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February 24, 2013

My Everyday Life: Week 8

Here’s what this past week looked like (in Mexico!!)

On our way home. It’s always so nice to experience a sunset on the plane.

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February 22, 2013

I love lists, Friday!

  1. How to Lose Weight All Week. Good points!
  2. I think we all could benefit from a Digital Detox. Don’t you agree?
  3. Outfit Envy Alert!  So chic!
  4. I admire the honesty of this post about  losing weight.
  5. An interesting journey of freeing oneself from credit card debt.
  6. Best Ways to Handle a Text from the Wrong Number. Hilarious.
  7. 8 Small Cooking Habits That Make a Big Difference. Truth!
  8. Cat friend vs. Dog friend. (I’m totally cat friend!)
  9. I love Citrus Cocktails, don’t you?
  10. If you love shopping at Trader Joe’s (that would me me!) you’ll love this.
  11. Joy has me super excited to be visiting NOLA soon with her travel post.
  12. COCONUT Chex Mix? OMG. YES.
  13. Can’t wait to get these Buckwheat Waffles into my belly.
  14. I’m currently reading Gone Girl. Have you read it? I’m SO INTO IT!

The Mexican Situation! That’s the name of the latest Joy the Baker Podcast. I’m actually in Mexico this week phoning it in! We talk about Cadbury eggs, botch Spanish & discuss ways to not tell your friend you don’t dig her boyfriend. Thanks for listening!

Friends! I’m in Mexico with the crappiest internet connection so I’m not able to easily post My Bites Around the Net this week. I’ll add them to next week’s post. Thanks for your patience and a special thank you to all of you who try out recipes I’ve posted on my website. It means a lot!

Have a great weekend!

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February 20, 2013

Orange Honey Ginger Ale

Spring is starting to show its face here in California. We’ve had a few nice days recently. They were the kind of days where I deeply regretted my long sleeve shirt & boot choices. I should probably look at the weather app on my phone before I get dressed. I have a feeling if I start now, I won’t stop. I can get rather obsessive with weather.

Blossoms are appearing on trees and it’s a nice change of pace to see some blocks of brilliant pink & white amongst the skeletal limbs of trees on our way to school in the morning. My daydreams are focused on warmer weather. Sunshine, citrus and things that make me feel good when it’s sunny…. like big jars of Orange Honey Ginger Ale on the back porch while Cooper digs muddy trenches for his big Tonka trucks. Birds chirp and seed packets wait to be organized.

This orange honey ginger syrup reminds me of perfumed orange blossoms and spicy ginger beer. It makes a wonderful mixer if you’re wanting to make a boozy drink. Rum, vodka, bourbon & gin are all welcome. Just probably not all together…at the same time.

I hope that sun is shining in your neck of the woods. And if it’s not, here’s a little bit of sunshine in a jar for you.

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February 18, 2013

Cheddar Cheese Bread

As someone who cooks & bakes a lot, I find it necessary to have a few tricks up my sleeve when I’m entertaining. In my experience, people are always impressed if you can make carbohydrates fancier. That’s why I always run out of my killer garlic bread and continually blow minds with this herbed flatbread recipe.

Carbs can be mind blowing. What can I say? See that avocado on top of this bread? EPIC.

And this here Cheddar Cheese Bread is no exception. It’s like a bread meets biscuit. That means you can portion control (err on the big side!) your slice of bread. It’s crispy on the outside, and fluffy/slightly dense on the inside. What makes it more awesome is the bits of cheese that can be seen throughout. The edges of the bread have some crispy cheese baked in. YES to that.

I can imagine this recipe could be a gateway for more amazing Cheese Bread Combinations. Rosemary mixed in? Smoked Paprika? How about a few dashes of hot sauce? Pair it with a soup & salad?

Don’t mind if I do…

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February 16, 2013

My Everyday Life: Week 7

Here’s what this past week looked like:

Valentine’s Day! We made homemade cards. It was super last minute, but with a little creativity, it worked out!

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February 15, 2013

I love lists, Friday!

  1. I always love seeing Megan’s Valentine’s Brunch. Adorable, right?!
  2. An article about one of my most favorite people ever– SUSAN MILLER. 
  3. You have to read the comments this recipe. I might have snorted.
  4. Life Changing Loaf of Bread! I’m making it this weekend.
  5. I loved reading how Tsh wrote her book. 
  6. You can do THAT with feta?! I had no idea. GAME CHANGER.
  7. One day I’m gonna have a craft night and we’ll customize tea towels. Mark my word!
  8. Love this little story of George & I wanna eat these Chocolate Almond Butter Cups.
  9. Did you know that you can use strawberries for a facial? Impressed.
  10. Apparently America needs to make some babies!
  11. Both Mandy & Danielle are adding to the population. Congrats, ladies!
  12. You guys! BAKED CHURROS. GIMME.
  13. I love it when Joy real talks. 
  14. Relax! You’ll be more productive.  NOTED.
  15. I never had the privilege of experiencing #20.

NO NEW JOY THE BAKER PODCAST THIS WEEK (sad trombone!) You should listen to the Simple Mom podcast at Homefries. I can’t commute from work without listening to it.

Hey! Guess what? I worked with Turntable Kitchen on their upcoming Pairings box!

That’s right. Three original/new Shutterbean recipes will be coming out in a future Pairings box.

What’s a Pairings box? It’s an awesome monthly subscription service by Turntable Kitchen. They pair 3 recipes, a special ingredient & music. And it’s all delivered to your door. Check out their subscriptions page. It makes an excellent gift/treat for yourself!

My Bites Around the Net:

Chez Us adapted my Dark Chocolate Cake Doughnuts.

Barefoot & Smitten also made my Dark Chocolate Cake Doughnuts!

Pen & Pudding adapted my Vanilla Walnut Shortbread Cookies

Hometown Unicorn veganized my Earl Grey Chocolate Cake.

Simmiecakes made my Apple Pecan Sticky Buns.

Eats Daily made my Killer Garlic Bread.

Thanks to Real Simple for including my Chocolate Heart Sandwich Cookies in their roundup!

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February 13, 2013

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

I really like baking doughnuts because I can usually save some calories & fat from frying and splurge on the doughnut icing. I find that it’s usually the icing that makes the baked doughnut taste magnificent. But here…we have something different. A cake based doughnut with just a cinnamon + sugar topping. Will it be as magnificent?

You best believe! It might be the closest baked doughnut to a fried doughnut I’ve had. The cake part is imparted with flavor thanks to a combo of cinnamon  & nutmeg. And that spongey dense texture? I die. I’m sure the cinnamon-sugar binder (butter) helps!

I halved this recipe because….well…you know most people (namely ME) can’t be trusted with 12 cinnamon sugar doughnuts in their possession.

What else is new?

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