Archive for the ‘Baking’ Category

9 Dec

Christmas Bars

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Christmas, Narrative. Tagged: , , .

Recipes: Candy Cane Brownies, Butter Rum Blondies with Chocolate Chips

We’re keeping things minimal this holiday season. With so much of our stuff in storage, it seems crazy to do much decorating, and anyway, the house we are in right now is too small for two big dogs, a tiny cat, two humans and a Christmas tree.

I’m not going to send many cards this year – but, that doesn’t mean I’ve become the Grinch. I bought a beautiful handmade wreath at our farmers market, and I’m making up care packages for our closest friends. And I’m planning a family brunch for New Year’s Day.

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10 Nov

Will Bake For Food: Chocolate Chip Espresso Shortbread Cookies

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Recipes. Tagged: , .

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Espresso Shortbread Cookies

I’m excited to be baking for this year’s Will Bake For Food sale. It’s the second year in a row that Jenny Miller (Rainy Day Gal) and Jenny Richards (Purple House Dirt) have organized this blogger bake sale for hunger here in Seattle. This year’s charity is the Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle and King County.

Seattle is home to an extraordinary number of food bloggers and there will be some incredible talent on display. Molly Orangette is baking. CakeSpy created the event logo. Herbivoracious, Not Without Salt, and Seattle Food Geek are all participating along with many more whose food, writing and photography I admire. I’m a little intimidated, but one thing I’ve learned this year is when the food community comes together, great things (Charcutepalooza, A Pie for Mikey), happen. I know I’ll meet some fun people and I’m certainly going to eat well.

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3 Nov

Where My Loyalties Lie*: Sweet Potato Cake

Posted by Lynn in Baking. Tagged: , .

I’m a fan of project cooking. Right now, without actually going to look in the basement, I know I have at least four on-going recipes.  Cheese, sausages, anything that marinates or brines for a few days, I’m on it.

The recipe that caught my eye first in this month’s Saveur is really four recipes in one.  The Sweet Potato Cake in question requires you to make candied pecans, marshmallow meringue filling, and praline topping, in addition to the actual cake batter – which requires you to roast sweet potatoes, as a preliminary step.  It was a day-long process and like most slow food, oh so worth it.

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7 Sep

Let It Rain

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Narrative, Recipes. Tagged: .

Recipe: Maple Pecan Cookies

I may be the only person in Seattle looking forward to the fall.  Mention the feeling of change in the air, and people here shiver and change the subject. You can’t blame them – it’s been a pretty lame summer in the Pacific Northwest– with just a few days above 80, and many more that were cold and grey.

But since I got here three weeks ago, it’s been stunning –August and September are always Seattle at its best. And after spending all the late afternoons in June and July trapped in my air conditioned house in Boise, I’ve been living it up. Long afternoon dog walks, picnics on the beach, stunning sunsets. And I’m hoping we still go kayaking before summer’s official end.

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12 Aug

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Narrative, Recipes. Tagged: .

Recipe:Creamy Peanut Butter Pie Via In Jennie’s Kitchen

I just made a pie for a stranger.

Not really. I actually made the pie for myself – it’s a tribute to the life of someone I didn’t know; so really, this pie can only help me feel better.

I’m only tangentially a part of the blooming food blogger community online – primarily on twitter. I tend to lurk on twitter and am shy about injecting myself into people’s ongoing conversations. Charcutepalooza has gotten me more involved, and I follow the blogs of so many funny, talented food writers. It’s inspiring and humbling at the same time. I’ll probably never meet any of them in person, but I appreciate the warmth with which they respond to questions, queries and the occasional off-the-wall declaration.

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10 Aug

Stop, Smell and Eat the Roses

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Local Food, Nostalgia, Recipes. Tagged: , .

Recipe: Strawberry Rose Cupcakes

I’m not a big fan of the house we’ve been renting for the past 10 months. It’s a vanilla-bland subdivision, 3-car garage, late- twentieth century sprawl-special. The dogs get a lot out of the ¼ acre yard, but being surrounded by such relentless, plastic same-ness depresses me.  I can’t wait to live in an old-fashioned neighborhood again.

But I will miss the roses. The property has six rose bushes– and four of them are prolific bloomers. I haven’t lived with roses like this in a long time. My father loved roses. The entire south side of my childhood home was covered in them. Dad kept them blooming May through November, most years.  And every few days, he cut bouquets for me –even when I was 17 and he and I could barely have a civil conversation.

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1 Jun

From the Aisles of Costco: Homemade Cheese

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Cheese, Narrative, Recipes. Tagged: , , , .

Recipe: Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Brownies

I’ve had a secret project for the past few months. I’ve been making my own cheese. Yeah, that’s in addition to all the meat creation that’s been going on as a part of charcutepalooza. You’ve seen some of my homemade cheese already; the cream cheese under the salmon in the smoking post, the queso blanco in the stuffed peppers that were the center piece of my first sausage post, and the goat cheese in the stuffed turkey burgers.

It’s too early to say if all this food-related DYI stuff is a mid-life crisis or a permanent direction change for me.  If it’s a crisis least it’s a tasty crisis, and a lot less self-destructive than other courses I could have chosen. What the hell, right? And I’m learning a lot.

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6 May

Happy Mother’s Day: Lemon-Lime Brulee Bars

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Nostalgia, Recipes. Tagged: , .

Recipe: Lemon-Lime Brulee Bars

Lemon bars and Mother’s Day seem to go together – though, to be honest, I’m not sure why.  I’m not even sure my Mom was a fan, though she loved most tart tastes.

I realized recently that this year it’s been twenty years since I celebrated Mother’s day with my Mom. I can’t really wrap my mind around that span of time – even though it is the timeline of my own narrative. It’s incredible.

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25 Apr

It Was A Dark And Stormy Afternoon *

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Recipes. Tagged: , .

It is, really. It’s hailing like crazy while I’m writing this and I can hear thunder in the distance. And the wind is so loud. I’m sad about all the cherry blossoms I can see flying through the air, a little worried about the very delicate chard plants that went into the garden last week and very glad that Mishka and I already went running today.

I get to sit back and enjoy the storm. And the cookies that go with it.

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23 Mar

Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Stout Cake

Posted by Lynn in Baking, Nostalgia, Recipes. Tagged: , , , .

I like odd recipes. Doing something that seems wrong – in this case, blending stout, a pound of melted butter and a lot of chocolate together-  and having it turn out sublime is a pretty big thrill. (Yeah okay, I need to get out a bit more. Maybe.)  Based on an old Bon Appétit recipe, I think this may well become my new go-to chocolate cake.

I made this cake for St. Patrick’s day, but like my turkey pastrami, there’s nothing Irish about it. I used Rogue Brewery’s Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout  and you can taste it in the cake. In the 1800’s when oatmeal stouts were first conceived,  these brews were marketed as health drinks, specifically a tonic  for mothers and children.  I don’t think my nieces will buy it though, so should either of the them ever ask for a chocolate birthday cake,  I’ll probably stick to something more conventional. But K.M. and I are sold.

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