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Crispy French Toast

by Laura 21 November 2011
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The house is quiet now—very, very quiet. I return in distracted moments to small things: the view of the bare branches of the trees against the sky from the chair I read in, the deep blue sky beginning to glow just before the sun rises as I drive my Sweet Boy to high school. It’s [...]

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Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal

by Laura 26 May 2011
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It has rained and rained and then rained some more here this spring. So it’s put us in the mood for something warm and comforting for breakfast.  I sweetened my version of baked oatmeal with rhubarb sauce, and then a couple of days later with rhubarb conserve, and scattered the top with diced rhubarb, which [...]

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Champagne Jelly

by Laura 6 April 2011
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Yesterday a childhood friend from France came for a visit.  I served caramel rolls and pecan sticky buns and cinnamon rolls and pots of coffee. And then we moved on to champagne. I had half a bottle left and decided this morning to mold it into a shimmering champagne jelly. I used a small mold, [...]

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Bread and Jam for Frances & Spaghetti and Meatballs

by Laura 30 March 2011
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This is the first in a new series of posts. So many of my happiest hours were spent reading to my two children and cooking together. And so many splendid picture books lend themselves to a particular recipe, sometimes more.  When my Honey Girl and Sweet Boy were little ones, we walked to the library [...]

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Graham Cracker Pancakes + Exciting News

by Laura 25 March 2011
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My Honey Girl and I went maple sugaring this week, at a small family farm in Delano, Minnesota. The article I wrote about it will soon be published in Honest Cooking magazine. It’s my first piece as a contributing writer for them, and I’m quite excited about it. In the meantime, we are lapping up [...]

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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
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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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Vanilla Custard

by Laura 5 March 2011
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I made coconut macaroons yesterday.  This recipe is an Ole to their Lena, a Hardy to their Laurel.  It’s a pairing recipe in every sense, a frugal sister to egg-white only recipes, and a happy partner for a crumble or a figgy pudding or a slice of chocolate cake.  You could eat it with a [...]

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Cinnamon Cream Caramel Surprise Coconut Macaroons

by Laura 4 March 2011
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I’ve been spending a good bit of time in the car recently, making trips down to St. Olaf College, my alma mater, in Northfield, Minnesota, which is about an hour away.  Barbara Kingsolver has been my companion. (Books on tape, I love you.)  I’m about ten hours into The Lacuna.  It’s hard to imagine being [...]

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Homemade Cultured Butter Pressed with a Hand-carved Butter Mold

by Laura 1 March 2011
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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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Fennel & Almond Pound Cake with Sambuca Syrup

by Laura 25 February 2011
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I used to love that little pinch of fennel seed and rainbow-colored licorice candy as I paid the check at our favorite Indian restaurant.  Rory Gilmore ruined it for me with her, well, I’ve posted it below for those willing to risk never being able to enjoy his or her little pinch again. … From [...]

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Kouign Amann

by Laura 16 February 2011
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I don’t know whether to write a love poem to the Breton people, to David Lebovitz, or to kouign amann itself.  Oh, I love you, all three of you!  I have been daydreaming about a homemade kouign amann since I found out this week that a long lost friend from childhood has been living in [...]

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