Stress Wars

I know. Don't yell at me! It's been forever since I've blogged. Call it a Happy Valentine! Believe me, it hasn't been without remorse. I'll admit there were days i was just lazy or not in the mood to write. And then, there were days that all I wanted to do when I got home was crawl into bed and sleep for hours. And other days when I woke up at 4 am and yet couldn't seem to function enough to do anything. That's what this darn winter term has done to me!!!!! Somehow professors have decided that 8 page papers are okay to give the week before finals, 40 minute presentations are not unreasonable, and you can speed up on harder material just to squeeze it all in and meet your quota.

Yeah.

Oh, and then it's also okay to deny someone who has been actively looking for a job for two months an opportunity for a job she really, really tried for....?

Sorry, it's not like me to be this way.... Maybe it's the AntiCupid playing tricks on me!

So why don't we all digress back to my favorite topic- some tasty food. Of which, I've made a lot of this month, even if they haven't all made it to paper. Here's a taste:

Vegan Gibassier (if you've never had a gibassier- go and get yourself one right now! They are light, yeasty, flowery puffs of heaven with sweet, candied orange and anise flavors that don't overpower each other or the nature of the bread itself. Thanks to Portland for providing a home for this treat and leading me to it at Pearl Bakery!)

Cherry Splits - Black and whites with a whole lot more flavor and valentine flare!

Loverberry Cheesecake - Yes! A soy-free, vegan cheesecake that is soooo good! Sorry, I ate it too fast to capture a photo!!!!


Oh and then there is Daring Cooks, which I'm participating in for the first time this month, so you'll get a small taste of savory inspiration too.

This month the Daring Cooks theme is: patties. The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present Patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness! We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties!


For my part, I decided to make the Potato Rosti (partly because it was the easiest to veganize, and the least expensive). To be honest, I didn't have great expectations. I mean, sure, I've had potato pancakes before, and that's basically what this was- big pancakes. Except that they were soooo much better! Seriously. Try some. And make sure you really do get at least a kilo of potatoes - I only had half, and i could barely keep from eating both of    the two small cakes I made! I also added some Zaatar (my new favorite spice) for extra flavor.


Another tip- when the recipe says to squeeze / press out all the water, DO NOT skimp on this step! I ended up with a bunch of liquid in my bowl that came out while I waited for my pan to heat. AS long as you drain that liquid, you'll be fine, but it's a lot easier if you can 
press it out first!

Potato Rösti

Servings: makes two large rösti
adapted from a family recipe

The classic rösti; cheap, easy and so tasty.

Ingredients:
1 kg (2½ lb) potatoes
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt

approximately 2 teaspoons Zaatar, optional

2 teaspoons (10 ml) (6 gm) black pepper, freshly milled
1 1/2 tbsp. EnerG egg replacer mixed with 2 tbsp. water
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (½ oz/15 gm) cornflour (cornstarch) or use all-propose flour

3 tablespoons (45 ml) oil, for frying

Directions:

1. Grate lengthwise the peeled potatoes with a box grater or a food processor.
2. Wrap the grated potato in a cloth and squeeze dry, you will get a lot of liquid over ½ cup, discard liquid since it is full of potato starch.
3. Return dried potato to bowl add the egg, cornflour, pepper, and salt.
4. Mix until combined.
5. Preheat a frying pan (cast iron is best) until medium hot, add 2 teaspoons of oil wait until oil shimmers.
6. Place half of mixture into the pan, flatten with a spoon until you get a smooth flat surface. Lower heat to medium.
7. Fry for 8-10 minutes (check at 6 minutes) the first side, flip by sliding the rösti onto a plate then use another plate invert the rösti then slide it back into the pan, then fry the 
8. other side about 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Repeat to make another rösti

I served mine with some Vegetarian Bolengese from Vegetarian Times. Yummy!!!

And now, for an extra bonus, I'll give you the recipe for my cheesecake!

Loverberry Cheesecake

Your favorite crumb crust, baked for 10 minutes in a greased 9" spring form pan in a 350 degree oven.

/2 tsp. vanilla

Lower oven temp to 325.

2 cups "Incredible Almond Creme Cheez" from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak, pg. 42 (or you can use any vegan cream cheese you like, I just wanted mine soy-free)

150 g. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

10 oz. coconut or almond milk yogurt

2 tbsp. tapioca starch

pinch of salt

approximately 1/2 cup good-quality blueberry jam

Cream the "cheez" and sugar together in a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and yogurt. Once combined, add starch and salt, mixing just to incorporate.

Pour filling mixture into the baked crust.

Dot the top of the filling with blueberry jam. If you want to swirl the jam, you may want to heat it up so it's more liquid and can be moved around. Otherwise, you can let the dollops of jam sink to the bottom and create its own layer on top of your crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 65-80 minutes, or until almost set. Cool completely, then chill thoroughly, for at least 4 hours, before serving.

More recipes and food inspiration to come soon, I promise! First I need to put this trimester behind me, and my teenage years for that matter! That's right, I'll be turning 20 in... 16 days!

Sometimes I feel so much older than that!

No matter, I've got lots to do and think about in my 20th year, and i'm excited to get it started. It will start with a new blog.. can't have pastryteen for a 20 year old, now can we? No worries though, I'll keep you updated! Thanks for 2 years of loyal reading!

New What?

So you know how I had all those hopes and aspirations a few days ago?
Well, its only January 3rd and I'm already having a tough time with them.
First of all, I hate exercise. I know everyone does, but I triple hate it, and it doesn't get any better form the moment I start to the moment I'm done and then have to think about having to it again the next day or the day after that.
Ugh!
And then there's the fact that I'm kinda on edge. After all, I do have two papers to write over this two week break, and this writer is having a hard time with them.
And then there's the fact that I feel bad I can't drive or do something that would actually help my family get things done right now, aside from feeding them.
Which is exactly what I've been doing today. With some family matters to take care of, the end of my vacation is quickly going down hill, so I exhausted myself with chocolate tweed angel food cake, rich chocolate cheesecake that, even though it's not vegan, I couldn't help but take a tiny taste- yum! And then some surprisingly delicious non-meat loaf and broccoli mac and cheese (I knew that would be good, thanks to this recipe on Vegan D.a.d.).
How did I manage to do all this, work out, and write 2 pages of a boring economics paper and a very jumbled page of vegan history?
I'm not sure. Though I did have a good breakfast!
Coconut Raspberry Bran muffins.

That's right. Bran muffins. But these aren't your ordinary, dense, diet-food muffins. These have no Raisin Bran or any boxed cereal. These have coarse, mealy bran, oatmeal, tons of sweet, nutty, toasted coconut, and a handful of frozen raspberries to freshen things up.

And they're mini. So I can pop 3 or 4 of them without a speck of guilt.

Good thing, too, cause there are still not-so-petite petit fours in the drawer and a plethora of ideas to feed my sweet tooth tomorrow. Gotta have something healthy.

Mix some up for yourself- they're a cinch. The hardest part is dissolving the agar. Yes, I said agar. Thanks to Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I learned that agar makes a more tender, unified crumb in cake-like baked goods (well, or so I assumed; what applies to a cupcake should apply to a soft, billowy muffin). Anyway, after that, all you have to do it mix everything together, pop them in the oven, and you'll have fresh-baked muffins in a matter of minutes.

Tropical Blush Bran Muffins

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or shreds

539 g. coconut milk or your favorite non-dairy milk
2 tbsp. agar flakes
1/2 cup Miller's Bran
1/2 cup oatmeal

2 tbsp. flax seed meal

200 g. raw sugar

150 g. oil

1/2 fresh grated ginger (ground is okay in a pinch)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
130 g. all purpose flour
130 g. whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup frozen raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast both kinds of coconut while the oven is preheating, until all coconut is golden.
2. Line muffin tins with paper liners. The recipe makes about 30 mini muffins, or 10-12 regular size muffins.
3. In a saucepan, combine coconut milk and agar flakes. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until agar dissolves. Remove from heat and add bran and oatmeal.
4. Cool oat mixture to room temperature, then add flax seed meal, sugar, oil, ginger and vanilla. Mix well to emulsify oil.
5. Combine all dry ingredients. Fold into the oat mixture.
6. Fold in the raspberries, being as gentle as possible so as to not squish the berries.
7. Scoop into prepared muffin tins, filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake in preheated oven until set and golden. For mini muffins, this will take about 11-13 minutes. For regular size, it will probably tkae 20-25 minutes.
8. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container or serve.

Having these in the house is a reason to go to bed- just to wake up and have a delicious breakfast! That, and the fact that these words are blurring before my sleepy eyes ;)

Ba Bye 2011!

Wow.

I don't think any year has ever gone as fast as 2011.

Here I am, a junior in college, almost 20 (though I feel a lot older), feeling antsy, too big for my town, and yet also so inmature.

This was the year I learned how big the world really is. I traveled to Portland, which I can't get out of my mind now; got a taste of working in a real bakery, became vegan, made a few too many baked goods, including a few too many that didn't come out but I ate anyway... (like those sourdough doughnuts I mentioned last post....), met a few other fellow vegans, got more antsy to get the heck out of college.... Having spent too much money a farmers' markets and on textbooks and therefore making a lot of homemade Christmas gifts and watching it all pass in a rush because J&W decided it would be a good idea to let us out on the 22nd....

The list goes on and on.

But that's why there's 2012. Another year closer to moving on with my life.

A year of hope.

Hope of getting a job (please Wildllour!!!!!)

Hope of finishing school in..... 418 days.

Hope of calling Portland home in 610 days or less.

Hope of meeting the 1 person that will change my life (so the mediator says)

Hope of being 20+ lb. lighter and not having to care about what I eat.

Yes, there is hope in numbers.

So with that, and another baking expiment, Portland Petit Fours (hazelnut cookies with rosewater frosting and marzipan) behind me (pictures of that to come later.... I need to beautify them); I thought I'd present 12 hopes/wishes for 2012. I'm not very good at resolutions, though then again, I don't think many people are. Maybe having them written down, for all the world to see, might hlep me out. So here goes:

12 Hopes for 2012

1 paying job

2 pounds lost per month

3 gym days per week

4 new friends made

5 random walks in the city

6 vacation days in another state

7 days with Amy (you can get a little of your 2012 beach time with me!)

8 great new recipes

9 pieces of new food writing

10 new favorite vegetables

11 Black Point swims (they are dwindling with each passing year)

12 lives changed

Maybe you've got some hopes of your own. Maybe you've got some new skills to learn of health that needs changing. We all have something.

But first, how about ending the year with some delicious inspiration?

First, the vanilla madelines I baked a few weeks ago. Veganized from Dorrie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours. Just make sure you grease and flour your molds really, really well!

Then there's the Christmas sheet cakes I never thought I could decorate. But I did. Three of them. For the Mary House, a heart-felt soup kitchen that I've had the experience of working with.

And then more cake. Yummy, vegan cake. Pistachio coconut cake to be exact. With some thick, addictive pistachio frosting that didn't want to properly stay on the cake. And some passion fruit curd that you couldn't really taste. And a delicious cake with a secret ingredinet. Yum! Sorry no recipe for this - It's too good.

Oh and Boston Cream Roll! Yes, a roulade can finally be vegan! And a way to get your cake fix when you parents want the real thing that they saw in an issue of Cooks Country, and you can't have any. And you can have some as soon as I open my bakery in Portalnd!!!!

More recipes, including the Portland "Petit Fours" coming in the New Year! May it be a great one for us all!

Holiday Madness

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by AndrewWhitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!


Last month, I finally decided to sign up for Daring Bakers. I miss the challenges like Cupcake Hero, and I need something else to feed my inspiration, since I still haven't won the jackpot and can't open a bakery yet. 


What a time to sign up!


Amidst cookie swaps, trips home to roll a couple thousand cookies for our annual cookie count and giveaway to friends, several new ideas to try out, and crocheting for hours to get my Christmas presents done and attempt to get in the holiday spirit, I made sourdough; this month's challenge recipe.


I've made sourdough-based bread a couple times before; but I get impatient with the starter or decide that there isn't really room for it in our shrinking apartment fridge, so I usually give up on it. But, with this challenge and the holidays around the corner, I decided to give it another shot and maybe come up with some creative alternatives.


Like Pomegranate Swirl Bread.


Five days.... no, maybe it was six, seven.... eight days of waiting and the business of going to school, and i finally got to making the bread. Only the starter seemed really dry. Ooops. Guess I thought I was wrong to think I could just add the same amount of flour and water each day.


And impatient not to let my pomegranate filling cool before rushing to fill my bread with it.


So, Alas, I had dense bread. But the flavor was pretty good. And now i have more starter, with which I am today trying something completely bizarre; baked sourdough doughnuts. 


Don't give me that look- I just found a baked doughnut recipe... couldn't tell you where because I look at like a thousand recipes a week... and saw Unique Sweets on Cooking Channel (which by the way no one should have to pay extra for), where one fancy baker baked all her doughnuts and used some molecular gastronomy to turn olive oil into a powder to replace powdered sugar on her doughnuts.


Oh how the wheels turn.


Oh yes, stay tuned. Doughnuts are in our future. Sorry, you can't have any, just the recipe. And maybe the recipe for some delicious madelines and pistachio coconut cake I made recently. If you're lucky.


But not now. Right now you get this bread recipe. The French Country Bread that Jessica provided for this month's challenge; that I didn't quite follow (but not on purpose); plus a rough method for pomegranate cinnamon filling.


Fill up before the New Year strikes! It's still Christmas after all, isn't it? I mean it all goes too fast!

French Country Bread
Servings: 1 large loaf plus extra wheat starter for further baking

Wheat Starter - Day 1:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
Total scant ½ cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

Directions:
1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer.

Wheat Starter - Day 2:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
scant 1/2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1
Total scant cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 3:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
4 teaspoons (20 ml) water
scant 1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2
Total 1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8-1/10 oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 4:
Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 1½ tablespoons (205 ml) (120 gm/4 ¼ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup less 4 teaspoons (100 ml) water
1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8 oz) starter from Day 3
Total scant 2⅔ cup (625 ml) (440 gm/15½ oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

French Country Bread
Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven
Ingredients
1 cup less 1 tablespoon (225 ml) (160 gm/5 ⅔ oz) wheat Leaven Starter
6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon (85 ml) (50 gm/1¾ oz) stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 ⅓ oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
Production Leaven Total 2¾ cups plus 4 teaspoons (680 ml) (480 gm /1 lb 1 oz)

Directions:
1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

Pomegranate Filling

(make at some point before shaping your dough so that it has time to cool/set)

1. In a saucepan on medium heat, bring a cup or so of pomegranate juice to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and allow juice to reduce by half. Let cool to room temperature.

Add about 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon and enough brown sugar to make a thick paste. Set aside to allow the sugar to absorb the pomegranate juice.

French Country Bread
Stage 2: Making the final dough
Ingredients
3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon (175 ml) (100 gm/3 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (510 ml) (300gm/10 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons (7½ ml) (7 gm/¼ oz) sea salt or ⅔ teaspoon (3⅓ ml) (3 gm/⅛ oz) table salt
1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water
1 ¾ cups (425 ml) (300 gm/10 ½ oz) production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.
Total 6 cups less 2 tablespoons 1415 ml (1007 gm/35 ½ oz/2 lb 3½ oz)

Directions:

1. Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough.
2. Knead on an UNFLOURED (I had to use some flour becuase it was far too sticky to knead) surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.
See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqS3raEGdwk
3. Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough. See my demonstration here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPO97R4iO4U
4. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.
5. Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. First, spread your pomegranate filling in a thin layer all over the surface of the slightly-flattened sough, being careful not to go too close to the edges.Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing. See my demonstration here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDoJRCMfclE
6. Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.
7. Preheat the oven to hot 425°F/220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 after 10 minutes.
8. Cool on a cooling rack.

Oh, and one final note: I baked mine in a dutch oven. I preheated in a 500 degree own, lowered the temp to 435, then put my proofed bread in it, covered the pan, and baked it as directed. The pot traps steam and helps the bread rise better :)

Wishful Thinking

I've been doing a lot of wishing lately. Wishing for summer. Wishing for a job. Wishing for Portland and an even better job. Wishing for some messages in my Etsy mailbox. Wishing for sweets.


Ok so that last one is relatively achieveable. After all, I did just make cookies. But there are certain sweets, parts of Christmas, memories I wish to recall. Traditions that just aren't the same any more. Childhood that can't be reclaimed, yet adulthood that can't come fast enough.


Story of my life.


And then there's cherries. And marshmallows. Both of which I'm suddenly craving. And can't have. Cherries - the juciest, frehsest ones - aren't in season at Christmas (though they should be - they are the perfect festive-looking fruit)
Marshmallows - are hard to find - and, more importantly, make - vegan.


Allow me to take you on a sensual adventure through the seasons.

The joys of summer are endless. The warm breezes blowing through my hair like fairy dust. The sunlight invigorating my senses like comfort food. The farmers markets that are, too late, making their way to Connecticut. The hours swimming in sea-blue water of soy sauce. One of the best things about summer is the bounty of sweet, juicy fruit that is available locally. Best of all are the cherries. Their glossy, blood-red skin blushes in embarrassment of its beauty. The perfect handles, woody, thin and black; stick straight up, waiting for me like impatient children. A gentle clink can be heard as they tumble gently into a bowl like calm waves. Snatching one for myself, I finger the skin of silk between my fingers. I sink my teeth into the awaiting flesh, a gentle snap allowing the juice to avalanche, the delicious blood rushing evidence down my face. My teeth clinks against the boulder blocking the path to deliciousness, and I must restart; attacking form a different angle. The smell of summer envelops me now, and I polish off the fruit like an ice cream cone. Reaching for another, I let it dangle by the stem; one last dance in beauty before it falls into the taste trap, feeling bad, since this one is the queen bee. Golden and unique, with a hint of sass. If not for its blood spot, its one blemish, I might have left it alone. But no, the destiny is set, my mouth watering with the thought of a unique experience. Already exhaling the scent of cherry wood and berries, and my though tingling as the sweet river of juice slides across it. A holly jolly treat in deed. If only they weren't a seasonal treat!

http://www.cjolsoncherries.com/

Now we skip to winter. And what does summer have in comon with winter? Clouds. Increasingly more of them as the gloom of winter sets in. I love swallowing clouds. Moist, sweet, fluffy, flavorful clouds. That is marshmallows.Pillowy and delicate, they cast a spell on me. One minute i'm diving in - the next I've eaten a pile of them. Melt-in-your-mouth, yet inexplicably sturdy. White as snow, plush pink, chocolate brown. Any way you make them, I'll eat them. Or at least, I used to. I no longer get the luxury of a marshmallow spell, but instead have been virtually been zapped of my animal eating powers instead. Well okay, of my own choosing. And a happy choice its been I add.

But that still doesn't mean I don't want my marshmallows - one of the few treats that, temporarily, make the winter okay. Floating on top of cocoa like a boat gilding across a glassy ocean, they complete the picture.

And yet, my marshmallow cravings have been given the cold shoulder. All thanks to gelatin. Oh sure, there's agar. But making marshmallows with agar is like building a snowman out of white, icy powder- it'll work, but it definitely won't be the same. Someone has excelled, but for an arm and a leg and leaving my beliefs of homemade whenever possible behind. Plus I inherently want to know how to be able to make just about everything delicious.

They made a superhero out of EnerG egg, can't vegan gelatin be next in line?

Oh, and let's not forget the snow pudding to be served in t-21 days. What's to do about that?

http://www.sophistimom.com/homemade-marshmallows/

But alas, I don't have either cherries or marshamllows right now. I just have a fridge stocked with leftovers of a delicious "Sans Coq au Vin" feast, and a boxful of Almond Sandnuts ready to go to the vegan cookie swap tomorrow. Maybe that will make Christmas more real? Or maybe a dusting of snow? No, forget I ever said that- no snow. 50 degrees is perfectly fine with me. Though I suppose as long as my oven is cranking out goodies, I'm happy.

Almond Sandnuts. Soon to be on a passionbakes Etsy shop near you!