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Fall Has Arrived. Now What?

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Hello Apple Season. Probably one of the best fruits to celebrate the autumnal season are apples. There are so many wonderful and delicious varieties of this fruit beyond Red Delicious. Personally, I like Fuji, Honey Crisp, and Jonathan apples for snacking and using when baking. And the tart flavor and crisp body of Granny smith apples are always a welcome favorite and go-to when making pies and tarts. If you haven’t checked out any baking recipes lately, you might realize that French Apple Cakes are a popular option. The recipe is simple and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients and the cake comes together quickly. It’s easy not to mess this cake up, so if you don’t think you have the magic touch in the kitchen, give this recipe a try. You’re not likely to end up with an inedible disaster. Recently, I had some success whipping up a French Apple Cake and baking them off in individual foil tins, rather than pouring my batter into a 9-inch springform pan lined with parchment paper. Each m
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Growth Is Slow and Silent

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Do you like lemons? I decided to try growing some lemon plants from seeds in hopes of developing some miniature lemon trees/bushes as houseplant curiosities. Seven seeds were sown into a medium sized pot with a soil mixture. For weeks, nothing happened. I feared that perhaps the seeds were suicide seeds or unable to take root and sprout. Suddenly, out of nowhere, tiny sprouts broke through the surface. Now, I have seven young lemon plants at a range of heights. Two were quite strong and tower over the others. One plant was a tiny runt getting little to no sun because of the leaves of the strongest and tallest. Another was barely an inch taller than the tiniest lemon plant Today, I gave the tiniest lemon plants their own containers to encourage them to grow more. The others are very robust and will soon need to go to larger, separate containers. It’s funny, as more foliage appears and I wake to see verdant leaves and new growth, I wonder how long it will take for these plants to bear an
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Bread Life! Adventures In Bread Making Pt. 2

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So, about that focaccia… I didn’t forgetaboutit. ;) The first batch I honestly didn’t let it develop enough bubbles and ran it out to a friend before I took a picture of the golden-brown beauty of flavorful deliciousness. The second batch. It was a lot thinner because I used half my dough and some other adjustments. Next time, I will go all out and use the whole batch of dough for a thicker, heartier bread. What do you think? Moving on, trying to get the hang of making sandwich bread. There’s so much room to add different ingredients to ramp up the flavor. I’m talking about making cinnamon and sugar bread with or without nuts and raisins. Hello cheddar jalapeno bread, tomato basil, cocoa and oat, and Italian seasonings mixed throughout. It’s not as difficult as it seems. Especially if you give yourself the chance to practice making more than a few loaves. Plus, I’m enjoying making bread without using sugar as a catalyst for the yeast. Seriously, you can just use some unbleached flour o
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Adventures In Breadmaking: Focaccia!

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So today, I decide to try making focaccia for the first time. Growing up, I had the luxury of a having a really well-stocked small family-owned grocery store in my neighborhood. So, I got to enjoy grabbing groceries like fresh baked ciriola rolls , focaccia, pickled olives, yogurt, peanut butter on demand, and coffee. Bread has always been one of those love hate things with me because of the yeast. I do like eating unleavened breads and crackers. However, there is something so fascinating yet repulsive about eating bread with yeast or using yeast when baking. When pressed for time, it’s easier for me to make a lemon berry quick bread, banana bread, or zucchini or carrot bread. But when it’s the holiday season or I feel up to the challenge, I reach for the yeast, flour and get to it! Now usually when I proof yeast, I try to add some warm milk or a tablespoon or two of sugar. Today, I chose a focaccia recipe that only calls for five ingredients: Flour Salt Yeast Olive oil Warm water I me
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Why I Love My Kitchen Shears

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There are certain kitchen tools that I adore having around at my disposal.  Of course, I love keeping parchment paper around so that baking and cleanup is a breeze. Plus, the brand I like using the most is a natural brown color and allegedly doesn’t contain silicates that could make us ill. My sieve is another favorite tool because it has a fine enough mesh to help remove any undesirable clumps or lumps when making custards, pastry creme, or smooth batters. And because I don’t have a flour sifter, I sometimes use this fine mesh sieve to help with my flour when cooking. One of my most favorite kitchen tools is my kitchen shears. It makes me feel like a big kid when I’m holding my kitchen shears and slicing through parchment paper, plastic wrap, or cutting up small vegetables. Forget about pulling out a knife to slice and dice scallions, leaves of lettuce or cabbage, and other tasty foods. Sometimes, it’s worth pulling out the kitchen shears to tackle breaking down meats, prepping ingred
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Make Summer Magic With Lemons! 15 Ways To Do It

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Do you like lemons? Do you love the burst of freshness and tart acidity with citrus fruit? If you are not the biggest fan of lemons, feel free to swap out with another type of citrus fruit like limes, grapefruits, or oranges… Either way, citrus fruit is even better during the hot months of summer. The luckiest people can pluck off as much fruit as they desire, fresh off of a tree if they have access to one. Trust me, there’s nothing close to the feeling and taste of savoring a freshly picked citrus fruit, compared to buying fruit from the local market (that’s been sitting around for a bit). Need Some Cool And Refreshing Ideas? Enjoy using lemons or other summertime citrus fruits for the following delights: Lemonade Icebox Pie Cake Curd Sorbet Ice Cream Syrups (for drizzling over ice cream, yogurt, etc.) Mixed Drinks (Alcoholic or non-alcoholic) Spritzers Garnish Fresh Pressed Juice Flavor Vegetables Add To Meats Make Candy Peels Infuse Drinks With Zest Can you think of any other fantas
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5 Wonderful Scent-tastic Reasons To Embrace Aromatherapy

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Does the word aromatherapy make you instantly think of some frou-frou over-the-top spa or overzealous hippie granola type?  You might actually be a little right, but it still might be worth giving aromatherapy a deeper look instead of rolling your eyes and walking away as quickly as possible. It’s so easy and socially acceptable to reach for less than desirable, negative things to soothe us when we feel stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed in life.  However, aromatherapy might actually prove valuable to helping maintain a calmer, more pleasant disposition and improve how you experience your home and life. You don’t have to take my word for it. Using aromatherapy might not be your cup of tea. And that is fine. I’m simply writing this post to explore some excellent reasons you might want to give aromatherapy a chance, nothing more. 1. Freshen Up Your Air If you’re not the biggest fan of constantly purchasing cans of air freshener or forget to change your plug-in, you’re in luck. You can us
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