Blog Post List

This blog post list contains the most recent blog posts from The Messy Baker in reverse chronological order. You can also browse by recipe category or use the search function.

If you look at my recipes index it's hard to believe I used to do a lot of health writing. While I was supposed to be promoting a healthy lifestyle in others, opposing stats and studies nearly made me sick. One day I'd file an article declaring 7 cups of black coffee a day would ward off Type 2 diabetes, and wouldn't you know it? The next morning a press release landed in my inbox railing against the evils of caffeine. Does cinnamon really help you lose weight or is it just rat poison with a nice smell? The contradictions were endless. Black coffee, green tea, white vegetables. Everyone had a theory and it was making me crazy. Being somewhat gun shy, I hesitated to review Healing Spices: How to Use 50 Everyday and Exotic Spices to Boost Health and Beat Disease, by Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD with Debora Yost. I wasn't sure I wanted to get back to the kind of thinking that vilified or canonized a particular ingredient. But being a Gemini, and just as contradictory as the studies I dreaded, the first thing I did was look up cocoa so I could write a long persuasive post justifying all the dessert recipes I create (and gobble). I wanted to convince you that, despite the whipped cream and butter, chocolate mousse wasn't just delicious, is was downright healthy. After all, according to studies, flavanol-loaded cocoa will:

I know this is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but Google is viewing my text-free posts as duplicate content, which is a bad thing for a blogger. So I'm turning this into a game. The photo is wordless, but do you know what spice is...

Since I'm an unapologetic chocolate addict and flower fanatic, you'd think I'd be blogging about Valentine's Day with all the love in my heart and passion in my fingertips. But it's one of those "special" days I ignore in part because it's so contrived. It doesn't help that the media, supermarkets and florists start pushing Valentine's the minute your New Years champagne goes flat. By the time February 14th finally rolls around I wonder if you want or need another heart shaped anything.

So, I was going to let today slip by with nary a mention, without so much as a hint of red or a sliver of pink. No hearts, no cupids, no love poems. But my sister is wiser than I am. Although she knows my stance, she gently pointed out that not everyone shares my view and offered me her heart-shaped silicone baking cups for the occasion. Oh, she knows my weak spot. Baking. I took the hint -- and the cups.

It has been brought to my attention that I have been writing a bit too much about chocolate. As if there's such a thing. However, I don't want to give you a false impression of my eating habits, so I will change the topic (briefly) to non-chocolate things. Since woman cannot live by chocolate alone, I (occasionally) make other foods. In fact, I baked potatoes last week. See...
To help celebrate the 200th anniversary of the McIntosh apple, I'm taking part in The Ontario Apple Growers' challenge. They're looking for the best candy apple recipe -- ever. After careful consideration, a bit of testing and a second-degree burn to my index finger, I have determined that caramel-coated apples are the Kobayashi Maru of fun food. For those who don't know their Star Trek (or fail to get their sci-fi references second-hand from The Big Bang Theory) this is geek-speak for "no-win scenario." Since I was more a Caramel Apple Kid than one who liked to crack her teeth on flaming red, rock hard candy apples, I decided to play with a grown-up salted caramel version, maybe with a sprinkling of crystallized ginger for those who want a bit o' zing along with their sweet & salty. How'd it go? You be the judge. Here's my enthusiastic set-up shot. Imagine the Macs dipped in obedient caramel. Here's the reality.
Depending on which urban legend you cite, the Inuit have between 17 and 31 distinct words for snow. I have but one. And I can't use it here. This weekend's additional donation of crystallized water had me dreaming of escape. While I wouldn't turn down an all-expense paid trip to the Caribbean, my warm-me-up fantasies tend to focus on Europe. I realize they get winter there too, but my memories revolve around steamy summers spent backpacking through Europe, drooling over intricate architecture while getting fat on frozen treats. Since I wasn't going anywhere the snow ploughs couldn't reach, I turned to my bookshelf for a mental vacation. And Venice was the first stop on my imaginary trip. My copy of Tessa Kiros's Venezia: Food & Dreams is pure escape. From the gold-edged pages with the satin ribbon bookmark to the opulent photography, this is not a book you turn to for quick dinner fixes or innovative new recipes. Instead, it's a book you melt into as the wind howls outside your window. Kiros describes Venice as "One of those rare moments when you grasp the magnificence of this world," and her books captures the elegance, vivacity and beauty of the Floating City.
I don't care what studies you cite, culinary authorities you quote or Michelin-starred chefs you hold up as iridescent examples. In my kitchen, roast chicken is a simple stuff-and-shove-in-the-oven affair. String is reserved for recycling newspapers, not trussing poultry. And I am not about to expend the time or mental energy to brine a bird for what should be a casual, no-fuss Sunday supper. Heck, you're lucky if I remember to remove the giblets and that little metal "approved" tag.
Last Saturday, along with two double lattes, I ate waffles and raisins. As far as my food intake went, that was about it. We shall not count the wine as I consider that "medication." Andrew was pretty steamed at me for ignoring my health -- a luxury I often deny him -- but I was stressed, and carbs and coffee are the way I cope. After ignoring my blog theme's upgrades for well over a year, I decided Saturday would be the ideal time to catch up. As punishment for my neglect, I was forced to leap three generations in one go. Being clueless about all the incremental changes that had gone on in my absence, things got messy. Very messy. Hence the sugar and caffeine.