Daring Bakers Challenge became a family affair!

Well, folks I don't know where November went, but it is almost over and today was the November Daring Bakers Challenge due date.

This months challenge was CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING.

Brandie got hold of the camera so here I am stirring the Golden syrup.

Brandie was excited to do the decorating. She is an awesome cake decorator.

I made 12 mini bundt cakes, which were decorated in a perfect fall theme by Brandie.

Thanks Brandie!

Look at those cute pumpkins!


All pretty and ready to be devoured!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

How has everyone been? I have been busy with family and our grandson, which has left me with little cooking time. I appreciate everyone stopping by and saying hi while I have been away from my blog. So many things to write about. First off I have been given a blog award by Virginia. Thank you so much! Everyone check our her blog, she is a real sweetie and her blog is fantastic.

Other big news is about our sweet grandson. He turned 5 months old 7 days ago and cut his 2 bottom teeth. He is growing up too fast. Check out Brandie's blog for some really cute pictures. This is one of his new 5 month old pictures.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was made perfect by some great recipes that many of you were kind enough to share.

First I made the Vegan Turkey Roast by Brian McCarthy, which all of you can see and learn over at Julie's site Everyday Dish. I used a flour sack dish cloth to wrap it in because I was out of cheesecloth. I also added 1 tsp of poultry seasoning. I wish I had an electric meat slicer because this roast is going to make some really kick bootie sandwiches!

Next item on our menu was The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole from Susan over at Fat free Vegan. Instead of baking this as one large casserole I put it individual dishes. Remember my problem with cooked mushroom? Well, this recipe is so good I challenge all of you who have a fear of mushrooms to go for it. Delicious!!! I always hated cream of mushroom soup and was leery, but this mushroom sauce is out of this world!

You can't have Thanksgiving with out stuffing and gravy and thanks to Bryanna we all ate way to much. :o) Her Bread stuffing and rich brown fat free gravy made our meal a huge hit! I used "no-chicken" broth for the stuffing and added an extra teaspoon of poultry seasoning too. If you don't know who Bryanna is go visit her blog, recipes galore!!!

Darn forgot to take pictures of these. You will just have to take my word for it! Delish!

Finally what I wait for all year long, Brussels sprouts. Brandie and I adore them so when winter comes we are all over them. These were roasted with some olive oil, salt, and garlic. Yum!

Sorry no desserts kids. I have been off sugar for nearly 2 months and am doing my best to continue, so apples have become my favorite dessert. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. :o)

I am indeed grateful for all of my blogging buddies. Your kindness and inspiration are a blessing to all.

Hugs!

Frustration and I've Been Tagged

Me and the kitchen are having issues today. Well, not everything, but some. I made some wonderful English muffins and some super sausage, but when it came to bread today I fell flat. I make bread every week so when something terrible goes wrong I have a hard time understanding my stupidity. First I spent 2 hours making Dave's' killer bread from Everyday dish. Now I make this all the time as you can tell from my post here, but today all was well, until I realized I forgot the salt. Nasty! I think unsalted bread is for the birds and I mean that literally. The ducks love it. With that failure under my belt I went to plan B, which is another favorite of the family, My 7 or 9 grain. All was going well until it was time to take it from the pan. It stuck, I mean stuck. The pan was greased well, but still it wouldn't budge. I finally cut it out of the pan, which left us with a very ugly loaf of bread. Next get the camera and document the disasters so all of you can have your giggle of the day and the camera won't work. The batteries have been charging for 3 hours or more and still nothing. Thank goodness I was tagged or I would have nothing to write about. :o)



Well I have been tagged so here are 7 random things about me.



1. I brush my teeth for 2 minutes every morning and 4 minutes every night. I also floss every night before brushing.



2. I rarely chew on the left side of my mouth.



3. I like the taste and texture of raw mushrooms, but can't stand the smell or texture of cooked mushrooms. I really want to and am trying as hard as I can to get past my issues.



4. My second toe on both feet are longer than my big toe, in fact my second toe on my left foot is 5/8 of an inch longer than my big toe. Brandie, my daughter has the same kind of toes and so does our grandson! Yeah! Keep the long toe gene going.



5. When I hit 5' 3" I cried for days. I have blue eyes and loved being 5 foot 2 eyes of blue. Shoot now I am 5'4". Maybe when I get older I will shrink back to 5 foot 2 eyes of blue. :o)



6. I love lizard and snakes. People think that is weird since I am a girl. Right now I only have one snake named Zero. I have had her for about 12 years.



7. I have a phobia of dirty door handles. Especially when you walk out of a public restroom. I always open the door with a paper towel. Hey, some people don't wash there hands. Nasty!!




There you have it. 7 random things about me. I am sure there are many more, but after my frustrating day in the kitchen this is all I could muster up.

Have fun playing this game!
I tag:

Brandie

Becks

Vegetation

Of course there is always a bright light at the end of a frustrating day and that is our grandson.
Isn't he a cutie? Ok, he does not have the Alfalfa look going on. That line is a branch from the haunted Halloween tree that was on the background of the photo shoot.

Can it be? Vegan Corned Beef

Fall is in the air and we have had our first drop of moisture. *cheering*!! We have had a long hot summer here in sunny southern California and today's sprinkles, wind, and patchy clouds were very welcomed. My blogging vacation is over and it time to get back to posting. Have you ever had a craving of something that you have not eaten in a long time? In fact so long ago that you don't know what it really tastes like, but you still want it? This happened to me this past week. I was craving corned beef. It has been so long since I had it that I really can't remember what it tastes like, but I was still determined to make VEGAN CORNED BEEF! After searching the Internet I found Bryanna's New Seitan "Corned Beef" recipe. Let me tell you that it takes some work and I had to use 2 crockpots because it made 2 huge roasts. I even let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 days an idea from Bryanna, which I am sure let the "roast" flavors meld and the texture to form. We sliced it up and gave it a quick heating before serving it up. FANTASTIC!!! Brandie also loved it. Her only suggestion would be to cut back to 3 whole cloves as the recipe calls for 6. This roast has an amazing texture, which in my opinion comes from the minute tapioca in it. Moist, tender, unbelievable! Click on the link above to make this mouth watering recipe. We served ours with chive mashed potatoes, zucchini, and a green salad. Look at that "corned beef"! Sorry for the little green chive stuck on the roast, but it escaped from the potatoes. :o) This recipe has not soy except some soy sauce, but it is made with vital wheat gluten. Bryanna is certainly the Queen of Vegan Corned Beef! Thank you, Bryanna!