I had a whole bunch of apples left over from a photo shoot last week and after spending quite a bit of time as counter decorations in my kitchen, I decided I needed to do something with them. While looking through Donna Hay magazine, drooling over the photographs and gorgeous food, I came across a recipe that sounded both interesting and amazing (although, everything in Donna Hay sounds interesting and amazing). Maple-Glazed Nectarine & Almond Bread. I immediately decided that I must make Maple-Glazed Apple & Almond Bread – so I did and to be honest it’s interesting, but not amazing.

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I’m stuck in holiday mode and I don’t think I can get out. It’s cold and raining outside, Christmas music and sparkly lights are everywhere and all I want to do is bake cookies. Actually, the main reason I want to bake cookies is so that I have a reason to turn on the oven. Our house is so cold, I’ll take any excuse to turn it on. Don’t be surprised if most of the things I post here in the next few weeks have spent some time in the oven.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about Christmas gifts. I talked to Greg about my many ideas last night while he was trying to fall asleep – he fell asleep while I was talking. But none the less, I’m sure most of you are also thinking about presents, considering how quickly we’ve been flying through the holidays. This year though, I am thinking more about gifts because it is a year of saving money and cutting back for a lot of us. This will be the perfect year for experimenting with home made gifts. Whether it’s a hand made card, a cozy knit hat, or sweet treats like these, now is the time. I’m going to be giving a lot of food related gifts this holiday and I’d like to share some of them with you throughout the next few weeks. Today, I made Vanilla Spiced Pear Butter. Isn’t that the perfect name? - Vanilla Spiced Pear Butter, I could say it all day. It has made the whole house smell exactly like it sounds and it is heavenly.

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I’ve been making pies all day – seriously, all day. How did that happen? Time flies way too fast the day before Thanksgiving. It’s amazing how three desserts can completely consume your life for eight hours. Is it just me that this happens to? Anyways, I wanted to share a few things that I’m thankful for before going out of town for Thanksgiving. I hope you will share some of the things you’re thankful for in the comments.

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I was just sitting down to tell you all about this amazing applesauce, when I noticed that one of my favorite food bloggers had already written about it. She just wrote about it today, right before me! Alright, I admit I am a tiny bit jealous that she got there before I did (childish, I know) but it just proves how ridiculously good this applesauce is. I love her blog, you should definitely check it out there too.

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Alright folks, this is gonna be a short one. It’s not because these brownies aren’t worth talking about for hours, it’s just because if you’re at all like me, you already know what you’re looking for in a brownie and can not be swayed one way or another. So, I’ll just get right to it. I shamefully love boxed brownies. It’s the chewy, crispy, gooey, mmm – it gets me every time. But, because I like a challenge and would greatly prefer something homemade to the boxed stuff, I have been trying to recreate them at home. So many homemade brownies end up too cake like or too fudge like, so what I’m looking for is something in the middle. » Continue Reading «

I’ve had a cold all week and I am utterly tired of it. I’m tired of the sneezing, sniffling and constant headache – I am ready to be over it. In the daze of my cold, I’ve barely had the energy to cook and have been very lucky to have an amazing boyfriend. Have I told you about him? He brings home hot soup and ultra soft tissues when I’m not feeling well. There’s nothing more a girl with a sore throat and sniffly nose could ask for.

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My family went to a farm called Emandal growing up. I first went there with my third grade class for an educational camp they put on in the spring. They teach kids about life on a farm – we learned how to milk a cow, plant seeds, gather eggs, hand crank ice cream, etc. I came home incredibly excited about my time on the farm, so we decided to go as a family in the summer. We stayed in rustic cabins, picked raspberries, pickled freshly harvested cucumbers and swam in the nearby river. It’s a memory that is very precious to me.

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It seems like everyone has their go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s such a coveted thing to have the perfect dough for these incredibly popular cookies. It’s hard to beat chocolate chip. For the longest time I felt so out of the loop. I didn’t have the flawless recipe I was looking for and never quite came up with the cookie I wanted.

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We had this whole plan to go camping last weekend. It was going to be our last goodbye to summer where we could catch the last little bit of warm weather in Big Sur. Long story short – we didn’t end up going and we’ve now been quickly plunged into the chilly, foggy weather that fall and winter bring in San Francisco. I have now accepted that summer is gone until next year and it’s time for soup, mittens, hot cider and cozy nights indoors. But last week when I was still expecting to camp along a river in the trees, I thought it would be fun to make marshmallows for s’mores. I had never made marshmallows but love a challenge that ends with something sweet. Turns out home made marshmallows is one of the best things ever. You can make so many different flavors and they taste so much better than the store bought, jet puffed kind. I tried vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon. I am so excited for the holidays now because these will be such a great treat to make as gifts.

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