I know, I know. WORST. BLOGGER. EVER. But you have to understand, since my last post, I've been slowly going a bit insane. I finished renovating my house. I sold my house. I went to Cuba. I bought another house. I got a new job. and I'm having a GIRL! So yeah, it's been a little busy!  read more »

They're popping, they're popping! (Let me preface by saying that I'm a raging nerd for just linking to this song . What it's doing on my ipod is a mystery. I was trying to come up with a title to this entry, and I couldn't shake the lyrics. Hey, it's catchy!) Welcome to the April Daring Bakers Challenge - Cheesecake Pops! Elle and Deborah are our hostesses, and I could reach through the computer and hug them!  read more »

I'm very pleased with the entries I've gotten so far, for my pub crawl. I think this is going to be fun! Just a reminder, entries are due by Monday, March 17th. You can send them to me day & night on the 17th.
The 1st place winner gets:  read more »

Again, I should REALLY be in bed. My preggo butt will be T-I-R-E-D tomorrow.

Especially considering I'm in a new job and should really be trying my utmost to impress all and sundry.

But I can't sleep without sharing this cake.

So here it is....from the Best of the Best of Bridge, this is what I craved. I was all set to make a much healthier dessert (a very good one!) from Self magazine. It's a lovely apple caramel strudel in phyllo, done with a creamy caramel sauce. As long as you eschew the cooking spray for butter, it's a GREAT dessert.

But then I saw this one. And it was like the helpless moth, fluttering blindly, yet oh so lovingly, toward the flame.  read more »

I have had a fascination for anything sweet, and especially cakes right from when I was a kid! And I had this extra-special affection for swiss rolls, those colorful, spiral cakes that tasted like heaven, and even with the minimal frosting and decoration, they always attracted the attention of dessert-lovers, including me!!  read more »

I was recently contacted by a man who felt I had an important voice, and who wanted to see if I could do something to inspire us Britains to buy "British" and rally around local farmers and producers and help support the industry of food producing here in the UK. I thought it was very timely as this is British Food Fortnight , an event which is now in it's seventh year and is a celebration of the wide diversity of foods we have available here, locally produced and grown right in the United Kingdom. There is a real feeling growing here in Britain that we should rally around our local farmers and buy "British," in order to help support British farmers and help to maintain Britains fresh and local produce and goods, rather than support goods and produce being shipped in from abroad. My Todd, in his younger years, was once a cowman. He knows only too well how very hard these people work on their farms, and quite often for very little in return. So many of us never stop and take a thought for the hard work that often goes into producing these lovely things we enjoy on our tables every day and the history behind it. I try, whenever possible to buy British products. It really annoys me when I go to buy blueberries for instance, and the only ones on offer are from Poland, especially when I know that beautiful British blueberries are being grown just down the road. Oftimes I know it is because of trade agreements our country has with the other countries in the European Community, but I think it's really sad when you can't get a British Blueberry and, to be perfectly honest, I am getting to the point where I just won't buy things unless it says on the label produced in Britain . . . I firmly believe that if we fail to support our local farming communities, they will be forced to shut down shop and then where will we be . . . we'll be at the mercy of foreign producers and investors and will have lost a lot of the charm and pleasures of our local farming communities.  read more »

Looking for something to make with the abundance of limes that flood the markets in the winter months? Look no further - here is a recipe for lime cookies, courtesy of Carole Walter, that actually taste like lime! Imagine that!  read more »

I have had a fascination for anything sweet, and especially cakes right from when I was a kid! And I had this extra-special affection for swiss rolls, those colorful, spiral cakes that tasted like heaven, and even with the minimal frosting and decoration, they always attracted the attention of dessert-lovers, including me!!  read more »

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic who shares his recipe for some of the best cupcakes we've ever had. ~Elise Most coconut cupcakes are often a bit too dense and flavorless in my opinion, often presenting bland cake with a avalanche of coconut plopped on top. Tired of coconut cupcake posers, I decided to develop a recipe that would really rally in the flavor of coconut in a cupcake. This one uses coconut milk in place of milk, and butter instead of oil, and has shredded coconut through and through giving it a divine taste that puts other coconut cupcakes to shame. In light of that, the cupcake itself is surprisingly light in texture, almost airy. The coconut cream cheese frosting enhances the cupcake so each bite is just sweet and exotic, leaving whispers of flavor behind. It is, in my opinion, the ultimate coconut cupcake recipe.  read more »