Eat, Write, Retreat Culinary Challenge: Fig and Rosemary Scones.

In less than one month, I’ll be attending the Eat, Write, Retreat! Conference which just so happens to be in my home city of Philadelphia this year! I’m so excited to be taking part in this wonderful opportunity to meet other bloggers, eat delicious dishes, and of course, write all about it!

As an attendee, I’m also taking part in the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge the conference is running! We are all assigned a secret ingredient, and tasked with creating an appetizer based on said ingredient. Being a baker, I of course went with something, well, you know….baked.

My ingredient was California Figs. I love figs! But I haven’t really incorporated them into my baking that much in the past, so this was my chance! I couldn’t have been happier to create something using a new ingredient that I also happen to adore!

gettin’ figgy with it.

As much as I loved eating figs, I had no idea of their nutritional benefits prior to this challenge! Figs are a great source of fiber, for starters. They’re also rich in antioxidants (even richer than red wine!), and they’re an all-natural energy source, which makes them perfect as a pre-workout snack (looks like I’ll be eating some figs before my next marathon!).

So without further adieu…..here’s my creation! Hope you enjoy baking them as much as I did.

 

Fig and Rosemary Scones

What you’ll need:

2 cups flour (sifted)

4 teaspoons baking power

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening

¾ cup half and half

½ cup Dried California Black Mission Figs (chopped)

1 tbsp rosemary (finely chopped)

What you’ll do:

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening until the mixture has a fine crumb texture.

may i cut in?

Mix in the chopped figs and rosemary.  Stir in the half and half with a fork so it makes a soft dough. Knead the dough with clean hands about 10 times – do not overknead – it will become too stiff!

knead-y.

Break off roughly shaped pieces (just larger than a golf ball) and place  them on a greased cookie sheet. The shape doesn’t matter – the rougher the better – it gives them a more rustic look! Bake for 12 – 15 minutes (or until the edges being to turn golden brown).  Makes 22 – 24 scones.

rustically delicious.

 

Long time, no post.

Sorry about that. I’ve been kinda….busy. But I have been baking, albeit not as frequently as I had been in the somewhat recent past. But that’s beside the point. Here I am now, writing a new post, about one of the things I actually did bake - Lemon Pistachio Mini Cupcakes.

little. yellow. different.

I actually made these for the Cupcake Smash competition I participated in a couple of weeks back. Although I did not win, I had a fabulous time, made some new baking friends, and received much positive feedback on the cupcakes themselves!

a winner in my book.

As far as what went into them, I started off with my Best Vanilla Cake Ever recipe, but instead of using vanilla extract, I used Lemon. I topped them with my New and Improved Lemon Buttercream. But that’s not all – I filled them each with grape jam, and sprinkled them all with crushed pistachios. I titled them “Pistachi-o-baby,” however, as my setup at the event wound up having a Parisian theme, in hindsight I should have called them “Pistachi-ohh-la-la!” That would have been much more fitting. I probably would have won with that.

sur la table.

The good news was that I wound up with a bunch of extras, so I brought them to work, and everybody loved them. So really, we all win in the end.

 

The Brussels Chocolate Shop Tour, Stop #10 (The Final Frontier): Frederic Blondeel.

After Stop #9: Laurent Gerbaud, and having already visited  a total of 5 shops AND various tourist attractions in between, I  walked back to my hotel and considered calling it a day. However, the tour had progressed more quickly than I had anticipated, and it was still rather early.  So, I ate some of the various wares I had accumulated thus far, rested for a few moments, ventured out onto the snow-covered balcony, and did something that has become a kind of tradition when traveling alone – I took a picture of myself with the city as a backdrop.

allow myself to introduce…myself.

Ok, so granted, you can’t see all that much of the city. But I know it’s there.

I realized at this point, that I wasn’t tired. I’d slept over 9 hours the night before (stupid jet lag catches up on a gal), so I still had a decent amount of energy. I decided to harness it, and make the trek to the final shop on the list –

Stop #10: Frederic Blondeel.

The walk to Frederic Blondeel was full of the interesting and unexpected; from a giant wooden statue of two mystery animals…

where the wild things are.

…to a restaurant I thought had gone bankrupt years ago (at which I was also an employee, back in my college days)…

we’re huge in Belguim.

….to not-so-properly-translated-into-English-titled eateries….

what kind of cuisine could they possibly serve?

….to the truly awesome in every sense of the word – St. Catherine’s Church.

magnifique.

And to think – I didn’t even need to go out of my way to see any of this.  As I walked around St. Catherine’s, Frederic Blondeel was right in front of me. It was super cute inside –  the décor was mostly earthy , with wooden everything, and splashes of color here and there.

fun sun.

There was even a rather charming seating area off to the left.  But the most important thing, and the reason I wandered all this way to begin with was, of course, the chocolates.

boxes of goodness.

And the moment of truth arrived – what do I choose? I’d already been to 9 shops. 9!! At this point, I wanted something unique, but I also really wanted to sample what the shop had to offer. So, I did what anyone would do in this situation – I went for a mixed bag and just started picking what looked at sounded the best.

That white powdery ball was a champagne truffle. And it was fantastic.

And there you have it. 10 shops in 2 days.  I came, I saw, I ate Belgian chocolate. I drank Belgian beer.  It was snowing. It was freezing. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life.  :)

 

Cupcake Smash!!

So I’ve been pretty busy getting everything together for an event I’m participating in this Saturday – The 3rd Annual Cupcake Smash! 

Each competitor is tasked with making an original cupcake creation based on an item from the menu of PYT, located right next to where the competition will be held this Saturday, April 27th, from 2pm to 5pm, in the Piazza at Schmidts (1050 N. Hancock St., Philadelphia), Not only will you get a chance to sample many Über delicious cupcakes, but the event also benefits Philabundance, which is a major player in the fight against hunger in the Philadelphia area. So just think – you get to eat sweets while simultaneously helping an awesome charity. It’s a win-win.

I’m not going to give anything away as far as my creation goes – you’ll just have to come out to the event to find out for yourself! I will, however, provide you with the link to getting yourself some tickets– http://www.philabundance.org/2013/01/08/cupcake-smash-2013-at-the-piazza-at-schmidts/

And check out the facebook event, where you can find all the info and RSVP that you’re coming!!

I forgot to mention that not only do you get to sample the cupcakes, but you also get to vote for your favorite – so let your sweet tooth speak for itself!!

See you there!!

 

 

The Brussels Chocolate Shop Tour, Stop #9: Laurent Gerbaud.

It was a long walk back from Stop #8, Zaabär, and upon further investigation of the map, it appeared that there were many interesting tourist-y spots along the way to the next stop, so I decided to take advantage of this, and explore some of them, such as:

the museum area…

ring wraith?

…the Place de Palais…

Koninklijk Paleis van Brussel.

….and the Parc de Bruxelles.

within the park walls…

…lived two little cherubs.

As the exploratory fun came to a close, I found myself practically right at the entrance of:

Stop #9: Laurent Gerbaud.

I was in love as soon as I saw this sign on the window. There’s something to be said for good looks. I definitely wanted to know more…

Inside, the fun kept going, as I was greeted by this display:

choco-art.

This place was like my aesthetic heaven. It was colorful, fun, and upbeat; kinda like myself. Plus it was full of chocolate (also kinda like myself at this point). I browsed around, and finally settled on something I’d been seeing at many shops throughout my journey, but that I’d never seen back home – chocolate covered pieces of dried fruit. Being that I love both chocolate and dried fruit, I had to try it. Deciding on what type of fruit was the hard part. After much deliberation, I went with a fruit I don’t see in dried form too often at home – pears.

the perfect pearing.

Well, I was by no means disappointed. The dark chocolate and pears were, as you may have guessed, the perfect pairing.

As I paid for my goods, I came face to face with this glaring declaration on the back wall:

fo’ sho’.

And by Jove, it was true. And, quite possibly may have never been truer.

Hang in there for the grand finale – the final stop on the tour: Stop #10, Frederic Blondeel: way over yonder in the minor key… 

 

The Brussels Chocolate Shop Tour, Stop #8: Zaabär.

Looking at my map upon exiting Stop #7 (Wittamer), I realized I had a bit of a walk ahead of me. Zaabär was the farthest of all the shops. It was on the other side of the business district. But I’m a walker by nature (not cause I hate ya), so I sucked it up, and strode onward. The walk was really quite nice. I got to glimpse another side of the city – the city center – full of old buildings and new towers, peacefully coexisting side by side, with hundreds of working folks and tourists passing by in a continuous stream. I walked with eyes wide open, taking it all in, including this random tree, in the middle of a city block.

an Ent, maybe?

I have no idea really what kind of tree it even was – but it definitely struck my fancy. After a few more turns, I finally arrived at…

Stop #8: Zaabär.

Upon entering Zaabär, I was brought face to face with an area where the chocolate was being made, on display, behind a glass wall for tourists to see.  To the right, was a long corridor, with fun images of chocolate making on the wall.

diy chocolate.

At the end of the hall, was the shop itself. Zaabär was clean, and modern, and classy. It reminded me of IKEA. The only thing missing were Swedish meatballs.

affordable solutions for better living?

There were people milling around, seriously discussing their pending purchases. This shop was no joke. I wondered around for a bit, poking my nose into all the displays.  They had a giant section devoted entirely to flavored chocolate, some on the rather exotic side. I spied a lavender chocolate, and I was sold. I purchased a cinnamon as well, along with a rose.  It was a very tough decision – they had an amazing selection of some pretty intense flavors. But I was able to eventually narrow it down.

craft chocolates.

I also couldn’t resist the truffles…so I picked up a two pack of them, too.

Well, needless to say, this was some good stuff.  It was different  – I’ve never really had chocolate quite like it.  It was like the craft beer of chocolate. Once you try it, you really can’t imagine drinking Coors again (not that I ever did…).

Next up, Stop #9, Laurent Gerbaud: The happiest chocolate shop on earth.

 

Healthy Biscuits to Help Stamp out Hunger!

Howdy folks! I’m taking part in the fight against hunger along with 100+ food bloggers today.  Hunger is a real problem, right here in our country. The average food stamp benefit is $3 a day to spend on a meal.  This is barely livable and UNACCEPTABLE! When money is tight, folks are going to get as much as they can for it; and sadly, the cheapest foods are often times the least healthy. You can help! Send a letter to congress asking them to support anti-hunger legislation by clicking here. It only takes 30 seconds to make a difference!

I’m primarily a dessert maker, but I make many breads as well. I came up with a recipe that’s budget friendly, made with pantry staples found in your local grocery store, and contains protein and natural foods that are good for you and not to mention, filling.  And, it also tastes great! Take that, processed cheap food with empty calories and no real health benefits!

the good stuff.

Before I share my creation, I wanted to take a second and ask that you watch this trailer, for “A Place at the Table”  now showing in a city near you and on iTunes.  Please take the time to see this movie – it will change the way you think about food and hunger. The issue is real, and YOU can help!!

Now heeeeeeere’s the recipe!

Raisin Walnut Biscuits

What you’ll need:

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking power

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening

¾ cup milk

½ cup fiber cereal (such as Fiber One or the generic store brand version)

½ cup raisins

What you’ll do:

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening until the mixture has a fine crumb texture. Mix in the raisins and cereal.  Stir in the milk with a fork so it makes a soft dough. Knead the dough with clean hands about 10 times – do not overknead – it will become too stiff! Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter (or a glass turned upside down) cut out biscuits, and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes (or until the edges being to turn golden brown).  Makes 22 – 24 biscuits.

Serve with butter or jam, or enjoy them as is!