raspberry custard with a sugar crust

This...

...was supposed to be a Crème Brûlée with Raspberries based on this recipe by the super talented Caroline of Chocolate and Carrots.

But clearly it looks more like a Raspberry Custard with a Sugar Crust by the kitchen-improv-gets-you-into-trouble-sometimes Regan of The Professional Palate, don't you think?

I love being the editor of my recipe titles. It takes what would have been a failed recipe - because really... does that look like your traditional crème brûlée - and allows me to share something delicious, without your expectations clouding the vision around it.

I almost sent this one packing when I realized how much the raspberries had bubbled their juicy goodness into the custard, then realized I didn't have any butane and had to resort to an oven broil (which just doesn't produce the same look for the sugar crust... it's tasty... just not the same). Then I spooned in for a taste. 

So. Good. 

If you don't mind a little juiciness from the berries and are game to just get your brûlée from the broiler, head on over to Caroline's blog. Follow her recipe, adding in your berries before pouring in the custard. Bake and chill as she directs and then if you are butane-less, give it a whirl under the broiler. What you get may not be right to be called crème brûlée, but it's delicious all the same. 

a personal plea to pinterest (and shrimp summer rolls from my pin-menu)

Pinterest... I love you so very much. I've added your button to my site. I've set up multiple boards with you. We've been together for months now. But you aren't perfect. 

***

I recently read and re-tweeted an article that talked about the Top 10 Things Pinterest Should Do Right Now. I agree with a number of the items mentioned, but I also know as a website owner myself, it's not that easy to make every change people think you should make, all at once. 

But the one change that I request, plead, implore and beg Pinterest to make and make soon - give us the ability to rearrange pins. And here's why:

If you use Pinterest in its rawest form simply to pin and re-pin, a sort of One and Done activity, it's not a big deal. But once you embrace the power of Pinterest to organize themes in your personal and professional life, you crave the ability to keep those pins organized. You can't do that with the current format, which I can only assume is arranged by the date/time stamp of when it was pinned. 

I'm no programmer and have no clue what that update would entail. But I would love, love to see it happen. By nature of being a digital pinboard, this platform screams for that functionality, in my opinion. Face it... if you had a pinboard at home or in your office, wouldn't you re-arrange items occasionally? 

If it happened, I would be able to re-arrange the pin that I originally made for the inspiration behind these Shrimp Summer Rolls:

 

I pinned them onto my Pin-Menu board last week, but ended up making them on a different day than I originally intended. Since I'd like to keep these menus as a record of what I'm cooking and definitely go back and revisit them as I plan future menus, being able to edit AND rearrange pins would be so helpful! 

***

Now to the food.

Shrimp Summer Rolls were an adaptation of this recipe from Spa Bettie. 

Here's what I did differently, in case you'd like to try them, too. 

-Used cooked shrimp instead of tempeh

-Used regular sesame seeds (toasted)

-Added sriracha to the sauce and omitted the ginger

-Served the edamame on the side (because we like them so much I knew we'd want more!) 

-Sprinkled with crushed red pepper (because we like extra spicy!) 

They were SO easy. If you've been reluctant to make homemade summer rolls for fear of working with rice paper, don't be. It's no fuss and super fast. And most importantly, quite tasty. 

So what about you???

Anything you'd like to see Pinterest do differently?

Are you a fan of summer rolls - do you make them at home? 

{the recipe redux} 100% whole wheat "cinnabon" muffins

It's a new year and a new season of ReDux. It's only fitting that we set this month's theme as Fresh Starts - basically breakfast done ReDux style (A big thank you to Rebecca @ MeFirst and Gretchen @ Kumquat for the suggestion). 

Most of the time when the monthly theme is set, I know exactly what I want to make from the beginning. This time - not so much. 

It's not that breakfast was hard to come up with an idea... it was hard to come up with only one idea. Breakfast is by far the most popular meal around my house. I'm a morning person (just follow me on Twitter and you'll see... up with the birds, for real.) 

I contemplated another granola or breakfast bowl... even toyed with the idea of a breakfast cookie... but when it came time to turn on the oven, I chose a tried and true favorite - "Cinnabon" Muffins [click here for recipe] (improved with 100% whole wheat for the ReDux.) 

I use the term "Cinnabon" loosely. These are nowhere near as decadent as a real Cinnabon roll. Thankfully, they are nowhere near as high-calorie either. Still on the sweet side, they are delish even without the addition of the sugar glaze. They could certainly be made in mini-muffin tins for a smaller serving, as well. Plus, they are made with 100% whole wheat pastry flour - so tender, but so much better than all-purpose. And really, when has a trip by Cinnabon ever offered a nice dose a fiber in the am?) 

So pull up a cup of smothing warm this Saturday morning and gawk over all the breakfast creations my fellow ReDux members have shared below. If you've already "enjoyed" a lonely bowl of cereal before clicking over our way, take heart that you can start enjoying any these breakfast options tomorrow and make a Fresh Start. 

pin-menus & a recipe for golden beet bisque with bleu cheese

As I said in my first post this year, I don't make a lot of New Year's resolutions. I mean, I make a ton of plans throughout the year of things I want to do, accomplish, etc., but they sorta come into being rather organically.

That's where my recent idea for a personal pin-menu came from - it's my personal menu planning board on Pinterest. I'm such a Pinterest addict and on there so often, it occurred to me that I needed to use the Power of the Pin to do something constructive for myself and my family, beyond just feeding my penchant for messy hair buns, scarf tying tutorials and beautiful food styling.

I'm going to *try* to update my pin-menu board weekly to keep track of what I have cooked, want to cook and would like to cook again. I have a general board of likes, wishes, etc., but this one I'm assigning days to, to hold myself accountable and to plan out my week better. I'm a slave to a visual workflow... so the idea of being able to see it laid out for me as the week starts just fits me.

Now, on to the recipe.

I pinned my Roasted Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup for today and knew that I wanted to substitute the golden beets and parsnips I had on hand for the sweet potato and carrot in the original recipe.

The result was even better than I had hoped! Golden beets - if you've never had the pleasure of their company - are a much more subtle, sweet beet than their red counterparts. I'm a beet fan all the way around, and love them in a salad topped with bleu cheese. So I thought "why not a soup, instead?"

If you are a beet & bleu cheese fan, you will love this soup (If you aren't, give the sweet potato soup a try. It's delish, too). This version needs a little extra attention to get it to a smooth consistency... but a good hand blender or sturdy blender/food processor does the trick.

What about you?

A beet fan? How about bleu cheese? 

How are you using Pinterest... anything constructive? Or are you like me.... just enjoying the clothes, homes, shoes and cake pops that you'll likely only know in pictures ;-)

whole wheat blueberry powdered donuts

If you're still wondering after my last post whether getting a donut pan is a good idea, what does this tell ya? 

 

These donuts are delish. Simply delish. 

They aren't a substitute exactly for a deep-fried, glazed donut-shop confection. But since I can't typically bring myself to opt for that type of eatery anyway, I'm liking these just fine. 

I used whole wheat pastry flour, which is unbelievably tender in baked goods... much more so than my usual white whole wheat. These are almost too tender and definitely muffin-like. I honestly believe you could take most any flavored muffin batter, bake in these pans, sugar or glaze them, call them a donut and everyone would still love you. 

And if they don't, you'd still have a dozen reasons to love yourself.