That's Breader

I just can't help myself (the puns get me every time).

But anyway, here is my fantastic look into the bread making world and a peek at WIP.  This is works in progress of anything we have been creating.  Shellyfish from Musings from the Fishbowl came up with the idea and i recommend checking out her blog because it is the bees knees, yeah that is right, I said it.

Okay, first up:  Cheese and Onion Pull Apart Bread (from an old copy of Animal Times), Fresh Rosemary Focaccia (from V-Con), Heather's Swedish Rye Bread (from La Dolce),  Tomato Soda Bread (from La Dolce) and Cinnamon Raisin Bread (from How it All Vegan).

and a close up of the lovelies. 

Next we have Kissing Cousins Oat Bread (from La Dolce).  This one, along with a few others was made diabetic friendly.

This here, happens to be the tiniest loaf of banana bread in existence.  Titled, Brown Rice Flour Banana Bread (from La Dolce).  It just turned out so tiny, perhaps because I left out the walnuts, so my dad could have some and was unaware that the walnuts were the magical growing power in this loaf.  Or, it is supposed to be this way.  Either way it still tasted awesome.  I especially liked that it was sweetened with maple syrup. Yum.

Spelt Olive Bread (from Veg Times, Jan 09).  Thick bready goodness that goes perfectly with soup.
ZaZaZa, is the recipe I will be sharing with you today.

ZaZaZa Crust

2 c. Whole wheat flour

1/2 c. Wheat germ

1 Packet of dry yeast

3/4 tsp. Salt

1 tbsp. Olive oil

1 tbsp. Sweetener

1 c. Warm water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Mix flour, wheat germ, yeast, salt and sweetener (if not using the liquid variety) in a bowl.  Add the oil and water to the dry and knead briefly.  Let it sit 10 minutes.  Roll out the dough and fit to a lightly oiled pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool a bit and then top it with whatever you lil heart desires.  Bake that for another 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your crispiness liking, and you now have ZaZaZa.

In the picture above, I loaded mine with previously roasted veggies, like zuc, broc, mush, squash, peps etc. and some homemade cheese that just sort of sat there all blobby but good.  Hope that gives some inspiration.

More Rosemary Focaccia.  I liked this one so much I made it twice.  Next, I will try to whole wheat it's ass.

Do you spreckin the french?  I wish I did.  Especially, whilst doing an Edgar Degas puzzles and munching on this Easy French Loaf (from La Dolce).

This one makes me laugh.  My poo pretzel.  Don't let it's appearance fool you.  It tasted great.  The recipe can be found here.  

Now, some art I have been working on.  This below, is a self portrait I just completed, done on photoshop.  I have been doing other craft things but have not taken pictures and put them on my computer yet.  Next week perhaps.

I hope this post made everyone feel breader, ha sorry.

Go outside to play.

Give yourself a hug.

*Love*

I Make You Eats My Holiday Treats

So, here is some of the baking I did over the holidays, a little late, but I am catching up.  All of what you see was a part of the tins I made up for me loved ones.  I had a really nice sheet printed up and everything, which I was going to post, but since I made it on a different computer it will not let me open it.  Anywho, I have it here and will just retype the info.

Above: Cooties Coconut Cookies (I made these with egg replacer and diabetic sugar for my mom-ster, instead of with a banana and reg sugar), Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (both of these from How It All Vegan), Santa's Favorite Sugar Cookies found at nomeatfor.us, Fig Smushed Anise Almond Cookies (from V-con) and Curly Jim's Chocolate Chip cookies (from Please Don't Feed the Bears).  Curly Jim's are shown below too and would have been so much better if I used chocolate chips rather than carob chips.  Live and learn.

Next up are my peanut butter cups, adapted from a couple of recipes.  

Peanut Butter Cups

1c. Chocolate chips

1 c. Peanut butter

1/2 c. Confectioners sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

Melt 1/2 of the chocolate chips and spread evenly on 24 mini cupcake cups.  Set aside and let harden.  Now, mix your remaining ingredients and divide evenly among the harden shells.  Take the remaining chocolate chips and cover the peanut butter.  You may need to melt more chocolate chips to fill them right up.  Simple and tasty.

Below are my Chocolate Blueberry Coconut Drops with a Craisin on top, Mint Chocolate Fudge (from La Dolce Vegan) and another Peanut Butter Cup.  The Chocolate Blueberry Coconut Drops were super simple.

Chocolate Blueberry Coconut Drops

1 c. Chocolate chips

3/4 c. Shredded coconut

1/2 c. Dried blueberry

A handful of crasins

Mix all but the crasins together after the chips are melted.  Drop onto wax paper or in cups and top each with a craisin or two.  Let cool and you're done.  See, super simple.

Now, last but not least are Dream Bars (from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch).  I need to work on the butterscotch because they turned out quite greasy, but still tasty.
The only one missing from the batch are my attempt at Korean rice cakes with red bean filling.  It was my first time making them all on my own, with Canadian found ingredients, so it was a challenge.  I must say not bad for my first try, but no where near what the elderly Korean ladies can do.  Those adjumas are miracle workers.  Oh, I also made them diabetic friendly.

All of my test subjects told me they were happy, even if it was just to save my ego, but heck, i'll take it :)

Overall, my holiday was a success.  I had a wonderful new years, rung in, in a tree with lovely friends and then I drug them to a dance floor and danced with wings on.  One cannot complain.  

I hope 2009 brings everyone a lot of love, laughter and magic.

P.S. I am making a whore out of my oven. I am on a bread making kick.  I am also coining the term breader rather than baker.  Why can't a bread maker be called a breader, a hat maker is called a hatter?  Same goes for a shoe maker.  Shoer.

(Please note the restraint I am using to not make a million cheap puns with my neologisms).

Love Love