new traditions, old habits

Anyone who knows me knows that I love baking. I love the measuring and the mixing, the warm smell of rising dough, and of course, eating whatever comes out of the oven. From start to finish, it gives me a warm feeling (most likely from the oven) and reminds me of home. All in all, very enjoyable. Baking in Spain, however, is a little complicated. You have to translate all the ingredients, improvise the preparation methods (springform pan, schmingform pan), and then there's the oven. My oven likes to play games, the most popular being I'm getting really really hot! Now I'm coooooling down, guess what I'm doing now! I usually win, but it keeps you on your toes. Lately, however, with my vow/crazy cleanse ridiculousness, I can't eat sugar or white flour. There have been times in my life (my mom's coconut cream pie, a cupcake from Sugar Sweet Sunshine) that I have thought life might not be worth living without sugary, indulgent creations. That's how serious I am about dessert. You can imagine the internal struggle that is taking place at this very moment, and it's for this reason that my friend Sarah and I have spent the past two Sundays baking muffins. Not just any muffins. Sugarless muffins, sweetened with fruit and applesauce, and made with spelt/quinoa/barley/who knows what else flour. It sounds like desperation, but it smells like delicious. Last week, our apple/carrot/hazelnut power muffins made my week, and this week, our mix of pumpkin, coconut, dates, and macadamia nuts is pretty awesome. Nothing can compare, however, to the cake we made for Valentine's Day. So sweet, without sugar! So moist, without any fat! And so delicious, yet made with crazy health ingredients! It's a date-walnut-banana cake, and we found the recipe on the Internet (where else?). For those of you who think my tastebuds have died, I give you a second opinion: my roommates. That cake is gone, and so are all the crumbs. As for me, I hope next week brings more muffins.