Our kids never had birthday parties. Let me rephrase that, for they’ve had more than their fair share, to be honest. But they were between our different sides of the family, combined with cousins or not, and even packaged up with holiday picnics. My kids don’t suffer a lack of fanfare; but we haven’t thrown … [Read more…]
My mom is well-known for her Mocha Frosting. It was a closely-guarded family secret for decades, one that she wouldn’t even share with me. Until she did. And then I understood why. Because mom’s Mocha Frosting calls for a raw egg to improve its texture–and you know how people get about raw eggs. For years … [Read more…]
Disclosure: I was approached by Oldways to be a Whole Grain Sampling Day Ambassador for 2014. They sent me a box of samples for my participation. I received no compensation for this post. All opinions remain my own. On the first Wednesday in April every year, the Whole Grains Council holds its annual Whole Grain … [Read more…]
Getting Seasonal… When we plan our challenges for First on the First, we try to take the time of year into consideration. Croquembouche, for example, was set for June because it is traditionally served at French weddings and June is often thought of as the height of the wedding season. When we get to projects … [Read more…]
Have you heard? Starbucks launched their new pastries from La Boulange this week! I stopped by my local shop on Tuesday–conveniently across the street from where I work–and was greeted with pink banners and bows, a celebration for the occasion. Honestly, I knew it was coming and I was thrilled to find it happening so … [Read more…]
Gâteau Basque is a cross between a cake, a cookie, and a pie and supposedly originated in the Basque region of France. There are two versions, according to Joe Pastry: the Basque version with a cherry filling and the French version with pastry cream. While I adore pastry cream, since I already had an abundance … [Read more…]
I expected to be a little more refined by this point in my life. To have moved on from the struggling 20s to a sense of being more settled, having matured and grown up. Instead, I find the bar is still far out of reach and while I keep trying, I swear someone is moving … [Read more…]
Changes of season are a mixed blessing for me. While I love seeing how the world is constantly evolving, working its way through the growth cycle, it tends to bring a very negative side effect to me: sinusitis. Any time the weather rapidly alters, a sinus infection sets in. This has been my norm since … [Read more…]
Whether you enjoy your job or not, you spend a great deal of your life there, so you may as well make the most of it. I’m lucky that when I returned to the workforce a little over a year ago, I was able to become a part of a really awesome team. I can’t … [Read more…]
When I first joined #BundtaMonth, I thought I’d have problems coming up with reasons to bake a cake every month. I was wrong. I should have remembered: we like to party at work. Or eat, at least. Nobody ever turns down cake there. This month’s theme was tropical cakes, which fit in quite nicely with … [Read more…]