Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Bait and Switch

 Hi everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I have something tasty on the menu.

 But first, I'll show you what I was going to do...

 

 Someone told me about raspberry white chocolate ganache. Now, I'd heard of ganache and it's usually glossy or piped or whipped... Like so.
 

 So, I started by mixing of the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in a sauce pan. Getting it to a nice boil. I'll leave out the details, since that's not really where we're going with this. ("Why? WHY???", you ask.) But this is where I got the glazed version...
We tried covering a few cupcakes like this, but it just wasn't firm enough. So then I started adding powdered sugar...
Until I had a giant bowl of frosting that was basically fudge. You know the stuff you add walnuts to and cut into small squares at Christmastime? Huh. So as I'm contemplating this huge bowl of 'frosting', Edna is uncharacteristically quiet.

  "Edna, dearest, do you feel well?"

 And her beaters whirred a bit and went quiet. What on earth could be the matter? We'd made lemon meringue pie, lemon cake with baked topping (another post), butternut squash mini cakes with maple whipped topping (another post) and cookies in just the last few days. I was enjoying the creative process. Apparently Edna was feeling... off.
 
(Here are some office people feeling lousy.)

  I took a good look around the kitchen. Lots of sugar. We all love sugar! (Yes, yes we do!) But maybe there was such a thing as too much sugary goodness.

After a quick trip to my local store I came back and showed Edna what I'd found.

She beamed. Which is how a Sunshine Mixmaster should look.
Crimini mushrooms. FRESH. Someone told me that even if I didn't really like mushrooms, I would love these. I thought they'd be expensive, but they were actually the same price as the old button white mushrooms.
100 calorie, 8 grams of whole grains, Italian herb pita pockets with fiber and low carbs. She was starting to see where I was going with this.
Turkey bacon. I know, what a wimp. But I just can't do real bacon without feeling guilty. Wish that carried over to cupcakes, but it doesn't.  1.5 g of fat, 6 grams of protein and 1 carb.
So, I threw the turkey bacon in a pan, started scrambling eggs with the crimini mushrooms, and pretty much the entire family crammed into our little kitchen. Something smelled good and they wanted to EAT IT NOW.
A taste tester testing turkey tibdits. Say that five times fast.

(Check out the expression. Bacon love.)

Finished product, with some fresh veggies to the side and some low fat cheddar and mozzarella in the pita with the bacon, eggs, and mushrooms.  As for the crimini mushrooms, they were VERY tasty. I think I'll buy some more. Nice flavor that didn't even have that weird fungi aftertaste. Bonus.

 So, I asked Edna how she was feeling now that she'd smelled some wonderful new and fresh smells.
 
That was about what she said, right there.

 AS for the frosting, it stayed in the fridge for a while, got a lot of little finger marks, went on a few graham crackers, and the rest got a little crusty and dry so I threw it out. Hate to waste the chocolate, the heavy cream, and the sugar. But on the other hand... I let it go.

 As for the title, you thought this was going to be all about CUPCAKES, and then we threw some bacon and pita bread and crimini mushrooms in there.

 




  But sometimes, change is good. not good enough to make me give up all my sugar, but definitely time to hit the protein and cut the carbs. Especially going into winter, when all I want to do is eat, eat, eat.
 


  Which is great on a food blog but not so good for getting your pants to zip.

  So, until next time, my sweets! Wait... we're cutting back on the sugar.

Until, next time mons petits chous? (French endearment, means 'little cabbage'... not! It really means my sweet. So, that didn't help us any.)

 Uhhh, how about Polish 'mushki'? That's 'little flies'.  Ew. No.

 


  Edna suggested 'le mie passerottas', which is Italian for 'my little sparrows'. (Assuming everyone reading this is a girl, or we'd change the form.)  I love it! Light, bright, full of energy, zip and verve!

 Especially the way she said it, just like a native. Hmmm. There's a story there. I wonder if she'll ever tell me...



 



 











 
 

27 comments:

  1. I have to say I dropped everything to come here when I saw the cupcakes! But then it turned to healthy food. let me just drools over the cup cakes.

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  2. Heehee! See, that little picture worked! :D

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  3. yep it did but when I read mushrooms my mind turned off! I admit I over dosed on some candy today but think the schnitzel I had for lunch may have had more of an effect although it wasn't as fatty as some It was still more oil than I like (not sure how I would live in the south of America when I dont like fried foods or more to the point cant eat them).

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  4. Yeah, we don't eat a lot of fried foods but when I lived in the South one summer I didn't see that much fried stuff, maybe because it was summer and everything was fresh? And I'm not a mushroom fan at all. These had a great flavor. I read they were good for replacing meat in some dishes... althugh I added the turkey bacon, too!

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  5. I need to find out if anyone knows how to dry apricots. I loved dried apricots and have a tree but looking at the tree there isn't a lot of fruit yet this year (which would be right now I can use them they wont have many) but need to learn how to dry them.

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  6. Can you Google it? My sister uses a food dehydrater, but I think you can also bake them on very low heat in the oven.

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  7. there are a few ideas there to drying them outside. (a heatwave in dec would work!) of course need to hope I get enough to try.

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  8. I appreciate the protein!!!!!

    And Edna.

    And you.

    Cupcakes. Sniff.

    Peace, Julie

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    1. Julie, this was for you. :) You and Edna wanted something a bit different.

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  9. Rats. When I saw the cupcakes, I thought I could get away with stopping by before breakfast. That much sugar doesn't appeal to me early in the morning, so my plan was: cupcakes, comment, create (as in writing).

    But then you threw in the mushrooms. And the bacon (mmmm...). And the eggs.

    And now I'm craving them, and there are no mushrooms or bacon in the house.

    Sigh.

    I can tell lunch will have to be a spinach omelette.


    So Edna's Italian? Who knew?

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    1. Jan, if I had to bed on it, I'd say Edna had some hot Italian boyfriend. :O

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    2. Freudian slip, Virginia? "Bed on it... hot Italian boyfriend." HeeHee!!!

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  10. The cupcakes sucked me in, but since it was you and Edna blogging I stuck around when you did the big switcharoo to healthy. I like mushrooms, but haven't heard of crimini. Of course ol' vegetarian me would leave out the bacon too. But you succeeded in making me crave something nutritious...you know an appetizer before those luscious cupcakes you didn't share the recipe for? LOL.

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    1. Haha! I still want to make those cupcakes! But it's all about balance. And when I store up posts, scheduling them ahead, that gives us a lot of sweets hanging out in the kitchen. Julie and I were talking about protein and health the other day...

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  11. You had me at ganache, but lost me at mushrooms. The Charlie Brown reference was a perfect fit! I should try those criminis. Seeing as how so many recipes call for mushrooms and I just leave them out.

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    1. See, I'm really not a mushroom fan and everyone told me that they don't have a really overly mushroomy taste. And not only that, they had a DELICIOUS taste!

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  12. Cutting the carbs is definitely a challenge this time of year, Virginia. Not to mention the sugar. Ah, and it's only the beginning.

    I love mushrooms, so I'm eager to give those a try.

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    1. I kept eharing they were good in everything from lasagne to stir fry. Super tasty! We even made another dish with them, I'll post it in the coming weeks!

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  13. Yep. You lured me in with the raspberry chocolate cupcakes. I didn't even mind the switcharoo. Play your cards right and I'll share my spinach smoothie recipe with you. That'll teach ya - no really, it is very good. There is peanut butter in it!

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    1. Peanut butter in a spinach smoothie??? Oh, blechhh!!! ;)

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    2. Hahah! Now, that's one of thsoe thigns we all have to try because it sounds SO CRAZY! We must know the recipe!

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  14. All right now. I feel a little jaded at the bait and switch bit. But raspberry white chocolate ganache on cupcakes does sound like *a lot* of sugar. In your position I would probably have looked at that bowlful, added some chopped pecans, smoothed it into a pan and gone for raspberry white chocolate pecan fudge.

    I like white button mushrooms well enough, but haven't tried the crimini. Are they firm enough to also eat raw? Anyway, when I finished reading your post I could almost smell the bacon-eggs-mushrooms-in-a-pita (or maybe it was just the turkey bacon I was smelling) and it's made me hungry. I'm now thinking it would make a good and easy mid-week supper meal. Thanks!

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    1. It was for lunch and the crimini mushroom I sauteed first with lime and garlic, then the pitas were 'Italian' so it was a really yummy blend.

      They're very firm, and I didn't have any raw because I hate raw mushrooms, but I was so surprised by the flavor of these that I might try one with the next batch I buy!

      And yes, if I'd had any pecans or walnuts handy, I would have smoothed that 'frosting' down! But it just sat there...

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  15. Okay, I'm the weird one here, but the protein appeals to me more than the cupcakes do. I think I'm losing my sweet tooth! OH NO!!!!

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    1. Oh, YES!! See, it's sweet TOOTH not sweet TEETH. And I have a whole mouth full. :D

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  16. LOLOL!!! I can't believe I'm late for this fun post! I've been seeing bait and switch in my box all day, and opened enough of the messages to know this was something about mushrooms.

    What fun!! I love that I'm not the only one to try to make something fancy and new and end up with basically an omelet instead!! LOL!

    I'm glad Edna is a happy camper now. I get that same sluggish feeling after eating too many carbs. Should I admit I almost fell asleep at choir practice tonight while the men were practicing a part?! It was right after our church supper, which was a chicken pot pie (with a big ol' biscuit on top!) And baked apples and peaches. All kinds of carbs! They knocked me out. :)

    I love mushrooms. I usually get baby portobellos. Love them! and I recently read about mushrooms being great for helping prevent cancers (I think it said breast cancer specifically), so I've been eating them several days a week.

    Thanks for sharing, Virginia! I always get such a kick out of your posts. :)

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  17. Wow, I didn't know that mushrooms had such great benefits! I just got some more at the store tonight and they were actually on sale! Bonus! I'm thinking of trying a whole wheat pizza with mushrooms and homemade white sauce... :O

    And yes, omelette in a pita pocket!! :D

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