The Cutest class party snack

My oldest is finishing Kindergarten and is having a class party today. Since I’m about to start very vigorous studies, this would possibly be my last chance for a few years to spend any time making a cute snack for him to bring in.

 

Snickerdoodle cupcakes

At Whole Foods today I saw snickerdoodle cookies. They were by Udi’s, so I had a secret hope they would be dairy free like their breads, but no such luck. I was terribly disappointed as I LOVE snickerdoodle cookies. I also love cupcakes, so when I got home, I decided to combine the two. As usual, I went on Pinterest for inspiration and put several recipes together in addition to customizing more to make mine.

The easy thing to dedairyfy was replacing milk with soy milk, but I wanted more out of the cupcakes. I replaced all purpose flour with cake flour, which meant I had to increase the amount. I also replaced regular sugar with caster sugar, so I decreased the amount of sugar since caster is more finely grained. Using cake flour and caster sugar resulted in a light-as-air crumb.

Rosewater nougat

Rosewater nougat has the most alluring floral taste and scent. It’s a chewy confection with a delicious crunch from two types of nuts. The main nougat color is white, and, when cut, the beautiful green of pistachios and contrasting tan of macadamia nuts make them a feast for the eyes.

Lilikoi bars (passion fruit bars)

My husband and I went hiking today at a new trail. This trail is a very well kept secret we can’t even find information on online, and we thought we could find everything online! It’s wonderful to have a trail mostly to ourselves with fantastic views, but the trail also offers a tasty surprise: lilikoi!

Let’s-pretend-it’s-healthy-because-it’s-pineapple dessert

Living in Hawaii comes with perks, such as fresh pineapple year round. But don’t get caught stealing one from the fields: the fine is $5000!

Cardamom, pistachio, and rose cupcakes

I have been craving rose water nougat for weeks. Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t care for it so I have refrained from making it. So far. But the craving for something containing rose water has remained with me, so a few days ago I went on Pinterest for recipe inspiration.

(Tiny attempt at) sustainable living in Hawaii

I went hunting today. Here’s how it went about:

My youngest does not care for skateboarding; my oldest loves skateboarding. So my youngest often has to come along to the skate park. We recently found a new activity for him once there: fishing for guppies and what must be released aquarium fish in a stream. Throw a piece of bread in the stream and the net will catch seven fish at once. Fun!

Well, a couple of weeks ago we found something else living in that stream: crayfish! So today was a test of sustainability living for Hawaii: we hunted for crayfish. After an hour or so we had nine of them in a bucket. Considering they’re an invasive species, I feel like I contributed to the good of all of Oahu for hunting them.

Cinco de Mayo Taco Tuesday

Neither my husband nor I are of Mexican heritage, and we have never really celebrated Cinco de Mayo. But when Cinco de Mayo lands on Taco Tuesday, I took it as a sign to celebrate.

I usually make my own taco seasoning since many store bought ones contain whey, so I didn’t pick any up at the store. Mistake. Turns out, I was fresh out of chili powder and had to raid my neighbor’s pantry to find some. Luckily, she had a big container, so Cinco de Mayo Taco Tuesday was saved!

Thick, soft, and fluffy chocolate chip cookies

Hubby begged me to make him chocolate chip cookies the other day. “Fine,” I said, secretly (or, perhaps, rather obviously) teeming inside from the request that made me spend time in the kitchen for something I couldn’t eat afterwards, “but you’ll have to pick up butter first.” He did, and I began mixing the dough. I only had half a bag of chocolate chips (so I halved the recipe), and right when I dumped them in, I took a look at the bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips and my heart stopped: the chocolate chips were dairy free and I had wasted them adding them to a dough filled with dairy! I could’ve made the cookies with fake butter and been able to enjoy them! Grrrrrrr!

Dedairyfied “cream sauce”

I have been craving pasta with a thick cream sauce, loaded with cheese. My poor tummy, however, has, quite determinedly, said no every time the thought of eating it has crossed my mind. I really hate it when my tummy and my brain disagree!

So today, I decided to try to dedairyfy a cream sauce to make both my tummy and my brain happy. And, I’m glad to inform you all that I succeeded.