Birthdays

So, I'm lucky that some members of my family have been doing gluten-free healthier alternatives for a while. My bro Chris and his family have a very healthy way of life and they have two girls that like chocolate, but I try to make my chocolate at least dark, organic stuff and the cakes/cupcakes I make are normally gluten-free/egg-free/dairy free, not nut-free, however, as I use almond milk in the place of dairy. I may start using rice milk to hopefully change that, but even then you never know what's completely nut free.

I do often use gluten-free cake mixes from a package but to replace the egg to make it more vegan-friendly when the recipe asks for 2 room temp eggs I often get 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed, 6 tablespoons of hot water, mix it in a small bowl and let it gel until the recipe calls for it. There are lots of other ways to substitute eggs but that's my fave so far. You can really smell and taste the flaxseed when the batter is raw but when you bake it it's as if the stuff doesn't even exist.

I love the decorating part, it's why I chose this really cool fondant called Artsy Baker that I got at the Metro:

http://www.artsybaker.ca/ARTSYBAKER.COM/FONDANT.html

Anyway, the stuff is apparently nut-free, egg-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, no cholesterol and no trans fat, AND works just like a regular fondant, moldable, dyeable and everything! This stuff is a dream! Oh and if you don't use it all at once it has a wonderful zip-lock bag that it comes in to keep it fresh! I think it's safe to say that I loved working with it.

So, because I didn't have time to research let alone even make natural food dyes I left the fondant white and got an embossing imprint tool meant for a Cuttlebug Printer at my work to make the imprinted design in the fondant so it didn't look so boring.

For the toppings I used "Starbursts" as presents (I found out those as well as "Skittles" candies are gluten-free, however not the greatest for you nutritionally, it's why I only used a few (my one niece thought the orange one was cheese, which was funny)) for a little burst of colour. I also used these gluten-free teddy-graham clones called "Cinnabears" (found in the Metro's gluten-free aisle as well) topped them off to make them look cute, plus used some alphabet cookie cutters to make the happy birthday part, and there you have it. I was up for a while making them but I love how they turned out, they tasted good, just like regular cupcakes and I think my family wants me to make deserts for birthdays from now on. Here's a pic of the outcome:

My Logo-Spotlight on Dapper Dan McLaren

No I did not make my logo, I know I have the ability to draw and do things digitally as well, but I unfortunately can't take credit for this. My logo I chose of me as the 5 of hearts was part of a wonderful art project by my friend Dapper Dan McLaren who's other wonderful work can be seen here:

http://society6.com/Dapperdan

He had a very cool idea to make his friends into a deck of cards. I chose the 5 of hearts mainly because 5 is my fave number and I'm kinda a girl about romance sometimes (even though my comic makes people think otherwise) so I chose hearts. Seeing as I worked with Dan at my art store he saw the colourful 80's style clothes I wear and referred to me as "Strawberry Shortcake" or sometimes people called me "Rainbow Brite" which I don't mind, seeing as I loved those shows when I was a kid, so he made my outfit very Strawberry Shortcake inspired which I love! I want the hat, heck, I want the whole outfit! I didn't know when I picked the number that 5's in the decks all had to be chefs which was funny at the time 'cuz all I did then was get take-out, and toast and microwave everything, I never made time to cook or bake. I never knew even then that I'd develop a fondness for this stuff to the point where I was told to start a blog about it. Maybe I have Dan to thank for this, I dunno, but either way, his stuff is awesome and you definitely need to check out his art and other card deck projects like the ones he did of cool musicians! Just go to his link already! :) More on Dan here:

http://flavors.me/dapperdan

The Beginning and Kermit the Pizza

This is the beginning of a whole new part of my life. A year ago if someone told me I was going to start baking and enjoy it as thoroughly as this I would've laughed in their face. This year I've left the toaster and microwave behind to begin an exhausting, yet somehow fun quest to make things gluten-free, mostly vegan and hopefully free of most common allergies all while making things taste delicious while looking adorably dweeby.

This all began when I started getting horrible stomach pains practically all the time. At first I thought it was dairy, as my boyfriend had similar side effects with his lactose intolerance. I bought a cute recycled notebook from the art store I work at and began changing my diet around and writing down what I ate that day and if I still got the same side effects. I cut out dairy for a while but still felt the same effects, so I didn't get it. One day at a restaurant I noticed a gluten-free menu. I had heard about it but didn't exactly know what it was, and found out it was in a lot of flour which meant I should try giving up my addiction to bread. This, as an Italian, is completely unheard of and it made me feel even more sick just thinking I had to live in a world without bread. Well, I researched this, received the extremely popular book "Wheat Belly" for my birthday, which told me extremely shocking facts on bread I never thought about before and tried to convert myself to eating highly expensive and sometimes even dry, tasteless and let's face it, pretty gross, gluten-free substitutes on the market.

Friends and family members have been extremely supportive in my research in discovering the joys of making healthier meals from scratch. I have yet to master everything and become a pro, but the thing that makes me really excited is baking. If I can decorate it I'm extremely happy, mainly because I'm an artist/cartoonist and enjoy being creatively nerdy. My first attempt at making something super nerdy yet healthier than the normal, everyday meal was my Kermit the Frog gluten-free pizza. I love Jim Henson, he's my idol, such an imagination that man had, he could do anything it seemed. As a tribute to my hero I made an "It's not easy being green" pizza, using veggies on a gluten-free, vegan friendly crust I made from scratch. The recipe can be found here:

http://www.food.com/recipe/vegan-pizza-dough-10579

Anyway, Kermit's green colour was naturally perfect for an all veggie pizza and I joked for some of my meat-lover friends to make a Miss Piggy pizza out of, well, obviously meat. I used baby spinach for most of his face, black olives for his pupils, tomato sauce and cheese for his mouth and background. The only problem I had was that I stupidly picked up baby cucumber instead of zucchini for his eyes and neck so that part didn't taste incredibly great but I'm sure next time if I decide to do the same pizza properly the zucchini would be a much more delicious choice. I also think next time I'll just peel off the green part of the zucchini to create a flatter, and easier to eat edible decoration on the pizza. Here is the pic people went crazy for over facebook, I even had a few shares:

Anyway, more pix to come and more tales of my adventures turning every baked good I make into a geeky treat!