Think Spring!

It's mid-April - I'm hearing birds chirp more, buds are starting to appear and I'm thinking spring. In excitement for the coming season that lasts a mere 2-3 weeks up here in Maine, I created a new cupcake called "Think Spring." It's a vegan lemon cupcake with berry filling, topped with vanilla icing, a blackberry and some lemon zest - and it is yummers!

These cupcakes were my first experimentation with a "filled" cupcake, which seems to be all the rage right now. I used a cupcake corer from Williams Sonoma, and I must say, if you want to fill your cupcakes, get a cupcake core; it makes the job so much easier and much less messier! They're only $5 and are nice and compact and easy to clean. 

Filled Think Spring cupcakes, pre frosting

So I baked up the Think Springs last Saturday with an upcoming cupcake job I'm doing for a friend's graduation party in mind. I've had a bunch of taste-testers and have heard that they're awesome and that they don't taste vegan. It's interesting that people always need to qualify food as "tasting vegan" or not "tasting vegan." Vegan just means there are no animal products in whatever the product is - it doesn't mean that the cupcake contains ingredients the majority of us aren't familiar with. I'm sure most of us have had margarine in some form, flax seed, flour, sugar, fruit juices, applesauce...all normal things, I promise :o) But when someone says, "This doesn't even taste vegan!" I take it as a compliment. I think that vegan baking got a bad wrap at some point because a lot of vegan bakers didn't understand the world of substitutions and the chemistry going on in our ovens, and so a lot of vegan baked goods came out tasting grainy, seedy, bland, or dry. This certainly does not describe what I've been baking up! 

You may have noticed from my other blog or the From Scratch and Sniff Facebook group that I recently got engaged. We got engaged a few weeks ago before the ring was actually ready. On Tuesday we got the call that the ring was ready, and after returning home, I was surprised with a second proposal. My fiance had been doing a photo-shoot with the Think Spring cupcakes and asked to borrow the ring so he could get a shot. He came up behind me in the kitchen with the ring sticking up out of the top of the cupcake, and proposed again. And of course, I said yes again! Then we shared the cupcake, after he put the ring back on my finger. It was perfection. 

Change, Change, Change

It's official - From Scratch & Sniff is going to be a 100% bona fide vegan bakery. As of the 1st of January, my fiance and I changed to a vegan diet and have decided this is the life for us. Not only are we cooking compassionately and promoting conservation, we're losing weight and feeling incredibly more healthy. It's fantastic!

This change in our diets left me with a problem though. How could I change my ideals and habits around eating, but still use eggs and cream and butter in my baking? I was nervous as I began to dive into the world of vegan baking. I'd tried vegan baked goods before, always with the same thought, "This is dry, dense, and tastes more like health food than a dessert." Although I'm all for health food, I believe that when we want dessert, dessert we shall eat! If I want a healthy snack at night, I don't grab a cookie, I reach for an apple, and so I began to worry that my baking would lose it's desserty qualities.

Not so! Around my birthday, good friends of ours gave me The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. What I love about this book is the in-depth exploration into the chemistry behind baking. I have learned the methods and madness behind substitutions and have tried out several of her recipes to get a feel for how each substitution works.

Vegan Blueberry-Orange Bundt Cake from The Joy of Vegan Baking

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

After practicing a bit, I started a new baking notebook, rolled up my sleeves and got to work! So far I have veganized 6 of my standard recipes:

-Kelly's Oreo Truffles
-Italian Polenta Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze
-Ginger Cookies
-Awesome Crunch
-Irish Cream Cupcakes
-Treasure Chest Cookies
-Cranberry Almond Biscotti

Vegan Treasure Chest Cookies

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

Vegan Kelly's Oreo Truffles (Chocolate, White Chocolate, & Peanut Butter)

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

Italian Polenta Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze

Photo by Justin Lewis, filmaperture Photography

And so far - I've received very positive feedback and have even been told that some of the vegan versions are BETTER than the non-vegan ones! Horrah! The goal is to make them taste the same or better, and thus far I'm succeeding.

The next step - we've realized that maybe it's time for a name/branding change. Although From Scratch & Sniff has served me well for almost a year now, it doesn't quite convey the type of baking I'm trying to offer, and on top of that, there are already two bakeries in town related to kitties/animals. So I'm going through the difficulty of trying to decide what sort of image I want to convey.

Some people are telling me not to include "vegan" in the name - to try to "trick" people into ordering/coming in. Some are telling me I should not only offer vegan treats, but should supplement my stock with some "regular" baked goods. I know want to stand proud and not shy away from the fact that I'm vegan and this is what I have to offer. I don't want to return to cooking with animal products and I think there's a real market for it in Portland; there aren't any fully vegan bakeries up here yet. I want my name to reflect the goodness and simplicity of my product. At least I know these things for sure - now I just need a name and logo, ideas are welcome and much appreciated!

Baked Pears with Goat Cheese, Pecans and Chocolate Ganache

Yum! Doesn't the title of this posting just make you want to grab a spoon and dig in? Last night, after my boyfriend made us a delicious dinner of baked salmon with scallions and a nice big spinach salad, I decided we needed to finish off our meal in style. A friend recently told me about a snack she's been making that involves pears, cheese, and balsamic dressing. I loved the idea and decided to try to make a dessert version using the same concepts. So here you go! Try it out and let me know what you think!

Baked Pears with Goat Cheese, Pecans and Chocolate Ganache
1-2 Bartlett pears (or whatever you've got laying around)
Goat Cheese
Pecans
1-1.5 Tbsp brown sugar
Dark Chocolate Morsels
Heavy Whipping Cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the pears in half and scoop out the middles a bit so that you have a nice little cup. Fill the cups with goat cheese and top with pecans. Sprinkle brown sugar on top.

Place the pear halves on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes (until it's nice and brown and the brown sugar and cheese have melted a bit).

Meanwhile, put about a cup of dark chocolate morsels in a bowl and microwave until melted (only turn it on for about 30 seconds at a time and mix the chocolate in between until it's all melted). Add 1-2 Tbsp of heavy whipping cream and mix. Add as much cream as you want until it's the consistency you'd like---obviously, the more you add the runnier the sauce will be.

Plate the pears and drizzle the chocolate ganache over them.

Enjoy!

I had intended for this blog to focus on baking, but I made a wonderful dinner the other night that I just have to share. I can't take the credit for coming up with it-I got the recipes from The Great Vegetarian Cookbook by Rosamond Richardson. There's so real keepers in this book, but you have to convert all of the measurements, so it can be a little bit frustrating!

I thought I'd share the recipes with you and moving forward, I will probably share more! Enjoy!

Lemon Broccoli
1 1/4 lb broccoli florets
1 egg
the juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Trim the broccoli florets and steam them until tender--about 5-6 mins. Keep them warm and reserve the liquid.
Beat the egg with the lemon juice (I'd suggest using a little less than called for as it was REALLY lemony) and put into the blender. With the machine running, slowly pour in about 1 cup of the hot cooking liquid in a thin stream.
Pour into a heavy-based saucepan and stir constantly over med. heat, until the sauce thickens. Be careful not to let it come to a boiling point, otherwise it will curddle (yuck!).
Remove from the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper and leave to settle for 10-15 mins. then spoon over the warm broccoli and serve.

Grilled Polenta with Cheese, Mushrooms & Roasted Garlic
For the Polenta
1 cup of maize meal
3 cups of vegetable stock
1 tsp cumin
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp chili powder
sea salt
1 Tbsp butter (optional)
2 oz Cheddar cheese, cut into slivers

For the Roasted Garlic
1 whole head of garlic, skins on
Olive oil to brush
Dried thyme and rosemary, to sprinkle
salt and pepper

For the Mushroom Garnish
8 oz of large flat mushrooms, sliced (you could use portabella; I just used criminis)
olive oil

First cook the polenta. Put the maize meal into a saucepan and pour on the stock, stiring until it becomes smooth. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently for 10 mins, stirring frequently until cooked.
Add the spices and garlic, season to taste with salt and beat in the butter (I didn't use any and it was still great!). Pour into a small rectangular dish, smooth down the top and leave to cool. You can leave this overnight if you wish (I just stuck it in the fridge while I prepared the rest).
Meanwhile, roast the garlic. Cut off the pointed ends, but leave the skins on. Brush with olive oil and place in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with the herbs, salt & pepper. Bake for 40 mins at 350F, or until soft (it's a good idea to mix them halfway through). Leave to cool slightly, then squeeze out of the skins.
Now grill the mushrooms. Brush them liberally with olive oil and set under a hot grill for a few minutes until cooked on both sides (ok, I don't have a hot grill, so I just sauteed them in oil in a cast iron skillet and they came out great!).
Cover the cold polenta with the slivers of cheese and cut into 4 squares (it's actually easier to cut them, take them out and THEN put the cheese on top). Lift them out of the dish and set under the pre-heated grill for a few minutes (instead you can nuke them for 1 minute or put them in the already warm oven untilt he cheese melts).
Garnish the cheesey polenta squares with roasted garlic and mushrooms and serve.
Makes 4 squares.

Lemon Snow
1 cup of sour cream or creme fraiche (I used sour cream)
8 tsp sugar
the grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2 egg whites, beaten until stiff

Beat the sour cream with the sugar until thick. Fold in the finely grated lemon rind with the lemon juice. Carefully fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites--as for a souffle. Turn into a glass dish and chill for 2-3 hours (I only chilled for 90 minutes). Eat the same day, because if left for longer, it will separate (mine did separate any way, but if you just stick a spoon in it and stir it around, it's fine!).

Fluff Your Meringue

My new home is in a quaint little neighborhood sans traffic, flooding, darkness, and the numerous vagrants doing elicit activities in the lobby outside my door. This place is quiet and sunny and huge- oh and my boyfriend moved in with me!

The kitchen is glorious- I've got all my baking supplies set up on a large baker's rack; we have a gas oven/stove; a nice sunny window with a basil plant, air plant, and a hanging basket holding a mini hot pepper plant. We've got a string of baby hot peppers hanging to dry as well as a big clump of parsley. I just love it!

After the hoopla of getting boxes in, arranging furniture, and resting our weary limbs, I decided to don my cupcake apron once again and bake. I perused my recipe box and found an old recipe one of my mom's clients have given her for lemon meringue pie.

It's funny- every time my mom went over to Ruth Weinman's house, she'd come home with some random trinket: a stack of miss matched Tupperware, a bunch of old crinkly gift bags, stale Halloween candy in March. One day my mom was telling her how much I loved lemon meringue pie and how she wanted to make one for my birthday, but lacked a recipe. Ruth hobbled to the kitchen and scrawled out her own recipe which took my mom several minutes of cursing to decipher at the computer. Nonetheless, she was grateful she did because it is a great recipe that uses a minimalist ingredient approach.

Surprisingly, this was my first time making the pie myself. I was lazy and got a pre-made frozen- my first mistake. Next time I will certainly make my own :) Anyway, the filling came out amazingly well. It was sweet and sour, and silky smooth with flecks of lemon zest. The meringue was not as easy. The first batch I made would not fluff up and was just a foamy puddle at the bottom of the metal bowl. I later discovered that it probably had to do with the bit of yolk I let slide into the egg whites. So I trashed the first batch and started a new one. The new one still didn't form the stiff white peaks I was looking for, but I was so frustrated I gave up and used it as it was.

The pie still came out nicely, but I'll need to practice it again to get it just right :) Needless to say, though, it feels wicked good to get back in the kitchen!

And we're back!

After a 6-week long hiatus, I am back in the kitchen and ready to experiment once again. My boyfriend was having a shitty week last week and my immediate inclination to help cheer someone up is obviously to bake them something! So I took to my kitchen, donned the cupcake apron he got me back in May and raided the pantry for inspiration. Since I've been working 90+ hours a week for a Festival in Brunswick (45 minutes away from home)I haven't been doing much food shopping so I had to improvise a bit.

I did a simple berry crisp that most anyone can make with ingrediants found in many kitchens. I'll share the recipe (note- measurements are guestimates as I rarely measure things out when I'm experimenting), a rarity for me, so enjoy!!

Christi's Very Berry Crisp
Ingrediants:
Crust & Crumble
1 1/2ish cup of dry oats
1/2 cup of brown sugar
cinnamon
nutmeg
1/4 cup of butter

Berry Filling
Fresh Blueberries- about 1 1/2 cups
Fresh Blackberries- about 1 cup
Frozen Raspberries- about 1/4 cup
1 Tbsp of raw honey
1 Tbsp of brown sugar
2 Tbsp cold water
2 Tbsp corn starch

Start out by mixing the dry crust & crumble ingredients in a bowl then add melted butter. Press some of this mix into whatever you choose- I used 4 ceramic ramikins, you could use a round cake pan, little cups, experiment! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Put the blueberries in a bowl and mash them a little (I used a potato masher, but didn't mash them all completely). Rinse the frozen raspberries under hot water until they're soft, retaining a little of the juice, and add them to the blueberries. Then add in the blackberries and mix. Put the berries in a small saucepan on med-high heat. Add honey & brown sugar. In a small bowl, mix the water and cornstarch until smooth. Once the berry mix is at a boil, add the cornstarch, mixing constantly. It will only take a minute or so for the mix to thicken, then take it off the heat.

Spoon some of the mix on top of the crust and then top with the remaining crust & crumble mixture. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes- depends on the type of dish you're using. Serve hot!


Bottom crusts


mmmm berries!


Pre-baked crisps

Kitchen Experimentation at its finest

I've been doing some experimenting in the kitchen lately. A friend asked if I could do a cheesecake for her boyfriend's birthday and I told her that although cheesecake is not my forte, I would take a stab at it.

I ended up combining about 4 different recipes and creating something that, in the final stages, resembled none of my original recipes. It was a fluffy lemony-cheesecake with a graham-cracker-oreo crust and a thick raspberry sauce, and it was delicious. I'm hoping to try it out again because, although it was a successful creation, I wasn't able to eliminate the deadly cracks that cheesecakes often get. I tried decreasing the oven temp and leaving the cake in the oven after it was finished for an hour with the door open. Next time, I'm going to try the water-bath method. We shall see!



New creation number two- Peanut Butter Cheesecake Truffles- big hit! These round little bites of chocolate, cheese and peanut buttery goodness are a great compliment to the oreo ones already on my menu. I've also been experimenting with truffle decorating and they're starting to look really pretty. I'm going to begin experimenting with other flavors and rather than cream cheese, perhaps marscapone. I'm pretty sure they're going to be delish :) I had made a batch of the regular oreo one's for the party and they were a big hit!



Yesterday, as my boyfriend sawed wood on my couch, I decided to re-vist my vegan cookie recipe. One of our summer staffers at the festival I work for can't eat anything with sugar in it and boy, did I feel bad when I brought in cookies and he couldn't eat a single one. So I told him I'd bake him a batch of my vegan cookies which don't take any sugar. In the past, I've used applesauce in them, but I tried vegetable oil and used tiny chunks of apple instead. I like the texture the chunks give to the cookies juxtaposed with the mushy bananas and sticky dates and raisins. All in all, I think they came out fairly well.

I'm certainly looking forward to having more time to experiment. Once the Festival's over in August, I plan to dedicate a lot more time to my kitchen "lab." I'm also planning on having a tasting party with friends and others to get feedback on my menu. Get ready and come hungry!

Keep yer chin up!

I was at the Portland Farmer's market a few weeks ago and noticed "keep yer chin up" carved into a bench. It was perfect; just what I needed to read- like when John Lennon attended Yoko's art exhibit for the first time and climbed a ladder to read "yes" written on the ceiling. A sparkle of positivity. A moment of encouragement.

Since then, I've had 5 orders come in for From Scratch and Sniff. Despite the fact that I can't seem to catch a break with these festivals and outdoor markets, I'm making some really great friends up here who are incredibly supportive and seem to really enjoy my baking. I also had my first out-of-state order which was pretty exciting (thanks Jane!) :)

Sometimes I'm down on myself for not having had the foresight to attend cooking school instead of going to college, but really I couldn't have known at that point that this is what I want to do. I think I've got enough raw talent and the smarts to figure out what I don't know to make it though. Only time will tell!

My most recent project was hand-painted sugar cookies. It was a tedious task, but, oh man did I love it! I created soccer themed cookies for one order and scuba themed cookies for another. I'm not as happy with the cookies done in color- perhaps it's the dye I used in the icing (Wilton Icing Colors) instead of plain old food coloring. I'll have to experiment. I just wasn't happy with how dull the colors came out. I was very happy with the ones done in black, however and I'm pretty sure I've got another order for soccer cookies coming up soon!



This weekend I have 2 orders to prepare: a lemony cheesecake with raspberry sauce and oreo truffles and a cookie plate. Sadly the festival I work for is starting this weekend and I'll be working 90 hour weeks for the next 6 weeks leaving little time for baking. I'm planning to have a cookie/dessert tasting party in late August, though. I'm going to bake samples of all of the products I currently offer and have people come (and encourage them to bring people!) and do taste testings and allow them to give me some feedback. I'm also going to have order forms available and discounts on orders placed right there. I'm hoping it will help to get my name out there a bit more. My biggest task at the moment is to create a damn logo so I can start cranking out some business cards!