tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33004249117260668492024-02-19T02:12:16.283-05:00SugarFeastBecause Dessert Doesn't Need A ReasonGwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-74580713847855052192012-02-17T16:48:00.012-05:002012-02-17T18:03:10.584-05:00Come Out of That Candy ClosetValentines is over, but I'm hooked on hearts. I just feel like I'm not done yet; there are so many more cutesy things to make.And, honestly, I got way too many Valentine's themed baking supplies. Sprinkles, cupcake wrappers; you get the picture. You will be prepared for next year, I think. But then I realized, screw it, hearts are good all year long. Without further fanfare: on with the parade Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-45262283408139993942012-01-27T20:52:00.007-05:002012-01-27T21:49:23.057-05:00For the Love of BananasIs it too early to start baking with Valentines in mind? There's a solid two and a half weeks or so before the holiday, but I feel utterly compelled to cover every surface in my apartment with heart shaped confetti. And, while I'm not one for big romantic gestures, chick flicks, or greeting cards, I do love me an excuse to do some themed baking.The holiday also provided the impetus to Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-87656689390203567602011-08-18T22:09:00.012-04:002011-08-23T19:50:28.520-04:00Amazing Plum CakeHere in Boston we are blessed with a multitude of Farmers Markets. There is literally one every day of the week, within a reasonable distance. At this time in the season, there are copious amounts of lettuce, tomatoes, corn, and peaches at the markts. And they are all great. But the farm good that has caught my eye (mouth?) this summer are these little plums. I have bought them now from several Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-71461661507449757502011-08-12T08:49:00.011-04:002011-08-17T18:09:01.459-04:00Anatomy of a Road TripWhenever I embark on any kind of event (or any thing at all, really), after spending a short time thinking about how much fun it will be, I think about what would be good to eat while I'm doing it. So, when a friend proposed that I come with them to visit another friend in Rochester, NY, (7 hour car ride, anyone?) I was overwhelmed with ideas for what kind of baked good would satisfy us on a Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-33799271681267837652011-08-10T12:46:00.022-04:002011-08-10T16:04:17.539-04:00Gwendoyln and the Sustainable Chocolate Factory
It was my pleasure to tour the fascinating Taza Chocolate Factory last week, conveniently located next door to Boston in adorable Somerville, MA. Taza is a chocolate company that produces organic, direct trade, stone ground, Mexican style chocolate disks, bars, nibs, and other goodies. Although they offer tours to the public regularly, I was attended with volunteers from MA Farmer's Markets, a Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-82546980595028111902011-07-25T07:35:00.030-04:002011-07-28T08:57:18.434-04:00On Things That Turned Out Better Than They Should HaveI have been on a gelato/sorbet/ice pops kick. The bug bit me, ok? We've been drudging through the "heat wave" (more like a heat slap-in-the-face)and so it seems obvious that I wouldn't want to turn on the oven, and would rather put my little ice cream maker to work. The funny thing about that is that it is stupid hard to keep the gelato base cold in my tiny maker, and it certainly isn't Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-51585562790059575502011-07-06T17:05:00.002-04:002011-07-07T14:50:35.743-04:00Blast Off Watermelon Pops Now that it's full on oh-my-god-where-is-the-closet-pool Summertime, I find that all I want to eat is fruit. And, I've found that the best vehicle to get fruit into my mouth is, in fact, a rocket ship. I have been looking at a lot of frozen treats, from grocery store sorbet to gourmet shaved ice, and I've basically decided that popsicles are just tops. Aces, really. You can eat them after Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-80298902238857333722011-06-21T22:18:00.000-04:002011-07-06T17:05:12.031-04:00Just Kidding!My woeful complaint that I entered after the contest ended was a mistake! The approval time for my entry just took I little longer than I thought. Vote for my cupcake at : http://www.instructables.com/contest/cupcake/Thanks!Update: Sadly my cupcake wasn't a finalist. But thanks to those who voted!Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-34885366282197321122011-06-20T10:57:00.000-04:002011-06-20T11:05:26.538-04:00Cupcakes for Breakfast!I came upon a cupcake contest on Instructables.com, and I decided to enter it. Being the procrastinator I am, I entered the contest 2 hrs before it closed. Being not detail oriented, I failed to notice that the contest closing time was 12:00am Pacific time. Thus, I missed the contest by 1 hour. Epic fail.None the less, you can check out my post here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-45378768319313420632011-06-14T20:49:00.001-04:002011-06-14T21:28:36.104-04:00Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Zucchini bread is a great bread to make when you feel like summer-ing up your kitchen; it is a crowd-pleaser with a simple, clean taste that takes advantage of great summertime produce. This is perfect when you cannot, in fact, tell whether it is summer or not due to the mid-50 degree weather and on-and-off drizzle. This recipe quickly took my mind of the mid-September weather we seemed toGwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-54670150873459417102011-05-29T11:51:00.000-04:002011-05-30T13:58:50.686-04:00Chocolate Sugar CookiesI was drawn to this cookie because the recipe was so simple and and because I had never really thought about a chocolate sugar cookie. Unfortunately, I think basic chocolate cookies like this one are often dry and bland. Thankfully, this is not that cookie. In fact, I was quite surprised when they came out of the oven, and basically could not stop eating them. They have much more cocoa Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-4119311668159406362011-05-25T21:11:00.000-04:002011-05-25T21:59:12.937-04:00Peanut Butter Banana Bread.Yeah. I said peanut butter banana bread.I put a period at the end of the title of this post because it should stop you in your tracks. It should take care of any legume-and-tropical-fruit needs you will really ever have. When I found out that this was a possibility, it raised all sorts of emotions and questions such as "Why didn't I think of this?" "Why wasn't I told?" and "How come there are noGwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-19728161370624492372011-03-07T22:21:00.001-05:002011-03-08T00:00:45.698-05:00Spiced Up Muffnuts!Mini Muffin-Donuts have been floating around the food-blog-o-sphere lately, and basically as soon as I saw that they existed I felt n overwhelming sense of want. So, knowing that Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Munchkins are up there with breathing in the "things I can't stop doing" category, I also knew my Muffnuts (as I have christened them) had to be cocoa based. With these things in mind, I began Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-81493405968199815072011-02-27T20:26:00.000-05:002011-02-28T11:53:41.625-05:00Challah My computer broke a few weeks ago so I haven’t been posting lately, but hopefully I’ll be able to make up for that this week. To start, I made some Challah. My inspiration for making the sweet, chewy bread came from reading The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, a book that details a murder that takes place in a predominantly Jewish city called Sitka, Alaska. The book takes place in an alternate Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-83544873657436226562011-01-30T21:42:00.000-05:002011-02-01T18:40:35.700-05:00Whole Wheat Cocoa SquaresMaking a home-made version of a favorite store-bought item is always a fun project, so this week I decided to tackle an old comfort-snack: the chocolate graham cracker. Although there are several recipes floating around for home made traditional graham crackers, it was tougher to find one for a chocolate graham cracker, which I still buy periodically to munch on. Although I considered using one Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-53037755411441463272011-01-21T08:26:00.000-05:002011-01-21T09:27:05.255-05:00Lemon Poppyseed MuffinsFor the past few days, my main concern has been the cold and the snow. So when I came across a bright, citrus-y recipe I decided to throw farmer's markets to the wind and make something that wasn't so in tune with the season.Although the recipe was intended for mini-muffins, I decided to go ahead and make extra-large ones too. As a kid, I remember going with my Mom to a cafe not too far from our Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-53989653226537065162011-01-08T16:59:00.001-05:002011-01-10T17:38:44.569-05:00A Quick Note About Bacon It's pretty good. Really good. Life changing. Especially when you cover it in brown sugar until it caramelizes and you integrate it into a fluffy, crispy waffle. When I came across this recipe for Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles, I immediately knew how I would be spending my Saturday morning.These waffles were a great way to christen my new waffle iron, and they turned out pretty beautifully; and, Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-26461923628085985532011-01-07T23:06:00.001-05:002011-01-18T17:05:08.564-05:00Cake Pops: A Tasty MessAlthough I had originally intended to make these for Christmas, the holiday came and went without my having time to try my hand at them.I found that these were indeed much tougher than Bakerella makes it seem. I used a box white cake mix (shhh) because it was on hand, and I made two different butter creams: Peach and Coffee. Although I liked the coffee butter cream, the peach turned out far tooGwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3300424911726066849.post-9347807177390490452011-01-03T15:06:00.000-05:002011-01-04T15:36:34.790-05:00It is Never Too Cold for Ice CreamMeet my little friend: It is the most adorable mini-ice cream maker in existence. It's cool robin's egg color and sweet shape made it irresistible to me in the post-Christmas season (it also comes in pink and green). It is made by Hamilton Beach, and received pretty rave reviews on the Target website. I can't say I recommend it yet, but I'm pretty excited. It has two basic parts: top and Gwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10578828522125574229noreply@blogger.com0