Hazelnut Apricot Whole Wheat Bread

I’m really in to braids right now. Yep, braids. I haven’t had a haircut in about 7 months and my hair is getting long and unruly. I’m reluctant/too lazy/afraid to find a new hair salon so I’m rocking a braid. I’ve even been watching YouTube tutorials to discover new styles and then I take pictures and send them to my friend Anna in the US. I’m super cool, I know.

But my most impressive braid is this bread!! I am so absolutely proud of it and I’m excited to share it with you. I got this recipe from The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake. I might have mentioned it before, but I’ve become a big fan of the TV show The Great British Bake Off. After every episode I always want to get in the kitchen and make something. So recently I went to the library and checked out the book and went on a baking spree trying out all kinds of things – and the more
complicated the better. 

Chorizo Mac & Cheese

Plain old pasta topped with butter and Parmesan cheese is one of my favorite things to eat. Is that embarrassing because it’s so simple? Maybe.  But, pasta and cheese make me a happy girl. 

So, I was elated when my friend Lisa bought me the wonderful cookbook Melt for Christmas. It’s a cookbook entirely about macaroni and cheese recipes. Cheese? Pasta? TOGETHER!?! Let me step up my pasta game. 

Shepherd’s Pie

I don’t know how to be suave, so I’ll just blurt it out. Ryan and I are moving to London. Soon. As in, the beginning of March. Well, truly the timing is a bit wonky, but the important fact is we’re moving to London.

Basically, Ryan’s job gave him a promotion and a transfer to their London office. Exciting right?! I’ll be honest, I’ve felt a ton of emotions about all of this. Excitement, over living in a new city and seeing new sights! Fear, of starting somewhere new. Stress, over all the logistics of moving. Proud, of Ryan’s great accomplishment. Sadness, over leaving my wonderful job and moving away from family and friends. And happiness, that Ryan and I are able to take on this wonderful adventure and live abroad, which is something we have both dreamed about.

Flan

Happy Three Kings Day! If you’re not familiar with Three Kings Day, it’s also called the Epiphany and you can read about it here. To summarize though, Three Kings Day is the 12th day of Christmas and it’s when the three kings (or wise men) found Jesus and brought him the gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It’s a holiday celebrated by lots of different cultures, especially in Latin America.

To celebrate this year, I decided to have a dinner party for 10 people in our tiny apartment. I invited three of my former coworkers, their significant others, my parents, and my brother. It was a tight fit (Charlotte and Craig had to bring chairs and a table), it was a little hot (I had to open the sliding door), and we used every single dish we own – but it was a blast and I’m so glad to have thrown a little party to catch up with friends and family.

Papa’s Cornmeal

Happy New Year! As we welcome 2014, think up resolutions, and embrace lots of new things, I wanted to start the year with an old favorite of mine. Cornmeal is a breakfast dish that only my Papa can make. The best way I can describe cornmeal is that it’s a semi-sweet, warm, porridge-type breakfast. It’s a great meal to have on a cold morning or when you’re feeling a bit under the weather. And if you’re hungover one New Year’s day, I think this would help you feel better too.

And I’m serious when I said Papa’s the only cornmeal-maker in my family. Once when I was a kid, Mom made it for me and it came out lumpy. In college, I found a recipe online, and what I made came out as a dry and thick cornmeal lump. Papa is the one who makes the creamiest and tastiest cornmeal. So when I came to visit for the holidays I asked him to show me how. I’ll be honest with you that I’m still a bit intimidated. Papa showed me how to do it, but I think it’s going to take some practice before I’m on his level. So maybe that’ll be one of my New Year’s resolutions: to master Papa’s cornmeal.

Arepas 2.0

I like to look at my site statistics from time to time. My absolute favorite is seeing what Google searches people use to get to the blog. My top two favorite searches are:

1. Demon pig

2. Pig excited about funnel cake

But the most popular searches are some variation on “Puerto Rican arepas recipe.” When I was searching out recipes, I had a really difficult time finding Puerto Rican specific recipes and so I’m glad that I might be able to help others find what they’re looking for. But, it also shows me that I should get back to testing recipes so I can find a perfect recipe. So here is my second attempt.

Abraham Lincoln’s Favorite Cake

I got a new job! And it’s a full-time job. That means more regular hours, paid vacation, and full weekends. And it seems like it’s going to be right up my alley in terms of interests and experience. It does mean though, that I have to leave my two part-time jobs. My last day for one job was on Wednesday and my last day for the other is today.

I love today’s job. I’ve been there for over a year and a half, and I started as an intern. I’ve had such fun, I’ve gotten great learning opportunities, and I’ve made wonderful friends. So I decided to do something nice for my coworkers on my last day and make Abraham Lincoln’s favorite cake. I don’t know how the historical record proves this was his favorite cake, but the gift shop says it was his favorite so I’m rolling with it. They sell this recipe on a really cute kitchen towel. I was eager to try it, but also a bit daunted. There are a lot of steps, a lot of egg whites, and I needed an angel food pan. I did some searching and I found some angel food pans for $25-30. I love kitchen gadgets, but I didn’t want to spend $20+ on something I wouldn’t use that much. I reached out to friends and no one had an angel food pan. I looked on Craig’s List and Freecycle, And then I thought about eBay, and there are some great prices but  nothing would arrive before my last day. Yesterday I went to Giant to look for a disposable pan, and I found a real one for $9.20. Awesome deal, so I bought it.

Birthday Recap and FUNNEL CAKE

It was my birthday last week! I had so many eating and cooking celebrations that I must share them with you. And then I’ll end with an awesome recipe for funnel cake. Yeah, that’s right, funnel cake!  Anyway, I’m someone who loves birthdays. I love making a fuss, hanging out with friends, celebrating a lot, and eating large amounts of sweets. And since I’m self involved and still want to talk about my birthday almost a week later, I want to share with you my adventures.

Growing up, birthdays were celebrated by opening presents and eating cake first thing in the morning before going to school/work. Naturally, I insisted that Ryan and I do the same. Ryan woke up all groggy and sleepy, but he did sing me happy birthday and shared a piece of cake with me. I made the cake myself: it was yellow cake with a strawberry raspberry filling and a lemon buttercream frosting. Ryan had volunteered to get me a cake, and even said he would make me a cake, but I decided I would have more fun making a cake. I was inspired by a cake we had at our wedding from Sweet Eats Cakes, that was just to die for. My cake wasn’t nearly as good as hers. The frosting and filling (both of which I made!) were yummy but I over-mixed the batter so the cake came out a bit dense. It was tasty, but I had the most fun putting it all together.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I love strawberries! Especially farmer’s market strawberries. Farmer’s market strawberries may cost more and aren’t around all year but they are worth it! They are beautiful, juicy, and when they finally arrive it’s like Christmas. In the winter the farmer’s market has mostly root vegetables. The spring leads to more green vegetables and early fruits. And then the warm summer months come and the berries arrive! It’s so exciting when they are finally there that I buy as much as I can carry. Yes, you can buy strawberries at the grocery store any time of year – but they don’t taste like anything. The anticipation, the beautiful redness, and the juicy explosion of taste makes it hard to go back to grocery store strawberries in December.