Waiting out a summer pudding

Summer pudding has long been on my “to-make” list. A well-known dessert among the British, I don’t know that too many are aware of it here, although it has been featured on cooking shows and in magazines. I’ve seen just enough about this simple, but unique dessert that I knew I wanted to . . . → Read More: Waiting out a summer pudding

Baked Sunday Mornings: Pairing pears and plums

Plums are so unique and uniquely summer. Their subtle sweetness, spicy and floral, extends beyond that into a spectrum of flavors, depending on the type of plum or plum cross (plum/apricot, plum/cherry), with hits of tartness and soft notes of apple, berries and citrus. 

I look forward to plum season every year, our . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Pairing pears and plums

Baked Sunday Mornings: Fixing an oven-free ‘slump’

Sometimes, when you are in a slump (writing/cooking/baking/working/living), the best thing to do is make one. Never heard of a slump? I had, but had not made one until the Baked Sunday Mornings group put a recipe (see here: http://bakedsundaymornings.com/2018/07/20/in-the-oven-sour-cherry-slump/) for Sour Cherry Slump from “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” by Matt Lewis and Renato . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Fixing an oven-free ‘slump’

Bread of the Month: Brewing up a fruity tea bread

Great discoveries can happen in your own backyard, or, in this case, your own bookshelf. I was recently cleaning (gasp!) and re-organizing some books, and I stumbled across a little baking book from Ireland, actually named “The Little Irish Baking Book,” by Ruth Isabel Ross (1995), and, eager to take a break from said cleaning, . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Brewing up a fruity tea bread

Making a fool out of strawberries

Did you know there is a recipe for fool? And it’s so simple! Almost too simple, so that you almost want to pass it by (as I have, many times). Something that easy (and oddly named) certainly cannot be very good. The first recipes I saw for fools — desserts made up pretty much of . . . → Read More: Making a fool out of strawberries

Baked Sunday Mornings: Jamming with a breakfast bar

I have plenty on my plate, but I’ve enjoyed adding trying out the recipes from Baked Sunday Mornings to my “to-do” baking schedule. It gives me a chance to attempt things I might not have otherwise and share with fellow bakers the results! While I cannot commit to making each recipe on the roster, I . . . → Read More: Baked Sunday Mornings: Jamming with a breakfast bar

Bread of the Month: Topping a sourdough waffle

Ever since I discovered my birthday coincided with National Waffle Day (on Aug. 24, 1869, the first U.S. Patent for the waffle iron was issued), the breakfast treat has been more on my radar.

It has almost always been my first choice on the menu at restaurants that served waffles for breakfast, likely because it . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Topping a sourdough waffle

Bread of the Month: Crumbling new life into old cornbread

The first time I made “bread salad” or panzanella, as it’s commonly called, the recipe had me soaking cubes of very stale, sturdy bread in water, wringing those cubes out and mixing them with tomatoes, onions, cucumber, basil and vinaigrette for what turned out to actually be a very delicious experience.

This old-world method of . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Crumbling new life into old cornbread

Bread of the Month: Beckoning Halloween history with Irish barmbrack

“They had colcannon, and the funniest things were found in it — tiny dolls, mice, a pig made of china, silver sixpences, a thimble, a ring, and lots of other things. After supper was over all went into the big play-room, and dived for apples in a tub of water, fished for prizes in . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Beckoning Halloween history with Irish barmbrack

Bread of the Month: Tugging at “Babka’s” skirt

I anticipate my monthly bread adventures the way others look forward to road trips or nights on the town. I enjoy those things, too, but the plotting and planning of a bread-baking day has my mind aswirl and my excitement on the rise, especially when I embark on a recipe that is new. I see . . . → Read More: Bread of the Month: Tugging at “Babka’s” skirt