Some recipe variations

Do you remember this post when I said I couldn't make up my own recipes? Well, I've gotten braver about varying recipes and coming up with some of my own variations. I have two to share with you today.

I've written about cakeballs before, and I make them semi-frequently, usually sticking with the classic red velvet and chocolate combination. But two of my friends are now on a vegan diet, and they both previously loved cakeballs so I wanted to make a version they could eat. I cheated a bit and used Oreos, so I'd still like to try it with a vegan cake but this version was definitely a success. 

• 1 package of mint Oreos, crushed (I removed the filling of 10 of the Oreos so the mint wasn't too strong.)
• 8 oz. package of Tofuti cream cheese (I didn't use the whole container, but about 90% of it.)
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips (I found Ghiradelli's were dairy-free, but there are probably others.)

Crumble the Oreos in a food processor and then mix with the softened cream cheese. I use my hand-mixer, but a fork and a spatula work too. You don't want to see any white. 

Roll into 1-inch balls and chill in the freezer or refrigerator.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Dip the balls in the chocolate to coat. 

Of course you can use real cream cheese and whatever chocolate you want if you aren't concerned about avoiding dairy. The mint Oreos and white chocolate is also a good combination.

The second thing I made this week was miniature tomato pies. I still don't have the crust right, I want the crust on the mini quiches you can buy at Sam's, but this is the best I could do for now.

• Mini fillo shells
• Cherry tomatoes
• Mayonnaise
• Pesto
• Mozzerella cheese
• Parmesan cheese

Slice the tomatoes and put in the fillo shells. You can probably put an entire cherry tomato in there, but I was afraid it would make it hard to just take a bite. Mix together the mayonnaise, pesto and cheeses. (The amount is going to vary based on how many cups you are making. I made 15 cups and was low on mayonnaise, but probably used 1/2-cup of mayonnaise, 1 tbsp. of pesto and a small handful of the two cheeses.)

Scoop mayonnaise-pesto mixture into the shells over the tomatoes. When ready to serve, warm in a 350-degree oven for 6-7 minutes.

They came out really well. I wish they were warmer for the party I took them to, but everyone enjoyed them anyway.

End of the week randomness

First of all, I can't believe it's October. I'm definitely excited for fall, but I feel like it's going to fly by. Anyway, here's my random list of things for today.

1. So I tried the beets. I wrapped them in foil and roasted them at 400 degrees for an hour. After they cooled, I peeled them and then added them to my salad. The thing is I wanted to like beets. It seems to be the one thing most people dislike, and I wanted to finally like something most people don't, instead of disliking something most people love. But this was not the case. I even tried more than just a bite, but it was a very strong dislike.

2. Thus far I've been unimpressed with fall TV. I haven't tried any new shows, but my old favorites seem to be struggling, particularly Desperate Housewives (it might be time for this one to end, like two seasons ago) and Brothers and Sisters (skip a whole year with no warning and resolve most of the plot lines all in the premiere, why should I keep watching?). And bringing back Brad Womack on The Bachelor is a horrible idea. So I guess it's ABC and I that are not agreeing right now.
 
3. It's been raining here for the last two days. It's good, we definitely need the rain, but it has made me want to curl up in my reading chair with a good book and hot tea and not go anywhere. Unfortunately, I can't do that and not only that I have get to walk to work. And while I've been looking forward to fall and cooler weather, I forgot that at some point in the fall I have to give up wearing my flip flops. I may have some more flip flop days left, but it was a rude awakening to have to switch to socks and closed-toed shoes this week.
 
4. So I got Bakerella's cookbook a few weeks ago. Let's just say there is a cakepop for everything. I haven't had time or a reason to try anything cool since I got it. But this week was a co-worker's birthday, and I wanted to try these cupcake bites. I imagined writing this post and having a cute photo of my success. Well, I don't have a photo because it did not go well and only added to my frustration with candy coating. Someday I'm going to make something cute from the cookbook, but first I've got to come up with a vegan version.

5. I'll leave you with a link to this post from Bebo Norman that describes beauty and brokenness in a way I never could. And then this quote from Andrew Osenga via a friend: "Hoping is always filled with sadness. It is the exhausting activity of choosing to not give up, to believe in the fulfilling of longing."

A random one

I am told by some you don't mind the randomness of these posts, so here are some random tidbits from my life: 

The weather here the past two days has been phenomenal and much like how it was when I first moved here last summer (which I assumed always applied, not so it seems). June was a rude awakening when it was close to 90 degrees when I stepped outside to walk to work in the mornings. Needless to say minus the last two days, I've been a sweaty mess by the time I walked the five blocks to work. I realize the low temperatures are not going to last, but I've tried to soak it in and enjoy the good hair days! (Note: You might think because I spent almost four years in south Georgia and grew up in the South, this heat should not be a big deal to me. But in the Deep South, you learn the art of moving quickly from an air-conditioned building to your car, which you've hopefully parked in the shade, where you blast the A/C while you drive to your air-conditioned destination. Walking five blocks in Georgia in the summer is never advised.)

Last weekend I pretty much crossed into crazy with these cake pops:

It was for my Sunday afternoon polo league, hence the attempt at horses. I can't begin to explain, but it's proof that I have some pretty great friends that will come up with any excuse to gather people together. And if you're curious, search Stribling Avenue Polo League on Facebook (and join us if you live nearby).


I signed up for a Netflix trial a couple of months ago after they started offering streaming Netflix on the Wii. I was ready to cancel it because I wasn't overly impressed with my options. But then I watched an episode of Friday Night Lights. I'm not sure how I have missed watching this show before now (maybe it was the whole working during primetime thing), but I am seriously addicted. I sit down to watch one episode and three episodes later I have to force myself to come out of my Dillon football haze.

When I'm not sucked into Friday Night Lights, I am reading Eat, Pray, Love. There's nothing like a movie preview to get me to read a book; of course reading the book guarantees frustration with the movie but anyway... I'm still in the Italy section, and it just makes me want to pick up and go back to Europe. I'm thinking a trip in 2011, any takers? If only I could drop everything and travel for four months!
 
My schedule at work changes today. I'm going in later which translates to coming home later. It's definitely not second shift like I had before, but it is going to be a change. I'm trying to set some goals for myself so I don't fall back into old habits of sleeping late and not eating on a normal schedule. But I'm going to have to learn to cook faster, so I'm not eating dinner at 10 p.m. every night. Or else find some recipes that transport and reheat well.

My life at work functions on quarters, as in the year is divided into four three-month intervals. And I've found that three months is just enough time to forget what the end of one quarter and the beginning of another is like. The transition from June to July was rough, and I am starting to feel like I deserve this three-day weekend.

The cakeball post

I have an obsession. Cakeballs.


Cakeballs were made famous by Bakerella, and she does some pretty incredible things with them. 

My obsession started when I made cakeballs after reading about them for a party back in January, and after that I started obsessing just a little bit. I wanted to figure out how to make them look better. So then we got a lot of snow, and I spent a lot of time in my apartment by myself. That's when I went a little nuts and made some heart-shaped ones and took them to an Olympics party. (I will confess that there was a failed attempt to make Olympic rings.) And after that it was all downhill. Anytime an invitation comes up, I start to calculate if I have time to make cakeballs and what I can try when making them. And I may not have anything to make for dinner, but I always have everything I need to make cakeballs.

What makes this slightly crazy is that it’s not so much that I love eating the cakeballs, although they are very good. But I enjoy the process of actually making them and then getting to share them with friends.
 
Here’s the progression of my cakeball-making ability:

(The photo at the bottom right were the ones I made for the party.)

I am definitely still a beginner in this (go here from some really impressive ones), but I’ll share the recipe here.

What you need:

• Cake (Bake a 9x13 cake from a box mix and let it cool. Red velvet tends to be the crowd favorite, but I’ve also made devil’s food cake.)
• Can of cream cheese icing
• Melting chocolate or candy melts

1. Once your cake has cooled, crumble it. I use my food processor for this part (I only do a couple of pulses and about a fourth of the cake at a time), but a fork also works.
2. Mix the crumbled cake with 3/4 a can of cream cheese icing or enough to make the crumbled cake stick together. You want to mix in the icing completely, so there is no white left.
3. Roll the cake into balls or you can use a small cookie cutter to make shapes.
4. Let the rolled balls chill in the refrigerator or freezer. You want them to keep their shape when they go in the melting chocolate.
5. Once the balls have chilled, dip them in melting chocolate.  You can melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.
6. Use a toothpick to go around the ball as the chocolate starts to harden to get rid of the excess chocolate. Sticking the balls on a lollipop stick also limits the collection of chocolate around the ball.

The recipe makes about 60 quarter-size balls, and I’ve found they keep pretty well in the refrigerator.

I’ve made a variation using crushed up mint oreos, mixing them with one package of cream cheese, instead of icing, and then following the same steps. I dipped these in white chocolate and loved the mint/white chocolate combo.

Now you all know my secret and can make them yourself. But I’ll still be happy to bring them to the party because I'm still obsessed. (And Bakerella's forthcoming cookbook is not going to help my obsession.)