i'd rather be baking

Is it really almost the end of summer? For once in my life I don’t want to believe it. Summer in the Northwest is gorgeous – cool, even chilly mornings and evenings and wonderfully warm days. We’ve definitely had less than our fair share of heat, especially compared to the rest of the country. But it has gotten hot enough (especially without air conditioning!) that I generally don’t feel like baking. It makes me a little sad! But most days heating up the house just isn’t worthwhile. I know, such is life! Summer days call for sundresses and your hair in a bun and bare feet, but not hot houses.

Last weekend after I finished making these pancakes, I decided to get on it and bake up this tasty bread before the heat set in. I love mangoes more than most things in life and it’s a miracle this extra-sweet, extra-juicy one made it into bread at all. It’s okay, I’ve eaten almost the entire loaf to make up for it. And no, I don’t feel guilty about that, thank you very much. Now someone could lend me a pool to lay by, I’d appreciate it.

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Last week I got a fun box in the mail, full of some goodies from Shirley J! Shirley J is a Utah company that creates a variety of food products ranging from seasoning blends to baking mixes. As soon as I received their corn bread/muffin mix, I knew what I wanted to make with it: pancakes! Shirley J made this even easier by already having a basic pancake recipe using this mix – I love it when that happens.

I’d never had cornmeal pancakes before, but they sell them at Ryan’s favorite breakfast spot and I’ve been curious about them. And I honestly don’t know why I was so excited about making these with cherries, but shoot, I can’t stop eating the dang little things. And these were seriously good pancakes – maybe the best I’ve made.

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There’s a cute little street in our neighborhood with an eclectic assortment of shops, restaurants, and other businesses. We frequently visit the coffee shop there and have often noticed a whimsical bakery called Pastrygirl (with a pink sign!), but always seemed to be there at odd hours when they were closed. I stopped by said coffee shop one afternoon last week and noticed that Pastrygirl was open, so obviously I had to go in.

I picked up a couple of super cute little cupcakes, but Pastrygirl also carries a nice variety of, well, pastries like shortbreads and eclairs, as well as custom cakes. They were all gorgeous, but alas, moderation.

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Hi friends! I’m not going to lie…there were some baking/dessert fails last week. It happens. But I’m back! I made some of the tastiest muffins ever, and not a moment too soon. I’ve almost eaten my way through 3 1/2 pounds of organic cherries…but that’s another tale for another day.

It’s Monday afternoon, my brain is basically fried, and I’m listening to Katy Perry (guilty pleasure) on repeat. Can you relate? Go make yourself some muffins!

These muffins taste like cherry pie in the best way. They’re sweet and flavorful while still being light and fluffy. And yes, I’m leaning towards the healthy these days (so that I can justify things like Chinese takeout on the weekends) — but you’d never know it on this one.

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I feel that a disclaimer is in order here: this is not a dessert. Please don’t throw sticks of butter at me in anger. But there is chocolate, and there is peanut butter. Can we still be friends?

I bought some protein powder about a month ago in hopes of supplementing my plant-based diet, where protein is often a challenge. But honestly, protein powder scares me. In the past I’ve never been a fan and honestly didn’t know where to begin, so I consulted Mama Pea. Homegirl knows her protein powder.

These little “cookies” make a tasty snack packed with fruit and protein. They aren’t a dessert, but they are a super-tasty way to fuel or recover from a workout, and are a great way to use that scary protein powder. Not bad, right?

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