....is Buttermilk Crumpets, for Breakfast

This morning at the Breakfast Hub, Buttermilk Crumpets! Stop what you're doing, bake these crumpets, enjoy with a nice cup of tea and get ready to welcome Fall.

Happy Baking!

....the Wookie

Maybe you were expecting a star wars character....?

Last Friday on the way home from our LAdventure, CPB & I stopped at the Iron Press for a late dinner. We split their Burger with Stout BBQ Sauce topped with Bacon, an Onion Ring  & Potato Chips. AND a side of their Waffle Fries with Garlic Aioli dipping sauce. The two put together (plus a wonderful beer from local brewery!) was more than enough to fill us both. Their burgers look small, a quarter of a Belgian waffle makes up the top and bottom bun, but they are rich and filling. As we were leaving the waitress asked if we wanted any desserts. Her recommendation, the Wookie, is cookie dough pressed in a waffle iron topped with a scoop of ice cream. We were completely full and didn't order this wonderful sweet treat. Having just borrowed a waffle iron from MMcK, it got me thinking.... 

....is 'What's in the Fridge?', Pizza

On nights when I'm avoiding the grocery store I play a game called 'what's in the fridge?' 

I search through opened jars and ziplock baggies with only partial ingredients (which is why this pizza may look similar to last week's salad....). For this round I found a nub of Salami, a bit red Bell Pepper, part of a Shallot, 5 Olives (less, after I ate a few while chopping), a Tomato & Garlic. These combine with Mozzarella, fresh Pizza Dough & a little red gravy made for a delicious Pizza with enough left over for lunch the next day!

....is LAdventure: the MOCA, Morphosis & Ghery

Last Friday was my last Furlough Day! 

To celebrate our Final Furlough Friday I went on an art & architecture adventure to Los Angeles with CPB (& my brand new DSLR*!). It was a wonderful day packed with clay, architectural models, drawings, sketches, Morphosis & CalTrans, Disney & Ghery and the ever present LA traffic.

*Side Note: Did you know my blog photo's were all taken with an iPhone? They are, I have a little handheld camera but I think they come out ok on my phone and from my phone they can be easily posted anywhere I want them. The pictures definitely come out better when I take them in daylight, the images taken under the terrible yellow light of my kitchen don't look nearly as nice. This usually requires me running between my kitchen and dining room table (because it's by the window), it's an amusing production. My phone gets shoved in my pocket, covered in flour and sometimes passed off to CPB with specific directions on how to take the perfect picture (I'm a high maintenance photographer, he does a lovely job).  Also, the apps on my phone make it incredibly easy to write on the pictures. I'll continue to take most of my pictures that way for the convenience, but here's my debut with a high tech toy....

....is a Stout Brownie with Chocolate Stout Glaze

This Brownie is an another attempt at baking with beer. Ales and stouts can add flavor to savory foods and desserts and the carbonation can act as a leavening agent in breads and cake, creating a lighter batter and therefore an airier baked result. I wanted to improve on the Oated Stout Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting to make an even stoutier treat (and it allows me to use made up words like stoutier). 

MMcK came over for the final installment of the Furlough Bakery, though this won't be the last sweet treat collaboration we'll have to come up with a new name. We used a loosely translated version of Gwenyth Paltrow's Fudgy Choclate Brownies & a glaze intended for a Better Happier St. Sebastian Maple Doughnut

(I would really like to make these someday when I can borrow a friend's doughnut pan, after she moves home from Texas....)

....is Spinach & Arugula Salad

Somedays I need more greens in my life. (Especially after you see tomorrows treat!) I found a salad with a few unusual ingredients. I added the Salami and it reminded me of a lighter version of a Muffuletta. I suppose Pears aren't used on this sandwich but they added a crunch sweetness to compliment the saltiness in the Salami & Olives.

....is Veggie Rice Noodle & Fried Egg

There's an amazing asian market near my house, with wonderful (and incredibly cheap) produce. Last time I was there the Grapefruits were sweet, tangy and 10 for $1.00! The purple sweet potato was my most recent and unusual find. It's a beautiful deep purple on the outside with a surprising cream colored inside, it's texture and flavor is similar to yams or yellow sweet potatoes. With the skin on I think it would be a lovely in a homefry medley baked with Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper & Red Chili flakes (to add a little heat). My homefry idea will have to wait for another day because I wanted to use some rice noodles I discovered in the market. Here's the concoction I came up with!