What I'm Currently Noshing On...

I haven't documented anything I have baked in awhile, so to make up for the lack of sugary delights I present, "What Allison Usually Eats, Cause Unfortunately It Is Not Cupcakes, Cookies, Brownies 24/7." Whew, that was a lengthy title.

Today's lunch was a salad. Here's the thing, I LOVE salad. I'm a big believer in fruit in salad. If a salad lacks said fruit, I think it's just a sorry excuse of a cut up plant. Who wants to eat that?

We'll start with this delicious Bartlett pear.

Chop, chop and onto a bed of romaine lettuce.

Then a handful of dried cranberries. Yay antioxidants!

Then some crunch. Almonds, baby.

It would probably help if I chopped these up, but alas, I'm lazy.

Mmm...feta. The cheese that tastes betta. (See what I did there?
Course you did. You loved it.)

Almost ready for chowing down.

A little drizzling of balsamic vinaigrette....

And voila! That easy and that yummy.

Writing Papers, Making Muffins

I'm in the middle of writing four papers. Count 'em, four. I don't want to write these papers. I just want to make these muffins.


Is that too much to ask? Of course not.






Browned Butter Blueberry"Mixed Berry" Muffins

Hunting, Gathering...the "Caveman" Diet

Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Grapefruit. All "popular" diets at one time or another, that many Americans have picked up. I personally, have never tried to be on a diet...until now. I introduce the Paleoithic diet a.k.a the "Caveman" diet.

My brother has been raving about this diet for months now. He swears by it. With the caveman diet, you only eat lean meats, fruits, lots of veggies and nuts. No dairy, grains, legumes, starches, processed sugars and processed foods and no alcohol.

The overall idea is, "If you can't hunt or gather it, you can't eat it." Slightly strict, but isn't that the point of a diet?

So now my diet consists of grilled chicken, tuna, veggies, fruits, and nuts. However, I am making a few minor exceptions. I still have the occasional alcoholic beverage and I still get my peanut butter, duh. And one, ok, two, alright three of these...

Oh my gooooodnesssss. Danishes, kolaches, whatever, I looooove them dearly. Growing up we had a bakery in town, run by some Mennonite women, that turned out these delicious pastries. So darn yummy. And I took a crack at 'em and succeeded! Set aside a day to make these, you'll be happy you did.

I think I've actually heard of wild Danish herds up north. Maybe they can be hunted? ;)

I love cherry...

and cream cheese is by far my favorite, but...

together, it makes my heart (& tummy) very, very happy.

Cherry Cheese Danish (Kolache)
adapted from pete bakes!

Dough:
1 package instant dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
4 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
3/4 cup shortening, divided
1 cup warm milk
3 eggs

Cream Cheese filling:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Cherry filling:
1 can cherry pie filling

Glaze (optional-I just like a sprinkling of powdered sugar, personally)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla


In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, 1/4 cup shortening, sugar, 2 eggs, salt, lemon peel, vanilla and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth an elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).

Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 24×16 inch rectangle. Dot half of the dough with 1/4 cup shortening; fold dough in half lengthwise. Dot with shortening and fold lengthwise into thirds. Dot with remaining shortening and fold widthwise into thirds.

Roll dough into a 16×15 inch rectangle. Cut into 8×3/4 inch strips, coil into spiral shapes, tucking end underneath the coil to form a bottom. Place on a greased baking sheet and cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Beat remaining egg, make a depression in the center of each roll and brush with egg. Fill each with the cheese filling, cherry filling, or both.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. While baking, combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla to form the glaze. Drizzle over the danishes while they are still warm.

Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Cake, What a Mouthful.

Things I at one time did not like/appreciate, but now love and appreciate...

-Skinny jeans. I despised these until I saw a friend rocking them. These are the one and only style of jeans I wear. Goodbye boot cut.

-Pineapple beer. It took a couple of visits to the So Long Saloon to realize the deliciousness of this drink. This is the only reason I go to Manhattan. Ok, and to see my friends.

-My dad's taste in music. I once LOATHED, Skynyrd, Three Dog Night, The Steve Miller Band, etc. Now, it's love.

-Anchorman. This one cracks me up, literally, but not at first. The first time I watched this back in high school, I thought it was utterly stupid, like most Will Ferrell movies. The only scene my friend and I found remotely hilarious was the scene with Mr. Ron Burgundy playing the jazz (yazz) flute. But then I watched it a second time, then a third time and it got funnier and funnier. One of my favorite Will Ferrell movies. "Oh, Baxter, you are my little gentleman. I'll take you to foggy London town ' cause you are my little gentleman." :)

-Grapefruit. Absolutely hated the stuff as a kid, but now can't get enough of it! I've eaten at least a half of one everyday for the last three weeks. Too good. And I knew I needed to try out this cake recipe that calls for grapefruit.



A couple of things I would do differently the next time I make this...
1. Invest in a zester! I do not have one and getting the zest of the grapefruit was difficult.
2. Double, perhaps triple, the cake glaze. The recipe didn't yield quite as much as I thought.
3. Try this recipe with oranges or lemons, both!


Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Cake
adapted from Joy the Baker

2 c. flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. plain whole milk yogurt
1/3 c. vegetable oil
Juice and zest of 1 pink grapefruit.
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch round springform pan and line the pan bottom with a parchment paper round and set aside. I used two 8-inch pans.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt to blend.

On a clean surface, or in a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and zest. With the back of a spoon or a flexible bench knife, rub the grapefruit zest into the sugar. The essential oils will release into the sugar creating a beautifully fragrant sugar.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and grapefruit sugar until the eggs are thick and pale yellow. Add the yogurt, oil, 1 Tablespoon of grapefruit juice and vanilla extract. Stir well to combine. Add the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted near the center. Place the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake Release and remove the pan sides. Coo completely on the wire rack.

In a small saucepan, combine the powdered sugar and the remaining grapefruit juice and bring to a boil Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, or until the glaze is slightly thickened. Remove from heat.

To finish the cake, invert the cooled cake and remove the pan bottom. Carefully peel away the parchment paper if you used it. Reinvert the cake onto a serving plate. Pierce the cake all over the top with a skewer and pour the warm grapefruit slowly over the cake. I did this with the help of a pastry brush.

Store at room temperature, wrapped well for 2 days.

Almost Done...

I'm writing to you from the comfort of my warm bed this morning (or afternoon...) Still in my PJs, finishing up my bowl of cereal and watching reruns of Top Chef: All Stars. An excellent morning, to finish out an excellent week. I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH CLASSES! Hallelujah! Just two finals and a paper stand in my way of sweet, sweet Winter Break freedom. I cannot flippin' wait to go home.

There will be lots of ball playing...

Hanging out with friends...

Playing the Wii and getting super pissed, cause it happens, especially Mario Kart...

(please do not let my game face frighten you and excuse the boxer PJs)

Eating too many crescent rolls...

Sledding and ice-skating (hopefully!)...

And tea parties with the niece.

And of course lots of baking! I've got a list going and can't wait to get started on it. I will most definitely be making these apple bars again when I go home.


Don't they look delicious?! I LOVE the crust and crumble topping on these babies. Sooo buttery, sooo good.

Apple Streusel Bars
adapted from Lovin from the Oven

Crust/Crumble Topping-
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. real unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, beaten

Apple Filling-
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 sliced, peeled baking apples (I used Granny Smith)

Glaze (optional)-
2 c. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. almond or vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.
Grease 9X13 or 9X9 pan. Gently pat about 2/3 of crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish.

To prepare filling, combine flour, sugars, and cinnamon.


Toss with apples and spread apples onto prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over apples evenly and bake for about 40 minutes or until crumb topping is lightly browned. Cool completely.

To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, extract and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Place glaze in Ziploc bag and cut off very small portion of one corner. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Well, I Never Been to Spain

My best friend, KP, got back from an internship in Barcelona, Spain a few weeks ago. It was her first trip out of the country and she went all by herself. She stayed with a very "unique" family, worked at an awesome job with awesome people, improved her Spanish-speaking skills (Senora Hedges would be proud) and ate Spanish cuisine (though whenever we talked she always said she missed "her" food). Two months flew by and it was time for her to come back to the states!
My other best friend, Carissa, went with me to pick her up at the airport.

It was a surprise, kinda. We made her signs.
And apparently the translation of one was off, way off.

But she loved it anyway.

This trip was such an eye-opener for her. When she got back I could tell she wasn't the same girl that left two months ago. She had this glow about her and a new outlook on life. I keep telling her that this trip was such a good thing for her. She experienced so much and learned a lot about herself, a la Eat, Pray, Love, perhaps? :)
Like I said she missed "her" food, so I decided to make her one of her favorite things in the whole wide world, Fruit Pizza. She has stated multiple times, she wants this for her wedding cake, er, wedding pizza? I'm still not sure how that will work, but we'll figure it out, KP. ;)
I can honestly say that I don't know how or where I picked up this recipe. I've been making this dessert for years, so long in fact that I used this recipe for my demonstration speech in my high school speech class. The great thing about this pizza is that you can change things up and it will be delicious no matter what. You can try a chocolate chip cookie crust with a peanut butter cream cheese filling or a snickerdoodle crust with cinnamon cream cheese filling. The possibilities are endless. But if I know KP she would say poo-poo and stick with the good ol' sugar cookie recipe.

Fruit Pizza

1 roll sugar cookie dough

2 8oz pkgs cream cheese, softened

3/4 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

assorted cut-up fruits (I always use blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple)

Press cookie dough on pizza plate, covering the whole plate. Prick the crust with a fork multiple times. Bake crust at 350 degrees, 8-10 minutes. Allow crust to completely cool. Beat cream
cheese and powdered sugar, until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add more sugar if you'd like. Spread filling over cooled crust. Decorate pizza with assorted fruits. This is best served cold, but if your friends and family are like mine, it won't even make it there. :)