutely delighted with how it looked, but didn't eat it with a lot of enthusiasm. It wasn't a huge hit, so I won't be spending any time tweaking, but it has so much potential for other shapes or decorations, I thought I'd go ahead and post the recipe for anyone who might want to adopt and adapt it.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
6oz can tomato paste
1 C fresh bread crumbs (also from my freezer)
1 Tbs flax seed meal
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs orange juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line oven-safe pan with aluminum foil. Mix all ingredients together in a large nonporous bowl. Take large handfuls of mixture, form into desired shape, and place onto pan. Continue until all of mixture is used. Apply any decorations you wish to add. (For this I cut little pieces of carrot into eyes and a tongue, and used olives to make a snake like design on the back, simply because that was what was in my fridge. Thin pieces of pepper, zucchini, or other firm vegetables would all probably work.)

Most meatloaf recipes cook for about 45 minutes. I checked this skinny one after 20, but wasn't able to get a good read with my thermometer, so I put I put it back in for another 10. (Yes, I'm a raw poultry phobe.) After 30 minutes, the "Snakeloaf" was moist, savory, and held its shape fairly well.

There's been one problem I didn't anticipate: I'm not sure The Kid understands that this wasn't an actual snake! I explained several times that it was the same thing as a turkey burger, but he's been a little skeptical of Mommy. I've probably been a little too discrete about the relationship between the animals he loves and the contents of his plate!

Citrus Opera Cake Tragedy

I almost didn't post this month's multi-layered Daring Baker challenge: Dorie Greenspan's Opera Cake, which was thoughtfully dedicated to Barbara of Winos and Foodies by Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice, Lis of La Mia Cucina, Fran of Apple Peaches Pumpkin Pie, and Shea of Whiskful. The first attempt I made at modifying the recipe to make a raspberry jaconde produced a cake that resembled fruit leather. My end of the month schedule was so hectic, including a full blown family reunion, that I didn't think I'd have time to try it again. Today, the first day back at school after the Memorial Day holiday, I received a call from the school to tell me The Kid had had an allergic reaction. (He's doing fine now. I'll post more on that later.) After all the stress and chaos of the day, I found myself wandering back to the kitchen this evening to try the opera cake again.

For the joconde, which was the cause of my original disaster, I went back to the drawing board. The original recipe used almond meal, for which other Daring Bakers had substituted oat flour. I used that again with powdered sugar, baking powder and soda, soy milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. The result resembled a poorly executed corn bread. I may try to replicate a sponge cake again, but will most likely use cake flour, since this version was far too rustic!

For the other components of the cake, I made a lime syrup, an orange buttercream, skipped the mousse, and made a drippy pineapple glaze. (I wanted to make a glaze out of coconut milk, but discovered I'd used the last of it to make two Coconut Key Lime Pies for the family reunion!)

If nothing else, the opera cake was an effective cure for overconfidence in the kitchen, as well as a reminder that I learn more from the experiments that don't work than from the ones that do.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcakes

To those of you who have been following my less than completely successful experiments with chocolate cupcakes, I would like you to meet the fruit of my labor: the Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcake. It may not have the perfect cupcake dome, but in this case, the bug is now a feature, since the lack of slope allows the melted chocolate to harden without running off. As an additional bonus for the extended experimentation, the Cupcake Hero contest theme for May turned out to be cocoa powder, so this will be my first submission to that huge event. Despite initially being geared more toward Mommy's tastes, The Kid adores the the cupcake with a surprise in the middle. Allowing him to eat one results in a chocolate covered child!

Creamed Ingredients:
1/2 C dairy free margarine, softened
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Liquid Ingredients:
1/2 C plain soy yogurt
1/2 C boiling water

Additional:
12 large maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffing tin with 12 cupcake liners. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream margarine then add sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla extract. Slow mixer, then gradually add in half the dry ingredients, then the soy yogurt, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Continuing to beat mixer slowly, add boiling water and mix until fully integrated.

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 cupcake liners. Very, very gently push a maraschino cherry into the center of each cupcake until even or just below surface. Using a spatula or knife, gently smooth batter over the top of the cherry. Bake for twenty minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remember not to stick the toothpick exactly in the center due to the cherry! Allow to cool completely, then commence with the chocolate overkill, which may be blamed on Jill O'Connor and the Daring Bakers. (You know who you are.)

Melted Chocolate Topping:
1 C allergy safe chocolate chips, i.e. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
1 Tbs vegetable shortening

Place chips and shortening in a small, heat safe bowl fitted atop a small pot of boiling water. Stir until melted, then spoon onto cupcakes. If necessary, spread with a circular motion. Allow to cool before consuming, if you can.

Makes one dozen decadent cupcakes and provides incontrovertible proof that food allergies do not cause a life of deprivation.

Supplies from Whole Foods

There isn't a Whole Foods near us, but I was able to stop at one last week and picked up a couple items I haven't seen at stores closer to home. I planned to get some Agar, but the rest were impulse purchases. These will keep me experimenting for a while, but I'm still in sticker shock. (That's half a tank of gas you're looking at!)

Take a close look at the label on the kosher, egg free marshmallows. I never would have thought of fish gelatin as a binder, which may be reassuring to those of you who sometimes come over for dinner!

I'll post more about these as I use them.

Update: Well, I tried making a fake Mac & Cheese from the "Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative." It was so nasty it doesn't even rate its own post. Yuck. The stuff was beyond awful. Save your money.

Banana (Grape) Nut Muffins

My great grandmother's banana bread recipe is simple, but amazingly good. It's a rich holiday treat, not an everyday quick bread. I had started to adapt it for my son's food allergies, but had put it aside until finally prompted to finish it by the Banana Bread Bake Off hosted by Not Quite Nigella. If you have nice flexible arteries and are not allergic to any of the ingredients, I urge you to try the original, seen here as written out by my aunt.

Olive Emmeline Tackel was born August 23rd, 1892, in Verschoyle, Ontario, the youngest of almost a dozen children born to Gideon Tackel, an English immigrant, and Amanda Thompkins. After her mother's death, she went to keep house for her uncle, Manoah Tackel, in Bay City, Michigan, where she met and married another English immigrant. They had two sons: the elder was my grandfather, the younger was shot down over Germany in World War II. She never really recovered from his loss.

When I first tried to adapt this recipe, I stayed as close to the original as possible, directly substituting egg replacer and dairy free margarine without changing any of the proportions. I also decided to try using Grape Nut Cereal instead of tree nuts. It made a boring, concave loaf. I tweaked the proportions a little, but it still didn't rise or approach the original for flavor.

For the second attempt, I switched to muffins to reduce the load that needed to rise. The Grape Nuts absorbed moisture without contributing flavor, so I increased the banana and added sesame oil and vanilla extract to the cereal to give it a little more nuttiness. The result is really nice.

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 C dairy free margarine
1 C sugar
2 ripe bananas (about 2 Cups)
1 Tbs Ener-G Egg Replacer + 1/4 C warm water

Dry Ingredients:
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Nut Substitute:
1 C Grape Nut Cereal
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease standard muffin tin or fill with liners. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Measure cereal into a small bowl, drizzle sesame oil and extract onto it, stir, and set aside, as well. In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine until fluffy, then add sugar and continue to cream until completely integrated. Add bananas and continue to mix on a high speed. You may get a cottage cheese consistency, but just blend right through it Reduce speed and add the Ener-G mixture. Mix until smooth. Gradually mix in dry ingredients to make a light, foamy batter. Stir in Grape Nut mixture by hand.

Divide evenly into muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Wait a few hours to eat these, so that the Grape Nuts absorb some of the moisture and have a chance to soften!

...Try, Try Again

On the bright side, there's no shortage of volunteers to help me consume the evidence. I'd especially like to thank my coworkers for their never ending self-sacrifice.

If At First You Don't Succeed...

...cover with frosting and don't tell anyone! Just in case you thought I was slacking over the weekend, here's what my first attempt at a chocolate cupcake looked like. They tasted great, though, so hopefully after some tweaking, I'll have a new recipe to share soon.

Adapting Dorie Greenspan's Buttercream

I have a reliable powdered sugar recipe for buttercream frosting, but I wanted to stay as close as possible to Dorie Greenspan's original directions for the March Daring Bakers Challenge. I decided to try several substitutions for the egg, so I made three 1/4 batches using corn starch, Ener-G Egg Replacer, and a vegan gelatin. You can see the results above.

The corn starch and egg replacer made glazes instead of frosting. The gelatin started out looking like other two, but after having the margarine added and being whipped, its structure and texture changed completely. The resulting frosting is silky smooth and spreadable with a slippery mouth feel. After tasting it, my husband compared it to a meringue. Success!

Update: Sorry it's taken me so long to get the recipe up!

Ingredients:
1 C sugar
1/2 C boiling water + 10g packet of vegan gelatin
3 sticks (12 oz) slightly softened dairy free margarine, not all the way to room temp (I prefer Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Dorie's original recipe calls for whisking egg whites together with the sugar in a double boiler. Since the gelatin, which replaces the egg whites, is being mixed directly with boiling water, the gentle method used on the egg whites is unnecessary. One word of caution: if there are any lumps in the gelatin, be sure to pound or sift them out, or there will be lumps in the frosting.

Mix the gelatin and boiling water, then stir in the sugar, making sure it is completely dissolved. (Don't be put off by the appearance. Yes, it looks like a bowl full of snot, but persevere anyway!) Using a hand mixer or the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, beat the mixture on medium speed until cool, about five minutes. Change to a paddle attachment if using stand mixer, and beat in the margarine one stick at a time until smooth. Increase the mixture speed to medium high and beat until thick and very smooth, about six to ten minutes, or longer if necessary. This is when you will see the dramatic change in the texture . Reduce speed to medium and gradually add the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Keep the resulting frosting covered and refrigerate any extra. It will handle much better at room temperature.