De Baking Psychopath

Oh yes. Welcome to the new label series "putting the 'psycho' in psychopath"!! Let me explain. About a week ago, the Animal Rescue League, the shelter where we adopted both our kitties, sent out an e-mail rallying everyone to support the ARL by signing up as a fundraising runner/walker for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May 2011. As a participating charity, they need a certain number of people to run on their behalf and raise a certain amount of money each year in order to qualify for participation for the following year. I thought, "That's cool! Hey, the marathon is still pretty far away, I think I could probably do a half-marathon...." That led to a chain of events that eventually resulted in the following: 1) I am now signed up for the half-marathon (yes, it is 13.1 miles, and yes, I'm scared) 2) I have convinced at least two other people to do the same 3) I have my own fundraising site on behalf of the Animal Rescue League 4) I have spent a lot of ti...

Ok, this was another get-rid-of-sour-cream recipe. But boy, it's so good I'd probably go out to buy sour cream just to make it. The texture of the cake can only be described as plush . Moist, soft, with a crunchy and fragrant cinnamon swirl in the middle and top. You can also feel good about making this recipe since it boasts a reduced-fat and -cholesterol profile (no egg yolks and reduced fat sour cream) and lots of good-for you cinnamon, and you could even swap out the flour for whole wheat pastry flour to give a little more fiber. Whatever the reason, it's a yummy addition to any holiday brunch or weekday morning breakfast! Sour Cream Coffee Cake (adapted from Cooking Light Magazine ) Ingredients : 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (can decrease this if you like--it's for the topping) 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large egg whites 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream (o...

Another six months had passed and it was time again for another committee meeting! Here was the menu for this time: Normal menu Bottle of water Spiced Nut Mix Dark chocolate-covered pretzels (Trader Joe's) Green tea and red bean mochi cake Healthy pumpkin bread Low-sugar menu Bottle of water Spiced Nut Mix Cranberry Bran Muffin Savory scallion pancake Healthy pumpkin bread The new kid on the block is this pumpkin bread from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook. It is packed full of whole grains, and virtually fat- and cholesterol-free. It's really moist and a bit exotic with the cardamom in the mix. It was hearty and tasty and a nice change of pace from the normal pumpkin bread. And you don't notice that there's virtually no butter or other fat in the bread. Healthy Pumpkin Bread (adapted from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook ) Ingredients : 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup oat flour (you can grind oats in your food processor or blade coffee ...

THEY HAVE ARRIVED! How are these NOT the coolest gingerbread cookies you've ever seen?! C'mon. Admit it. If nothing else, the cookies made by this cookie cutter are GIGANTIC--pretty much the size of your face! And you'll be glad for such a large serving too because this cookie recipe is a keeper! It was a well-received cookie at the party. This recipe differs from other gingerbread cookie recipes with the addition of a bit of coffee liqueur to complement the spices. The cookies are crisp on the edges and just a tiny bit chewy in the center. The fragrant warm spices are balanced with just the right amount of sweetness. Add a pinch of black pepper to bring out even more spiciness! Gingerbread Cookies (adapted from BHG Biggest Book of Cookies , pg. 233) Ingredients : 1/3 cup butter (5 & 1/3 tablespoons), softened 1/3 cup shortening 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon gr...

It's official: birthday cakes on this blog have gone 3D. I'm starting to go into unexplored waters with this inaugural cake, the suitably epic Death Star Cake. A friend's new bride threw a party in honor of his birthday, and in the early stages of planning for the party, I proposed a collaboration on the making of the cake. She proposed a Star Wars-themed cake since he loves Star Wars (like any respectable nerdy young man of our generation), and after a couple of weeks of research, we put our plan into action. The day before the party, we got together to bake two cake recipes: a yummy yellow cake in regular 9 inch round cake pans, and a chocolate whiskey cake in Wilton's Sports Ball Pan Set . The day of, we stacked and frosted the cakes with Creamy Vanilla Frosting (note: I made this frosting the night before using it and would discourage everyone from doing the same. It tends to curdle up when you defrost it, even if you whip it with a mixer again. It keeps the te...

Woo! Congrats to Mary the Librarian for surviving another pre-National Bundt Day marathon of bundts ! This is quickly becoming a tradition of epic proportions! With just seven minutes left of National Bundt Day, here is my Bundt-a-licious contribution this year! I decided to make the Pumpkin Apple Bundt Cake as featured by the blog StreamingGourmet for a department Fall luncheon tomorrow. Perfect timing. This cake seriously made my house smell amazing. Cinnamon, pumpkin, apples! I can't wait to try some tomorrow! Find the recipe here . I used Stayman Winesap apples, but any good baking apple would be good here, I suspect. More updates tomorrow on the taste! Update: This cake was SO moist and soft, I highly recommend it! The apples were soft but not mushy, and the pumpkin cake was lightly spiced and moist and just the right level of pumpkin-ness. Super yum.

The Mütter Museum. One of the most famous collections of medical artifacts, tools, oddities, and pathological specimens in the world. This was probably THE most important destination of our trip, and probably the highlight of the entire Philly trip for all of us. Jess had been waiting a year for me to get to Philly so we could together explore the horrifyingly awesome bowels of this museum. The unassuming front entrance. Unfortunately, out of respect to the human remains housed in the museum for educational purposes, photography in the museum is not allowed. We could only take pictures in the austere lobby area. Let it suffice for me to say that we saw our fair share of skulls (with all sorts of skull deformities and injuries), messed up babies preserved in formalin, conjoined twins of all sorts of orientations, tumors of all sorts, pictures of skin rashes and lesions, and endless examples of how syphilis can infect every single organ you can think of (bone, brain, liver, skin...). To ...

One of our main objectives for this trip was to eat our way through Philly. We arrived late Friday evening and had juicy, buttery burgers topped with onions and bacon and BBQ sauce at a comfortable neighborhood pub. Early the next morning we made our way to grab coffee and pastries at the famed Metropolitan Bakery. Roasted vegetable focaccia, almond croissant, chocolate croissant, vanilla bean rice pudding, and coffee from the Metropolitan Bakery. Of course we had to go say hi to the Amish at Reading Terminal Market! Fresh apple dumplings! We did not partake, but they sure looked yummy. We did go visit the sticky bun (and multiple other baked goods) stand and get some cinnamon buns: some sticky and topped with nuts and dried fruit, and some SLATHERED with cream cheese frosting! This was our Sunday morning breakfast. Our main food stop in the Reading Terminal Market was for a roast pork sandwich at DiNic's. Look at all that glorious meat! We peeked over piles of roast pork legs at t...

When we weren't playing with Cordie, we went out to explore the City of Brotherly Love. It was a crisp, gorgeous Fall weekend. Perfect for a walk-tour of the city. My friend has the awesome fortune to live and work in Center City, and we hung around Rittenhouse Square quite a bit. On Saturdays, a small but bountiful farmer's market appears along one side of the little park/gardens of Rittenhouse Square. The bakery stand looked especially yummy. We walked north and said hi to William Penn, perched on top of City Hall. We also did the touristy thing and made a trip out to the Philadelphia Museum of Art--not for the art, but for Rocky! My beloved has the same size feet as the fictional prizefighter...fortunately he is not going to subject himself to years of traumatic brain injury and get Parkinson's. (Actually, that would be an interesting final sequel to Rocky...Rocky: PD) From the Museum, you can get a really nice view of the skyline and city hall. And George Washington...