Channeling Connie Francis

I am so sorry to all of my adoring fans out there. I have had a very trying week with auditions, the day job, ninety degree weather, and some baking mishaps, you get the idea.

Last week I was given six - SIX - 1950's pop songs to learn for a new Off-Broadway show coming in from the West Coast. Being that I am a trained opera singer, I never in my wildest thought I would have to learn "it's my party." Needless to say I was a little stressed out. Thankfully Dusty, Connie, and all the other greats never screamed their faces off so it was kind of fun - in the end - to sing the songs. And who knows maybe I have a new Karaoke tune?

There was one song that was not so fun to sing seeing as though I am the whitest girl in America - Rescue Me. Ah Aretha why do you taunt me so? This song gave me Agata. Drag queens could sing this better than I can. Trying to make this song work resulted in a couple of things: 1. procrastination station 2. crochet fun and 3. baking for the masses. Really, 2 and 3 fit into 1 as my tools for procrastinating, but still...

As I have told you before, I moved into a new place about 3 months back. I am SLOWLY piecing together my apartment and one of those things entails a handmade welcome mat. Yes, folks I crochet too. It is comprised of a million circles that I have to sew together and they were just sitting there for weeks so instead of practicing I got to crocheting UNTIL I realized that I had two birthdays I needed to bake for - Oops! Jim and Chris, two of my salsa friends, have birthdays a day apart and I thought why not make a cake for both of them? Yellow cake with a light lime green vanilla buttercream frosting. Super cute and super summery. Well, it was easily 95 degrees outside and since I am anti-air conditioning it was like over 100 degrees in my apartment. The cake went into the oven and came out looking and smelling really good. I decided to try a different buttercream recipe then my old faithful. MISTAKE! The buttercream was mad at me because it was so damn hot. It would not set up. No matter how much confectioner's sugar I put in it, it was not having it.

It was a two-layer cake and I made the unfortunate mistake of putting the layers together not realizing that the buttercream would literally melt and ooze out from the layers. When I tried to take the top layer off it was like cemented on so I tried to make the best of it. Then it happened... (and this hasn't happened since my lame-o attempt at an ex-boyfriend's birthday cake 5 years ago) the cake cracked in half. A huge Crater down the center. For the love...! Btws, it was 9 I was supposed to meet my friends with said cake AT 9. What to do? Thank the sweet baby Jesus that I have baked goods in the freezer and I had some frosting left over. I grabbed the few cupcakes I had left and frosted them and headed out the door praying that they wouldn't melt on the way to the restaurant. I went from a whole cake to 6 measly cupcakes. Not the birthday cake extravaganza I had in mind, but still good.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Lime Green Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and Handmade Royal Icing Daisies. A great impromptu alternative, but still not the dream cake I envisioned. Happy Birthday Jim and Chris!

I managed to stay out, um, waaay too late or, er, early on Friday night/Saturday morning for said birthdays. Let's put it this way, I stepped out of the bar with the sun. Needless to say I was a hot mess all day Saturday, but dreamed of delicious blueberry muffins. I found this great recipe from this brilliant blogger http://www.elanaspantry.com/ She is a GODDESS when it comes to the gluten free recipes. In her baking she uses a lot of almond flour which I don't like to use because of fat, calories, and the price, but she did a series of coconut flour recipes one of which was for blueberry muffins. I decided I would bite the bullet and buy some coconut flour to try the recipe. I, of course, did not do this on Saturday - although I did rally for a super fun and super steamy (due to the heat) night out salsa dancing under the stars at Lincoln Center. This was a Sunday evening event. Upon looking closer at her recipe, I noticed it called for SIX eggs. That seemed a little over the top so I decided to use 4 large egg whites and crossed my fingers. The muffins smelled AMAZING and when I tried one it was moist, sweet - a little too sweet - and jam packed with blueberries. These are gluten-free, yeast-free, sugar-free muffins and they are really great. I think before I publish my version of the recipe I am going to tweak things a bit; 3-4 eggs, less agave nectar, and perhaps I will devise a streusel top. But over all delicioso.

Gluten-free, yeast-free, sugar-free blueberry muffins. Surprisingly sweet, delicious, and a
fantastic texture. A new sweet treat for little old me! TRIUMPH.

This week my challenge is a key lime pie for Eduardo. He is such an amazing friend schlepping me here, there an everywhere, helping me out when I need it, and just being a cool guy. Key-lime pie is his absolute fav so I think I am going to surprise him with a little something this week. Provided he doesn't read my blog... Until then, happy baking.

Tying up Loose Ends

I have been so busy this summer - which we all know I love - and I have been having trouble keeping up with the posts. I never got a chance to post pictures of Ron's birthday cupcakes. I don't have Internet at home - who am I? Someone told me this weekend that not having internet in your home is like not having a refrigerator. But I mean who is judging. I digress, my Papermill Theatre friends and I got together for some drinks the Wednesday before July Fourth which was the first time I was seeing my bff Renaldo since his birthday. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to bring his birthday cupcakes. I made him chocolate cupcakes with mocha butter cream frosting because the last time he had the frosting he was like, "this frosting is like crack." Who knew that at Divine Bar it is ILLEGAL to bring in cupcakes for someone's birthday. Apparently they will CHARGE you for bringing in desserts from outside. WHAT? Here are the before and after pictures of Ron's contraband a.k.a birthday cupcakes.

Ron's Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Butter Cream Frosting and Royal Icing Cherry Blossoms

What, What!?!?

So July Fourth, as expected, was OFF THE HOOK. Every year it is different because not everyone can get to the Cape for the festivities, but it is always super fun. I made it to two BBQ's, breakfast at the famous Bonatt's Restaurant/Bakery where I shared a melt-a-way with my besties, took a tour of the Yacht Club my parents joined - I know, tooled around in the Cabriolet 1992 style, made rainy day blueberry streusel muffins, got hit on by someone who graduated from high school in 2002, and somehow managed to fit in a mini bar brawl. I know, I am bad ass.

First things first, the bars were a huge hit. My sister and the Spaniard were munching on the Raspberry bars after our 6 hour bus expedition to BOSTON - we still had 2 hours to go. They were starving and desperate for a treat. My sister told me they were amazing and she never lies to me. She is my sister. The lemon squares were really refreshing, but I feel like they were too sweet. I want them to have more of a bite to them. I am going to work on that.

On the fourth, we went to this BBQ that my parents go to every year. My parents friends and their daughters, who we went to elementary school and high school with, were desperate to see my sister's engagement ring, which is pretty fab. We got there on the late side and the desserts, ahem my favorite part, were being served. There were brownies made from a box. NEXT. Some fruit and cool whip concoction. NEXT. Store bought cookies - did I tell you or did I tell you? NEXT. And then there they were... homemade biscotti. Holy cannoli these suckers were spicy and delicious. I literally tapped the woman on the shoulder who made them and said, "please give my mother the recipe before you leave. No seriously, DO NOT leave without giving it to her. These are AMAZING." Guess who didn't get the recipe? Yup.

July 5th was a hot rainy mess. After we hit a couple of thrift stores - one of our most favorite things to do on the Cape- and kicked my sister's and my mother's collective butts in Scrabble, I turned to the beloved electric stove. What to make? What to make? Oooo, I know! Muffins! It is blueberry season so let's get it on. I did some research on-line a la dial-up - my parents rock, they are so old timey - and came up with this hybrid blueberry muffin with streusel topping that was so good I didn't even get to try one. They were literally gone in less than 12 hours.

Rainy Day Blueberry Muffins with Cinnamon and Vanilla Streusel Topping. I couldn't resist putting them on this flag tile. I mean it was the July Fourth holiday weekend. Next brunch I am making these suckers.

The plan was to bring some of these muffins to my friend's BBQ the following day. One of the Harrington brothers is a BIG fan of blueberry muffins. That didn't happen, but sure enough in between people belting their faces off - myself included, thanks to Jay - at the Karoake machine a la a karaoke bar, the store bought red, white, and blue marble birthday cake arrived. As well as the frosted brownies, the mini red, white, and blue cupcakes and cookies. In that moment I wished for the muffins and bars that had been ravaged throughout the weekend. A mild hankering for super sugary icing took over me and I knew I had to leave. Damn those store bought cakes! They still have a hold over me.

I told you last week that if my recipes were a success I would post them for you to try on your own. I decided that I would post the raspberry bars and the oatmeal crasin cookies. I want more time with the lemon squares before I unleash them upon you. Enjoy and good luck!

Vegan Raspberry Bars with Oat crumb topping

2 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Margarine straight out of the Refrigerator
1 Cup Oats
3/4 - 1 Cup Raspberry Preserves

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, sugar, and margarine in a large bowl. Beat at a low speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 2 cups of crumb mixture; set aside

Press remaining crumb mixture on bottom of greased 8-inch square baking pan/Spread preserves to within 1/2 of the edge. Add rolled oats to the crumble mixture incorporating them fully before placing over the preserves.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool completely; cut into bars.

Now I know you are all chomping at the bit for this recipe...

Gluten-free, Yeast-free, Sugar-free Oatmeal Crasin Cookies

1 Cup Rolled Oats
1/3 Cup White Bean Flour
1/3 Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
2 Packets Stevia
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
2 Tsp baking soda
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Nutmeg
Pinch of Salt
1 Large handful of Crasins or to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together; add crasins last. Place on well greased cookies sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them because they cook quickly.

Independence Day!

Yes folks, it is a little cheesy, but true, I love July Fourth. I hail from the great Northeast and we New Englanders are very proud of our Independence. I mean hello? The shot heard around the world? The Boston POPS July fourth concert televised all over the U.S.? We do it right...

Growing up, every year I would march in the Chatham Fourth of July parade. I would dress up in some crazy costume in 90 degree weather, eat hoodsie cups - yummers - and dance around like a crazy lady. The years that my sister and I organized the float we won that bright shiny blue ribbon! I think the theme my year was Independence. The theme of my float was "fairytale characters who were once captive and now free." What?!?! Not only was I an odd little monkey, but I was also 16 - give a girl some credit for creativity...

July fourth always marked the true start of summer fun and theatre galore. As I got older and started working over the summer - the busiest time of year for an actor - I was less and less able to be home for the amazing BBQ my parents and their friends always have with the ridic 3 bean salad, my mother's off the hook mayo-free potato salad, and all those store bought desserts. You know what I am talking about; the mini cupcakes with the red, white, and blue super sweet frosting, the millions of cookies with the red, white, and blue sugar and the occasional frosted brownie with a commemorative ring. It got me thinking about what I would make for the quintessential Yankee July Fourth gathering, Nantucket Reds and all.

Being as excited as I am to visit good friends and family, I went a little wacko on the baking. I made a couple hybrid recipes yesterday and I think they are going to be pretty darn delicioso. Usually when I try new recipes out I do them straight ahead the first couple of times and then I start spicing it up - if you will. This time I threw caution to the wind and just went for it. If these recipes prove to be as successful as I think they will be, I will post them. That is how proud of them I am. There are A LOT of pictures so hold on to your hat.

The first experiment was my lemon squares. As I told you before, my sister is vegan and often times it is really difficult to find truly delicious treats. They are always good, but I am talking DELISH. I made the shortbread with margarine which can be dicey. I put that in the oven to bake for 20 min and turned my attention to the curd. I had to use agar agar which I have to admit I am NOT a fan of. It is a natural vegan gelatin or if you want me to tell you the truth - seaweed. It gives things a funny taste and a tapioca kind of consistency. But time was limited and who I am to question a vegan recipe I have never done? You know, for lemon bars there is a considerably small amount of lemon juice used. They came out really well, but I had some problems getting the damn squares out of the pan. Note to self, next time grease AND flour the pan.

The Lemon Bars heading into the
oven to become delicious citrus goodness

Vegan Lemon Bars. Look at this lemony grogeousness! I wanted to start eating them the
second they came out of the oven. Vegan = Fat-free/Calorie-free right?

The second was a Raspberry oat bar. This one was going to be a bit easier. I am not sure why I thought raspberry bars would be perfect for a July Fourth bash with friends and family, but it felt right so I went with it. Honestly, one of my favorite things in the world is to put vegan treats on a table and have everyone eat them and say how off the hook they are and then break the news that they are vegan. If you tell them before they automatically go in with a negative attitude. Vegan can be good! For this recipe, I made the shortbread with margarine again - it seemed successful the first time... Then I loaded on the raspberry preserves. I used low sugar Polaner all fruit. I thought it would be sweet enough without all the added sugar of a cheaper jam. Then I got to the crumble. This is where the experimenting got into full force. I wanted a specific crumble consistency so I started adding oats to the shortbread and some vanilla and a little of this and a little of that. When it looked gorgeous I put it on top of the preserves and popped that puppy in the oven.

Please pass the Jelly. Oh I am sorry just remembering the Polaner All Fruit commercial.
This is pre-bake and I have to tell you I was VERY skeptical of these suckers turning out well.

Vegan Raspberry Bars. Post-bake I still was not sure. There doesn't seem to be enough fruit and a lot of shortbread and topping.
The jury is out in this one. Jenna - my sister - will give the verdict.

I think I told you before that I don't do sugar, gluten, or yeast. Sometimes I will stray, but when I do, I pay the price royally. I get all loopy and forgetful. This odd little haze comes over me and I am useless. I knew that I would be tempted to eat everything I made and everything on the dessert table at the MANY BBQs I am attending, so I decided I should make myself some gfyfsf cookies. My last attempt at the carob chip cookies left me a little gun shy so what to make? Ah...what about a variation on the vegan oatmeal crasin cookies I made last year. The only flours I had to work with were white bean - we remember what happened the last time I used that in cookies - and brown rice flour - which has a mealy consistency. In this particular recipe there is very little flour so I thought I will do half and half and pray for a miracle. Here is the result.

Gluten-free, yeast-free, sugar-free Oatmeal Crasin Cookies. Yummers!
They look good and not a whiff of bean. Let's hope they taste delicious too.

I will report back to you upon my return about all of my baked goodness and perhaps a recipe or two. Stay tuned...