CuriousEpicurean

This blog is all about my love for the culture of cuisine. I love the history and ceremony of feasts and ingredients and textures and tastes. Funny that I didn't ever want to cook growing up. It just took getting married and being dropped in the middle of the country to learn this passion.

Lately I've been on a cooking healthy mode... therefore baking healthier as well. This is a major step for me because baking is my nemesis, as it were. It just sucks. All that precise measurements and what not. I like to improvise and I never use measurements for other dishes.

But I'm trying. So this blog is about sharing recipes I've recently discovered and tried... and using Jack as my guinea pig... will say yay or nay to the dishes and goods in question.

Here are the first recipes:

Chocolate Cake Brownies

2/3 cup Splenda
2/3 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 cup Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 salt
1/3 cup ICBINB ( I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (or, applesauce sweetened w/Splenda)
Chocolate chips to sprinkle on top ~

Mix together splenda, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside ~ Beat together butter, eggs and vanilla for 1 minute ~ Add applesauce and beat until blended ~ Add flour mixture until blended ~ Spread evenly in a lightly greased 8 inch square cake pan ~ Sprinkle chocolate chips on top ~ Bake at 350* for about 15 min. or until tester inserted in center comes out clean ~ Cool on rack ~ Store in a covered container in the fridge

Use an 8 x 11 pan - 15 min. to bake.

Whole-Wheat Pancakes
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon Splenda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat griddle or skillet.
Beat egg. Add milk, vanilla, and oil. Add dry ingredients and mix well. (This makes 10-12 pancakes, depending on size.)

* For this recipe, I tend to fold in either:
2 mashed bananas or sliver of almonds or chocolate chips --- :)