Sunday, September 14, 2014

Emmy’s Fantabulous Vegan Low-Fat Cinnamon and Sugar Donuts

Nutrition Information (Not including icing):
115.4 Calories   4.2 Grams of Fat   18.22 Carbs   1.42 Protein

Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients
·          1 Cup All Purpose Flour
·          1/2 Cup Vegan White Sugar
·          1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
·          1/4 tsp Salt
·          1/4 tsp Nutmeg
·          1/4 tsp Cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
·          1/2 Cup Vanilla Soymilk
·          1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
·          1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
·          Ener-G Egg Replacer for 1 Egg
·          4 Tbsp Earth Balance, melted
Icing Glaze
·          1/2 cup Vegan Powdered Sugar
·          1 Tbsp Soy Milk
·          1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions:

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine all wet ingredients in a second bowl. Thoroughly mix together the dry and wet ingredients. Fill donut maker (I use the electric donut maker made by Sunbeam) and cook around 7 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Dip in the icing glaze. Makes about 10-12 donuts.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Makes 60 cookies if using 2” cookie cutters

 Ingredients:
·         1 ½ cups powdered sugar
·         1 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, softened
·         ¼ cup vanilla soymilk
·         1 teaspoon vanilla
·         1 teaspoon almond extract (I used IMITATION almond extract)
·         2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
·         2 tablespoons cornstarch
·         1 teaspoon baking soda
·         1 teaspoon cream of tartar

In large bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, the margarine, 1/4 cup soymilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract with electric mixer on medium speed to combine. Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and cream of tartar until blended. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Divide dough in half. Roll each dough half to1/4 inch thickness on generously floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters. On cookie sheet, place cutouts about 2 inches apart.

Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.


Frost cookies with your favorite vegan frosting.

Vegan Cinnamon Donut Muffins

Makes around 16-18 muffins

Muffin Ingredients:
·         3/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter
·         1 cup sugar
·         3 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons water
·         3 cups all-purpose flour
·         3 teaspoons baking powder
·         1/4 teaspoon baking soda
·         1/4 teaspoon salt
·         1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
·         1 cup soymilk
·         1/4 cup vegan buttermilk (mix ¼ tablespoon vinegar with ¼ c soymilk, let sit for 5 minutes)

Topping Ingredients
·         1/2-3/4 cup coconut oil, melted (or you can use margarine)
·         1 cup vegan sugar
·         1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Add egg Ener-G replacer.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.  Spray a muffin pan and fill each cup 3/4 full.  Bake in preheated 350 degree, checking for doneness at around 20 minutes.  Remove when done and let cool.

For the topping, you will need two bowls for dipping.  Melt the coconut oil in one bowl and mix the cinnamon and sugar in the other bowl.  Dip each muffin in oil and then in cinnamon mixture.



Low-Fat Vegan Pumpkin Scones

Makes 8 

Scone Ingredients:
  •          2 cups flour (I ended up using a good deal more than this in order to make the mix into a dough vs the batter it originally turned out to be)
  •          1/3 cup brown sugar
  •          1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  •        2 teaspoons baking powder
  •          3/4 cup soy milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk) 
  •          2 teaspoons lemon juice
  •          1/2 cup pumpkin pie filling


Topping Ingredients:
  •  1 cup powdered sugar
  •  1 tablespoon cinnamon
  •  Spray oil (I used Trader Joe’s coconut oil spray)


Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. 

In a smaller bowl mix the soy milk with the lemon juice. Let sit for a couple of minutes to thicken. Stir in the pumpkin pie mix. 

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir to combine. Dump the mixture out onto a floured countertop and knead 2-3 times and pat into a circle. Cut into eight wedges.

Place the wedges on the parchment paper and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the bottoms are just slightly browned. Once done let them cool completely on a cooling rack.

Once cool, spray the top of each scone with oil and then dip in the powdered sugar mixture.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Emmy's Garlic and Methi (Fenugreek) Parathas

Ingredients (Makes 5 small parathas):
-1.5 cups of atta Indian flour (or any wheat flour)
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tablespoon dried methi (fenugreek) leaves 
-water
-salt
-oil

Directions:
-Combine methi and garlic with a small amount of water, as pictured. Stir.

-Add the flour and enough water to make dough the consistency of pie crust or pizza dough. Knead until all the ingredients are reasonably mixed, as pictured.

-Place a small amount of dough on a flat clean surface, as pictured.

-Flatten with a rolling pin. Then add a sprinkle of oil, as pictured.

-Add a pinch of salt, as pictured, and rub over the surface.

-Fold the dough into a pocket, as shown. This doesn't have to be perfect or done in any particular way. This just allows the paratha to have different layers once cooked.

-Roll the dough into a circle (doesn't have to be perfect), as shown. It should end up being the thickness of a tortilla.

-Preheat a frying pan on medium heat. Place paratha on pan. Press for a few second with a spatula. Turn once bottom side is cooked/golden brown.

-Repeat last step. This is where you may see the paratha puff up, as shown, although this depends more on the type of flour used. It will still taste the same even if it doesn't puff up.

That's it. Bon Appétit!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Greetings! And thank you for taking the time to learn about me and who I am as a person and as a nanny.

My name is Emily Rinke. I am 29 years old and I live in Mayer, Minnesota.



As you can see, Mayer is in the Western suburbs, about 22 miles West of Minnetonka. Mayer is in Carver County. I grew up mostly in Minnetonka, where my parents still live. I have a younger sister who is currently working on the business side of the music industry.


I have been married to my husband, Marcus, for 9 years. Marcus works for HD Supply, a sewer and water pipe distributor, as a shipping and warehouse supervisor. He is also a pipe fusion expert and travels and trains vast amount of people on how to use machines to permanently fuse pipe together. He is very talented mechanically and I am lucky to have a husband who can fix anything, including our 4 vehicles. He even installed a professional car lift in our garage!


We currently do not have any children of our own, but we have started the process to adopt a an infant domestically. Unfortunately, it is a very expensive endeavour so it has been slow going for us. In the meantime, we have devoted ourselves to "raising" our SIX (yes six!) rescued companion animals. We have three dogs, two cats, and one rabbit. Most are special needs and two of our dogs are diapered. The abuse and neglect they experienced in their early life has made them unable to properly potty train. One of our dogs is even missing an eye!. We love them all dearly and are truly devoted to them.








There are a lot of things I enjoy doing. Top on my list is definitely spending time with my animals. In addition, I enjoy crocheting, sewing, and card making. I also like music and I especially love to watch Marcus play the guitar. My extended family is also very important in my life and I am blessed to live near many of them. There is nothing I love more than having a get together with my grandpa, parents, sister, and various aunts, uncles, and cousins.


Marcus and I also enjoy camping in our travel trailer camper. We bring all six of our pets with us and while it is certainly a full house, it makes it just that more enjoyable.


Life is good and I am very lucky to have so many wonderful people and animals in my life.




My ideal nanny position would revolve around caring for infant(s) or toddler(s) within a caring, loving family environment. I am looking for an outgoing, open, honest, and fun family to add my expertise to. The parents should be open to suggestions and willing to let me take the reins on their children's care when I am on duty.

I am looking for a position where I would be allowed to take their kids on outings, to the park, or for a walk. I also love having playdates and am willing to take that on as part of my responsibilities.

My new family should know that while I will do what I can to keep the house clean, my first duty is a nanny. I want my focus to be on the children. That being said, I do not believe in sitting around and doing nothing during every nap time. I am open to helping out, especially with tasks relating to the child.

Ideally, my new family would talk with me on a daily basis on how the day has gone, progress the child has made, and things we could work on. Good communication is a must for me. I use a nanny app and I log milestones, potty times, and food intake everyday.

My new family should be considerate of my time. I understand that sometimes life throws us a curve ball and therefore being prompt and on time is not always possible. I will do my best to work around those situations. I just ask that I get as much notice of a timing change as possible. I will do the same for you too.

I also appreciate being paid on time. As my employer, you are responsible for taking taxes out of my paycheck and supplying me with the appropriate tax documentation. In addition, if I am to do any driving for you, I expect to be reimbursed according to the federal rate. Also, if there is a holiday that you are paid for, I expect to have that time off too, as well as be paid for it. I prefer to be paid bi-weekly. I may also be open to being paid twice a month. This is something we can discuss.

As for my actual pay rate, I will be asking between $14 and $16 an hour, depending on the amount of hours and the drive time it will take me to get to work. The more hours and the less of a drive, the lower the rate. Everything is negotiable, though, so feel free to discuss this with me.

My new family will be open to me bringing my baby to work with me once we adopt. This is very important to me.

Most of all, I want a family who is open and willing for me to become part of their household. I want to be respected and appreciated. If you treat me with respect, I will prove to be a wonderful addition to your home!