Hello again! It’s been a while. I’ve been spending time this spring and summer doing some back-end work on the blog, a little freelance work, relaxing, working on small projects around the house, etc. I’m back with a post I’ve been meaning to share for a long time now. I want to talk about three things: a fantastic vegetarian cookbook, cookbook clubs, and a skillet cookie. [Read more…]
As I was perfecting the recipe for my single serving (vegan) chocolate chip cookie, I hit a point where I realized, “This is so good, it would be amazing if I could make a whole batch of cookies like this.” It was a bit of a lightbulb moment: now that I had successfully engineered a single serving cookie recipe, I now wanted to reverse-engineer that recipe and scale it UP to a full batch. Thanks to the simplicity of the original recipe, I figured it should be pretty easy to scale up and extremely easy to make, just like the single serving version. Stir together dry ingredients, stir together wet ingredients, combine them, scoop into cookies and bake. Easy-peasy. It would be the kind of recipe you can whip up on a weeknight because you feel like it, or last minute for a party, and bonus points because it’s VEGAN. Once I had this idea in my head I couldn’t let it go. [Read more…]
Have you ever been consumed by the desire to eat a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie, but don’t feel like going through the effort of making a whole batch? You just ate dinner, you’re hankering for something sweet, and your brain goes to chocolate chip cookies. And then your brain won’t let go of that thought. This recipe is for that moment. [Read more…]
I used to always believe that when it comes to baking, bigger = better. If I’m taking the time to bake something, I want a lot of it. That way I can share it with friends, take it into work, feed a party, etc. While that line of thinking has its place (and I live by it often), a new book has changed my mind on the subject. [Read more…]
Earlier this week I shared a recap post about my visit to NYC with Robert, Kelsey and Abby. One of the places we visited that quickly rose to the top of our favorites list was Butter and Scotch, a bar and bakery in Brooklyn. Abby, Kelsey and I were all in heaven at that place. It was so fun and laid back, the whiskey was flowing, we were gorging on impeccable desserts, the music was fitting my mood, the bartenders were badass ladies having a great time at their job … You get the picture. Kelsey and I purchased their cookbook while we were there, and that just helped to fuel our love for the place. [Read more…]
I’ve been an admirer of The Vanilla Bean Blog by Sarah Kieffer for years. I was anxiously awaiting the release of her cookbook (The Vanilla Bean Baking Book) ever since she announced it, and I followed along diligently through her Instagram account, which documented her obsessive recipe testing and hard work while creating it. When I went to Minneapolis last April I was thrilled to meet her. I may have talked her ear off a bit about the making of her book. (Sorry about that, Sarah – I was a bit tipsy and I talk a lot when I’m drunk, and my nervousness just added to the chaos.) She’s as sweet and humble in person as you would expect her to be. I’ve always felt a kinship with her because of our love of books and baking, but now after reading her book and learning more about her, it turns out we have even more in common than I thought. [Read more…]
When I attended that amazing food blogger picnic two summers ago (where I met Lindsey and a handful of other bloggers), I only had a vague sense of who would be attending based on my email chain. Someone made a comment about Yossy showing up later on and my ears perked up – “Yossy?” I asked. “As in Apt. 2B Baking Co. Yossy?!” (How many Yossys do YOU know? It seemed like the most logical option.) And I was right, of course. I was not a seasoned blogger (I hadn’t even been blogging for a year yet at that point), so the fact that I was there with some people I would call heavy-hitters already seemed preposterous, and then I found out Yossy would be there – Another big-hitter. If I was a Phillies fan or some other kind of sports fan, this for me was like meeting the Phillies, ya know? Aka I was nerding out HARD. [Read more…]
This is one of those special blog posts where I get to tell you about a talented blog friend of mine AND a beautiful book they’ve created. If you’re not familiar with Lindsey of the blog Dolly and Oatmeal, then you need to pause right here and go check out her site immediately. She has been a major inspiration to me, both with her inventive recipes and her gorgeous photography. (Seriously – her photos are so beautiful I can hardly stand it.) I was lucky enough to meet her a few years ago at a random blogger picnic in NYC. She brought a fattoush-style salad that I still think about, and she was quiet and soft-spoken, but so kind. Her little dog is also a delight. She has continued to be a supportive blog friend as I’ve worked to figure out this weird world we’re a part of. [Read more…]
Robert and I recently celebrated our two year wedding anniversary, which feels totally bonkers. We honestly still feel like little kids pretending to be adults most of the time. (Does this feeling ever go away?) Our summer was pretty jam-packed with random trips and wedding stuff for friends, so we didn’t do anything too crazy to celebrate. A simple dinner out at our favorite local restaurant was all we needed – we put the phones away, caught up with each other, reminisced, and got a little bit tipsy. We were supposed to hang out with friends afterwards but that didn’t happen, and we were secretly (or not so secretly) excited to just go to bed early on a Friday night (because we’re actually sixty years old). [Read more…]
There have been a ton of blogger cookbooks coming out lately (like this one, this one and this one), which makes me extremely happy. I’ve got another one to share with you today by Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen. Hers was one of the first blogs I loved and one of many that inspired me to start my own. Her first book, Pancakes, is one of my absolute favorites and it’s what I always turn to when I’m in the mood for pancakes. The blueberry ricotta ones in there are to die for (just ask my mother-in-law Norrie; she’ll tell you ALL about them), and every other recipe I’ve tried in there has turned out super well. Her new book, The Year of Cozy, invites you into a year of her life with recipes, craft projects and general life ideas. There’s also a handful of photos of her adorable corgi, Amelia, who just so happens to be one of my favorite dogs of the internet. [Read more…]