There are many things we make with our haul of strawberries, including jam, fruit leather and of course just eating them straight from the bowl!  But sometimes, you want something just a bit fancier than plain berries, something sweet that you can make as a dessert for your family or to share with friends.

This vanilla bean syrup comes together quickly and only needs time to cool before pouring over a bowl full of berries.  Our favorite combination is strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, but mix it up to your own taste or whatever is in season where you live.

Fresh Berries with Vanilla Bean Syrup

1 cup of water

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean

In a small saucepan combine water and sugar.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Continue simmering until sugar is dissolved, creating a simple syrup.  Take the vanilla bean and slice it down the middle. Scrape out the vanilla beans inside.  Stirring, add them to the simple syrup.  Remove from heat and pour into a separate container to cool.  Cool completely.  Pour over berries and serve.

The first time I ever heard of this cake was a few years ago when my kids started school. They would go through the school menu and circle only certain days and begged to buy lunch on those days. When I looked, the common thread on each of these days was Wacky Cake. I figured it must be really good for them to be willing to eat cafeteria meatloaf or fish sticks just to get this cake. One day, I just happened to go have lunch with them on a Wacky Cake day and then I understood why they loved this cake. I was in love too. This was not the cake I’d imagined it might be, something to pique the kid’s interest, either with sprinkles or gummy worms on top. Oh no, this was a moist rich chocolate cake with the fudgiest icing and I had to figure out how to make this for myself.

When I looked it up on the internet I found several links for this oddly named cake. And what I found made me love this cake even more. Wikipedia states that “Wacky cake is a spongy, cocoa-based cake. It is unique in that like most pastries and desserts, no eggs or milk are used to make the cake batter. It is commonly believed Wacky Cake may have been created as the result of rationing during World War II, when milk and eggs were scarce. It has been said that the recipe was first created by Beatrice Fe O’Hearn, who has passed it down through her family and friends since the late 1930s.”

Well, Beatrice you are a genius. I mean really, just because you don’t have milk or eggs doesn’t mean you can’t have cake, right? This lady worked a way around it. So what makes it “cake like” then, you ask. Vinegar. Weird I know. I’m guessing that’s where it gets its name from.

So without further ado….

Wacky Cake
3 c flour
2 c sugar
6 Tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 c melted butter
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 c cold water

Icing
4 Tbsp cocoa
1 stick butter
6 Tbsp milk
1 box powdered sugar (sifted if you don’t want it lumpy)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix first 5 ingredients together, and then add water, butter and vinegar. Mix only until blended. Batter will be thin. Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes (or until center is cooked) in a 9×13 pan. (You can half this recipe and bake in a 8×8 or 9×9 pan.)

Make the icing. Bring cocoa, butter and milk to a boil. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat well and pour over hot cake. Top with pecans or sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool. You can make this with or without the icing. We usually go all out and make it with the fudgy icing, but it’s really good by itself. Not only is this the perfect cake when your out of milk and eggs, but it’s also great if your vegan, or if you just want a quick and easy homemade cake that will make everyone really happy.

Gretchen is happily married to the greatest guy (even her mom says she couldn’t have picked anyone better for her), and together they have three kids who hold her heart. After graduating from college she entered the Marine Corps and spent five years on active duty as a Communications Officer. After her first son was born, she left active duty and began taking even more pictures than before. After her second son was born she took a photography class at a local college and thus began a love of things behind the lens, mostly faces and feelings. You will find her trying to garden, in the kitchen, with a good book, behind the camera and hanging out with those she’s been blessed to call her family and friends.

cornmeal
6 cups flour
2 packages yeast
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Prepare two 8×4 x2 loaf pans. Coat with butter or cooking spray and coat with cornmeal. Tap out excess cornmeal. Set pans aside.

In a saucepan, stir together milk, water, sugar, and salt. Heat until warm, about 120 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, yeast, and baking soda.

Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, add the rest of the flour. Mix until it comes together.

Divide the dough into half. Put the dough into the pans.

Cover with a towel and let rise until it doubles in size, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. The loaves will be golden brown and will sound hollow when tapped. Cool on racks. Recipe from Better Home and Gardens.

For my entire life, people have asked me if my red hair and freckled cheeks come from Irish genes.  Each time I sigh and sadly answer, ‘no’.

Just as some folks dream of tropical beach vacations, I dream of flying across the ocean to the rolling, green hills of Ireland.  I want to visit a pub in the bustle of Dublin and photograph the pastures of their rural landscape. I watch movies like ‘Leap Year’ or ‘PS, I Love You’ more for the movies’ backdrops than their story lines.

Since I am not Irish and my plane tickets have yet to be bought I will instead make the most of the coming St. Patrick’s Day.  Starting by baking this very easy Irish Soda Bread.  And by easy I mean easy.  Bread baking is a bit of a challenge for me and I pulled this one off without a hitch.  It contains no yeast, the baking soda and yogurt create the rising action perfectly.

Irish Soda Bread 

from Williams-Sonoma

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup wheat bran (or wheat germ)

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (greek yogurt works too)

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6-8 bone-in chicken breasts (or 2 4-pound whole chickens cut up)
• 4 lemons
• 2 oranges
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 Tablespoons fresh oregano
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper

Cut 1 orange into 8 wedges and 1 lemon into 6 wedges, and set aside. Zest the orange and lemon to equal 1 teaspoon of each zest. Squeeze the lemons to yield 2/3 cup of juice. Squeeze the oranges to yield 1/2 cup of juice. Add the garlic, oregano, soy sauce, honey, and red pepper flakes to the citrus juice.

I used 2 9×13 pans to cook these, but you can use a large roasting pan as well. Pour the olive oil into the pan and add the chicken. Turn to coat. Scatter the lemon and orange wedges, being careful not put them on top of the chicken. Pour the marinade over and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge for 6 hours, up to 12. Give it a turn every now and again.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, with the rack in the center of the oven. Skin side up, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 and roast until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

To make a quick pan sauce, take the chicken and citrus wedges out of the pan, cover with tin foil, and set aside. Pour the pan drippings into a gravy separator. Let the fat rise to the top. Pour the juice out into a skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes.

At my favorite little cafe, there is a delicious muffin that is chocolately and a little bit spicy.  It is not sold on it’s own, it is always accompanying a salad or fruit cup.  It’s only available on the baker’s whim, never predictable and therefore a treat.  I cannot get them any time I please, which frustrates me to no end.  I’ve never had another chocolate muffin like these, others are all kind of bland after having the complex joy of these special spicy chocolate muffins.  I set out to recreate it, and I have to say I got pretty close.  I may try to add a bit of orange rind or cinnamon next time, you should try your own variations!

I just lightly dusted with confectioner’s sugar and put them on dainty heart shaped doilies.  Of course, my boys didn’t appreciate the presentation one iota, but they did gobble up the muffins in a heartbeat.

And because it’s Valentine’s Day and I think you’re rad, here’s my most favorite little love story on the Internet.

danny and annie

Here’s what you need:

• Double Stuf Oreos
• Chocolate (best quality you can afford, choose your favorite flavor! We love dark)
• Shortening
• lollipop sticks (longer is better, not too wide in circumference)
• sprinkles

STEP ONE:

Melt chocolate in a double broiler. Low & slow. I don’t have a double broiler, so I always just put a stainless steel bowl in a [well loved] pot and boil the water in the pot below. STEP TWO:

While the chocolate is melting, twist off the tops of the Oreos and lay the stick inside. Smoosh back together.*

*After completion of this project, I decided that it would be advisable to add a dab of the melted chocolate INSIDE the Oreo to help seal the stick in & the keep the cookie together. I would do this before moving on to the next step and put the Oreos in the freezer to set the chocolate in the middle.

STEP THREE:

Add shortening to the melted chocolate. I melted a whole bag of chocolate chips and added 1 TSP of shortening. If you are ok with crunchy chocolate, I’d use these proportions. If you’d prefer a softer layer of chocolate on the outside of the Oreo, add 1 TBSP instead.

STEP FOUR:

Time to dip! Now remember up there I recommended sealing the top & bottom part of the cookie with a little bit of chocolate & letting it set? Well this is why:

The cookie fell apart when dipped in the chocolate, as it was too fragile to stand up to the weight of the chocolate dip! I ended up using a spoon to pour chocolate over the entire Oreo instead of being able to dip it. Still worked just fine!

STEP FIVE:

Sprinkle the chocolate covered Oreos & lay on a tray lined with waxed paper or foil.

STEP SIX:

Put the tray in the freezer until set. (You can leave them there until you give them away…or eat them!)

STEP SEVEN:

I used little treat bags & some ribbon/bakers twine/raffia to package them up cute to give away–you can package them as creatively as you wish, I’d just definitely recommend covering them in something because they will get messy if left out of the freezer/fridge for too long.

If you are looking for some variations of this idea, you could always skip the sticks and just dip half the Oreo in chocolate then cover in sprinkles. They’d be super cute packaged as a half dozen or so in a treat bag tied with a cute bow. You could also use white chocolate & vary the colors/kinds of sprinkles you use. You could also use the candy melts that are colored (found at Michaels or Hobby Lobby, etc.) and make colored pops. There are so many ways to make this a cute, easy, cheap & quick addition to any holiday party! Enjoy!