Banana Bread |
Salted Caramel Cupcakes |
Anyway, the urge to bake came after the Mushroom. Creating tasty, yummy, home made treats for my little boy and challenging myself by creating decadent cupcakes has become one of my favourite things to do. And to set the record straight, it doesn't take up that much time!! Honestly!
Apple & Cinnamon Muffins |
I choose recipes that are quite easy to put together and don't require too much prep work. Muffins, Banana Bread, Cheese Scones, Zucchini Slice... all these things usually only require one bowl and a mix of wet ingredients, add the dry and away you go. I can usually get muffins prepped and in the oven in 20 minutes.
Lamb, Roasted Pumpkin & Feta Salad |
Evenings are when I usually frost and decorate cupcakes and make things like pizza scrolls as they tend to take a bit longer to put together. This way I can fully concentrate on what I'm doing and the chances of stuffing up are greatly reduced.
Here are some of my favourite recipe sites if not for the recipes but the inspiration!
http://mylovelylittlelunchbox.com/
http://www.wholefoodsimply.com/
http://www.juliegoodwin.com.au/
http://www.cookingforbusymums.com/
http://www.stayathomemum.com.au/recipes/
Pizza Scrolls |
Oat and Currant Cookies |
Zucchini Slice |
After building a little confidence, I now feel equipped to use recipes as a guide only and do my own thing. It's taken a lot to get me here and I still bake mostly to the recipe but feel like I can adequately substitute ingredients for others without too much hassle. Lately I have been replacing milk with things like yoghurt, or coconut milk and it's given old favourites a new lightness. I have also been substituting sugar for rice syrup in some recipes with great success. My Apple & Cinnamon Muffins are now almost entirely sugar free!
The point of this post is this: Yes. I love to bake. And I do quite often. But I'm not a professional. Nor do I spend hours in the kitchen (ok, sometimes I do, but not on a regular basis). I also have disasters every now and then. Tonight we had a pretty average dinner consisting of a fabulous pork chop but accompanied by a truly terrible soggy vegie stir fry and cluggy rice. I didn't instagram that one did I?!