Baking

The change in the weather and the coming of the holidays brings out the baker in me. I love to bake! While I don’t completely understand it, I am intrigued by the science of how by putting certain ingredients together, they change into something else completely. It is more like magic than science. I love how the house smells when something yummy is just about to come out of the oven. The dark side of baking is in the potential for over indulgence, especially by one who needs to be very conscious about gluten and sugar. Oh yes, there are delightful gluten free and sugar free things to be made, and I do. My solution has become one of baking for others.

Today’s project is a repeat of baking for clients this week and is a gift for my go to Web, graphic arts, networking “guy”. Todd is responsible for the new web site and much much more in the history of For Life! personal chef services. He and his family were my first paying clients. Fortunately, we all survived!

Baking for others brings me the same joy and experience of the magic as baking for myself. I usually plan it so that I can have a piece, bite, one cookie, whatever it may be and then it is gone out of reach. I have the pictures I have taken, the smile on the face of the receiver, and the lingering aroma.

These Apple Almond Bars come from a wonderful food blog, via a personal chef colleague from Michigan. I love the internet for many reasons and seeing how recipes travel from blog to blog to person to person is pretty interesting. Who knows where it will pop up next?  As usual, I added my own touches, using whole wheat flour, agave nectar instead of white sugar, and I didn’t peel the apples. Too much work, plus we need the fiber. Oh, and I added some cinnamon. How will you make this your own ? Don’t like almonds ? Try walnuts. Add some ginger. Make it gluten free. Let me know how you like it.

persimmons

It is the beginning of persimmon season here in Central California. The orchards and the markets are full of this delicious and unusual fruit. There are 2 varieties of persimmons, the Hachiya and the Fuyu. The fruit of the Hachiya is ripe when it is very very soft and almost feels rotten. Otherwise it is very puckery. The fruit of the Fuyu variety stays crunchy. The softer variety is delicious in puddings, cakes, ice cream, and can be eaten raw, scooped out of the skin.. The crunchy variety can be eaten sliced like an apple, peeled or not peeled. It is good in salads, both vegetable and fruit, or made into a crisp.
Try  this recipe and just substitute Fuyu persimmons for the pears.

I found this site when researching persimmons. I tried the peanut butter snack. I liked the two flavors together but the PB did kind of overpower the persimmon, but a fun little snack, especially for kids or the kid in you who likes little sandwiches.

I have yet to get any Hachiyas to ripen enough for the ice cream but soon…Be adventuresome and let me know what you try.

home sweet home

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

I have been on vacation in Pennsylvania and New England. It was a great trip and I am oh so glad to be home. It was good for this Californian to get a dose of beautiful changing leaves, chilly weather, a bit of snow.

Today I went grocery shopping and got things to make my tummy healthy and happy again… beets, avocados, organic chicken, really good tortillas, kale, arugula, kombucha, persimmons. Let the cooking begin! I will report back soon with the results.