It’s still too hot out to bake, unless you’re baking in a cabana by the pool or under an umbrella at a beach. So I’ve voted to leave the oven off, which means less baking and (unfortunately) less blogging. But then last week, it was a friend’s birthday and so I felt compelled to make a cake. And you know it’s a good friend because I’m not a fan of cake making. Cake eating, yes. Caking making, not so much. Continue reading “Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake”
I know a lot of you who are avid bakers have had stand mixers for ages. I’ve had mine for less than a year but what a difference it makes! I love the large bowl and being able to leave it running while I’m making stuff like meringues or whipping cream. It’s nice being able to walk away even if it’s only for a minute or two just to wash your hands or start prepping something else. The downside is that I have a short attention span and I get easily distracted. With my hand mixer, I couldn’t WAIT to let go of it — it was loud, messy, heavy and I didn’t have control over the speed. It either mixed things on fast, faster or too fast. So you know the recipes that tell you not to overwhip heavy cream or your meringues. It’s very easy to do with a stand mixer! Continue reading “Homemade Spicy Rosemary Garlic Butter”
After seeing so many different blog posts on Trader Joe’s and products from Trader Joe’s, I decided to find one to visit on my road trip last week. Luckily, there was one around the corner from my hotel. Continue reading “Trader Joe’s Visit”
Earlier this week, I decided to take an impromptu weekend road trip. It was one of those “I have to get out-of-town” moments. The weekend started off pretty well– I was packed and had my little survival kit including a batch of cherry chocolate chip banana muffins (recipe to follow). Unfortunately in the mishegosh of packing, it seems a certain someone forgot a certain driver’s license which meant I was stuck doing ALL the driving. Don’t get me wrong, I like driving and I like road trips, but the one thing I realized is that road trips have to be done with a group of people you don’t mind being around for a couple many hours. Especially when everyone in the car wants to play backseat driver.
Continue reading “Whole Wheat Cherry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins”
I have a confession to make. The first time I ever ate a Madeleine was at Disney World and then the next time I had one was at Starbucks. You know the kind that you pick up on a whim at the cash register? The ones from the Boulangerie Pâtisserie in Epcot were also sitting by the cash. I guess they’re an impulse purchase. I’m not sure how authentic those madeleines were but I liked the ones I had so much that I ran out and bought a Madeleine pan but this was a few years ago. I’m a little embarrassed to say that the pan sat unused until last weekend. Continue reading “Orange Honey Madeleines”
Cherries are in season and I came home with a big bag of them a few days ago. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them all but I knew I wanted to try something different. I had just finished making a focaccia and thought it would be interesting to see how a normally savoury bread would work with sweet ingredients. I still wanted to keep the savoury element so I added fresh rosemary and some fleur de sel for sprinkling on top.
The focaccia dough proofs in the olive oil but don’t let that throw you off. The oil gives the bread a really nice hint of rosemary flavor – it doesn’t make the bread heavy or too oily. Finally, the cherries add a bright freshness to the bread. Not something you’d normally expect to find in a focaccia.So give this recipe a try the next time you’re looking for a slightly sweeter bread to serve during your breakfast or brunch. Enjoy!
And now to decide what to do with the rest of these cherries… Continue reading “Cherry and Rosemary Focaccia Bread”
Is it still too hot to turn on the stove or oven in your part of the world? Over the weekend, we had a small break from the hot weather when it rained on Saturday but it was still humid and muggy. It makes me think of that Simpsons episode where Homer builds a tent onto the fridge because it’s so hot. Ah, fridge tent! I think I’ll be needing one of those this summer. Phew! But back to the subject of cooking and eating. If you don’t want to cook, you can get take out but that gets boring and expensive after a while. I decided to take a recipe for one of my favorite salads and change it up a bit. Okay, it still involves a bit of stove top use but it’s worth it I promise.
Fans of Disney World know that when you plan a trip to see the mouse, you have to book your dining reservations 180 days in advance. It might seem a little strange but if you don’t make those reservations, you may not get to eat where you want, when you want. Many of you know that I’m going back to Disney World in January for marathon weekend to do Goofy’s Race and Half Challenge with my running group. Which means our 180-day window is coming up and it’s time to get organized. One of our group meals is going to be at the Polynesian resort. It’s my favorite resort at Disney – I love the theming of the resort and I think it has some of the best restaurants on property. That got me thinking about some of my favorite foods from the Polynesian. One of those is ‘Ohana’s Pineapple Breakfast Bread.
Looks like July is here and I hope everyone’s summer is going well so far! I have no complaints except for the excessively hot weather. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take the heat over the cold and snow any day, but I love baking and running. Especially with baking, I’ve only been turning on my oven when I absolutely have to. So I went through some of the recipes I had and came across one for a no-bake cookie that was given to me by my chiropractor Marco. Continue reading “Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Protein Cookie Balls”
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