we are in the middle of the umpteenth heat wave of 2010, and i decided that i didn’t want to fire up the oven today. i was going to make granola bars, but after i didn’t share anything with the usuals last week (most of them unfortunately didn’t get to try this cake), i didn’t think granola bars would cut it. here’s a little secret though: these no-bake cookies are practically granola bars. something that i forgot to consider, though, is that standing over a pot, stirring it until everything melts and then until it boils, isn’t exactly an icebox. thankfully, it cooked pretty fast! Read more
this past sunday, my kitchen and i were attacked by a moose. wait, no… a mousse. but we were attacked, i assure you of this. i considered taking some photos of the mess, but the lighting in my kitchen isn’t so great, and i would rather concentrate on how magnificent this cake is. i wish i had recorded the reactions it received, but since i did not, i suggest that you make this cake for the next special occasion (yes, today sounds like a day worth celebrating to me) and hear them for yourself! although some of the remarks were “heavenly,” “melt in your mouth good,” “if awesome had a taste, this would be it,” etc… the best reactions were the ones that were noises rather than words. it is the biggest compliment to me as a recreational baker when people accuse me of purchasing at a bakery! Read more
i promised you gluten-free vegan pancakes, and gosh darnit, i fully intend on delivering! this recipe was definitely a step in the direction (MUCH better than the buckwheat ones), seeing as i was able to eat– and enjoy– these! it wasn’t quite the perfect pancake that i will be craving, but i will keep looking for a keeper, and until then, this will certainly do! and yes, i realize that this is almost the exact same picture as the buckwheat ones, hence “take 2″. Read more
i am ashamed that it has taken me so long to post this… i no longer have the chaos excuse to hide behind since i used that up last week, so i just have to hope that you will forgive me. so, my step-dad had commented on the pineapple upside down cakes that he loves brown sugar and wants some; since pineapple upside down cakes most likely don’t travel all that well, i found a recipe for his cookie of the month that would– brown sugar cookies. 
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so, first and foremost, apologies for the silence– the past couple weeks have been insane. between residual post-conference madness (the sales reps are all jazzed up and selling, which requires support from me and my team), filling three spots (which means countless interviews, processes, and doing some of the work for those positions myself), half my team being out (vacations, sick, conferences, etc), meetings, projects, a visit from my folks, a wedding, a going away party, a birthday outing, various other social plans, taking advantage of the beautiful weather, and several things that i am sure i am forgetting, i haven’t been able to focus long enough to actually write up a blog post. ok, really, i am sure i could have, but if i blogged along the way, my past two weeks wouldn’t sound nearly as busy as they just did, now would they? Read more
i know it would appear that i am ripping off the big & rich song “save a horse, ride a cowboy”, but in actuality, i really am asking that you skip the burger and eat these cookies. that isn’t just because i am vegetarian, but mainly based on how much my co-workers absolutely loved these! ironically, i was upset that they didn’t come out the way i was expecting. i think my expectations were based on the fact that the ingredients are so very similar to my magic cookies and trail mix cookies, and these cookies looked and tasted very different (these were very flat, crunchy–i love crunchy– and the cinnamon–which i also love– is more pronounced) so, while i definitely think they came out good, my first impression was definitely confusion. Read more
i have to say that my first attempt at pineapple upside-down cake was a success! i will admit though that there was a moment of nervousness as i was lifting up the pan, waiting to see what i would find under there…especially since i thought it was starting to smell like the pineapple and brown sugar were burning! thank goodness, there was certainly no burning! Read more
this week, one of my good friends, a former roommate, had surgery and i couldnt be there to help her out with things since she is in denver and i am in jersey…so i made my best attempt at making her feel better from a distance– with cookies, of course! courtney and i used to be peanut butter, chocolate, and cookies fiends, so there was no choice but to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for her, but i wanted to try out a new recipe, mostly for your sake. i mean, if i used one of my previous recipes i couldn’t post it, and you would be missing out on these amazing cookies! Read more
as you may have gathered, i like a lot of the folks i work with…good peoples, i tell’ya. there are, however, some that really stand out– one of the absolute sweetest people i have ever met celebrated her birthday last week, but since we were at conference, we shall celebrate on monday. so, happy birthday, sherrin! you truly are an amazing, strong, caring, hard-working gal who deserves amazing things! since this is a cake, and i can’t very well slice into it in advance without ruining it, i am really hoping that this cake is amazing… Read more
as a former (and temporarily current) vegan and trying to eat gluten-free for a while, a lot of the foods i eat have quotation marks around the recipe title…one of the things i want to make soon is “apple pie” with “ice cream”; i can’t help but laugh, but hey, if they make me healthier and taste okay, nothing wrong with some punctuation in my food. Read more
