Baking

Few combinations beat (or match!) mint and chocolate. I think it may be my favorite. Whether the temperatures rise or fall, I want mint and chocolate -- be it mint chocolate chip ice cream crammed into a cone on a hot summer's day or a warm cup of peppermint hot chocolate on a winter's night -- I want it.  As a kid I associated many desserts with winter and Christmas time. My (grandma) Oma's recipes are definitely Christmas memories -- almond shortbread cookies, her special white fudge and pink cake, her peppermint chocolate bars, or her fruit cake -- the ONLY good fruitcake I have ever encountered. I also have many memories of my friends' Christmas dessert traditions. A popular one was the seasonal President's Choice Peppermint Fudge Crackle ice cream flavor. I enjoyed that ice cream in my own home every year, in my childhood best friend's house, and in my teenage best friend's house. It's a classic. Rich, pepperminty, chocolatey and amazing. I would , ...

You read that right, VEGITABLE. I am very excited to announce the launch of my second website - Our Vegitable !  This site has been in the works for awhile but I am finally ready to share it with you! Our Vegitable will be a very different site than Baking Backwards . For starters, after this week's launch, my goal is that the majority of the site's content will be submissions from other food bloggers. I would best describe the new site as a niche recipe sharing and product review blog. But its a lot more than that, trust me. I should start by mentioning I love recipe sharing sites and submit my posts to them regularly to gain exposure for my blog. What will distinguish this site from the rest of the pack is that all recipes shared will be vegetarian or vegan . There will also be product reviews and all products shared will be vegetarian or vegan friendly. Most importantly, this site is more than a recipe sharing blog like the countless others around -- ahem, Tastespotting...

Today is no ordinary Saturday. Today is the Virtual Vegan Potluck ! An absolutely awesome blog linking phenomenon where bloggers the world over unite and join hyperlinks to share an onslaught of divine vegan recipes with each other and the inter-web at large. I am once again a participating blogger and have created a special, and borderline festive, dessert for you! Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce my Chilled Chocolate Pastel Peppermint Parfait ! What the fuck is that you ask? A mouthful in more ways than one! This pretty in pastels dessert is all about embracing winter colours and flavours. Dark chocolate, cream and peppermint combine blissfully through three creamy layers. Did I fail to mention that this creamy parfait tastes like a mint-chocolate explosion? Well it does. Boom. Seriously, who doesn't like mint and chocolate? Or mousse for that matter? Well if you are anti-mousse, pop this cup of bliss in your freezer for an hour and this mousse parfait transforms into a ...

November has been a bit manic! I have two new jobs, a new website set to launch next week, an ebook or three (coming soon) and have been sharing content with other websites. The first is AllParenting . com where I recently contributed to a Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup . If you like Key Lime Pie or Key Lime Cheesecake, please have a look at my Key Lime Cups recipe on AllParenting's website . I chose to share this recipe there only, so don't bother looking for it here! It's a keeper though -- raw, vegan, grain-free, paleo, gluten-free, naturally sweetened, easy to make, creamy and delicious! Get my recipe . I was also honoured to be asked to contribute to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness  ( NFCA ) this month as a dedicated gluten-free blogger. The NFCA is sharing great Gluten Free Holiday How To's  from gluten-free bloggers. I shared a brief article offering some gluten-free holiday baking advice that is now featured on their website. ...

Flaky, tender, buttery, lightly sweet and light -- that's what perfect pie crust means to me. When I first went gluten-free I wasn't sure I would ever experience great pie crust again. That saddened me greatly because I am now, and have always been, a total pie queen. Growing up, almost every special occasion called for a pie made from scratch. Someone's birthday? Pie. Getting married? Pie. New job? Pie!  I could probably make a great pie in my sleep. When I gave up gluten to improve my health and digestion I stopped baking pies for awhile. I got a few requests from family members for birthdays etc and caved to baking with white flour for them. I think I was afraid to bake a gluten-free disaster of a pie crust so I just didn't try. After I started Baking Backwards I tried my hand at gluten-free crust several times. Some of my attempts were much better than others - my Pear Pockets are an example of a more successful crust trial. Though those pastry pockets are defin...

What do these look like to you? Chunky Fries? Yes, looks that way to me too...Looks can be deceiving. These aren't your average fries. Though they look and taste just as great as any fry you've ever had, unlike potato fries, these oven fries are low carb , low calorie , low fat , full of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. And did I fail to mention superfoods ? They're made of those too. And I guarantee that no potatoes were harmed in the baking of these SUPER (RUTABAGA) FRIES! That's right! Three rutabagas make an entire huge tray of delicious oven fries! Increase to four rutabagas and you will make 2 huge and delicious servings. So delicious in fact that when I made them for myself a few nights ago, it was hard to snag any away from my formerly too-full for fries husband! This is one recipe I know I'll make again and again. Before I made these fries, my only exposure to rutabagas was a chunky root vegetable mash made by my mother-in-law. She makes it every Christm...