Key Lime Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

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baking, cookies, desserts, key lime, preserves, raspberries, recipes, soft cookies

One of the things I’ve learned in life is that you can’t tell my mom anything.  I think this is just a personality quirk that my family has learned to accept, and it can be pretty amusing at times.

My parents have a quasi-retirement house up at Lake LBJ which they tend to go to on the weekends.  It’s in a neighborhood, but there are lots of wild animals around, most notably deer.  Now, to give you an idea of my mom’s compassion for animals, pretty much every pet we ever had was a stray that she rescued.  Naturally, with all the deer traipsing through the yard at the lakehouse, my mom has resorted to feeding them.  This is a big nono in that area and last year she was caught and fined a hefty fee.   Most people would learn their lesson from this situation and stop feeding the deer.

Well…I was up there this past weekend, and guess what?  My mom didn’t listen and has resumed her devious/compassionate behavior.  It’s really obvious too because there will be up to 30 deer in the yard!  There’s a pregnant one that will even eat out of her hand.  After the couple of times I saw her feed them, she said, “You guys are making me look bad!  Go on, get outta here!” and then proceeded to feed them some more.  haha, oh my… 

Hello, Rhubarb, my new friend…

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baking, cardamom, crumble, desserts, easy, quick, recipes, rhubarb

(…I’d like to bake with you again?)

Guess what??  I have just become acquainted with rhubarb!  Yep, that red celery-ish stuff had never graced my grocery basket or even tastebuds with its presence, but this nonsense is officially over.

My friend Jill invited a couple other friends and me over for dinner a few days ago to help her tackle the yummy grilled vegetable terrine that she had made.  Who can say no to that?  Seeing this as a golden opportunity to bake something, it seemed like the perfect situation to try out that totally foreign fruigetable.  (The more you know: It’s technically a vegetable, but was deemed a fruit in the US in 1947.)

Vegan Ginger Cookies

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baking, cookies, desserts, ginger, lime, recipes, soft cookies, vegan

Do you have a friend who you can always count on to show up late?  Like they don’t even have to try, they’re just gifted with the skill of tardiness?

Hi, that’s totally me.

I really don’t like being like this, though.  In fact, I’ve checked out a time management book for people like me, as lame as that sounds.  And in an effort to be less high maintenance, I’m attempting to accept my hair in its natural state, meaning no blow drying or flat ironing.  (Ever wondered how Ron and Hermione’s offspring would look?  Now you know.)

I made these cookies a long time ago, as in a week before the Easter bunny made his rounds.  They’ve been on my mental to-bake list and I finally had a party to go to, and therefore a reason to make and share them. 

Daring Bakers’ Challenge: Edible Containers – Sweet

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baking, balsamic vinegar, blackberries, Daring Bakers, desserts, easy, fruit, gluten-free, healthy, pear, recipes, strawberries, vegan

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz.  Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container.  Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

I am so embarrassed!!

Remember the last Daring Cooks’ Challenge aka Edible Containers – Savory?  We were free to do whatever we wanted for the fillings and containers.  We were also told that this month was the first that Daring Cooks and Daring Bakers were being given the same challenge, so I assumed this meant that the DBs would have the same freedom.  This means that I didn’t really read the instructions very carefully.  It turns out that we were supposed to use one of the two provided maple mousse recipes and construct an edible container for it.  While I used an edible container, I totally did NOT make maple mousse.  Fail! 

Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Bundt

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baking, bundt, cake, desserts, easy, grapefruit, recipes, spring, yogurt

I finally caught Bundt Fever back in November when I made a zebra bundt cake for Mary the Food Librarian‘s I Like Big Bundts Roundup celebrating National Bundt Day.  (Did I use the b word enough in that sentence?)  Standard bundt cakes are usually too big for my needs, so when I spotted a half-sized pan several months ago at a nearby shop, pangs of want were planted deep within my soul.  This is me pretending to be melodramatic.

A couple weeks ago, the Groupon of the day was for that shop, and I didn’t think twice about it.  Don’t you love how they help you save money on money that you probably wouldn’t have spent otherwise?  That little bundt pan (there was only one left! fate!) was mine. 

Pimp My Easter Basket: Malted Milk Ice Cream with Robin Eggs

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candy, chocolate, desserts, Easter, ice cream, malted milk, Pimp My Easter Basket, Robin Eggs, Whoppers

Being a part of Pimp My Easter Basket, I’ve come to a realization: I am not really a fan of most Easter candy.  The majority (like Cadbury Eggs and Peeps) are overly sweet, yet somehow I manage to eat them anyway if they’re around.

Robin Eggs are no exception, though they’re definitely higher up than Peeps (everything is higher than Peeps…).

Last summer, I purchased The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz and have made a couple recipes from it, but oddly enough, neither were for actual ice cream.  Never did I imagine that the first ice cream I’d make would be Malted Milk Ice Cream.  It’s not that I have anything against malt, it was just an unknown flavor to me outside of Whoppers. 

One Hundred! and Striped Jelly Bean Shortbread Cookies

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baking, cookies, desserts, food coloring, FOTC, jelly bean, recipes, shortbread

9 months.

Probably the first thing that comes to mind is the amount of time it takes for a baby to cook.  It turns out that that’s also how long it takes for me to generate 100 posts!  (Annnd, I’m one person shy of I now have 100 followers on twitter! )  One could call this blog my baby, I suppose, so it’s all connected in some bizarre-o way.

I’m not sure that I ever thought I’d go this far with this endeavor, but honestly believe that I wouldn’t have without the amount of support, enthusiasm, and encouragement I’ve received from you.  /sappy moment  And a special shout out to my trusty little camera: I thought I’d lost it last week while making my dish for the last Daring Cooks’ challenge, but am so relieved to report that uncooked rice is a miracle grain.  Phew!!!

In honor of this occasion, I’m going to share something that I made a year ago which I’ve been saving up for this time of year.  Perfect timing for Easter this weekend! 

Balsamic Strawberry Stracciatella Ice Cream

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balsamic vinegar, chocolate, desserts, frozen, gluten-free, ice cream, recipes, stracciatella, strawberries, vanilla

I know it’s still snowing in some places.  It would even snow into mid-May where I last lived.  I always say I’d rather be hot than cold…but right now, I wish it would cool down a bit.  90 degree weather shouldn’t be allowed in April.  And actually, we had some in March.  That’s just indecent.

Now I can’t control the weather, but what I can do is make ice cream.  It’s really easy and doesn’t require the use of an oven, which is a huge bonus when the A/C is already going full blast.  And satisfying, in the obvious delicious way and the “I’m totally a badass because I just made ice cream” way.

Aside from being a (sweaty) fan of ice cream, I had 8 egg yolks and a pound of strawberries (ha, whoops!) left over from making strawberry cake.  Ice cream was a no brainer, as was making something that wasn’t just plain ol’ strawberry.  I can’t even remember how Google led me to this recipe of Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream, but it clearly had to be made. 

Fresh Strawberry Cake…and Sesame Street!

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baking, birthday, buttercream, cake, decorating, desserts, fondant, frosting, recipes, Sesame Street, strawberries

I always thought grown-ups were weird whenever they’d talk about how fast kids grow up.  It felt like it took foreverrrr!   Nothing could be better than being a Big Kid, right?  They could ride all the rides at theme parks, stay up later, watch the PG movies, and go to sleepovers.  The good life.

Now I wish they had Big Wheels for grown-ups, along with nap time followed by milk and cookies.

Wait…except I still don’t like naps.  (most of the time…)

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

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baking, desserts, pumpkin, recipes, soup, Thanksgiving, vegetarian

Two posts in a row of no recipes?  Don’t be fooled, I’m doing lots in the kitchen, as I’m sure most of you are!

This is my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian!  My also-veg sister and I are making everything but the meaty essentials, and as you can imagine, I’m in charge of all of the baking.  As usual, I’m making things I’ve never made before: dinner rolls, pumpkin cream pie, and a caramel apple cranberry tart. None of them will be finished until tomorrow though, so I’ll be sharing them later!

As if anyone needs any more ideas the day before T-Day when the last place you want to be is the grocery store, here’s a round-up of my pumpkin binge: