Running/Exercise:

After yesterdays Morning Glory experience, I needed a good workout.  I ate SO MANY bun scraps and candy like raisins…UGG! My stomach stills flips at the thought. 

Legs and arms were worked for 55 minutes before running 4 miles at near race pace. 

This week is taper week before the marathon on Sunday.  Weight workouts will be light and I’ll run through Friday.  The longest run shouldn’t exceed 5 or 6 miles with two days of strides.

The Production Kitchen

Sunday morning, my kitchen was turned into a production kitchen WITHOUT the production equipment.  What a mess.  This all began with the announcement of my Morning Glory Buns making the final cut in the California Raisin Board Bread Contest.

I am going to have to use 5 to 6 lbs of flour and make 4 – 5 trays of buns.  In my trial run Sunday, the result from 6 lbs of flour was about a 1 lb loss in flour that  went on the floor, ceiling, countertops, stuck to the bowls, and various utensils.  But I did get 6 trays of 24 buns.

DSC_5735  

The production run began at 6:05 am.  I called it quits at 7:15 when the I reversed the order of mixing flour to liquid and my mixer wasn’t big enough to incorporate it all for the batch I tried to mix…..if that makes any sense.  At 7:15 with the kitchen in an absolute mess, I washed my hands and Ted, Shane and I went for a walk.  BREATH JOANNE…JUST BREATH!  I was getting pretty upset and discouraged.  The worst thing you can do, and this is baking according to Joanne, is bake when you are stressed out or rushed.  Your mood is reflected in the outcome of the product.  Bad mood = Bad bread…ah…BUNS.

When we returned home, the dough was rising and looking like blobs over flowing and well on its way to taking over the house.  Using my super powers….oh wait!  The “Blob” wasn’t defeated by any Super Hero was it?!  …I divided the  dough into 6 portions and began mixing again.  Fingers were crossed that my poor mixer didn’t over heat.  It was doing a great job kneading the dough for about an hour.  I was finally able to achieve some good dough.

The final result was six trays.  One batch had to be baked heart shaped since I ran out of pans. 

DSC_5728

and, yes, the raisin topping was a bit on the dark side but didn’t taste burned at all.

Some looked A LOT burned but again, the result was very good, no burn taste but the raisin topping was a bit on the “hard candy” like side …

DSC_5732

Four of the batches looked and tasted perfect.

 DSC_5731

DSC_5734

Oh, I forgot about the round pan that tasted perfect but sank  a little in the middle. Once they were flipped over, the buns looked quite presentable.

DSC_5730

I really enjoy baking these buns but PLEASE…one batch at a time.  That’s my mixer talking???

A bike ride to de-stress:

Ted and I enjoyed a 24 mile bike ride following the bun experience.  That was a great way to unwind down from such a  MASS PRODUCTION.   Ted was my clean up guy spending as much time in the kitchen as me working the hot water, soap, and sponge.  He needed the relaxing exercise as well.

BERRY Low Fat Upside Down Cake

You’re gonna love it…You’re gonna love it…(in my best singing voice)

Yes you can eat cake with out the fat.

DSC_5715

Plenty of fruit and a delightful taste using no added fat.  It’s just too good to be true, right?  Well, it is true.  Take a look at this recipe, then give it a try and let me know if you don’t agree. 

DSC_5716

Who needs to be “fat and happy”?  We can be fat FREE and happy.

DSC_5717

Berry Upside Down Topping

  • 1/2  cup Dark Brown sugar
  • 2 TBS honey
  • 1 TBS lemon juice
  • 2/3 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1/2 lb fresh strawberries, sliced or chopped

Low Fat Cake

  • 1 1/2 cups Flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2/3 cups sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup Egg Whites
  • 2/3 cup Reduced Fat Milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup Maple Syrup
  • 1/2 lb fresh strawberries, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a 9” round cake pan with non-stick spray.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, honey and lemon. Mix around until paste like.  Add the blueberries and strawberries to coat.  Turn the mixture into the bottom of the prepared cake pan.  Set aside.

DSC_5705

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Make a well in the center.  Add to the well the whites, milk, vanilla, and maples syrup.

DSC_5706

Now whisk with a fork.  Fold in the strawberries.  Pour the cake batter, gently, over the topping mixture already in your cake pan.

DSC_5707

Bake at 350 F for about 38 – 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the center. Do not over bake since there is very little fat, this cake will dry out quickly.

DSC_5708

As soon as the cake is removed from the oven, run a knife around the edge and invert onto a serving platter. 

*Wash the pan right away otherwise the topping will harden and be very difficult to remove.

DSC_5718

This cake will be only about 1.5% to 2% from fat.   Suggested servings: 12

Ted’s comment:  “Save this one for me!”

Do you have a low fat/fat free sweet recipe to share?

Do you have pets?  Here is a giveaway and raffle you’ll just love.  Even if you don’t have pets, please give it a Twitter tweet and a Facebook note to help the guys at MANKINDdog support the Humane Society.  Everyone’s input is truly appreciated.

Joanne

Print Friendly, PDF & Email