A Taste Treat: Tropical Lemon Bars

When life gives you lemons, make lemon bars!  Usually lemon desserts are not at the top of my must-indulge list.  But today, I felt the need for the sweet, tart gooeyness that only a lemon bar can provide.  I adapted a classic (and easy!) lemon bar recipe to have a tropical twist.

This plate says, "What can you do with a lemon?"
How "parfait" for my new lemon bar recipe! 

The Art of the Cookbook

“Always start out with a larger pot 

than what you think you need.” 

― Julia Child

Even as a child, I remember thumbing through the pages of my parents' cookbooks, discovering new dishes and finding foreign ingredients.  Back then, cookbooks seldom looked the way they do now.  No glossy full-page photographs or food stylists or assumption that the reader was a foodie--just the words of the chef, perhaps a drawing or two and the trusted recipe.  

Birthday Cake

It seems just about everyone has their own very favorite birthday cake.  Maybe it was the plain old boxed white cake mix your mom made on your special day?  Or perhaps you indulge in German chocolate from your favorite bakery?  In recent years, red velvet has become my signature birthday cake.  It's the one decadent treat I look forward to every January 20th.

A Sweet Treat: Banana Pecan Cake

If you made resolutions that involve any of the following: will power, bikinis, marathons, skinny jeans, salads.  STOP READING NOW!

And for the rest of you, let's eat cake!

Pretty Monday: Beautiful Bread

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” ― James Beard

Au Levain du Marais by Shell Sherree on Etsy

The Perfect Pear Spice Cake

 

My husband declares when I make him something new, "this is the best _________ I have ever had!"  I love this about him. His enthusiastic endorsements of my baking efforts keep me cooking and keep his belly full.  Yesterday with a bowl of ripening baby Bosch pears sitting on the counter, I was determined to make something different, something to celebrate the arrival of autumn. 

Taste Treats: Almond Croissants

I do not believe in eating cereal on Saturdays.  Use your nice plates, make something special, top the table with a vase of flowers.  Announce the arrival of the weekend with a breakfast extraordinary. 

Sunday Brunching

I cannot think of a meal I adore more than brunch.  (Well, in my pregnant state, pre-breakfast, second breakfast, big Euro-style lunch and midday snack are close to a tie with brunch).  Brunch means your guests will be fresh off a restful night of slumber.  Brunch means you can prepare much of your meal the evening before. And brunch means you can justify eating both sugary baked goods and eggy-cheesy goodness in the same glorious feast.

The Mythical Cookie

Chocolate chip cookie recipes are closely guarded by grandmas the world over.  Bakers like to keep their favorite close to their heart only to be prepared when needing extra-special culinary oooohhhhs and aaaahhhs from family and friends. 

Muffin Tops

I've been baking lots of muffins lately.  Perhaps I just want to think of muffin tops other than the one forming around my waistline.  Perhaps my pregnancy cravings are in full carb mode.  Either way, our kitchen counter is starting to look like a bakery display case.  

These yummy blueberry banana muffins are the recent favorites around here. 

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

It is morning here in SoCal, so naturally, my thoughts have turned to cake (if you are not pregnant like moi, you must forgive my craving-dominated food posts until August). 

Piece of Cake

Some evenings, when the tedium of the week has just begun, I crave the warmth and simplicity of a homemade baked good.  Baking allows me to focus on sifting flour or measuring vanilla or whisking eggs rather than to-do lists and work projects.  Baking stills my racing mind with tasty tangible results.

Baked Goods

"Did you make these... [long pause, followed by another bite of muffin] from scratch???"

Why yes, hubby, indeed, they are from scratch.  I love how non-bakers use this phrase "from scratch" with such incredulity and appreciation.  Anytime dear hungry husband actually mutters these words, I know I have stumbled upon a winning recipe (especially because this recipe was ridiculously easy and made with pantry staples).   

Let them eat cake

For my hubby's birthdays past, I have baked his favorite German chocolate cake: ooey, gooey & coconuty.  But, this year, he requested something new, something even MORE decadent.  The birthday cake inspiration this year was a classic Reese's peanut butter cup.  The goal was a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling and a chocolate ganache exterior.  Two days post peanut butter cake, it is but a memory and a dimple of cellulite on my thighs.  But, oh, oh, oh, was it mighty tasty!

Banana Bread, Take 2

As I've mentioned many times over, most of my baking inevitably involves mushy bananas---not because I especially love them, but because they are always sitting on my kitchen counter.  I feel some sort of Depression-era guilt for throwing away produce that can be re-purposed.  I simply can't bid adieu to ye ole' bananas.

Last night, with four overly ripe nanners awaiting my experimentation, I set out to make yet another boring banana bread.  On this particular evening, however, I wanted evolved banana bread, banana bread with an attitude.

Tasty Trends: Whoopie Pies

Whoopie pies are the fad-du-jour in the baking world according to Saveur magazine.  They are the nouveau cupcake, if you will. 

For those of you who haven't been inculcated into the cult of Whoopie (poor you), my prediction is that you will soon be seeing these cakey confections in bakery windows from Brooklyn to Boulder. 

Whoopie pies, according to food anthropologists, were invented by the Pennsylvania Amish and later made wildly popular throughout New England.  When the Amish ladies would bake these treats and include them in their husband's lunchboxes, the hungry hubbies would remark,"whoopie!" at the joyous sight of the black and white cakes in their lunch pails.

Feeling Blue?

Homemade blueberry muffins are a true taste of summer.  Who needs a boxed mix when recipes are this simple?  

Dinner Time

This is a truth universally acknowledged: Mondays were made for comfort food. Last night, knowing that my hubby would return from work depleted and ravenous, I treated him to some semi-homemade chicken pot pies.

Saturday Coffee Cake Break

I am always on the hunt for recipes I can pull together without a trip to the market. Yesterday, having just discovered a bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer, I set out to bake something deliciously summery. After perusing the Food Network website for a bit, I stumbled upon Ina's Blueberry Crumble Cake.

Now that I've devoured my first slice with my morning coffee, I can attest that this cake is scrumptious.

Chocolate Fix: Brownies from Scratch

After discovering how simple it was to pull together these divine, gooey brownies with pantry staples, I will not be taking help from Mrs. Betty Crocker again.