Lavender Shortbread

I loved the idea of Lavender Shortbread cookies, but I had never tried them before. Then, recently at the farmer's market I found a local farmer with lavender for sale.

I found a recipe that sounded really great as it called for lemon zest and fresh mint.

The cookies were pretty easy to make, and I loved the way the house smelled. The lavender was really strong and the finished cookies easily doubled as room fresheners.

The finished cookies were tasty. But not

something I would ever want more than one of. I took the cookies to a dinner party and everyone was pleasantly surprised at how good lavender tasted.

I don't think I would make them again. I think they would be a nice touch as a one bite accompaniment to an afternoon tea. I think they are memorable and would add a special touch to just the right event.

Winter 2010

It has been a pretty mild winter, and while I haven't been hibernating, I have definitely been spending some time getting reacquainted with my "stuff."

Moving sucks! I am not having fun, I am not enjoying myself, and I can't wait for the moving part to be over and the settling in part to start. I know everything is going to be fantastic when I make it through t0 the other side, but I do not want to be taking this voyage often. It could be worse; I could be moving twice with a new baby in tow, or moving an entire library, so I am not complaining.

There are the little moments of joy. When you find that box in the lower back corner of the storage room covered in cat litter dust and inside are treasured memories. I think that is why we keep these things; so next time we are stressed out, we can happen upon keepsakes that remind us of the fun and love that life has to offer.

I hope that your screen resolution is good when viewing this picture and you can see the mass amount of tape holding this collage together.

I have been trying to keep up good habits and finding time to bake and cook. I whipped up a great platter of treats for a recent soirée. I also spent the next two weeks eating finger sandwiches for every meal. I wont lie, Julia's Best Ever Brownies were always on the menu for breakfast. They are highly addictive. If I had chocolate in the cupboard I would be happy to eat an entire batch right now.

I love seeing my fridge so empty. I make up a weekly menu, buy the ingredients, and then I devour ever last bit. Yes, I am stress eating.

I am taking this time at home alone to make some fun treats for myself. I have been trying to perfect the poached egg. I would love to know how to keep the egg scum off the pans though. The cleaning-up after is a real chore.

I have really been enjoying eggs benedict with smoked salmon. I had no idea hollandaise sauce was basically egg yolks and butter. Yum!

I also tried various recipes for kale chips. I forgot to take a picture. I can't believe how good baked kale is. I have tried just salt and pepper. I have also tried soya sauce. They really are a great treat, what a great healthy side!

I needed a break from all the packing today, so for lunch I had a tasty meal of herbed pork chop and roasted grapes. Delicious!

Happy Birthday Merry Christmas to Me!

Hello Kitty! Who is your friend?

2009 has been an exciting year. Thanks to the Baking Beauties I fancy myself as a good little baker now. I have really enjoyed learning about baking, learning the importance of following a recipe correctly, and learning that sometimes its not me but a bad recipes. Butter tarts have been causing me some issues lately, but I refuse to give up just yet.

My hand blender took a real beating this year (funny??!?!). I have broken dough hooks and the motor is a little sad these days. Boxing day sales just couldn't be resisted and while Andrew dragged me from electronic store to electronic store I happen across an amazing deal. I am now a very proud own of my first stand mixer.

Today was my first try and I couldn't believe the wonder. I whipped up a pie crust dough in a snap and I didn't have to worry about my warm hands melting the butter chunks. The final crust was light and flakey - my best to date!

The pie filling wasn't too shabby either, a mix of fruit from the fridge and freezer that needed to be used which included blueberries, raspberries, peaches and lemons.

Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake

I was really excited to try making this cake. A brown sugar, butter and nectarine topped cake with an almond streusel centre layer.

The cake was a dream to make. Maybe it was because it only took an evening rather than a multi-day event. I enjoy baking, but I don't enjoy all the waiting called for in so many recipes.

This cake is really good. Andrew loved it, which was a nice surprise. My only complaint is that there is a ton of butter in each layer, and the cake was very moist (almost wet) as a result. It took much longer than the indicated bake time and I probably could have baked it even longer.

Really nice to flip and remove the pan and have the cake look perfect. Much much better than the Boca Negra incident.

Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Loaves

These loaves are full of so much goodness. I nice bread loaf with large pieces of walnut and explosions of cranberry. Once you start snaking on this bread it is impossible to stop yourself before it is all done. It is a nice bread that has great flavours and not too sweet.

The recipe is two days of work, with all the rising and chilling. Since the loaves were so good I didn't think it would be a problem to whip up another batch a couple of days later. But the second batch was a disaster. The loaves were under cooked and retained a wet texture.

Oven Roasted Plum Cakes

The instructions stress that under no circumstances are you to press the plum down into the batter. I resisted every urge... maybe I pushed just a little. The cake just kept on rising and almost swallowed the plums.

But no matter what the little cake looked like, it was absolutely delicious tasting. I am surprised I was willing to share these cakes with others. I think it was only because I have some additional plums in my kitchen and ready to whip up another batch.

I am not a huge fan of plums and almost passed on making these cakes. I am so glad that I didn't. Something magical happens when you sprinkle plums with brown sugar and baked them. The fluffy orange zest seasoned cake isn't hurting the situation.

I shard the Plum Cake with people who love plums, and people who have plums on their list of dislikes. All agree unanimously these Plum Cakes are a tasty treat that can't be beat!

I have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head.

I noticed these pictures have no frame of reference for size. The recipe indicates it yields 12 cakes. However, I purchased giant plums and had to use the oversized muffin tin to fit them in. So imagine these big! I asked Andrew if I should cut the plums into quarters next time - but we both agree that more cake and less plum doesn't give us the opportunity to justify these as a full serving of fruit.

Summer Vegetable Tart

Phyllo pastry layered with butter and fresh ground pepper. Filled with sautéed mushrooms and red peppers, mixed with Goat cheese.

I don't have much to say other then it takes a minute to make, and is very delicious.

Served it up for dinner and loved it!