Signs of summer: Strawberry Shortcake

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Is there anything that better represents summer (to Americans) than strawberry shortcake?  Now, I wasn't one of those lucky girls who had treats and sweets all summer long, but strawberry shortcake was one of the few sweet things my mom could get on board with.  My dad loved it, and we used to 'make' it for him for breakfast in bed on fathers day, with storebought shortcakes, canned whipped cream, and fresh berries.  I'm pretty sure it knocked our sloppy pancakes out of the park.

The miracle of microwavable cake!

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When my older brother and I were in undergrad together at Washington University in St Louis, I used to take him grocery shopping with my mom's credit card.  I was always a little appalled (and admittedly a weensy bit envious) at the things he'd chuck into the cart: frozen pizzas, chocolate milk, canned whipped cream, more frozen pizzas/breakfast sandwiches/soft pretzels.  And, one time, some sort of packaged chocolate gloop that theoretically turned into cake when you add water and put it in the microwave.

An impromptu brunch, with only a *little* hair-tearing!

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When my friend Miranda suggested brunch last weekend, I immediately offered to host.  I’d been out and about a lot the week before, and I was kind of tired of the rat race (and paying people to cook my food), so I was psyched when she accepted.  I started planning right away: something savory, something sweet, some fruit, maybe a salad, something else sweet…  I spent hours on Allrecipes, cruising brunch recipes and looking for something new and different.  And I found three recipes that seemed perfect, at which point I printed them out and spent another couple of hours (book?  What book?  Was I supposed to be writing something other than blog posts?) reading the reviews and compiling tips in the margins so I could idiot-proof the recipes. 

Success IS possible!

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I just wanted to share that, despite my earlier failures, I'm not a total flop in the kitchen.  Yesterday, unable to look any longer at the bananas blackening rapidly on the kitchen dresser, I fell back on an old favorite.  And it did not disappoint! 

Week of the baking brown thumb

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I know it may seem like I’ve got this whole baking thing figured out (if you ignore all my posts about hair-tearing), but I do sometimes make mistakes.  Usually, though, they’re few and far between in the grand scheme of things.  But not last week.  Last week was the week of baking disasters.

A not-so-short story about shortbread.

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You may sometimes wonder, as does my mother, who eats all this stuff I bake?  Well, for a while it was my classmates I depended on to make sure we wasted not, but then classes became fewer and farther between.  And other people started bringing snacks (usurpers!), and I didn’t want them to think I was trying to steal their thunders.  So when the bf started working full time I was pleased to be able to ply him with tupperwares full of brownies and coffee cake and cookies. 

Vegetables! With butter...

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I was hoping to post about how I do, on occasion, eat things that don't involve butter/sugar/flour, but unfortunately these steamed artichokes were delicious dipped in a lemon-butter mishmash of my own making.  Still, they were green and healthy and savory, so that's something new and different for this blog!