Baking Betty

Girl Scouts!

2012-02-24T15:55:00.001-08:00

Its that time of year again. The Girl Scouts have infiltrated the office.

Food trucks at the Fairgrounds

2012-02-24T10:26:00.010-08:00

Now that the nice weather is on its way, the food trucks are back! Last weekend we "dragged" a few friends out to the fairgrounds, and the event seems to have gotten much larger since last year.

We started off at the Nom Nom truck; I had one pork and one chicken taco, and my husband had a pork banh mi.

Next I had a pork belly roll from the Chairman Bao truck. I went back later and got more to take home. This time I decided to share. These little things are just amazing.

And we finished the night off with cupcakes from the That's Sweet ! Dessert Truck. Three of us shared the chocolate and salted caramel, the red velvet and the Swiss lemon and butter creme.

Needless to say, the night was awesome, and I can't wait until the next event in our area.

For my Sweetheart

2012-02-16T09:58:00.001-08:00

I'm not your typical girl, and Valentine's Day has never been that important to me. I still kind of think of it as a kids' holiday; I fondly think back to the days of cutting out red hearts and gluing them to cards with my Dad.

But I do love dessert, so that has been our one tradition. Every year since we got married, I have made something for dessert just for Valentine's Day. This year, I made brownies and served them warm and fresh from the oven along with whipped cream and berries.

I didn't have a lot of time this year, so I did cheat, and I used a baking mix (GASP!). But if you are in need of something quick, the Ghirardelli Brownie Mix is really good (I even found it at the normal grocery store).

Chinese New Year

2012-02-13T15:21:00.000-08:00

We braved the crowds for the Chinese New Year Parade and had a blast!
Enjoying a Special Chocolate Fortune Cookie from Eastern Bakery, I think I like this advice.

Feasting with Friends

2012-02-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to eat at the Stinking Rose for quite some time, and we finally made it in along with a few good friends. Upon entering the restaurant, the smell was intoxicating! I was more than ready to dive headfirst into some garlic.

Before ordering, we started off with warm rolls and a garlic heavy pesto which was amazing!

We shared the Baked Brie and Garlic. I have to admit I could have eaten the entire dish myself, it was that good, but then I would have no more room to try anything else. I may have to try this at home sometime.

For the main course, I had the chicken and Asparagus Pasta and my husband had the Rabbit. Both were really good, and we both had to take some of it home (oh darn).

For dessert, we all shared the Tiramisu, and the Garlic Ice Cream. The Tiramisu was good, but as Tiramisu's go, it isn't my favorite. We ordered the ice cream out of shear curiosity, not really expecting to like it, but it was amazing. You can taste the garlic, but it was not at all what I expected, and the caramel sauce complimented it perfectly. I guess all those people who said they liked it weren't crazy after all.

We left full, happy and vampire proof. A great experience was had by all, and I think we may need to make it back there pretty soon.

Mmmm Cheese

2012-01-29T17:29:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we had our first party in quite a while, and it was fabulous!

I decided to be "fancy" and have a cheese plate, so here we have Cheddar, Havarti, Brie, Goat Cheese and a Cranberry Wensleydale.

I love cheese!

Warm and Cozy

2012-01-12T21:01:00.001-08:00

That's how I felt last week after my experiment: walnut spice shortbread.
I used my traditional shortbread recipe, added a few spices and some chopped walnuts. Man! That was good!

Cow Creamer

2012-01-08T19:04:00.001-08:00

A successful antiquing trip!

I came home from Old Towne Antiques Mall with a cow creamer for my kitchen.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

At about 12:25, after leaving a New Year's party this morning, I picked up a doughnut.
Thank God the Doughnut Wheel is open 24 hours! I can't imagine a tastier way to ring in the new year!

Christmas Corndog!

2011-12-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

This year our family got together on Christmas eve, so my husband and I had an entire holiday to ourselves. We went into the city and wandered around Pier 39 and Fisherman's Warf for the day.

My Christmas feast this year consisted of Trish's Mini Doughnuts, a corn dog on the Warf and 1/2 a round of sourdough from Boudin's.

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

All packed and ready for a family Christmas Eve!
This year I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies.

Thanksgiving Pie

2011-11-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

Homemade Pumpkin Pie all ready for our family Thanksgiving tomorrow.
I used leaf shaped cookie cutters to make the decorative crust.

Fall Canning

2011-11-22T17:56:00.001-08:00

My friend and I decided to be extra homey and can a few things over the weekend.
Here we have home made, freshly canned Lemon Curd and Apple Sauce.

Fresh Ingredients

2011-11-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

Mmmm... Tomato and Mozzarella salad for dinner last night. Brilliant idea!

Cake Pops

2011-11-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

Even though cake pops have been growing in popularity the last few years, I tried one for the first time about a month ago. A co-worker brought them in, and I was quite surprised. I expected them to be overly sweet, but they were just right.

So, I decided to try my own. While searching for recipes, I came up with far too many, so I decided on one based on it's simplicity. I used chocolate cake instead of white and I used cream cheese frosting since it is far less sweet than standard frosting.

After a few mishaps and decorating the rest, I brought them to a Halloween party where they quickly disappeared.

I have to admit, they are far easier to make than it sounds. You should try them!

Family and SF

2011-10-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

My sister came to visit from Seattle, and we went on an adventure in the city!

We saw the Richard Serra Retrospective at the SFMOMA, and enjoyed the Mondrian Cake in the rooftop garden, and for lunch we had burgers and hot dogs at Burger Joint in the Mission.

Great Day!

Delightful Day in Half Moon Bay

2011-10-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

Falafel at Chez Shea in Half Moon Bay.
Great place, organic, worldly comfort food, and highly recommended.

Tasty Tarts

2011-10-01T21:55:00.001-07:00

I just picked up some mini baking shells! I had planned to make my own pastry dough and fillings, but I was too excited to try them out. So I used what I already had; frozen pastry shell, strawberry jam and lemon curd.

At least the lemon curd was homemade, just not by me. I picked some up from the tea room at the Scottish Games this year. It's run by the Daughters of the British Empire...and so delicious.

Sweet Treats

2011-09-29T15:40:00.001-07:00

My afternoon pick me up!

For some reason I am craving a doughnut, but this will do just fine.

Peaches and Cream

2011-09-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Last night I broke in my new Sunbeam!

Well, okay, it's not new. It was my grandmother's, but it's new to me.

For the last few years, I've been using a hand held mixer (which intentionality was my husband's grandmother's). It was definitely time for a stand mixer, but I just couldn't see myself buying a brand new one. So when this one needed a new home, it just felt right.

I have to say I LOVE this mixer. I grew up using a pretty decent one, and I've used quite a variety of mixers at other people's homes, but this one seems to trump them all (or maybe it's just because it's mine). It has a multitude of speeds and everything (and I mean everything) comes apart for thorough cleaning.

I made a peach cobbler and topped it extra thick whipped cream. It was so warm and cozy, I almost felt like building a fire (even though it's September).

Mobile Food

2011-09-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, we got to try local gourmet food trucks at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. The Mobile Gourmet hosts food truck events all around the bay area.

There were 13 trucks onsite, including the Nom Nom truck from the 1st season of The Great Food Truck Race. There was live music and plenty of people enjoying an evening of good food.

There was so much to try!
I started off with an Orange Creme cupcake from That's Sweet! Dessert Truck.

Shared a sampling of sliders from Whisk.

And after a long wait, but deffinately worth it, had chicken and pork tacos from Nom Nom (it was too dark to get a good picture).

Can't wait for another event!

Meat Pies

2011-09-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

No, not that kind of meat pie!
At the 146th Scottish Highland Games in Pleasanton.

Dessert for Breakfast

2011-09-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

A Perfect start to a day in the City!
Panna Cotta and Blue Bottle Coffee at the SFMOMA Rooftop Cafe.

Spaghetti on a Whim

2011-08-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

Tired of the same old thing, and not having a full kitchen to create anything very remarkable, I found I had just enough to throw together some spaghetti.

I cut up some chicken, coated it in bread crumbs and pan fried it in olive oil and onions. I added a can of chopped tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, some red wine and fresh herbs from teh garden. I cooked that down, added the chicken and then topped some whole wheat pasta with it.

Dinner was surprisingly good.

Two of My Favorite Things

2011-08-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Art and baking!

Ever since the Rooftop Garden opened at the SFMOMA in the spring of 2009, I have been obsessed with their Mondrian Cake.

Lately I have been planning to make one, and I was looking for inspiration, I came across this blog post where SFMOMA's pastry chef, Caitlin Freeman, talks about a few of her inspriations.

Cake: Caitlin Freeman, Photo: Charlie Villyard

Kitchen Garden

2011-08-21T17:35:00.001-07:00

I just planted my kitchen garden today. When we moved my herbs weren't too happy and the only thing left are a couple of chives. So I planted two kinds of mint, rosemary, tarragon, sage, thyme, oregeno, lavendar and parsely. Now I just need to pick a couple good recipes.

Back to Baking

2011-08-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Life has been a bit crazy lately, and I haven't had any time or energy to make anything.

But last night I snapped; I was tired of it. I mixed up a batch of Zesty Lemon Cookies, popped them in the oven, and waited very impatiently while my husband sat there licking the beaters.

Over the weekend, I helped my mom pick lemons off my grandfather's tree. We filled up one laundry basket, and there are still a lot on the tree. My uncle took some lemons, and I took some lemons and there are still plenty to go around.

I have an overabundance of lemons right now, and I'm just giddy over it. I love lemons!

Thanks to Real Mom Kitchen, I found a great recipe. The cookies were wonderful, and they just melt in your mouth.

Oh, and she has a recipe for lemon cream puffs! I might just have to try those too!

Has It Really Been One Year?

2011-08-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

Looks like I've kept this thing up for a year. Not too shabby!
In honor of this grand day, I will share the picture which started this whole idea!

A few years ago, my husband and I were visiting Santa Barbara, and we stumbled upon Joe's Cafe. We stopped in for breakfast, and I had the fresh fruit and cottage cheese, and my husband had the Eggs Benedict. The eggs were so good, that he decided he needed a photo of the empty plate to remember them by.

This place is really great, and I highly recommend it.

Photo: Jonathon Miller

Sift Cupcakes

2011-08-06T23:39:00.001-07:00

A get together for a few friends' birthday was graced by cupcakes from Sift in Napa! I had the key lime and it was amazing.

Jumping Frogs and Grilled Cheese

2011-07-31T18:37:00.001-07:00

On our way to Calaveras Big Trees State Park today, we stopped for sandwhiches at The Pickle Barrel in Angel's Camp.

Ballpark Food

2011-07-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

Went to the A's game tonight, and what else are you going to eat at the ballpark? Hot dogs and churros!

I know it's a terrible picture of a churro, but I love the background.

Cheese and Tomatoes

2011-07-18T10:25:00.001-07:00

Fresh mozzarella and tomatoes at Strizzi's!

Sourdough and Goat Cheese

2011-07-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

When I need a snack nothing quite satisfies like cheese.

Here I used the left over sourdough from yesterday and some blueberry coated goat cheese that I picked up at Costco of all places.

Now all I need is a good book and a warm cat to sit on my lap.

A Day in the City

2011-07-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

After a trip to SFMOMA, we went down to Fisherman's Warf
and braved all the tourists.

We stopped for my favorite treat at the Boudin Bakery and enjoyed Trish's Mini Donuts for the first time.

It was a great holiday weekend.

Berkeley for the Day

2011-07-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Banana, Strawberry and Raspberry Crepes from Crepes a Go-Go.

Blueberry Scones and Coffee at Strada.

Fair Food

2011-07-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

At the Alameda County Fair.
Corn Dogs and Root Beer Floats. Yum!

Summer Fruit

2011-06-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here! And that means farmers market and lots of fruit!
Last week we went to the farmers market and picked up cherries and way too many strawberries!

Last night I realized the remaining strawberries needed to be cut up and I decided to make Strawberry Shortcake since we were having friends over.

It definitely satisfied my craving that night. (Both for something sweet, and for something to make.)

Michigan Adventures

2011-06-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we flew out to visit my brother and his family in Michigan, and we had a great time!

We started off with fast food in Detroit, and drove a few hours to see my brother.

Over the weekend, we all drove a few hours to Chicago for a volleyball tournament, and we enjoyed deep dish at Uno's.

We stopped for steak at Texas Corral in Benton Harbor.

On our way back, we had a great dinner at Angelina Italian Bistro in Detroit.
They had amazing food and amazing service!

We started off with the bruchetta sampler.
(Marinaded tomato, sun dried tomato hummus and there was a third one with mushroom, but I ate it before I remembered to get a picture.)
I had the butternut squash ravioli, and it was the best squash pasta I've ever had!And in honor of National Doughnut Day (1st Friday in June), I just had to stop for one on the way to the airport.

In Memoriam

2011-06-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Today is my Grandfather's funeral.

He led a long and good life, and I will miss him greatly.

...and in his honor - Sardines!

He is the only person I know who ate them, and he LOVED them.

I plan to leave one can with him, and bring the other to the reception, hoping a few souls might brave them for the first time.

Mmm... Ice Cream!

2011-05-30T15:32:00.001-07:00

Visiting my brother in Michigan, and took a road trip to Chicago.

Found Kilwin's in Old Town Chicago, an awesome ice cream and fudge shop. I had the Old town Mud, and it was chock full of chocolate and caramel goodness.

Fine Dining with Friends

2011-05-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

We were treated to dinner at Esin last night... and what a dinner!
We started off with a cheese plate.

I ate my first oyster.
Not bad, but it will likely be my last.
I had the pork meatballs.

And for dessert? A lemon meringue tart!

Needles to say, I felt like I didn't need to eat for a week!
But it was wonderful food, and they had great service!

Powwow Food

2011-05-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

We went to the Stanford Powwow with my aunt and my cousin today.
We enjoyed the dancing, the vendors and of course the food!

Indian Tacos and Fry Bread!

Vietnamese at Vo's

2011-05-06T21:07:00.001-07:00

Garlic noodles, garlic green beans, five spice chicken and tea!

Vo's Restaraunt in Oakland.

Girls Night Out

2011-04-29T13:44:00.001-07:00

Dinner and bowling with the girls. Awesome!
Kawa Sushi in Livermore.

Adventure Weekend

2011-04-25T09:12:00.001-07:00

This weekend, before we spent Easter with family, we drove off into the hills looking for something fun to do. After taking the scenic route for what was twice as long as we expected, we found it. Alice's Restaraunt!
They're known for their amazing burgers, but for some reason I couldn't resist the BLT.

And a rootbeer float of course.

And to top it all off, we stopped for strawberries from Green Valley Produce in Hayward.

Burrito Break

2011-04-16T19:31:00.001-07:00

Mmmm... My lunch one day last week. Carne Asada Burrito from El Balazo.

Cheesy Dinner

2011-04-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

In honor of National Cheese Fondue Day, my husband and I enjoyed an awesome Cheese Fondue last night.

I don't recall where I heard it, but when we couldn't figure out what we wanted for dinner, I exclaimed "It's National Cheese Fondue Day!" So we ran off to the store to get some extra stinky cheese.

I've discovered that making fondue for just two people poses some problems. You either end up with left overs (oh darn!) or you end up eating too much, or in my case, a little of both. Crazy thing is I think I'm still full!

Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate

2011-04-09T18:11:00.001-07:00

Okay, I guess it should be only two chocolates but three sounds so much better for a title. Here are my Double Chocolate Chip Cookies! I added walnuts to the recipe too.

Sunday Drives & Ice Cream

2011-04-07T15:43:00.001-07:00

When I was a kid, my dad liked to pile us all in the car Sunday afternoons and go for a drive. With no agenda other than getting away from the house, we often found ourselves enjoying the Berkeley hills.

Now that I'm "grown up", I catch myself doing almost the same thing, though not nearly as often as I would like. Last weekend, we took a scenic route and stopped at the drive though dairy in Pleasanton. What a great way to top off the week.

A Night on the Town

2011-04-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we went out to Strings. Since we don't go there very often I tend to forget how much I love there food, so then when we do go, I am quite often pleasantly surprised.

This time I tried their Tortellini Alla Panna. Needless to say it was so good that I couldn't wait to take a picture. So, here's a shot of the empty plate.

Top it all off with a slice of cheese cake, and I was definitely full and happy for the night.

Take Out Tonight

2011-04-01T20:37:00.001-07:00

Mmmm... Popeyes! Sometimes you just don't have time to cook.

Rainy Days Call for Warm Cookies

2011-03-24T21:51:00.001-07:00

Mmmm... Oatmeal Cookies! Sometimes you just need a good traditional cookie with nothing special added. (I apologize for the horrible lighting! That is something I need to work on especially now that I am in a new place.)

Comfort in a Cup

2011-03-10T08:28:00.001-08:00

Mmmm...

Hot Cocoa and Girl Scout cookies! What more could you want?

After a long hard day at work, I added a dash of cinnamon to my super easy, single serving Hot Cocoa recipe. I dipped my Girl Scout Trefoils in the Cocoa, and instantly was relaxed.

Maybe I should do this more often!

Chicken Parmesan

2011-03-02T16:59:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I made the first real cooked meal in our new house!

I knew I needed to go shopping, but I wasn't quite ready to fully stock the kitchen since we still needed to paint the cabinets. So I looked at what we had and realized if I just bought chicken and Mozzarella, I could make Chicken Parmesan. This was the first time I made it, and it came out pretty good. I used my homemade tomato sauce and served it with angle hair pasta and asparagus. Yum!

No pictures unfortunately.

Moving Day!

2011-02-11T19:00:00.001-08:00

I can't wait to get settled into my new kitchen!
Tomorrow is our moving day, and I am more than ready to finally cook something again.

Say goodbye to my ugly brown kitchen!
Out with the old, in with the new (er).

TV Dinners and Take Out

2011-02-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

We will be moving soon, and since we've been spending most of our nights cleaning and painting the new place, we've been living off of TV dinners and take out recently. I'm getting pretty tired of having pizza.

So the other day I ordered Chinese take out instead. I'm not cooking, but at least I was able to have some variety. There are quite a few good Chinese places in Livermore, but my favorite has to be the Yin Yin. And they deliver!

Room Service

2011-01-22T18:34:00.000-08:00

Last week I ordered room service for the first time, and what did I get?
Ice Cream off the kid's menu - yum!

Check out the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento when you have a chance.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hmmm... Chicken Piccata
This was our New Year's Eve dinner, and it was really good!

Caspers!

2010-12-26T18:18:00.000-08:00

Hands down, the best hot dog place in the bay area!
- or at least my favorite

Both my Grandpa and my Dad used to take my sister and I to Casper's in Dublin when we were kids.

In recent years I have been known to drive half an hour just for a Casper's dog!

Christmas Stars and Lots of Love

2010-12-23T08:16:00.001-08:00

I successfully sent off Christmas cookies to my out-of-state family a few weeks ago.
This year they were gifted with Gingerbread Stars, Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies and a fantastic cookie I just tried for the first time: Chocolate Mint Chip.

Now it's time to make some more for the family I will see this week - after I finish my coffee. Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

I love holiday baking!
Especially when I'm able to get off work early to enjoy it.

Today I made a bunch of cookies to bring to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving. I made two batches of shortbread using my Classic Shortbread recipe. To one I added cinnamon and cloves and to the other I added lemon juice to the butter and lemon zest to the flour. They both came out wonderful.

I also made Gingerbread Cutouts, which, oddly enough, was not a tradition in our house. Growing up I didn't like Gingerbread. Honestly, I have no idea why since I love it now. This was my first try at decorating cookies in quite some time. I think they turned out well.

Now go enjoy yourselves and eat plenty of pie and cookies tomorrow!

Dia de los Muertos

2010-11-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late, I know! But I couldn't help but be inspired by these cookies by Baked. Check out their Etsy shop to see many more amazing cookies! Maybe I'll try them out using the Perfect Sugar Cookie recipe!

Cookies and Photo: Baked

Summer Cravings

2010-10-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I haven't been baking much since it has been so hot recently. But I have been out and about eating wonderful dishes! When summer rolls around (or in our case summer weather) I begin craving cool, refreshing foods, especially desserts!

One of my favorite desserts is Tiramisu. I had it for the first time when I was a teenager, and I became obsessed. I had to make it! I quickly found out there are many varieties and methods, that the first time I made it, I actually combined two different recipes to make my own version.

Traditional Tiramisu uses Italian Savoiardi cookies or Lady Fingers in English, but I've noticed most restaurants in our area use cake. Maybe it is easier when you are making large amounts. Some recipes call for alcohol and others don't.

I am not a snob or a traditionalist; I enjoy every Tiramisu for its own unique qualities. But at the moment, this one has to be my favorite. A rich creamy version with a lot less cake. Go to Franchino in San Francisco and treat yourself!

Happy Birthday!

2010-09-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Right before my 30th birthday (gasp), my friend and I went on a mini adventure. We drove down to Santa Monica to audition for a reality TV show. Crazy huh!?

We weren't chosen, but we had a great time!

We started the morning early with an oh so healthy breakfast.

We had Lunch at Teddy's. Definitely a local favorite. It was packed, but they still found us a table. They had great service and good, greasy spoon, comfort food.

And we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Mona Lisa in Huntington Beach. The food was wonderful, the service was great and it had a cozy, friendly feel. I had the Chicken Picata (one of my favorites).

On our drive back to the Bay Area, we stopped at Murray Family Farms along Highway 5, and enjoyed fresh pluots and nectarines. It was the perfect end to a good trip.

Red Velvet Doughnuts!

2010-09-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

What will they think of next!?

This was brought to me at 2am this morning after my husband came in from a bachelor party. Apparently the Doughnut Wheel has joined the throngs in creating their version of Red Velvet Cake. And it was glorious.

Did you know, that while there are recipes for Red Velvet Cake (also called Devil's Food Cake) dating as far back at the late 19th century, it really became popular during WWII? Due to chocolate rations bakers used cocoa cocoa powder in their chocolate cakes resulting in a not so decedent color. Someone had the bright idea to add beet juice to the mixture, and came up with a brilliant color. These days we use red food coloring. I'd love to compare a traditional cake to a modern version. That could be interesting.

After its decline in the 1970's, due to the link between red food coloring and cancer, Red Velvet Cake is making a come back. And I couldn't be happier. The only draw back is, now I'm on sugar overload.

Out of Town

2010-09-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be out of town for a few days, and will be MIA, but I plan to return with plenty of fun food facts!

Until then, here is a glimpse at my wonderful Margherita Pizza at California Pizza Kitchen in San Francisco.

Mmmm...
Makes me hungry again!

My Very First Galette

2010-09-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

These are delicious. They remind me of those french butter cookies you see around Christmas time, only these are home made and a heck of a lot better!

Feeling the need to have some cookies again, I decided to try something different. I pulled down a cookbook which rarely gets used. Not because isn't good, but simply due to the fact that I have favorite recipes, and sometimes I forget I have this book. I should open it up more often!

I chose the Galettes because, once again, we did not have any eggs in the house. I wasn't too thrilled that the dough needed to chill for a few hours, but I sucked it up and chilled it while we had dinner. I'm a rather impatient person, especially once I've made up my mind to eat some cookies.

I cut the recipe in half, because no one in their right mind needs 4 to 5 dozen cookies! But then again, maybe they do. I think this would be a great recipe to freeze the extra dough so you can make cookies on a whim.

Mmmm... French Toast

2010-08-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

Weekends are perfect for French Toast!

We didn't get to have junk food (or sugar for that matter) too often when I was a kid. So when Mom would make French Toast it was a real treat!

I'm no connoisseur, but I definitely have eaten my fair share of French Toast. I always love it, but for some reason, I think Mom's was the best. It may actually be the first thing I remember helping her make.

I've been making French Toast the way she taught me for a few years now, and I've been told it is the best. Thanks, Mom! I admit, I don't make her syrup most of the time. It is a bit heavy. I sprinkle brown sugar over the toast instead, and let it melt.

Too bad my weekend is over now.

Brownie Disaster

2010-08-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

I have been pining for brownies for quite some time now, and the other night I decided I would cave. I had to go into work early which meant I got to go home early, so figured this would be the perfect day to make brownies. I was feeling ambitious and wanted to try something different. Cheesecake Brownies!

I found a recipe that said to add the cheese mixture to a brownie package, so I just put two recipes together. What's the worst that could happen, right? They smelled amazing while in the oven, they passed the toothpick test, and now I couldn't wait to eat them.

After letting them cool a few minutes, I found my brownies falling through the wire cooling rack! They were too soft! Maybe the cheese changed the texture? I tried putting them on a cutting board, and the whole thing fell apart. Apparently, when you add the cheese mixture, the brownies need to bake longer.

Even though they weren't completely baked in the center, they tasted wonderful. So I sat there eating half baked brownies with a fork. Next time I'll look for an all inclusive recipe.

Good Friends and Good Food

2010-08-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

"Game night" at our friends' house is always fun and refreshing. It is a night of good friends and a lot of food! It is full of excitement and often times the unexpected. Last week was no different; after a long tiring day at work I was looking forward to it.

It was our turn to bring dessert, and my husband made the mistake of mentioning flan. That meant it HAD to be made! No one would settle for anything else. Fortunately for me, he had made flan plenty of times. And it has always been wonderful!

The only draw back to flan is that I have to watch my husband make it, I have to smell it baking and then I have to wait until after dinner the NEXT DAY to eat it. But it was worth the wait.

Julia Child: My Hero

2010-08-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

Our tomato plants are just bursting! We picked a bunch of Green Zebras the other night, and I added them to to the enormous pile already in the kitchen. Though we weren't eating tomatoes with dinner that night, I felt I had to do something with them. They were just screaming to be made into a sauce.

If I am feeling ambitious enough to make my own sauce, I usually follow the recipe and use canned tomatoes and tomato paste. But most of the time I cook the tomatoes down a bit and end up with a very fresh tasting, chunky tomato topping. I've never made real sauce from scratch.

So I poured over my cookbooks, and as it turns out, Julia Child has a few recipes. I opted for the Fresh Tomato Puree with Garlic and Herbs since I didn't have any meat to add. It made the house smell amazing, and I was a little sad that we were grilling dinner instead of boiling pasta. But my plan was to have a homemade sauce in the refrigerator ready when the mood struck.

I didn't have everything she asked for. I made the sauce without parsley, saffron and orange peel. I decided I didn't need to peel, seed or juice my tomatoes, and I didn't bother with the cheesecloth for my herbs. But since I like chunky sauces, that didn't bother me a bit. And, apparently, that Julia Child knows what she's talking about!

Courthouse Coffee

2010-08-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

On our way home from Donner Lake last weekend, we stopped in Auburn. Neither of us had been there before, and honestly we only stopped because we saw an interesting building from the freeway, and my husband wanted to see what it was. It turned out to be the courthouse.

Right across the street from the courthouse was a small coffee shop, aptly named Courthouse Coffee. Bingo! That was why we stopped. My husband has this uncanny ability to find a coffee shop anywhere. I shouldn't complain, I have a very similar problem with ice cream shops.

The coffee was good and strong. I got an iced latte since it was such a nice day. And then we explored the rest of the town. Thank heaven for weekend adventures!

Tomato Abundance

2010-08-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

Summer seems to be all about tomatoes, especially for gardeners. Growing up in my dad's garden we always had tomatoes. Even if he decided to try something different, there would still be tomatoes. Most people in my family will eat them like apples, but for some reason, I wasn't much of a fan.

As I grew up that started to change, I discovered that I love cooked tomatoes, and in the past few years, I have begun to like raw tomatoes. Yet I still have an issue with the texture and can only eat so much.

After leaving a friend's house a few weeks ago, we came home with some peppers and a bag full of tiny tomatoes! I added them to the handful we got from our garden, and I made salsa that night. I didn't have any cilantro, and I guessed at the proportions. It turned out to be pretty good; fresh and juicy!

A few days later, I found a recipe in ReadyMade Magazine for a cherry tomato, peach and feta salad. It sounded amazing. I quickly made a batch for dinner and a few days later made another. It was really good!

Heavenly Shortbread

2010-08-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I had an urge to bake something. Anything, I didn't really care what it was.

As I was looking through my recipes, trying to decide what I wanted, it hit me "We don't have eggs! Again!" I wasn't discouraged; this simply made my decision easy. Shortbread.

I tried shortbread for the first time when I was a little girl, and I fell in love! I was in Pleasanton for the annual Scottish Highland Gathering & Games with my family when I made my first cookbook purchase. I was ten years old and I bought a small pamphlet-type cookbook of shortbread recipes. A few years later, I bought my first shortbread pan.

Last night I decided to make the spicy shortbread. I have made this recipe many times, and it is one of my favorites. This recipe has brown sugar in it, thus making it a bit denser than traditional shortbread. But as I was pulling out the ingredients, I noticed we didn't have any brown sugar left. What was I going to do?

I made the recipe without brown sugar. I thought I'd try something different since I was already straying from the recipe. I used half granulated sugar and half powder sugar (not sure why, it just sounded good). I also added my customary extra dash of spices.

It turned out wonderful! I wouldn't say that it is better than the original recipe, just different. It definitely is worth making again. The white sugar gave it a more subtle flavor, and the powder sugar gave it a lighter, flakier texture.

Accidental Vegan

2010-08-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

How in the world does that happen?

We have a tendency for bananas to go bad in our house! I constantly chide my husband for buying more than we can eat, but I'm pretty sure he does this on purpose. He knows I won't throw them out; he knows that I'll make banana bread.

Last week I found three very brown, very potent bananas hiding in the back of the fridge. Here we go again, more banana bread! I was in the middle of mixing all the ingredients when I realized "We don't have eggs!" This is the reason we didn't get to have french toast that Sunday.

I didn't want to drive to the store; I was going to ask the neighbor for an egg, but I was feeling selfish and didn't want to share. It occurred to me there had to be an egg substitute! I looked on the substitution page in my cookbook, and there were no eggs listed. Undiscouraged, I searched Google, and sure enough, there are a few egg substitutes.

I completed my banana bread recipe substituting cornstarch for the egg (2 tablespoons equal 1 egg). It came out just fine, in fact it came out better than normal because I had an extra banana. It was very moist. As I was eating it, I realized "I just made vegan banana bread - by accident!"

New Blog

2010-08-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

Testing, testing...

In an effort to stave off boredom, I have decided once again to attempt a blog. This time the subject is one I cannot stop thinking about: food!

I often find myself thinking about dinner when I am at work, searching for recipes and drooling over photos of baked goods. Recently I caught myself taking a photo of my latte while at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art!

Though I love a good latte, the cafe in their rooftop garden makes an amazing mocha! They use ganache instead of chocolate The only downside is, because they use ganache, it cannot be served over ice. Just order one when it is cold outside; your taste buds will thank you.