Cooking

I just finished baking this chocolate cake this morning. And let me tell you- my house smells heavenly. I really want to eat a slice of it for breakfast. But that would be bad, right?

We're going to a little dinner party tonight and I'm in charge of dessert. Tasty Kitchen is quickly becoming my favourite place on the web for recipes. Lots of fellow foodies on there sharing some fantastic recipes. Not all of them are super involved, either. This cake recipe, for instance- it started with a box cake mix. Love that!

Santa brought me a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas and this was the first chance I've had to use it since. I didn't really need one big enough to make dough for thirteen dozen cookies at once, but I guess now I can quit my job and open a bakery. {wink}



Oh, and in other news- in case you haven't heard- i {heart} papers is now selling Copic Sketch Markers! Kate made the decision while at CHA in January and her shipment just arrived yesterday. You can find the reasoning behind why Kate is carrying the Sketch instead of the other kinds of Copics here on her blog.

I'm off to work. Lots going on here these days. And in case you were wondering- because I've gotten some emails (which is so cool by the way)- yes, I am working on my next stamp set. I was set back a little with all of my health problems. But I'm working on the set and Kate and I will let you all know when the set is coming out.

I'm not sure what possessed me, but this morning I decided to try out this recipe for pumpkin cookies.

Now, let me tell you- I am not a pumpkin fan whatsoever. I don't like pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin ice cream cake, etc. But these cookies are amazing!

It has to be the surprising addition of the butterscotch chips. Love these! I didn't flatten my batter out when I put them on the pan, so mine are a bit more haphazard than Joy's. But they're still delicious.

Now, I must get going. The hubby and I are going to do a mini renovation of my studio over the next several days. Painting is first, then some rearranging. So if I'm quiet you know why!

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

Like many of you out there, I have multiple hobbies that I enjoy. Cooking happens to be one of them. And with all of the wonderful summer bounty I have, I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite recipes with you to use those in-season veggies.

First is cauliflower mashed potatoes. Even if you don't like cauliflower, give this a try! You will not believe how moist and flavorful these mashed potatoes are!

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into large sections
4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1//3-1/2 cup sour cream
chives
black pepper
salt

In a large pot, place cauliflower sections and potatoes. Cover with water. Boil until tender. Drain water. Add shredded cheese, sour cream, and chives. Mash. And salt and pepper to taste. You may use more or less sour cream, depending on how loose you like your potatoes. Add it a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Every time I make these it's to rave reviews. This is one to use when you need to butter your husband up. {wink} Serves 2-4 people, depending on how much they eat! My husband and I eat this between the two of us. But then again, we're gluttons.



This simple concoction of vinegar and herbs is my favorite way to dress up fresh tomatoes.

Italian Sliced Tomatoes

1-2 large tomatoes, sliced
pinch of sugar
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
fresh or dried oregano, basil, and parsley
pepper
salt

Slice tomatoes and arrange on plate so a good portion of the surface is showing. [In other words, don't overlap the slices much!] Sprinkle a pinch of sugar on the tomatoes and let sit for a minute. Drizzle on red wine vinegar and olive oil. Add fresh or dried herbs, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve room temperature or chilled.

No exact measurements for the herbs because every time I make them I just sprinkle on whatever I plucked from the garden. You can use more or less, depending on how flavorful you want them to be!

Thanks for letting me share today! I'll be back tomorrow with something crafty.

I just have to share with you the amazing deliciousness that has been whipped up over here lately. [After all, a crafty gardener has to cook and eat sometime, right??] I have zucchini coming out of my ears right now. I'm happy for the bountiful harvest they've provided, and for the fact that I haven't had to turn the sprinklers on one single time this summer so far.

But, there is only so much grilled zucchini and zucchini bread we can eat. So I went on a hunt for recipes last week. I came across this one for chocolate chip zucchini bars.

Let me just tell you how amazing these are! They taste just like a chocolate chip cookie, only moister. Pure heaven I tell you.

And for those of you wondering, this recipe for zucchini bread is spectacular! I substitute 1/3 cup cocoa powder for flour and add chocolate chips or chunks and they're even better!



I harvested my first cucumber yesterday for dinner. While I love green leaf salads, my favorite thing to make with cucumbers is a chilled cucumber dill salad. It's so simple to make and just so tasty.

Thanks for letting me share! I'll be back tomorrow with a card.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all enjoying time with family and friends today.

We're heading over to my parents' house soon. I just finished frosting these cookies. Mike gives these two thumbs up. They're pumpkin spice cookies. I'm not much of a pumpkin fan, but I made these last year and everyone loved them.

Here's the recipe in case you're interested.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat butter in mixing bowl until creamy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar until combined. Then mix in flour, pumpkin pie spice, and nuts with a wooden spoon (or your hands).

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (I line with parchment paper) 2 inches apart. Bake 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2-3 tablespoons milk

Sorry for the yellow-ish photo. It's quite gloomy here today. But I'm happy the roads stayed dry for our Turkey Trot this morning. I'm not sure what my time was, we won't find out until it's posted on the site in a few days.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for all of you out there in blogland who check in on me day after day. Don't forget to enter my blog candy giveaway here if you haven't done so yet. Comments will close tonight!

A rare weekend post for me, but I just had to share this with you all.

I made this amazing peach crisp last night. Mike was yelling at me for turning the oven on during one of the hottest weeks we've had. But I couldn't resist! It's peach season here and then I stumbled across this amazing peach crisp recipe from the Pioneer Woman. Maple syrup?!?! What a perfect companion. Why didn't I think of that??

I omitted the sauce because, quite frankly, I only do sauces in the fall and winter. On those crummy I'd-rather-be-inside-baking-something days. Not on a 90-degree-sweating-as-I-type-this day.

What I liked about this recipe is that the crumb topping stayed crunchy even after drowning it in vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Don't forget about my giveaway if you haven't entered. Have a nice weekend!