I love most desserts (yes, I know, sugar isn’t good for you, but I love it), but especially baklava. It is one of my absolute favorites (along with red velvet cake, key lime pie, blueberry crisps….so many), and yet I have never made it myself. So during a heat wave in Oregon, I decided IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN, and made my first homemade baklava, and let me tell you, it is delicious and I plan to make it again! It is that good!
Ingredients:
I have had the tab with this NY Times recipe open for months, so finally I decided to make it (COVID 19—- 19 pounds over normal weight here weeeeeeeee commmmmmmeeeeeee). Super easy, fun to make, and delicious. Randomly, it is vegan too (which just means no eggs in this cake recipe) so my dairy free friends can make this and love it. It is a great cake to make with kids and when you are sick of dishes.
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Readers of the blog know that I love gourmet grocery stores. It so happens that I go to the grocery most days while in Eugene. The local grocery store is my dream come true and I could literally spend hours patrolling the aisles to see what’s new and what they have to offer. Last week while jetlagged and bleary from our France travels, I went searching for good, high-protein snacks. I have always liked beef jerky, but never loved it. So when I found these three different brands of turkey sticks, I knew it was going to be a good snack summer. These three are my top favorite and I hope they have them in the NYC stores (and if not, thank you world wide web, not sure I know what to do without you!)…..
Top 3
As many of you know, I love butter. Not just ‘like’ butter, but LOVE butter. It is actually my go-to snack. I smother it on bread, croissants, rice cakes, anything… And because of this, I am a butter snob. And here in Oregon, the land of hand batched, artisan everything, there is GREAT butter. Thanks to Butter Culture, I am now eating more butter than ever.
Butter Culture. Not only does it taste great, but the packaging is spot on.
The other morning when I was at my good friend’s house, she had just pulled banana bread out of the oven (how she makes banana bread while dealing with two kids on a school morning amazes me to no end!). She offered a piece, and although I had already eaten breakfast, I couldn’t say no. And HOLY crap, this was the best banana bread ever. Thankfully, she sent me the recipe and here it is!
This is how I bake….6:30 am on a Sunday morning, in my pajamas, totally disheveled, with my little baking partner (my 4 year old), and flour all over myself. But at least I am wearing FEATHERS undies. (I promise you this photo was not staged — Ken took a photo of me because he said it looked ridiculous with the hand print).
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THIS IS SO GOOD OMG SO GOOD OMG YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT NOW! Do you hear my enthusiasm? Yeppers — so good that you will HAVE A NEW LOVE IN YOUR LIFE! BROCCOLI ! So awesome. This recipe is from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (buy it NOW. Make this broccoli dish first, and then BUY THIS BOOK!)
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Italian Tuna Salad! Incredibly tasty, zesty, and protein-packed. Great as a sandwich or on top of some lettuce for a salad, and so easy to make. Win-win!
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Although I am not an avid football fan, I do love Super Bowl Sunday. 90% because of the food at the parties. 10% because I like watching my husband watch football. 0% because I, myself, enjoy football. This year, these are the treats that I am making to munch on while we watch the gladiators fight – Sophisticated Chex Mix, and the best Onion Dip ever!
SOPHISTICATED CHEX MIX
This recipe is based off of Party Mix for Grownups from the food blog, food52. I love their recipes and go to the site for daily food inspiration.
Ingredients:
Ingredients that are always in the cupboard!
* 5 cups Chex
* 1 1/2 cups mixed nuts
* 2 cups pretzels
* 4 tablespoons of melted butter
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* pinch of cayenne
