peach picking time
The peaches on my tree are ripe enough for picking. After plucking these four peaches, we ate the two smaller ones warm off the tree, and then I used the two larger peaches to make this simple dessert for our Sunday supper.
It would also be a perfect summer dish for breakfast or brunch!
June 10, 2014 1 Comment
knee deep
I am nearly buried in cooking classes at the moment, so I only have a couple of minutes to slap up a few photos and a couple of recipes – if you can call them recipes. They are more like quick and super easy ideas for tasty bits… almost too easy to even label “easy breezy”!
A few students are missing from this photo. One was homesick, another was late because she was coming from lacrosse practice, yet another was just running late, and so on. We start at 10:30 sharp because there is a lot to do and we can’t wait. So this is a glimpse of what it looks like at the very start of class – when the students are just getting underway. Trash cans are empty, counters are relatively clear, the floor is still rather clean, and my two assistants are observing, rather than washing, drying, and well, basically “assisting”.
The gentlemen in the forefront are mixing up bread dough, for English muffin bread. My assistants, Connor and Troy, are waiting for something to do. The young lady in the orange shirt is frying up bacon for the Bacon Strip Pancakes, the two on the right are starting on a batch of Cinnamon Roll Pancakes and the young lady in the center, at the island, is working on a batch of granola.
For our breakfast-themed meal yesterday, one of the dishes we made was English muffin bread with quick homemade strawberry jam – here is the jam simmering away. You could use a potato masher to crush the berries, but donning gloves and using your hands is so much more fun!
June 6, 2012 1 Comment
… and now a break from our regularly scheduled program
We are taking a one-day break from our “Take Your Lunch to Work Week” so that I can put up a recipe I made last night for the first night of my 3-week cooking class series at Les Gourmettes. I want my students to have all four of the links to the homemade versions of several components of this beautiful salad, at their fingertips, and not have to search for them.
The salad includes lemon curd, vanilla extract, limoncello, and granola – all items that can be store-bought or made from scratch. Mind you, while the vanilla extract and limoncello are easy to make, both take time to ferment, so if you’re craving this salad and want to have it NOW, buy those two items for the time being. But also get them going so the next time you just HAVE to have it, you’ll be armed and ready.
Finally, remember that any one of the four would make the perfect gift. Any lucky recipients would love you for life if you handed them a bottle or jar of homemade lemon curd, vanilla extract, limoncello, or granola. At least I know that I would!
May 3, 2012 4 Comments
Bundt
How about a little Bundt pan history?
In 1950 Nordic Ware invented the Bundt® Pan; a ring-shaped pan with fluted sides. The pan sold somewhat slowly until the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest winner used the little-known Bundt® Pan for her Tunnel of Fudge cake recipe. This prompted a mad rush for the pans, causing them to surpass the tin Jell-O mold to become the most-sold pan in the United States. Since their introduction, more than 50 million Bundt pans have been sold by Nordic Ware.
Oh, and by the way, National Bundt Pan Day is November 15th. And do you remember the scene in the 2002 movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when the mother of the groom-to-be comes to the home of the mother of the bride-to-be and presents to you a Bundt cake? Still makes me smile, HERE IS A LINK to a grainy video from YouTube.
This super moist yogurt cake is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. So simple to put together and pop in the oven… seriously delish.
FYI: I used a decorative sunflower Bundt pan in place of the traditional Bundt that has the tube in the center, so it took about 20 minutes longer to cook than this recipe states.
February 4, 2012 No Comments
triple chai
I am completely “committing to the chai” with this French toast. It goes without saying that this is delicious served with the Vanilla Chai Tea Hot Toddy for a perfect fall brunch. Enjoy!
October 4, 2011 2 Comments
orangey and creamy
It may be too cold outside to have an actual Creamsicle, but it’s always the right time for an orangesicle smoothie! And as you can see by the picture below, I’m utilizing my frozen cubes of orange juice and orange zest.
January 17, 2011 No Comments