cheddar bay biscuits and the day i ate 4 biscuits and really wanted to eat 3 more

i want you to know, dear friends, that what i said in the title of this post is true- i inhaled 4 of these and may have just kept on going until there was nothing left but crumbs, but my good sense came back and told me that was a bad idea. i had already posted photos on facebook and my husband would have found out the truth.

yes, that is all that stopped me.

zucchini-carrot bread

i am going to go ahead and say this--i think this is the best zucchini bread i have ever made. 

and now i am going to say that i feel more than a little guilty saying that since i love (LOVE) my mama's zucchini bread. and i still do (i promise, mama), but this bread made me feel all virtuous since i had managed to add in not only zucchini but also carrots, i used white wheat flour (via trader joes) and i cut the sugar back by 1/2 cup. the resulting loaf was a slightly sweet, dense (in a good way) bread that was seductively spiced throughout with all-spice and cinnamon and still manage to have a tender crumb.

(this is where you hear angels sing, if you believe in that sort of stuff).

sharp cheddar & parmesan bread

a few weeks ago i came across a recipe from shutterbean for a simple cheesy bread loaf that was just calling my name. imagine how pleased i was to discover that i had all the makings for it!

avocado toast, a little slice of happy

this.

oh, this little slice of happy in my mouth. its amazing to me how something so basic, so simple, so quick, can be so satisfying and tasty with minimal effort.

orange + olive oil cake with a buttermilk-orange zest glaze

i've had this cake tucked into the back of my mind for a long time, and i'm so glad that i finally pulled the trigger and made it happen.

buttermilk biscuits in your face

see that image above? that was a lovely way to start my morning- a cup of steaming hot french press coffee, my current favorite reading material, and a flaky, cheesy buttermilk biscuit with some local + organic scrambled eggs.

i'm pretty sure you need to get on this recipe and get some buttermilk biscuit action, all up in your face!

buttermilk + honey pancakes

what is a girl to do when she wakes up at 4:30 a.m., stares at the ceiling for an hour and then finally, very grudgingly, gives in and gets out of bed?

why, she makes buttermilk pancakes, of course!

bourbon + peanut butter banana bread

i'm pretty sure this is one of the most balanced breakfasts that i have consumed in a long time...fruit? check. booze? check. coffee? check.

paleo zucchini muffins

i had a mean hankerin' for some zucchini bread the other night and decided to give a recipe for paleo muffins a whirl.

oh mon dieu! pain perdu

oooh lala, i was feeling fancy this morning and felt like making some pain perdu.

oui, tres bon!

never mind that it is the exact same thing as french toast, i just like saying pain perdu.

tin roof bakery

please tell me you have visited tin roof bakery.

what?!? you haven't? oh, you must.

(that chico chai macaroon is ridiculously good, as is their lavender macaroon.)

hello, lovely

let me start off by apologizing to your favorite skinny jeans.

this pumpkin bread is pretty decadent- what with it's 4 eggs, 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of oil, butter and two (2!) different types of chocolate.

maybe give your skinny jeans a break, just for a couple days, and slip into those comfy yoga pants.

the spotty banana that could

i was having a day.

i had slept like crap, it was my final day of work with my daycare and my joy at closing the daycare and the stress of thinking, what now?, were all tangled up together.

i needed carbs, booze and something sweet. stat.

 

dinner for one.

my other half was at a work dinner at sierra nevada tonight (lucky) and so i found myself faced with the glorious task of making dinner for one. now don't get me wrong, i love eating dinner with mr. brown sugar, and we love to sit down for dinner with a bottle of fancy, expensive wine and gaze lovingly at each other over softly glowing candles and our coq au vin (ala julia child, of course).

but, i also enjoy a night of dinner just for me.

sometimes, that may consist of thick spaghetti noodles cooked al dente and coated with butter and parm. sometimes, a bowl of ramen with an egg dropped in the last 4 minutes and a healthy drizzle of sriracha. rooster sauce, baby! tonight, it meant cheesy garlic bread with pecorino romano, sharp cheddar, butter, mayonaise...

wait! 

did i just lose you at mayonaise?? no, no, no. i haven't gone loco and started putting disgusting and weird things in my garlic bread. just hear me out...

baked cinnamon sugar doughnuts

late last night, as mr. brown sugar and i were settled on our respective couches, beers in hand and watching a movie, i jumped up and yelled "@$%#!"

it was 10:30 in the p.m. and i had totally forgotten to make the doughnut dough so it could sit in the fridge overnight, so that we could pull them out of the fridge in the morning, toss them in the oven and have a steaming hot cup of french press coffee and a still warm doughnut for breakfast.

awww shucks!

so, i did what any normal, determined, doughnut-craving baker would do- i went ahead and started a 2 hour baking process at 10:30 p.m.

bloom yeast. mix. knead. rise for an hour. knead. shape. rise for 45 minutes.

oh yes, i did.

spiced indian chickpeas, naan and lemony garlic + mint yogurt sauce

these chickpeas were out of this world tasty. they are spiced up with lots of tantalizing and delicious spices like garam masala, cinnamon and cayenne and are feisty, flavorful and tangy if you add a squeeze of lemon at the end like i did. i also added some chopped up fresh cilantro at the end of cooking the chickpeas and that brought a nice, bright freshness to the dish.

hook.line.sinker.

german chocolate cake with toasted coconut + pecans

 

gruyere and rosemary au gratin potatoes