Honey, Orange and Almond Shortbread Cookies

For the past 3 years, I have hosted a Christmas party, specifically intended to bring together friends whom I have missed all year, mostly due to busy university schedules and physical distance. I also do it because I love everything about the process—making the invitations, receiving the RSVPs, searching for recipes, seeing friends and, of course, making the food.

Oat & Herb Crackers

For ages, my mom has been wanting me to try and make crackers—she's a cracker fiend. So, the other week, when I was feeling particularly ambitious, I thought I'd practice my rolling skills. I used this cracker recipe for whole wheat crackers and made a few changes to suit my and my mom's tastes.

Pumpkin Squares Make for a Happy Halloween

Pickled Eggs

I love pickled eggs so much. I was first introduced to them when I was young, by a friend whose mom pickled her own. I thought it was so romantic—going down to a basement and bringing up a bottle of home pickled eggs. For some reason it took me 10 years to try it myself. This summer, I found a small-scale, sugar-free recipe for pickled eggs in Putting It Up With Honey, gathered some eggs and...waited another two months.

School Pictures: Swiss Farmer's Bread & Danish Pastries

Just some more school pictures. We made much more than bread and pastries this week, but I didn't bring much home—just this, and some date squares that I left for my mom and her co-workers. We made something called baba au rhum...but even the smell of it made me sick—too much sugar, citrus and rum.

School Pictures: Puff Pastries & Italian Style Herb Bread

Just some more pictures from school. I resisted bringing much home this week, but I felt obligated to bring home the puff pastries...the prize for my days of rolling and rolling. The dough was fun to shape, though difficult—pictured are pinwheels (which I made) and cherry turnovers (which I did not). That is apricot in the middle of the pinwheel, by the way...not an egg yolk.

The class also made apple strudel and palmiers (or palm trees, or elephant ears), but I didn't make them and my family can only consume so many layers of butter. Actually, it's amazing that I got any of the baked goods home today—I had to fight torrential rain and HAIL...nearly drowned while walking to my car.

Thankful for Fruit Crumble

James and I originally made this crumble in the summer. We were lazy, so we limited it to ingredients I already had in the house. I wish I had had time to post this recipe earlier in the summer, because my filling of choice is a bit seasonal, but alas, summer is over and so is peach season.

Out and About & More School Pictures: Danish Coffee Cake with Hazelnut Filling

It's been beautiful outside lately. Every time I look out the window, I feel a pang of guilt for not being outside. So, I took my camera for a walk. I hope you don't mind if I post a couple of the pictures—they have nothing to do with food.

School Pictures: Carrot Muffins & Milk Bread

I brought home some more school work. I keep telling myself I won't bring any more home—I can't eat it, and my family doesn't really need it—but my dad specially requested these, and it's really hard to give up documenting my day's work. Besides, it's good practice, since I am still learning with my new camera.

Hummus

My full days of school and work have forced me back into packed lunches. It took my a while to settle on what I wanted, but hummus seems to have won out. It's easy to pack and I like being able to make a large batch on the weekend, and not have to worry for the rest of the week. Also, it allows me to use the vegetables from my garden.

School Pictures: Piping Shortbread Cookies & Lemon Meringue Pie

I really enjoyed this past week of school—we practiced piping, which is more difficult to master than I initially supposed, but I love it. Piping is so much fun. I love how hands on and creative baking can be.

The Fairest of the Seasons: Raspberry & Blueberry Jam

This summer, I really wanted to be more involved in my food. My garden was part of that, but I also tried to take advantage of the local fruit opportunities. Berries really became my focus, and I went picking every chance I had—strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.

School Pictures: Sweet Dough Cinnamon Buns & Wafer Cookies

Here's what I made at school yesterday:

More cinnamon and sugar related dough making. These were yeast risen cinnamon buns. The recipe's sugar content is through the roof, so dad was happy. Mom says she prefers my less sweet version...let's assume she's not lying.

School Pictures: Meat Pie & Braided Bread

Soon I will get back to baking things I can eat. Until then, I need to practice with my camera, so here are some pictures of what I learned in school today:

How to make mini meat pies...not very useful for me, but still fun. At least dad is happy and I'm improving my dough rolling skills.

Excuses

Plenty has been going on since my last post. Here is a list of my excuses for infrequent blogging: