Weekend Baking: Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread

Another Joy the Baker recipe success - brown butter banana strawberry bread.  Easy, quick, and the final product emerged from the oven moist, flavorful, and delicious.  Excited for my breakfast tomorrow!

image/myphotos

Croissant Baking

Last night, my mom and I took a mini-rendezvous to France - well, sort of...we took a croissant making cooking class at The Pantry at Delancey in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle.  It was so much fun!  Not only did we learn how to make plain croissants from start to finish (quite the process!), but we baked almond, ham + cheese, pain aux raisins, and pain au chocolat.  My mom and I were on a baking team; together we mixed the ingredients, rolled and refolded the dough, cut, and prepared about 12 croissants total.  We devoured two of our efforts fresh out of the oven after they cooled slightly in the night air, and topped them with scrumptious plum jam, delicious!  

WE. ATE. THEM. ALL. (over the course of 2 days, of course).  

Yum!

image/myphotos

No Coincidence, No Story

Are you a podcast listener?  We recently upgraded to a "baby car," and my most favorite feature is the handsfree bluetooth audio, which enables me to listen to playlists and podcasts handsfree at my leisure.   One podcast I particularly enjoy is, This American Life.  If you've never tuned in, it's an everyday life kind of 'cast, featuring human interest stories, including a range of broad topics.

One of the recent topics was all about coincidences, aptly titled, "No Coincidence, No Story."  In general, I tend to enjoy TAL's more "random" podcasts, and this one definitely piqued my interest.  Every story of the podcast is somehow related to coincidences that listeners experienced and called in to report.  These coincidences range from small seemingly insignificant things like seeing a stranger at a doctor's office and then running into them at the market minutes later...all the way to larger, life-altering, often unforeseen coincidences were the stars seemingly align, coincidentally.

It was one of the better podcasts I've heard in a while, so I thought I'd share.  If you're in the need of some casual entertainment while commuting, or have an extra 45 minutes to spare, I'd recommend it.

image/potterfinch

Cookbook Crush

If you're new to my blog, you might not know my insider tip for buying new cookbooks.  Before I ever purchase a cookbook, I always check it out at the library first.  This allows me to weed out the superb from the sub-par, and peruse each book at leisure, before I make the financial commitment to cook beyond my culinary means. 

My latest borrow from the library was What Katie Ate by Katie Quinn Davies.  She also has a blog of the same name with plenty of delectable eats.  This cookbook boasts impeccable food photographs, funky fonts, and an artsy piecemeal spread of text and graphics that has a vintage vibe.

Some recipes that stood out to me...

+ Strawberry, apple, and almond breakfast muffins

+ Caramelized onion and goat cheese tartlets with balsamic syrup

+ Pumpkin ravioli with brown-butter sauce and roasted pecans

+ Barbecued sweetcorn with chile, mint, and lime butter

+ rhubarb, mascarpone, and hazelnut tartlets

Yum!

image/amazon

Week 21

{me at 21 weeks}

Baby Size: spaghetti squash
Maternity Clothes: maternity jeans, a few maternity tops, but mostly normal shirts/tees
Food Cravings: peanut butter toast, oranges, tangerine-orange juice
Food Aversions: chicken, pho
New Symptoms: none
Movement: Kicks, pretty frequently throughout the day :)
Belly Button: In
Gender: GIRL!!!
Best Moment of the Week: my husband feeling the baby kick for the first time
What I'm Looking Forward To: Preparing the nursery
Currently Reading: Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth & Guide to Breastfeeding
Exercise: Prenatal yoga

Week 20

{me at 20 weeks}

Baby Size: length of a banana

Maternity Clothes: rocking maternity jeans and tanks

Food Cravings: Rootbeer, peanut butter toast

Food Aversions: chicken, pho

New Symptoms: occasional sore back

Movement: Movement: YES, it's the best feeling!  Feels like tapping from the inside

Belly Button: In but barely

Gender: It's a GIRL!!!

Best Moment of the Week: preparing the baby's room (a.k.a. cleaning out the office

What I'm Looking Forward To: Working on the nursery

What I Miss: eating soft cheeses and turkey sandwiches

Currently Reading: Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth

Exercise: Prenatal yoga, cardio workout class

Dinner Last Night: Egg & Biscuit Sandwiches

Do you ever crave breakfast for dinner?  Well I do from time to time, and yesterday was definitely one of those days for me.  Asking myself my normal all-encompassing dinnertime question, "What should I make for dinner?" my internal dialogue usually goes something like this "pasta?...no, salad?...eh, pizza?...maybe, takeout?...no, breakfast?...yes indeed!  Coinciding with this mental interaction, as if on cue, I scrolled across this blog post, featuring egg + biscuit breakfast sandwiches.  

Tired as I was, I mustered enough energy to peel myself off the couch, mix together a few simple ingredients for the biscuits, and poof, my husband walked in the door to complete the dinner by whipping up some cheddar-pepper eggs to complete my breakfast-for-dinner vision.  Hooray!

image/sweeticedtea