So I’ve decided I prefer using my blogspot account more for posting things like recipes and reviews, so I’m moving back to it.

http://bold-drop.blogspot.com/

I don’t know what’s wrong with me…

I’m like, losing my creativity.

And losing interest in everything.

I just don’t feel like doing anything anymore.

I can’t come up with anything creative.

I don’t feel like doing anything.

I feel so useless.

I don’t even feel like doing the things that I love to.

I find myself dreading to put makeup on…. dreading to cook/bake…. dreading to do anything involving my creative side…. dreading to talk to anyone, even my boyfriend…. I don’t even know.

Many vegan/vegetarian dishes are made with gluten/seitan, but it can be kind of costly to buy it premade and cook it. This is usually made using high gluten flour or instant gluten flour, which would be much easier and faster to make, but regular all-purpose flour can make this just as well.

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Ingredients:

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cups water

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Directions:

1. Place flour in a large mixing bowl and gradually add water while kneading it to form a stiff, elastic dough. (It shouldn’t be sticky.)

2. Cover and set aside the dough for approximately half an hour.

3. Pour water in the bowl just enough to cover the dough.

4. Cover and set aside for approximately two hours.

5. Wash the dough by kneading it in the water. The water will become cloudy.

6. Pour out water and refill with clean water.

7. And wash dough by kneading more…. And replace water and wash…. and wash… and wash….. Until the water runs clear. (This will take approximately half an hour or more, and you’ll be left with approximately half the size of dough as what you started with. It will look gross and kind of like… brains….)

8. Place in a clean bowl, cover and place in fridge for a day. After a day, it will look smoother and be more elasticy.

9. Cut or shape into desired shapes and cook as desired.

Okay, I know this sounds weird and probably gross, but this is seriously the best frosting I have ever made. I always have the problem with buttercream frosting or any other frosting that is made from confectioners/icing sugar because it always turns out way too sweet, especially if I’m piping the frosting on, it’s just way too much.

And then I discovered this type of frosting. It is amazing. It’s lighter tasting than buttercream frosting, and a lot less sweet, which makes it perfect for piping onto cupcakes or cakes. The consistency is a lot lighter, almost like whipped cream, but slightly heavier than whipped cream. So its kind of like a cross between whipped cream and buttercream frosting, which I absolutely love. So far I have only tried this on cupcakes, though I am planning to try making a black forest cake using this instead of heavy whipped cream.

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Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup soymilk (I like to use Vanilla Silk)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance)

(Can use all margarine or all shortening.)

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

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Directions:

1. In a bowl, sieve flour into soymilk. Whisk together until smooth.

2. Pour into a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to bubble. Set aside to cool.

3. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.

4. Add vanilla and salt. Blend well.

5. On medium speed, beat in cooled flour mixture, approximately a teaspoonful at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Continue beating until light and fluffy.

Tip: Make sure there aren’t any small lumps of flour in the frosting, especially if you are piping it, lumps will look unattractive and get stuck in the tips.

I’ve been so busy the past week, spending my last days with my friends before I went home, and baking and baking and baking and packing and looking for a job and all that crap. I can’t believe its become so hard to find a job. I’m in so much shit if I don’t find any work though. So I keep lowering my standards, and applying to places that I would never want to work at even.

It was so hard going back to my place last night and packing up…. Leaving him. Getting everything together and leaving for four months. I already want to go back. I already miss him so much. But I guess that’s life. Its cool though because I actually trust him enough to leave him for so long.

I started putting together an eyeliner reviews post during my exams, but I still haven’t finished that. Hopefully I can finish writing it up today or something so I can post it up. And then post some of the stuff I’ve been baking up as well. I’m so tired though. I’ve been lacking so much sleep the past few weeks, pulled two all nighters in the past few days, so I might just be sleeping all day today instead. And unpacking. And then tomorrow I’ll need to start heading out and looking for jobs in person instead of just online like I’ve been doing. So I don’t know….

I first discovered Toms Shoes when I was Boxing Day shopping. I really love the style of the shoes. And I absolutely love the fact that they have some vegan selections, also made with recycled and sustainable materials. Another thing that I absolutely love about Toms is that with every pair that you purchase, they’ll give a pair to a child in need. And they’re pretty inexpensive, especially considering that you’re basically paying for two pairs, going for $54 USD. I love my Toms, and I just wanted to spread the word about them. I hope I’m not sounding like I’m advertising…. I’m hoping to eventually get a few more pairs for myself, and perhaps get a matching pair for my boyfriend! ^^

I never knew about this before. I just came across it today, and found it completely amusing. And life changing. I can’t wait to make some cupcakes either tomorrow or the day after and try eating them this way!

I found this recipe on vegweb.com and replaced the silken tofu it called for, for applesauce. And I added a cookie frosting to them as well. I have been meaning to try this out for ages and I finally did. They turned out great. The cookies themselves taste really good. Soft and rich. And not too sweet. But once I added the frosting, it was a little bit too sweet to my taste. But I’m sure if they’re being made for children, they won’t be too sweet. Also I did a horrible job of frosting them, its embarassing… that’s why I don’t have a picture for these. But I will take a picture the next time I make them.

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Ingredients:

Cookies:

3 tbsp Applesauce

1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tsp soymilk

2 tsp light corn syrup

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Directions:

Cream together margarine and sugar until fluffy.

Add applesauce and vanilla.

Sift in flour, baking powder and salt.

Mix well.

Roll out and use cookie cutters to cut out cookies. Make them however thick you want them to be, since they won’t rise much.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

While cookies are cooling….

Mix together confectioners’ sugar and soymilk.

Add corn syrup and stir well.

The frosting will be somewhat stiff.

I suggest putting the icing into a piping bag and pipe it onto the cookies. It’s much easier, since the frosting is so stiff it’s kind of hard to spread on with a spatula. You can also add a little bit more soymilk so its easier to spread and more like a glaze. If you’re adding sprinkles, be sure to put it on immediately after frosting, before the frosting hardens.

So I am moving from Blogger to Tumblr at last. And changing the name. The old blog is at bold-drop.blogspot.com if you want to see my old posts.

Why this name? This was actually the name of a website I started years back, called synthetic-love.org. It never got anywhere. I never updated it. And my domain expired. During that time, was probably one of my most depressive moments in my life, leading to this name. I wanted something that sounded beautiful, yet, reflective of my life. I felt like love was fake. Hence the name. But now I have a whole new take on it. Synthetic doesn’t necessarily mean fake. It is another form of the word synthesis, which means creation. “The combining of separate elements or substances to form a coherent whole.” Like myself, this name is no longer so negative. And also it represents all these things I create. And that is why I decided to use it once again.

Also besides moving my blog, I’m going home in about a week! But before I leave, I want to do tons of baking, because I probably won’t be bringing all these baking tools of mine with me, and I don’t have everything that I’ll need back there. Some of the things currently on my mind are: Red Velvet Cupcakes or any other kinds of cupcakes, Petite Fours, Chocolate Chunk Cookies, 14-Layer Cake, Black Forest Cake/Cupcakes and Egg Tarts…. That’s a lot for one week. I hope I have people to eat all these goodies. I definitely don’t want them to go to waste.