Last updated on April 8th, 2019 I got caught in the middle of the top-secret of all surprises, wearing a pink leopard print apron with a chocolate covered spatula in hand. There are surprises that if discovered before their time maybe bum the surprise-giver out for a split second, but really aren’t that big of a deal. Like…
Gluten Free Desserts
Salted honey lavender caramels
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 My actions are speaking louder than words right now, but please hear me out. I’ve kept these creamy salted honey lavender caramels from you out of shame and fear of judgement; I’ve got an arsenal of sweets to paste up here over the next couple of weeks. I need you to…
Gluten-free carrot cupcakes with honey cream cheese frosting
Last updated on April 18th, 2019 My college boyfriend thought I was a terrible cook. I was offended, and the fact that he explicitly told me so was a pretty clear sign there were better fish in the sea. To his credit though, he was probably right. One of my $1.50 gourmet dinner specialties in…
DIY Bacon gifts: bacon jam, bacon salt, and bacon candy
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Back in January, my friend Tina kicked off the new year with a resolution about healthy eating. I kicked it off by infusing bacon into everything. And then waited 4 months to tell you about it – until it was safe to say that most New Year’s resolutions had…
Strawberry fairy cakes with blueberry cream cheese frosting
Last updated on June 12th, 2019 There was a period of time in my life when I carried around a trunk full of hula hoops, balloon animals, and rainbow parachutes. You need to tie something down? Let me pull out my tug-of-war rope. And just in case you’re ever in a pinch, a parachute will also…
Blueberry Nutella cream pie
Last updated on June 12th, 2019 I had nightmares last night and I’m pretty sure it’s because I went to bed feeling super guilty about not baking a pie for pi day. A Ph.D. candidate in math education with a food blog and I had made no concrete plans for pie on 3/14. In fact, in…
Kumquat mango smoothie
Last updated on April 10th, 2019 One day last winter, Lucas came home from work begging for kumquats. Remember when your super trendy classmate pulled a packet of gushers or a squeezit drink out of her lunch box in 4th grade and you begged your mom to pack you some of those delicious snacks? (And she…
Pink heart meringues bites
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Remember a few weeks ago when my mom and I pretended I was in elementary school preparing to give homemade edible Valentines to all of my classmates? (Wait, actually…that’s not a terrible idea. I’m giving a research presentation on V-day and I bet I could win them over with…
Flourless salted almond chocolate cookies
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Spoiler alert: Today’s post is brought to you by the letter C as in Chocolate and the number 1,000,000 as in how many total page views we hit last week! When I first started this blog in January two years ago (TWO YEARS AGO?!), we were taking photos with our point…
Homemade pink velvet sprinkles
Last updated on June 26th, 2014 Let’s go pink for Valentine’s Day, ok? As a kid, I remember making homemade Valentines with my mom. This year, we BAKED homemade Valentines together. Last weekend my mama came for a visit and we spent nearly 24 hours in our aprons baking pink desserts. 24 hours might be…
Orange frothy: an Orange Julius copycat
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 The other night as we were going to bed, I let out an exasperated, “winter sucks!” As if he could read my mind for once, Lucas echoed my concern, “…because stone fruits aren’t around!” Yup. That’s how I feel when the single sign on the what was once multiple…
Salted caramel pudding
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 When Lucas got his wisdom teeth extracted a few weeks ago, I knew I’d spend the weekend nursing him back to health – making sure he was comfortable, stopping residual bleeding, keeping him medicated, capturing video of the funny things he said, and bringing him soft foods. I used it…
Spiced Crock-pot pearsauce
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 With the husband asleep on the couch all weekend after getting his wisdom teeth yanked out, I spent two full days in the kitchen last weekend. It felt refreshing; usually this is the time of year when my friend Cas and I pull out the glitter and glue for…
Iced oatmeal pumpkin spiced cookies (gluten-free)
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 This week was a big first for me. My first time passing out candy to little people dressed in bizarre outfits. Earlier Halloween day, I was on the phone with my mom when my brother called her to ask how much candy he needed to buy – would he…
Sparkling ginger apple punch with muddled cranberries
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 When we moved into our new place, we promised our friends that we’d throw a barbecue not long after. We also taped up our bathroom with blue painters tape with lofty plans of turning the walls gray. It’s been 7 months since we moved in and we have neither…
Pumpkin pie rice crispy treats
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Summer weather finally rolled in to the East Bay a couple of weeks ago. And just as quickly departed this week as chills of fall and early winter took over. A trip to the produce market confirmed what the crisp air indicated: summer 2013 was officially dead. Get your…
Root beer float ice cream
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 There was a time when “suicide” was my fountain soda of choice. Because who doesn’t love Pepsi, Sprite, Fanta, Dr. Pepper and A&W Root Beer swirled into one? Heck, while you’re at it, toss in some over-sweetened pink lemonade and iced tea to really mix things up. At some…
Triple chocolate gluten-free brownies
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 How many potlucks with piles of freshly baked flour-filled goodies must a person like me endure? Pure torture for the gluten-free, I say. The host of the last one boasted a brownie taste-test among the spread of chocolate-y confections. So what does one who can’t eat them do? Force-feed…
Dashboard chocolate chip cookies (gluten-free!)
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 “Golly, it was hot this weekend!” said everyone everywhere. Usually it doesn’t hit the hundreds in Chico until August, but we’ve already survived three heat-wave weekends at my parents’ house. At least this time the pool wasn’t covered with a dance floor so we could hop on in after…
Candied ginger peach sherbet
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 Now that we’ve moved into our new digs, there are nights when we just have to drive 25 minutes and have to wait another 25 minutes in line @ our favorite ice cream joint just to get a scoop of whoknowswhat. The menu changes each time we go, but it…
Sesame peach mochi cookies
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 On each plate at the reception, we had a “Letter to the Bride & Groom” Madlib to entertain guests while we rushed to take as many pictures as possible in our now 20 minute cocktail “hour” that got cut short because of the shuttle snafu. We grabbed them all…
Strawberry lemon curd tart with gluten-free almond crust
Last updated on April 8th, 2019 I went to a dessert party last night. Every year during finals, my late advisor would host a dessert party at her home, bringing together people from all different academic communities for a night of relaxation, strange drinks, chocolate fondue, and ice cream sundaes. To continue this tradition, her research…
