Really fast post, because while rambling endlessly about the wonders of angel cake last post, I suggested you could use your leftover yolks (a dozen!) in a curd. I was referring to this curd, because as luck would have it, it uses precisely twelve egg yolks; the same as you’ll have over from the angel cake recipe. It’s like they were made for each other.
Pin It
It’s official: my annual brunch obsession has started. I experience this every year, and I think it’s because I begin thinking about Easter. I host it every year (party alert!) and it gets very brunchy around these parts. I know some people eschew the idea of brunch as ridiculous, but I have always been a big fan of the breakfast/lunch combo, especially when it’s well thought out and gives a nod to both meals equally. Don’t give me a bunch of lunch stuff and some eggs; alternatively, keep your full breakfast spread with some salad thrown in for good measure away from me. A good brunch should blend the best of both meals together; it’s not always to do, and that’s why my planning for Easter begins early. Continue reading →
Pin It
I’ve switched obsessions; raspberry is my thing this week, it seems. Call it a mixed berry slump; I feel like I haven’t had decent berries around in forever, and I miss them. Summer berries are my favorite, and although you can find berries in the store right now, they leave a lot to be desired. Thankfully, frozen raspberries are a great substitute, especially when you feel a deep urge to swirl some through ice cream (which you’ll see later this week) or bake them into muffins. Continue reading →
Pin It
I’ve been secretly making this granola for far too long not to tell you about it. It started a few months ago, when Faygie at Life Tastes Good posted it. I love her anyway, but I was hooked instantly: a plain vanilla granola? From someone who I know loves vanilla and treats it like a flavor and not just an ingredient? Yes, please. Growing up, vanilla ice cream is all I would eat. Seems weird now, considering I’d try almost any flavor you’d put in front of me, but I just didn’t see any need to venture out when vanilla ice cream was my jam. I didn’t like to muddy the waters. I wasn’t the kid who wanted chocolate chips, marshmallows, or chunks of bubble gum in it (gross; do they even still make that?); just hand over the plain vanilla and I was (and still am) happy. Continue reading →
Pin It
‘Tis the season for giving, right? I mean, I gave away my votes to the Wee One yesterday during Ginger 2012, and today I gave Dana over at Whisks & Words a guest post (my very first one, ever); she’s doing a 12 Days of Cookies series, and I am honored to be day nine. What’s more, it’s a recipe I have only because Movita Beaucoup gave me my first-ever copy of Canadian Living Magazine this year; a tradition I hope we continue, because it is filled to the brim with fantastic holiday baking ideas, including these little biscotti treats.
I’ve successfully completed all my cookie deadlines, and am now focusing on appetizers for various weekend parties I’m invited to. I’ll be sharing some of these with you in a few days, but in the meantime, you should relax. Kick back. Do a little pre-holiday chilling. Maybe even make my pre-holiday chill-worthy Lemon Poppyseed Ginger Biscotti. That’s what I made for Dana, and the post is right here.
To those of you who voted for me or my sweet Wee One’s ginger house yesterday, you’re wonderful; even though she didn’t win, we had the best time watching all day to see how well she was doing (for much of the day, she was in second place, and that’s pretty big considering she has a tiny house covered in cereal.) So I thank you; it made my day and hers.
Pin It
It’s November already; can you believe it? Don’t fret. Sure, an onslaught of holidays are coming up in the next few months. You only have a few weeks before you see your Aunt Beatrice and she reminds you in her special way that your house could use a good dusting and, now that she mentions it, a little tidying up at the exact time as you’re attempting to wrestle a giant turkey into your oven. Continue reading →
Pin It
So we’ve all said our long goodbye (almost) to summer fruits, and have taken turns lamenting the disappearance of our nectarine, blueberry, and plummy friends. We will miss them; they never stay as long as we would like them to. We send them off with tears in our eyes, pressing our hand against the kitchen window. Goodbye, little fruits and vegetables. So long, sweet corn and tomatoes which make my home smell like a greenhouse. Fare thee well on your journey to next year, where we will see you again, glimmering and bright as always. Auf Wiedersehen, summer produce.
Because I’m done with you. It’s been chilly here and I am a fickle, fair-weather friend. Bring on the apples and pears and pumpkins and squash, farmers: I open my arms to you. Summer produce may be all vibrance and sizzle, but fall produce? It’s all subtleties. Sure, you have some sunset-hued apples in there, but for the most part, its matte-finished gourds and soft harvest goldens and greens. And that’s my kind of color scheme. Continue reading →
Pin It
Also known as Orange-Scented Steel-cut Oatmeal + Apple Raisin Filling + Cinnamon Maple Cream, but try to fit that on a subject line.
Because everyone should have a good breakfast in the morning, but for me? I’d rather have an excellent breakfast. This counts as a Farmers’ Market Monday because of the apples, but I’m here for a much more serious purpose: To get Movita Beaucoup off to baking school with a happy, not-nevous tummy. This should do it. I have made for her – and for all of you – the most amazing steel-cut oatmeal ever found in nature. You’ll feel so good about yourself in the morning when you finish a bowl of this, you won’t have the brain space to be worried about anything in your upcoming day. You’ll feel like you could conquer the world. And if you don’t think you have time for all this steel-cut oatyness in the morning, think again; because I made this one “instant,” just for you. Promise. Continue reading →
Pin It
Operation: Adopt a Zucchini* is in full swing: welcome to my second post this week about what to do when you have an overabundance of zucchini and no idea as to how to use them up. I know if you’re in a CSA anywhere near here, you probably have a ton of these things. You can grill them, gratin them, make them into ribbons if you wish; all of those ideas are ones I’ve availed myself of in recent weeks. But if your taste buds grow weary from all the savory zucchini-ing, use them for something on the sweeter side: black and white zucchini muffins.
*there is still no Operation: Adopt a Zucchini. It’s entirely fiction. It has, however, been suggested we create a 5K run for the organization in order to raise awareness about the homeless zucchini problem. It has been taken under advisement, and there’s a good chance it will happen next year. Before you ask, there will, in fact, be tee shirts. Continue reading →
Pin It
Let’s hear it for the fruits! Just in general, really, summer fruit has been stellar this year. I’m not thrilled with the temperatures this summer, but if it’s even partially responsible for the abundance of fruit we have, I guess I’ll take it. I’ve had more juicy, perfectly ripe fruit than you can shake a thermometer at, and although I’m looking forward to the fall when things cool off a bit and I can dig into root vegetables and leaf-collecting with the Wee One, I’ll miss the cornucopia of delicious fruits (and vegetables) this summer has brought me. A special thank you goes out to my garden, which has STILL not died in the heat. Garden, you’re the best. thank you for making me think, on our best days, that I could manage a modest farm. I couldn’t, let’s get real, but thank you for allowing me to feel like I could. Continue reading →
Pin It
Jen @JuanitasCocina: I like the spoon to my face method for enjoying curd. But this would ...
movita beaucoup: I. Love. Curd.
Aaaaaaand now I'm trying to think of about a million...
shannon: Monica, i know you love your eggs. :) and chiffon cake is great simply...
shannon: (snort laugh) :) sometimes i blame cake mixes: i love them, but when t...
shannon: ice cream! gelato!...
seems like lately my kitchen smells like…
stalking = so much fun.