So it got put off, but today I'm baking

So, the baking got put off a week, but today I am baking. I'm trying out the Fig & Lemon Bars first. These I made gluten-free using a mixture of naturally gluten-free flours and I'm already guessing, based on the required batter taste-test, that these will taste better than using a gluten-free flour purchased from the store. I replaced part of the butter with Greek yogurt and used coconut milk in place of the eggs. They smell amazing, but I can't taste yet because they are cooling.

I'm not so confident about my second creation which I strayed a little more from the original recipe. Prune & Walnut Swirl Cake turned into Goji Berry and Golden Raisin Pumpkin Seed Cake. For this one I just used the easy gluten-free flour mix from the store. The required batter taste-test was not as promising. As soon as I tasted it I remembered when I made gluten-free chocolate cupcakes (from a pre-made mix) for my Grandmother's birthday party and they were DISGUSTING! The taste is something I can't describe, but lets just say that it doesn't taste like food but more like a liquid you'd put in your car. Unfortunate that I used the expensive ingredients on that one. (As I'm sitting here reading and editing what I just wrote...even after washing my hands and doing dishes...I can still smell it-ugh gross!)

Today I'm Baking

I'm experimenting with gluten-free, egg-free, and of course yeast-free recipes today. I always substitute eggs with either flax seed/water or coconut milk, but I've also found a way to substitute some of the butter with yogurt. I'm hoping the yogurt will make my yummy sweets more healthy.

First on my list are breakfast cookies and some kind of bar...date and spice, or fig an lemon maybe.

The breakfast cookies recipe is a variation of Ellie Krieger's breakfast cookies. They're great, full of protein, and other healthy ingredients. Today I'm definitely using goji berries!

wish me luck!

Now for the Plan

I'm beginning to perfect recipes and rework them for allergies. I'm getting really excited to create all of these new desserts, but I'm dead ending at the logistical stuff. How will I get my products out there if I don't have a store front? There are lots of people these days that have online food businesses, or don't have their own restaurant but how do they produce their food? It is my understanding that you have to cook in some kind of commercial kitchen-at least in Austin so I'm working on figuring that out. There aren't a lot for rent here. After that I've got to get licensed and stuff which isn't much of a problem. It just takes away from the fun part.

Good news is that my friend Kelly is going to work with me when the store finally opens in Wisconsin. I hope she wasn't kidding because I'm putting her in the plan.

Maybe it Should be Sweets

Over the past year I've gone back and forth with making chocolates. I was making truffles and it was fun. I even started the wheels in motion to find out about licensing and professional kitchens. It worried me because set-up costs a lot of money and the commercial kitchen where I could rent space was far away from my house. As anyone who has read my blog so far has gathered, I'm looking for a job that could accommodate having children and staying home, or at least make my own schedule. About 2 weeks ago I started having the urge to make chocolates again. Then I started thinking about cupcakes and cookies, etc. Last weekend I made energy bars and breakfast cookies which was fun and rewarding. I knew every ingredient inside and they tasted amazing!

I see people all the time on the Food Network and on the Cooking Channel who start pastry businesses out of their apartments and their great stories and are often very rewarding. So, and I'm even afraid to express this out loud for fear of jinxing myself, but I think I would like to have a sweets shop...Sugar Maple Sweets???? Totally awesome sweets that are healthy...I know that sounds crazy but it's completely possible! I have food allergies and I'd love to focus on that too so all of my sweets would be fine for people with food allergies such as eggs, yeast, and gluten, but also enjoyed by everyone that doesn't have food allergies.

I'm just sort of riding this feeling. I can actually see it in my head which is really cool! I can even see the corner shop in Wisconsin where I would put it.

SSHHH, don't tell anyone...lets see where this goes!

Etsy or Bust

I finally put something up on Etsy.com. It's not much, but I made these beaded handles about a year ago. I had every intention of selling them on Etsy.com, but it just never happened. I absolutely love them and will continue to make more. I hope this is the beginning of me getting back on my creative horse again! I've had some kind of mental block against it but I'm trying!

Click on the post title above, or go to www.etsy.com/shop/SugarMapleDesigns

Stay tuned for more beaded housewares

What it is and what it will be.

Today, Sugar Maple Designs is just a name, but someday it will be the name I use to sell my art. I'm all over the place right now trying to find the exact spot to land. Home decorating is my number one passion, but without a partner and with having a full time job it's hard to find the time to work with others. I've switched directions for the time being from decorating to something that doesn't depend on others for me to be creative. I love to sew, paint, organize, and use computers. Somehow all of that needs to travel in the same direction.

What drives this is the need to make my own schedule and the freedom to be a stay-at-home mom. Do what I want when i want within reason. I'm sure the children that will come in the next few years will dictate that much more! For me, and this is not to offend anyone, but daycare is not an option. I'd rather be poor and be with my children. I'm sure my mom never knew, but for the small period of time that I had to go to daycare I was devastated. I was a very sensitive child and I can't take the chance that my children could ever feel the same way. This is why I need Sugar Maple Designs.

So, I'm a horrible blogger!

I've been bitter about blogs since they became the latest craze. What do people write about, I always wonder, and why does anyone else care? I've periodically searched for interesting blogs but just got bored and gave up. My husband can spend days on the internet and I just really need more of a purpose. Banking, e-mail, celebrity gossip and then I'm lost. It's not that I'm not handy on the computer, its just that my brain doesn't even know what to search for.

Then, my life changed!! Somehow, during my lunch hour when I was trapped at the office, I ran across this blog...

Or So She Says...

AND...I loved it!

Two adorable women and a variety of information. It's just full of fun stuff. So, I decided that day that I would blog. What about...I'll start with Sugar Maple Designs and see what happens.