birthday brunch!

broccoli cheddar and spinach mozzarella quiches

chocolate chip scones

corn muffins

mango upside-down cake

half-set table

gifts!

hello kitty disguised as red panda?

lol cat bible!

Food footnotes:

• due to poor planning, I ran out of eggs and substituted silken tofu for the quiches– they turned out really delicious!
• chocolate chip scones were adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance. They were surprisingly tasty– with a great “scone” texture and taste. They tasted very “scone-y”, if you know what I mean.
• mango upside down cake adapted from here. the mangoes were delicious– I used defrosted frozen mango halves from Trader Joe’s. The cake was okay, sort of dense. Next time I’d use a standard vanilla cake recipe, but definitely worth experimenting.

pumpkin walnut cinnamon rolls

Soft, moist and choc-full of walnuts, these make a satisfying, just-sweet-enough snack or breakfast. Fairly healthy, too. A step above the dry and cakey blue-box cinnamon rolls (you know which ones I’m talking about). If you want to kick it up another notch, feel free to drizzle with some powdered sugar icing, but I like mine as-is.

Pumpkin Walnut Cinnamon Rolls (Makes 12)

adapted from Made Healthier

dough:

• 1 ½ c whole wheat flour
• 1 c AP flour
• 1 T yeast
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• ¾ c pumpkin purée
• ½ c water
• 2 T oil

filling :

• 1 c chopped walnuts (toast them first for even more flavor)
• ¼ c brown sugar
• 2 t cinnamon

1. Mix flours, yeast, sugar, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin, water, and oil. Stir together and knead lightly to form a soft (but not too wet) dough (adjust water as necessary). Let it rest for 15-20 min.
2. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Roll out one half into a large rectangle, and sprinkle with half of the filling ingredients. Roll up jelly-roll style (from the long side), pinching the seam shut. Slice into six pieces and place about 2 inches apart in a lightly greased baking dish (I used two small 6×8” Pyrex pans, putting six rolls in each pan; you could also use one large 9×13” pan). Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Let rise for 10-15 min. more.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. When rolls have risen, bake for 20-25 min. Serve warm. (Leftovers may be reheated in the toaster.)

pumpkin steamed buns (mantou)

pumpkin steamed buns (mantou), originally uploaded by monpetitichou.