The "P" Word

I am beyond embarrassed by my behavior.

Seriously. This is worst than revealing my fat pictures...try REALLY hard not to judge me:

Life is Bananas [Hurricake]

This week has been a doozy. Not only am I now feeling imaginary earthquakes every few hours, but I am constantly checking behind me for men dressed in hot pink and platforms, and now trying to keep calm in the wake of a hurricane.

I could seriously use a drink. But last night baking sounded more appealing. I have a tendency of (immediately) turn to baking AND eating obscene amounts when stressed to the max. Overly-ripe had been staring at me from the kitchen counter for the last two weeks, so I was on a mission to create something comforting...and office-acceptable.

Love is a Four Letter Word [Oreo]

Yesterday was Boyfriend's birthday; hence, there was no post. And there was no baking. Instead there was an Oreo Blizzard Cake from Dairy Queen. 

You see...whereas my passion is baking & breakfast, Boyfriend's is Oreos & ice cream. 

A conversation that stands out in my mind from our first year of dating is one of me joking with him about how he needs to find and marry the Dairy Queen heiress. I cannot tell you how much money this boy has probably spent on Oreo Blizzards from Dairy Queen. But it's not just that, its any kind of Oreo or Oreo / ice cream combination. This spring we stumbled upon Blizzard Oreos at Target. No words were spoken, they were simply grabbed and bought.

For the Love of Breakfast! [French Toast]

Once upon a time, earlier this spring, I thought that I was destined to be a cupcake baker. Actually, it might have been just everyone around me; and I just happened to buy into it. Then one fateful day, I decided to make chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter filling. Chocolate & peanut butter is one of the best combinations of all times (followed closely by banana & peanut butter, lemon & blueberry, chocolate & vanilla). Needless, to say I had high expectations.

Challah Bread: Overcoming a Fear

I know that I am not to only one with this fear. Yeast not only sounds weird, it looks weird. And it does weird things. Take that, plus the likelihood of your bread coming out of the oven flat and uneatable. Nothing breaks my heart more than making something I can't eat!

Last year I came across a post about challah bread on Smitten Kitchen. The loaf was beautiful and the author claimed the recipe was the "best". I REALLY wanted to make it! So, I did what any smart person would do: I researched yeast and bread-making for a week, starting with Eight Tips for Less Intimidating Bread. 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Zucchini Cookies

The simple addition of a "healthy" ingredient can almost entirely erase the guilt I feel towards eating a dessert. For example - bananas, pumpkin, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, ground flaxseed, oats, nuts. Sometimes I forget about zucchini...which is a shame, because I love zucchini bread. Once I even made a chocolate zucchini cake (divine!). Luckily, I was brutally reminded of zucchini's potential a few weeks ago.

I have a *favorite* breakfast place in Newport News--a restaurant that deserves its own post, so I won't go into detail. The reason I mention it now is because a few weekends ago when I was there, I was caught taking a picture of the "specials" board to send to my Little by a fellow restaurant fan. "If you think their banana pecan pancakes are amazing, you should try their zucchini pancakes!" My jaw dropped. HOW had I never seen this on the menu! I felt deprived...and, at the same time, inspired.

Fat Kid Bars

This post is in honor of the fat kid in all of us.

I felt that the photos above were necessary in order to get a point across. I may have given you the wrong impression with half of my recipes so far dealing with fruit. Also, it seems my entire office thinks that I don't eat anything I make! I just make it and bring it in so that I can watch everyone around me get fat.

HOWEVER. As you can see from above, I love food. I have always loved food. a lot a lot a lot. And while I may have changed my eating and exercising habits some since my awkward "fat kid" days, I still tend to eat a lot of, frankly, SHIT. I would like to blame this partially on Boyfriend, but that wouldn't be fair. Yes, he asks to go to Dairy Queen nearly every weekend we are together, but I am guilty of baking up deadly treats up to three times a week...and having four servings right when they pop out of the oven. It's TRUE! (and I'm Catholic. Catholics don't lie.)

Cakes...in Jars!

I have no idea what caused me to Google search cakes in jars...but I did. And what I found was something beautiful. What's even more beautiful is IF you bake and seal them correctly, they can last up to 4-6 months! HOW MANY TIMES have you wanted some dessert, but not wanted to undertake the required measuring/baking/cleaning to get it???

One of the true tragedies of being a young, single-ish (a.k.a. not married with kids) baker is not having a family around to help enjoy the finish product. Now, sure, there are things I bake that I DO NOT want to share...they're either just that good or that bad. But normally when I bake, I want someone else to see it and enjoy it!

And this was that kind of something.