24 June 2013

Summertime and the Baking's Easy...

I hate to be posting food pictures that don't include my own, but summertime is here and I won't be starting up my baking again until tonight. I just could not wait that long to post again! I'm sure you understand.

In the name of all things summer, I've been spending as much time as possible outside. Enduring the heat is no easy task, so I've been making sure it's all in the name of deliciousness.  That being said, I've got pictures of me EATING tasty food all over town, and a wonderful post from BuzzFeed that did NOT cause me to drool all over my keyboard...

First things first, let's talk about what I ate. Here we have Justin cooking up some delicious bison burgers and grilled zucchini. Oh, you think that's all you can cook on a grill? Keep reading...


Oh watermelon, how I love thee. I know you're excited about my watermelon cupcakes that I'll be showcasing sometime in the next week or two. They may include Oreos in a way you never thought possible... Until now!


Okay, I'm not eating here. But I was about to run a Muddy Buddy, just so that I could eat MORE! That's me dreaming about food.


Below we have Ellie's Old Fashioned Donuts from the Franklin Farmer's Market. I believe these were pumpkin and covered in cinnamon and sugar. And honestly, they melted in my mouth.  Not the way a Krispy Kreme does. No sir - better! They melted in the way really moist, deep fried cake should. Just kind of mmmnom and then into nothingness. And then the crispy crust on the outside? Oh gosh. Now I'm just speaking in Donut. I think that's a romance language.


I took a break from eating for this picture. And yeah, I may have eaten a strawberry cupcake after that picture was snapped. Let's not judge. I shared with Justin and Bo Dog! C'mon people, I'm trying to prep you all for what's about to happen to your minds. And by that, I mean that you'll need a mop to wipe up whatever is left of your brains after I bring the heat. Ready??


Who's ready to put that summer heat to good use??? I know I am! Now that we've got a working grill on apartment property, I plan to fully utilize BuzzFeed's list of 17 Desserts You Can Make On The Grill. Let's talk about my mindset right before my world changed: opened this link, went googly eyed, mouth dripped - I mean dropped!, and then I instantly opened my blog and hurriedly typed in order to share it with everyone!

My first and most exciting attempt will be to make cookies on the grill...because why have I never thought of this? Followed very closely (and possibly instantaneously) by the chocolate cherry ricotta grilled pizzas.

What's your favorite??

18 June 2013

Biscuits are Vehicles for Jam

It all started over a week ago, but low and behold, I got busy with schoolwork and work-work, and life-work (life-work is paying bills, working out, and napping on the couch). But alas, I bring you three wonderful treats and some happy family time to boot!

I couldn't get enough of The Peach Truck, so I went back and grabbed another couple bags.  Justin made some peach jam, which I was eating with a spoon until I finally made buttermilk biscuits with Smitten Kitchen's recipe. It was simply a vehicle for the peach jam.  A delicious, buttery, warm vehicle.  Sadly, those were not photographed, because they went directly into our bellies. They never stood a chance. 

But what did get photographed were the chewy, super soft peach oatmeal cookies!  They were topped with a quick swirl of maple flavored royal icing. And yes, I used real maple syrup. Those were some damn fine cookies! They were immediately photographed and shipped to my favorite graphic designer and founding Cookie of the Month Club member.  [DISCLAIMER: Cookie of the Month Club is not available yet! But with her help and brilliance, it will be soon!]

Quick - distraction!

Mmmm, Peach Truck peaches.  Mmmm, maple icing.  Mmmm.... cookkiieessss.....


A few days later, I realized that Justin and I had been invited to a Mexican themed dinner party.  My brain began to stir as I realized I got to play with my favorite combination of foods!  Sadly, I had class and had to miss the festivities, but I made sure that Justin had something to take with him.  And that is how I perfected my margarita cupcake.  Oh yes, just imagine coconut, lime and tequila all blended together to make this sweet and tangy cupcake.  It's enough to make you forget that I keep my tequila in a mason jar.


Look at those pretty sugar dipped lime wedges!


And as you can see, I've been working on my piping skills.  This frosting was perfect, so piping was easy. I've learned how to make my frosting whipped and creamy and easily pipe-able so that I could get through my "Piping for Dummies" book.  (I don't actually have a Piping for Dummies book, but I'm searching Amazon for one now... Oh look, Cake Decorating for Dummies... Duh.)


Well, this dummy knows everything is better with a shot of tequila! See how much better that cupcake looks next to a shot? Imagine how much better it would taste after a few of those!


My taste tester is eyeing the evidence...


Speaking of tequila, my parents came in town this past weekend! And I was so excited to spend Father's Day with my dad this year! We had a blast drinking wine, singing Beatles songs, seeing an art deco car display, and much more. And for Father's Day, my siblings and I got him a new grill! Oh, and did I mention that I made chocolate covered Oreos? Yes, we will pause at chocolate covered Oreos, because after that, nothing else matters!


Oh my, what's that?!? Those look like Birthday Cake Oreos, you say?? Why yes, yes they are.


I made dark and white chocolate chocolate covered Oreos, and they lived up to the hype.  We each enjoyed one after a hefty breakfast of eggs, kale, sweet potato hash, and biscuits with peach jam & whipped honey.  And then we didn't eat again until Monday. I hope everyone had as much fun on their Father's Day weekend as I did with my dad!


Dad's new grill is shown below!


Just kidding...


07 June 2013

National Donut Day!

Oh happy day! It's National Donut Day today, and I began my celebration last night around 8pm with my first batch of donuts...EVER.  No no! Not my first batch to ingest.  I've eaten my fair share of donuts in my lifetime, so I'm sure I've reached "batches" by now.  I'm talking about my first ever attempt to MAKE donuts.  Another fun adventure in my quest to be the ultimate, all-knowing baker extraordinaire.

Lucky for me, I quickly learned that donuts can in fact be baked, not fried.  My wonderful boyfriend ran off to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy two mini donut pans while I began scouring my favorite food blogs for recipes for my first ever donut-making attempt. I went with a blueberry-lemon cake donut, and drizzled a lemon glaze all over.  And I mean ALL. OVER.  This was to ensure maximum caloric intake, which I think was only mildly successful.  Had I fried those bad boys up (truth be told, I thought about it!), maybe I'd be singing a different tune. But instead I went for enjoyable, not heart-stopping.

Lucky for me, I started with some beautiful raw materials.  The blueberries were fresh and sweet and the Meyer lemons were bright and smelled amazing!


I plated them to show you the great color - and so I could eat a few while I baked the donuts!


I halved the blueberries (so the juice would spread) and doubled up on the amount of them for some ultimate juicy blueberry flavor...


And had a lot of fun using my new donut pans!  I'm going to turn everything I bake into a donut shape now, just because I can!


Oh wow. Look at those juicy blueberries oozing sweetness all over the the cakey dough!


They sat in the pan for a while to cool and turn a perfect golden brown, which prepped them for the lemon glaze to be poured all over them. And I triple taste tested the lemon glaze to make sure I did it right. Tough job!


And there you have it folks! Gooey hands? Check. Happy mouth? Double check!



Oh - and below you can see one of the beautiful strawberry donuts I made as well! The recipe suggested to fill the donut pan half way, but I ended up filling the donut pan a little more for the batch of strawberry donuts to see if I could get them a little bigger.  In fact, I'd say I nearly filled it to the top.  This made them super fluffy and helped them take on a more donut-like shape, which I preferred.



Yum is right!  Did you do anything fun to celebrate National Donut Day? Hopefully each of you grabbed something deliciously wonderful from one of the many donut shops offering promotions for this patriotic and tasty holiday. And if not, it's not too late! You've still got a few hours left to channel your inner-glutton and grab a few glazed nom noms! 

Check back early next week for more baking attempts from me, and possibly some business news. 

Until then, do-nut worry & be happy!

05 June 2013

Summer Strawberries & Banana Jokes

It's a slippery slope when you start stealing your dad's jokes. And I'll be a monkey's uncle if I didn't have four overly ripe bananas sitting on my counter Friday afternoon. So I got to thinking, and usually thinking leads to baking...

I went a little nuts this weekend. And by nuts, I mean fruits. I went a little fruits this weekend! I got my new shipment of Bake It Pretty goods - cupcake liners, striped paper straws & a little heart shaped cookie cutter - and I was itching for a weekend of solid baking. After a run with Justin and our Bo dog Saturday morning, I strolled over to the West End Farmer's Market and grabbed myself two pints of beautiful, sweet, bright red strawberries from Delvin Farms. I also grabbed a couple of Olive & Sinclair chocolate bars from The Produce Place because I was feeling kind of frisky. And by frisky, I mean hungry. And by hungry I mean...well, you get the point.

You can see the beautiful Bake It Pretty box that arrived on my doorstep! I love how quickly I receive their shipments, and how perfectly wrapped and packaged everything always is. Not to mention, their liners are so perfect and the color stays so well. I'm a big fan. Big. Huge!



As a side note, I couldn't resist posting this adorable, green strawberry. I mean look at it, it's ADORABLE.


Oh, Delvin Farms, you sure know how to make this girl happy...


So it began with Saturday night's dinner. I had fresh strawberries on the brain, and I had just conjured up a loaf of banana bread topped with Olive & Sinclair chocolate chunks. Without hesitation, I threw strawberries into my avocado, spinach & basil salad and thought, "Those would look damn fine in some cupcakes..." During dinner my mind wandered to strawberry cupcakes and warm banana bread.


Here's a close-up of the warm, moist banana bread fresh out of the oven!


So naturally, I baked strawberry cupcakes before bed. Because that's what any rational girl would do! In my excitement from baking the hand pies last week and the banana bread and strawberry cupcakes the night before, I decided that Sunday morning I was definitely going to top those cupcakes with strawberry meringue buttercream frosting.

With a lot (too much?) of energetic morning jumps and squirms of joy, I began separating eggs, measuring sugar, and getting a double boiler going. So far so good. I whisked and I whipped and I even did a little happy dance as I saw the meringue fluff up before my very eyes. Joy! But then a wee little needle deflated my ever-growing baking balloon as I slowly added in the strawberries and watched my meringue get too glossy and then boom. It was all over.  No more fluffy, whipped, marshmallow-like goodness. Just shiny, separated strawberry goop. Boyfriend liked it despite it being completely unappealing (visually), but I knew it wouldn't do. I was crushed, but I whipped up a quick batch of strawberry buttercream and vowed to try the meringue frosting again soon.


 As it turns out, the cupcakes were a pretty big hit!



I also made a batch of triple chocolate cookies which were amazing! But those pictures turned out kind of hideous, and honestly I'd rather not go into detail with what a bad picture of a chocolate cookie looks like.


Stay tuned for this weekend's post, as I'm going to attempt the meringue buttercream again and hope for more success. But not before I bake donuts! That's right folks, it's National Donut Day on Friday. So aside from heading to Krispy Kreme and/or Dunkin' to snag yourself a free donut, be sure to check out Friday's blog post! It's your patriotic duty!