Jar-Cakes and Jackfruit

I wrote this awhile ago, drafted it until I could get the pictures uploaded and forgot about it until today...so , um, pretend its 5/6/08...


I've been meaning to try out making Cakes-In-A-Jar for awhile now...I'm sure most other bakers have already tried these things, but I really don't bake all that often, since baking normally involves more sugar than I like to use. But I decided, for Mother's day, since I won't be able to make it down to Boston until mid June, I'd make my mom some jar-muffins and send them down for a little Mother's day breakfast treat. After some not-so-subtle questioning about preferred sweet bread flavors, I settled on lemon-poppy seed. I ended up using the recipe from VWAV, though I added lemon juice to replace some of the rice milk (adding flavor and making buttermilk) and doubled the poppy seeds...and used spelt flour, since we don't even have "real" wheat flour in the house anymore. I decided to use 4-z canning jars, since they are just about muffin sized and would be easier to ship. I was a bit skeptical about the whole jar thing working, I do have to say...I only made half the batch in the jars, so I'd have some actual muffins to send just in case, but they sealed up just fine. Which worked out nicely, since now there are muffins for us to snack on...or there were, before breakfast this morning. They were pretty good, though I do have to say, I think the recipe calls for a bit too much baking powder...1 tbsp seems like a lot (though they didn't seem to be overleavened) and there was a tiny bit of a bitterness to them, though that could have been from me overzesting the lemon and going too far into the pith. I think next time, for the muffins-in-a-jar, I'll make a quick glaze with just some lemon juice and powdered sugar and put it on right before sealing them up.

here are some non-jarred muffins...just in case the jars didn't seal...really shows off all the random crap on my counter...

And, also yesterday, I finally found a way to use a can of green jackfruit I picked up a few months ago. Thanks to textual bulldog for bringing this recipe from the Urban Housewife
to my attention! Jackfruit carnitas tacos will definitely be made again here...not only are they super easy but they were so good! Next time, 2 cans of jackfruit though, because, even though I made it a bit too hot and it felt like we were breathing fire, I think we both could have eaten more and there were not nearly enough leftovers to pick at the next day.

Asparagus! or, Why do vegans need a giant grill?

I love spring...the sun is shining (when its not raining), flowers are blooming, birds are singing, bugs are buzzing (just take a look above at the little guy I found on my baby pepper plant!) everyone is wandering around in their t-shirts, looking slightly dazed and pale...oh, yes, and my favorite food season is just getting into the swing of things. We picked up our first local asparagus at the farmer's market on Saturday! I have to admit, although I try, I'm not a very good locavore in the winter...there comes a point where one just can't force oneself to eat yet another meal of cabbage...but I draw the line at buying two things out of season; tomatoes and asparagus. Its just not worth it! Plus, the anticipation alone makes them tasty so incredible when they finally come into season. So when we saw the booths with row after row of spiky bundles of green, we snatched one up.

Originally, I intended just to lightly steam it and then sprinkle with crushed garlic and lemon juice, but then Katie suggested grilling it. You see, we got a grill for my birthday...and not just any grill, a kinda-large grill, with a side burner and one of those baking rack things so you can toast buns or bake potatoes or whatever. At first, I was thinking, 'this is a bit ridiculously large! Really, how much grilling space do we really need?" (we don't eat a lot of veggie burgers and all that), but we've used it twice so far and, both times, we managed to fill up the whole thing. To accompany the asparagus, I halved some red peppers, some mini eggplants, some mushrooms on a skewer, and some leeks, and whipped up a quick glaze made from wheat-free hoisin sauce, balsamic vinegar, a drizzle of agave nectar, garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes. All those roasted to perfection, with the addition of some sweet potatoes wrapped in foil and placed on the above-mentioned baking rack thinger, and we had an amazing meal. I swear, I'm never going to eat sweet potatoes baked any other way again!


And the asparagus? Perfection. Slightly sweet from the glaze and slightly smoky but still crisp. I love spring.