Sometimes I have the attention span of a sugar-buzzed five year old at a birthday party. Things just tend to distract me. Which is why cooking through an entire cookbook has never seemed… Read More
Here’s to the sweet end of a beautiful summer. Summer was 5 weeks of beautiful Italia, the pastry kitchen at Spiaggia, loud music, late nights with friends, and no shoes. The day before… Read More
These past months have been filled with straight up craziness. I’m working on cooking through Gale Gand’s show, Sweet Dreams, and taking pictures of all the dishes for her website that’s being redesigned. I’ve also been… Read More
One week ago I was scrambling… Scrambling…. Scrambling…. That’s what I tend to do when there are deadlines and cake competitions. Scramble. Which is how I wound up in foods class- the last… Read More
Tomalito is lovely. This version especially is my favorite because it combines my love for pudding with my hate for corn; and it marries into the perfect dessert. The main selling points for… Read More
Chocolate chip cookies are so wonderful. There are a lot of different varieties with a lot of different opinions. I think just maybe I’ve found one that will satisfy all tastes…. It was… Read More
Lately, I’ve been taking more pictures than baking due to a developing syndrome I’m currently suffering deeply from: dish-syndrome. I can’t take them anymore. There are too many and they pile too high,… Read More
Fall and three day weekends are my favorite kinds of days. They mean bonfires and friends and pumpkin pie. I couldn’t get a picture of the entire fire because it was so frickin’… Read More
I love red velvet everything: red velvet cake pops, red velvet cake, red velvet cheesecake, red velvet brownies, red velvet french toast. I’ve even made Red Velvet pancakes for dinner but since I… Read More
Mac and Cheese was the day of babysitters and no chocolate before bed. It was the day of playing kick-the-can with the neighbors while the sun set. Mac and Cheese marks the time in… Read More
Life was nuts at the Chicago Gourmet Food Festival. Gale did a demo on the millenium stage with Tim Allen…. and I got to help! Every time I looked up I saw Michelle, Sue, and… Read More
My family’s not a tomato family. This memo didn’t make it to our garden. I’ve been bringing in bowls full of tomatoes from our garden for the past few weeks. Normal families have bowls of articulate fruit on their… Read More
That is the face of a girl (me) thrilled to not be at a football game on a Friday night. That is the face of a girl fully anticipating a dessert that sat… Read More
Hey guys! I know it’s been a while since I last posted… So you’re probably wondering what I’ve been up to. A local online newspaper has been taking on bloggers and a couple… Read More
After going to The French Pastry School, one of the things that I learned was that it would be good to keep a portfolio of the food I’m making. Next to it I’ll be… Read More
Having a garden and working at a farm this summer has really made me realise that great food comes from beyond the kitchen. I admit I get a little more excited than the… Read More
Today I visited The French Pastry school! I can’t really describe the feeling of being there better than this: I was in deep love. I am in deep love. And I will always… Read More
When I find a song I love I keep listening to it. Over, and over, and over again. These cookies are like my favorite song obsessions, I just can’t get enough! The two differences?… Read More
I don’t particularly like lists; especially when unappealing things are added to them. Which is why, when my mom told me I had to go water the garden, I set out stubbornly into… Read More
I sat next to a kitten, an animal I feared more than spiders, for a 6 hour car ride home from our cabin. I zip lined without being afraid of falling. I went to camp and… Read More
My twin brother holds the running title of ‘most uneducated food critic’ in our house. It’s not that he doesn’t try everything, because he does. But clearly his food-rating scale is a little off kilter at times…… Read More
This past week I was in Michigan with Lizzie! Remember our former sushi-hater? In MI we got to spend half a day in a little Amish town! Given 20 dollars, I was a little concerned I wouldn’t find… Read More
I’m going to sound like my mother right here, but I can’t believe how fast I’ve grown up. I miss my babysitter Gina, and the Mac and Cheese she so willingly made me every single… Read More
You never think that the seed you planted as a child could possibly be the towering willow tree that stands planted in your parent’s front yard. You don’t hold your child’s tiny hand inside your own, but think that… Read More
I figure everyone needs a few more flowers in their lives… Particularly edible flowers… When I say everyone, I mean everyone. Which is why, when my 9 year old brother’s best friend slept… Read More
I like to think that I’m my own boss, and my parents are there for guidance when it’s needed. It’s a teenager thing, I guess. Yesterday afternoon my mom left for soccer games… Read More
Life is completely and totally nuts. 6 months ago I was sitting on the kitchen floor listening to country music, daydreaming while I was waiting for cakes to cool. I started baking seriously… Read More
Culinary school. I’ve been dreaming of it. But specifically, I’ve been dreaming of the Culinary Institute of America’s CA, Greystone campus. With finals coming up day dreaming is bad. I just can’t help… Read More
I’m hopelessly not-romantic. I mean, what am I supposed to do with a bunch of roses? Eat them? Bake them into rose-cookies? Whip up some rose frosting? Find some way to make a… Read More
Tonight I was petrified. Gale said that I was going to help her out…. in front of people….. living, breathing people who were looking right at us. As she was talking to the… Read More
The day after my mom gave birth to my youngest brother was the day my twin brother had a soccer tournament. My mom was released that morning and booked it to the fields with my 1 day old… Read More
It’s twitching in a musician’s fingers, building in an authors complex mind, dancing in a ballarina’s feet, humming in a singer’s song; it’s a passion we have. Who doesn’t want to leave a… Read More
Visit every state, square dance in Texas, cliff dive, start singing/jamming to my favorite song in a packed and silent elevator–making already-awkward situations more awkward is my specialty–, learn French, be proposed to… Read More
Fishing takes time. This past Saturday, after a day of baking and rocking out to old cds, I headed out with my Dad and some of his friends, Ry, Chris, Kyle, and Nicky… Read More
Endless breaths needed to breathe until my last day consumes me. The need to eat consumes me. The need to make dessert each and every day consumes me. Rolling in the Deep sung by Haley… Read More
This week has been a long one. From hard track workouts to next to no sleep to loads of makeup work. But the one thing I always have to look forward to, after track, are making more… Read More
You guys probably noticed I haven’t been posting a lot lately. Life’s really been picking up and slowing down all at once. My newspaper class got back late last night from our last… Read More
Erica got her license and let me say, freedom is pretty sweet. We’re living it high: eating at Emils, driving to wallgreens for cookie dough mix/muffin mix, hopping out of the car to… Read More
I haven’t been spending much time in the kitchen because I’ve been running. A lot. Until I feel like I’ll either die or my legs will fall off . I’ve actually debated on multiple… Read More
Yesterday my family and I went on a random trip. We packed our suitcases, hopped in the car and headed out. On our journey we visited two bakeries in one day: The Cake Box… Read More
Let’s face it, blogs are like babies. Hours upon hours upon hours are poured into them and -for what seems like forever- all you seem to do is cry metaphorical tears over the baby because… Read More
For the past four days my parents have been in Vegas. Naturally I’ve been jealous. I mean, a plane ride? New restaurants? Different state? A hotel? Uhm, yes please. Nope. I stayed at home and… Read More
There are no beaches involved in my Spring Break. No good weather filled with warm sun. No trips to Disney or Mexico. Instead I’ve taken a much shorter trip, approximately three rooms away… Read More
Well apparently when I babysit, kids have something with cracking eggs. Not really sure why, but they do. This one was on accident… at least that I know of. I can see you’re quite… Read More
Is it possible to bake bitterness into cookies? I’m pretty sure it is: these are my proof. For break my dad and I were going to go to New York and go to a… Read More
Today was a fabulously laid back Saturday. Track this morning, came home and watched the Rachael Ray biography… Why yes, I am a nerd and feeling nerdier every day. I also made these breakfast cookies (healthy cookies for breakfast? Count me in.)… Read More
Today was a fabulous day. This may or may not have to do with the fact that I’m Irish and lucky… I came home to find the newest addition to our family, Herold, swimming happily… Read More
Teachers are selfless. Teachers set the stage for youth today. Teachers affect us in every way. You know when you get that one teacher that says something you’ll never forget? Well that teacher… Read More
Sometimes I eat more sweets than actual food. What can I say? I live a sweet life. But by a burst of inspiration I decided to make a recipe from one of the… Read More
These past months have been filled with straight up craziness. I’m working on cooking through Gale Gand’s show, Sweet Dreams, and taking pictures of all the dishes for her website that’s being redesigned. I’ve also been… Read More
These past months have been filled with straight up craziness. I’m working on cooking through Gale Gand’s show, Sweet Dreams, and taking pictures of all the dishes for her website that’s being redesigned. I’ve also been… Read More
