Trips, Vacations, and Outings

Golden Oatmeal Spice Muffins in Silicone Baking Cups: my first product review

I got my very first request for a product review on my blog, right before we left for a family vacation to London & Paris. Exciting! I was asked to review silicone baking cups by Rizzi from The New York Baking Company, and told to be completely honest in my review.

Round-up: Unfortunate Loaves, Cinnamon Snails, and a fun Bread Baking Class

I had fun, despite my type A team member, and I stuffed myself with bread and packed up the leftovers. The teacher, who was wonderful, seemed to think he was doing us a favor by ending the class early, but I would have happily stayed another hour or two to bake more. I don’t feel ready to take on bread-baking at home, exactly, but I got a handle on kneading, which is a good start. And I tested two new quick bread recipes that weren’t very good, and I am ready to teach Advanced Cinnamon Snails. I celebrate my accomplishments where I can.

Washington DC

We spent four full days in DC, with some good meals and some bad ones, some fun treats in between, and far too many chicken fingers. I didn’t always remember to take pictures of our meals, but I did my best. What can I say? I was on vacation.

Pennsylvania: Breakfast Heaven & Hobo Lunch Blues

Every year when school ends, we take a trip to Pennsylvania to stay at the magnificent Mussers’ Bed & Breakfast.

Baking Class: Ratios

I went to a baking class today! The class was based on Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio, and we all got a copy of it to take home. It was called “Baking with Ratios not Recipes” and was a lot of fun. We started with eggs and sugar. Not those eggs. Those are the whites and the […]

Baking with Kate in Toronto

We were in Toronto for a few days, and my niece Kate likes baking (and eating), so it seemed only logical to bake with her. Also, she’s fun to hang out with, so really, I’ll take any reason that comes my way to do spend time with her. We immediately ruled out anything that would […]

Baking in BC: Healthy Breakfast Cookies

We were still in BC and my baking urges were not yet satisfied. The mocha cake was delicious but pure dessert, and the banana muffins were delicious but routine, so I found something that was new but not terribly decadent and it had been on my list to try for a while: Healthy Breakfast Cookies. […]

Baking in BC: Banana Muffins With Peanut Butter Chips

I had to make my famous original Banana Yogurt Muffins in BC once I saw Mom’s potato masher. “Do you have a potato masher, by any chance?” “I do, but it’s not a very good one. It has a penguin handle and it’s in the drawer.” Okay, Mom? That’s not a penguin. I think it’s […]

Baking in BC: Mocha Snack Cake

(with help from Serious Coffee) Okay, I just want to start by saying that this is my favorite new thing I’ve made in a long time. It’s really, really delicious, and very easy to make, and you should brew up some coffee and make it immediately. You will not regret it. I wanted to make […]

Baking in Toronto: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Snack Squares

We started out our vacation in Toronto, and I really felt like what the city was lacking was a giant dough ball. I think that’s what my brother’s house was missing too, as it certainly didn’t have one when I got there. So I set out to remedy that with the very delicious, previously tested […]

Baking Scones At Mussers’ Bed And Breakfast

jump to recipe Every June, on or about the last day of school, we take the kids to Pennsylvania to ride the rails at Strasburg Railroad. We ride Thomas the Tank Engine, visit the train museums, buy jams in tiny jars, eat homemade ice cream and shoofly pie, and take a horse & buggy ride […]

Baking In British Columbia

I have never baked in someone else’s kitchen before, but I was out in Sooke, BC, visiting my Mom, and bake in her kitchen I did. Of course I was in Canada, so all the ingredients were just a little bit different. The salt is in a square container instead of a round one, the […]

Mini Lemon Loaves After The Vehicles Fair

Today was a day for the kids. I’m going away in a few days, which makes me nostalgic for family time in advance, plus it was the annual Vehicles Fair, which we have loved going to since Nathaniel was just a tiny guy. I asked Juliet what she wanted me to bake and she didn’t […]

Lemonade Stand On Mother’s Day

This isn’t about baking, it’s about three kids who decided that they wanted to run a lemonade stand. We had a beautiful weekend of hot summer weather, and a little while after Margot came over to play, Nathaniel approached me for what he clearly thought would be a fruitless mission: he wanted to know if […]