All of My Favorite Things

I finally got around to uploading the pictures of a few of things I made this weekend. I'm excited because I've been messing around with Photoshop some and downloaded a bunch of new custom actions to use!

I didn't quite get around to making the things I mentioned in my previous entry, but I think it was pretty close! First off I made Banana Bread - I love banana bread so much, I think I would make it all the time except that I rarely buy bananas! If you read my last post where I mentioned how much I love VegWeb you probably know that is where I got the recipe - you can find it here. I like it because it uses very few ingredients (and ones I always have on hand, except the bananas of course) and it tastes just like the bread I remember as a kid except  there are no eggs or dairy!

Speaking of bread, I also finally got around to making the Gruyere Stuffed Loafs that I have been meaning to make for quite awhile now (Roma - if you're reading this, thanks for the recipe!). Luckily it was a three day weekend because I planned to make the bread Sunday only to realize I needed to let the starter sit over night! I'm glad I noticed that and was able to get it started and still make the bread on Monday! This bread was a little bit messy to make, but I think it was worth it - how can you go wrong with bread stuffed with cheese? I don't think it's possible.

To go with the bread I made a recipe that I came across back around Thanksgiving time but never ended up making. It is for a Hazelnut and Chard Ravioli Salad from 101 Cookbooks. I'm still really into kale and not as much a fan of chard, so I used that instead. I also used a Butternut Squash ravioli - I can't recall the name of the brand, but they come in the freezer section and they make several vegan varieties! Other than that the only change to the recipe I made was to throw in a bit of butter when I tossed the ravioli with the vegetables. I really recommend this recipe - I think it's a perfect winter meal (and it sure feels like winter here still, there was snow today!).

But now on to the best part - candy! Since I made Sea Salt Truffles last week I decided I wanted to do the same, but with caramel. Do you remember how much I love caramel? It's a lot. Since the last (and only time) I tried making it it came out a little too soft I tried to get the temperature just a tad higher - that backfired and I ended up with inch-thick toffee. Not very edible unfortunately, unless you want to risk breaking a tooth. Thanks to the three day weekend (again!) I had time for a redo. I made some that were coated in chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt and a few that had caramel wrapped around a hazelnut and dipped in chocolate.

Two people at work told me the hazelnut ones were the best things they had ever eaten, one person told me the sea salt ones were better than anything at See's, and another person told me that it was their new favorite caramel (and that they also really like caramel)! I'm thinking I should really set up a business here! Maybe someday...  wouldn't that be nice?

Speaking of, I'm actually going to take a weekend class here in another month on starting your own catering business. A girl can dream, right?

-C

P.S. As I was adding photos I realized I forgot to mention the Olive Oil Cakes with Lemon and Thyme! They were pretty good - nothing too eventful. Unfortunately I didn't think you could really taste the thyme at all and I was really hoping for a nice flavor combination there. If you like lemon though, these cakes were great!