Pumpkin Chocolate Streusel Muffins

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Pumpkin Chocolate Streusel Muffins Recipe
Betwixt and Between.  That’s where I found myself the other day as I stood in front of a display of golden ripe peaches.  Summer is hanging on in Southern California but a shift towards Fall is evident as apples and pears share market space alongside the last of the peaches, plums and nectarines.  Autumns’ insistance on arriving is complicating my desire to hold fast to Summer.  If temperature is any indication as to the month or season, then we clearly must be in the dead of Summer.  At the same time, the orange, black, gold and burgundy decorations spilling from the shelves of home and craft stores confirms that we are deep into September and on the heals of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Continue reading →


Posted under Baking, Muffins
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Yellow Birthday Cake With Caramel Frosting

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"Yellow Birthday Cake with Caramel Frosting"

I celebrated a birthday last week – and it was one of the best birthdays ever.  No, I did not take a luxury cruise, nor did I  have lunch with Ryan Gosling.  I spent my birthday week in Kentucky with my family.  The best part of it all was that Howie flew in from CA and Jael flew in from NY to be with me for the weekend.  I cannot remember the last time I was with my husband, daughter, and extended family to celebrate my day.  It was perfect!

Being together with everyone was all the birthday gift I needed.  However, I did have one special request to make the celebration feel complete.  A homemade birthday cake.  When it comes to celebrating my birthday – keep the gifts – however, cake is a must.  I am very lucky in life and there isn’t any thing that could make my day any more meaningful than being with family.  That said, there is something that could make it more delicious.  CAKE!  A Yellow Cake with Caramel Frosting to be specific.  Jael and Howie shared the effort with Howie baking the cake layers, and Jael masterfully frosting them.  All along the way I was close by with my camera capturing the love I felt as they worked together to grant my birthday cake wish. Continue reading →


Posted under Baking, Cakes, Desserts
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Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies With Honey Roasted Peanuts

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"Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies With Honey Roasted Peanuts Recipe"Sometimes a girl needs chocolate.  Sometimes a girl needs peanut butter.  And sometimes, she needs both.  Well, in this case – that girl was me.  A couple of weeks ago I was having one of those cravings.  Short of chocolate chips or unsweetened chocolate from my pantry, there was nothing to be found in any of the usual places I hide my stash.  I’ve been known to exercise self- discipline by employing the theory  – out of sight, out of mind.  Believe it or not, it actually works for me.  I’m not sure what trick my mind plays on itself to accomplish this and I’m not about to question it either.  So, in an attempt to satisfy that gnawing for chocolate and peanut butter (a simple Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in the house and I could have moved on), I decided to find the quickest and most delicious means to an end.  There was a recipe lurking in the back of my mind for a brownie I had made years back.  I happen upon it from time to time when combing my recipe files.  Sure enough, within a few minutes I had it in hand.  I made a few changes to accomodate the ingredients I had on hand and popped them into the oven. Continue reading →


Posted under Baking, Bars, Brownies, Chocolate
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Another Good-bye and Bakery Hopping in Manhattan

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"Dominique Ansel Bakery"Every time I kiss her good-bye, the scab that has just begun to form on my broken heart is knocked off once again.  By now, I would have thought – and hoped – that the pain and sadness that I experience when she goes off to another semester of college would have eased.  It hasn’t.  With each departure for the airport there are the hugs, the tears, and sadness.  The tears and sadness are mine alone.  She is an independent soul, fully aware of my love for her and so she happily flies away from the nest and onto her next adventure.  Is it only me?  Am I alone?  Is this normal?  Are there other mothers who share these same pangs of separation?  I confess that I have set myself up for this reality.  Years were spent making her happiness the center of my existence.  Where have the years gone between her holding fast to me through hyperventilating sobs as I left her at her kindergarten room, and now, when it is me who fights desperately to hold back the flood wall of tears until I reach the privacy of my own bedroom.   I recognize that this is but a transient stage – nevertheless, at times, it is painful. Continue reading →


Posted under Eclairs, Muffins, Pastries, Tarts, Travel


Concord Grape Jam

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"Concord Grape Jam Recipe"

As much canning and preserving that took place in my home when I was young, I have no memories of homemade jams or jellies on our table.  I can’t imagine among the tomatoes, pickles, sauerkraut, and green beans that lined the shelves of our basement’s root cellar, there weren’t jars of fruit preserved in one way or another.  I just don’t recall any.  As with most All-American families of the day, Welch’s Grape Jelly accompanied peanut butter in our sandwiches and butter on our toast.  I do, however, remember concord grapes making an appearance from time to time.  It makes sense that they went into jam making – but again, no memory of that.  Maybe I am blocking.  Maybe I had the arduous job of peeling the grapes for their journey to the jam jars and so I’m blocking any recollection of that tedious task.   Continue reading →


Posted under Preserving
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