Homemade Sweet Orange Marmalade (Not the bitter type!)

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I’ve never been a fan of traditional British Style (bitter) marmalade made from Seville Oranges (Citrus aurantium).  And here in California, very few people like bitter marmalade… so making a batch to give away as gifts is often met with an, “Um… no thanks.” In the last year, I’ve spent a lot of time trying [...]

“GingerDead Men” Sugar Cookies (rolled sugar cookies using cookie stamps)

"GingerDead Men" Cookies made with cookie cutter/stamper

While I was browsing Amazon.com for Christmas gifts this year… I came across something I just HAD to have!  The “GingerDead Men” Cookie Cutter & Stamper combination, by Fred.  I figured this would make an interesting departure from the regular (boring) sugar cookies that I make with star or tree cookie cutters.  The cookie cutter/stamper [...]

Glazed Orange Bundt Cake (baking with decorative bundt pans)

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A few weeks ago, I was browsing the aisles at Target, and I found these super cute Nordicware mini bundt pans, the “Bundt Duet” (see the image below, right).  With a total capacity of 5 cups of batter (2.5 cups per mini bundt), and at about $30 per pan… (with a little bit of hesitation) [...]

Hawaiian Bread Rolls (King’s Hawaiian Bread Copycat Recipe)

Hawaiian Bread Rolls

I’ve been looking for a recipe to replicate the famous sweet and soft King’s Hawaiian Rolls.  I think I finally found it!  The addition of pineapple juice and sugar add a wonderful sweetness and impart a tenderness to the finished rolls. You can eat them warm, straight out of the pan.  Or, try my favorite: [...]

Soft Ginger Cookies

Soft Ginger Cookies

  These soft ginger cookies are sooooo good!  They have an amazing ginger flavor, and are soft, chewy, and are wonderful with a cup of hot tea or coffee – perfect for a cold fall or winter day!  This recipe has been adapted from Alton Brown’s Ginger Snap recipe… I changed a few of the [...]

Chocolate Pecan Mystery Cake (made with pumpkin or zucchini squash)

Chocolate Pecan Mystery Loaf Cake

I still have a ton of raw field pumpkin in my refrigerator & freezer, leftover from my Halloween Jack O’Lanterns.  Since then… I’ve made pumpkin streusel bread, warm pumpkin pudding cake, pumpkin pie cupcakes… and I’m now officially sick of pumpkin!   No more pumpkin flavored treats!!!  Blech! And now, for something completely different…. How [...]

Masala Chai (or “Chai Tea Latte”)

Masala Chai (a.k.a. "Chai Tea Latte")

Weather reports call for rain this weekend!   When it rains (which it almost never does here in San Diego), all I feel like doing is sitting down in front of the TV, watching B movies on the SyFy channel (you know, like “Dinocroc vs. Supergator” or something equally awesome), all while sipping a nice [...]

Warm Field Pumpkin (leftover Jack O’Lantern) & Pineapple Pudding Cake

Field Pumpkin & Pineapple Pudding Cake

Do you still have leftover Jack O’Lantern (field pumpkin)?  I still have about 2 pumpkin’s worth of raw field pumpkin in the fridge… and besides making “pumpkin bread“… what else could I make with it?  Well, a few days ago, pineapple was on sale for $0.88 each at the market… so why not combine the [...]

Pumpkin Streusel Bread from Field Pumpkins or leftover Jack O’Lantern

Pumpkin Streusel Bread made from raw field pumpkin

Last Halloween, I turned my leftover Jack O’Lanterns into baked field pumpkin puree.  Making pumpkin puree from field pumpkins is a little bit time consuming, but worth it if you feel bad wasting your Halloween Jack O’Lanterns.  I always feel bad throwing away Jack O’Lanterns!  I mean, pumpkin is a vegetable, and while field pumpkin [...]

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

After making several batches of fresh homemade ricotta, I had a ton of ricotta to use up in the refrigerator.  I found a Giada recipe on food network’s website for Lemon Ricotta Cookies that had a ton of glowing reviews.  It sounded really good, so I decided to give it a try. OMG!  These cookies [...]