Blackberry-stained fingers.

When I was a kid, my family would have this strawberries-and-milk dessert on hot summer nights.  It was delicious and simple, and kind of genius, really.  You just smashed strawberries into a bowl with some condensed milk.  And the liquid at the bottom of the bowl was like strawberry milk.  As an aside, you should … Continue reading →

3 Years and a Half-Peck of Apples.

Last weekend, Jarrod and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary as a family. It was a gorgeous early fall morning that we set out to Kansas City, and stopped by a red barn selling freshly pressed cider from local Missouri apples. Of course, they had warm, homemade apple cider doughnuts enveloped in the perfect amount … Continue reading →

Chocolate Makes the World Go ‘Round: Banana Bread Edition

Second only to butter stands chocolate as my all-time favorite ingredient to use in baking.  There are so many varieties of chocolate: bittersweet, semi-sweet, milk, dark (80%?  60%?), white (not really ‘chocolate’ in the traditional sense), unsweetened, cocoa powder, cacao nibs, chocolate chips, chunks… even vegan chocolate (carob).  They’re kind of the MVP of baking … Continue reading →

So, this is happening…

As an only child having never experienced younger siblings, I was never one of those kids who jumped at the opportunity to babysit for the neighborhood families. I was deathly afraid of being responsible for the well-being of a younger child. I had no idea how diapers worked (this is still applicable), or how much … Continue reading →

Holly-Daze (cookies and end-of-the-year holidays)

The end of the year always creeps up on me.  No matter how much I think to myself, “Oh, this year, I’m going to do x, y, and z because I didn’t get to last year”, I never do end up doing x, y, or z.  Take, for instance, holiday cards.  This has been on … Continue reading →

Entering another decade of life (also known as goodbye, 20-something).

Sorry, there’s no recipe here.  I just turned 30, so I’ve been a little busy thinking about mortality and life insurance. In all seriousness, though, there’s no recipe in this post, so if you’re okay with that, then please, by all means, read on about my feelings on turning another decade older. I’m the kind … Continue reading →

Birthday Cupcakes

Friday was a really, really rough day at work. On top of dealing with an angry parent, leading numerous meetings, and operating on 5 hours of sleep, I hardly had a chance to drink my coffee, and didn’t eat my lunch until 4 pm, long after school was over. All I wanted to do was … Continue reading →

Strawberry Rhubarb Pudding Cake

As a child growing up in suburban Long Island, I wasn’t really exposed to rhubarb. In fact, the first time I experienced rhubarb anything was in northern Michigan, as a 19 year old college student. I think my first reaction was mild confusion. I vaguely recall it tasting like a nondescript fruit-vegetable, and a sour … Continue reading →

Oh noooo…. Not AGAIN!

sigh.  so, I need to tell you something.  This is kind of personal in the half-joking-but-not-really kind of way. I’m 75% certain that I have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), inattentive type.  According to the DSM-V, maybe I don’t actually have anything at all.  But, nothing is more awkward than self-diagnosis when it’s kind of legit.  I … Continue reading →