Treats for appetites of every size
So I have a special midweek treat for all of you – a guest post by two aspiring young bakers. My twin cousins Teddy and Jack made cup cookies (which you can then put milk in, eliminating the need for dunking), and they want to tell you about it. Enjoy!
I find something oddly therapeutic about cutting fruit. I think it started when I came back from college the first time and was beyond excited by the prospect of having fruit other than apples and oranges from the dining hall. So when I went with my dad to the grocery store, we got just about every fruit you can get and I cut it all up and put it in tupperware in the fridge.
Happy Easter! I know I usually post on Sundays, but with Easter being tomorrow, I figured I’d give you a last minute (and quick!) recipe to make in case you’re scrambling for something. This is also the last post I get to do from the house I grew up in – my parents are moving out within the week, but I did get to come home for one last holiday with everyone. So I’m feeling a little sentimental.
Spring break was supposed to start Friday. It was supposed to be a half day, and then I would have all of this coming week off. However, apparently when you have seven snow days, those week-long-break perks of being a teacher can disappear. So instead, I have two more days between me and an extended long weekend with my parents. Rather than wallow in these extra two days, I used my last weekend before Lent is over to bake for one more person at my school, that happens to be a celiac (can’t eat gluten).
So today is the first day of the year where I’ve been able to convince myself it’s nice enough to sit on my balcony to type my blog. Granted, I’m wearing a fleece and cradling a cup of hot tea, but I am outside! Anyways, this weekend I had a group of teachers from my high school over for a potluck dinner. Now, I’m really bad at potlucks. Not because I don’t know what to make, but because I want to make everything. It’s very hard for me to pass up the opportunity to cook things for other people, and by …
When my brother was in high school and I was in college, I used to get home for summer just in time to see his tennis season, which he always dominated. And since I usually had a lot of time on my hands with him at school and my parents at work, I would bake things for the team for every match. Now, Pete’s a freshman at University of Chicago, playing for the tennis team there and doing just as awesome if I’m to believe what I’ve been hearing. So, to continue my theme of baking something for other people …
Continuing on my theme of doing something extra for Lent, this week I baked lemon squares at the request of an art teacher at school. I bring things into the staff room pretty regularly, but usually it’s just leftovers of things I make for others. This time, the lemon squares are specifically for my fellow teachers. And it’s finally spring, so yellow, citrusy treats finally feel appropriate.
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day! So, naturally, I had to bake something for the occasion. I looked through the recipes that I had stolen from my mom’s recipe box and found one for Irish bread, and the decision was made. Funny enough, after I had already made the Irish bread, I got a call from Sandy (her recipes include Trout Farm Apple Pie and Oh Henry Bars) asking if I wanted an Irish recipe for my blog this week. I told her I had already baked some Irish bread, only to find out it had actually been her recipe, and …
This weekend, I was fortunate enough to be able to go back home to Massachusetts to celebrate my grandmother’s eightieth birthday party with a large group of our family. I was even more fortunate to be asked to make the cake. You see, a couple summers ago I took a Wilton cake decorating class with my mom. We learned how to make all sorts of things and were definitely the superior mother-daughter team in the class. As part of that class, I made a whole bunch of royal icing flowers just to practice, and stored them away in tupperware (they …
Every once in awhile I make something that falls solidly into the category of too good. Usually, I know it’s coming, and I plan accordingly. For example, I know that I’m addicted to Magic Bars, so I made them while I was at my parents’ for a short period of time, knowing I could leave them behind.