i'd rather be baking

We’re currently en route to our new home in Portland! It’s been an exciting week of packing up the house and getting on the road, but I miss baking already. I woke up yesterday morning thinking that I should make some chocolate chip cookies for the trip, only to remember that we packed the flour, sugar, and pretty much every other necessary ingredient.

Shortly before dismantling the kitchen altogether, I made these blondies. They were the perfect way to use up some leftover chocolates from Easter (and maybe a couple from Valentine’s Day), and fulfilled my cookie cravings at least for a couple of days. I mixed up these blondies in the midst of packing, and they’re a great multitasker, in case you were wondering.

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Last weekend we paid a visit to one of my favorite local spots, Great Harvest Bakery. Although Great Harvest is a chain, each store is locally owned and operated, and bread selection is even tailored to the owner’s and neighborhood’s tastes, making it truly a local bakery and a joy to visit. Great Harvest has a location in the 9th & 9th district in Salt Lake City, an eclectic neighborhood perfect for local artisan bread.

On this visit I picked up a loaf of sourdough bread studded with kalamata olives, asiago cheese, and fresh thyme. Will you look at those olives? I am in cheesy olive heaven with this bread. It’s going quickly in my house!

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I don’t know what says “summer” more than pineapple and coconut. The combination makes me want to lay on a beach somewhere, but until then, I can definitely make some gelato.

If you have an ice cream maker, this couldn’t be simpler. I decided to make it even easier, and made the simple syrup the night before while I was cooking dinner. Easy!

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Well, here we go again. We’re moving! In two weeks we’ll be westward-bound again, this time to Portland, Oregon. While there is certainly a mountain of work to be done in the next two weeks, we are excited. So here I am, cleaning out my freezer and pantry bit by bit, which led to this wonderful fruit crumble.

Originally I wanted to make a strawberry rhubarb crumble, but then come Sunday morning I couldn’t find any rhubarb, and really didn’t have time to go hunting around for it at multiple stores. So I decided to use cranberries instead. I know it isn’t the same thing, but I had just over a cup leftover in my freezer, along with a good two cups of strawberries, and decided to call it good. I don’t know why systematically emptying out the freezer is so satisfying, but it really is.

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Yes, I realize this is my second lemon cookie recipe in, well, not very long. If you’ve been reading for any length of time, you already know that I love anything and everything lemon. I can’t get enough! And something about springtime just says lemon to me.

I nearly always bake from scratch but there is just something about a cake mix cookie that really hits the spot sometimes. They’re always moist and chewy with the perfect amount of crunch around the edges. And since the food scientists at Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines have done most of the dirty work for you, one bowl, a whisk, and a spatula is really all you need. Cake mix cookies are a perfect weeknight treat.

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