Of Blogs and Blogging

I'm not always classy. I'm rarely refined. I say silly things at inappropriate times. I never measure vanilla. I usually forget to take photos while I'm baking. I post infrequently, and when I do, there's rarely a recipe. Do these things make me a bad food blogger? NAH. That's just my style. And the beauty of blogging is what makes most "real" writers hate it so much: the inconsistencies, lack of rules, and informal tone.

I started this blog because I HAD NO CHOICE. It was blog, or lose most of my friends from talking about food incessantly.  I knew nothing about blogging when I started. Everything you've seen here over the last year has been a lot of trial and error (emphasis on the error.) I had no idea there was this vast network of foodies just like me, cooking, baking, talking about food, taking pictures of their creations and baring it all for the world to see. It's a place where spell-checks and editing are frequently left at the door, but passion and creativity are required for entry. I like it here. I think I'll stay awhile. 

Like most food bloggers will tell you, I fall asleep and wake up with thoughts of future meals, and usually dream about them inbetween. Having some internet real estate to talk about it is like sweet, delicious therapy, a catharsis for our menu-filled souls. I'm so glad I found a support group that doesn't make me feel ashamed if I talk graphic details about the sandwich I had for lunch, or post pornographic pictures of pies and their sweet, juicy insides. Hi, my name's Colleen, and I'm a food-aholic. 

Having no experience in the world o' blogs, Sweet Swallows took time to take shape. I always knew it would be centered around baking, but beyond that, I floundered for awhile trying to find focus. I started to read other food blogs to get a sense of what's out there. I was intimidated by Smitten Kitchen, and Deb's flawless design, photos, and writing. I was inspired by Joy the Baker's hilarious non sequiturs and delicious recipes. And the number of comments Bakerella gets for any particular post? Humbling. Truly. I got nervous. How could my little blog ever compare with my lack of technical skills and Photoshop? 

But I realized, why stress about it? I decided to just start writing like I was talking to a friend, and then everything fell into place. This is something I do because I love it.  No one is judging my lack of web design knowledge. So my motto became: Keep it light, keep it cute, keep it funny and add more pictures than you think you need. It's been working well for me so far. 

But every blog needs a hook, something to pull the reader in and make them want to stay awhile. So why should you stay here instead of surfing somewhere else? I've got a few things going for me. 

Sassy name with a little innuendo? Check. 

(On a related note, I apologize to any of you who are blocked from this site at work or got flagged for web searches. It's Sweet Swallows BAKING. Please, please, for the sake of your job, make sure you use the baking...) 

Large pictures of graphic food porn? Check. 

Occasional pictures of adorable kitties? Check.  

Beautiful looking and delicious tasting vegan sweets? Check and Check. And really, I think that's the best reason you should stay awhile. 

Now before you go running away screaming because of a bad experience you had with some terrible vegan dessert you picked up at Whole Foods, keep in mind my recipes are all Grandma tested and vegan approved. They're delicious, and I promise I never post a recipe that wouldn't fool the biggest butter-lover in your life. 

My evolution to a vegan baker can be traced through the archives. I started out focusing on dairy-free recipes, with some pizza reviews tossed in. But the more I baked vegan I began to realize that I didn't need to bake any other way. My vegan cupcakes will put most cupcakes filled with butter and eggs to shame. And don't get me started on my vegan oatmeal cream pies. Little Debbie wishes she had these skills.  Srsly. 

And now vegan baking is a challenge. Can I make the best vegan donut in the world? Can I turn my favorite Christmas cookie recipe into a successful cruelty free treat? I will. Or die trying. Sweet, chocolatey, powdered-sugar covered death. I'm OK with that. 

I'm still an amateur blogger. But now, I'm (mostly) focused. I'm determined. The world is at my feet and I'm ready to grab the bull by the horns and [insert 'taking charge of your life/opportunites await' metaphor here]. I've found my voice in this world and have staked my claim in the blogosphere, and things can only go up from here. A life surrounded by food is within my grasp! And the next food blogger star? Perhaps. Anything is possible. 

Golden Monkey Muffins, or How I Spent my Saturday

Ok, first things first. We finally gave a kitty a forever home!  Last week I talked about getting a cat from PAWS, and on Friday we finalized the adoption process and brought our little lady home. Everyone, I'd like you to meet Ms. Gracie LaRoux. 

Her previous owners abandoned her, and she was so sad at the shelter. I can't understand how anyone could abandon her. She's petite, and full of style and grace, and really just an all-around swell gal. She seems happy and content in her new home, already claiming the papasan as her own. But the best part of the whole process? Watching Ken, my "I don't really like cats" boyfriend, slowly fall in love with her. Although, you'd have to be heartless to deny this much adorable. Also, if you're thinking about adopting a cat or dog, try PAWS first. There's so many sweet animals there waiting for a forever home!

Gracie and I spent all day Saturday getting to know each other, and it was just wonderful. Pocket pies are on my 'to-do' list for the Punk Rock Flea Market, and I found an interesting recipe on Vegan Yum Yum. Now, pies are my specialty, and I've got a pie crust recipe that works beautifully for me every time. This recipe called for a Pate Brisee, and though I'd never tried it before, I figured I'd branch out and give it a go. And since Gracie is French, she offered to help.

I guess there's a lot of things that could have gone wrong with this recipe. It's a vegan recipe, so there's no actual butter. I used the food processor, which I never usually do. Maybe I didn't add enough water. Maybe it was too hot in the kitchen. All I know is, I couldn't get the dough to roll. It kept cracking no matter what I did. It was really quite infuriating. Especially for someone who thinks pastry is her specialty and has never had such problems before. 

And everytime I'd ask Gracie for her help, she was all like, "Oh, I'll be back in one second, I just need to check on something." And 20 minutes later, I'd leave the kitchen frustrated and all covered in flour, to find her comfy and sound asleep. 

This happened repeatedly. 

Gracie, I'm sorry to say that you're fired as sous chef. However, there's an opening for adorable mascot, and I think I'll hire you immediately.

I spent a really long time fighting with this dough. Too long. And for the hours I spent on this endeavor, I only got two pocket pies out of the deal and they cracked and leaked and generally looked like they had just come back from war. 

A quick web search eased my stress, as many people appeared to have issues with this recipe, including Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. That really made me feel better. So, I scrapped the rest of the dough, cranked the AC in the bedroom, and took a catnap with my new best friend. When we woke up, we made banana muffins to brush off the morning pastry FAIL. And these muffins are a total WIN.

Guys, I hope you're ready, cause I'm about to give you my vegan banana muffin recipe. This is my go-to recipe. I've stolen hearts and blown minds with these muffins. 

It started with a banana bread recipe from How it All Vegan that I've altered over the years. This recipe makes a sweet, light and moist muffin that you can throw just about anything into, or leave plain. Since I was out of nuts and wasted all my blueberries on botched pocket pies, golden raisins were all I had left. And so I give you, the Golden Monkey muffins.

Golden Monkey Muffins

adapted VERY loosely from How it All Vegan

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup vegan sugar

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 375. Grease muffin pan, or line with muffin cups. In a medium bowl, mash bananas. Add lemon juice, oil and vegan sugar and whisk together. In a large bowl, sift flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Fold wet ingredients into the flour mixture and gently stir with a wooden spoon until just mixed. When almost done mixing, fold in raisins. DO NOT OVER MIX. Some lumps are OK.  Pour into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes 12 regular sized muffins, or six large muffins.

*Notes: If golden raisins aren't your thing, feel free to substitute blueberries, chopped walnuts, dates, or whatever you have on hand and tickles your fancy. Then let me know how it works!

*Also, vegan muffins and breads work best when you mix much less than you think you should. You want to mix until you don't see any more flour, and lumps be damned. When pouring the batter into the pan, don't bother smoothing or smooshing it down either. Just scrape the batter in, and let it fall as it will. This helps to keep the muffins light, instead of dense and gooey.

Kitties and Flea Markets

Exciting things are happening around here. The temperature's gone down, so baking is a very real possibility again. Which is good, because my summer schedule is really filling up with baking orders for which I need to start trying new recipes. I'll be making a lot (13 dozen!) of muffins for a scooter rally on the 4th of July, and I've got some savory corn muffins I'm planning to try. Oh, and did I mention I'm making the desserts for my friends' wedding? Don't worry, you'll be hearing more about both of these soon. 

I'm also doing the Punk Rock Flea Market again! The summer version is happening this July, and unlike the Christmas one, I'm starting to plan way in advance. I'm thinking about what I should make, and I've got lots of ideas. Cookies are always a big seller, and my chocolate peanut butter cups went really fast at Christmas. I'm also thinking about homemade pop tarts and pocket pies. Cupcakes and brownies. Lots of ideas swimming around my noggin' right now. 

And while I'm brainstorming and preparing signs and packaging and business cards, I thought I'd give you guys a chance to put in your two cents. So, what do you guys think I should sell at the market? Or, more importantly, what do you guys want to buy from me? I'm interested to know!

But the most exciting news of all? I finally broke Ken down, and there's a very real possibility that we'll be giving a kitty a forever home by the end of the week! I've been looking on the PAWS website at all of the sweet little cats that need a good home, and I want them all. I'll have to settle with one (for now), but I'm still really happy about it (this little guy in particular seems to be calling my name). 

I'll keep you posted on the new addition to the fambly! And while you're waiting for that, leave me a comment with your flea market goodie suggestion!