Back on the Pumpkin Wagon: Healthy Hearty Pumpkin Bread

I'm celebrating the holidays some lightened-up pumpkin bread. I subbed most of the oil for low-fat plain yogurt, whole wheat flour for most of the AP, and reduced the sugar (because I don't like it too sweet). With all the holiday junk floating around, I might as well cut corners where I can, right? I made this recipe a while ago and wrote a post, but totally forgot about it!!! Anyways, I took some nice pics for this, so enjoy!

RECIPE: (adapted from food.com) makes two 9-inch loaves
*2 cups canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree
*1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar
*1 cup water
*1/4 cup vegetable oil
*3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
*4 eggs
*1 1/3 cups AP flour
*2 cups whole wheat flour
*2 teaspoons baking soda
*2 teaspoons cinnamon
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

PREPERATION:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2.) Mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg in a bowl
3.) Mix together the pumpkin, sugar, water, oil, yogurt, and eggs in a seperate bowl
4.) Combine wet and dry ingredients
5.) Grease and flour two 9-inch pans
6.) Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until pick comes clean

WIHT (When-I-Have-Time) recipes + WWS

I'm totally looking forward to Thanksgiving Break (which is the week after the next for me) so I can chillax and have time to whip up these delicious-lookin' desserts and let my inner baking addict loose. If any of y'all try these recipes before me, it would be great of you to leave a comment and give me a heads-up!

Chinese Flaky Pastries (Which I'm planning to fill with either peanut butter or bean paste)
Brownies
Crepes

Thanksgiving Break is the end of my first  4-week calorie deficit mark, so I get to eat at "maintenance" for a week. That means 1500-1800 cals per day for a light deficit, and 1-2 all-out cheat days! Suuhhhweeet. So far, IF is going really great- broccoli for dinner, oatmeal for breakfast, and a fantabulicious dessert of Halloween candy. Yum!

(Yes, I realize that Sunday is not bolded... and yes, it is currently driving my anal/slightly OCD yet incredibly procrastinative personality bonkers. As you can see, I'd rather take the time to rant about it than fix it, like some politicians I shall choose not to name.)

Super Simple Fool-proof Dark Chocolate Cake

I spent Saturday afternoon baking, frosting, and decorating this delectable chocolate cake for my parents to take to some random asian poker party.
Not gonna lie- Sharing this recipe with y'all is a way of soothing my conscience about not being able to post as often.
Yes, it is slightly malformed, but it has not only provided me with the experience of making a layer cake; I've also discovered one of the best and easiest chocolate cake recipes ever! I mean, it's TSAC-proof. That itself should speak worlds for this recipe. The Espresso Chocolate frosting is a recipe I've been using forever, and it's just a basic chocolate buttercream with espresso powder thrown in. you can omit the espresso, but I find that coffee really brings out the chocolate flavor well. Almost tastes a bit like tiramisu! Which, I guess, is up next on my baking list for fall, after everything pumpkin-related of course.

I kind of screwed up flipping the layers (it's my first ever layer cake!) but only because I accidentally ripped a corner with my spatula. Better luck next time. Let's just say that my first try at making a layer cake ended in an ecstatic yet exhausted orgy of chocolate frosting and cake crumbs.

CAKE RECIPE: food.com (Serves 20-24 making 2 layers of cake, or maybe just two if I'm there ;p )
*2 cups sugar (I used 1 1/4 cup because I loaded it with frosting)
*1 3/4 cups flour*3/4 cup cocoa powder
*1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
*1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
*1 teaspoon salt
*2 eggs
*1 cup milk
*1/2 cup vegetable oil
*2 teaspoons vanilla extract
*3/4 cup boiling water 

FROSTING RECIPE:food.com, makes about one to two cups
*1/2 cup butter, softened
*2 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
*1/3 cup half-and-half, or sub. un-whipped cream
*1 to 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

For a:light frosting- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
medium frosting- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
very rich frosting- 3/4 cup cocoa powder

*Mix all together and store in refridgerator 

PREPERATION:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2.) Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13 x 9 inch pan
3.) In large mixer bowl, stir together dry ingredients
4.) Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla
5.) Stir in boiling water
6.) Pour into prepared pan(s)
7.) Bake 30-35 minutes in two round 9-inch pans, 35-40 minutes for retangular pan, or until pick comes out clean
8.) Let completely cool, then run pick along the side of the cake to loosen it.
9.) Put plate on top of a pan and flip upside down so the plate is on the bottom. Tap the pan if the cake does not come out, or carefully insert a thin spatula under cake to help it come out.
10.) IF MAKING A LAYER CAKE: Frost top of first layer
11.) Flip the other layer out, and place on top (with help of a spatula) of frosted layer
12.) Decorate as you like! I covered the entire thing with frosting to hide the damage, and then topped it with some chocolate shavings. Suggestions-

• Cover with chocolate ganache (one cup of cream + 8 ounces of finely chopped and melted chocolate)
• Pipe with frosting
• Add strawberries or raspberries on top

Easy savory vegetarian tarts (super simple shortening-free pie dough recipe!)

Went fishing on Saturday with some family friends. It was actually pretty fun, and I caught four or five sunnies. We all returned with worm blood cheerfully staining our hands.
We rented a boat, and since it was  potluck-picnic sort of deal, I decided to use the opportunity to overcome the intimidation of pie/tart crust and make some tarts. I made a batch with peach pie filling and a batch with savory vegetarian filling. I didn't get to take a pic of the peach pie tarts before we had to go, so I guess I'll post that recipe another time. You can choose to make little tarts like I did (due to the lack of a pie tin) or make a pie. Either way, the dough is super easy to work with!

(different lighting)

RECIPE:

Tart/pie Dough (from allrecipes.com, makes 12 standard muffin-cup-sized tarts, 1 9-inch pie)
*1 1/4 cups flour
*1/2 cup butter
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/4 cup cold water

Savory veggie filling  (from allrecipes.com, fills 24 dough shells, or 1 9-inch pie crust)
*2 tablespoons buter
*1 onion, minced
*1 teaspoon minced garlic
*2 cups chopped fresh broccoli or any vegetables of your choice
*1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
*4 eggs, well beaten
*1 1/2 cups milk
*1 teaspoon salt
*1/2 teaspoon black pepper
*1 teaspoon oregano
*1 tablespoon butter, melted

PREPERATION:

Tart/Pie Dough
1.) In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2.) Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball.
3.) Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
4.) Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate or muffin pan. Place crust in pie plate or each individual tart case. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate or tart case.
5.) Put back in fridge until the filling is ready to go

Savory veggie filling
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.) Over medium-low heat melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onions, garlic and broccoli. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft. Spoon vegetables into crust and sprinkle with cheese.
3.) Combine eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in melted butter. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and cheese.
4.) Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until center has set.

P.S Anybody have thoughts on how the Olympics are going? Aren't y'all proud of all the Olympians the U.S has, ahem, erected?

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Wanting to post today before I'm gone tomorrow: Recipes I want to try

I'm going to be gone tomorrow for speech sectionals, so I'm going to be responsible and post quickly today before I start slacking off again...

Recipes I've been eyeballing all last week but haven't had time to try yet:

Gluten-Free Chocolate Bread Pudding (though I'll probably make it with regular bread)


Cream Cheese Pancakes

Pumpkin Nut Date Bars

Peanut Butter Brownies

Gluten-Free Matzoh (Spot the dish that isn't sweet lol)


Hershey's Brownies



Gonna leave y'all with some food porn that I did not shoot myself...

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I'm always ready for chocolate, but this week month I've been craving it like mad. Can you tell?

Can't wait for the weekend and I can finally try out some brownie recipes!

(And in copycat fashion because all the other cool bloggers do this... I'll be insanely ecstatic if anyone replies so pleasepleaseplease make a little girl's day? See I'm not above begging...)

Question for the Week:

What are some of your favorite chocolate recipes?