Egg Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

So I've been craving banana bread and wanting to make banana bread for several weeks now, but kept putting it off. I finally made some with my over ripe bananas. I made some normal banana bread with egg, and an alternative loaf that was eggless. The 3 bananas in the recipe took the consistency of the egg and helped bind everything together, along with a half cup of applesauce. With the 3 bananas, this bread really didn't even need any egg. A bit of baking soda helped the bread leaven a little and add tenderness. This banana bread actually turned out quite well and I've been eating it away. I think I will try altering the recipe a bit though to make it even better! It was very moist, maybe a bit too moist... and possible a bit of baking powder would help give a better consistency and make it rise to a better visually pleasing loaf. I could mess around with a few other ingredients.. but it was the perfect flavor really.

Yummy yummy baked good that even I can eat! Great treat for breakfast or snack ... also fulfilling my constant craving for chocolate. And even a bit healthy? Soooo good! I think I will take some for a snack at work this week.

Allergy Free Tips/Recipes/etc.

So I recently mentioned an article from this archive, but the rest of the site is very helpful and has many recipes to try. Read the About Me section on Particia Biesen, Chicago Eats Allergy Free . Her story made me feel a bit better about myself and helps inspire me even more. It is nice to know their are others that are in the same boat or have gone through the same thing and really used the opportunity to help others and make something positive out of the situation.

Why so many children with food allergies?  This is an interesting topic. How she mentions eating the same things every day may be a reason one would develop an allergy to that food makes sense. She says she ate oatmeal and bananas for years until she discovered she was allergic to both. It's like the body eventually says "enough" after years of consuming it. Which is similar to my allergies. Plus, if you are allergic to something, the more you are exposed, the worse the allergy will become. I used to loveee potatoes. Ate them practically every day.. along with egg products (many cookies, cake, and egg sandwiches). I was a sucker for baked goods. So maybe years of always eating these items, and continuously being exposed to these specific foods, suddenly my body had enough. Suddenly all of these allergens have become a problem all at once, after years of not really having any problems. I have to change my lifestyle.. but it's only making me stronger and healthier. And I know there are others who have dealt with the same difficulties and grown.

"I started out in life as a visual artist and then one day I was tested for food allergies. I had to use my creativity in order to well . . . eat . . . and now I'm hooked. I love the creativity of food. Food is similar to art with its shapes, color and textures. I love the challenge of finding foods that are yummy but also allergy safe." Patricia Biesen, PAC Consultant, on a continuous quest to find allergy free foods that ACTUALLY taste good.

Cupcakes take the Cake

My new favorite website: Cupcakes take the Cake !   This is the #1 blog about nothing but cupcakes! It talks about cupcakes from many many different bakeries around the world. Several New York shops are focused on. But I love to browse the blog along with randomly browsing the list of links to bakeries in the right column. I just spent about 3-4 hours the other night browsing different bakeries from the list and reading each ones story - what they are all about and what type of feeling they want to portray from their bakery and their products.

Some of my favorites :
http://www.karascupcakes.com/about.html  I like the look and feel of this bakery.. and her pretty packaging. Her "karavan" is very cool and from her photos, to her packaging, to the inside of her bakeries... the look and feel is very elegant. Very clean and fancy. I imagine walking into a bakery and just feeling the elegance and feeling like you are really special being there. Very high quality, rich feel. Having a feeling of elegance/richness, and being given a real treat. It just has a feeling of clean beauty.
http://jillyscupcakebar.com/cupcakes/ - their website has some interesting cupcakes. And really I just like the nice bar at the top of their website with fancy cupcakes, it looks yummy and nice.
http://www.gigiscupcakes.com/index.html
http://www.theyellowleafcupcake.com/  - I like the owners story of how they became the Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company and how they came up with their name.
http://www.happycakesdenver.com/aboutUs.html - I also enjoy their story of how the three ladies came together and why they called their bakery HAPPY CAKES! Cupcakes make people HAPPY! yay! Really they do. Remember being excited about cupcakes when you were a little kid. A small, cute little portion of cake with colorful sprinkles... it was always exciting.
In fact, baked goods have always tended to make me happy. I think cookies, cupcakes, and other goods are just small little things.. but they can really bring happiness to ones busy/stressful/or blue day! Just like little kids when they are grumpy... anyone could be cheered up a tad with some cookies! After a long day at work.. I'd rather have cookies and milk then a glass of beer. hooray!

"Do what makes you happy and life will be good!"

Chocolate Turtle Cookies

I'm baking with things I'm allergic too. Just because I still like doing it and creating things for others. But AH! I need to experiment and focus on allergy friendly goods, so I can eat my own creations! I can't help myself though. The pecans just look pretty? And I need to come up with better egg free solutions. I don't like using all the starches and Potato Starch is a big no no for me at least. I've experimented in the past with flax seed and have really enjoyed it in Oatmeal cookies, but I am now told that Flax Seed, since it is related to tree nuts.. I should probably stay away from it.  Bare with me... as I continue to learn more about my situation and this will all take time.  In the meantime, I still focus on the beauty and visual aspect.

ps. My brother got me a light box for taking my photos. So experimenting with taking better photographs of my baked goods is exciting me and as you can see, their is a big difference in the quality and clearness.

Chocolate Cake

Cheesecake

Some recent findings

It is interesting how business focus on one main product and really focus on a story to sell the product http://www.wildwhoopiebakery.com/wild-whoopie-press.html
http://globakery.com/

Chicago Eats Allergy Free. http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-eats-allergy-free/2009/11/take-back-the-cake.html  This article mentions several bakeries in Chicago that are allergy friendly/gluten friendly and vegan. My favorite Bakery, the Bleeding Heart Bakery is mentioned for their vegan cakes. The Chicago Diner is also very interesting to read about. They have a variety of Vegan Cakes (specializing in wedding cakes.. and even cheesecakes that are egg free!) , Muffins, Cookies, Scones. They also have a full menu of vegan meals. I enjoy the history of the couple who started the Diner http://www.veggiediner.com/wp/?p=233

Fleet Foxes loves the Chicago Diner! AWESOME.

Hospital Foods/A change

So I recently moved. In hopes to make a change in my life. However.. I didn't move far. I'm still in the same town. I quit my design job that I was gaining a bit of experience at (but it just wasn't paying enough for living expenses). It just wasn't the right place for me for many reasons. I quit and am now working in the cafeteria at the Hospital.

I thought it would maybe be a bit interesting.. my boss went to the Culinary School I've been wanting to go too and I thought maybe it would help me a bit with my allergy issues. Because hey, hospitals deal with individuals with allergy issues all the time. However, I just work in the cafeteria and mainly serve doctors. It isn't bad though. And I get to hear a bit about dietary information and guests and what they can and can't have. I also thought working here, I could help others and learn more about healthy eating in general. Plus, I'm doing what I need to be doing right now... earning money to pay bills and save. I want to start a small business up .. or eventually go to Brown College and get my culinary certificate.. but .. I need to save up some money. SO, I must enjoy myself in the meantime.

I've been so busy with moving and working at my new job full time though, I haven't been doing as much baking, experimenting, researching as I'd like. But I realize - I need to really focus on just saving up money right now.. and in the meantime bake whenever possible! I have to .. in order to stay happy.
I have hardly baked in the past month and have been a bit down.. and suddenly I'm back into the desire again and loving the days.

Anyway, although I feel like my job takes up so much of my time and I wish I had more time to work on more projects and learning more about pastry... while i just stand in the cafeteria, I do get to think for 9 hours a day and jot down random thoughts on baking and design and... boys?  I leave every day of work with my pockets FULL of several little pieces of paper full of ideas, sketches, lists of things to do and what to research. And other employees find it weird when I randomly look at different boxes and say they'd make good templates (for baked good packaging)! But also, the job is a bit of an eye opener and re-informs me of what I believe in, and also I am working and earning money to get myself in order and slowly make a change to get to where I want to be.

Someday I want to read grammar books or take more classes.. I feel like my grammar is slowly deteriorating.

Fruity Muffffins, Pecan Brownies and Nico too.