Cardamom Sticky Buns

I made these a while ago but have been so busy that I have not been able to write about them. I tasted one and thought they were a perfect stray away from the ordinary cinnamon sticky buns. Other than cardamom, a little cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg was used. I also used slivered almonds, lemon extract, and raw honey. My coworkers liked them. My friend said that it reminded her of ginger and she is not a fan of ginger and was not of my sticky buns.

Sticky buns and Coffee Cake

Well, the other night I made sticky buns and something I will call a coffee cake, though it was truly created because of my laziness. I will write more about it later but for now here is a picture of the coffee cake that I took to work.

Sticky buns

I will try my hand at sticky buns but not sure what I will do just yet. I am all about not making the traditional. Pictures, good or bad, are too come. I need to take pictures of people eating these concoctions.

Chocolate Orange Muffins

I made these about two weeks ago. They are more orangy and firmer than the first chocolate orange muffins that I made. To offset the cocoa powder and orange, I dusted with some powdered sugar.

I want to play with dough. I don't quite understand what that means yet but will let you know once I have figured it out.

Muffin Fiends I Have not abandoned You

I have just been busy. More to come. I did make some banana coconut cream muffins that people loved but did not take a picture. I will make that again in the coming weeks.

Who's going to eat it all?

I just finished baking four batches of muffins. My roommates love them but seriously, who is going to eat them all? I am taking some to work. I don’t know why, but I get the sneaking suspicion that some people are getting annoyed with my baking at work.

In the back left corner are Sante Fe Jarlsberg muffins. A spicy cheese muffin with a nutty flavor. In the back middle are a modified (and better version) of the chili cilantro muffins. Okay, I say better because I actually wrote down the recipe to this one, but my roommates say that it is really better. In the back right corner are honey citrus muffins. These are pretty healthy, and by the time I had finished them, my roommates were full off of the two cheese ones. They were not tasted. They have some sugar but most of their sweetness comes from the fruits and honey. It is basically a modification, for the better, of the citrusy muffins. I, once again, used dried fruits because I have an abundance of them. In fact, I was going to use up the rest of the dried fruit with making a whole wheat flour/Agave nectar muffin. I became too pooped. There is always tomorrow. In the front center are some orange chocolate fudge cream cheese muffins with cashews. These muffins have a brownie like texture and in the middle is a dollop of orange flavored cream cheese. I do think that the chocolate lovers will enjoy.

I am off to bed. 

Graduate school

I have learned that I have been accepted to graduate school. I am worried and happy at the same time. Wish me luck that I can go because money is hard to come by.

I will probably lay low on baking for a while. I will finish up the ingredients that I have here and continue to post pictures. I will most likely try to turn that cookie poll winner into a muffin flavor (just prefer muffins, scones, specialty desserts to cookies, cakes, and cupcakes).  This is mainly a monetary issue more than anything. My coworkers who follow my blog know what I am talking about.

Tonight or tomorrow, I plan on coming up with something that I can share in pictures with some and in taste with others.

Spicy Cheese Cilantro Muffins and Citrusy Muffins

I was tired last night and physically could not go into detail about my muffins.

The spicy cheese cilantro has a blend of shredded Monterrey,  Colby Jack, and cheddar cheeses and some chili powder, paprika,  salt, chopped fresh green onion and cilantro. My roommates loved those.

When I told people at work that I wanted to make savory as well as sweet muffins, many of them never heard of the concept. I only had six savory muffins to distribute at work, so I will tell you how it goes.

The citrusy muffins measurements were thrown off but I think I recovered. It is more like a dense bread than a muffin. In it are dried blueberries, cranberries, golden raisins, and figs soaked in orange juice. It also has sesame seeds and pistachios. I wanted the muffins to be more citrusy than sweet.

As I am writing this, I just received some feedback. The spicy cheese cilantro muffins just blew the socks off of one of my coworkers. He liked the citrusy ones but not as much as the spicy ones. Whereas, another coworker really loved the citrusy ones and confirmed that they are more citrusy than sweet.


By the way, I have not stopped making cookies or cupcakes. They are just not my focus. I stick to my statement of muffins being superior and more versatile.

Muffins! Glorious Muffins!

I know that I said that I was not going to bake for awhile but I could not help myself. I baked a batch of spicy cheese cilantro muffins and multiberry muffins. I think I am ready to say to hell with cupcakes and cookies and hello muffins and specialty desserts. Don't hold me to it though.

There is no reason for the cupcake to get all the glory. Can a cupcake be savory as well as sweet? And how filling is a cupcake anyway. I think I might start a muffin revolution.

Ideas

While I am on baking/cooking hiatus, I have some ideas that I would like to share. Banana pudding is a classic southern/black dish. Sweet potatoes are a classic southern/black ingredient. I would like to create a dish that combines the two. I am thinking of a sweet potato pudding. I also would like to make plantain pudding, cassava pudding and cassava pie.

I would like to explore more of my soul food roots and place my own spin on some recipes.

Since my boyfriend is borderline diabetic, I want to come up with the perfect sugar free dessert for him.

To Tide You Over

It may be awhile before I am able to create again but until then, here is a picture of my most successful cookies.

Beginnings

I have recently lost 155 lbs with twenty five more to go. I have never been a cook/baker before my weight loss. Although, I was a pro at lasagna, fried chicken, and baked honey-glazed salmon because those are the dishes I love. I have also considered myself a *foodie (not quite sure what that means), in the sense of tasting different cuisines and experimenting, but I have never wanted to take it beyond that point. Half a person later, I have become fascinated with baking cookies, muffins, cupcakes and cooking savory foods such as bison and seafood burgers, vegetarian casserole, and much more. The thing is, I have not tasted any of what I have made. I have "used" my friends, roommates, family, and coworkers to taste my creations. On this site, I will offer some opinions and pictures of that.

Occasionally, I will probably stray onto the topic of weight loss, since I do believe--in some weird way--this has lead me to this passion. And there is the possibility that I will even talk about some personal issues.

So far, my most successful creations are lemon ricotta cookies, chocolate chip chipotle cookies, oatmeal butterscotch craisin cookies, and vegetarian corn muffin casserole.

Pictures are soon to come.


*Foodie definitions per Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodie