Archive for the 'baking' Category
The Only Brownie Recipe You Will Ever Need
May 18th, 2011by Caroline Last summer, to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, Tony and I arranged back to back sleepovers for our kids with two different families, and thus managed our first two-night getaway together since Ben was born. We’d each been away longer on our own (or with friends and family), both for work and for [...]
Easy as Bread
April 15th, 2011by Caroline So, remember how I told you about my new pet? The sourdough pet that I hoped would be the source of much delicious bread? Well. It was a little finicky. I should have known when I set the cookbook down and waded into the virtual sea of blogs offering advice on how to [...]
Bakesale for Japan
March 21st, 2011by Caroline I was born in Tokyo, as was my mother; a college housemate lives there now, writing for Reuters, as do my cousins, who work (currently non-stop) for the American Embassy. There are writers I care about who live in Japan, like Literary Mama’s co-editor for fiction, Suzanne Kamata, and one of the contributors [...]
Recipes from Breaking Bread: José’s Mother’s Sweet Cake
March 11th, 2011by Caroline The real name of this dish is a Salvadoran quesadilla, but rather than confuse readers looking for a Salvadoran version of the familiar Mexican dish, I’m giving credit to the mother of José Carlos Ramirez, one of the folks Lynne Anderson interviews in Breaking Bread (click here for my review of the book). [...]
The Birthday Menu
March 4th, 2011by Caroline The one day a year I am very happy to take orders from my kids is on their birthdays, when they know they can order up a day of special meals, culminating in whatever birthday cake they like. Ben’s birthday today falls on a school day, so I have no say over his [...]
Puffs
February 25th, 2011by Caroline There is something so 1950s about this recipe that I almost feel like I should wait until Mad Men starts airing again before posting it. But this time of year, with winter dragging on and spring not quite here, I need something new and fun (and yes, always quick) to get out of [...]
Birthday Cake
February 16th, 2011by Caroline Five years ago today, in honor of her milestone birthday, I organized a virtual birthday celebration for my sister by having her many friends post birthday cake pictures on their blogs. This year, with fewer of us blogging and more of us on Facebook, her friend Becca and I organized a somewhat different [...]
Valentine’s Hearts
February 11th, 2011by Caroline In years past, I have made heart-shaped chocolate sandwich cookies, I have made heart-shaped brownie ice cream sandwiches, and even homemade Ring Dings (or Ding Dongs, depending on whether your family bought Hostess or Drake’s Cakes). Last year, apparently not so much in the mood for sweets, I made a bright pink beet [...]
My New Pet
January 26th, 2011by Caroline Lately, it seems, many of our friends are expanding their families. Second and third (and fourth!) children are arriving, dogs and cats and guinea pigs are being adopted, and it’s all got me thinking. I don’t want another child, being perfectly content with my two, and my children don’t want a pet (though [...]
Triple Citrus Cream Cheese & Poppy Seed Coffeecake
January 21st, 2011by Caroline Before my mom went back to work full-time, when I was in elementary school, she cooked dinner every night and baked bread every Saturday. She made birthday cakes for all four of us kids and thousands (I’m not exaggerating) cookies at Christmas. But the one thing I don’t recall her making on any [...]