It is peak produce season here in Northern Virginia. To me, this translates to Peach Season!! Peaches are probably my favorite fruit, but you can only get the really delicious ones in July and August. When I was at the farmers market a few days ago, I picked up about 6 peaches. I let them ripen on the counter, and decided I needed to bake up these beauties for one of my favorite Peach Crisp with Cinnamon Pecan Crumble. I pulled out the recipe box, and went with my Great-Grandma Elsie's "crisp" recipe. Her recipe is for apple crisp, so I had to make a few adjustments for peaches. None the less, this crisp turned out divine! To add a little extra crunch to the crumble topping, I added some pecans. (I do live in the south, after all. It just seemed right.) Continue Reading...
Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes
Chocolate and coconut. There are few other food combinations that I love more than these. When I was a kid, my mom would make home made almond joys at Christmas time to put on her Christmas candy tray. I fell in love. Ever since then, I have loved Mounds, Almond Joys, and especially any home made cookie, bar, pie or cake that includes chocolate and coconut. These Chocolate Coconut cupcakes easily make the top of my Chocolate-Coconut list of favorites. A couple days ago I asked my husband if he would like me to bring in cupcakes to his workplace for his 40th birthday. Not only did he happily agree, but he specifically requested these. He said these are quite possibly the best thing I've ever baked!! Given that I bake at least once a week, speaks highly for these yummy Continue Reading...
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Harrison and I came back to my home town, Burke, SD to visit my family for a couple weeks. Unlike last summer, they've had lots of rain and sunshine, which has helped the local crops and gardens grow leaps and bounds. My dad's strawberry patch is no exception. I've never seen strawberry plants as full and plentiful as these. Dad has picked several gallons of strawberries so far this summer, filling up their freezer for fall and winter. Since they have a nice sized rhubarb plant, I thought hmmmm, what could we make with copious amounts of strawberries and rhubarb? Jam!!! I raided mom's basement pantry of miscellaneous jars, picked up some jar flats, and pectin at the local grocery store, and pulled out the big pot. In a couple hours we had several jars of sweet, Continue Reading...
The Ultimate Coconut Cupcake
This weekend I planned on bringing some cupcakes to a friends house for a BBQ. Adults and kids alike, everyone loves cupcakes. I consulted my 5-year-old son as to what type of cupcakes we should bring - his quick reply was "coconut!" I did some searching, and came across a fabulous coconut cake recipe that I adapted for cupcakes. [mpprecipe-recipe:12] Recipe adapted from Broma Bakery: http://www.bromabakery.com/2010/10/best-coconut-cake-in-world.html Here is how I frosted the cupcakes. It goes much quicker when using a piping bag, and larger tip, especially when this recipe makes nearly 36 cupcakes.. It doesn't have to be perfect (mine never are), because you'll be rolling the wet frosting into the coconut. I hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as my family Continue Reading...
