Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Berry Cobbler

Nothing says the 4th of July like a dessert made with strawberries and blueberries.  Everyone knows about the flag cake, but I went a different route.  The recipe comes from Chef Chloe, whose blog I found after watching her win Cupcake Wars on the Food Network.  She made these delicious looking vegan cupcakes and her whole blog is filled with vegan recipes.  I want to try as many of them as I can.


Dough
1 1/3 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil or margarine
1/2 cup non dairy milk (I used vanilla soy milk)

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups strawberries
2 cups blueberries

1/4 cup extra non dairy milk
1 tbsp sugar to sprinkle on top


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Dough
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the oil and milk and add to the flour mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until thorough combined and dough like, but do not overmix.
Fruit
Whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon and then add to the berries. Toss until the berries are coated with the sugar mixture.

1. Pour berries into a 9in baking pan or distribute evenly into eight ramekins. Using a tablespoon, scoops lumps of dough on top of berries.
2. Brush the top of dough with extra almond milk and sprinkle sugar liberally.
3. Bake for 45min or until dough is cooked and lightly browned on top. Rotate after 20min so that it bakes evenly.
Get recipe here

fresh from the oven


I followed the recipe as written, using vanilla soy milk and Blue Bonnet. I forgot to rotate the cobbler, but I think it still came out the way it's supposed to.  Chloe has a recipe for vanilla bean whipped creme, but I topped mine with Cool Whip. This would be perfect for a barbeque or any time you want a quick and easy dessert for a crowd or yourself. Definitely a keeper!

Friday, July 2, 2010

Reading Challenges Halfway Point

2010 is already half done so I thought I would take the time to update the progress of my reading challenges.

Support your Local Library Challenge (goal: 50 books) - I just started reading my 25th book and I'm planning to finish it by the end of this week.  I'm on pace to finish my goal by the end of the year.

Celebrate the Author Challenge (goal: 12 books) - I wanted to read birthday books in the month the author was born, but I found it was a little bit easier to read them out of order.  So far, I've read six books.  I have June and July books picked out and I already read the August birthday so now I just need Sept-Dec.  

2010 Pub Challenge (goal: 10 books published in 2010) - I've read seven so far, started an 8th, and have three more waiting in the wings.  This challenge will be done in the next few weeks.

Vampire Series Challenge (goal: six books) - I'm at five and have a sixth picked out, just need to find the time to read it.

Young Adult Challenge: (goal: 12 books) - Only one more to go.  My last vampire book is a young adult one so they'll overlap.

Truth is Stranger than Fiction Challenge (goal: six books) - This challenge ends in Feb 2011, but I wanted to read at least four of them this year.  I've only read one so I'm a little behind.

What an Animal Challenge (goal: six books) - This one also ends in Feb 2011, but it's been easier to meet the requirements because vampires count as animals and that works with the vampire series challenge.  I've finished four books and I'll have read at least five by the end of year because of the overlap.


To reach my goal of reading 50 books, I have to read 25 more (not counting the one I'm currently reading since I haven't finished it yet).  Without taking into account that some of the books will count for multiple challenges, I have to read 14 to fit a specific category.  If I wanted to finish my 2011 challenges, it would go up to 17, but I can subtract one since the young adult and vampire series challenges overlap.  

So the grand total would be either 13 or 16 specific books and then 12 or nine books of my choosing. The numbers could change because there might be some overlap, but that's not too bad!