Homemade lactose-free baking successes =)... and taxes =/

It's that time of the year again for Americans... the dreaded need to complete the annual tax return. Those who receive money back will be happy, and those who have to owe the government more money than they already paid via their paychecks and other taxes paid through purchases, etc. feel screwed and upset =P Which one of these categories did you fall under this year? o.O
Either way, successfully baking yummy treats can make the situation even better =) I have two homemade lactose-free recipes to share!
The first one is a blueberry streusel pastry recipe - these are supposed to be muffins but since I haven't invested yet in muffin pans, I will call these blueberry streusel squares =) I based my recipe off of this original one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Streusel-Muffins-2/Detail.aspx
- My modifications were only using the egg white (no yolk), using Silk Light Vanilla soymilk, and using olive oil instead of butter/margarine with reference to this handy conversion found via Google searching --> http://www.amazingoliveoil.com/substitute-olive-oil-for-butter.html
These turned out great! It's sugary but this experiment allows me to think that there are alternatives for folks like me who have become lactose-intolerant and prefer to eat low-fat foods ;) yay! Note: since I didn't have any muffin pans to use, this came out as a big rectangular blueberry muffin LOL

Lactose-free, Low-fat Blueberry Streusel Pastry

The second one, I intended to make the banana-walnut version of this streusel "muffin"-based pastry, but I was curious about making a chocolate version and added 3/4 cups of Hershey's "special" dark chocolate (100% cacao) powder (as on the back of the Hershey's powder container, it mentioned 3/4 cups of the powder for making a chocolate cake, so I thought... sure, why not?) But this ends up being too much chocolate powder for the base mixture already made by using the aforementioned recipe, so I had to add about 3/4 cups more Silk Light Vanilla soymilk, and then the mixture was back to equilibrium - although it looked very chocolaty so I suggest if you want to try this recipe, you must REALLY love chocolate (and you should not mind the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate, unless you use a different chocolaty powder for your recipe) ;) I then added one very ripe banana and about 3/4 cups of walnuts that I chopped up a bit. After baking, it looked like a big rectangular chocolate muffin ;)

but it looked like it needed something... a topping! I decided to glaze it with homemade vanilla glaze - so I used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vanilla-Glaze/Detail.aspx?prop31=5 (although I used the same Silk Light Vanilla soymilk instead of actual / whole milk and substituted the melted butter/margarine for heated olive oil using the same aforementioned conversion website) - other things to note if you're experimenting with trying to make your recipes "healthier" by lessening the sugar content (etc), ... at first I tried to lessen the amount of confectioner's/powdered sugar in this glaze recipe but I found that it doesn't work out because the mixture is soupy without the right amount of this sugar so definitely follow the recipe's amount of sugar is my suggestion - however, there were reviews that stated the amount of milk listed did not make sense so everyone who used this recipe measured the milk in tablespoons instead of teaspoons like the recipe states, and so I made sure to measure my amount of milk in tablespoons instead (FYI) ;)

The reviews also stated to let your cake/pastry cool for about 20 minutes (I think I let it cool for longer than this since I kept experimenting with the sugar amount for the glaze though =X) so I would recommend this. The glaze doesn't actually solidify nicely until about 15-20 minutes after sitting on top of the cake/pastry (in my opinion or from this experience so again, FYI). And even with the glaze though, I still felt like it needed something... so I dusted it with more confectioner's / powdered sugar - looked better... still needed something... so I chopped up / crumbled more walnuts and dusted the very top of the pastry with this - MUCH BETTER! Here's the result:

Chocolate Banana-Walnut Powdered-Sugar Pastry

Even though I am a chocolate fan, I must say that the blueberry streusel wins between these two, but both are tasty treats and are lactose-free AND low-fat! Sugary - yes, but it needs some flavor right?
If you try these recipes or experiment on your own, please let me know how it turns out! I think I will try the banana-walnut version again without chocolate and with the streusel topping next time - I'm super curious as to how that will turn out. But for now, blueberry streusel for the win! =D
As for taxes... whatever the outcome is for you this year... make some yummy treats for yourself and you will feel better ;) If you are reading this and do not have to file taxes, you are LUCKY =P
Happy baking everyone =)

About Dance Shows

MTV's America's Best Dance Crew has started it's sixth season! How exciting =D I LOVE dancing - especially hip-hop dancing. My friends who love to dance and enjoy the art of dance more-so enjoy the shows "So You Think You Can Dance?" and "Dancing With The Stars", but I admit that MTV's America's Best Dance Crew appeals most to me. The crews this season look REALLY great that it's difficult for me to say I have a favorite this time around. All the past seasons, I've definitely pulled for Jabbawockees, (I like Super Cr3w but it was hard to follow this second season after seeing how awesome Jabbawockees were in the first season), Quest Crew, We Are Heroes, and I do like Poreotix... but my all time favorites out of all these crews are Jabbawockees, Quest Crew, and We Are Heroes. Although after these crews win, I have no idea how we can watch them perform or where they perform (aside from hearing that Jabbawockees perform in Las Vegas every now and again, but I only know of this because a group of guys approached my girl friend and me when we were in Vegas stating they manage Jabbawockees' performances in Las Vegas, but the extent of their legitimacy in stating this is highly questionable o.O). Does anyone know what happens to these crews after they win? Do you see them in any music videos?
Anywho... there seems to be some popularity in watching dance shows nowadays - even the popular music nowadays seem to cater towards an audience that likes to hear beats and rhythms that are easy to dance to when in night clubs (but that's just an opinion and one person's perspective). What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree?
Either way, I don't mind - I love dancing and the new wave of music I hear on the mainstream radio so thank you pop culture for catering to my liking =)
If you watch MTV's America's Best Dance Crew.... please let me know which crew you like watching the most, and in this sixth season, who are you rooting for? o.O

Homemade Donuts (Fat vs. Low-Fat) & Fat-Free Sorbet

Using the recipe at: http://annies-eats.net/2010/03/22/yeasted-doughnuts/ (Cook's Illustrated), I attempted for the first time to make homemade donuts with the help of my girlfriends =)

Cook's Illustrated's recipe worked out really well for tasty donuts

Using Cook's Illustrated's recipe, we made heart-shaped and circle-shaped donut puffs

We also made the "O"-donuts

We coated them in cinnamon-sugar...

This recipe was definitely a winner in terms of successfully making tasty donuts, but health-wise (if you are health-conscious), it is not recommended. In my next attempt to make donuts, I will try making some substitutions in this recipe to try making a "healthy" donut, as crazy as that may sound, but it's worth a try in seeing how it will turn out. Do any of you have any thoughts on making a tasty "healthy" donut? o.O

Using this recipe: http://hubpages.com/hub/Low-Fat-Donuts#, we attempted making low-fat donuts... but the result yielded baby-bagels >.< More experimentation will be done and I will continue to keep you posted on if I ever succeed in making a "healthy" donut - thoughts/comments are welcome ;)

We made fresh homemade strawberry sorbet and topped it with a raspberry - this was wonderful. Here's the recipe: fresh strawberries sliced and placed in the freezer for 2+ hours, when ready (frozen) place in a food processor or blender until it looks slushy, add some sugar and grate some lime for a bit of fresh zest, blend/process further (taste until you reach the flavor you like), then scoop into a bowl/cup/cone and place a fresh raspberry on top ;) Enjoy!

Many thanks to my girlfriends for trying these recipes with me - it was super fun! If you try these recipes, please let me know how it turned out for you =) Happy cooking/baking/EATING! =D

A love and hate relationship with sports

I used to play tennis very competitively in my adolescent years, but as I've been getting older, although I'm not THAT old but aging is aging =P, I have been finding it difficult to have a continuous type of hitting style. For instance, at some time during a year, possibly depending how much I play per week or per month, I will be playing well which means to me that I'm hitting my shots with power, speed, and accuracy. Then at another point in time during the following year, I feel like I've lost an element or two such as I've lost the ability to anticipate before hitting my shots on either the backhand or forehand, or I've just forgotten how to hit my forehand with power, speed, and accuracy all together... my dad (who taught me how to play this sport) used to tell me that tennis is a weird game. He says this because you cannot play this sport the same way every day - one day you can be playing great, and the next day you can be playing very poorly. Well... I agree! Tennis is a very weird game! Yet it can definitely be fun and can be a great form of exercise =)
So it has been nearly two years at this point since I've felt that I've played really well - during the past two years, I really started not caring about playing tennis, which was really a drag and put somewhat a dampener on my mood whenever I thought about having to play this sport. However, I highly doubt I will ever quit playing this sport because my dad is highly involved in captaining recreation-competitive tennis teams where he needs me to play on these teams, and I have so many friends who play in these recreation-competitive tennis leagues / teams, so it will be very difficult to abandon. Luckily, I'm recently getting back into it =D Just today, (where I played a recreation-competitive tennis match in mixed doubles this very evening with a very good friend of mine and awesome tennis player)... I finally felt that enjoyment for the sport again =) YAY!
Have any of you ever felt the love for a sport so much that eventually, you grew to hate it, but then something sparked your enjoyment for it again? What is your experience?