Sweet and Sneaky Ways to Eat Your Veggies: Pumpkin
aka “The Best Thanksgiving Vegetable”
At Thanksgiving, I usually serve myself a two-bite slice of turkey, a tablespoon of mashed potatoes, and three green beans. (Okay, slight exaggeration.) Then, while everyone else complains of stomach cramps and food comas, I still have plenty of room for dessert and get first dibs on the pumpkin pie! Continue reading for recipe.
Sweets for the Sweet
On Christmas Eve when my man set my wrapped gift under the tree, he placed another present down with it. Although I had only met her once, his grandmother sent me a set of four glittery red boxes filled with saltwater taffy, caramel corn, and peanut brittle. How sweet! (No pun intended…) Continue reading for recipe.
I Should’ve Been a Boy Scout…
When I mentioned to my guy that I had never attempted to make a cobbler, he replied, “Oh, it’s really easy!” Pause, rewind… WHAT? My man, who avoids baking like the bubonic plague, has made cobbler before me??
After I nearly went into anaphylactic shock, he finally explained that he baked cobblers in Boy Scouts. They emptied canned peaches into a Dutch oven, dumped a boxed biscuit mix on top, and heated in over the fire until their stomachs growled and the fruit juices bubbled.
Well then. Continue reading for recipe.
Death By Flour (And Chocolatey Nutella)
My mother nearly killed me a few weeks ago. She drove up to visit, and as I munched on my afternoon snack, she dropped this on me: “I’m giving up flour!”
Choking on my carrot, I barely spluttered out, “W-w-what?” as I reached for my water glass.
“I’m giving up flour,” she repeated.
“Forever?” My mind was racing… How could my mother, my one and only mother, omit flour from her diet when her daughter dreams of becoming a baker??
She reassured me that no, this was a temporary diet-change-for-weight-loss thing, and she still enjoyed the occasional English muffin or fudgy brownie… In moderation. Limited moderation.
(You can call the ambulance driver back; I’m not going to die from a heart attack after all.) Continue reading for recipe.
Pumpkin Pie for Breakfast!
Last Friday morning, my internal alarm clock buzzed a little earlier than my electronic one, so I hopped out of my steamy shower with some extra time to spare. After the chilly weather that blew into town, my bones begged for a hot breakfast to warm them up. I nixed my usual bowl of oatmeal and reached for milk and flour instead.
Within 10 minutes, my skillet of pancakes filled the house with their toasty sweet aroma, encouraging my guy to stumble into the kitchen rubbing his eyes and ask for the leftovers. Since I only mixed up enough for me (he rarely wakes up before I leave in the mornings!), I promised him another batch over the weekend before riding off to work. Continue reading for recipe.
“Dairy” I Try Gluten-Free Baking?
Last month, I invited a friend to dinner at a local Indian place, only to cancel on him two hours before the meal. My stomach had contracted an oh-so-lovely 24-hour bug, which left my lying pitifully on the couch all night, the remote dangling from one hand and a glass of Sprite in the other.
As an apology, I wanted to bake him some sort of tasty treat. At our rain-checked dinner three days later, I finally dragged it out of him: he’s a sucker for a good peanut butter cookie. Perfect! Easy as pie cookies, right?
Not so fast… Turns out he’s allergic to both dairy and gluten. I checked around my kitchen: white, whole wheat, and cake flour sat in the pantry, while butter and milk chilled in the fridge. Oops. Continue reading for recipe.
Foods for the Soul 