chik n' pastry

All Dressed Up

chiknpastry — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:55 +0000

I don’t always like to dress up. I barely ever wore skirts or dresses, but I’m getting a little better about that. As long as they still hide my “Hall knees”. I don’t like to wear a lot of jewelry. I haven’t bought an accessory in years, and for some reason I just keep wearing the same necklaces I’ve always worn. I have a box of rings, but am pretty content with the wedding rings going solo. It’s just how I roll. But sometimes, I like to be a really girly girl. Sometimes I like the frills, the lace, the bows and all that jazz. Sometimes I wear heels when I’m not at work. Sometimes jeans aren’t the look I’m going for, and sometimes my favorite Toms are just plain frumpy. Sometimes, but not all the time, that’s for sure. Sometimes dessert needs dressing up, too. Cake needs to be more than cake and icing every so often. And today, rather than a pop of color in an outfit, I thought I’d share a cake with a dressed-up, unexpected flavor – Earl Grey tea. I’ve managed to stay off of the coffee addiction I conquered so long ago, but I [...]

A San Francisco Treat

chiknpastry — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:00:42 +0000

A long long time ago, like practically right around the time I started writing this little blog, I posted a recipe about meatballs and a story about music, and how those things tie Chris and I together pretty succinctly. Coincidentally enough, I wrote that post right before we were about to head to California to do a little wine tasting, which is pretty much where we meet in the middle. He usually picks the music, I pick the food, and we both pick the wine. Love it like that. But a weekend or so ago, all we had to do was worry about the wine, which was easy because, well, we have a lot of it. It’s one of those ideas that felt like it should have been something we thought of on our own, but we just aren’t the entrepreneurial type, as it turns out. We are certainly glad someone did. A San Francisco-based couple has a blog they call “Turntable Kitchen” where they pair food with music, and eventually they decided to take it another step and sell a monthly subscription to a dinner with music pairings. They send a record with a couple of songs, a link [...]

Party in your Mouth

chiknpastry — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:00:30 +0000

What was your all-time favorite snack when you were a kid? Did you eat a ton of Chips Ahoy cookies? Oreos? (and let me clarify – it’s totally a-ok to still consider these your favorites.) Twizzlers? How about some Combos? Oh, those were the days – I chose the ones in the green bordered bag. And man, I used to swoon over Bugles, so much so that I ate AN ENTIRE BOX of them in one sitting, which subsequently led to hours of stomach pain. Haven’t really dug them since… After the Bugles craze, I moved on to Chex Mix. I could have probably eaten the entire blue and white bag of crunchiness all at once, too, but I learned from my mistakes. I just ate most of it. The little bagel chips were my favorite. And don’t tell anyone, but I always left the rye chips in the bag…so if you were always wondering why your Chex Mix had an obscene amount of rye chips, well, now you know. That said, I have never actually made Chex Mix, unless you count Puppy Chow as a version of it, but I’m guessing that’s a no. I’ve had a box each of rice [...]