Tag: dessert

How Sweet It Is

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Fall in rural Michigan.

It’s state night again and believe it or not, we’re done featuring all of our deliciousness from Maine. While we’re sad to see it go, we’re excited to press on with some new stateside adventures. In this post we will however be revisiting another state  – Michigan.  Only this time we’re not cooking with cherries, rather we’re going with some juicy Michigan blueberries (not to be confused with Maine blueberries😉 ) and peaches.

My mom and dad recently enjoyed a weekend getaway to the Traverse City area of Michigan, and when they came back my dad made a delicious blueberry and peach cobbler. My dad doesn’t bake often, but when he does you know it’s going to be something good (and usually something terribly caloric). Peach cobblers, banana breads and my birthday cake (which I’m looking forward to next week!) are some of his specialties.

Dad found this particular recipe in a magazine while they were away. It’s not a surprise that it caught his eye. And since we enjoyed it so much, we brought the idea home and put our own twist on it. We first made a visit to our farmer’s market to grab up some Michigan peaches and blueberries, the we got to work making our Blueberry-Peach Crisp. Continue reading →

Quest for the Best Banana Bread Numero Cuatro

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A few months back we started our quest for the best banana bread. In large part it was due to this recipe. Several years ago when we lived in Minnesota, a good friend brought over her banana bread. At the time it had been years since I had actually had any banana bread. I knew I liked banana bread, but since making it with my dad I had never really been wowed by it. That is until I took a bite of Doree’s banana bread. I was hooked – we were all hooked.

I kept telling Doree that she should sell this stuff to the local coffee shops. It is that good. Throughout our years in Minnesota Doree kept us supplied with this wonderful treat (It came in particularly handy when I was pregnant with Miss A!). After several months away from Minnesota and in our new hometown, I began craving this bread. I was so honored when Doree shared this recipe with us and so excited when it turned out just as good as her’s.

Doree’s banana bread is loaded with bananas, four or five to be exact. We combined the bananas with the other wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat them together. The wet ingredients include eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Continue reading →

A Pineapple Treat for the Dads

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I know this is a few days late, but last night was a special night for Mr. N and I. We went to a local cooking school for a “cook with your kid” night. And let me tell you, this wasn’t the typical cook with your kid’s class. No chicken nuggets or pizzas at this school. In fact, we made baby back ribs (using a very similar rub that dad did on Father’s Day), homemade corn bread, Caesar salad with homemade croutons and a semi freddo. It was phenomenal! Mr. N is already talking about how we have to make the semi freddo for the blog, so I think there’s a good chance we’ll be sharing that one soon!

In the meantime, we’ll get back to Father’s Day. After all of that work dad put in on the ribs, the kids and I wanted to make something special for him. We chose a Pineapple Ice Cream treat that dad had pulled from a Cooking Light magazine back in March 2011. We thought it would be a good complement to the ribs (well, ok, I thought that) and what a better time to make it than dad’s special day.

We started with about 2 cups of chopped pineapple, placed the chunks on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkled them with brown sugar. Continue reading →

Cherry-Oh So Good

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If you’re a regular reader, you knew this was coming. We can’t wrap-up Michigan cuisine without a dessert, and this one again puts cherries center stage.

The recipe is a simple fruit crisp that my friend Beth sent me years ago. It is easily adapted for a variety of fruits. In fact, until today we had only ever made it with raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. So if it sounds like something you’ll enjoy – feel free to be inventive. As for us, we’re still sampling the tastes of Michigan, so we chose cherries, obviously, and apricots because we had some needing a home.

Quick side note here: We used up our cherries the other day, so I need to run out for a fresh batch. And I swear this has happened nearly every time I need a specific ingredient for a recipe we’re working on, the first store I went to (the one I can usually count on for everything) didn’t have any in stock. They did, however, have the two items that I couldn’t find the last time. Ugh. So it was a multiple store run again. At least this time it was only 2 stores…a few other times this same scenario has resulted in 3 or 4 stores. Am I the only one this happens to – or is this a common phenomenon? Continue reading →

Shoo Fly Shoo

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Our work began early this Memorial Day. Both dad and grandpa (my dad) were outside by 7:30 working on the swing set, the Cedar Summit Panorama from Costco.

They braved the 90 degree temps and humidity, and worked tirelessly through lunch. By early afternoon the rest of the barn raising crew came by to help finish things up (and break things in!).

Continue reading →

Dessert for Breakfast and Other Infidelities

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We wanted to try an Egyptian dessert this week. We also wanted something healthy so that our waistlines didn’t explode after that Georgia Peach Cobbler. We found a recipe for a strawberry dessert on Tour Egypt and while it’s fairly healthy, I have to say that I’m not really convinced it’s an authentic Egyptian dessert. I’m also uncertain whether it’s a dessert or if it’s breakfast. I think it can easily be both; and if not, well then we just ate dessert for breakfast. I suppose there are worse things that could happen.

The recipe is easy – combine raspberries and sugar in a sauce pan and heat, stirring gently, until a syrup forms.  Continue reading →