Cake!

I've been making tons of cakes lately. I only wish I had a camera so I could post pictures.
Yesterday, I made a carrot cake from Smitten Kitchen for Alex's birthday. I ended up not having anywhere near enough carrots, so I only made a half recipe, and I used agave nectar in the place of maple syrup. I'm told it was delicious- my hungry polo players devoured it before I had a chance to really taste it.

For my brother's graduation, I made him Willow Bird Baking's Caramel Fudge Brownie cheesecake. It was decadent and totally delicious. The one mistake I made- a nine inch pie pan is not the same as a nine inch cake pan, the sloping walls made that top brownie layer significantly smaller than the rest of the cake. Luckily this problem was easy to fix with all the extra ganache.

Really, everything on Willow Bird Baking's master cheesecake post is excellent. I made the Coffee Cookie Dough Fudge Cheesecake for Ayla's birthday, and attempted the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Cheesecake for Donnie's birthday. Both cakes were very much enjoyed, but the mousse layer on Donnie's cake did not work out well. Agar agar flakes are much more temperamental than gelatin, and must be used at exactly the right time in the setting process to act in the same way, since they're actual a much more powerful binding agent. I'm hoping I can find an actual vegetarian gelatin to use instead of the flakes next time. I also modified to Coffee Cookie Dough cheesecake for Eli's birthday a few weeks ago- I used half the ganache and didn't add the cookie dough layer for a simpler, less heavy cake, as he requested.

I'm enjoying this cake-making kick- being able to simply pour the entire bowl into a pan is quite satisfying compared to dividing it into individual cupcake tins, or spooning out individual cookies.

Graduation Day

So yesterday I attended my brother's high school graduation, which was very average for that sort of event. The most notable thing about it was that as the graduates marched up to and off of the stage, all the young men were given handshakes by the three administrators lining the stairs, while the young women were grabbed by the elbow and yanked up the stairs, as if they were incapable of walking by themselves. While there were a few girls (3 of about 60) already tottering in too-high heels, most were visibly put off balance by this gesture.

It was mildly infuriating to watch. This was an elite college prep school, which claims to be producing some of the best and the brightest students, ready to face the world and change it. How can over half the class be expected to do that when they're clearly being told that they're incapable of standing on their own two feet? While their male peers were treated with the utmost dignity and respect, these young women forced through a ritual submission to male control.

I wish I had been able to enjoy the graduation more. Instead, I sat there seething in rage on my brother's special day. Maybe by the time my sister goes across that stage, she won't be treated as disparagingly as our brother's female peers.

Hi there!

Bike & Bake as an event had to be cancelled because of the disrespect being shown to host homes.

I'll be revitalizing this as my personal blog, mostly writing about bikes, polo, baking, and feminism. I'm having fun exploring my identity as a feminist through the blogosphere, since most of my friends don't really care to have such discussions IRL.

For the record, David, Eli, and I took 7th place at the Cascadian Regional qualifier last weekend, which means I can go to North Americans in Calgary.

&&cheesecake is bomb. I made this without the cookie dough layer and half the ganache for Eli's birthday on Thursday.

Vegan Delights- April 20, 2009

This week we welcomed quite a few newcomers to Bike 'n' Bake- and they can cook!

Mike Kim made crepes(link).
Lane made enchiladas(link).
Sarah made chocolate cake(link).
Krista made peanut butter maple fudge(link).

Jeff took pictures. [[Which haven't been uploaded yet]]

Through the Looking Glass~ April 6, 2009

This week we baked in anticipation of Tarsis's ride, Midnight Ridazz: Through the Looking Glass.

Tarsis and Sarah made hundreds and hundreds of tie-dye cookies(link). These were greatly enjoyed at the tea party on the ride Friday night.
Ayla made spinach quiche(link).
The best facon EVER was eaten, as well as large amounts of pizza.
Michael tried to burn the house down.
Jeff, as always, took pictures.

C is for Cookie~ March 23, 2009

This was our first Bike 'n' Bake at Sarah's house, so we had a much smaller crowd than usual.

Sarah attempted Danish butter cookies (link), as well as making matzo ball soup to help Krista heal up after having her wisdom teeth pulled.
Krista made yummy vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry pudding(link).
Jeff took pictures.

Bakers of Utopia- March 9, 2009

The other night was one big food party, all night long. The Wolfpack Hustle stopped by for a split second, and a whole bunch of new friends came over as well.

Krista and Jeff made Samosas (link)
Chris and Brooke made Mint Chutney (link)
Tarsis and Leo made Tie-Dye Cupcakes (link)
Ayla made Banana Bread (link)
Sarah and Ayla made Hamantaschen (link)
Alec (and Sarah and Krista) made latkes

Sarah Candy Cane took some awesome pictures
And Jeff took some more.