the constant hunger

Berry Cake

Today is day two of the heat wave here in New York. It's supposed to be even hotter today, close to about 100 degrees. People never seem to believe me when I tell them I hate the heat. Summer is my least favorite time of the year. The humidity, the constant sweating, it just knocks me out and puts me in an awful state. I certainly wouldn't mind cooler temperatures year-round. 

The heat wave limits my food options. Sure, I still get hungry, but the idea of a large meal is unappealing. I need something light and fresh. I've been living on salads, mainly. But I got a sweet tooth, so I do need a little dessert to round out my meals. There's always ice cream, but I had a couple of pints of berries in the fridge. Actually, I had eaten about half of the berries when I came across a recipe on another food blog, Smitten Kitchen. I love this blog and have tried several recipes. She doesn't disappoint.

The summer berry cake seemed like the perfect way to use those last few pieces of fruit that always get left behind in the fridge. In fact, I take any fruit that's over-ripe and bake it into a dessert. I used this recipe here and added some blueberries to the mix. Serve it a little warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Stay cool! 

One Year Blog Anniversary

It's been exactly one year since I began writing the constant hunger. It's been such an exciting year, trying out recipes and trying to improve my cooking and photography skills. I've been to some great restaurants and food events and eaten waaay too many calories!

{Me, trying to avoid the camera like the plague.} 

When I first began the constant hunger, I was working as a freelance editor from home. Planning and preparing meals while working from home was a breeze. Taking on a full-time job recently means I need to make serious efforts to keep this blog going. Squeezing in time to post is always a challenge and I dream of the day I can make money blogging. One day...maybe. I'm going to spend the next few weeks brainstorming ways to improve this little project of mine. Thank you for reading the constant hunger. Please feel free to suggest recipes you'd like to see featured and let me know what you'd like to see more of. 

{Starting to knead the dough.}

To celebrate my one year anniversary, I have decided to share my latest cooking experience. A couple of weeks ago, I invested in a couple of new items that would allow me to venture into the world of baking. I went into the experience thinking I would hate it, but I've been pleasantly surprised and my opinion of baking has changed quite dramatically. I used to hate the thought of baking. Too technical! But I've come to appreciate it for this exact reason. If I put ingredient one and ingredient two together, the result will always be the same. It's kinda comforting. 

{Still kneading the dough 10 minutes later.}

For quite some time, I've wanted to explore making pizza at home. I had bought a pizza panand ingredients. For me, there is only thin-crust pizza. I'm a purist when it comes to toppings. A little sauce, very little cheese and some fresh basil. Anything more is unnecessary. Sometimes I'll go with a little prosciutto or something, but the plainer, the better. 

I used this recipe for the dough, very straight-forward and easy to follow. I loved checking the dough every half hour or so to see it rising. Fascinating! While the dough was rising, my husband prepared a simple tomato sauce and I grated a little mozzarella and chopped some mushrooms and pancetta. 

We had enough dough to make two pizzas and I am almost embarrassed to say that we almost ate it all. But there, I said it. There is a small piece left over. Things got a little chaotic in the kitchen at one point between the chopping and rolling out the dough, but that's the case with any new recipe I try. Next time, I'll be much more efficient (and buy a rolling pin). I think homemade pizzas are perfect for a casual dinner party. Besides preparing the dough, there is very little work (and clean up) involved. 

Happy cooking! 

Classic Banana Bread

Confession. Over the cold winter months I've gained a few pounds and I'm not feeling so hot. I have a very healthy attitude towards my weight, heck, I don't even own a scale! But I tried on a pair on shorts yesterday and they were a little snug. Not cool! 

Last summer my husband and I ate a lot of salads and grilled meats and vegetables, not only for health reasons, but with the hot and humid weather, it was the only way to eat. I will definitely make two of my favorite recipes again, found here and here, but I spent a couple of hours yesterday researching new ones. I can't wait to share them with you. 

Not only do I plan on eating lighter and loading up on vegetables and fruits mainly, but I want to re-incorporate exercise into my life. Now let's get something straight here. I hate exercising. The idea of running or going to the gym a few times a week fills me with dread. I can't think of anything more mind-numbingly boring than running on a treadmill. It's no secret that the only way anyone will ever stick to an exercise plan is if they're doing something they absolutely love. For me, it's always been about two things: dance and yoga. I used to be pretty intense about my yoga practice but stopped going when I moved too far from the studio. Then I just got lazy. But needing to fit into my shorts again, I've tracked down a spot close to my house and it's pretty affordable. The dance classes will follow as soon as the yoga has limbered me up again. 

Now despite all my attempts towards shedding a few (just a few!) pounds, I still have a sweet tooth. I simply cannot deny myself the pleasure of eating a little dessert after dinner. One recipe that is both healthy and satisfying is a classic banana bread. I love banana in my desserts. I can never seem to eat them fast enough before they get over-ripe. This is the perfect way to use them and not throw them away. I used this recipe here. It has only about 4 grams of fat per serving and a little over 180 calories. It's great as a midday snack or, like me, you can enjoy it as dessert. 

Happy cooking!  

Zucchini Bread

A couple of weeks ago I decided I was ready to move on from easy cookie recipes to more difficult cake recipes. By intensifying my baking efforts I also needed to stock my kitchen with a few necessary tools. I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond (where I had a coupon) and purchased an electric mixer and a set of baking pans (the set came with 2 cake pans, a loaf pan, a cupcake pan and a cookie sheet). I bought one other baking tool which will remain a secret until an upcoming post. :) 

{I liked this model because it came with its own storage case. I'm a little OCD.}

I was talking to my husband when he mentioned how much he loved zucchini bread. I realized I actually had zucchini in the fridge and needed to use it asap, before it went bad. This would be the perfect way to use it. Zucchini bread!  

I spent some time researching various websites and came across this recipe. It was easy to follow for a beginner and the result was delicious. I think next time I make this, because I definitely will, I will use a little less sugar. It stayed fresh for a few days on the counter, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap.

As far as cooking tools go, I would eventually like to get this stand mixer when I have a little more room in the kitchen, i.e. when we move one day. 

Happy baking! 

Banana Cupcakes

So it was a rather eventful weekend at our house. I tried my hand at baking again after a couple of successful attempts at making cookies, seen here and here. This time I would try something a little out of my comfort zone...a cake. Well, actually I decided to make cupcakes because I had cupcake molds.

I was inspired by an article in the May issue of Real Simple. Though the spread was inspiring, I was amazed at the amount of butter used in the recipes (four sticks of butter to make frosting???). Perhaps I was naive to think that I could make cupcakes and frosting and not use so much butter, but when I read the nutritional information for a serving of yellow cake with vanilla frosting (785 calories, 49g fat) I knew I had to rethink my strategy. Not only was I going to bake, which was a challenge in and of itself, but I was going to bake healthy desserts. 

So here's the thing. I am not a big fan of chocolate desserts. Don't get me wrong, I will eat ANY dessert you put in front of me, and I mean ANY dessert. But do I order chocolate cake at a restaurant or choose something chocolaty at a bake shop? Never. It's kinda strange since I can eat toast and Nutella for breakfast EVERY morning and never get sick of the stuff. When it comes time to choose dessert, I usually go with something that includes banana, lemon or caramel. Since not too many people like lemon-flavored desserts (like my husband) and I was not about to make caramel from scratch (another challenge, another day) I decided to go with a banana cupcake with a simple vanilla frosting. 

Most recipe sites don't include nutritional information, but I came across myrecipes.com which listed fat and caloric info and had an easy to follow cupcake and frosting recipe. Score! I chose this recipe for the cake and this recipe for the frosting. I followed the recipes in their entirety except for one substitution. I used low-fat sour cream instead of yogurt in the cupcake recipe. It's what I had in my fridge, it's what I used.

The result? They were great cupcakes for my first try. The frosting was delicious. I think I will be using the same recipe again and again, adding different flavors to it like lemon or chocolate for variation. I made too much frosting for the amount of cupcakes I had. Next time I will make half the recipe.  The cupcake itself was kind of dense, reminding me more of a muffin than a cupcake. I need to find a recipe for a fluffier, lighter cake. Any suggestions? Feel free to leave links to your favorite cupcake recipe (light and fluffy please).

 Happy baking!