Pumpkin Chunkin

Yet another month (plus) has gone by and yes, I took a big baking hiatus.  I mean like - I did not bake for an entire month!  I know - I'm sorry.  I really don't know what got into me...sometimes you just need just take a few weekends, drink a bit, and sleep in until 2 pm like you're back in college.  And that, my friends, is exactly what I did.

The only thing that broke me out of my doingabsolutelynothingwithmylifeisfun phase was the approach of one of my favorite holidays - Thanksgiving!  Why is Thanksgiving my favorite holiday you ask?  Well, turkey, for one thing.  No pressure for gift-giving is another.  But being with family and friends who all celebrate this one holiday cause we're Americans (read: Amuuuricans) tops the charts.  Oh - and you can seriously have as many Thanksgivings as you can fit in a one week period.  I'm serious (and thankful...see what I did there?)

With that being said, I've now gone zero-to-sixty and have so many recipes and pics to share!  I think the easiest way to go about this will be in chronological order, or at least that's my excuse for appeasing my OCD-self.  Three Thanksgivings...three posts - get excited.

Lady in red

Attention all...your party pants are required because I've officially made it to my 10th post!  Yay!  Okay, maybe not that big a deal, or any deal at all for that matter, but we do have many other things to celebrate.  Like birthdays!  And...a casino?  Erm - no matter!  I always love it when my baking can be used for multiple purposes and I tend to pull out my favorite recipes for these occasions.

I'm actually amazed that I've been able to hold out this long to bring out this tried and true favorite of mine.  It was one of the first cupcake recipes that I baked successfully and decorated, so go me!  It's also a cupcake flavor that is super popular, always requested, and should be required on the repertoire of every baker-wannabe (like myself).  Pants, party or of any other variety, however, are optional but suggested.

Everything but the kitchen sink

Hi hi!!  So I know you were all worried about me, but I'm still here!  My apologies for missing about a month's worth of posts, but so many things have been happening.  I finished all my requirements for my master's degree (finally) and so obviously had to celebrate and do absolutely nothing for a bit.  My roommie also had her Ironman up in Mont-Tremblant (insert French laugh here) and so we went up to support and spectate.  She's amazing, btw, in case you were wondering!

With all my little mini-trips I've been taking (heading to the Jersey shore this weekend - woot!), I've had little time to bake.  This is completely baffling to me since for the past two years I've physically been at school 8+ hours a week on top of a 40+ hour work week, and that doesn't even include time I spent on homework I had to do.  Where did all that time go?  I want it back!

Blueberries for Sal

A group of friends and I went up to Booth Bay, Maine this past weekend and I was volunteered to provide dessert options.  To be exact, the suggested food list went as follows:

"Coffee, bagels, OJ, eggs, bacon, bread, cheese, cold cuts, Pooncakes, more eggs, all the bacon."

No choice whatsoever!  But then again, these guys have practically made Pooncakes a food group so I really couldn't say no.  It just so happens the weekend before the trip, we had also made a failed beach attempt and instead ended up at Russell Farms in Ipswich, MA to do some fruit picking.  It was awesome - not only did we pick these amazing blueberries, red raspberries, and black raspberries, we also got to see pigs, geese, turkeys, and a mini-horse!  I also may have contracted West Nile Virus with the number of mosquito bites I got, but I'm still kicking so I'm optimistic.  Anyways, the point of that story was my double inspiration to make something with blueberries in it.  Picked blueberries, blueberries grow in Maine...get the association?