Tuesday 29 March 2011

Is there anything cinnamon doesn't improve? Chocolate-Chip-Cinnamon-Sugar Cookie Bars

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Sometimes, I'm hit with a stroke of genius.

And then, more often than not, I fail to execute my genius perfectly...and my fabulous idea turns out...not as fabulous as I'd envisioned.

BUT, sometimes, even though it's not what I expected, it's still delicious, if crumbly/messy, and the bf still eats it all.  This was one of those times, and thank goodness for that because wasted chocolate chip cookie dough is a travesty.

Saturday 26 March 2011

Homemade beats the can, hands down

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In the continued interest of posting delicious things I've made at night and taken bad pics of, this weekend I'm going to tell you something every Jewish mother already knows: homemade chicken soup is the bomb.com!  Now, I'm not saying I've abandoned good ole Progresso (oh, Progresso, how I miss your soups!), but I am saying if you have the time, go the extra mile.  Because it's easier than you think (especially if you buy quality chicken stock instead of making your own). And because nom.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Educating the Europeans: Buttermilk Cornbread

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Last weekend, I found myself with leftover buttermilk.  Again.  You see, it was Pancake Day a couple of weeks ago, and over here in the UK they take their food-related holidays extremely seriously.  I didn't even know what Pancake Day was until I moved here, but I kid you not, by Tuesday morning all the stores I checked (about 5) were out of maple syrup– that's how serious they are.  Anyway. any holiday about eating something delicious, especially if it involves breakfast for dinner, is a holiday I'm on board with, so we bought buttermilk and whipped up some tasty buttermilk pancakes.  But alas, we only used about 1/3 of the carton.  What to do?* 

Friday 18 March 2011

Springtime Means Teatime– Pinkies Up!

Pin It The days are getting longer, and the bite is slowly retreating from the air.  Spring is finally starting to peek around the corner, and you know what that means...


Tea Parties!  Pretty, girly, dainty tea parties.  Love it.  And this almond cake is the perfect accompaniment.

Sunday 13 March 2011

When in doubt, throw in some chocolate!

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I made muffins for class the other day. I wanted to bake something, but I didn't know what.  I didn't really have time for cookies or cake or anything that required multiple steps, and one of my classmates is dairy-intolerant, which can be a difficult work-around with some baked goods, so I went with muffins.


I didn't really have a plan.  I had a basic muffin recipe, for which I swapped water for the milk, and I had some spotty bananas.  So I just kind of winged it.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Last-Minute Dessert, Anyone?

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What do you do when you've invited a friend over for lunch, but you forget to plan a menu?  Well, soup is always a good start... especially if it's this delicious pozole:


Other good things to have: an organic grocery store within ten minutes' walk of your flat, which, if you're lucky, will have fresh wheat bread on sale; a head of organic lettuce from your weekly veg box; the most amazing salad dressing in the world, imported from the good old US of A; and Greek yogurt.  For making a lemon yogurt cake!  Oh, and a nice servant boy is always good to have on hand as well.

Friday 4 March 2011

Pretty in Pink: Thomas Keller's Gorgeous Grapefruit Cake

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Sometimes it's nice to try something new.  I mean, I love me my lemon bars and  cakes and cookies, every now and again I read a recipe for something kind of out there and think 'hells yes, this must be made immediately.

And that was exactly the response I had when I read the recipe for grapefruit cake in Ad Hoc at Home.  Now, granted, pretty damn near everything in that book sounds delicious– I think I've spent more time drooling over it than the bf has, and it was his Xmas gift from me!– but this one definitely caught my eye.  Because, really?  Grapefruit?  In a cake?


Um, yes.  Really.   Ooooooh yes really.