Morning Glory Muffins

"Here. Smell this," I said as I stuck an enormous metal mixing bowl under my brother's face. "Does this not smell like a Hawaiian sunrise?" He inhales deeply. "Yeah." He's seventeen years old, and he towers over me.
I'm kind of surprised that he is not bowled over by how amazing the muffin batter smells: the pineapple! The coconut! The cinnamon! How is this not the best thing ever?

Stonewall Kitchen's Raspberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

I've been baking up a storm. Clearly all this weather-induced angst is getting to me.

I regret nothing. See Exhibit A: a muffin with a delectable, tender crumb dotted with sweet pink of raspberrry goodness.

Moist Apple-Carrot Muffins

Jasmine Green Tea and Apple-Carrot Muffins. See the flower I made with
some finely sliced apples? That's me trying to be fancy!

This recipe is brought to you compliments of the over-abundance of carrots I recently discovered in my fridge. Oh, it's also brought to you by the gray weather we had yesterday. Gray weather makes me yearn for warm spices like cinnamon and cloves. Muffins just seemed like the right way to combine it all. 

Petit Pains au Chocolat

Have you ever said to yourself, "Man, I wish I could wake up in Paris and walk out of my glamorous hotel in a fabulous euro-chic outfit to an adorable parisian cafe and order a delectable chocolate pastry?"

Me too. Hence these.

Dessert for Breakfast

This is my newly found favorite food.

Here we have a lovely rendition of "Breakfast" compliments of Greek yogurt, honey, sliced almonds and raspberries.

It tastes like a dessert - a creamy, lightly sweetened berry dessert with crunchy almonds.

But this "dessert" has the following nutrients: protein, phosphorus, vitamin D, calcium, heart - healthy monounsaturated fats, dietary fiber, potassium, something called manganese, plus a healthy dose of antioxidants.

In other words, it has enough healthy components to make broccoli hang its head in shame.

Take that, broccoli. Nothing personal.

Cooking Adventures: Clafoutis and Pad Thai

You'll notice there is actually no picture of a finished pad thai. And I had what I thought was a good reason for that.