Baked

Hope you're all having a lovely Monday! Did you have a nice weekend? For all my fellow Vancouverites, wasn't that sun, well, summery? So nice.

I tried out a recipe that is based on one that I saw in Alive magazine, this weekend. The recipe called for pineapple, but I thought I'd try cherries and pecans.  The cake itself is really moist, and I love the cherries!

Upside Down Cherry & Pecan Quinoa Cake - makes one 8x8 inch cake

Topping: (I just made this up, not the original recipe)
1 lb of cherries, pitted and halved
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cake:
1 cup cooked white quinoa
2 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup plain, low fat yogurt
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

To make topping: Place pitted and halved cherries in a baking dish, with pecans, maple syrup and lemon. Mix together and roast for about 15 minutes in a 375F oven. Watch that the mixture doesn't burn. Place cherry mixture in an 8x8 inch pan (spray pan with a little oil), and set aside.

To make cake: In a food processor, process cooked quinoa, egg yolks, sugar, yogurt, apple sauce, and vanilla until very smooth. About 2 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Add quinoa mixture to flour mixture and stir until no flour streaks remain. With a spatula, gently fold egg whites into quinoa batter until just incorporated. Gently spoon batter over cherries.

Bake in centre of oven for about 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan, for about 10 minutes, before running a thin knife around edges and inverting cake onto a plate. Top with a little maple syrup whipped cream if you like.

This cake is actually pretty good for you (minus the whipped cream that I added!), so I hope you give it a whirl. There are so many options with this one!

Back soon!
janis

Sunday Observations

What a fantastic weekend. It's been sunny, and I became an auntie for the 10th time! How was your weekend? What did you get up to?

The day started off with an early morning shoot at Granville Island with my husband. We're working on a project for a hotel so it was pretty fun, though a tad early. ;)

I finally found a new bag for my 17" macbook pro. I have to haul it around to my shoots, so it had to be roomy and sturdy.  A little better than the actual computer's box that I've been toting. Love the stripes!

We were hanging out with one of our nieces today, so we thought a game of Toss Across was in order. It's a vintage game, so it's missing some bean bags. We created some new split pea bags.

That's it for today. I'm now sipping a refreshing Main Street Pilsner. Yum. If you live in the Vancouver area, have you had one?

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Back soon.
janis
x

Does anyone say T.G.I.F. anymore?

Just preparing some small jars, wrapped in fabric and string, for a bit of a family celebration. Looking forward to just relaxing. It's been a crazy week, so allow me to say T.G.I.F. Have a great weekend!

Back soon.
janis

A Road Side Find

How's your week so far? Hope it's moving along smoothly!

I know so many people that just find stuff on the side of the road, or in an alley. I can tell you that has never happened to me, until just the other day. I came across this rusty, and slightly bent, vintage plant stand that had been kicked to the curb. I've always had a soft spot for these, so I brought it home. A little sanding, some gentle persuading it back to more of a circle shape, and a lick of some leftover gray paint, done. It now sits up in my office, but I'm thinking about finding another one to make a pair of bedside tables.

What do you think? Are you one of those people that always seem to find freebies lying around? Any tips?

Have a great day! Back on Friday.
janis

Baked

I'm happy to see Monday, as it seems to have brought some sunshine with it! Hope you all had a great weekend.

I made these roasted peaches this weekend, and they are really good. Super simple too. The recipe calls for amaretti (Italian cookies), so I made a quick batch of those. Again, really simple to make. All together it took about 75 minutes to make (including baking time).

Roasted Peaches with Amaretti & Almond Crumble - serves 6 (or a couple of greedy adults)
(I think I got this recipe, originally, from Bon Appetit magazine)

5 amaretti cookies (about 3/4 oz) (you can buy these or make your own. If making your own, make cookies first)
3 tablespoons whole raw almonds
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 firm, but ripe, large peaches, rinsed, wiped clean of fuzz and halved

Preheat oven to 350f. Lightly butter an 11x7x2 inch glass baking dish. Combine cookies, almonds, flour, and sugar in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Add cold butter to processor and pulse until moist clumps form.

Place peach halves, cut side up, in prepared dish. Spread topping over surface of peach half (about a tablespoon for each), pressing lightly to adhere leaving a bit of a border around peach.

Bake peaches for about 35 minutes, until tender and topping is golden brown. Cool slightly. Serve warm!

Amaretti Cookies - makes about 24 

2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups finely ground almonds (almond meal)
Topping:
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 300f. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff glossy peaks form (about 5 minutes). Beat in almond extract, then fold in ground almonds.

Drop tablespoons of batter on parchment paper lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar over cookies. Bake for about 20 minutes until firm to the touch, and light golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Well that's it! Really simple, not to heinous for you, and delicious. What more can you ask for?
Have a great day!

Back soon.
janis

Sunday Observations

Hope you've all had a nice weekend! It's been another wet weekend here in Vancouver. I think summer will start soon. Just around the corner. ;)

What did you get up to? Hope it was fun!

Back soon.

janis

Friday, I'm happy to see you

I shot with a fantastic new designer, Sami Wall, today, and she was offering up watermelon as a snack. Now I can't stop thinking about it. So refreshing. This weekend, I may make some kind of a boozy watermelon slurpy this weekend ;) 

I may also have to make some kind of pastry this weekend with my new, pretty, pastry cutter from the talented dad and daughter duo of Herriott Grace. If you haven't heard of them, you have to check out their shop. I absolutely love all of their pieces. 

Have a lovely summery weekend! Back soon.

janis