make this. make friends.

It uses 2 baskets of blackberries...& I use an old enamelware pan I got long ago secondhand. A cast iron pan also works, love those. I've made it so many times its almost memorized, and it calls for buttermilk, which I LOVE. Buttermilk is lowfat, tangy & makes baking moist. 

Serves 8

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/4 cup for sprinkling
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon for skillet
• 2 containers fresh blackberries (5.6 ounces each)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter; pour over flour mixture, whisking to combine.

In a 10-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron), heat remaining tablespoon butter in the oven until melted and skillet is hot, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Pour batter into skillet; scatter blackberries on top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

Bake, with a baking sheet on rack below (to catch any drips), until top is evenly browned, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool slightly, about 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen; cut into 8 wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hope you try it. Its delish! 

Got it from:
Read more at Marthastewart.com: Blackberry-Cornmeal Cake - Martha Stewart Recipes 

infamous Carrot Cake. Made not plain

and by plain I mean, looking. 

because carrot cake is never plain in tasting!

SO. 

story goes like this.

A dear grandmother & favorite aunt make the best carrot cake

girl dates a guy that as it turns out, only LOVEs carrot cake for dessert (well...that and ice cream:)

girl makes best carrot cake recipe & marries guy

forever making carrot cakes for all occasions, which turns out to rub off on all guys friends- 

THUS

making more than carrot cake for him, but also his friends...

resulting in Infamous Carrot Cake

 which is now often requested for birthdays all over :)

Here it is. 

its the best recipe

I've made it into cupcakes

it has 4 CUPS of freshly grated carrots!

then slathering the cake with oh so yummy cream cheese frosting!!

But then I must admit.

For a birthday celebration delivery...

it felt a bit plain. 

I just didn't want to send it over to our friends birthday looking like this...and 57 candles would be a bit much.

SO

I made a little banner

 Kinda cute!? HUh?

I did it with 2 skewers & string & bits of ribbon 

Now yummy & un-plaind carrot cake!

@kevinandamanda

San Diego.

and the crazy world of Twitter...

saw from a blogger I adore & follow

{and get loads of fun fab fonts from!}

Amanda of kevinandamanda.com

the post

"going to San Diego, where do I NEED to go"

often the answers are this

no, I don't know what that is. 

Animal I mean, I know what I'm looking at!

its San Diego Zoo

And yes, it is FANTASTIC!

So is this

amazing Sea World

but truly neither of these popped into my mind;

Why? 

Because this girl likes to eat!

And after all, that's my hobby

I did mention the need to go to nostalgic Coronado...

this beachy pic doesn't do it justice

last time we went I wasn't thinking camera time, I was thinking....time for a cocktail!

We sat on the patio of this fantastic amazing captured in time hotel and watched the sun go down on one of the most charming little spots ever.

now.

on to the answer we twits tweeted

the must go to 

Hash House A Go Go 

{mind you this is 2003...the place has kinda "taken off since then!" as in the city of LV asked them to make them one there.}

THIS place was fans-tasic! Our concierge recommended it when we asked for a great breakfast & not a brunch

 we didn't want pretension we wanted creation!

We hailed a cab & headed up the hill

there was a line.

REallY?

OH yes. And they brought us ice water while we waited...because hello we're in SAN DIEGO!

we sat out in their patio, and ordered a beverage

 

mine was an Orange Crush.

Fantasticly refreshing & don'tcha love the straw!? 

His was this Mary

they didn't have full liquor license, so they went with a kickin' Mary & Budweiser

LOADED up with vegs

 next we ordered our breakfast; each ordered 1.

idiots, we knew not what we were getting into!

AND I had to order their Cinnamon Sugar Toast

I'd never seen it on a menu & its a FAV, never seen=must order

 THIS was his. 

Alllll of that. 

Yes, normal size skillet. No, not normal size breakfast.

But this place isn't just about making something outrageously huge, its outrageous combos too!

Those chunks of breakfast of champions is their Meatloaf Hash!

Cubes of meatloaf, potatoes, veg, spinach made into a hash with eggs & biscuit Oh my!

 THIS was mine. 

the plate was bigger than the screen I'm looking at now....

It was a Fried Chicken Benedict 

with mashed potatoes, between biscuits & covered with a Chipotle Hollandaise 

 there, see the size of that...CRaZZy

 We had a 3 hour breakfast that day...lots of digesting and a need to nap & jazzersize at the same time.

but it was worth it, 

an experience

 this was where we stayed, 

just across from the airport actually, 

which is great if your on a short vaca

from airport to hotel sunshine in 5-

in the middle black row...airport.

 The next time we went it was 2006 & we went back with the kiddos

 Honestly, I can't even remember what this was but we needed 15 new friends immediately. 

with forks.

 kids had pancakes

not JUST pancakes! But griddled Frosted Flakes & fresh Strawberries...oh yeah!

 They had blueberry too...served with sweet faces of syrup :)

 Then we saw this cool old sign on a old theater we loved...turns out our home town 9 hours away was somehow part of San Diego....

 thanks for the memories Amanda & inspiration to blog...

as always vacations & landmarks are fun, but its always the food that brings takes back!

OH and.

Found out tonight, after our last night @ Wayfare, Tyler tweeted my dinner....
too funny!

She's making. He's making.

Day after Christmas tradition has changed.

Which means, time to start "try-outs" for new traditions.

First of all, the mall today.

Not kidding, gotta add that in!!!

no, not crazy, we saw everyone we knew there today!

Which is code for everyone we know, but otherwise wouldn't see over the holidays!

Now, home.

I'm making French Onion Soup.

YUMMM.

So comfort food for me.

And he' making croque monsier.

Again, YUMMM.

My recipe, well, they way I made it last time was a blend of Ina Garten's & Ree Drummond.

Which means soon, after a couple tries, it will be mine. :)

thanks ladies!!! I love you both. dearly.

As for "he's making", I never have. BUT I have eaten it & loved it.

Oh crap, gotta run. He's messing with my soup!!

more later on gifts for the chef that worked!

A

my mornings...

So my mornings are often a flurry. 

I've described my daily awakening as being shot out of a canon into my day. 

sometimes the flood of what has to be done & extreme hurry makes it feel like that...

but its cool, its my life. 

SO. Somedays my life take a turn & I need to sit. 

Oh sit. 

Be still.

Yes, please.

And this particular morning I had just done rounds to schools & home to rake a quick 3 garbage cans full of leaves before the sprinkles started.

And had photos from the day before to edit & sort through. 

this part I love...

and 

then add a cup of tea & a snack. 

Oh be still.

MY heart!

a friend & neighbor had dropped by with 

 our christmas card & her version of baking this year.

a box of Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

score!

Love these things...

and I've made em ;)

so I thought I'd share...

Cake
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened 


1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar 


3 eggs 


1 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger


1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1/2 teaspoon salt 


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon baking powder 


3/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries


4 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks 



Frosting
4-ounces cream cheese, softened


3 cups powdered sugar


2 teaspoons lemon juice


1 teaspoon vanilla extract



1/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries

zest of one orange



Drizzled Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar


1 tablespoon milk


2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Make cake by beating the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, ginger, vanilla, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder until smooth. Mix the chopped dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks into the batter by hand. Pour the batter into a buttered 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is lightly browned on top. Allow the cake to cool.

3. Make the frosting by combining the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, zest  and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chopped dried cranberries over the frosting on the cake.

5. Make the drizzled icing by whisking together powdered sugar, milk, and shortening. Drizzle this icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion with a squirt bottle or fill a small plastic storage bag with the icing and cut off the tip of one corner.

6. Cover the cake and let it chill out in the fridge for a couple hours, then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times, making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.

Makes 16 bars ...ish. unless you nibble. like me :)