allspice | Simple Math Bakery

Daring Bakers Challenge: Maple Walnut Baklava

By Jeanne, on June 27th, 2011

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.
Slices of Maple Walnut Baklava

Are you still looking for that perfect arm workout? Or perhaps you’re searching for that zero-net-calorie dessert. Well, look no more, because made-from-scratch baklava is the answer! It will have you on your feet in the kitchen all day, running from stove to countertop to oven and back. You’ll be completing the near-impossible task of rolling dough into paper thin sheets. You’ll easily burn more calories making it than you gain by consuming it. And since every killer workout has an element of pure torture, you won’t even be able to enjoy the baklava until it sits overnight.

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Spiced Yogurt Muffins

By Jeanne, on January 13th, 2011

Spiced Yogurt Muffins

I need to prepare for the 2011 LA Cupcake Challenge. I’m not sure what it takes to prepare for such an event. Cupcake visualization? An all-you-can-eat cupcake contest? Avoiding cupcakes for weeks prior to the event? I’m open to suggestions.

Last year, I made it through almost all of the cupcakes. I have been invited to judge the contest again this year, so maybe I can improve upon my ability to put away dozens of mini cupcakes within three hours.

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In Celebration of Buy Nothing Day

By Jeanne, on November 26th, 2010

Credit Card Cake

What would life be like if we measured our nation’s success based on Gross National Happiness instead of Gross National Product? If we valued health, education, and sustainable communities above cash and consumer goods? Or, at the very least, broke our addiction to material goods?

These are some of the questions that I have been pondering over the last few months. An ever increasing number of people are changing their perspective on our consumer culture, and today we celebrate that shift in thinking. Buy Nothing Day seeks to inspire consumers to break the habit of spending and avoid the stress of shopping. Let’s do things differently today. Go for a hike, read a book, create art and music, bake a cake. To kick off Buy Nothing Day, I’ll be cutting up this credit card.

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Carrot Spice Muffins

By Jeanne, on July 15th, 2010

Carrot Spice Muffin, sliced in half

We are lucky to have an abundance of delicious carrots at our local farmers market. It’s one of my favorite purchases every week. They even come with the greens attached. I’m sure there’s a cooking method for the greens, but I haven’t yet experimented with them. Anybody have any recommendations for carrot greens? For now, the carrot greens go to enrich my compost pile. And the carrots this week went into these muffins!

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Banana Oatmeal Spice Muffins

By Jeanne, on January 22nd, 2010

Banana oatmeal muffins are my go to muffin. I always have the ingredients on hand and it’s so easy to whip up a batch. My basic recipe is very forgiving. I can change it up in any number of ways and the muffins still come out delicious.

This time I’ve made them healthier and added a bit of spice. Now I don’t feel so guilty when I reach for one to help me get through those last two hours of the workday!

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