When my guy really, really likes a recipe, he gives it grunts. Sometimes one, sometimes two, and on the very rare occasion, three.

I like when my guy gives my recipes grunts. What can I say – I get a certain sort of satisfaction out of it. One grunt makes me smile. Three and I practically jump into the air. Just call me a 50s housewife, I don’t care.

Wait. I just realized you guys might be imagining actual grunts. And now I’m imagining him making actual grunts over food too. And giggling.

No no. Metaphorical grunts. They’re sort of like giving a recipe stars, but in a manly way.

This recipe didn’t quite make it to the coveted three-grunt club, but it was super, super close.

“Two grunts,” my guy said. “Maybe 2.5.”

Two and a half grunts up! No chump change, that.

While you’re mentally trying to figure out what half a grunt sounds like, I’ll go ahead and tell you a little about this recipe.

It’s really sort of a weird one, in the way that it comes together. You spread a thick batter into the pan. Then you top it with chocolate chips. Then you sprinkle a dry mix of cocoa and sugars over the top. Then you pour some hot water and instant espresso over the top.

Then you bake it, and magical things happen. A rich, gooey cake forms on the top, and a warm, melty, dark, fudgy sauce forms on the bottom.

Things really get real when you spoon it into a bowl along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The ice cream gets all melty and cuts the super-sweet richness of the cake and the sauce.

Grunt-worthy indeed. Metaphorical or out loud.

More goodies like this:

• Salted Cinnamon-Chocolate Fudge
• Glazed Greek Yogurt Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
• Glazed Vanilla Bean Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Raisinet Oatmeal Cookies
• Mint Chocolate Brownies

When life gives you lemons … and poppyseeds … and greek yogurt … make these muffins.

Not that life is really likely to give you any of those – unless the grocery store is “life” and opening up your wallet is “giving.” Nonetheless, make these muffins.

I’d talk about how delicious they are, but you already know that. Just look at ‘em. Moist, zingy Greek yogurt lemon cake packed with yummy little poppyseeds and topped with a kicky glaze. Let’s be real, they’re pretty much cupcakes for breakfast, but that’s why we love muffins, am I right?

Make some for Mom for Mother’s Day. Make some for National Teacher Appreciation Week. Make some because today is National Windmill Day, if you really need a reason. Just make them.

 

Yesterday was the perfect day.

I got out of the house early and took Eloise to a “Baby and Me” story time session at the local library. At three months, she’s too young to get too much out of it, but when she looked around in awe, smile plastered on her face, I knew I’d made the right choice. Then I strapped her into her stroller and we walked on trails and past shops and after she settled into a nap, I sat outside Starbucks in the sun with a perfect iced green tea and a smile while the babe snoozed. Then my guy met us for lunch at the local Greek place and I had the most amazing vegan gyro with the best whole wheat pita I’ve ever eaten, with hummus and avocado and magic inside.

Lest I paint too idyllic a picture, I must make sure to inject a bit of reality. There was spit-up and poopy diapers and fussing and me fumbling while I nursed her in the backseat of my car and then more fumbling later on as I surreptitiously whipped out the boob at the restaurant. I’m still wearing the robo-leg aircast for my broken ankle (caked in mud from my latest dog park trip) and my hair, which grows in pretty much all gray these days, hasn’t been done since December, so it’s pretty much a stringy dishwater-blonde mess with a hefty Cruella De Vil stripe.

Thank goodness for Hooter Hiders, by the way. Is that not the best product (and product name) ever?

It was still the best day, though. So far, motherhood has been a rollercoaster, but yesterday I was on the top of the world.

After the terrific morning and even better lunch, I went home, and I did not make these cookies.

I did not make them because I actually made them about a week ago. Because I’m busy out experiencing the aforementioned crazy rollercoaster, I’m a little behind.

Totally worth it.

So, these cookies.

These delicious morsels are a celebration of all that is vanilla. The sweet vanilla-bean-specked glaze coats a buttery soft cookie made super-special with the addition of vanilla sugar (very easy to make). Plus, of course, I’ve included vanilla extract for a double dose of the heady stuff. These cookies are melt-in-your-mouth goodness, I’m telling ya.

This recipe was inspired by – and adapted from – this Glazed Lemon Cookie recipe from “The Cookie Queen” Maria of the fabulous blog Two Peas and Their Pod. Thanks for the inspiration, Maria!

I would think these would be perfect with afternoon tea, preferably pinky up. But I kept finding myself stuffing ‘em in my mouth for a quick breakfast while burping my little one.

Again – totally worth it. :)

Here’s the recipe!

 

More goodies like this:

• Shamrock Shake Shortbread Cookies
• Lemon Sandwich Cookies
• Dolly Parton’s Sugar Cookie Recipe
• How To Make Vanilla Sugar
• Hot Cross Bun Muffins

Vanilla is such a magical ingredient. “Plain vanilla” – ha. It’s far from plain, though I really have no idea how to describe it. Intoxicating. Warm. Familiar. Yummy. But I guess I don’t really need to describe it. It’s vanilla. You know.

Surely we’re all familiar with cooking with vanilla extract. Delicious in and of itself. Vanilla beans are a fairly new addition to my kitchen, though certainly one of my very favorite ingredients. They take vanilla to the next level. When you see a cookie or cupcake or scone or scoop of ice cream dotted with those tiny little telltale black specks, you know you’re in for a treat.

Vanilla sugar is simple enough. It’s plain old white granulated sugar infused with vanilla from the beans. Add it to hot cocoa, tea, cakes, cookies, your morning cup of coffee, and anything else you want for a bonus hit of vanilla. You can top your morning oatmeal with it. You can sprinkle it over sliced strawberries. Or you can just open up your jar of vanilla sugar now and then and inhale deeply. It will make everything seem right with the world.

You can also make these scrumptious little morsels with it:

I’ll be sharing the recipe for these bad boys later this week.

Oh, and if you’re not sold yet, consider the holidays. I love, love, love the idea of buying special little glass jars, printing some fun labels, and giving containers of vanilla sugar as neat Christmas presents. So if you’re someone who’s usually on my list, please pretend you didn’t just read that.

So what do you think? Are you ready to make some vanilla sugar? Let’s do this thing.

 

 

As a kid, candied fruit was my nemesis. Well, I suppose my true nemesis my brother, who I eventually learned to love dearly. Unlike candied fruit. Candied fruit still sucks.

You know what I mean. That brightly-colored, glistening, candy-like stuff in a tub, available at every supermarket. Looks like a treat from the gods – especially to a child – tastes like it came straight from somewhere quite different. Fruit cake has it (blech). Sometimes you find it lurking in cannoli (ugh). And then there are hot cross buns. Super fancy-schmancy looking rolls, served at Easter time (specifically on Good Friday). They’re golden, shiny, and they’ve got frosting on top.

I was fooled by many a hot cross bun as a child, biting in only to discover that dastardly candied fruit lurking within. Nooo!

I’ve since discovered that a variety of dried fruits and well-made candied peels make a world of difference in such recipes. As in, you know, they actually taste good. So this year I set out to make some hot cross buns with a variety of dried fruits and peels that don’t actually taste like evil. But with a three month old running my life, time is very short and rather unpredictable. Muffins were the answer.

I  may just stick with these.

I started with King Arthur Flour’s Basic Muffins recipe, then added orange zest, a variety of orange-juice-soaked dried fruits and some warm, welcoming spices. Then I piped the telltale cross on the top and, bingo. Unlike the gross-bombs of my childhood, you can actually look at these, say “those look good,” bite into one, and say “oooh. It is.”

 

So here’s an idea. It’s so simple, easy, and really kind of obvious that I’m sure I’m not the first to think of it. But I’ll just keep deluding myself for awhile that I’m the first brilliant blogger to dream up the idea.

Pick up a 4-ounce, kid-sized yogurt like Yo-Baby from Stonyfield Organic or L’il Yami. Make sure it’s a delicious flavor – I’m partial to peach and strawberry.

Now grab a chopstick. Stab the chopstick through the foil lid, right into the yogurt, all the way to the bottom.

Now freeze for a couple of hours until solid. Remove it from the freezer, run a little water over the container, and gently pull the container off.

By Georgina, you’ve done it! Frozen Yogurt Pops!

These are the perfect healthy, warm-weather treat for kids. They taste like they should be a naughty dessert, but, of course, they’re really good for you. I say they’re ideal for the little ones, but they’re pretty great for adults, too. I mean, my child is all of three months of age, a little young to partake of after-school snacks. So I ate hers for her. I’m selfless like that.

Here’s the “recipe,” and a photo to Pin if you want to bookmark this for later – just click the Pin It button at the top of the post and select the image. (Are we following one another, by the way? Follow me and be sure to let me know so I can follow you!)

 

 

Sometimes a vacation is really, really in order. Like a wonderful trip to Hawaii, for instance {pause for day-dreamy sigh}.

Unfortunately, the times when a vacation is very very much needed often coincide directly with the times in which it’s utterly impossible. This, I think, would be one of those times. So I’ll close my eyes and dream of swaying palm trees, sunlight on my face and sugar-sand beaches. Then I’ll open my eyes and see my robo-leg broken ankle cast, spots of spit-up all over my front, and pelting rain nailing the dog-paw-printed sliding glass door. And I’ll make some Coconut Banana Bread, cuddle my precious three-month-old, hug my guy, and realize that really, I’m just fine with waiting another few years for our next trip to paradise.

Banana Bread is one of the comfort foods of the baking world. Who doesn’t have memories of Mom serving up a big yummy slab after school? Pretty much everyone loves it, I think. As long as it doesn’t have nuts. Nuts in banana bread are bad. I’ve decreed it so.

But coconut. Coconut is good. This banana bread recipe is a perfectly moist and delicious version, with the added bonus of super-sweet coconut both in the batter and sprinkled over the top.

A tropical twist to help convince me that I like it as much as I like vacation.

Here’s the recipe!

 

More goodies like this:

• Green Smoothies with Spinach and Blueberries
• Cowboy Cookies
• Chocolate Banana Marble Muffins
• Hawaii & Haupia (Coconut Pudding)
• Dark Chocolate Macaroons