Muffins

Banana raspberry swirl muffins (recipe from Seven Spoons)

Bread!

Brioche (recipe from Professional Baking textbook)

and Sweet Bread (thank you, Bert!)

Attempt #2

Edit: Yay, this second batch came turned out pretty well :D I made a lot so please come and feast on chocolate covered things

So yesterday's chocolate dipped strawberries came out okay... it tasted quite delicious (because it is chocolate and strawberries after all) but from a tempering standpoint, I didn't get the temperatures quite right, which resulted in a bit of blooming.

I went down to the Strip District to get some more strawberries today, and will be having some more dipping fun with those, as well as with almonds, pretzels, apricots, and whatever else I can scavenge in the kitchen.

I will also be trying my hand at brioche today =)

Strawberries...

...dipped in dark chocolate

I'll be dipping strawberries this evening. Come over and we can have a dipping party! Feel free to bring something to dip :D

Beef & Snow Peas

Beef and snow pea stir fry (recipe from SuperCook)

Spunow

I know this post is not about something that you can come over and eat right now, but this story is just made my afternoon.

Popeye's favorite...

Spanakopita! (recipe from Epicurious)

Goodbye, Dear Tastespotting

During my lunch break today, I discovered, to my utter dismay, that Tastespotting is out of operation. I will miss this site incredibly; it was my portal to the food blogging world, my go-to whenever I needed a recipe whether it be a quick dinner or a fancy dessert. I could always trust it for quality recipes and ideas. What will I use now?? While Food Gawker is not quite the same as Tastespotting, I admire the food blog community for coming together and keeping the spirit alive with almost 200 posts in one weekend! 

Well, after weeding through some terrible recipe sites on my own (with no photos, or worse...) I decided to give this banana yogurt bread recipe a try. I substituted half of the chocolate chips with dried cranberries -- one can never go wrong with dried cranberries.

Muffins!

Mango raspberry muffins (recipe from Get Baked)

and Apple chocolate chunk muffins (recipe from The Crepes of Wrath)

Thai Fried Rice

Thai Fried Rice (recipe from Real Thai Recipes)

Heads up: muffins later this week

Noodles and Rice

Sesame noodles with bok choy, red peppers, mushrooms, and snow peas (adapted from Adventures in Shaw)

Cucumber salad (recipe from Veggie Paradise)

[Sorry, no pics of this]

Black rice pudding with coconut milk (recipe from RecipeZaar)

I actually cooked all this yesterday evening for dinner with Eamae - who was visiting for the weekend - Caryn, and Krosendale. It was a lovely dinner with lovely people.

There's still some sesame noodles and plenty of black rice pudding (I made a huge batch) waiting to be eaten! They're both really good chilled, so it's perfect for a hot, lazy Sunday.

Strawberries in Squares

Strawberry oatmeal squares (recipe from Kathleen)

Why am I using the oven when it's 90 degrees outside (and almost 90 indoors)...

Edit: ahhhhh, the silicone pan twisted around itself when I was taking it out of the oven. Now it's more like strawberry oatmeal pile instead of squares. Oh well, it's still quite tasty!

Behold! A specimen of strawberry oatmeal pile.

Thyme for Tilapia!

Lemon Thyme Tilapia (recipe from 28 Cooks)

My good neighbors Sandy and Judy gave to me my very own pot of thyme, so I have fresh herbs to use for this recipe! Having fresh thyme definitely makes up for the little bit of freezer burn on the filets =)

Thai Chicken Sautee

Thai chicken sautee (recipe from Elle's New England Kitchen)

no cilantro or limes... will try lemons?

Dinnertime

Garlic beef with broccoli [and shittake mushrooms] -- served with white rice

(damn, can't find the shittake mushrooms)

edit: I found the mushrooms hiding behind the tortilla chips!

Ricotta This, Ricotta That

1. Lemon ricotta pancakes with sauteed apples (recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

Photo by Beverly

2. Strawberry ricotta muffins (recipe from Taste.Au.Com)