Warmin' Up With My Peeps

Happy Gingerbread Beings Day!
Okay, officially it's National Gazpacho Day. Gazpacho is a chilled tomato soup that's especially yumful in summer, but right now it's a frigid 12 degrees outside so I'm not going anywhere near a chilled bowl of anything...brrr!

So instead, since it's still Cookie Cutter Week, I'm warming up the oven to make some supergroovy peace-loving gingerspicy hippie elves...sort of a cross between these and these with a Christmas twist..to go with my steaming hot mug of cocoa. Bring on the heat please!  :)

Raw Gingerbread Men (and Ladies)

from Chocolate Covered Katie

Raw Gingerbread People

from Nicole at Dash of Compassion

Mini Gingerbread Folk

from Ashlae at Oh, Ladycakes

Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies

from Isa Chandra at Post Punk Kitchen

Gluten-Free/Vegan Ninjabread Cookies

from Cara at Fork and Beans

Vegan Gingerbread Men Cookies

from Candice at The Edgy Veg

In the spirit of the Tiny House Movement, build your breadpeople a tiny Home Sweet Home!

Vegan Gingerbread House

from Nathan at Vegan Dad

Vegan Christmas Gingerbread House

from Mary Beth at The Bakerist

Gingerbread House Rimmers

from Megan at Not Martha

A little architectural inspiration  ;)

Something to sip...

Gingerbread Hot Chocolate

from Hannah at BitterSweet

And some gingery tips...

Fresh Ginger Tips

from Jaden at Steamy Kitchen

It's also St. Nicholas Day! My stocking was filled with my favorite munchy bars...Pure Bars, Gnu FiberLove Bars and Clif Bars. Yippee!  :)

Did you put out your stockings last night? Will you be baking gingerbread people or gingerbread animals or anything else gingerbready? Have you ever made a gingerbread house? What's the weather like where you are? Bundle up people...it's cold out there!  ;)

The Total Torte

Happy National Sacher Torte Day!
Homemade cakes were a rarity when I was growing up...Mom was primarily a pie baker and Dad loved baking loaves. So I was never really a cake craver and I definitely didn't care for frosting. When we did have cake, I always scraped it off and just savored the soft cakey goodness. My brother usually ended up with the extra frosting and everyone was happy.  :)

I'm still not a frosting fan unless it's on something special like a Sacher Torte. Somehow these magical creations get it all right...dense dark chocolate cake sandwiching bright apricot jam filling and covered in a rich robe of chocolate ganache. It's a perfect balance. Sorry bro, this time the frosting's mine.  ;)

Sachertorte

from Mihl at seitan is my motor

Vegan Sacher-torte

from Giulia at Tutupa's Lab

GF DF Vegan Sacher Torte

from Jennifer at The Tasteful Pantry

Gluten-free Egg-free Dairy-free Sachertorte

from Susanna Booth at The Guardian

Sacher Torte

from Yukiko at Berkshire Vegan

Double Chocolate Cake Sacher Style

from Ange at Veggie Art

Vegan Sacher Torte

from Celine at have cake, will travel

Vegan Sacher Torte

from Momo at Mighty Good Eats

Raw Vegan Sacher Torte

from Carla at The Bee's Knees Kitchen

Have you eaten Sacher Torte? What flavor of jam would you use for a filling? Do you eat the frosting off your cake first then eat the cake?  ;)

Making The Cut

Happy Cookie Cutter Week and National Cookie Day!
Is it possible to have too many cookie cutters?

I have a pathetically small collection of cookie cutters so I've been cruising through cookie cutter shops and making up a wishlist of my favorites so far. The list is about a foot long...but really, can you have too many? They're just so squealingly fun to use, especially when you're baking for little nieces and nephews.  :)

It's also International Cheetah Day so bake up some big cat cookies if you happen to have supercool cheetah cookie cutters or just cut round cookies and decorate with cheery cheetah cat faces!

Celebrate all week with whatever cookie cutter shapes spin your spurs and bake up a boatload of cookie craziness!  :)

Roll-and-Cut Sugar Cookies

from Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero via JennaDish

Simple Sugar Cookies (Made with Cashew Cream)

from Abby at The Frosted Vegan

Vegan Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

from Claire at Chez Cayenne

Vegan Gluten Free Lemon, Thyme, Rosemary Sugar Cookies

from said she said he

Russian Orange Tea Cookies

from The Berkeley Buddhist Monastery

Vegan GF Chai Almond Cut-Out Cookies

from Connie at Dessertface Adventures

Raw Vegan Chia Cookies

from Aine at PeaSoup

Raspberry-Almond Sandwich Cookies

from the vegan workshop

And don't forget companion cookies!  :)

Peanut Butter Biscuits

from Kalpana at happytailsvegan

Dog Biscuits

from Alex at In Vegetables We trust

Today is also Santas' List Day...have you been nice all year? What's on your holiday wishlist? Does it include cookie cutters or just cookies?  ;)

The Provenance of Pears

Happy National Pear Month!
Can you solve this amusing pear-adox?

Three monks were passing,

Three pears were hanging,

Each took one,

And two remained.

Red, yellow, green or golden brown...pears are one of my favorite fruits and I've always got a heaping binful in my fridge.

Little did I know they have such a noble heritage!

Ancient Egyptians honored pears as a sacred symbol of Isis

Early Christians wrote of pears in connection with Jesus' love for mankind

The pear in China has long represented the ideals of grace, nobility and comfort

Korean legends endow the pear with the powers of fertility and good fortune

Western civilizations associate the pear with affection and the human heart

And let's not forget that playful partridge in the pear tree.  :)

Low cal, high fiber, sweet crunchy pears are a deliciously elegant way to energy-boost your brunch...

Rustic Apple & Pear Crisp

from Julie at The Simple Veganista

Pearberry Crumble Breakfast Cups

from Annie at Meet The Shannons

Baked Pear Oatmeal

from Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point

Sautéed Pear Oatmeal

from Lauren at The Oatmeal Artist

Quinoa Porridge with Sautéed Pears

from Janet at the taste space

Vegan Whole Grain Pear Pancakes

from Jodi at happy hearted kitchen

Ginger Pear Pancakes with Plum Maple Syrup

from Alanna at The Model House Wife

Ginger-Pear Waffles

from Emily at Muffin Topped

What's your favorite kind of pear? Do you buy organic? How do you boost your energy in the morning?

Riddle and history source (pdf):
The Pear in History, Literature, Popular Culture, and Art by Jules Janick
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Pear-adox explanation: One of the monks was named Each.  ;)

Happily Fritterpated :)

It's National Fritters Day!
Sometimes baked, usually fried these happy little patties will quickly become addictive! Eat them plain, slathered in sauce or stacked in a sandwich with a side of spicy fries...you've been fritterpated!  :)

Shredded Vegetable Fritters

from Robin Robertson via Harvard Common Press

Zucchini Fritters with Lemon Basil Cashew Cream

from Koko's Kitchen

Bean and Corn Fritters

from Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking

Artichoke Fritters with Onion Ragout & Creamy Polenta

from Carly at A Profound Hatred of Meat

Lotus Root Fritters with Tamarind Chutney

from Ansh at Spice Roots

Fava Bean Fritters

from Kim at The Vegan Mouse

Spanish Chickpea Fritters with Romesco Sauce

from Robin Asbell via Julie's Kitchenette

Savory Garlic Ginger Chickpea Fritters with Thai Peanut Sauce

from Jaquetta at VegFamily

Pistachio-Pumpkin Seed Crusted Smashed Sweet Potato Fritters

from Kathy at Healthy. Happy. Life.

Do you eat fritters? Do you like them fried or baked? What's your favorite fried food?

The Stuff of Life

Happy Eat a Red Apple Day!
Since everything and everyone is getting stuffed this week, let's do stuffed apples!  :)

Spiced Granola Baked Apples

from Allyson Kramer

Maple-Rum Glazed Slow-Baked Apples

from Melissa at The Papaya Chronicles

Baked Apples Stuffed with Cinnamon Date Pecan Oatmeal

from Angela at Oh She Glows

Cherry Ginger Nut Stuffed Apples

from CL Cloud at A Twist of Life

Baked Apples in Carob Sauce

from Zel at Vegetarians in Paradise

Baked Stuffed Apples

from Mary at Fit and Fed

Molasses, Miso and Tahini Stuffed Apples

from Kristin at Waking Up Vegan

Fig and Pecan Stuffed Apples with Sweet Crunchy Topping

from Mark and Gary: The Plant Based Diet Guys

Roasted Zucchini Walnut Stuffed Apples

from Dan's Good Side

Vegan Baked Apples with Walnut-Herb Stuffing

from Jaymi at TreeHugger

I can imagine all sorts of apple bowl fillings...chickpea "chicken" salad, curried rice, edamame radicchio carrot slaw, caramel pudding...and definitely more baked granolas and oatmeals!

Have you tried stuffing apples? What's your favorite filling? Did you get stuffed this week?  ;)