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! 

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. 

Taste Treats: Cupcake Edition

It would seem that America has experienced a cupcake Renaissance. Back when I was a little sugar-loving towhead, cupcakes were the stuff of elementary school birthday parties, not chi-chi-fou-fou events and fancy-pants bakeries.

I'm guessing this cakey craze all started back in 2004 with Sprinkles and those delectable $3.25 treats topped in thick, scrumptious frosting and elegant sugar dots. Since then, cupcake stores seem to be populating street corners faster than Starbucks.

I have to wonder if this trend will last. Are cupcakes to the 2000s what fro-yo was the the 1980s? I know this question keeps you awake at night. Hopefully all the charming little cupcakeries won't go the way of TCBY.

Every now and again, a girl needs a little cream cheese frostin' to make it through the week. Am I right or am I right?


Let us stop and have a moment of silence for the fabulous person who invented the cupcake.

If you find yourself in want of even more cupcakiness, be sure to visit CupCakesTakeTheCake.

Images borrowed from Sprinkles, MyModernMet, CakesandCups & GluttonyIsABliss.

Taste Treats

My current foodie obsession is Greek yogurt. This dairy delicacy is the consistency of ricotta, sumptuously smooth, and decadently rich. Though on the tart side, add a bit of fresh fruit (mango and strawberries are my fave) or a drizzle of honey and you have yourself a healthilicious treat.Photo by moi.

Taste Treats, Banana Edition

As I have kvetched before, I always have overripe bananas sitting around the kitchen. My usual solution to this problem is the ubiquitous banana bread; however, my banana bread inevitably ends up dry on the edges and raw in the middle, traits not becoming of a baked good.

Then, yesterday, a revelation: why not bake banana bread in a bundt pan? Better yet, why not bake banana bread in my favorite fleur-de-lis bundt pan?

Here's my new favorite recipe for banana bread:

A Sweet Treat

One of the easiest and tastiest desserts I've been making lately is this crostata. What's not to love about a dessert that possesses all of the comfort of apple pie with none of the fuss?
Apple-Blackberry Crostata

Taste Treats, Bread Edition

"You are the butter to my bread and the breath to my life."
Paul Child to Julia Child

There are few things in life that are more comforting than a warm crusty baguette or a flaky croissant. Indulge (and drool!), mes amis!images borrowed from Catherine Meissner, Entre deux trains,Hotel Chatter & Farm 3

Taste Treats, Butter Edition

This morning I decided to surprise my hardworking hubby by making something extra delish for breakfast. Trader Joe's frozen chocolate croissants make the kitchen smell divine--butter and sugar and chocolate, oh my! These chocolate goodies are a perfect wow factor at breakfast or brunch. All they require is proofing at room temperature over night and a quick egg wash over top before baking (to make them shiny and flaky!).

Taste Treats, Fruity Edition

One of the great pleasures of living in California is the abundance of year-round, locally-grown produce. Just down the street from our apartment is an itsy-bitsy plot of land that has been devoted to organic farming. On the corner of the lot, the farmers sell their fresh fruits and veggies to the locals. The avocados and strawberries are especially delectable. This afternoon, rather than filling up a cart of partially-hydrogenated this and thats at the chain store next door, I happily ventured to our little farm stand. My kitchen now smells of fresh, delicious strawberries. I see strawberries and cream in my near future....

photo by moi

Taste Treats, Water Edition

This stuff is magically delicious!

Taste Treats, Coffee Edition

Often, when attempting to get my brother and me to try some "new" food item, my Dad would bill it as a "taste treat." Far too often these taste treats would in fact be neither tasty nor a treat. Sorry, Dad, brussel sprouts were not enticing to a 9 year old. But, as we all do, I've become my parents and started adopting his little dad-isms.

This morning, as with every morning in recent memory, I was sipping on my freshly ground cup of French roast and thinking to myself that this is a true "taste treat." When Monday mornings trudge along and seem so inherently crappy, a hot mug of joe certainly does wake up my mind and body. I must say though, coffee-making didn't come instantly to me. The absolute key to my coffee-brewing success is my Cuisinart machine. Ah, sweet nectar of the gods! That machine magically measures the beans, grinds them, and makes a strong and vivacious cup of coffee.