Cinnamon Rolls (part 2)

I had been craving cinnamon rolls for a while, and I finally made them. Oh my goodness, these are amazing. I didn't want to make a big batch because baked items like these, muffins and scones are only good the day of, and maybe a few days afterward. I followed this recipe except I quartered the recipe, which yielded the perfect amount. Since the recipe calls for 2 eggs and I quartered it, I took a chance and used 1 egg. This caused the dough to be more sticky, so I added extra flour as I saw fit. Also, I used 1 packet of active dry yeast, when I think I was only supposed to use about 1/4 of it. This resulted in the cinnamon rolls being incredibly fluffy and delicious. I let the dough rise for about an hour, but the recipe says to let it rise for only about 10 minutes. I made the glaze out of powdered sugar, milk, salt and vanilla. Sooooo goooooood.

Here they are after they were baked, pre icing:














Finally, here they are after being iced:














Ready to be eaten:

Leek and Random Vegetable Quiche

Ohai there. I made a quiche. The crust I made using this recipe (just the crust), and then I just went with the flow for the rest. The innards of the quiche consist of leek, broccoli, green beans, tomato, egg and cheddar cheese. I also topped the whole thing off with some mozzarella, just cuz. It came out pretty good. I really like the crust, it was perfect, and there was no butter involved! The innards were kind of plain, but still pretty good. Next time I'll prepare more of the filling because there was room for more. Also, maybe next time I'll put some ricotta or something in the filling. I'd still call this a success.

Chocolate Chip Scones

Hi there. I made scones tonight using this recipe. They came out great! I used chocolate chips instead of cranberries because that's what I have. I also used whole wheat pastry flour, and fat free milk instead of whole milk because that's what I have. I've only had them right out of the oven and they were wonderful. Nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I wonder how they will taste the next day... probably not nearly as good. Oh well! I really like the chocolate chips in them. I think scones are the new muffins for me.

Raspberry Muffin Tops

I bought a muffin top pan! I used it tonight for the second time. The first time I made muffin tops they didn't come out quite right but these ones are better. I love the crunchy aspect of muffin tops so that's what I am looking for in them, and last time they just didn't have that. These ones do, and they are delicious! I used this recipe substituting nonfat strawberry yogurt for the plain yogurt because that is what I had, and I used a pint of raspberries instead of the blueberries. Needless to say, I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose. I also made raspberry muffin tops for my first attempt. I'm starting to think that I shouldn't be making raspberry mufins because raspberries are too soggy after I wash them. I won't make them anymore. Next time perhaps I will make chocolate chips ones.... ooooh lala!! My favorite.

Latte!

After spending the summer in Seattle, I started to drink more and more lattes. I love foam. The foam is the best part of the latte. I always get disappointed when the barista neglects to give me enough foam. I won't have that problem anymore because now I can make my own foam! It's a dream come true! I bought an aerolatte and a Bialetti. So now I can make my own lattes. The foam came out amazing... all velvety the way I like it. The espresso came out fine too... but I'm not that picky about that. The only problem is that when I'm done with the foam, I don't have much of a desire to finish the coffee! I'll have to adjust the ratio of foam to coffee :)

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

After being away from my ice cream maker for the entire summer, I kicked things off with strawberry frozen yogurt. The ingredients are 1 cup 2% plain greek yogurt (Trader Joe's brand), 1 pound of frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar. I blended all of the ingredients and then threw them in the ice cream maker. The churning process made it fluffier. Then I put the mixture into the freezer. This is absolutely delicious. It's not too sweet - it's just right. And it's very strawberry-y. The frozen yogurt gets pretty hard in the freezer, making it difficult to scoop. I am told that this is because there is not that much fat in it. However, if I just let it sit out for 5 minutes or so, and then scooping it isn't a big deal. This is pretty wonderful because it satisfies my ice cream cravings but it's much better for you than ice cream! :D

Veggie Burrito

I'm back, after a 5 month sabbatical :) I made veggie burritos tonight. All I did was roast red peppers and onion, warm up some canned beans (I'm busy these days), cut up some avocado, and put it all together in a warmed up whole wheat tortilla. The result was pretty good but not amazing. Next time I'll throw some more ingredients in there. This wasn't really thought out completely. Very filling though!

Veggies pre-roasting: