No Bake Desserts

As you may or may not know, my oven hasn't been working. I'm getting a new one -- actually from the sounds of my landlord a new kitchen entirely -- soon. But I still tried to bake. As you can see -- the results haven't been good. The oven doesn't get too hot, it doesn't maintain the heat, but it manages to burn the top. That was a banana bread. The one that went straight to the trash. The other I covered with tinfoil. It took about 2 hours but I got something that was edible. My latest attempt were cupcakes -- pear and walnut with a cream cheese frosting. The cupcakes didn't work out, but I did manage to get some mini-cupcakes baked all the way through.
I've been experimenting with no-bake desserts. I've been using a chocolate ganache torte as my basis and done a couple of different variations. I got the idea form a chocolate peppermint torte I did a couple of years ago. I've made a gingerbread crust and then did a mix of milk chocolate and bittersweet for the ganache. It was good but really rich and heavy. I tried a new recipe -- this one has a layer of caramel. Now, I've not had luck with making caramel in the past, so I was a bit apprehensive. But I finally got the amber color you're suppose to get! The trick, I think, is not stirring. I just let it boil away. And seeing it turn that beautiful amber color was incredibly satisfying! After adding cream and butter and getting a caramel look and taste, I mixed in some chopped nuts. On the second try I salted the caramel a bit -- I really enjoyed that taste -- and then topped it with the ganache. I got second place at my work's holiday party dessert contest!

Life at the Beach

It's been a busy couple of months. At the end of September I went to the Hamptons to run the Hamptons Half Marathon. It was a great run, especially compared to last year when it rained for the entire run. The weather this time was beautiful -- sunny and cool. ME and MP did not come out to run this year, so I ended up camping, which was something I hadn't done this summer and it was fun. I had my pre-race meal at Cherrystone's. The chowder and the fish and chips were just as good as I remembered. Then I went to Montauk and walked along the beach. On my way back to the campsite, I stopped for a lobster roll with large chunks of lobster meat. I was cold sitting outside the roadside shack, but full!
On my way back to NJ, I stopped by my great-aunt's house and she and my great uncle took me to their church bazaar for lunch. I had some good, homemade Korean food -- seafood pancakes and bibimbap! It was also great catching up with them. I'd show you pictures, but I had a camera snafu.

Next up -- Dublin Marathon breakdown.

Running And Baking

These are two things I love to do. Well, maybe I don't so much love the running, but I do it, in large part so I can bake and, more importantly, eat lots of wonderful baked goodies.

The run I am currently training for is the Dublin Marathon.
The eating I plan to do while I run is the recipies from Baking with Julia.

Wish me luck!