CuteKittyPunk

There are a lot going on in these muffins! A lot of flavors and normally, that's a no-no. I try to follow the rule: less is more. But in the case of these muffins - the saffron and pumpkin work together and the chocolate and carob chips also work together... add to that a little frosting on top - and they totally rock... or leave it off if you are trying to cut out the sugars. So, yeah, generally speaking I wouldn't have put so many flavors together - but these worked for me really well - I'd definitely bake them again - might just use whole wheat flour next time. Want to know how I made them? Yes... It was easy because I used my Saffron Master Mix - yeah, the same stuff I used to make Saffron & Chocolate Chip Ice cream and Saffron-infused Carrot Cake . It turns out that saffron goes well with many things :) Oh yeah, did I mention... these are low in fat (if you leave out the chocolate even more so) and eggless! Saffron - Pumpkin Muffins Makes 12-14 1 3/4 cu

Late last year I re-designed again for the hundreth time my background layout. This time with a very cute pink kawaii tile background courtesy of Holly aka berrysprite . She's so talented and amazing - I love her designs. simply cute! - designed by berrysprite I love that cutesy stuff and in pink - so girly. I really wanted to have a kawaii girly in my blog title as well... but I didn't think I was capable of doing something so cute. I'm really creative and good at drawing/painting and stuff, so I drew this and then my husband, he's so talented and artistic, too - in a photographic kind of way - he's also good on the computer, he took my drawing and scanned it in and then with the photoshop thingy or paint shop pro - one of those programs, he took my drawing and did this to it:  ckp girl 1 - designed by me and punk papa I think it's super cute - but doesn't really fit with the kawaii thingy like I wanted to have. So I look to inspiration. T

Hormones are interesting things... because during my last pregnancy I didn't really like ice cream - and that's very strange for me - especially because I was pregnant during those hot summer months. I think I only made ice cream one time last year. I think if you have an ice cream maker and you like ice cream - you should definitely be making a lot more ice cream than that - don't you think? Well, I may finally be recovering from that spell - because I made some saffron ice cream. And wouldn't you know it - saffron goes great with chocolate :) Lately, I've been on this kick where I'm making mixes and then I can create lots of other things, desserts, dinners, etc from one mix. This ice cream is made from Saffron Master Mix - which I also used to make the Saffron-infused Carrot Cakes. Why saffron? Why not? I received 2 grams of saffron from a foodie exchange from Greece. It's Greek Saffron. Perhaps it's cheaper to buy in those parts. My husband us

I have participated in a few Sugar High Fridays so I thought by now that I was kind of a professional and could pull anything off. Not so my friends. In Sugar High Friday #73 the challenge is a challenge indeed. Zoe of Z's Cup of Tea challenges all to make a "grain-free" dessert. Side note: Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess started Sugar High Friday - a blogging extravaganza - an excuse to bake your favorite dessert around a certain theme. It's also fun to participate each time because you meet other foodies and get to read new blogs you might not have known about. Z's Cup of Tea is new to me. But I've been following her blog since the SHF #72 - trifles. And I find it very interesting that she makes so many foods grain free, sugar free, and so forth. So back to the challenge - make a "grain-free" dessert. Naturally, I thought, oh that's easy - just make ice cream or something like that. But I figure, since she provided a list of suggesti

Last night I hardly got any sleep at all. In fact, almost every night I hardly get any sleep at all. And as a result of that I end up being sleepy all day and then eating foods that are not too good for me. You know - quick, unhealthy, sugary, and fatty foods. And chocolate. Well, last night I read a pick me up kind of blog post from Angela at Oh She Glows . And then I, too realised, I don't need a juicer, when I've got my blender. I decided to make myself some really healthy smoothies using what I had on hand. I really wanted to make that green monster drink but I just don't have any spinach... and usually I almost always have some - at least in the freezer - so I can whip up some African Peanut Soup - it's punk papa's favorite! Okay, so I looked in my fridge and did this. About 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt. 1 small ripe banana. 1 small carrot, peeled and grated and 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed. I blended till smooth and drank it up.

This is the title of a cookbook I just received for my birthday... of course, it was a belated birthday gift - ha you thought i just revealed my birthday date - no - i didn't. anyhoo, My best friend named chocolate - is an interesting little book - not just desserts - it also includes appetizers, main course entrees, and then more desserts. For example, one such recipe is titled Lolly's from geese liver with chocolate. (This book is in Dutch so I translate it the best I can). The food looks fantastic, but the title - can't say it's very interesting. I don't think I ever want to eat liver of any animal. I was brought up that way to just say no thanks.  - the Lolly's from geese liver. I think I will try a few of the vegetarian recipes that are not traditional chocolate recipes. They are: "Met Benco gepaneerde camembert" - that's like deep fried cheese with chocolate "Balsamicovinaigrette met chocolade" - this is a salad