[In a bit of unrelated news, I'll be doing a guest post on Amy's blog tomorrow. Hope you can drop by and check it out!]
[Looks pretty decadent, doesn't it? Tastes that way, too.]
Okay, so who WAS that woman who wrote my last post?! I do apologize if I alarmed any of you (though I don’t think I went so far as to frighten the horses ). I guess something about that particular topic hit a nerve for me. But wow, did that post ever spike my blog’s traffic! My Google Analytics stats shot through the roof! And man, look at all those comments! Well, I guess we all know how I’ll be choosing my blog topics from now on, hmmmnn? Ahem.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for your insights, reactions, commentary! I am really loving the exchange of opinions and all the differing perspectives on the topic. I think peeking in on the IFBC sparked for me a renewed interest in ideas for ideas’ sake –it felt sort of like what grad school was supposed to be. So, once again, thanks. And it’s not too late to contribute your own ideas about why and how we blog–join the conversation here.
But now. . . it’s time for us to head back from summer holidays and dive back into the daily routines once again–which means (for me, and for many of you)–back to school.
When I was a kid, the beginning of September was always a bittersweet time. After two whole months of sleeping until I awoke; throwing on shorts and sneakers and a T-shirt before wandering outside to meet up with friends; reading books while lounging on the grass in our backyard or writing furiously in my journal, the sun warming the sheets of paper as I wrote; ice cream on demand; or simply soaking in the freedom of “no fixed schedule”–the end of August marked the shift to autumn and a return to predictability.
I didn’t particularly look forward to the the stuffy classrooms, the mercilessly rigid desk chairs, the overloaded backpack, the trek home at lunch or long afternoon hunched over my textbook, pencil in hand, reading from a book that (more often than not) didn’t interest me.
On the other hand, there were some high points in returning to the classroom. September also felt like a fresh start, that moment when you’ve just stepped out of the shower, scrubbed and still glistening before you decide what to wear that day. It was an invitation for self-renewal and embracing new identities, a chance to rectify personal slights or last year’s mistakes. New shoes, a new haircut and (my favorite part) fresh, pristine pages of new notebooks–those were the beckoning aspects of returning to school.
Perhaps because I work in academia, September still feels like the beginning of the year to me. Yet it’s also a tacit “start date” in many other contexts as well: television shows (Hey, Ellen! How about that guest spot this year?); arts and cultural events (you wouldn’t believe how many TSO, TIFF or AGO brochures have landed on our doorstep lately–and, just an aside, does EVERY Toronto-area event use a three-letter acronym?), and even religious holidays (Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, usually occurs around September).
I mentioned in a previous post that I had a few exciting giveaways up my figurative sleeve–and now that we’re on the threshold of back-to-school, what better time to hold them? During the past couple of months, I’ve had the pleasure of sampling and experimenting with an array of new ingredients and products, some of which were truly exceptional.
So now, I’ve chosen the best of the lot–the ones I liked most and think you will, too–and will be giving away one at a time over the next few weeks.
See? Back to school can be fun!
For a great ACD-friendly Fudge Recipe and to enter the first in the “Back to School Swag” series of giveaways, click here!
[You won't believe what's in this fudge. . . or how easy it is to make!]
What the heck am I talking about, you ask? Well, I’ve been following the shenanigans from the IFBC (International Food Bloggers Conference) both through the twitterstream (#IFBC to find it) and through some of the live videos and podcasts. Reading the live tweets as they scrolled down my computer screen was a real hoot; as one tweeter referred to the process, it was like passing notes in school, everyone reading on the sly and giggling as they simultaneously attended to the speaker up at the front of the room. Considering that I didn’t even know the IFBC existed until the middle of last week, I became a convert pretty quickly and have enjoyed eavesdropping on all the goings-on over the weekend (well, as much as one can from 3000 miles away).
The contents of the sessions were, from what I could tell, both incredibly professional and also incredibly useful to bloggers. I learned that Robin Goldstein spawned a thousand drooling crushes because of his supremely good looks and humor; that Wine Spectator magazine’s reputation has been severely tarnished (and deservedly so); that three ingredients does not a new recipe make; that food bloggers who want book deals must be stalkers and proffer lots of chocolate; that food photos need heart, good lighting, patience, and sometimes, a good-looking guy walking through a beam of sunlight; and that, to become popular, you must invoke the wisdom of SEO and Google bots.
SEO (search engine optimization) and Google bots? What the–??
That’s right; one of the sessions [Pizza Hut] focused on [anti-candida] Search Engine Optimization. And while I’ve read about this [recipe] concept before on other [gluten-free] websites and [sugar-free] blogs, I could never get entirely behind [restaurant] deliberately crafting one’s [vegan] words so that [coffee] sentences contain a smattering of [healthy] keywords, simply to draw Google searches to your blog. Seriously, what fun is that? And must blogging really be that calculated?
Of course, anyone who blogs (myself included) would love it if their blog became as popular as Smitten Kitchen or The Pioneer Woman Cooks or Oh She Glows. But surely there is more to it than deliberately crafting posts so that they attract the most hits possible?
When I began DDD in late 2007, I hardly knew what a blog was. As someone who’d written a journal basically since she knew how to write, it seemed a natural extension of something I did anyway—with the added bonus of food.
[The first food photo I posted on my blog, with recipe for Baked Oats. OUCH.]
After that first comment appeared on my blog (thanks, Sally!), I was immediately hooked and went through a honeymoon phase during which I seemed to live, eat, sleep, and breathe blogging: I woke up each morning excited to check my blog stats and comments; topics for blog posts swirled in my head while I exercised, drove to the grocery store, or watched TV; I cooked constantly and snapped endless photos (eventually learning that camera flashes were evil) and I was easily able to churn out post after post, sometimes daily (though once per day did seem to be my limit, even at the best of times; I truly envy those bloggers who can write two, even three times a day).
I loved everything about blogging, and felt as if I’d discovered a truly magical realm where I could express myself freely and exchange ideas wtih others of like mind. People began to read and react to the posts. The idea of slanting a blog post to increase traffic was as foreign to me as the idea of mugging a centenarian, stealing the Hope Diamond, or eating crab cakes. It would feel unethical, it would make my skin crawl a little bit, it just wouldn’t feel like “me.”
There’s a certain frisson you get when you see that spike in the statistics graph; when you check your blog after a break and there are ten new comments since the last time you looked; when someone writes something laudatory about the particular story, or joke, or recipe. And that’s when it becomes far too easy to begin writing posts that are skewed toward keeping those same responses coming.
In the early days, I never thought about who was reading my blog because, let’s face it, nobody was. But once I realized there actually was an audience out there, the tone, or the structure, or the topics in my posts began to shift almost imperceptibly–and without my awareness of it. If that silly post about edamame and haiku garnered such a a huge number of views, well, then, silliness and poetry suddenly feel like the right thing to write. If people respond to funny stories from your adolescence, then you may just find yourself raking through teenaged memories attempting to unearth more of those anecdotes. Is writing this way simply a different form of pandering to the search engines? Or just an inherent desire to please people?
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed that my writing style and the types of posts I write have begun to lean toward what’s popular the way a ficus tree leans toward the light. Rather than the initial stream-of-consciousness (mine or The Girls’) posts with which I began this blog, I’ve begun to rely more on the established persona who makes her habitual appearance here. Instead of using the blog as outlet for unfettered self expression, it’s become a platform for what I now see as a predictable type of recipe post, based on what has received reader approbation.
I think Shauna James Ahern summed up this phenomenon best when she discussed it in her own post about her “true” self versus her blog persona, in “Why I Write this Site.” Ahern articulates beautifully and eloquently how the expectations of an audience can take over at some point, and the blog begins to shape you instead of the opposite being true:
When I write as the Gluten-Free Girl, there’s a pattern, a comfortable place, like the dent in Archie Bunker’s chair. My words sit there, and those of you reading might recognize them. Hopefully, you recognize something in yourself. But when I write to that pattern, when I write as the Gluten-Free Girl, I lose myself. Whoever that is.
And this brings me back to the topic of SEO and Google bots. If we’re writing only for the search engines, only to fulfill the expectations of an established pattern of posts on the blog, then we’re like the child who’s been dancing with abandon in the back yard who stops abruptly when she notice that her brother is watching: we lose ourselves. Of course we don’t ever want to disappoint our readers, and there is so much to love about writing a blog even when we do reinforce that comfortable dent in the armchair. But we need to be true to ourselves at the same time. And sometimes, those selves change over time. And sometimes, they don’t even wish to write about food.
In the end, I think the gist of that particular session at IFBC was saying the same thing. Molly (she of the iconic Orangette blog) tweeted, “SEO can’t be all about bots, right? You can optimize to death, but if a site doesn’t connect with people, it doesn’t work.” In other words, a blog still needs to come from a place of authenticity, it needs to be genuine, it needs to be true to the writer, it needs to flow from the heart. And to me, deliberately inserting keywords into my sentences, or structuring sentences and paragraphs to include the most popular keywords on Google Insights just doesn’t do it.
I agree with Molly. People are drawn to stories; they’re drawn to authentic ideas and expressions; they’re drawn to real people behind the blogs.
So here’s the message I got from the SEO session at IFBC: be true to your real self. It may not work in the way that you’d hoped, and your blog may not skyrocket to fame, a million hits a month, or a book deal. But you’ll still be having fun. I know there will be days when the snark muse doesn’t spur me on. There will be days when I don’t feel like posting a recipe. Some days, I’ll feel like telling stories about my childhood, and others, I won’t. Like me, this blog will continue to evolve and be shaped by what happens in my life.
Sure, I want my blog to be popular; who doesn’t? But before anything else, blogging has to make me feel as if I’m still here, still–at the core–writing for myself, even if it’s also to thousands of readers at the same time.
Writing in my own inimitable restaurant, healthy, anti-candida, coffee, sugar free, cake, Pizza Hut, recipe, vegan, way.
How do you feel about this issue? What motivates your choice of post topics? How much of the business of blogging makes its way into your blog writing?
[Before I launch into today's post, I wanted to thank everyone for their kind wishes for poor, accident-prone Elsie! Our Number One* Girl is doing much better, thanks--still limping a little, but infinitely less than that first scary evening. While her gait has improved, her mood hasn't quite, as she has to stay behind with boring Mum every morning while Dad and Chaser go romp in the park. But one more week, and she'll be on the walking trail again, too. ]
Remember when you were a kid and you yearned to have the same toys (or clothes, or packed lunches) that all of your friends had? And in an effort to teach you deferred gratification, your parents would respond to your imploring by saying, “And if Susie’s parents let her jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, would you want to, too?” In our house, it was different. If one of my sisters or I requested something that all of our friends already had, my parents’ perfunctory response was, “NO.” (My Dad’s idea of deferred gratification was “deferred until you can afford to pay for it yourself.” Hmm. May explain why I started babysitting at the ripe old age of eleven).
Since I could never cajole my parents into getting me what I wanted anyway, I developed a determination to stand apart from my friends and covet less popular items. I couldn’t very well not like The Monkees, of course (you couldn’t be a kid in the 60s and not like them), so I worshipped Mickey instead of Davy (totally radical, I know). Like all my friends, I bought (with my babysitting money) the sought-after designer jeans–you know the ones, that proclaimed their exclusivity loudly and clearly with a playing-card sized label just above the fanny cheek–and then I boldly cut off the label (can you imagine? I was so rebellious that way.).
In university, I inevitably fell for the slightly oddball character, someone who, let’s imagine, had been born to a French hooker in Sudbury, had been orphaned at age 12, had raised their younger sister on their own, had worked as a miner and was now studying to be a customs officer. Oh, wait. That actually was my first boyfriend. Later on, I fell for the boyish charms and rapier wit of Rocker Guy (he of the black leather pants). And let’s not forget the HH, the human synthesis of artist genius and science geek, man of few words (and most of those requiring a dictionary to understand), reluctant dog dad turned canine caretaker extraordinaire, and simultaneously the smartest, funniest, and most eccentric human being I’ve ever met.
The food-blog world has its own trends, too. For a while there, kalechipswere (or maybe still are!) all the rage. There was a time when I felt as if faux tuna salad was on almost every blog I read. Or how about the now-ubiquitous cake pops? And where would we be, tell me, without pumpkin and/or almond butter-laced oatmeal? (One of my favorite trends, though not about food per se, was the “blog meme.” When I was tagged for the ”25 Random Things About Me” meme, I got carried away and wrote 101 things. As I mentioned at the time, I guess that will take care of the meme for a while!).
Well, when I saw Mihl’s recipe for Yeasted Zucchini Pie with Herbed Pepita Cream Cheese Filling, my ten year-old self was resurrected and I immediately thought, “I want that, too! Yum!!” Clearly, with its hunter green shellac and creamy alabaster interior, zucchini is the hipster veg on the culinary scene for August, 2010. And the ingenious mix of ingredients in Mihl’s distinctive filling fulfilled my inner desire for creative departure from the norm.
Since the crust was yeast-based, I knew immediately that I couldn’t make it as originally presented. However, I had seen a quiche a while back with a shredded potato crust and thought that would pair brilliantly with the herby filling. After preparing the crust, I discovered that I was out of firm tofu, so used MoriNu as the stand-in (just to be different, I suppose). It worked beautifully, resulting in a slightly creamy, slightly grainy filling with a subtly sour undertone, like ricotta or cottage cheese. The inclusion of basil worked beautifully with the ground pepitas. And while I loved the trendy design formed by the zucchini slices atop the pie, I think that next time, I’ll simply chop the zucchini and fold it into the cheesy mixture before baking, both for convenience and for a more varied texture.
The finished pie reminded me of savory cottage cheese pies my mother used to make–rustic, hearty, and reminscent of late afternoons in the country. Paired with a simple Caesar salad, it made a pleasing meal as the HH and I sat at the kitchen table bathed in incandescent glow of late summer, shimmering interstices of sunlight peeking through the shutters.
“Well, it’s a bit unusual, but it’s good,” the HH remarked. Takes one to know one, I thought–and just kept on eating.
* in the sense of, “the one that preceded Number Two (Number Two being Chaser) and not in the sense of, “the one we like the best.” Of course I could never favor one of my Girls over the other–duh!
And Also:
There are a few more happenings here on DDD that I’m excited about and wanted to share before I sign off!
First of all, you can still contribute to this month’s SOS Kitchen Challenge, until August 31st! If you’ve got a minty recipe that you’ve made recently or one you’re working on, please consider adding it to the SOS page for August!
I’m also gearing up for some really cool Back-to-School Giveaways on the blog over the next few weeks. I’ll be talking about some products that I’ve tried and really enjoyed, along with the usual recipes and chance to win some great goodies for yourselves. Whoo hoo!
Speaking of giveaways, if you didn’t win a free copy of my latest ebook, Desserts without Compromise, you can still buy it at a great discountuntil the end of the month. Choose either ebook on its own, or pair them together and save even more! For full details or to purchase, check here.
And finally, I’m always tickled when I see that someone else in blogland has tried one of my recipes. So I thought I’d share some of them here with you! And if you’ve made a DDD recipe in the last little while and I’ve missed you here, please email (at dietdessertdogs AT gmail DOT com) to let me know so I can add your link to the roundup next time!
I’m sending this recipe off to Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten Free for this week’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays–it’s the One Year Anniversary edition, too! (Congrats, Amy!). Go check out the other great entries in the event! Oh, and don’t forget to hop back to Amy’s blog on September 1st–I’ll be guest posting that day!
Zucchini Pie with Potato Crust (ACD Stage 2 and beyond)
2 pounds (900 g) russet potatoes, cut into large chunks
2 Tbsp (30 ml) finely ground flax meal
2 Tbsp (30 ml) chickpea flour
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) fine sea salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) vegetable broth or stock
Filling:
1/2 cup (60 g) pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
2 cloves garlic
3 green onions, cut in chunks
1/3 cup (15 g) lightly packed chopped fresh basil
1 package (12 oz or 375 g) extra firm silken tofu (such as MoriNu)
6 Tbsp (90 ml) vegetable broth or stock
1 Tbsp (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) fine sea salt
1 tsp (5 ml) granulated onion or onion powder
1/4-1/2 tsp (1-2.5 ml) smoked paprika, to your taste
2 tsp (10 ml) light miso
2 tsp (10 ml) dijon mustard
1/8 tsp (.5 ml) nutmeg
1 Tbsp (15 ml) chickpea or soy flour
pepper, to taste
2 medium zucchini, washed, trimmed and sliced
olive oil, if desired
Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Line a 10 inch (25.5 cm) tart pan with parchment and spray sides, or spray with nonstick spray.
Prepare the crust: place potato chunks in boiling water and boil just until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Allow to cool completely, then grate the potatoes and place in a large bowl.
To the bowl, add the flax, chickpea flour,salt and broth and mix well with your hands. Using the back of a rubber spatula or a 1/3 cup (80 ml) measuring cup, press the potato mixture evenly into the bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the top is dry. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350F (180C).
Meanwhile, make the filling: In the bowl of a food processor, blend the pumpkin seeds, garlic, green onion and basil until you have a paste. Add remaining filling ingredients except for zucchini and olive oil and process again until smooth. If desired, roughly chop the zucchini and fold into the filling at this point. Pour over the crust and smooth the top.
If using zucchini slices, arrange them over the filling in a decorative fashion. If desired, brush with olive oil.
Bake in preheated 350F (180C) oven 50-60 minutes, rotating the pie about halfway through, until the crust is browned and the zucchini has begun to brown. Allow to rest 5-10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings. May be frozen.
Thanks again to everyone who entered the Desserts without Compromisegiveaway! Judging from the comments you all left, it sounds as if the Mounds/Bounty Bites are the most sought-after dessert in the book. And whatever your first choice, I am delighted to see how many of you are interested in healthy, low glycemic, gluten free and vegan sweet treats!
As promised, I’ve once again conferred with random.org to select the FIVE winners of the ebook. And here they are:
1) Comment 138, Mallory, whose first comment was,
I am very excited for this book! I LOVE coconut, so I really want to learn to make those mounds! The brownies also really caught my eye (and stomach)!
While they all look indescribably yummy, I think it’s the Bounty Bites that won me over. Not that I am hard to convince! In my pre-vegan days, I used to LOVE Bounty Bars and do kinda miss them now that they’re off the menu…
Congratulations, Ricki, on that new ebook!
Those desserts all look amazing… and I hear that bread pudding with caramel sauce calling my name pretty loud right now!
5) Comment 129, Christa wrote:
Wow! I would love to have these recipes, since I’ve been eating anti-candida foods for the better part of a year now (but am still stuck in phase 1!). The lemon coconut bars, the apple-pumpkin bars and the vanilla custard look lovely! There seem to be lots of phase-1-friendly foods, too!
Congratulations, all! Please contact me with your email addresses so I can send out your books pronto!
And stay tuned for a bunch of back-to-school giveaways in the next few weeks!
First: Thanks to everyone who entered the Desserts without Compromise giveaway over the weekend! I’m delighted by the positive response and will be announcing the winners later today (once I choose the names). If you’d like to purchase a copy of the book, the introductory sale is on until the end of the month–you can purchase either ebook at a discount, or save even more if you buy the package of both together! Check here for details.
And now, before I get to today’s recipe, I thought it would be a good time to paraphrase Oprah (because, really, is there ever a bad time to paraphrase Oprah?). And this is what I want to say:
Mothers, I Salute You.
As someone who has never had the experience of motherhood, I can only guess at what it is like. But this past weekend, I had a teeny glimpse. You see, after an ostensibly normal Friday, the HH and I were sitting enjoying dinner (a fabulous raw kale salad with tangy dill dressing) when Elsie limped into the room. Well, perhaps “limped” isn’t quite the correct term; it was more like “writhed in or agony” or “seized with exquisite pain.” You see, the poor furry girl appeared to have lost the entire use of her back leg–she could not even touch the tip of her paw to the floor, her leg hanging like a cracked branch on a lightning-struck tree as she hobbled over to where we were (pain or not, she wasn’t going to miss out on post-prandial leftovers) on three legs.
How had this happened? More importantly, how had I let this happen? I was racked with guilt. Had I overtaxed her with our extra-long walk that afternoon? Had she stepped on a piece of rusty metal when romping in the pond with Chaser? Had I somehow missed a shard of broken glass on the sidewalk?
But it wasn’t my guilt that I associate with motherhood, no, no! It was the heart-wrenching, excruciating torment I experienced at watching my beloved girl suffer. The helplessness to relieve her pain felt unbearable. It was like the anticipation of knowing your finger is headed right toward the whirring blade of the meat slicer as you slide uncontrollably across the floor. Like having to walk across a vat of deadly scorpions. Like being forced to watch every single Julia Roberts film ever made, in a sadistic marathon session without any intermission (okay, maybe I’m exaggerating; the Julia Roberts thing isn’t quite the same degree of torture as the other two. I mean, you can still live without a finger, right?)
I felt so bad for the poor thing, in fact, that I badgered the HH into carrying her up and down the stairs every time she had to go outside, for the remainder of the day. All this while Elsie, oblivious to the pathos of her situation, soldiered on as if she had always had only three good legs. I, on the other hand, was a whimpering mess. And so, I reiterate: Mothers, I Salute You.
(In the end, we rushed her to the vet first thing Saturday morning and found out she had somehow torn a ligament. Two weeks of pillow rest should repair it. Now we just have to convince Chaser to leave her alone that long.)
She may be stoic, but poor Elsie does seem a bit depressed about it all, too:
“Sigh. Mum, why do I have to stay here at home while Chaser gets to go play in the rain? And why am I so accident-prone?”
I decided to stay indoors and keep my furry Girl company while the HH took Chaser for a trail-walk. Thinking about how to use up the last of our mint (and contribute another dish to this month’s SOS Kitchen Challenge, which continues until the end of the month) led me to Thai rice paper rolls.
Many moons ago during our first year as a couple, the HH and I took a Thai cooking class together. How do I know it was our first year together? The HH agreed to take a cooking class with me. (A guy is never more willing to do “chick” things than during the first few months of a relationship). Anyway, we made a whole bunch of stuff I’ll probably never eat again–Coconut, Ginger and Chicken soup; Red Curry Chicken; Pad Thai–but one thing I do remember is the raw rice paper spring rolls. Man, were they good. And the beauty of the dish was that (a) they were incredibly quick and easy to make; and (b) you could fill them with pretty much anything you liked.
I was transported back to the memory of that evening a few days ago when I came upon Cheryl’s post on these tasty rolls. I decided immediately to concoct the rolls again and, in the process, “adopt” Cheryl (whose blog is Gluten Free Goodness, full of healthy GF recipes and Cheryl’s upbeat approach to better health) for the monthly Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger event. The event asks you to choose a GF blogger and reproduce at least one of their recipes. This month, Shirley of Gluten Free Easily is the host.
I did my rolls ever so slightly differently from Cheryl’s, omitting both the napa cabbage and the sprouts, and using rice vermicelli as a filler instead. But really, you could add pretty much any chopped veggies or fillers you like (my favorite combo would be strips of tofu, shredded carrot, red pepper, rice vermicelli, with a touch of cilantro, basil and mint) as long as they can be cut into matchsticks or grated and rolled into the wraps.
As Cheryl points out, the method is actually pretty simple once you get the hang of it. I found that setting out all the ingredients and a bowl of warm water before starting the process was essential for success. I dipped my rice paper wrappers for only about 8 seconds, then allowed excess water to drip off before rolling them. The wrappers then absorbed a bit more of the surface water as they were being rolled, resulting in a final texture that was perfect.
I also figured out how to create pretty patterns with the cilantro, mint or basil leaves; simply lay them down first against the wrappers, then top with your rice vermicelli before piling on the other ingredients. This creates a white “background” for the leaves. Easy, and impressive! These would make great appetizers or a first course for a Thai meal.
For Cheryl’s original recipe and method, see her post here. I served mine with an almond-butter based dipping sauce, based on the one from the ReBar restaurant (recipe here), using almond butter instead of peanut butter, Bragg’s instead of soy sauce, and stevia instead of honey.
Thanks, Cheryl, for the inspiration! The rolls made a satisfying, simple and speedy lunch. (“Mum, you know it’s not nice to mention ‘speedy’ when I’m pillow-ridden like this. But I’d be happy to help you clean up that almond sauce, if you like.”)
Buy the book this week at the special introductory price of $6.95 (regular price $9.95)–or, buy both ebooks (the previously published Anti Candida Feast plus Desserts without Compromise) for just $12.95!
For more details (and to buy one or both books), click here!
And now for the giveaway. . . . .
The contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!The contest is open until midnight, Sunday, August 22, 2010, at which time I’ll randomly choose the five winners. Open to everyone, worldwide! Yay!
Because I’m so excited to share these recipes with you, I’m giving away FIVE copies of the ebook to celebrate its launch! To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment at the end of this post telling me which dessert appeals to you the most! For extra entries, you can follow me on twitter, “like” the Diet, Dessert and Dogs fan page , or retweet this giveaway on twitter, mention it on Facebook, or blog about it (for the last three, please link back to me, either at my twitter name, @rickiheller, or leave a comment on the FB wall, or a link to this page in your blog post). Then please come back here and leave a separate comment for each entry–I know it’s a lot of steps, but it does help me to count out the entries more easily.
A hydrogen atom walks into a bar. He turns to the bartender and says, “I think I’ve lost an electron!”. The bartender replies, “Are you positive?” [source: my Biochemistry prof at CSNN]
Ba-DUM-pa! Yes, indeedy, I am a lover of corny jokes. I giggle uncontrollably when I hear a good one, I hoard them for later use at dinner parties, I re-tell them whenever I get a chance. That beauty up above, for instance, I’ve been saving since 2002 when I heard it in a classroom in nutrition school.
I inherited the “corn” gene from both my parents in equal measure. My father is one of those people who has a joke at the ready for any circumstance. Drop him into a group of people discussing the latest in cloning techniques, and he might pipe up with ”So, a geneticist and a sheep walk up to a bar. . . “ My mother, on the other hand, was the Queen of Sap, unparalleled in her ability to cry at pretty much anything and everything that touched on sentimental or mawkish. A saccharine birthday card with “I love you” scrawled at the end? Cue the waterworks. A radio report about a German Shepherd saving its owner from drowning? Hand me that box of Kleenex, would you? An über-corny made-for-TV movie that she didn’t even watch? Watch out for those puddles at her feet.
Question: What is green and sings? Answer: Elvis Parsley. [source: seventeen year-old Ricki, as an audience member on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, who was chosen to tell a joke on air. Yes, folks, that is the only one I could think of, and I told it to millions of viewers across the country.]
The aforementioned movie incident occurred many years ago, and it’s a perfect illustration of my mother’s extreme sensitivity. One weekend in high school when my friend Sterlin was sleeping over, we parked ourselves in the basement family room, splayed out on the carpet as we watched a chintzy made-for-TV movie called Message to My Daughter. In a nutshell, here’s the plot: a young woman discovers a series of cassette tapes her (now dead) mother had made for her while she (the mother) was dying of cancer. The movie skips between present-day scenes of the girl listening to the tapes and flashbacks of the mother as she records her pregnancy, her daughter’s toddlerhood, and her eventual decline from the disease.
In the final scene of the film, the young woman visits her mother’s grave. Kneeling down before the tombstone, she whispers something like, “Mom, I never knew you, but you were the best mother a girl could ever have. And I love you.”
Now, as it happened, our TV room was situated midway between the stairs leading to the upstairs and the laundry room, also in the basement. This particular Friday evening my mom was doing laundry, so she had to walk through the TV room two or three times as she went from the kitchen upstairs to the washer, back up to the kitchen, then back down again to the dryer. Coincidentally, it was time to empty the dryer just seconds before that final graveyard scene. My mother walked into the room, heard the words, “. . .but you were the best mother a girl could ever have. And I love you,” and before Sterlin and I could say “Bounce dryer sheets,” my mother was frozen in front of the television, a stifled sob caught in her throat and tears streaming down her cheeks onto the folded towels she clutched to her chest.
Oh, yes, it took a while for her to live that one down, I’ll tell you.
A neutron goes into a bar and asks the bartender, “How much for a beer?” The bartender replies, “For you, no charge.” [Joe Cassaletto]
Well, even though it seems I’ve inherited my mother’s predilection for corny sentiments (Is it soft and furry? Does it involve losing a prized possession, home, food, sentimental item? Does an old person connect with a younger person? Does a young man offer a young woman a token of his affection? Does a teenaged girl go to her mother’s grave and say, “Mom, I never got to know you, but I really love you”?–yep, I’ll cry at it, too), there is also a great love of corn–the edible kind–in the DDD household as well.
Although I can’t consume much of it on the ACD (it’s a restricted food), I have always loved fresh corn on the cob, ever since the days when everyone ate locally by default and real corn was a once-a-year treat. My sisters and I all loved the nubbly batons with their succulent, sunny grains lined up perfectly like beads on an abacus. At the same time, our elation was tinged with a touch of sadness, since their appearance also augured our return to school and the end of summer.
When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading. [source: Henny Youngman]
And while I’ve made corn chowder before, I’ve never prepared a corn-based soup with kernels cut fresh from the cob. This recipe is my adaptation of one I came across last weekend, when the HH and I spent a couple of nights up north and whiled away the time in front of a saltwater swimming pool, reading magazines. It’s from Good Housekeeping, a publication I don’t read regularly, yet something about the creamy yellow base with its contrasting garnish and the sheer simplicity of the recipe appealed to me. Something that fresh and oh, so corny–well, how could I resist?
A helium atom walks into a bar. The bartender screams at it, “Hey! You’re stinking drunk!” The helium atom doesn’t react. [source: @Joan Rivers]
You’ll find the flavor here is just the right combination of sweet and smoky, with both the paprika and baked tofu offering a balanced pairing alongside the corn and potato. Creamy, cool, and slightly sweet, this soup is a great way to bid summer adieu as we anticipate the autumn harvest. The HH enjoyed this with some crusty bread, while I had it plain; as corny as it was, the soup was enough for me on its own.
I thought this soup would be a great submission this week to Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. The event just keeps growing every week–check it out, and submit something if you’re so inclined!
“Okay, I’ve got one, Mum! Elsie walks into a bar and sits down on a bar stool and says to the bartender, ‘Give me my treats, NOW!” And the bartender says, ‘Okay, here!’! Ha ha ha ha ha isn’t that a good one, Elsie?”
“Zip it, Chaser. Honestly, do you think anyone would find that funny, when it could never happen in real life? I mean, everyone knows we’re not allowed up on the furniture.”
Oh, and don’t forget: the SOS Kitchen Challenge for August (focused on MINT) is still on until the end of the month–be sure to submit your mint-based recipes! Full details here.
Chilled Corn Soup with Smoky Garnish (suitable for ACD stage 2 and beyond)
2 Tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil, preferably organic
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cups (720 ml) fresh or frozen corn kernels, divided
1 large Yukon gold (yellow fleshed) potato, peeled and grated
1/8 tsp (.5 ml) smoked paprika plus more for garnish
1-1/2 cups (360 ml) vegetable broth or stock
2 cups (480 ml) unsweetened plain soy or almond milk
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh cilantro leaves
4 servings of your favorite tempeh or tofu “bacon” (about 1/2 pound or 250 g), diced small, or you can use smoked tofu
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 2-1/2 cups (600 ml) of the corn, reserving 1/2 cup (120 ml) for garnish, the grated potato and the paprika, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the broth and cook until the potato is soft and the liquid is almost evaporated, about 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the soy milk, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the soup (in batches if necessary) into a blender and blend until smooth. Cover and chill until cold, at least 3 hours and up to overnight.
To serve, divide the soup into bowls and sprinkle each with a tiny bit more smoked paprika, a handful of the smoked tofu, a bit of the reserved corn kernels, and a few leaves of cilantro. Serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings. This is best eaten fresh, and not really suitable for freezing.
When my sisters and I were kids, my parents used to play Poker every Saturday evening with their group of friends. They’d play from around 7:00 to 9:00 PM, stop for coffee, snacks, and a gabfest, then continue with the cards for another hour or so before everyone headed home.
The group would rotate hosts, so that our abode was Poker Central once every month or so. I always secretly dreaded when my mom’s best friend hosted (since we kids had to tag along–babysitters were too expensive) because she always served “salmon salad,” consisting of one can of salmon that had been hastily mashed with some Miracle Whip–skin, bones, and all–and it grossed me out completely (my mom, you see, would gingerly scrape the skin off the flesh and then carefully extract the soft needle-like bones and vertebrae before mashing up her salmon salad–with real mayonnaise, I’ll have you know. It wasn’t until years later, living on my own, that I discovered my mother, and not her friend, was the anomaly.)
Canned salmon aside, the hosts also always served a generous assortment of desserts, and we kids took full advantage of our parents’ reluctance to berate us in front of friends, helping ourselves to at least one of each sweet when they hit the table. And in the realm of baked treats, my mother reigned supreme.
Despite what my teenaged self perceived as a sappiness and lack of self-confidence in my mum (which, as it turned out, was actually sappiness and lack of self-confidence), I always admired her ability to whip up a Farmer’s Cheesecake (one of my father’s favorite treats), cinnamon coffee cake or her (legendary, among her friends and our family) Chiffon Cake.
Almost a foot high and with an airy, spongy crumb, speckled throughout with shards of grated chocolate, the chiffon cake became Mom’s signature dish, highly anticipated at those weekend card games, expected at every holiday dinner, even transported across borders when we visited our American cousins, loosely swathed in aluminum foil and packed between multiple pillowy layers of paper toweling within not one, but two cardboard boxes, as if she were transporting blood samples, or a bomb.
The other staple in my mother’s baking repertoire was the classic chocolate chip cookie. Every year during the holidays our kitchen turned into a cookie lab where my sisters and I would help Mom try out a dozen or so new cookies from the pages she’d torn out of women’s magazines or from her cookbooks. But Chocolate Chip Cookies were the regular Joe throughout the rest of the year, consumed on Sundays when we ate dinner with my aunt’s family, who lived upstairs; when we got home from school on weekday afternoons; or during those weekly Poker games.
Ironically, it was my dad’s Great Aunt Yetta, and not my mother, who taught me to bake my first batch of my favorite cookie. Great Aunt Yetta (about whom I wrote here), took over our kitchen the summer she lived with us (her planned two-week visit mysteriously morphed into a month, then six weeks; of course I thought my mum was rather sappy to let her stay, but for some unknown reason, her husband didn’t seem to miss her).
I floated through that summer in Chocolate Chip Cookie nervana, baking them at least ten times during those six weeks. I’d savor the raw dough, of course, even before placing it in mounds on the cookie sheets (still the best part of the procedure, in my opinion). Then I’d relish the just-baked treats, barely cool enough to handle, their edges crisping up even as the centers remained soft, dense and moist inside, with chips barely holding their shape, yet still warm enough to ooze onto your fingertips when you bit them.
Classically sweet and chewy, with a buttery perfume of brown sugar–what could be better than chocolate chip cookies?
Of course, there was no question that I’d include a healthier version of the childhood classic when I decided to write my cookbook, Sweet Freedom, a couple of years ago. Lacking the original refined sugar, fat and eggs of the prototype, the cookbook version is nonetheless dense inside and slightly crispy at the edges, boasting a combination of dates, Sucanat and maple syrup to stand in for the original eggs and butter. After many trials, I was finally pleased with the recipe–and the cookies regularly sold out in the health food stores at which they were sold.
I planned to demonstrate how easy it is to adapt conventional recipes to gluten-free versions by taking the original Sweet Freedomrecipe and simply swapping gluten free all-purpose flour for the spelt. As often happens, I found that a one-for-one swap (despite the instructions on the bag) doesn’t always work out as planned. Accordingly, I added just a bit of brown rice flour, for heft–and, what do you know–it worked perfectly! I couldn’t have been more pleased with the result.
I’m happy to say these cookies are as good as the ones I used to bake, all those years ago. The HH loved these, as did the cooking class participants. Indeed, these are chocolate chip cookies you’d be proud to serve to family and friends.
Just please, promise not to serve them with canned salmon.
This is my submission this week to Amy’s wonderful Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays event. Why not submit something healthy of your own?
And a little reminder. . . Sweet Freedom is still on sale for one more week, at 30% off retail price (including taxes and shipping)! Check this page to learn more or to order.
1/2 cup (90 g) Sucanat or unrefined evaporated cane juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp (30 ml) finely ground flax seeds
1 Tbsp (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80 ml) coconut oil at room temperature
1-1/2 cups (360 ml) all purpose GF flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup (75 g) brown rice flour
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) baking soda
1/4 tsp (1 ml) xanthan gum
1/4 tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt
1/4 tsp (1 ml) cinnamon
2/3 cup (140 g) chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.
Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over dates in a small bowl or glass measuring cup so that all dates are covered. Let sit for 8-10 minutes, until dates are soft. Do not drain.
Place dates with any leftover water, Sucanat, maple syrup, flax seeds, vanilla and coconut oil in a the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Allow to cool while you prepare the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to blend well. Add the wet mixture (be sure it’s at room temperature) and chocolate chips and mix well. You should have a very stiff but slightly sticky dough.
Using a small ice cream scoop or teaspoon, scoop dough onto cookie sheets. Wet your palms and flatten the cookies to about 1/4 inch thick.
Bake in preheated oven for 8-11 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops are dry and begin to puff (the cookies should still be soft). Allow to cool completely before removing from sheets. Makes 24-28 cookies. May be frozen.
After reading through the comments on yesterday’s SOS Challenge reveal post (this month’s ingredient is MINT and Kim and I can’t wait to see what y’all cook up with it!), I realized I may have sounded perhaps a wee bit whiney about everything that’s going on in my life right now. I certainly didn’t mean to imply that I was on the precipice of a nervous breakdown (well, no more than usual, anyway)
It’s true, I’ve got a lot going on right now. But of course, I am also fully aware that it’s (mostly) of my own doing, too, as I keep adding more and more activities to my schedule. Like so many women out there (and let’s face it, this is primarily a problem for women), I must learn to say “no” more often. For my own physical and mental health. For peace of mind. For the others I care about in my life (because what good will I be to them if I’m a babbling puddle of melting goo?).
(“Um, Mum, sorry to have to break it to you, but you have no trouble saying “NO!” to us. None whatsoever. And anyway, what’s so wrong about gently picking that leftover chocolate cupcake out of the garbage? You and Dad weren’t going to eat it.”)
In fact, my overflowing schedule was actually pivotal in this month’s choice of SOS ingredient; requesting mint-based recipes was really a selfish choice on my part. After considering the overflowing patch of mint at the side of our house, I decided that I needed some creative inspiration to find recipes that would use it up. And so, I’m counting on all of you to save me by providing a huge array of awesome recipes! So settle back, settle into your chef persona and start creating–use fresh, dried, or mint extract–your choice!
In the meantime, here’s my mint ice cream recipe, as promised. This is something I created so that those of us on the ACD (or with dairy, egg, gluten or sugar dietary restrictions) can enjoy ice cream in the summer, too. Imagine: no more silent (or, in my case, not so silent) suffering while your honey and friends gobble up the “real” thing! This verseion is easy and, if you’ve got a food processor, really quick, too. The texture is silken smooth, creamy, and has just the right kick of mint.
So go ahead–it’s real ice cream, and you can enjoy yourself with a clear conscience. Now, if only I could clear my schedule as well.
And even though this ice cream truly does taste more than “slightly” indulgent, I’m submitting the recipe to Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays event to showcase the healthy aspect of the recipe. Hop over to Amy’s blog to see what else is on the list!
Easy Mint Carob (or Chocolate) Chip Ice Cream (suitable for ACD Stage 1 and beyond)
This recipe will appear in my upcoming ebook on ACD-friendly desserts, available August 19th! The ice cream was a huge hit with the HH, my friends and the ebook testers.
1 large ripe pear (6.5 oz or 190g), cored (peel if desired—not necessary)
about 1/3 cup (80 ml) avocado purée (from one small to medium just-ripe avocado)
45-70 fresh mint leaves (depending on the size of leaves and your taste)
20-30 drops plain or vanilla stevia liquid, to your taste
1 tsp (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
1 can (400 ml or 14 oz) full-fat organic coconut milk (I use Thai Kitchen)
1/2 cup (120 ml) unsweetened plain or vanilla soy or almond milk
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) pure mint extract, optional (but it really brings out the flavor)
Pinch fine sea salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) unsweetened carob or chocolate chips (1 Tbsp/15 ml per serving)
Line an 8” (20 cm) square pan with two pieces of waxed paper, overlapping paper in either direction to cover all sides of the pan; or place 10 silicon muffin cups in a muffin tin; or set out three silicon ice-cube trays.
Place all ingredients except carob chips in a high-powered blender and blend until perfectly smooth. Pour into the pan, muffin cups or ice cube trays and freeze until firm. Pop the mixture out of the muffin cups or ice cube trays and place in a clean food-grade plastic bag in the freezer until ready to use. If using the square pan, remove from pan by flipping out onto a cutting board as soon as the mixture is frozen solid, about 4 hours, and peeling off the waxed paper. Cut into 8-10 equal squares; place squares in a plastic bag in the freezer until ready to use.
To make the ice cream, remove the desired servings from the freezer bag (one muffin cup per serving, or 4 ice cubes, or one square from the square pan) and place in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture resembles the texture of bread crumbs, then scrape down sides and continue to process just until it begins to form a ball. Using a rubber spatula, spread out the mixture in the processor bowl to cover the bottom; sprinkle with the reserved carob chips (enough for the number of servings selected). Replace the processor cover and pulse 5-10 times, just enough to break up most of the chips and distribute them through the mixture. Scoop into bowls and eat immediately. Makes 8 servings.
How did it get to be August 4th already?? To coin a cliché, the summer has flown by. It’s three quarters over and I’ve only had about three days off. What the–??
Some days, I feel like I’m living in that old Calgon commerical. Well, with shorter hair. And better music. And hey, who has time for a bath, anyway? Still, my life does feel that out of focus at times.
Yep, things around here have been verging on “too much chaos” for quite some time now. Did you know that North Americans enjoy fewer statutory holidays and routinely work longer hours than people in any other Western countries? Never mind my gray hairs. Never mind my IBS (almost always associated with stress). Never mind those computer and twitter malfunctions (oooh, I sorely miss my tweetdeck! Hoping to fix it soon!). No, the sign that you are truly and verily overworked is when even meditating stresses you out.
And so, what to do to help soothe the savage breast (and the rest of me, too)–or, as Andrew Denton calls it, “the common cold of the psyche”? Well, music is fine, but for me–and for this month’s SOS Kitchen Challenge–the choice is
MINT!
Yes, the SOS Kitchen Challenge is back! Kim and I challenge you all to create either sweet or savory dishes (or both, if you’re really adventurous–though of course, that’s not required) to submit to the event! Full rules are posted here. And please note a few changes to the event’s structure, also mentioned below.
Of course, mint is great for those times when you need a respite from the crazy-making work, boss, kids, traffic, neighbors, dogs, baby, etc. And aside from its incredible health-promoting qualities (it’s a great tonic for indigestion, nausea, headache or even congestion; it has antioxidant and antimicrobial qualities; and it’s actually an excellent source of vitamins A and C), mint just plain tastes great. And, as I discovered a couple of years ago, it’s an almost indestructible perennial plant (as evidenced by the photo in this post).
You see, when the HH and I moved into this house almost three years ago, the previous tenants has left us a teeny, tiny patch of mint alongside the house. Within a couple of months, the green sea of swaying leaves threatened to take over the entire space between our house and the neighbor’s. I learned quickly to use mint in many different ways.
Mint originated in Europe and the Mediterranean, and is now cultivated around the world. With over thirty varieties of mint (mostly peppermint and spearmint), each with its own distinct properties and heady aroma courtesy of the menthol they contain, mint is a useful and versatile herb.
Mint is appropriate in both sweet or savory dishes, from classics like peppermint candies or chocolates to mint chutneys and curries. It makes a soothing, cooling beverage as well, as we witnessed when Daisy, Gatsby et al sipped on their refreshing mint juleps (or you could try my ACD-friendly Ginger Mint Iced Tea).
I’m going to opt for a sweet recipe first this month. This is also a sneak peek at a recipe from my upcoming ACD friendly dessert ebook, available in just two weeks!
If you’d like to participate in the challenge, all you need to do is create a new recipe and submit it through a link form below (no more emailing!). Please be sure to link up to this page and mention the SOS Challenge in your blog post. And feel free to use the SOS badge, too!
Then just add your name and a title for your recipe to the form below. Your link will automatically display a photo and will direct readers to your blog. We’ll leave the form open until the end of the month, just in time for the next SOS Challenge!
Please remember to follow the rules – vegan, no refined sugars, and natural, whole foods ingredients only – or at the very least, make sure you offer reliable substitutions for those things in your recipe if you use something else. Entries that don’t meet these requirements will be removed from the linky list.
We look forward to seeing what you create this month, and check back often to see all the great submissions to this month’s SOS challenge!
Note: We appreciate your submissions and would like to include them all, but sometimes have to remove an entry from the list. The most common reasons are:
No link to this post. Even if you mention the SOS Challenge in your post, without a live link to this post, the entry doesn’t qualify.
You link to an old recipe. We only accept recipes that are created for the challenge.
You include ingredients that aren’t part of the challenge. Most often, the inclusion of cane sugar (UNrefined evaporated cane juice is okay, but not regular sugars), eggs, cow’s milk, or other animal products will disqualify an entry.
If none of these applies to you and your entry was removed, please contact me in case a mistake has been made! Thanks, eveyone.
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