Light-er/ish Carrot Cake

An example of my not-so-mad decorating skills. But hey, this was frosted at 6:30 a.m., give me some credit.

One of the oddest remarks I ever had about my cooking was from one of my old coworkers, who upon hearing me announce that I had made the best cookies ever told me I was unabashedly vain about my cooking and rightfully so. Ever since then, I have found that coworkers are probably the best guinea pigs in the world.

I made this cake in honor of the birthday for two of my coworkers - polar opposites who happened to share the same birthday. When I asked them what they wanted and suggested carrot cake, their eyes lit up and I was really excited to make this cake for them.

I found this carrot cake from Chow Times who found it in Cook's Illustrated from November 2006. And although this was a very good recipe, I used to have one from a Light and Tasty magazine or from Taste of Home that was lighter in calories and fat, but was way more moist than this tasty cake. If I can find it amongst my cartons of recipes, I'll make that and post it as well.

But don't hold your breath. Just make this one. :)

Light-er/ish Carrot Cake
from Chow Times

Ingredients
vegetable cooking spray
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 large eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pound carrots (about 6 medium), peeled and grated (about 3 cups)

Instructions
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat a 13 x 9 inch metal baking pan with vegetable oil spray, then lined the bottom with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Combine the eggs and sugar in another medium bowl.

Use and electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugars until they turn thick and creamy, 1 to 3 minutes.
Turn the mixer to low and slowly whip in the oil until thoroughly combined and emulsified, 30 to 60 seconds.

Sift half the flour mixture over the batter and gently mix in.
Repeat once more with the remaining flour mixture and continue to whisk the batter gently until mist of the lumps are gone (do not overmix).

Use a rubber spatula, gently stir in the carrots.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top.Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack and remove the parchment paper.Flip the cake right-side up, and cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours, before frosting (if desired) and serving.

Light Cream Cheese Frosting (Makes about 2 cups)
12 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened but still cool
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Mix the cream cheese and vanilla together in a large bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the confectioners; sugar and stir until thoroughly combined and smooth. (Instructions said not to use electric mixer - I said to hell with that. I think it turned out fine.)

Tuscan Dip

After the Lime Blackberry Babycakes fiasco of 2009, I was in a panic because that was the second dessert I was bringing to a very important party. The party started at 6, I got home from the cab company at 2, fretted until about 3:30 p.m., and finally decided to head to the grocery store to get the ingredients for the very simple but totally awesome dip.

This is from the folks at Kraft Foods. They'd like you to use their products, but it's not necessary.

Tuscan Dip
from KraftFoods.com

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. sour cream
1/2 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped black olives
1/4 cup finely chopped red onions

Mix the cream cheese and the sour cream together first. Fold in the veg. Chill.

I served with red, green and yellow pepper strips. I meant to serve it with cherry tomatoes and crackers, but I forgot those at home. *sigh*

Why I Blog ... Why I Cook ... Why do you cook?

I've been loving the companionship and the banter of my Cooking Italy group. One of my fellow group members emailed us a question the other day and asked us why we blog. I actually liked my answer, so I thought I'd post it for the rest of you so you know how this blog has transformed from "simple recipes for lazy people" to where I'm at today reading Julia Child's "The French Chef" and trying to master Italian cooking.

I also left a question for my fellow bloggers at the end and I'd love to hear what any of you have to say about why you cook. :)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When I first started to blog, my original idea was to create and post “simple recipes for lazy people.” One of the ground rules was that if I couldn’t pronounce something or had no clue if the ingredient was a plant or a piece of meat, it probably wouldn’t make a guest appearance on my blog. Well – that lasted for about two or three months and then the cooking bug really bit. I started using the blog to branch out and use vegetables and ingredients I had never used before. And then one day I found myself chopping up little bits of Scharffen-Berger chocolate to make some itty bitty chocolate chip cookies. It was evident to me then that a) I don’t have children, hence I have time to actually do this kind of thing and b) part of the joy in cooking for me is the challenge and learning new methods.

In terms of my cooking style, I don’t think that I really have a style right now. I’m really influenced by my fellow food bloggers and get a lot of my recipes by trolling the web. Part of the reason that I was psyched about Cooking Italy was that this would give me a chance to immerse myself into a particular cooking style.

Finally, I have a question for all of you … why do you guys cook? I come from a long line of WONDERFUL cooks in my family and I am just a product of genetics, standing at my oven with one hand on my hip, mimicking so many who have cooked before me. :) What are your favorite cooking memories? Why do you challenge yourself to become better cooks?

Cooking Italy: Basic Bruschetta

Like I explained earlier this week, I have joined a cooking group called "Cooking Italy." Our inaugural recipe was for a basic tomato bruschetta.

The recipe comes from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking." And I'll be honest - when I first looked at the recipe I didn't think that I would be wow'd. (Then again, I eat macaroni and cheese with hot dogs cut up in it ... I'm not exactly gourmet.) But wow'd I was ... this recipe combined two of my favorite things (tomatoes and olive oil) and the flavors of the basil (fresh from MY plant) just popped in my mouth.

Bruschetta with Tomato

from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking

**I ended up reducing this recipe because it was just for my hubby and me. Well, mostly me.

2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
4 slices good, thick crusted bread, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, 3-4″ wide
1 fresh, ripe tomatoes, cut in half, seeded, and chopped into 1/2″ cubes (**I didn't seed mine)
3-4 basil leaves , torn into small pieces - or oregano
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper

• Chop tomatoes right before you are going to grill bread.
• Grill or broil bread to golden brown.
• Smash garlic with a knife, rub on bread once it is toasted.
• Top with tomatoes, basil (or oregano), and drizzle olive oil.
• Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately

The idea for this fabulous cooking experience is from Angela at Spinach Tiger. The rest of the folks who are participating are listed at the right side of her blog.

Lime Blackberry Babycakes

These are the cupcakes that committed suicide on my counter. Really.

They started out so promising.

Then disaster struck ... but man I love to eat my mistakes.

Lime Blackberry Baby Cakes

1/2 cup of unsalted butter softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of AP Flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Zest of 3 limes, finely grated, plus the juice
12 Blackberries
1/3 cup of Blackberry jam - seedless
1 cup of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with non stick baking spray (the kind with flour). In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl mix together the buttermilk, vanilla, lime zest, and juice of the limes. Set both of those aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar together until light in color. Add in eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. With the mixer on low add in the flour in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk mixture and ending on the flour mixture. Fill the muffin cups 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Add 1 blackberry to the middle of each cup and bake for 20-25 minutes. There will be batter left over. Cool in muffin tins for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a rack. In a small sauce pan heat the jam until melted and then sift in the powdered sugar and stir until combined. Drizzle over the warm cakes and let cool until set about 30 minutes.

(Various notes to self: A) I must not have read the "there will be batter leftover part" because I filled my cupcake tins way too full. B) I should have let my cakes cool a little bit longer. Which is probably why the blackberries spontaneously left their little warm nests to crush themselves upon my baking rack. C) Even when I make mistakes, it still tastes good.)

An apology ... I know that I got this from a baking blog somewhere, but cannot find the original entry where this came from. So my sincere admiration and apologies to whoever this awesome chef is! If you created this, leave a comment and I will be happy to give credit where credit's due!

New herbs, new goals and Cooking Italy

First and foremost - except for one day where I had this weird bout of nausea and had to stay home from work - I haven't had a day off since the Monday of Memorial Day and I found myself looking forward to this weekend much like a dehydrated man in a desert looking for the closest oasis. (How's that for a visual?) And I'll be honest - I was not disappointed. In fact, this was one of the best weekends I have had in a very long time.

Ryan's brother Kyle and Kyle's wife Amanda showed up on Friday to hang out with us over the weekend. Amanda indulged me and let me take her (in the rain, no less) to Rochester's Farmers Market where we shopped for deals, dodged raindrops and avoided stepping in goose poop. (Nice, I know ...) In my quest to indulge my inner Ina, I picked up a rosemary plant and a basil plant and look forward to many months worth of fresh herbs if I don't accidentally kill them. (I'll show you pictures later - I transplanted them this evening to their permanent homes and it was too dark to show you my latest buy.) On Saturday night, we grilled chicken breasts, potatoes and baby carrots in foil packets and fresh asparagus. I even tried my hand at grilling peaches, but made all of my guests try my latest culinary effort before I dared to try it myself. (Always the consummate host.)

All in all - it was a wonderful weekend.

Next up ... new goals. I don't think that I'm the first food blogger to realize that with an expanding repertoire of recipes, I have an expanding waistline to match. So after much thought and consideration - I've decided to *gasp* try to eat healthy. I'm still mulling in my head what this is all going to entail, because for the most part I do cook healthy foods, but the hubby and I both have a fondness for large portions and second helpings. That's going to have to change.

How will this affect you, dear reader? I don't think it will that much. Because I've vowed to cook one decadent thing a week and to immediately ship the leftovers to my husband's office. :) But I'll keep you all posted as to how things are going.

And finally - the one decadent thing a week is probably going to be in the form of a new group that I've joined in the food blogging realm called "Cooking Italy." It's been started by Angela at Spinach Tiger and revolves around Marcella Hazan's book "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking." One of the things that I've really wanted to do in my food blogging life is to join a group like Tuesdays with Dorie, Barefoot Bloggers or Tyler Florence Fridays (hey ... I might still join these groups. :) ) Right now, the Cooking Italy group is my speed and something that I'm really interested in learning (I freakin' LOVE Italian food.)

And of course, the first recipe is due tomorrow and I am still waiting for my copy of Hazan's cookbook, but no fear - I'll be doing this at the last minute tomorrow, I am sure.

Mama Beans!

Even at its blurriest, these beans are divine

OK - I've been obsessed with my mother's cooking lately - not entirely sure why, but I love her. Her cooking is just a reflection on how awesome she is as a person.

We had an event at work recently where my boss grilled and I provided fiber to my entire staff of coworkers in the form of my mom's three-bean casserole. What's funny is that I absolutely hated this dish when I was a kid and I'm not sure why - I bet it had something to do with what it looked like, but now that I'm older, I think I could cheerfully eat this on a daily basis. And boy would my husband love me after that.

Mama Beans! Otherwise known as Three-Bean Casserole

1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 lb. bacon, chopped and browned
1 lg. can pork and beans
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can butter beans, drained
1 c. ketchup
1/2 c. mustard
1/2 c. brown sugar

I brown the ground beef and the onion together and follow up by browning the bacon, which I chop into smaller pieces. (Although if you wanted, you could break it up after browning ...) Drain oil from bacon. Add meat to bean mixture, add ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. Stir well until all is mixed together. I cook mine in a crockpot on low for 6-8 hours, on high for 3-4 hours. And of course it's always better the next day. :)