a little zaftig

An Old-fashioned Minnesota Blizzard & Rich Hot Chocolate for Two

by Laura 20 February 2011

After a taste of spring, we are in the midst of another good old-fashioned Minnesota blizzard. I love a blizzard. Here in Minnesota, snowfalls come and stay for the winter every year, but a real pileup, one that sends people en masse to the markets and shops the day before it’s to hit, is always [...]

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Hand-pulled Cotton Candy

by Laura 19 February 2011

I stumbled on a photograph of pişhmaniye on the Honest Fare blog this week and had to make it. My niece Elisabeth was coming to spend the morning with me yesterday, so we added it to the list of projects for the day. She liked making smoothies, chocolate cookies, coconut macaroons, waffle fries, and Reubens, [...]

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Bittersweet Chocolate Cookies

by Laura 18 February 2011

This is a recipe coup like I haven’t celebrated in years. The last two really whoop-worthy were a particular restaurant chocolate soufflé cake that my Dear Husband adored around 1998, and my ikebana-sensei’s daughter-in-law Nori-chan’s goma dare (now that’s a mouthful) around 1989 in Osaka. Every once in a while I really can’t figure out [...]

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Confetti Chili

by Laura 15 February 2011

When I was in college, before college dining halls were paeans to choice, we waited in line to greet the food service ladies as they dished up whatever they had cooked that day. We had dishes like Side of Clyde, Ziti Bake, and Party Rice. Whenever that particular fare was served, my best friend would [...]

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Heart-shaped Red Velvet Baby Cakes with Pink Cream Cheese Frosting

by Laura 13 February 2011

My Sweet Boy’s sweet girlfriend Taylor is over tonight again to bake. We picked out a recipe for red velvet cake and decided to bake it into little baby cakes decorated with cream cheese frosting tinted pink. Our first batch erupted like so many little red cocoa volcanoes, and it looks like an ode to [...]

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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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White Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes with Dark Rum and Vanilla

by Laura 9 February 2011

My mom took a lot of classes when we were growing up in the 70s. Our house was full of macramé plant hangers and wall hangings and Christmas decorations. We had Santa and all of his eight reindeer and Rudoph. There was cast pottery painted by numbers—smaller pieces plus a huge barn scene that hung [...]

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North Woods Split Pea Soup with Ham

by Laura 8 February 2011

My Honey Girl’s best friend Laura shares my love of split pea soup. During their middle and high school years, on the occasion that I made a pot, she would bring over a little container and bring home a portion for herself. She and my Honey Girl always seemed to be laughing or squealing about [...]

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Rose Water, Hibiscus, & Dark Cocoa Macarons with Rose Water and Hibiscus White Chocolate Ganaches

by Laura 7 February 2011

My Sweet Boy’s lovely girlfriend Taylor is over to bake today, and we are taking on macarons. We’ve had to hearten ourselves along through a string of failures—macarons are notoriously temperamental—but we are having fun, and spending six hours together on them has been an unexpected and happy surprise. We’re on batch four now this [...]

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