Lemony Olive Oil Banana Bread
A couple weekends ago, I did something I’ve never done before. I went out and bought over-ripe bananas for the express purpose of baking with them. Usually my banana-baking pursuits come out of necessity, when there are rotten bananas taking up space on the counter, or too many collected in the freezer and I need to use them up. But this time, I was really craving banana bread, and when I saw heaps of blackening bananas at the supermarket I scooped them right up!
M&M Blondies with Chocolate Caramel Swirl
Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I decided to share a nice and easy, yet very festive recipe with you today before it’s no longer time for red and green cookies, and these would just seem out of place. Truth be told, this recipe would work with any old M&M’s, but I had some extra dark chocolate Christmas M&M’s hanging around that needed using, and this seemed the perfect occasion. (more…)
Peanut Butter Banana Bread Pudding with Chocolate Caramel Sauce
Long before (and even long after) Kevin’s birthday passed this year, I vowed to make him something delicious. I had every intention of following through, but somehow time always seems to slip away, and so it never really happened. Last weekend when we were visiting with my parents and some family friends, I finally got the opportunity to make something he requested, something seemingly unconventional but unbelievably delicious. (more…)
Island Creek Oyster Bar with Boston Brunchers
This past Sunday, I had the pleasure of joining a big group of local bloggers for the 1st anniversary of Boston Brunchers at Island Creek Oyster Bar. Boston Brunchers was started by Renee of Eat Live Blog as a way to unite local food-minded folks over the greatest meal EVER (in my opinion anyways) – brunch! Since it began in October of last year, it has developed into something so wonderful, for bloggers and the local food community alike. I’ve been to a few brunches over the past year, and they’ve all been a wonderful mix of great food and great company. This past Sunday was no different – the food was delicious, the service impeccable, the company bountiful and so pleasant, and the occasion such a special one. (more…)
Outrageous Oreo Brownies
With the great move of 2011 behind us and most boxes unpacked, it’s finally time to get back to the kitchen! Last weekend during hurricane Irene I had grand plans to bake up a storm (haha… no pun intended), but I only got through breakfast and two loaves of banana bread before I totally crashed. Moving will do that to you I guess! This past week was filled with lots of activities, mostly revolving around unpacking, organizing the apartment, getting rid of old furniture, running errands, adjusting to a new routine, and celebrating my first anniversary with Kevin! So… I didn’t get my baking mojo back until last night with these Outrageous Oreo Brownies. (more…)
Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
These cupcakes were solution #2 to the leftover wedding chocolate buttercream, and they were a really fun creation. I happened to have several rotten bananas in my freezer (which my roommate had asked about, so I figured it was about time to get rid of them), and so tried to come up with a way to marry chocolate and banana. I got to thinking how much I love combining bananas with peanut butter in any way shape or form, and figured peanut butter would be the perfect third flavor to bring it all together. I scoured the internet for the perfect recipe, but in the end I pulled ideas from a few different sources, and the result was so much better than anticipated. (more…)
Banana Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Last weekend I made a trip home for the long weekend to spend some quality time with my family. For the most part it was a really great weekend – my extended family was in town for a memorial service, which is not the kind of reason you’d like to have for a family reunion, but nonetheless it was so great to get to see them all. With my tiny family scattered all over the US and Mexico, I rarely get to see anyone besides my immediate family and grandparents, so it’s always a treat to see my cousins, aunts and uncles. I also got to ride my horse THREE TIMES in one weekend… compared to the days when I rode seven days a week, that seems pretty shabby, but these days if I get out to see him one every month/month and a half, it’s pretty exciting. Three times in three days was epic… and my legs certainly felt it for the whole week after! (more…)
Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been taking family trips to Martha’s Vineyard each year. I feel like I know the island like the back of my hand, and love it like a second home. We have a few regular spots we stop into every trip, some well-known and other hidden gems we’ve discovered, but one place we make at least one visit to each time we’re there is the The Black Dog. Until recently, you could only buy their merchandise on the island, which made it all the more special to go in and browse. Everything is way over-priced, but that never stopped us from buying a new t-shirt for years on end, just as a keepsake to remember the many memories we’ve made there. On one particular trip a long time ago, we purchased the Black Dog Cookbook, and it’s been a family staple ever since. I think there are probably only a handful of recipes in it that we ever even make from it, but one of them is this muffin recipe, and it never gets old. (more…)
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
In the North End of Boston, there is a tiny little cupcake shop on Salem St. called Lulu’s Sweet Shoppe. They sell the most scrumptious little cupcakes — the boyfriend and I frequent the shop probably far more than we should. They have a wide variety of flavors they keep on hand at all times (some of my favorites include the new Nutella cupcake, the Banana with Banana Buttercream, the Dulce de Leche with Sea Salt, and the S’mores flavors), but they also have inventive, fun new flavors fairly often. They also make a variety of different cookies, brownies and bars, and every so often we mix it up and get a cookie with our cupcakes — after all, how could that possibly be a bad thing?! (more…)
Raspberry Chocolate White Chocolate Whole Wheat Waffles
I’m still playing a bit of catch-up here with blog posts, so these waffles are from a few weeks back, but I can still remember how delicious they were! My Weekend Boyfriend (also more commonly known as Kevin – he finally has a name!) was here, and we wanted something yummy for breakfast but didn’t want to go out. Towards the end of last summer, I picked a quart of raspberries from my Grandfather’s garden and froze them, so I still had some of those left over, and decided to use those in the waffles. Kevin, notorious for his outrageous sweet tooth, requested chocolate in the waffles too, so chocolate it was! We added white and dark chocolate chips both in the batter and on top, and made a simple butter maple syrup that we drizzled over them — SO GOOD! The recipe I used was for fluffy whole wheat waffles — a little bit of fiber and health to offset the copious amounts of butter and sugar we also used 
Best Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats
One of my very favorite weekend breakfasts is a steaming bowl of steel cut oats, piled high with sauteed fruit and chopped walnuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon and maple syrup. It feels like a serious indulgence to me, but if I’m conscious about how I prepare it, it’s actually really healthy too! How can you beat good for you and tasty too? (more…)
Flour Bakery Scones and Snacking Cake
A few weekends ago I went on a baking spree, turning first to my (and practically all of America’s) current cookbook obsession — Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe. I worked briefly at the original Flour Bakery + Cafe in the South End, and had frequent interactions with Joanne. Not only is she a remarkable chef and baker, she’s extremely nice too! So of course I got a copy of her book immediately after it came out, but had to surrender it to my mother as a Christmas gift when the cookbook went out of stock shortly after it’s first publication, and I couldn’t get my hands on another copy. Since I was home last weekend, I had unlimited access to the cookbook, so I got right to work! (more…)
