WinterSpringSummer

Until recently, I severely undervalued the Rice Krispy Treat. Since it doesn’t require much time or technical prowess, I didn’t give it much thought. But in a quick pinch the classic Treat is an easy win. Actually, not long ago, I made two batches for a whole mess of house guests and found that I [...]

The Little Mister often wonders at my beloved bread machine. So rarely used, yet so fondly thought of. I usually crack out the bread machine about once a year, and yesterday was the day. With mountains of snow locking us in and the Little Mister’s beef stew in the crock pot, I decided to throw [...]

What do you get when you’ve got PMS, a full bag of leftover rolled oats, and a bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips?  Why Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, of course!

A few weeks ago the Little Mister had a requested oatmeal cookies:  “..the kind with carrots in them.  Have you ever had those?”
Well, no, in fact I hadn’t.  But I was intrigued.
I started by checking out the recipes for oatmeal cookies in Baking Illustrated, How to Cook Everything, and The Joy of Cooking.  No carrots [...]

These are one of my favorites!
Straight out of Baking Illustrated (my baking bible), these muffins are light & flavorful.  Unlike those banana blueberry muffins, this recipe calls for plenty of dry ingredients (2 c. of flour) so there is a good, firm cake to balance the gushiness of the plump, fresh berries.  The real zing [...]

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law emailed me this recipe from Self magazine for Banana Blueberry Muffins.  I love bananas. I love blueberries. So I thought these would be yummy. I also thought they’d make a tasty housewarming treat for my other sister-in-law.
Flavorwise, they are tasty — the sweetness of the banana helps balance the [...]

The Boy turned 1 last Thursday, and we celebrated on the 4th of July with a not-at-all patriotic, doggie-themed birthday party.   What better for a kid who flails his wee arms and says “woof woof” almost any time he hears barking in the distance?
To complement the pooch-covered plates, napkins and balloons, I decided to make [...]

The Little Mister & the Boy have birthdays exactly one week apart — exciting and exhausting for someone who, like me, loves to bake.  This year is a big one for both of them:  the Little Mister turned 30 last Thursday & the Boy turns 1 this Thursday.  So I wanted to do something special [...]

When I was working on my MFA at Antioch, I attended a seminar with the profound Peter Levitt about writing & meditation.  It was sort of my introduction to meditation and Zen practice.  One of the main things that stayed with me from that seminar was when Peter talked about applying the principles of meditative [...]

… especially if you’re pregnant or have a baby or small child:  What the Chemical Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.
I started hearing about BPA while I was pregnant and did alot of looking to find BPA-free bottles, teethers, and other plastics.  This stuff is scary.  Lots of people like to say “We’ve been using [...]