food . design . travel . lifestyle
GI restrictions are not going to keep me from hosting our family Easter dinner and creating festive treats for my loved ones! So I spent a good part of today in my kitchen, working with chocolate coating and shaped marshmallows for the first time. Since I'm no expert and I didn't make many changes, I'm… Continue reading Easter Treats
Confession: I love people through food. As a cherished friend is moving out-of-state tomorrow, I knew I had to send her family off right. We all know that the last night in your packed home always presents multiple challenges, especially before a long-haul move. So today, my kitchen is filled with the smells of the… Continue reading A Sweet Farewell
We recently lost an immediate family member. He loved lemon, and I mean loved lemon. He would always ask restaurant waitstaff for an entire bowl of lemon wedges for his drinking water, and if that menu offered any lemon desserts, that's the one he'd choose. Today would've have been his 76th birthday. How could we… Continue reading The Best Lemon Sour Cream Pie
Think tasty quick breads can't be a little healthier? This recipe wants to prove you wrong. They have a little less sugar than usual, resulting in a delicate sweetness. They also substitute applesauce for oil, leaving them deliciously moist. The batter works well as a sliced loaf as well as muffins. I had so many… Continue reading Banana Applesauce Bread
Many people love to highlight citrus during the holidays. Me? I celebrate citrus in the winter. There is something about the freshness of the flavor, the promise of other spring and summer fruits coming soon. Citrus lifts my mood during grey winter days. Coincidentally, winter is the ripe season for many citrus fruits, especially oranges… Continue reading Glazed lemon cookies
Thursday thoughts from the kitchen: When you fail to chill your dough before baking thumbprint cookies, don't be surprised if it spreads in the oven, and your cookies end up looking like this. But don't lose heart! Much like these pecan thumbprints I'm testing today, a cookie is tasty no matter its shape, and icing… Continue reading I Smashed My Thumbprints
I probably should've labeled this post Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars, because that's precisely what they are. However, at their heart, these are orange blondies, festively dressed with cranberries and white chocolate chips, smothered in cream cheese frosting. Be advised: this recipe makes 24 blondies, and I had a crazy sugar rush after just one.… Continue reading Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Blondies
Sometimes, you're just trying to live your life when a wicked craving for one of those huge Costco chocolate muffins hits you out of nowhere. In those times, I believe in preheating the oven, grabbing a bowl, and addressing that craving head on. This batter isn't excessively sweet; it's a good balance to all the… Continue reading Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
When a dear friend chose Boston Cream cupcakes for a birthday surprise, it gave me an excellent opportunity to try my hand at several basic baking techniques I've been wanting to learn. Blame a stress-coping binge of Great British Bake Off. So with wild abandon - and GBBO reruns on my laptop - I threw… Continue reading Baking basics
