Dad & Pie

 

It’s been a couple months. 16 cities. 2 countries. Travel has slowed, and all signs indicate that I’ll have  a semi-permanent residence in the coming months. A friend put it best, “I’ll believe it when the ink is dry on your mortgage…rather, when the ink is dry and you’ve lived in the house for 3 months”. Can’t argue.

I’ll catch up soon, hopefully with some highlights from my travels. For now, I’m going to eat this pie with with my family (peep the gorgeous new pie dish I picked up in Tennessee!), and celebrate all those awesome Dads I know, especially my own. He just happens to be the best Dad there is (if you ask me).

 

 

 

Pizza & Panna Cotta

Hey blog, it’s been awhile!

 

A few states, and weeks, later I’m (happily) back on the west coast.  I have a couple more months of heavy travel just around the corner, then I’m hoping it’ll slow down to a more humane pace and I’ll be able to really settle into my new home (which will hopefully include a rad new kitchen to bake in!).

Movin’ On Macaroons

It’s that time again. I’m 6 days out from a long-range trip (I have no return date);  I haven’t packed, haven’t really prepared, and haven’t really let it sink in. Maps need to be purchased, routes determined, services cancelled, mail forwarded, and bags packed. I am packing for 7 states (maybe 8?), 2 months (or more?) , 2 vacations, the cat, day to day living, work and the unexpected. It all has to fit in my car, which, while big, still means I’m fairly limited in what I can bring.

Elvis would be jealous

Can you have too much banana bread? Or to many banana bread recipes? I don’t think so. Which is good. Because I have a dozen or so banana bread (or muffin, let’s not discriminate on baking vessel) recipes that I rely on, lemony ones, nutty ones,  frosted, unfrosted, chocolate studded, seeded – but I’m always tempted by new recipes. When I come across a new recipe, I think to myself  “Do I really need to make banana bread, again?” and I always answer yes. Why wouldn’t I want more banana bread recipes in my repertoire? I imagine it’s the same way some people feel about their children (or, in my case: cats or motorcycles) – I don’t have a favorite, but  love them individually for their unique traits and attributes; sometimes I get sick of one so I’m glad I have an array of others to choose from to fix my banana bread urges.

Mo’ Bettah Muffins

I’m not very good at failing; when I fail at something, I examine my mistakes, I seek knowledge, and I get up and try again.

Too Much Muffin

 

Last week was long. Too much work drams, too many decisions needing to be made (and re-made), too many personal issues to address. By the end of the week I was exhausted and I wanted to bake. I didn’t really care what I was going to bake, which ultimately led to these overfilled muffins.  I decided  on muffins because 1. they are pretty easy to pull together and 2 (and likely more important). I had all the ingredients on hand. In fact, I had too many ingredients on hand.

Chocolate Hazelnut (Nutella) Brownies

Dispatches from the Island: Bananas

Back to the Islands. It’s been a hectic few weeks with too many work commitments, hours-long commutes in snowstorms, and an array of capital “R” Responsibilities. Things seem to be leveling out, and I’m happy to have a chance to get back to baking, and catch up on my writing about baking.

Dispatches from the Islands: Avocado Ice Cream

I recently returned from a week in Hawaii, visiting friends who live on the big island. They live just south of Kailua-Kona, on 5 acres that are planted with a variety of nuts, fruits, vegetables and coffee (and which 17 chickens, 5 guinea pig rescues,  2 dogs, 1 cat and a rooster call home).

2014 and Coffee & Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

In 2012 I challenged myself to bake something new each week of the year.

In 2013 I kept trying new things, refining my skills and experimenting with recipes I was familiar with.

In 2014 I am going to start writing my own recipes.  I already tend to stray from nearly all the recipes I use, so it’s just another hop, skip & jump to start creating my own (simple, no? Right.). I’ll still bake from recipes (best way to learn!), but I am going to spend a good portion of this year focused on creating and testing my own.