Recently, I was digging through old posts when it occurred to me that I used to do a lot more baking. I can’t put my finger on why I stopped baking so much. Maybe it’s because the kids got a little older. Maybe it’s because I need to devote more time to work. Maybe it’s because I thought the baked goods were hurting my waistline. Really, it could be any of these things. But realizing that I am baking less was a little sad for me. I love having homemade treats for the kids when they get home from school.

So yesterday, with a mere 40 minutes before school pick up time, I tossed together these easy, fast cookie bars. They came out of the oven just in time for me to run to school — good timing, right? Read the rest of this entry…

This dish is uncomplicated. It’s simple — just a few basic ingredients prepared without fuss. It’s a dish that proves that good food doesn’t require a lot of steps, ingredients or time.

Really, it doesn’t. Food can be amazing just by preparing it in a different way than you are used to. Tired of boiled? Try steamed. Tired of raw? Try sauteed. Or roast! Roasting is a perfect way to switch up your vegetable routine without getting fussy. Read the rest of this entry…

Coffee cake is one of those things. It’s comforting and familiar and perfect for breakfast. This one, made from a recipe from the 1930s, has a dense crumb and an irresistible buttery cinnamon sugar topping.

No, it’s not that impossibly fluffy and almost-dessert-sweet coffee cake from the grocery store. But it doesn’t want to be. It’s a totally different coffee cake — one that stands up to the fork without squishing into oblivion and that can be eaten by hand without crumbling all over. And it’s really great with a hot, steaming cup of coffee.

It is coffee cake after all.

Making this, I wasn’t sure if the vintage sensibilities would make it a winner for us. But it was. Hugely.

I whipped it up for a brunch with friends last weekend where the cake quickly vanished. Seriously, not a trace was left behind. Good sign, right? And it was so good that I baked another just for our family.

Back to the brunch for a second. Though I adore brunch, I don’t have people over (or go out) for it nearly enough. So I was thrilled to have a little one at my house. The brunch menu was simple — bagels and lox with all the fixings, scrambled eggs, berry and pineapple fruit salad and this coffee cake. In the course of conversation, I shared that this was a vintage recipe — something dug out of my great collection of early 20th century cookery books, pamphlets and recipe cards.

This recipe comes from the third edition of All About Home Baking, published in 1936 (the original was published in 1933) by the General Foods Corporation, a now-defunct company whose products (Calumut baking powder, Post cereals, Maxwell House Coffee and General Foods International Coffees, to name a few) live on. I bought this hardcover book off eBay a while back. Read the rest of this entry…

When Shawn and I used to eat out (a frequent occurrence in our pre-children days when money was plentiful and bills were not), I would order Buffalo Chicken Salad whenever it was on the menu. I loved the crunch of the fried chicken, the spice of the buffalo wing sauce and the creamy coolness of the blue cheese. When you put a variety of flavors and textures like that together, it’s almost certain to please my senses.

Actually, if we are going to be super honest, just the mere act of putting buffalo wing sauce on salad at all makes me super happy. Something about the spicy tang flavor wrapped around the cool, crisp lettuce just does it for me. When I was fresh out of college, I would sometimes pack buffalo wing sauce as dressing for my lunch salads at work.

What?

Read the rest of this entry…

Last year, Will repeatedly came home from school requesting “eggies” for lunch. Aside from being clearly somehow related to eggs, I had no idea what he was talking about. I tried to have him describe the eggs he wanted, but I was just baffled. Finally, I emailed the mother of the girl who was bringing the “eggies” and asked what they were. Hard-boiled eggs. Who knew?

These days there are a lot of eggies in our house. We eat them a lot — on salad, chopped in sandwiches and all sorts of things. In fact, the kids had them for breakfast today with clementines and toast. Based on their clean plates and excited woots, I think they liked them a lot. But these eggies on an open-face sandwich? They are all for me … just don’t tell the kids. Oh, but we don’t call them eggies. That just seems silly. Read the rest of this entry…

Do you ever peek in other people’s baskets at the grocery store? It’s probably a little voyeuristic, but I totally do. I just find it fascinating what people buy. I notice the folks who buy a ton of frozen meals and the ones who stock up on meats. I notice the ones with tons of snacks, and the ones with just fresh foods. And then there are those who buy like two bananas, a gallon of milk and chips — and then I wonder if that’s dinner.

If you were to check out my grocery cart, you’d think I love yogurt. Like totally adore it. On any given week, I buy at least three varieties of yogurt — Greek fruit on the bottom yogurts for my husband, those little yogurts with cookie crumbles to stir in for Will and yogurt drinks for both Will and Paige. Sometimes there is even more yogurt since Paige adores yogurt too. Sometimes I eat some of the ones with the mix-ins too, but more often I leave the yogurts to everyone else.

But with the new year here, I’ve decided to give Greek yogurt another try. In the past, it just didn’t appeal to me with its thicker texture and tang. But things change. We grow, adapt, live and learn … and guess what? When I decided to use Greek yogurt in the parfait I have been thinking about for days … I really liked it. The whole dish is just delightful … like a chocolate covered strawberry and strawberries and cream all wrapped up into a single guilt free package.

And hey, if I can add a little healthy decadence to breakfast, it’s totally worth it. Read the rest of this entry…

Today was the last day of Christmas break for the kids … the last day for them to play with all their new toys unfettered. Their last day to ride bikes and build Lego houses with each other all day. Their last day to watch cartoons over lunch. So, I thought something warm, toasty and buttery was in order — it’s been a great break from school and heading back to our regimented schedule is kind of sad.

Hello, grilled cheese.

When I was a little girl, grilled cheese was one of my very favorite lunches. My grandmother would butter slices of perfectly square white bread and sandwich a slice or two of orange American cheese in the center, frying them to buttery, gooey cheesy goodness. I loved the texture variations of the sandwich — the smooth, warm cheese and the crisp toasted bread. I’d eat as much of the cheese as I could from the center before eating the bread.

I still love a good grilled cheese. But it’s definitely not the most lean of lunches — it can be though if you make a few small changes. Read the rest of this entry…

With the risk of sounding like a broken record, this holiday season arrived so fast and has scurried along with unbelievable speed. I keep talking about it because it’s so true — the sprint from Thanksgiving to Christmas happened so incredibly fast. And I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. Other moms and I have chatted about this while volunteering at school, waiting in the grocery store checkout line and more.

I’m really not sure I am ready for it to be Christmas yet. Last night we finally decorated our Christmas tree, bought earlier this week. Today I will finally start wrapping presents, which I am excited to do. While I’m not really ready, Christmas is practically here. Good thing I devoted some time to baking treats last weekend — we were able to gift some to friends, family, teachers and other important folks.

I really like giving a homemade component with gifts and am glad that I could even with our hectic and frantic schedule this year. Homemade gifts are something from the heart – something we’ve personally made with love and care. I hope others receive it as such.

While some treats take patience and time to make, not all do. And that’s a good thing. This treat — Peppermint Bark Popcorn — falls into that ridiculously easy category that I love. In just a few really easy and simple steps, you transform plain popped popcorn into a surprising and a little unusual sweet treat. It takes about 10 minutes active time, including popping the corn. That’s it. With hardening time, it’s about an hour or so (especially if your house is chilly like mine). Read the rest of this entry…

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Paige had preschool homework this week: decorate a paper ornament for school and (with my help) write about a favorite holiday tradition in class. (Yes, she’s barely 4 … don’t get me started.) When I asked her what tradition she wanted to put on her index card, I already had in the back of my mind that I would suggest baking if she wasn’t sure. But I didn’t need to suggest anything. Paige immediately answered “Baking and decorating cookies.”

I was excited. No, make that elated. Read the rest of this entry…

Sometimes, cooking with kids is all about teaching them measuring, mixing and knife skills. We do this a lot. The kids and I talk about the different measurements we use and measure things out together. They are often the ones to whisk-shift dry ingredients for me or to stir together whatever needs stirring. But cooking with kids isn’t just about learning. It’s about having fun in the kitchen too. So other times cooking with kids is about letting go. I don’t do that nearly enough.

But I try. Last Friday, I’d been thinking of ordering a pizza all afternoon, but with the holiday season here and our budget already strained I just couldn’t justify spending the money. So, I did the next best thing: making homemade English muffin pizzas with the kids. Actually, Will and Paige did most of the doing and I just handled the oven, the hot tray and laying out the toppings.

See how happy they are? And they hadn’t even started doing anything yet. They love being in the kitchen and having a hand in whatever we’re eating. But they love it even more when they are super-hands-on for a meal, as with these English muffin pizzas.

With a simple, flexible ingredients list and a super-fast cooking time, these pizzas are perfect for an any-night treat. Of course, being easy doesn’t hurt either. Read the rest of this entry…