From the category archives:

Kaffeeklatsch

Apple and Lingonberry Upside Down Coffee Cake

by Laura 21 February 2012

It’s been a pallid winter. I don’t mind. The fog that’s wrapped the house today is lovely and soft and has lingered nearly ‘til midday. And the mild temperatures have made everything here easier. I can scamper out to the chicken house in my nightgown and bare feet, across the bit of dry land under [...]

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Seriously Simple Apple Tart with Hot Buttered Rum Raisin Sauce

by Laura 12 December 2011

Oh my, this is good. Our Honey Girl’s dear friend from college, Vickie, wrote to me to ask if I could suggest a recipe or two to use up apples that she had picked this fall at an orchard. After a little dance of joy around the kitchen, and with a dorm kitchen and limited [...]

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Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Laura 29 June 2011

Can three weeks really have passed? My goodness. I have been busy building a twenty by eight foot hen house and coop in the backyard, walking several hours a day in preparation for the Susan G. Komen 3-day 60 mile walk, and, well, I’ll spare you the rest of the dizzying list. After I finish [...]

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Rhubarb Compote-swirl Cornmeal Coffee Cake

by Laura 1 June 2011

The specter of spring cleaning has filled me with a certain dread this year, but I am coming around slowly and with much coaxing. The days when our home was deeply clean and organized feel like a phantom life to me. I still open closets with expectation, a clear vision of their former lives. But [...]

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A Banana Bread Spectacular :: From Plain Jane Loaf to Homey Dessert: Banana Bread Sautéed in Clarified Butter with Caramelized Bananas & Flaming Whisky Sauce, Tea Cake with Celtic Crossing Frosting, and More!

by Laura 16 March 2011

Thumbnail image for A Banana Bread Spectacular :: From Plain Jane Loaf to Homey Dessert: Banana Bread Sautéed in Clarified Butter with Caramelized Bananas & Flaming Whisky Sauce, Tea Cake with Celtic Crossing Frosting, and More!

Our Sweet Boy Freddy woke up to a happy surprise. His friend Carly came over to bake with me Sunday morning. Much silliness ensued. I told my friend William yesterday that I suffer from recipe brain. It’s a blessing, until it isn’t. It wakes me up, keeps me up, and seldom lets me rest. I [...]

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Homemade Cultured Butter Pressed with a Hand-carved Butter Mold

by Laura 1 March 2011

My Norwegian grandfather had something of a love affair with butter; he loved a pool in which to cook an egg or some hash, or a thick smear on toast. But mostly, it was his tableside companion at every home-cooked dinner I can remember eating with him, and he was not shy with it. A [...]

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Heart-shaped Jam Doughnuts Rolled in Pink Sugar

by Laura 12 February 2011

It doesn’t happen to me very often anymore—the last time was a disastrous shepherd’s pie over which we spent half an hour literally doubled over in laughter while making up alternate names for the recipe before we chucked it in the bin and headed to a restaurant for dinner—but I still have flops here and [...]

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Bostock

by Laura 2 February 2011

When my Honey Girl was home for her long winter break, we went to Rustica, our favorite bakery in Minneapolis. If you’re ever in Minnesota, it’s a must-stop, the kind of place that makes you wake up, shake a bit, and utter your equivalent of Jenkies. This is a bakery with some serious magic; the [...]

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Sugar Cakes

by Laura 28 January 2011

I first made these big, delicate sugar cookies for a candidate meet-and-greet a few years ago. The event was a success, but from the cookies’ perspective it was kind of a disaster. My wonderfully feisty friend Bonnie had asked if I would make some cookies for the event, so I made ten kinds. I delivered [...]

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