A Life in Food
Bars are the go-to dessert when you are feeding a crowd. If I can get away with not turning on the oven, that’s even better. These Blueberry Swirl No Bake Cheesecake Bars have a chocolate crust with a thin layer of melted chocolate in between for that something extra. Super creamy, silky smooth filling swirled with fresh blueberry sauce make these bars as pretty as they are delicious.
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Blueberry season is here and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’ve been on a bit of a “blueberry bender” as of late. I have “blueberried” everything feasible including barbeque sauce, because, why not? This Blueberry Bourbon BBQ sauce will soon be your go-to for ribs. I paired it with a slab last weekend and it was wildly delicious. The copious amount of vinegar lends itself nicely to fatty pork. The sweet jamminess of the blueberries with the heat from the peppers comes together to make this bbq sauce out of this world.
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No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits, my new go-to quick and easy summer treat! Perfect for a last minute dessert when there is no time for baking. They look elegant enough to serve to guests, but they are ridiculously easy.
No bake desserts are a lifesaver in warm weather months, which is most of the year where I live. Additionally, warm weather means bathing suit season. We are watching what we eat, but I’m not about to deprive myself of a sweet treat. These no bake blueberry lemon cheesecake parfaits are low carb, lower in sugar and at only 2 ounces, they won’t sabotage your diet. It’s a WIN WIN!
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I love my “swirly” bundt pan, but it’s a tad smaller than the average bundt and I always have leftover batter. This may not seem like an issue, but sometimes I don’t want to make extra cupcakes or little cakes. I just want One Big Bundt! So, after dropping a few subtle hints and finally telling my Mom that I was planning a heist and the prize was her Classic Bundt pan… Voila! She told me that one was on it’s way to me! Thanks, Mom! (sometimes, a girl needs to resort to extreme measures)…
Did you know that July is National Blueberry Month? Let’s make a cake and celebrate!
Last week, I was flipping through an old book and 2 things fell out onto my lap: this recipe and an old black & white photo from a birthday party.
That’s the story of my life. I’m usually a fairly organized person, but little scraps of paper plague my existence. I find them everywhere. I mean, literally everywhere. I scribble down notes or ideas and shove them into a bag or toss them onto the dining room table or kitchen counter. I’m staring at a handful of them as I type this…
I’ve given this recipe a permanent home now, which makes me quite pleased because this cake happens to be one of my very favorite things in all the world. In my humble opinion, crumb cakes are absolutely one of the recipes that should be in everyone’s back pocket. A good crumb cake is a crowd pleaser. Have you ever met someone that didn’t like crumb cake? Me either.
It almost guarantees you’ll get another invite if you bring it to someone’s house. Ask my friends, I’ve taken it a few times 😉
This cake has a Very Generous crumb topping, which is mandatory in my book. The cake itself is surprisingly light, but sturdy enough to support a hefty amount of fresh blueberries. Get them while they are in season, because those plump little blueberries are best in the summer months!
I’m as patriotic as the next gal, but when Independence Day rolls around and you add the World Cup to that equation, it seems everyone feels it to a near fever-pitch level of excitement… (since I started this draft, I am sad to report the US team was knocked out by Belgium) Making good pie crust in Florida is no easy task. I thought it was just my own shortcoming until a friend’s sister was lamenting about the fact that she has tried on several occasions to make pie crust here and finds it impossible. I must tell you, I exhaled a sigh of relief to end all sighs. I was certain that it was me and that I had somehow lost my touch. Hearing from people who also grew up elsewhere that they find making pie crust in the steamy heat of Florida to be a nightmare… well, that made me feel so much better.
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Let me say that I think we should appreciate our Mom’s on more than just one day a year… It is an incredibly important job that is sometimes thankless. Through terrible two’s and rebellious teenage years, through laughter and tears, joy and fear… you are there for it all.
So, to every Mom out there: Happy Mother’s Day today and everyday for all that you do!
Now that I’ve earned my birthday and Christmas presents for next year, let’s get to it.
This weekend is Mother’s Day and the Internet, food magazines, morning shows, cooking shows, even the evening news is filling the space between our ears with recipes to make for Mom…
Most of them even look really good! But here’s the problem: MOM isn’t the one making them! (I hope)!
More than a few of the recipes featured have ingredient lists long enough to make even the average home cook sweat under the collar, much less someone who rarely ventures into that mystical space from where food magically appears.
Some of you out there are lucky enough to live with people who actually know: A. where the kitchen is located in your home and 2) how to find things in this mysterious room. Then, there are those of you who live with people that open the fridge door, stand there staring at it’s insides and then ask you “what is there to eat?”.
Well, even THOSE people can handle this recipe.
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While Hurricane Irene is approaching, I’m doing what any sensible girl would do… making jam. I like the simplicity of freezer jam because you still get all the flavor of summer fruit, but it is quicker and easier than sealing everything in a water bath and let’s be honest, sometimes a girl just needs a “shortcut”.
This recipe will take approximately 20 minutes from start to finish, then the jars will sit for a few hours and it’s done. How easy is that?! The best part about this is making whatever flavor combination you like. That’s the fun part of cooking, there really aren’t many “rules” when it comes to combining flavors. If you like it, that’s what counts.
I bought my berries in the middle of summer when they were at their peak and stored them in the freezer until I was ready to make jam. The best way to do this is to lay them out in a single layer on a sheet pan and put them in the freezer for a few hours until they are completely frozen. Then put them into a resealable freezer bag.
I was fortunate enough to find organic ones in pristine condition, so I loaded up! That is the only mandatory condition when making jam: the fruit you use absolutely MUST be perfect. If it has any bruising, remove it. If there is even the tiniest bit of mold, toss it.
The last thing you want to do is introduce that into an entire batch of jam because it will ruin everything (there goes all of your time, effort and money).
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