Homemade Margherita Pizza

DSC_0073fix

A few months ago, I bought a pizza stone at Target for $20.  For awhile, it’s been sitting in my cupboard, waiting to be used.  Last week I finally took it out of the box and put it on the bottom rack of my oven.  Pizza stones are essential in creating a real pizza crust.  [...]

Japanese Milk Bread (Tangzhong or Water Roux method)

Japanese Milk Bread

I’ve always loved the soft, slightly sweet, Japanese bakery bread that can be found in most Asian markets.  (The Chinese & Taiwanese also have a version of this bread that is nearly identical.)   But how do you replicate the soft fluffiness of this bread when making at home?  Most “milk bread” recipes out there [...]

Strawberry Bread

Fresh Strawberry Bread

It’s summer time again!  That means that strawberries are in season, and most likely on sale.  I got some large ripe packages of strawberries at the local supermarket for $4.99 per box… not too bad. But there are only so many strawberries a person can eat… so to use them up before they went bad, [...]

Yellow Squash & Pistachio Lemon Cake

Yellow Squash & Pistachio Lemon Cake

Have you ever had one of those moments when you’re staring at a single squash, wondering, “What am I going to do with you?”  (Yeah…  Probably not.)  But that was me tonight, and I had no plan.  It was time to clean out the refrigerator – and I had one yellow squash, one lemon, a [...]

Homemade Corn Tortillas

corn tortillas

So how can I live in San Diego (or Southern California for that matter) without learning how to make fresh corn tortillas?  They are so EASY to make, and the taste of freshly made tortillas is to die for… perfect for soft tacos!  (I’ve been making grilled shrimp tacos using lime-coconut marmalade as a marinade, [...]

Easy Rustic (No-Knead) Bread

rustic no-knead bread

(Original Post Date:  January 31, 2011) Did I ever mention my husband bought me a KitchenAid Stand Mixer as a surprise gift a few years ago?  He thought I would like it, since I bake so much.  His heart was in the right place, but just like I shouldn’t be picking out tech gadgets for [...]

Blackberry Muffins

blackberry muffins

(Original Post Date:  January 07, 2011) Blackberries are high in phenolic acids – antioxidant compounds that are anti-carcinogenic.  I’m always trying to find ways to incorporate healthy foods into our daily diet.  When blackberries went on sale the other day (two packages for $3), I thought it was time to try these muffins. Use low [...]

Pumpkin-Walnut Cinnamon Rolls

pumpkin walnut cinnamon rolls

(Original Post Date:  November 08, 2010) The real story behind this recipe was a pumpkin fudge disaster.  With all the extra pumpkin puree leftover from Halloween, I decided to try some new recipes… and a “pumpkin fudge” recipe from the internet looked promising.  The only thing, is that fudge is on the more difficult side [...]

Austrian Sweet Poppy Seed Rolls: Mohnkranzerl aus Hefeteig

Austrian poppy seed rolls

(Original Post Date:  September 12, 2010) This afternoon, I felt like baking something… something new and interesting.  So I google searched for Austrian recipes, as I had Mohnkuchen (Austrian Poppy Seed Cake) in mind.  Instead, I stumbled across this recipe for Poppy Seed Bread, erroneously under the heading of “German food”.  Although there are similarities, German food [...]

The Battle of Banana Breads

banana bread

(Original Post Date:  July 19, 2010) Recently, my in-laws were visiting from overseas – and one of the things they love (apparently) is fruit.  They bought tons and tons of fruit – papayas, apples, bananas… and after dropping them off at LAX for their return flight, we came home to the fragrance of brown spotted [...]