France, Italy, Spain--these are all countries that you expect to eat well in.  England? Eh, not so much. I like fish n' chips just as much as the next person; the best part of the Lenten season was dining at least once at the local, swanked out Long John Silvers. But 7 days of fish n' chips does not make for a stellar vacation.  With the dollar to pound ratio not in my favor as well, I thought I was going to subsist on Marks and Spencers ready-to-eat sandwiches.

You know that wonderful aspect of vacations where you don't to go into work and have the choice to do whatever you want with you time? I took full advantage of this by staying up late and outlining my meals for the next day with the help oh Yelp. I'm definitely one for foodie tourism, bypassing Buckingham Palace for a trip to Brick Lane (does anyone else find the Whitechapel tube station daunting and scary?).


Tenderly sweet scones were had, topped with clotted cream and preserves.  I had long heard about Hummingbird Bakery, having made some cupcakes from the sweet shop's cookbook.  The actual bakeshop in Notting Hill did not disappoint and was as trendy as the rest of the neighborhood.  It's a great spot for a first date or catching up with friends. I left the bakery with a couple of treats in beautiful packaging.

I still do not know why scones are so dense and dry in the United States.  Scones are more like biscuits, just not as buttery and tender.  This golden morsel was way tastier than any "scone" at Panera Bread or Starbucks.  Add some clotted cream and jam?  Perfection.


My favorite of the food offerings was the smoked salmon sandwiches.  My friend is vegetarian, so I got double the deliciousness out of the deal.


And let's not forget the tea. Tea with milk?  I'm now obsessed and carry on the tradition in my little apartment on those blessed lazy mornings.  My friend ordered the Earl Grey Blue Flowers, and there were actually tiny blooms in the pot.  Amazing.


I really could not have asked for a better scenery for my first experience with afternoon tea.  The Orangery proved to be a popular spot with tons of people milling around the tea salon and Kensington Palace next door.  I even sighted Joely Richardson enjoying the weather at the table next to me.  The ravens did not miss on the party either.  It's so eerie how many ravens are just hanging out in the park.

I've long had a love affair with peaches.  Fruit at the Bottom peach yogurt?  Awesome. Can sometimes rival ice cream when I'm feeling generous.  Canned sliced peaches?  A staple of my childhood since my parents didn't like my brother and I having Twinkies or Ho-Hos in the house.  Peach cobbler?  I ain't from Oklahoma for nothin'.

So when I saw the recipe for Peach Cobbler Muffins in The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook, I instantly bookmarked it and set for some fresh peaches at the farmer's market.  I hit jackpot that weekend with some beauties at a great price--4 for $1. I love The City Market.

The summer has been unnecessarily unkind around here, so I avoid turning on the oven as much as possible. I'm fortunate enough that my parents love me and support my baking habit by buying me nifty appliances like a countertop convection oven.  It's not big enough to handle 12-cup muffin tins, but a simple square cake pan?  Easy breezy.

I had big plans of wowing my co-workers with a beautiful, scrumptious cake.  The ingredients came together quickly, and sweet-spicy scent that wafted from the oven while the cake baked made it hard not to sample a piece right away.  However, as I lied in bed that night, long after I took the cake out of the oven to cool, I realized that I had forgotten the oil.  The next morning, I debated for a long while about bringing in the cake.  I mean, what if it tasted like absolute garbage?  I wouldn't be able to live that down.

I needn't have worried.  The cake miraculously remained moist and was devoured without issue.  Perhaps it was the buttermilk?  Or the juicy chunks of peaches?  The fact that it was basically fat free with a big selling point.

Peach Cobbler Cake
(Adapted from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook )

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of bourbon
1 1/2 cups peeled, cubed peaches 

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F.  Spray a 9-inch square cake pan with non-stick vegetable oil spray and set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and bourbon. Sprinkle the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and granulated sugar on top of the liquid mixture. Mix until just hints of dried flour are left. Fold in the peaches with a light hand.  Please try not to overmix unless you're not into fluffy cakes.  

Spread the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden brown, the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan a bit, and the top lightly springs back when pressed upon. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with tiny crumbs clinging to it.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.  Serve warm from the pan.

This summer has already started its oppression. Luckily, the gray clouds provided enough reprieve on my blessed day off to wander through the farmer's market with a brisk breeze.  I was fortunate enough to pick up some peaches for a recipe from my current nighttime reading. The peaches and myself have a date sometime this week; I'm pretty excited!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Keep it cool.  Literally.

The NBA Finals has been emotional teeter-totter for me.  I was once a huge fan of the NBA, collecting Shaquille O'Neal rookie cards from the ice cream truck with my cousins, but I became less and less of a follower when chemistry, physics, and Shakespeare entered my curriculum.  I've been watching the Finals more out of hometown pride and nostalgia.  The games provide a little morsel of home through the TV.  It brings back memories of times when my friends and I would break out of the fry daddy and try to make homemade corn dogs just because we had the time and the curiosity.

Yeah, my friends are awesome like that.

Waking up has been hard lately. I'm missing home like crazy. Work is overwhelming on repeat. Time for enjoyment and laziness is scarce. Mustering enough energy and spirit to open my eyes has been an ordeal.



This quiche certainly helps motivate me a little. The lovely Mademoiselle Khoo inspired this creation. If you haven't had the pleasure of following Rachel Khoo, s'il vous plait, do yourself a favor and google her right now. Her life story is incredible.


I was afraid that the recipe would produce something too eggy, but it somehow came together beautifully. And with no cheese! You can't imagine how difficult it was for me to refrain from adding any cheese. I had some luscious cheeses in my refrigerator, and I always use cheese in my quiches.  However, I tamped down on my urges because Rachel insists that it ain't Quiche Lorraine if you add anything else other than ham.  Wise words, friends, wise words because this quiche was the closest thing to come out of my oven as the little savory pillows of custard and pastry that I used to get after class in Clermont-Ferrand.




Look at the flakes of the crust! 

Quiche Lorraine
(Adapted from Rachel Khoo's video linked above)

Your favorite single pie crust, unbaked
1 egg white
Approx 1/4 pound of thickly sliced Black Forest Ham
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups of heavy cream
Salt
Pepper

Place a rack into the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F.
Roll out and fit the pie crust into a pie tin. Brush the crust with egg white to seal the crust and prevent it from getting too soggy. Chill the crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Coarsely chop the ham into small cubes. Gently heat the ham to dry it out a bit. Spread it into the chilled pie crust.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolks, and heavy cream until smooth. Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Pour the egg mix over the ham.

Bake the quiche for about 30-40 minutes, until the top has some goldening and springs back lightly when pressed. Cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Drunken Blondies
(Adapted from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 generous tablespoon bourbon
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack positioned in the middle. Line a 9x9 inch square baking pan with foil.

Mix the butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl until smooth.  Add the egg, vanilla, and bourbon, and stir until combined thoroughly (it will look sort of like molasses).  Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt, making sure not to overmix.  Then mix in the walnuts, coconut, and chocolate chips, stirring until only traces of flour remain

Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing out the top.  Bake for about 18-20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and slightly springy.  Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack.  Cut into bars and serve.  They won't last long at work, but if you keep them all to yourself, they'll keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

It's been nearly a year since I've moved into my apartment, and I am now getting around to livening my blank walls.  Shame, shame, shame!

I had ice cream with my ex this past weekend.

While most people would never dream of spending a rare afternoon off with someone who had bruised their heart, our hour-long chat was the most productive I had been all day.

Despite having dated for only 2 months, I was hurt when things ended.  I am relatively new enough to the dating scene that I usually become invested quickly.  He was fun, I had fun hanging out with him.  Things came to an abrupt halt when he admitted that he wasn't quite over his ex-girlfriend.

Weeks came and went, but I spent every night thinking him and the what ifs. It didn't help that there was a lingering possibility of us, when and if he ever got over his girlfriend.

Then suddenly it stopped. I had a terribly disjointed dream one day, and then I woke up, void of any attachment to him.  It was as if my brain had finally worked out the puzzle of how to move on.

I approached our ice cream meeting with some foreboding, which was new for me.  I so looked forward to reading his e-mails, his texts, seeing him, even after we had decided to be friends.  Our conversation was nice, but none of the chemistry was there.  There were many awkward pauses.  We weren't on the same page.  And it couldn't have been more refreshing for me.  I had thought of him as the one that could have been, but our meeting gave me much closure.

Have you ever had your own great experience with closure?

I have long searched for a solid strawberry cupcake recipe that used pure, from the earth, real strawberries.


I found this treasure within the pages of Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe.


The color could have been more vibrant and the strawberry flavor a teeny bit more robust, but these cupcakes were a huge hit among my friends at dinner last night.  I love adding some sweetness into people's lives.