Model Bakery English Muffins - Baked Not Fried

I’ve been in a reflective sort of mood the last few days after a visit from someone I haven’t seen in some time.  Seeing this person stirred up a storm of emotion, good, bad, and everything in between.  I’ve been trying to move past some uncomfortable feelings about a situation in which I no longer have any control.  I’ve been desperately clinging to past hopes and dreams, while the universe is now the one leading the charge.   It’s unfair and unkind and many ways, but it just is and I have to find a way to be okay with it.

I wasn’t too excited about my first experience making English muffins; actually they weren’t at all what I hoped for.  With a little perseverance and quite a few more tries I did finally land on a version that makes me smile from the inside out.  I’ve been making a ritual out of baking these every few weeks now for the last few months, and one I don’t plan on changing any time soon.  The original recipe calls for frying the muffins in Ghee and after several experiments and lots of smoke alarms going off in my kitchen, I can now say baking them as I’ve instructed is my preferred method.  

Model Bakery’s English Muffins

Biga

1/4-cup water

1/2-cup (75 g) bread flour

3/4-teaspoon instant yeast

Dough

1 1/3 cups water

3/4-teaspoon instant yeast

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3 1/2 cups (510 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (35 g) yellow cornmeal, preferably stone ground

6 tablespoons melted clarified Butter (ghee)

1.  Make biga:  1 day before.  Combine water, flour and yeast in a small bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.  I often forget to make the biga the night before, so if you desire to make the muffins same day, leave the prepared biga on the counter in a warm spot for 2-3 hours and proceed with the recipe as follows.

2.  Make dough:  combine biga, water, yeast, olive oil, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Affix the bowl to stand and add dough hook attachment and mix on low speed until combined.  Or mix by hand.

3.  Mix in flour to make soft dough that barely cleans the mixer.  Knead on medium-low speed about 8 minutes. 

4.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit 2 hours. 

5.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, brush with a little clarified butter and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal. 

6.  Using a silicone spatula scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface.  Roll dough out with a rolling pin into a circle about 3/4-inch thick.  Cut the dough with a 4-inch round cutter and place 6 muffins per baking sheet.  Reroll scraps and cut as many as you can get.  Sprinkle cornmeal on the top of the rounds.  Loosely cover the pans with wrap.  Let stand until the rounds have increased by half, about 1 hour. 

7.  Preheat oven to 410 degrees F.  Drizzle the top of the muffins with a little of the clarified butter.  Place one sheet at a time on center rack and cook for 8 minutes, carefully flip the muffins, and drizzle with a little more clarified butter.  Cook 8 minutes longer.  Cook second tray the same way and let cool completely on cooling rack.
8.  To serve, slice muffins in half and lightly toast.  A good way to store the muffins is individually wrapped in plastic wrap and if you have more than you think you will eat in 2 days put the remainder in the freezer.

Makes 10-12 muffins depending on how thick you make them.  

As for me I'm enjoying this spring, its fickle nature, and some smiling faces I adore.  I'm also reminding myself, it's an evolution; not a revolution.

Enjoy,

Gina

Oatmeal, Apricot, Ginger, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Some days I think I’ve seen and imagined it all.  Who didn't revel when computer screens came out in color instead of just green? I for one shouted hip-hip-hooray when I got my very own working cellphone and no longer had to find a payphone after getting a page. My cassette playing Walkman went straight into the donation pile when CD’s hit my life.  But I just can't wrap my imagination around this newest trend I came across on the Internet today.  Before you start thinking I’ve gone and lost it (which is partly true) I didn’t start this trend I’m a mere passenger on this less than stable train. 

Earlier I was just minding my own beeswax ogling some cheesecake squares, a little dribble forming in the corner of my mouth, until I read the first sentence of the post and bam she just dropped it out there: her troubles with her menstrual cup.  It takes quite a bit for food to not occupy my every thought, you know like planning a picnic at a mortuary, speaking of mortuaries did I ever mention the time Hot Dog Dude worked in one.  

Maybe if we just switch topics and focus on cookies instead the world will be a better place.  As a matter of fact while you enjoy this cookie recipe I’m going to go toss all my cups in the dishwasher because they all feel tainted now.    

Oatmeal, Apricot, Ginger, Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened

1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup dried apricots, chopped into small pieces

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

8 ounces white chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the butter to a bowl of a mixer and mix on low speed until light and fluffy.

Add the brown sugar and white sugar to the bowl of the mixer and mix on low speed until combined.

To the bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, eggs, and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined.

Add the oats, apricots, and chocolate chips and mix on low speed until combined.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats and scoop large rounded tablespoon sized amounts of dough a few inches apart on the paper. Repeat. Should get about 4 dozen cookies depending on the size cookies you scoop.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookies are set and starting to brown a bit on the edges.

Let cool. When the cookies are completely cooled melt the white chocolate in a double boiler, place in a piping bag and drizzle over the tops.

Gina

Lemon-Blueberry-Flan Bundt Cake

Ever had one of those "I've lost it and my mind has left my body" moments?  Okay, well maybe I'm the only one, but Saturday I lost it.  After dealing with what can only be described as way too much stupid the last few months I walked downstairs half-asleep, hadn't even turned on the lights yet and stepped in dog pee(I should also mention this has been a recurring theme as of late).  I'm not quite sure whom I yelled at more Hot Dog Dude or the one who I knew was really responsible - Rusty.  Yes I'm naming names; despite having two children Ted has always been my favorite (there I said it).  For years I always had my suspicions about Rusty, he just has the yeah I did it and what the hell are you going to do about it look about him.  I can't even tell you how many times I've come home from being out to find bathroom trash strewn from the upstairs to the downstairs.

I went to yoga this morning and said, "Namaste" and everything which I think means bye-bye to all the drama you dealt with before you got here, but I'm still feeling a little on edge, so let's go to a happy place and talk about this light, luscious, lemon-blueberry-flan cake.  I have it on good authority that you can serve this cake to someone and it pretty much negates anything that happened previously.  Yep, slate wiped clean.

Lemon-Blueberry Masterpiece (as aptly named by my lovely niece)

Lemon Flan:
3 cups - 2% milk (whole would work fine too)
1 cup - granulated sugar
1 tablespoon - lemon zest
4 tablespoons - lemon juice
8 egg yolks, beaten (reserve 4 of the whites for the cake batter)

Lemon-Blueberry Cake:
1/2 cup - vegetable oil
1/2 cup - unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups - all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon - baking powder
1/2 teaspoon - baking soda
1 teaspoon - salt
1 tablespoon - lemon zest
1/4 cup - lemon juice
1 1/2 cups - granulated sugar
1 cup - low-fat buttermilk
4 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
6 ounces - fresh blueberries

1.  Rub a 12-cup capacity bundt pan with softened butter and spray with non-stick spray for good measure.
2.  Move the oven rack to the lower 2/3-rds and preheat to 350 degrees F.
3.  Put on a couple cups of water on in a tea kettle to boil.
4.  Whip the 4 egg whites in the bowl of a mixer or by hand until soft peaks form.  Set aside.
5.  In another large bowl add vegetable oil, butter, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, buttermilk and mix until combined.  Fold in egg whites and then fold in blueberries until well combined.  Pour cake into the bottom of the bundt pan.
6.  In a small saucepan combine milk, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice and heat on medium until hot.
7.  Ladle a little bit of the milk into the egg yolks, whisking and then adding a little more milk, then add the eggs back into the saucepan and heat for one more minute.
8.  Strain the custard with a fine sieve to remove the curdled bits that will have formed from the lemon, and slowly pour the custard over the cake batter already in the pan.
9.  Place the bundt pan in a large roasting pan and pour a couple inches of boiling water in, place carefully in the oven.
10.  Bake 60-70 minutes uncovered, until a toothpick inserted comes out from the cake clean.
11.  Remove cake from roasting pan and let cool on the counter for 45 minutes and then place in the fridge to cool for another 15-20 minutes.
12.  Invert the cake onto a serving platter and keep in the fridge until really cold and ready to serve.

If this cake doesn't get you out of the doghouse, what exactly did you do, and can you share with the whole class please.  I can use a little levity around here.

Enjoy,

Gina

Arugula, Fennel, Blueberry, Toasted Almond Salad

I find going to the gym not only provides my body with the exercise it needs but my mind the fodder it needs on occasion.  I was standing around with a few ladies waiting for our class instructor to arrive when two of them struck up the conversation of "jonesing" (their words, so not mine) for new ink.  Then they proceeded to lift up articles of clothing to exhibit their hidden treasures and compare notes; which area was the most painful, which empty spots they had future plans for.  I felt slightly (actually make that extremely) uncomfortable at the moment.  How does one bow out of such an indelicate conversation and not seem like a total wet blanket?  I have surgery scars and other battle scars from falling out of a tree when I was little but no purposely-placed curiosities.

Not that I haven't entertained the idea from time to time, but I could never come up with a real reason to subject myself to pain on purpose.  I still vividly recall that my grandfather had an old lady on his arm. She was a wrinkly old prune with a sourpuss face.  As a young child I'm supposing my brain didn't know how to extrapolate that as you age the skin wrinkles and losses its collagen and elasticity and so goes anything you have placed on it.

I think it's time we slow the song down over here now, put on some easy listening and relax with an exceptional arugula salad selected for your eating pleasure:

Arugula, Fennel, Blueberry, Toasted Almond Salad

Dressing:

4 tablespoons minced shallot 

5 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small jar (a mason jar works great) and shake or stir until combined. Store leftover dressing in the fridge. 

Salad:

7 ounces arugula

1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted in a small skillet

6 ounces fresh blueberries

1 medium sized fennel bulb (white part), shaved thinly 

Place the arugula, almonds, blueberries, and fennel in a large salad bowl and toss with the dressing just prior to serving.

I also know it's probably a good thing I don't tell people about my strange food hobby, I can only imagine what kind of internal head convos they'd be having.

Enjoy,

Gina

Strawberry, Marshmallow, Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Should we just get down to brass tacks and I try with all my might to persuade you that you need these Strawberry, Marshmallow, Dark Chocolate Sugar Cookies in your life to make it complete?  Perhaps it's necessary to fill a void, a reason to cheat on that diet (that you knew deep down you weren't sticking to anyways), a salve to soothe away winter blues.  I could even argue the case that these lovely treats contain mood lifting dark chocolate and real strawberries, but really now; stare deeply into their little pink hearts, you know resistance is futile.  

Face it we all have our growing lists of crap-to-do and limited amounts of time to do it in.  I think I'm becoming a master of distraction and can easily convince my vast expanse of a wandering mind that there are a million other things I need to be doing than sitting down working these days.  For one, my chaturanga got up and left, actually I'm not sure if it ever really liked me that much anyhow but I do miss it so.  Baking and my lack of it the last few months was something else I sorely missed so I rounded up all the energy and focus I could and whipped up some treats to share with my Valentines.  It was a good salve and I enjoyed the time immersed in it, one day at a time, I'm going to get there.  I have no idea where "there" is but I know I'll recognize it when I see it.

Until you get to your "there" perhaps you should immerse yourself in a kitchen filled with the aroma of strawberries, the sweetness of soft fluffy marshmallow needing to be licked off your sticky fingers, or perhaps disposing of all the wayward melty chocolate and errant sprinkles is more your speed.  Either way we all can get something we want out of the deal.

    

Strawberry Sugar Cookies
1.2 ounces freeze dried strawberries

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2.  Place the strawberries in the bowl of a food processor or blender and pulse until they are a powder. Sift the powder through a fine sieve and discard any larger pieces that are left. Set aside.

3.  Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and mix until the butter is lighter in color and fluffy.

4.  Add the egg, strawberry powder, flour, and salt and mix until well combined.

5.  Roll 1/2 of the dough on a floured surface into a 1/4” thick disk. Cut the cookies in heart shapes or whichever shape you’d like. Place the cookies onto a baking sheet prepared with parchment or silicone mats. Space the cookies about an inch apart. Repeat until all the dough has been used up.

6.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until the cookies feel firm to the touch.
7.  Let cool.

Marshmallow Fluff

3 large egg whites 

2/3 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons 

3/4 cup light corn syrup 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Pinch salt

1.  Beat eggs in a mixer until frothy and then add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until soft peaks form. 

2.  In a small pan heat corn syrup and 1/3 cup water and rest of granulated sugar until boiling. Let boil until it reaches a temperature of 242 degrees F. 

3.  Pour sugar into mixer with egg whites and beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high speed until the sugar is cool and mixture resembles marshmallow fluff.

4.  Place fluff in a piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip.  Pipe the marshmallow fluff onto half of the sugar cookies and top with another cookie and set aside.

This version is so good and fluffy and pipes so well, but if you want to just buy a jar that's cool too.  This recipe will make more than you need and you can store the rest in a covered jar in the fridge for a few days. 

Also needed

6 ounces dark chocolate 

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Assorted sprinkles

1.  Melt the chocolate and cream in a bowl of a double boiler, stirring until melted and then take off heat.  

2.  Dip sides of filled cookies in chocolate and then sprinkle with the sprinkles over a separate bowl.  

3.  Place finished cookies on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and place in the fridge until firmed up.  Store in a cool place.  

Spreading around a little love and cookies was a huge mood lifter.  I'm putting it back on the do-again-soon list.  

Enjoy,

Gina

Pumpkin Muffins with Pineapple Yogurt and Cardamom-Pepita Crumble

I was all set and ready to go with the Latin explanation of these muffins: E Plagiaristic Unum which in shorthand translates to light, fluffy, delicious pumpkin muffins filled with a tart, tangy, and yet faintly sweet, yet distinctly breakfasty pineapple yogurtus, upon which is heaped a crumbly facade of pepitus nutus in which the overt sweetness is tempered in the slightest with a splattering of cardamom. Tell me you are not infinitesimally grateful that I didn't go with the longhand version.

I some how arrived at this place in time where I realized it's finally cooling off here a bit, my summer came and went like the mystery illness that plagued me all summer and even stumped my sister (which is a hard thing to do I may add), I also came to deduce I am no furniture mover (disguised as a mild mannered furniture salesperson) after a 100 pound dining table tried to send me to an unserendipitiious end.  The only thing I was left with after my nonexistent suntan started to fade was the harsh reality that my life was in extreme need of simplification and I ended my second job post haste. What else was there to do? Quit making muffins and other sugar filled treats? You people really make me laugh. 

Trolling the interweb I was taken with this recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins on Sally's Baking Addition, and while it was so lovely I thought perhaps If I eliminated a step here and pumped up the spice volume there I could reclaim a smidgen of my lost summer, sigh.  Well the dream was nice while it lasted a whole 30 seconds.

Pumpkin, Pineapple Yogurt, Cardamom-Pepita Crumble Muffins
Crumb topping:
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3-cup raw pepitas, toasted (toast pepitas in small skillet on medium heat until slightly brown and let cool)

Muffin batter:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1-teaspoon baking powder
1-teaspoon baking soda
1-teaspoon kosher salt
1-teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1-teaspoon ground ginger
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup milk

Filling:
5.3 ounces (1 container) pineapple fruit on the bottom Greek yogurt, stirred

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Make crumb topping. In a small bowl combine light brown sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, butter, and toasted pepitas, stir until combined and set aside.

Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cardamom, ginger (these were spicy but not overwhelmingly in my opinion, if you wanted a little less spicy feel free to leave out or reduce the ginger), brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, vegetable oil, and milk, stir until combined and divide evenly into the prepared muffin tin.

Divide the yogurt evenly and press a large dollop onto and down into the center a bit of each muffin.  

Break up the crumb topping with your fingers and divide it evenly over the batter.

Place the muffins in the middle rack of a preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes, then turn the oven heat down to 350 degrees F and bake for 15-16 minutes longer, until the muffins are set in the center.

Let cool.

At this very moment there are serious pressing issues occupying my thoughts:

Like what to be for Halloween???? People in case you haven't noticed it's in 32 days. Not one decoration is up, not one ghoulish treat is in the works, and I haven't even started on the apology letter I need to have on hand in case I run into my sister's neighbor at the Halloween party this year after last years inflammatory incident (which will be in the book if I ever get that finished). Perhaps I should just bury my head in the muffins and go back and work on some illustrations I've been working on and forget all of this. 

Until we salivate over food together again! (Or until I experience another complete lapse in judgment, which could be sooner than either of us thinks.)

Gina

Chocolate Sourdough Pretzel Shortbread with Milk Chocolate Buttercream

Let's just start things out by stating,  "I'm here but I might not be here", and if you can figure that one out you are much smarter than I am my friend.  I should probably just stay off social media and quit advertising my wares because it never fails that I'm hit up with the request for a recipe for said tantalizing item I dangle in front of you all.  I always feel kind of crappy when I don't hand it over, like I'm just hogging all the good stuff for myself or something.  I've come to realize over these past few years it makes some people happy that I bother to share and others annoyed and quite possibly pissed that I'm over here showing off my goodies while they are holed up on the couch with a bag of stale chips. But regardless of how anyone feels about it I've also come to realize it makes me happy in some small way so I guess I can deal with it.

I bought the book "Cookie Love" by Mindy Segal on the recommendation of the fabulous Patty from Patty's Food and I'm loving it.  So many things to try, so little time these days.  I've also come to realize I can't even keep the battery charged in my camera from lack of use, so a cell phone and little editing is something I'm more than content with.  I should probably warn you this recipe isn't for the faint of heart, but it is darn delicious and so worth the effort.

Chocolate Pretzel Shortbread with Milk Chocolate Buttercream

(Adapted from "Cookie Love" by Mindy Segal)

Shortbread:

2 cups sourdough pretzel nuggets

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes

1 ½ cups (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I was out and used granulated, worked fine, p.s. sifting is for sissy types.  I did make these a second time with confectioners’ sugar and the only noticeable difference was a little finer texture to the shortbread with the confectioners’ sugar.)

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature (She calls for extra-large eggs, but I don't ever use those so feel free if that is what you have.)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (Please forward the name of that one person still using imitation if you come by it.)

Milk Chocolate Caramel Buttercream:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I didn’t sift, my bad, probably used a bit more than a cup also.  I just add sugar until I get the consistency I like, more like 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups.)

5 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled

1 ½ tablespoons whiskey (Didn’t use, not going to admit whether or not I drank any.)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt flakes

1/3 cup Caramel Sauce (She has a recipe for it, but I just used a couple of heaping tablespoons of a jarred Dulce De Leche I had on hand, because I can admit it, I’m a slacker.  Pst, don’t let it get around.)

To Finish:

6 ounces melted dark chocolate

A small amount of crushed pretzel nuggets

1. Make the shortbread: Put the pretzels in a food processor and pulse until its crumbs but not powder. Pulse in the flour, cocoa, and salts.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds. Add the sugar and mix on low speed to incorporate. Increase the speed to medium and cream the butter mixture 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together.

3. Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the mixer and mix for a few seconds longer.

4. Add the pretzel-flour mixture all at once and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Divide the dough into two equal portions.

5. Put a sheet of parchment paper 13x18-inches on the counter and lightly dust with flour. Place one piece of dough on top and cover with another sheet of parchment. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough half into a rectangle approximately 11x13-inches and ¼-inch thick. Ease the rolled dough onto a sheet pan and place in the fridge. Repeat for the other piece of dough. Let chill at least 1 hour until really firm.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a couple of half sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone mats.

7. Roll a dough docker (or fork) over the dough to pierce. (I don't own a docker, so fell free to dock at your own risk, sounds a little dangerous to me anyways.) Cut dough into 1 3/4-x 2-inch rectangles or 2-inch squares. Put the shortbread on the prepared sheet pans, evenly spaced, up to 16 cookies per pan. (Cut the cookies tightly so you don’t have as many scraps to re-roll, you also have to let the scraps get cold again, because the dough becomes really sticky once it reaches room temp.) I got about 56 squares out of the dough once the scraps were re-rolled.

8. Bake one pan at a time for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake until the cookies feel firm, 3-5 minutes more. Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet. Repeat.

9. Make frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter briefly on medium speed for 5-10 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy and pale, add the chocolate, (whiskey), salt, vanilla extract, and caramel sauce. Taste and add more sugar or salt as needed. Fill a disposable piping bag with frosting. (Using a piping tip is up to you, I didn’t bother.) Match the cookies to size and pipe one half of each set with frosting. 

10. Melt the chocolate in a shallow bowl on half power for a few seconds in the microwave and dip the cookie sandwiches in a little bit of the way, lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and sprinkle the chocolate with a little crushed pretzel. (Store them in the fridge till firm.)

11. Now go pour yourself a nice cocktail because you are going to be at this recipe for a good long while. (You should probably do this again for good measure.)

As for me I have summer to get back to, it has been filled with ups and downs (literally) a real challenge in so many ways.  So many miles logged and so much dust removed from my shoes.

I have to say the miles sure do go a lot faster and seem easier when you have good company in tow. 

So many cookies baked and shared with friends near and far.  Hard to believe my daughter's best friend had a little girl of her own.

A day well spent having a friend over and helping her learn the mysterious ways of the macaron.  

Okay, well maybe not every cookie gets shared.

So many wine country days still need to be had. 

Setbacks aside this year I'm writing this in hopes that things move forward and up from here.  

Happy summer!

Gina