Photo Dump for March 2010

Yeah, so I didn't take any pictures in February, and March was pretty light. It's more of a photo "spill" than a "dump". And, again, they all pretty much revolve around food (what is her deal?). I have had a lot of fun experimenting with recipes lately...in case that hasn't been painfully obvious. One fun thing that I found was a recipe for Avocado Icing.
Instead of using butter, you use an avocado for the fat part (Does that even make sense? It does in my head). It was more fun than it was tasty. I mostly just loved the color. I would probably do it again, but it wasn't super fabulous. It was a great new way to use a random avocado. If you have it on something light, you can kind of taste the avocado. If you have it on something richer, you don't really taste it at all. I didn't mind the avocado-y taste. The idea of "avocado" and "sweet" didn't put me off. I spread most of it over banana cake that I divvied up and froze. It was a good dessert in a pinch. But let's be honest, there aren't many desserts that I actually say "no" to.
When I was temping at the Lubbock Visitors Bureau I had a lot of spare time on my hands (remember the free Lubbock Visitors Guides?!). Thankfully, I discovered the receptionist's stash of "Light and Tasty" magazines. I found this great recipe for Peppermint Cheesecake Brownies.
They were delish. I had one piece immediately, and then froze the rest for later desserts. Yes, I plan my dinners AND my desserts ahead of time. I will definitely make these again. I don't often desire anything that is minty (crazy minty-sneezing thing), but these were tasty...and light (mystery solved as to why the recipe was in "Light and Tasty").
I love bread. There are not many foods that I actually physically crave, but I crave bread. I will never understand how people have the willpower to do the Atkins diet. I could do a diet where I cut out everything EXCEPT bread (...oh, and cheese). Anyway, I have never been satisfied with a loaf of bread that I have made from scratch. My bread always turned out coarse and dry...like this from my November 2009 photo dump:
Ugh...it doesn't even look appealing. It was only good for toast. I had pretty much given up on my ability to produce a tasty loaf of bread. Well, before I had a steady job, every week I would clean the house of a woman in my ward to earn some money. One day, after I had finished cleaning, she sat me down to chat over some yummy cinnamon buns that she had made. Then, to top it all off, she sent me home with a loaf of bread that was still warm from the oven. It's simple, but that afternoon was enough to spark a desire to try and get it right. I needed a little back-up though...so I called Heather and she talked me through it. She even helped me realize what my biggest problem was. Flour! Flour! Flour! Oh what a difference Wheat Gluten makes. This was the result:
It was so delicious. I couldn't believe that I craved my own bread! It even froze wonderfully. It made super yum toast. It tasted heavenly plain. I think it also saved a kitten from a tree. This bread was amazing! I could not have done this without Heather. She was willing to talk, in detail, about every little aspect about bread-making that gave me the extra confidence to go for it. *Sigh* I love sisters... Heather, you brought me and bread back together again. My relationship with bread was so on the rocks. We're doin' okay now.