use real butter

Recipe: pistachio chocolate chip blondies

We are heading out of So Cal and into my favorite place in the world.

But to round out the weekend, I will have to be quick. Saturday afternoon we drove south to visit with two of my favorite bloggers: Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple! It is the first time we’ve met in person, but I really felt they were kindred spirits already. They welcomed us into their beautiful home, Sierra wanted me to chuck the ball and Dante sniffed my crotch. Hi-larious dogs, I know Kaweah and Sierra would be bffs. Oh, and when I say “beautiful” to describe their home, it is an understatement. Stunning? Gorgeous? Breath-taking? Magazine-worthy? Words don’t do it justice. It’s a HOME, not a house (must include fabulous yards). It shows great love and care and attention to detail yet it isn’t a museum piece, it’s usable and lived in and HOME, you know what I mean? And that is a reflection of Todd and Diane – people with real substance and sincerity. I just wanted to pack them up and take them home with us (the dogs too).

diane preps us for the tour of little saigon

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Recipe: crystal almond pound cake

Well I am a bleeping idiot. I spent so much time fussing over the making of this cake that I didn’t read the last bit through and now I’m waiting for the glaze to crystallize the way it was supposed to. I guess you will find out by the end of the post if it worked out or not!

lemon and orange zest

While flipping through some of my old cookbooks, I was struck by the recipes that appeal to me today as opposed to the recipes that appealed to me three years ago. Funny how our tastes and preferences change as we cooks and bakers evolve… perhaps I dare use the word mature? Nah, screw that!

whisking eggs and vanilla

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Recipe: chocolate-dipped strawberries

What does the passage of a year mean? We read so much into the Earth’s completion of her tiny path around the Sun. A way to mark Time because it doesn’t stop for anyone. I never stopped to think much about how we recognize these temporal ticks and why. Not much until my sister died – out of the blue, just like that. No time for good-byes, I-love-yous, what-do-you-want-us-to-dos. That sick and empty feeling sucking the breath out of me every time I came up for air. Stepping out into the night thinking she’d emerge from the darkness and tell me it was a mistake. A terrible mistake, please. Numb mind. Racing heart, aching heart… broken heart.

Not 24 hours earlier, a blanket for Ben? Sure, I could knit one for him. He may tell you his favorite color is pink, but it’s really green – you know, four-year olds. So glad she loved the blanket I knit for Emily. Only 10 days and already full of piss and vinegar, just like me, just like her mom. Love you. Love you too. Our last words to one another.

Just like that.

kris and me

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