Sweatheart Treats – These recipes look super yummy and make a lovely presentation. I wish I could just reach into the computer and take a bite…
Search Results for 'recipes'
For other procrastinators like myself, I thought I’d share this quick and tasty treat I made earlier this week. A search for “chocolate covered oreos” provided several good recipes and instructions (1, 2, 3), but basically I just melted a package of chocolate chips in the microwave. The cool thing about these cookies is that you don’t actually have to bake in order to have pretty handmade treats to give friends and neighbors. For packaging and display, I found tall glass canning jars at our local New Seasons, covered the lids with fabric and attached a label, which you can download here. For more packaging inspiration, marthastewart.com has a nice slideshow on 13 beautiful ways to package cookies, my favorites being the cookie gift sleeve, and the cellophane-wrapped cookies.
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I just thought I’d mention a few of my favorite baby food books. The first is Super Baby Food
A photograph from our 2002 trip to France
I’ve been reading Julia Child’s My Life in France
I can’t say I’ve been a huge fan of Julia Child. She seemed to be on TV a lot when I was a kid, and I didn’t have the appreciation for cooking and food that I do now. Plus there was something about her voice and mannerism. My mom, a very good cook and who has worked in restaurants most of her life, would turn on Julia’s cooking shows sometimes and I’d sit and watch with her.
Anyway, I’m enjoying the book. Some of it is rather dry, just day to day events, but there are wonderful descriptions of the people and places she experienced during her time in Paris and then Marseille. And the food! It is so clear how passionate she was about French cooking – the countless hours she would put in to making a recipe perfect, because, in this, she was a true perfectionist. Her enthusiasm is inspiring, and makes me think that a delicious souffle or buerre blanc might be in our future.
![](<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375413405?ie=UTF8&tag=paperseed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375413405"><img border="0" src="51msXbm6XuL._SL160_.jpg"></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=paperseed-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0375413405" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />)
![](<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307277690?ie=UTF8&tag=paperseed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307277690"><img border="0" src="41qqK52kQIL._SL160_.jpg"></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=paperseed-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0307277690" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />)
![](<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031604251X?ie=UTF8&tag=paperseed-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=031604251X"><img border="0" src="51ezORAwNJL._SL160_.jpg"></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=paperseed-20&l=as2&o=1&a=031604251X" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />)
Naturally, next on my reading list will be Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously
Welcome to my new blog address! After much deliberation, I’ve finally decided to make the move to host my own site. It is far from being finished, but I realized that if I waited until it was “just right” I’d never make the switch. So, expect it to be under construction for a while. Probably forever. 
As I’m sure all my regular readers noticed, my life and my blog posts have taken a decidedly maternal bent. Being a new mother has propelled me into all kinds of baby issues, from diapering to toys to parenting, and I’m coping with the general elation and struggles that come with that territory. Then there is the other me, the graphic designer, crafty gal, gentle soul, who likes to try new recipes, take photos, explore, make things and just be me. Juggling part-time work (even from home) and a baby is no small feat, but I’d like to try and carve out more time for my own personal projects and pursuits. We’ll see how it all pans out. I hope you will join me in finding out.
P.S. To help make the transition, I’ll be having several fun giveaways during the month of March. The first one starts today for the set of 3 notebooks shown above. Printed on recycled paper, the set includes a date book, an address book and a handy notebook, all measuring 4×6″. Designed by Defteling and beautifully printed by Brown Printing. Just leave a comment below for a chance to win. Two lucky recipients will be chosen at random in a weeks time (sorry, this particular giveaway is only for North America, but I will have world-wide giveaways later).
Love,
Emily
Green Tomato Soup from epicurious.com and Fried Green Tomatoes from allrecipes.com
We are definitely in the midst of fall. The cloudy, rainy days have come, bringing along the chill wind and damp cold. The grass has greened back up, but many of the other plants and flowers are struggling to take their final breath. Most everything in our vegetable garden is done, except for a few evergreen herbs, some straggler carrots, one last zucchini and our poor tomato plants, heavy with unripened fruit.
In the hopes of using up some of our green tomatoes before the first frost, I’ve been looking for some good recipes. Last night we tried Green Tomato Soup, which was actually delicious despite my initial skepticism. I used bacon instead of ham, and also added a small zucchini. I’ll probably make another batch of it today. (Edit: Actually, instead I made the Green Tomato Spice Cake which turned out also surprisingly good. Moist and tasty. I omitted the raisins, and reduced the sugar by a 1/2 cup because someone in the recipes’ comment section said it was very sweet. For fun, I also made the cream cheese frosting from the other cake recipe. Very good!)
Here are some other green tomato recipes I’ve bookmarked to try:
Fried Green Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil BLTs
Green Tomato Spice Cake
Green Tomato Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Baked Green Tomato Casserole
Broiled Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese (or Feta)
Best Fried Green Tomatoes
Green Tomato Soup
Does anyone else have any good green tomato recipes to share?
Cheesecake (or rather, Chocolate Cake Cheesecake), after rescue
Before heading off to the coast this weekend to celebrate Marcy’s birthday, I decided to bake a cheesecake to bring along. Never having made cheesecake before, I used Our Best Cheesecake recipe from the back of the Honey Maid Graham Cracker box, to keep things simple.
Knowing cheesecakes tend to be tempermental, I read several online pages of tips – letting all the ingredients come to room temperature, measuring precisely, mixing until the batter was lump-free. Then I poured the satiny cream into our fancy French springform (which I got as a wedding gift, years ago, but had never used), and slid it into the oven to bake. By the end of it’s two hour cycle… WHAT?! Instead of the smooth, creamy whiteness I expected, the top of the cheesecake had turned BROWN! How had that happened?! I had no idea. Bummed, I put the mess into the fridge to think about later.
That night, I woke up realizing my mistake. I should have reduced the temperature to 325 degrees for a dark, non-stick pan, instead of 350 for a regular silver pan (ahem, just like the directions said). One small, but serious miscalculation, almost leading to tragedy…
How to Rescue an Overbaked Cheesecake… by Adding Another Layer
When I got up the next morning I was determined to save the cheesecake. (David’s suggestion was to buy some cherry topping to hide the top, but that seemed too easy). Instead, my solution was to bake an additional cake, and add it as a new layer.
I think any additional cake layer would work, but I chose Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake for the contrast. My only variation was using Droste cocoa powder instead of Hershey’s, for a darker color and richer flavor. Then I made chocolate ganache.
After carefully removing the overbaked cheesecake top to reveal only the white, I layered ganache on top for looks, flavor, and to work as “glue” to adhere the next layer. With a serrated knife, I carefully leveled the chocolate cake and placed it on the cheesecake, finishing with more ganache on top for decoration.
What a relief! The new two-layer cake was even more beautiful than I had expected. I seriously couldn’t believe it turned out so well after such a sad beginning. And most importantly, the birthday girl was very pleased, making the little extra effort completely worth it!
Easy Apple Crisp (see below for recipe)
Okay, truly, this week I vow to try and start eating healthier and to stop gaining so much weight. Although I’m not technically “overweight” (yet often feel that way), I have definitely gained on the higher end of the recommended amount. And I certainly do not want to birth a ginormous baby. You know what I’m saying? I just want to plateau on all this weight from here on out. (Special thanks to everyone who left a comment on this post. I’ve heard that breastfeeding helps to melt off those post-partum pounds, but at this point, I’m nervous about relying on something I’ve never done before )
That said, I’ve realized a big part of my problem is an abundance of ripe, luscious summer fruit, particularly berries, apples, and peaches. So of course I was making all kinds of delectable goodies. Just for fun, here are three recipes that we’ve really been loving:
Blueberry Lemon Sour Cream Cake. This was by far the best tasting cake I’ve made all year. I used the Sour Cream Lemon Cake recipe, but added slightly less white sugar and a cup of blueberries. Then I followed the directions for the lemon butter glaze. Every bite was divine, and we were seriously sad when it was all gone.
Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I’ve tried before to make a creamy egg-based vanilla, but it was time consuming, frustrating and didn’t turn out well. Now I mostly just stick to making simple fruit sorbets. This recipe, however, didn’t call for any eggs or cooking, just creams, peppermint extract, chopped or mini-chocolate chips, and a can of sweetened condensed milk (I LOVE this stuff. I can eat it straight out of the can with a spoon). This recipe made more than my cuisinart ice cream maker could handle, so I’ll be halving it next time. And I’m sure there will be a next time.
Easy Fruit Crisp (see below). This is my tried and true recipe for any fruit we happen to have. It is quick, easy, and uncomplicated (no fancy crust to worry about). I’ve had success using both fresh and frozen mixed berries, fresh apples, blueberries, and peaches. With really juicy/wet fruit like peaches, it is a good idea to stir in 2 to 4 tablespoons of flour, so you don’t end up with soup. It also doesn’t matter how much fruit you use, except that the ratio of topping to filling changes. David and I love extra topping, so I usually double that part of the recipe.
Filling:
Up to 5 cups of fresh or frozen fruit
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar
Topping:
1/2 cup regular rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1) Thaw fruit, if frozen, and then place in a baking dish. Stir in 2 to 4 tablespoons of sugar to taste (optional).
2) For crisp topping, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts (optional). Sprinkle topping over filling.
3) Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until fruit is tender and
topping is golden. Serve warm with ice cream or light cream. Serves 6.
I made this marble pound cake from scratch out of our old Better Homes and Gardens “New Cookbook.” A little slice of cake with a cup of hot tea sounded so good to me right then. Sadly, the cake was unexceptional, as have some of the other recipes I’ve used out of this cookbook lately. It used to be a staple reference, but now I’m wondering if the flavors are just too out of date. Even the chocolate chip cookie recipe wasn’t very good. Also, it’s strange, but I don’t like nutmeg. I used a 1/2 teaspoon instead of the full in the pound cake, but even that was too much.
Photo from VeganYumYum, for Blueberry Hand Pies
One of the blogs I really like is VeganYumYum. I’m not vegan, but Lolo’s recipes and photography are so fresh and delicious. The first entry on her “Favorites” page is for Blueberry Hand Pies, which I decided to try since I had so many fresh-picked blueberries from the other day (recent post Picking Blueberries in the Rain).
The recipe starts with an easy Pate Brisee (French style crust) that is made in a food processor. Because the filling calls for frozen blueberries and I wanted to use fresh, I slightly modified the ingredients to 3 cups fresh washed blueberries, 1 Tbs. sugar and 1 Tbs. cornstarch. I say freshly washed because the berries needed to be slightly damp for the sugar and cornstarch to stick to the fruit. Then I followed the rest of the directions, except I skipped the sugar/milk glaze because I knew we would be re-heating in our toaster oven. By the end I had 12 golden and very yummy hand pies. Mmm!
David came across an awesome cooking site called Rouxbe that provides professional, step by step online videos for delicious looking recipes. Unlike most sites (like Martha Stewart’s, for example), you’re not bombarded with lots of busy ads or too much content. The page is clean and white, with an elegant layout, inspiring photos and intuitive controls.
The downside is that only a few of the videos are provided for free, including one for Panna Cotta, one of my favorite desserts. I sat through the whole video and am seriously thinking about trying it. I admit, they make it look very easy. We’re lucky to have a laptop I could bring it into the kitchen to watch, instead of running back and forth into the office.
The upside for such a useful and well-designed site is that you can sign up free for 30 days of access. I looked around briefly and and am already having a hard time deciding which recipe I’d like to try first. After 30 days, a one year membership is $49, about the newsstand price for a year of Saveur or Bon Appetit, except that there’s no magazine clutter and you help save a tree.
I plan on giving at least one a try this weekend. I’ll let you know how it goes. 
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