Making bread is one of those things that I wish I did more often. It’s really so simple and so rewarding, and yet I never make the time to do it. Perhaps because the process of rising and waiting seems so much harder than it actually is.
This weekend I made a few loaves using this recipe and I dare say they turned out perfectly. More
Next up in our set of guest posts for the week is brought to you from Kim Garr of C’est la Vegan. She is the talented baker behind C’est la V Bakeshop, here in Los Angeles. She comes up with some really great recipes, especially some of her treats for entertaining. My mother enlisted her to do make scones and biscuits for my bridal tea. Kim is sweet woman and I’m so pleased to be able to share one of her recipes here.
I’m such a huge fan of Cute and Delicious, and I’m so excited to be doing a guest post while Alix and Shawn enjoy their honeymoon!
I actually used the idea of a honeymoon as my inspiration for this dish, hoping to come up with something that would make for a really decadent breakfast in bed. I think this Chocolate Ricemellow Creme Panini with Raspberry Dipping Sauce fits the bill nicely, though I would gladly eat this any time of day – honeymoon or not!
This is actually very simple to make, and if you don’t have access to vegan ricemellow or marshmallows, you could substitute peanut butter instead, or just do a plain chocolate panini sandwich, which would still be really delicious. The Raspberry Dipping Sauce is easy to make, and the tartness of the raspberries really helps to cut the sweetness of the sandwich.
This ooey, gooey treat is so incredible, and I’ll definitely make it again. It kinds of feels like a special occasion sandwich to me, but let’s be honest, I could easily count a movie night as a special occasion! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
serves 2
Wash the raspberries and place them in a small saucepan over medium heat with the agave nectar (you can start with less agave and add more, depending on the sweetness of your berries). Once you start to hear sizzling, stir the berries and start to break them up with a fork. Turn the heat down, and simmer the mixture for a few minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
Heat your panini press or a large skillet. Spread the margarine on the outsides of the slices of bread, or melt it in the pan if you don’t have a panini press. Turn the bread over, and on the inside of each slice, spread 1-2 tablespoons of the ricemellow creme evenly over the bread. Spread the chocolate chips over the ricemellow creme, and press the two sides together with the Earth Balance on the outside. Place the sandwich in the panini press, and cook until the chocolate is melted.
Serve with the warm raspberry dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Dear readers, this post has a split personality. But that’s kind of just how I am. I’m leading you, just momentarily, to a more personal place. A place of bread and butter.
I was reading this post the other day about following your dreams and your passion and it really resonated for me. Now, while it may seem that I spend most of my time in the kitchen our out photographing fun stuff with Shawn, the truth is I have a full time, totally not creative job,* just like tons of other people out there. I spend most of my day calculating things and making a lot of spreadsheets.
Then I get to go home and bake and blog and photograph and sew for the few hours I have before I am too tired to function. It’s been going like this for about the past few years with a few variables. At some point there was a lot of script writing. Sometimes there are a lot of night time bicycle adventures. At one point there was a lot of watching edits of Brainwashed Love.
It hasn’t been easy. It’s been a lot of work, to keep up all these interests and paths. Sometimes I hate that I can’t just decide on one thing. I know it won’t ever be like that for me. I want to make movies. I want to bake cupcakes. I want to do it all. Of course all these creative endeavors come at a cost. So that’s what the day job is for in the mean time. It’s the bread and butter.
In 2009 Shawn and I took that crazy leap of making a feature film. We completely produced and financed it ourselves. It was something we both knew we had to do. I’m sure it was one of the best decisions we’ve made even though it was scary. I’m still so proud of what we’ve accomplished by making a movie together. It’s something that many people dream of doing and never get the chance to do. We did it, and we did it well. Not to mention it just gave us that much more confidence for the next one.
So here I am, a bit over a month out from the first time we screened our film, thinking about how to follow my dreams. I know I have to devote as much of myself to these creative endeavors as I can stand.
I’ve realized that I love this blog. I don’t just enjoy blogging, I LOVE cute & delicious. I love that it is a place where I can sprinkle bits and pieces of all the things I create. So I’ve recently invested more time into it, trying to post more often and make it as cool as possible because it makes me happy.
I’m loving planning our wedding. It’s like the biggest excuse to craft and design ever. How could I not love that?
The one thing I’ve had to let fall to the wayside recently is Vegan Bake Sale. It will return. In a grander more splendid form. Cross my heart.
I’ve been really into practicing photography lately. I’ve always taken photos for this blog (although, in the past, all the good photos were taken by Shawn). I’m really trying to step up my game. It helps that I have a good teacher.
I’m still trying to figure out how to turn all these loves, these things I’m truly passionate about, the things that I live for, into my bread and butter. I know somehow someday this will happen, I just haven’t figured out how to make it happen yet. I’m ready though.
So I’m leaving you with these thoughts and some insanely good Beer Bread from a mix I bought at Trader Joe’s. I know I said I don’t usually buy boxed bake goods but sometimes you have to make an exception. This is one of those times.
*i’m hoping my boss isn’t reading this, but just in case, hi Emily, I think you’re swell. please don’t take this personally. 
I haven’t been sleeping very well lately. I know it is because I’m jet-lagged but the past week has been a little strange. It has contributed to a wonderful development in my home though. When you wake up at 3 am and your fridge is empty, it makes perfect sense that you should bake some bread. Right? I thought so. In the past week I’ve been experimenting with some yeasted breads. I can’t help but still get a thrill when they rise up like magic.
Perhaps the most delicious and filling was the rosemary focaccia. I used the recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking pretty much exactly as it was written. This loaf was dense and yet fluffy, moist and salty and completely packed with rosemary flavor. The one time I’ve made focaccia before it was not nearly this thick and wonderful. I want to eat a million sandwiches off of this stuff. The crust has a light oiled flavor and the olives compliment the whole thing quite nicely.
Another project was a basic french loaf. This was the simplest of the batch but still satisfying. It was plain but great for toast. The crust was fairly crunchy as I tested out the technique of throwing water in the oven to steam it. I was impressed for it being such a basic loaf that it really was so good. This was also the quickest to prepare, easy to turn to in a pinch.
When I was researching tips to make my french loaf, I discovered that everyone in the bread making world seemed to be crazy about this No-Knead recipe from the NY Times. Of course I had to try it as well, despite it having a rising time of 20 hours total. Everything I read, promised me a light interior with a beautiful crunchy crust. I was not let down. I must admit that I definitely messed up this recipe. At hour 12 or so I could see that my dough was definitely too wet. Being that it had been rising for so long I just decided to go ahead with it anyway and hope for the best. Though I know that something was off, just by looking at the dough, it still tasted amazing. It was insanely good and very easy to assemble, despite my mis-measuring somewhere. If you have the foresight to put this together a day in advance, it is well worth the wait.
