Bachelor baking challenge #2

My last venture with baking resulted in what I've dubbed "Shortbread Boulders"--they were shortbread cookies made for my chemistry lab, I made sure they were gluten-free because one of my classmates had/has Celiac disease (basically, gluten agitates the body enough that the immune system starts attacking  the digestive system).

In mid-December, my neighbor, Bethany, gave us (me, she may have meant to share it with my dad too) a wonderful pot pie.  She's very health conscious, and the pie was made from free-range, organic AND gluten free ingredients.

It was excellent, I ate all of it over the course of two meals and many friends on campus were either amazed that I brought an entire casserole for myself as a lunch, or envious that its contents smelled and looked so very enticing.

About a month later, I've finally resolved to return the casserole with something that meets most of the previous conditions Bethany had set:  I'd make something with granola (relatively gluten free), Mulberry Preserves made by the a few friends of mine in Detroit (they collected and cooked it with the Detroit Asian Youth project, I played music afterward and brought some food for everyone to enjoy).

Mulberry Preserve made by the good people of
the Detroit Asian Youth (AKA DAY project),
the label was designed by Michelle Martinez.
The photo is mine, and the lion looks suspiciously similar to me...

Look beyond the jump for the musings about baking...

Autumn flavors return

There's something about the autumn that makes my senses and imagination more acute and attuned to certain flavors.


Note that I've yet to make these combinations happen, but I'm convinced that they should work well (in theory at least)...


Here's a few that came to mind:
1) Butternut Squash soup with Curry.
Inspired by the aromas from an Ann Arbor Indian restaurant as I was walking on Maynard and Williams to the UM Undergraduate Library this past Saturday evening (the 29th).


2) Pumpkin+Apple bake (cinnamon is the common denominator for a pie or torte of sorts).


3) Pumpkin pie oatmeal with maple syrup and/or brown sugar. (an idea from last year, I still have yet to make this combination...)


The latter is decidedly very suburban--it was inspired by smelling an instant oatmeal packet being microwaved while I was working at the Engineering Society of Detroit.


Not quite related as I don't see this fitting in with the rest of the flavors or autumn, but this happened today and therefore shall be included in the list:


Pho with something on the side like dried pineapple slices with hummus. 


Dad made the vietnamese soup and I added a little too much Hoisin sauce (mostly sweet and a bit salty). This left me wanting something a bit more grounded, solid, and mellow in flavor.  Dried pineapple and hummus did the trick.