Sweets

I used to be a big magazine buyer.

Going to a booksttore, browsing the magazine section, bringing home some food magazines, going through them, and getting ideas…

The whole process used to excite me so much.

Then, the magazines became thinner and thinner, and the content became less and less interesting.

Before I knew it, it was not fun anymore, but rather constant disappointment.

Around the same time I found joy in finding food ideas online (like many others did).

One of my go-to places is Instagram, and I follow several people for food ideas.

I’ve been following Caroline https://carolineschoice.com/ ‘s account for a while, mostly because I like her positive energy, but then recently I found out that she published an e-cookbook where she shares her vegan, gluten-free, sugar/oil-free sweets recipes.

I don’t buy cookbooks very often, but her big smile (when she eats her creations) convinced me!

I just got it, but I was too excited to wait, so I found a recipe which allows me to make with what I had, without making a trip to a grocery store.

“Salted Caramel Cups.”

I used her recipe as a base and made this mocha version.

I made my caramel the “mocha” flavor by adding coffee.

I also added a little salt to the crust and the filling.

DELICIOUS!

Super satisfying, yet, it doesn’t give me the unpleasant feeling I often get when I eat sweets with a high sugar content.

I was not planning to make any sweets, but since I had a lemon in the fridge I wanted to use up, I decided to make a small cheesecake.

The cheesecake is so creamy and delicious as is, but I decided to serve it with tangy blueberry coulis.

I love vegan cheesecake.

Rich, creamy, and so satisfying, yet not heavy at all.

Now you can tell how long this COVID thing has been going on.

Apparently I needed more toys in the kitchen.

This set of cookie cutters was on my list for a while, and I finally hit the purchase button when I noticed that the price had come down (plus the site offered an extra 20% off).

I’m so happy with this purchase.

The details are amazing!

I’m happy with how they turned out.

But my husband thinks I should put icing on them.

We’ll see if I get in the mood later.

Well, I like all the ingredients, dates, nut butter, nuts, and oats.

So, naturally I loved the final product.

I don’t like store-bought bars because they are usually too sweet for me.

The only bars I buy are the Good & Gather date bars from Target.

Their ingredients are simple, and they are not too sweet.

But then I thought, “Wait a minute. Is it something I can make myself?”

The ingredients are not exactly the same, but mine turned out great, and it became a huge hit at our house.

And it’s super easy to make!

1.5 cup dates; 1/2 cup peanut butter; about 1 cup old-fashioned oats; cacao nibs; pumpkin seeds; spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc.)

Adapted from https://minimalistbaker.com/3-ingredient-peanut-butter-granola-bars/ .

These are not the prettiest cookies.

But they are extremely chocolaty and perfect for chocolate lovers.

I love orange and chocolate together, and these are so flavorful and delicious.

I found an interesting cookie recipe that calls for bread starter made of yeast naturally created by fruit.

This method (creating yeast from fruit) is quite popular in Japan, and Several months ago I finally made mine.

However, for some reason I misunderstood the recipe, and I used the original liquid instead of the starter.

I didn’t realize the mistake until the dough was ready to be sliced and baked.

So I decided to go ahead and bake it, but I was preparing for a major failure.

They actually turned out fine.

They looked like cookies and tasted like cookies.

These cookies did have a subtle but unique flavor that reminded me of the original liquid (which smells like sweet wine).

Interesting…

My husband made a plan to see his mother the other day when I was baking these.

She always offers things from her backyard, and this time she was going to bring us fresh tomatoes.

So I asked my husband to take some of these for her.

My mother-in-law called later and told me she liked them, and that made my day!

These madeleines are not only pretty but also the perfect size, especially for a gift.

Fall arrived quickly before I was ready to let summer go.

People moved on to pumpkin food.

And here I am.

Posting a peach galette.

But that’s okay.

I’ll eventually get to the pumpkin, but for now I enjoy my delicious peach galette and pretend that fall is not here yet…

I brushed a generous amount of peach whisky syrup on the peaches when the galette was right out of the oven.

So good.

The dark bits you see both in the crust and filling are date sugar.

I’ve been using date sugar for baking lately, and I’m really liking it.

I made black bean brownies https://sideb.culinarytribune.com/2020/09/03/black-bean-brownies-with-cocoa-cream-cheese-frosting%e9%bb%92%e8%b1%86%e3%83%96%e3%83%a9%e3%82%a6%e3%83%8b%e3%83%bc%e3%80%81%e3%82%b7%e3%83%a7%e3%82%b3%e3%83%a9%e3%82%af%e3%83%aa%e3%83%bc%e3%83%a0/ last week.

We loved it so much and quickly finished it.

Baking was not today’s plan, but I had craving for these brownies, and I happily added that to my to-do list.

Last time I used a date in place of brown sugar, and this time I used date sugar that I had recently bought, and it worked great as well.

My craving was not only for the brownies, but brownies “with peanut butter frosting.”

These turned out great, and I thoroughly enjoyed them with my afternoon cup of coffee.

Because the main ingredients are black beans, oats, and cocoa, it’s “gentle” on our body.

If you’ve been following me for a while (even the past few months), you’ve noticed that I like madeleines.

I think I’ve finally perfected my madeleines!

(After SEVERAL trials.)

My initial idea was to make “Matcha” madeleines, but when I found this beautiful organic lavender at a natural food store yesterday, my plan got quickly changed.

Lavender and Matcha together may sound strange, but this combination surprisingly works.

Well, better than just “works.”

It’s amazing!

The idea came from my favorite coffee shop, Cafe Astoria.

Their “Leah’s Happy Place” is a Matcha latte drink, with lavender!

As soon as I tried it for the first time, I fell in love.

This flavor combination is not only unique but also sophisticated.