Dog Bed Donuts

Last week I celebrated by dog’s 8th birthday.  It was kind of bittersweet seeing how much he’s grown and changed over the years.  When I picked him up from the shelter at 1 year old, he was a scruffy, thin pup with the face of a fluffy teddy bear.  Now he’s a little old man, with the same spirit in those round, bright brown eyes and vigor in his wagging tail, but his fur is rougher and he’s plumped up from all the treats I’ve spoiled him with.  He’s slowed down and prefers to sleep most of the day away, only waking for a brief greeting, food, or short bursts of playtime.

Upside-Down Ginger Toffee Orange Bran Cake

I love that many of the foods we eat become attached to our fondest memories.  A single bite of an unassuming dish eaten on some special occasion can years later sweep us back to our sweetest memories and remind us of the dear people with whom we shared them.
For instance, pineapple upside-down cake holds a special place in my heart.  It’s not that I particularly love the taste or concept of it, but that any thought of this type of cake evokes a memory from my early childhood, when my preschool teacher led my class in making mini pineapple upside-down cakes.  I still recall the sight of my teacher scooping batter into a big muffin pan and leaving the room to take it to the school kitchen, and being the only kid who stuffed her cake into a Ziploc bag to take home and share with her sister.  I remember feeling the sugary satisfaction of sweet sticky pineapple and juicy maraschino cherry on top of a fluffy, golden-brown cake, but also a sense of childlike wonder at this unusual treat that looked like a cupcake but was upside-down and had caramelized fruit on top in place of frosting.

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Merry Christmas!  It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  One of my favorite things to do on Christmas day is bake cookies early in the morning.  The heat of the oven warms up my house, and there’s nothing better than getting to wake up to the cozy scent of sugar and butter and a plate full of freshly baked cookies to share with family at breakfast.

Spiced Cookie Maple Butternut Squash Pie

There are some things in life that you can’t truly know are good until you try them.  Little things that you have to experience yourself, that are able to fill a hole somewhere in your soul where you didn’t know you were missing something.
Things like… browned butter.

For the longest time, I’ve been hearing and reading about how amazing browned butter is, how rich and nutty of an aroma it has, and the wonderful effect it can have on a dish.  It’s always been on my mind to try it out, but for some reason I just never got around to it, until this week.  And wow, I can’t believe I waited this long.

Easy Eggless Avocado Blueberry Ice Cream

A couple of years ago, I saw avocado flavored ice cream at the store and, I’ll admit, I laughed at it.  But as odd as it seemed to me back then, I recently became curious to try it (and make it) after realizing that the natural creaminess of an avocado makes it perfect to experiment with in creating a creamy, eggless, raw ice cream.

Cream Cheese Pistachio Scones with Cherry Hibiscus Glaze

Cream cheese is a star ingredient in cheesecakes, frosting, and danishes.  But in my opinion, it ought to get more love for the wonders it works when baked straight into a cake or bread.  When whipped into a batter like eggs or butter, it becomes the secret ingredient behind a pastry’s extraordinary richness and moistness and also contributes a distinctly tangy, savory flavor.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Caramelized Balsamic Peach Swirl

Ah, summer, the season of beach trips, road trips, barbecues, and iced tea by the poolside, and also the season of fresh peaches, watermelons, figs, and all kinds of berries.  But most importantly, it’s the season when ice cream cravings are at their peak, when childhood dreams are replenished by cones of cold, creamy wonder as we indulge in our favorite flavors and toppings.  There’s nothing sweeter than running to the store at 10 pm to grab a pint of mint chocolate chip, or licking melted cookies ‘n cream off the side of your hand as you finish the last bites of your waffle cone on a hot day.

Baked Black Sesame Nutella Donuts

Happy National Donut Day!  I love it that we’ve dedicated certain days in the year to honoring our favorite foods, not just Donut Day but also ones like National Bacon Day, Pizza Day, and even Crab Stuffed Flounder Day.  It makes me wonder, when did people first think of having these kinds of holidays, and were they meant for full-on Mother’s-Day-like celebration, some form of food marketing strategy, or just a day when we can simply give ourselves a bit more right to indulge?
I personally think donuts are too good to even need a day for us to appreciate them, but either way, it’s time to seize the occasion and put my donut pan to good use.

Mango Coconut Milk Rolls

This post is long, long overdue.  I meant to share it as an immediate follow-up to the Creamy Mango Coconut Spread I posted weeks back, but life in the past month really hit me like a bus and squeezed out every last little minute that could have been spent baking or blogging.  Luckily, I just managed to snag a bit of downtime (which really shouldn’t be downtime, as I still have a lot of other things waiting to be done) to get back to the unfinished WordPress draft that has been hanging around for so long with the other bazillion tabs that have collected on my browser.

Creamy Mango Coconut Spread

A few weeks ago, I made some incredible soft pretzels that I dressed in an Orange Rosemary Honey Glaze.  Like just about everything I’ve put on this blog, the glaze was an experiment, an attempt to see if orange juice and honey would simmer together into the sticky amber syrup I was looking for, and whether the taste of citrus and honey would mingle in peace with a strong, savory herb like rosemary.  The flavor I got was intriguing, not like a definite answer, but like a question that is attractively different and profound in a way that piques your interest and makes you hungry for more.