Now that Ebby is volunteering at the library, I have an excuse to visit there every week.
I'm like a kid in a candy store. All those books! I can take home as many as I want?? Yes please!
Currently I have 19 books checked out of 2 different libraries. As I see it, I could have worse addictions.
Like say...baking.
My favorite of my current batch is, for sure, Babycakes by Erin McKenna.
As you can see from the cover, it's a cookbook with "Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery". Truth be told, the picture of the cupcakes drew me in. The fact that the recipes are somewhat healthy? All the better.
This may be the first cookbook I've read from cover to cover. The photography is beautiful, the subject matter enticing, the writing & anecdotes entertaining and the recipes are totally different than anything I usually bake. But I'm up for the challenge.
Whereas we don't (currently) have any wheat or dairy allergies in our house, stocking the pantry to try out some of Erin's delectable sounding recipes has been an adventure in itself. I did have agave nectar, but had never even heard of and/or seen ingredients such as coconut oil, garbanzo-fava bean flour and xanthan gum. After trips to both Ocean State Job Lot (they have nice selection of Bob's Red Mill products at closeout prices) and Whole Foods, I was armed with enough ingredients to attempt the Chocolate Chip cookie recipe on page 68.
Despite a few issues with the coconut oil (mine was solid, it works much better as a liquid--as I found out for batch #2), the cookies turned out to be...delicious. As in better than Toll House. Crispy on the edges and chewy in the center. Mmmm. The proof for me that the cookies were really good was that 2 of the 4 other members of our household also approved. I'm so happy that Ebby is eating flax meal now ;-).
I'm still gathering (and now even replenishing) ingredients, hopefully I'll have everything I need to make the vanilla frosting for the cookie sandwiches very soon. Oh, and the cupcakes. Mustn't forget about the gingerbread. It all sounds soooo good.
Even if I never make another recipe out of this book again, I'm going to treasure Erin's recipe for homemade applesauce. It involves roasting Granny Smith apples, agave nectar and...hot water. Hands down, the best applesauce I've ever had.
I must say, I highly recommend this book--no matter whether food allergies are an issue or not. Unfortunately, my copy is due tomorrow at the library. I may have to renew it--or better yet, buy my own copy.
