I Miss You, so Here's a Plum Cake

Hey all! I've gotta say that only posting ince a week s killing me in a small way. I miss the days when I would come home from work, crank up the oven, oblivious to the summer heat, and bake, cook, simmer, and steam almost every day of the week. I'm lustful for the days of spontaneous meringue-ing, baking brownies in the middle of the night. Oh, and this early November snow? I'm finding my hands subconsciously rotating like I'm stirring soup.
I'm an addict. This is withdrawal. It's bad, bad, very bad.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though. THANKSGIVING IS COMING! This means day after day of shameless cooking. Cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pot pies, crumbles, smoothies, and custards are all coming your way in the very near future. Oh, and I get to make all the dishes to satiate your sweet tooth every sunday from Thanksgiving until Christmas--an even longer period of shameless cooking with even more spices!

See how dark the batter is? That's from all the vanilla!

I miss you--writing these posts, thinking of new ideas--just as badly as I miss my pink rubber spatula back home. Because I miss you and you're even more fantastic than Christmas cookies and sweet potatoes (the highest of praise in my book) I made you a plum cake. Gone are the days when prunes were the dreaded black, crinkly rocks in the very back of the cabinet. Soaking the prunes in warm milk, and folding them into a thick, vanilla scented batter brings them to life like you wouldn't believe. So bake up, eat up, and enjoy a deeply vanilla cake with bursts of sweet and savory prunes.

Vanilla Plum Cake
Makes 1 9 inch cake

1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1.5 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
6 large prunes

Preheat the oven to 400ºF, and prepare 1 9-inch cake pan by greasing, lining with parchment, greasing again and dusting with flour.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the milk for 1 to 2 minutes, until it's very hot but not boiling. Add the prunes to the hot milk and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and flouw until light and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until well incorporated. Remove the prunes from the milk when they are plump and softened. Add the lemon juice to the milk and mix.
Add 1/2 the flour to the butter and egg mixture, when it is fully combined, add half of the milk. Add the rest of the flour and milk, mixing well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and scatter (or carefully arrange) the prunes in the batter. Lightly cover the tops of the prunes with more batter to prevent burning.
Bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out to slice.
This cake is great served at any temperature, but is at its best when served warm!

Healthy Things? and Andrea's Banana Quinoa Muffins

Today is August 1, 2012.
Today, I am beginning a diet.
Today I decided to lose 10 pounds in a month--challenge.
Today I looked up how many calories I have to burn each day to do this--scary.
Yesterday, I went all out at a friend's birthday party because I knew today was Diet Day 1. (A ton of tiramisu tastes good. A ton of tiramisu feels sick)
Yesterday I realized that I could not leave you all stranded without any baked goods for a month.
Today I made healthy muffins that taste fantastic.
Tomorrow I will have one for breakfast.

This whole diet deal is forcing me to create good recipes that are conservative. I love messing around and making rules for myself. I have to say, I've pieced together some good vegan, dairy free, gluten free, nut free concoctions, but for the first healthy recipe, I decided an old stand by would be best. While it's a very rare thing for me to make a carb/fat/calorie-loaded savory dish (I just don't eat that way) I tend to get a little excited when exposed to butter, sugar, and an oven. I've been working with different fats and sweeteners recently, and started replacing most of my flour with whole grain varieties, but fat really does seem to be fat and sugar really does seem to be sugar. Oh, and I can't do carob. I refuse. Don't even talk to me about it.
They're not great for you.
That makes me exceptionally sad.

But, these muffins are not carob. They're the twin's favorite, super easy, protein filled, and adaptable beyond belief. I added sunflower seeds to these ones just because I had a bunch lying around for scones I never really got around to makeing, but you can throw in whatever you want or nothing at all. Plain happens to be my favorite with these.
The nuttiness of the quinoa blends really well with the coconut oil, so you get a nutty bite without actually biting into any chunks, or having to grind almond meal. There's not much more I can say, other than Bananas, quinoa, honey, and coconut is a great combination, and these make a great, filling breakfast that leaves you satisfied, even if you're a habitual lunch-skipper, like me.

If you're feeling reckless, feel free to add an extra 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and use browned butter instead of coconut oil. Because when formerly white foods turn brown, everything is right with the world. Am I right?

Oh, and don't get me wrong, I'm still going to be baking treats for you (every day for the next 20 days, actually) but they're going to be kicked out of the house as quickly as possible. Grandma, coworkers, friends, and anybody else who crosses my path in the next 3 weeks will be presented with food.

Banana Quinoa Muffins
Makes 18 Muffins
Some of my muffins look a little wonky. They're just free form. I had enough batter for 6 more muffins but didn't feel like taking out another muffin tin, so they were just dumped into the liners and arranged on a baking sheet. They cook in the same time and are even more fun to eat.
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup raw sugar
2 large eggs
2 large, ripe mashed bananas
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (AP works too)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1/2 cup sunflower seeds or your favorite add-ins
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk mixed with 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
(or 1 cup of buttermilk)

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, oil and honey until smooth. Add your mashed bananas and vanilla, stirring well.
In a larger bowl, combine the flour, seeds, salt, spices, baking powder and quinoa with a whisk.
Make a well in the center and add your wet ingredients, mix until they are about half way combined.
Add your yogurt-milk and whisk until combined but still slightly. A slightly lumpy batter makes puffier muffins.
Fill your muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden on top and  a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
Enjoy!