…so another Black Friday has come and gone. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last several years, you will know that the term “Black Friday” does not mean this, …but instead identifies the day after American Thanksgiving; a concentrated day of store (and now online) deep discounts on a myriad of…
Month: November 2013
Recipe and Tutorial x2: Super-Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies and Jacques Torres Chocolate Chunk Cookies!
I was up visiting my sister’s family a couple of weekends ago, when I heard that she and her hubby were hosting a UFC Pay Per View Fight Night at their house on Saturday night. Not lots of friends/family coming over, but enough that they would want snackages along with the pizza and alcohol they…
Recipe and Tutorial: Banana Pumpkin Bread of AWESOMESAUCE!
Wow, two banana posts in a row. I must be on some kind of banana kick. Don’t worry, I have plenty of other yummy fewdz to talk about; it was just the roll of the dice this week. In any case, earlier this month, my friend, Erynith, decided to stay at our place for a…
Professional Cakes: The Most Adorable Dr. Who Cake EVER!
I think the title says it all. Amazing design by Nerdache Cakes Tigger as Dr. Who, and Piglet wearing a homemade Dalek costume? Sign me up!
Recipe and Tutorial: Tropical Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe is my absolute go-to recipe for all things carrot cake; its origin comes from a trusted recipe in my little More Food That Really Schmecks baking book by my Canadian home-baking heroine, Edna Staebler. I’ve fiddled around with it over the years, adding this and removing/altering that, until I developed what I consider…
Recipe and Tutorial: Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Some time ago, for whatever reason that is lost to the mists of time, I made some banana chocolate chip muffins. I probably had some bananas that were over-ripe or something. I had never had much success with muffins, which is weird and annoying on two fronts, considering that a) they’re one of the…
Recipe and Tutorial: Red Velvet Cake Two Ways, plus Two Frostings!
The true origin of the red velvet cake is unclear, mainly because there are several conflicting stories of how it came to be. While it is widely considered an invention by bakers in the Deep South of the United States, the cake and its original recipe have been claimed by the restaurant at the Waldorf…
Recipe and Tutorial: Gluten Free Coconut Macaroons with a Twist!
Several posts ago, I wrote about my experience making macarons, those delicate yet luscious whipped egg white and almond meal cookies sandwiched together with a rich filling. These are not them. This post is about coconut macaroons, which are rich, weighty, gluten-free morsels of coconut, egg whites and condensed milk. They are considered “cookies”, but…
Recipe and Tutorial: Cranberry Lemon Scones
While I was up visiting my sister and family this past weekend, I had the opportunity to do some baking with my sis, which I love to do. She’s a great sous-chef (very precise, measures all the ingredients out for a recipe’s mise en place, and always jumps in to assist when needed…as I said,…
Top Ten List: Introduction to Star Anise (5 of 10)
This is a little bit of an odd Top Ten list, but I thought I’d take you through my baking cupboard (yes, I have an entire cupboard dedicated solely to baking supplies…um, and another cupboard…and a 4-tier rolling rack…but I digress). Since a Top Ten list would make this blog post too long, I’m splitting…
Geekery: High Command Collectible Card Game
I learned a new game this evening at our favourite game store, Hobby Kingdom, in Burlington, Ontario! High Command, a collectible card game from Privateer Press (PP), was just released in early October of this year, and our local PP Press Ganger, Chris, was on hand at the store today to demo the Hordes version…
Meyer Lemons!!! Yaaaaay!!!!!
I found Meyer Lemons totally at random this weekend, in the Ottawa region of all places! I am NOT KIDDING when I confess that my eyes got wide as I snatched the single remaining bag of Meyer Lemons off the display table, pressed them to my heart as I squeaked (yes, *squeaked*), and then growled,…
