Smells Like Christmas

I went to bed with the AC on and woke up to turn the heat on. Bizarre weather that put me in the mood for baking and soups, so I tried the no-knead recipe that Alicia posted recently.


I am a fairly accomplished cook and I love to bake, but there are some things (mostly bread-y products) I just cannot make, no matter how many times I try. I've overcome my pancake problem by sticking with a recipe from a Bizquick cookbook. I just add different things to it to make various flavors of pancakes. Its the only recipe that works for me, whatever the reason. This might be my new bread recipe.


Isn't it pretty? It was easy to throw together, it rose like it was supposed to, and it is de-lish. I pre-heated the oven early and left the oven door cracked to raise the kitchen temperature, so perhaps that's why a bread product finally decided to turn up properly. It was easy enough to make while running to the basement for laundry and overseeing a paint project by my very own little Picasso.


It made a lovely afternoon snack, topped with Dillman's Black Raspberry Seedless Preserves (shameless family plug).


I give it a hearty five fruits.

Lazy Sunday

A typical Sunday morning breakfast at home. Blueberry pancakes (with blueberry yogurt, sooo good) and tea + juice for me and chocolate chip (with lots of whipped cream) and coffee for Bubby. Nothing but milk for Arwyn, thankyouverymuch. I even broke out the cloth napkins. Fancy!


You know what they say about an apple a day. Arwyn and I shared one at lunch.


This morning's breakfast. Oatmeal with brown sugar, touch of cream and blueberries.


Slight food obsession going on here. Dreamed of Tagalongs (the Girl Scout Cookies PB Patties) all weekend. Couldn't find any in town. Might have to make Ritz Cracker Cookies instead. Or buy them off ebay????

--------------------------------------------

Ritz Cracker Cookies

-Ritz crackers
-peanut butter
-chocolate bark

1. Put peanut butter between two Ritz crackers. Make about 25-30 sandwiches
2. Melt chocolate bark as directed on package.
3. Dip sandwiches into melted chocolate and put on wax paper to dry.

Berry Good

I saw a link to this recipe on another blog (can't remember who right now, sorry) and decided to try them, as raspberries are on the list of alkaline foods I'm supposed to be eating a lot of right now. The raspberries that I bought already had mold (!) on them, so I went digging in the big freezer and found some blackberries harvested from the bushes at Bryan's grandparent's house.


I love to bake, especially with foods that came from someone you know. Being on this "diet" has forced me to curb my enthusiasm quite a bit. I'm supposed to be avoiding refined sugar, which is not an easy task. I love to take something I've baked to someone I love and see their look of delight as they sample it. On Saturday mornings I would much rather make pancakes for everyone than have Bubby run out to get donuts, which he totally doesn't get but he's happy to eat the chocolate chip pancakes. Sometimes it just feels good to feed your family.


I had originally planned to take the cupcakes to a playdate yesterday (excuse to bake!), but then I started imagining four toddlers trying to eat a cupcake with runny cream in the middle and reconsidered my plan. Plan B involved using the icing left over from the Valentine's day cookies. I added a little sanding sugar to the top, just to get as much sugar on there as possible. That, and it looked pretty. Because toddlers care about pretty cupcakes. Well, at least their moms do.


This saucer is part of the set that I picked up thrifting a few weeks ago. If I ever need to serve tea or coffee to 12 people, I can do it. The awesome calender towel is also thrifted, for a song. I once visited a house that had a separate closet off the dining room solely for housing dishes and linens. It was awesome. This is one of my many materialistic dreams.


The cupcakes disappeared quickly at the playdate and the look of bliss on my mother-in-law's face when she ate her mini-loaf somewhat made up for Bubby's lukewarm response to my question, "Aren't they great?!!"


"Yeah."


Definitely a five out of five fruits recipe, and even if your husband doesn't appreciate your culinary efforts, someone will.