This is a celebration cake to make for somebody you really love.
For me, that was my friend Lily, though I will say I made it for her pre-baby. Two days pre-baby, to be exact. I was on maternity leave and had just a litttttle more time left on my hands before our little bundle of joy came along (and completely changed the meaning of “free time” (and how I spent it)).
I think it made her happy, so that made me happy. I was also happy to eat it. Yum. It was so good. Several people remarked that it seemed like bakery quality, and even Eric told me he liked it, and he normally doesn’t even like chocolate cake. (But don’t worry. I love chocolate cake and I looooved it, too.)
That night, as our huge group celebrated at the restaurant, who did we run into but my dear brother and sister-in-law! Naturally I wanted to share my chocolate creation with them. They liked it so much that they later requested it for my niece’s 1st birthday party several months later. So I made the cake once more, again for somebody I really loved. And this time, it was with my own baby in tow… so methinks that’s somehow even more love than Lily got. Because spending all day making a cake pre-baby is not the same as spending all day making a cake post-baby. It was a hit, and even though my niece never got to try a bite, I know the guests enjoyed it! She’ll have to wait a little longer before she’s allowed processed sugar, but if she’s anything like her aunt, I think she’ll take to it pretty quickly :).
We had just had our babygirl, and Danny and Akemi were so generous to drive an hour to visit with their baby AND prepare us a delicious Japanese meal! Japanese is our FAVORITE cuisine, so we were ecstatic as we watched them cut and slice and prep their superfresh ingredients in our kitchen. So spoiled, I know!
Surprisingly, one of my favorites of the night was this simple appetizer. I had just never thought to eat tofu uncooked before! The photo above is missing the splash of soy sauce to finish, but otherwise it’s exactly what you see: soft tofu, grated ginger, and green onions. It’s so easy, so bright and refreshing, and lovely to eat!
I’ve made this myself a number of times since, especially on nights where I know I have something fried (like tonkatsu) on the menu. It feels fresh and bright and it’s so simple to prepare– definitely a good one to keep in your back pocket for quick dinner nights!
This one is lookin’ mighty good for an Easter brunch. We’ve actually never had one, since we’re always at a long church service that morning… but if we did, this would be on the menu! Mm-mm. This is GOOD STUFF.
My husband is a lover of all things salmon, and all things egg, so this is right up his alley. He also loves appetizers, so it pretty much makes his day when this is served up! The egg salad is just perfect– slightly creamy, with a hit of mustard and dill, which complements the smoked salmon so nicely. Whether you’re having a brunch or a bridal shower (smoked salmon won’t do for pregnant mommas at a baby shower though), this is a beautiful, perfect little finger food to serve up!
Mashed potatoes are delicious. Fried food is delicious.
Which explains why smashed, fried potatoes are AMAZING.
Amazing.
If you share in my love for savory, crispy things,
We haven’t set up too many traditions in our family yet, but here’s one that has been going eight years strong: COOKIES ON RAINY DAYS. I am strong believer in fresh-baked cookies on rainy days, and have had plenty of opportunities to continue the tradition here in rainy California the last couple of weeks. Speaking of rain, I just want to say: California teachers, I felt for you on those wet days. I really did. I do not miss those rainy weeks of cabin-fevered children and indoor recesses. I wish you many cookies and hot baths when you get home!
Back to cookies. So a few months ago, one of my favorite people in the world sent me this request: “Would you be willing to post your recipe for your coffee toffee chocolate chip cookies? [Someone] made your lemon bars last week so I remembered my absolute favorite of your desserts…” How could I say no to that? So I emailed her the recipe, and have been waiting for rainy days to come so it would be juuust the right time to share it with you all, too!
These are also my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookies of all time. If I were a recipe hoarder, this is one I would hoard. I’ve tried maybe 15-20 different chocolate chip cookie recipes in my lifetime (including these and these and these and these), but the one I am about to share continues to be my all-time favorite. Hands-down. As a matter of fact, it’s probably one of my all-time favorite recipes of all time, chocolate or not. Yeah. Really. 
My baby girl just turned one! I still can’t believe the first year has passed! I was inspired to make the outfit above when I saw this cute outfit on Etsy. For the party, I didn’t have a clear theme, but just picked out things I liked as I perused Pinterest
When I was in high school, I was hanging out with some friends at a summer camp when someone said something about “special brownies.”
My ears perked up and I instantly chimed in, “I make special brownies!”
Everyone stopped talking and looked at me. (This was a Christian camp, mind you.)
Wow, they’re really interested! So I offered, “…I can make you some!”
A few years ago, a friend hosted a soup swap, where a bunch of us met and swapped quarts of soup. It was an impressive affair, with soups ranging from oxtail soup to clam chowder to Tom Ka Gai.
I was relatively new to cooking and had never really made soup before, so it took me a while to figure out what I could manage. I decided to go with butternut squash soup. I actually thought I was going fancy, because for me, peeling and cutting up all that squash seemed so labor-intensive! I packaged my soup with some “homemade Acme baguette croutons” on the side, hoping that it would convince people to PICK MINE!! 🙂
The event was pretty fun, and I came home with a nice variety of soups to sample. I did, however, decide that butternut squash soup was too much work to make, so I didn’t really consider making it again… untilllll…
I DISCOVERED PRE-PEELED AND CUBED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AT COSTCO!
I love the way the whole house feels when I make this banana bread loaf cake. Every room is infused with this amazingly warm, spicy aroma that makes you feel all cozy and homey and delicious and wonderful when this is in the oven. Sometimes I make it a point to bake it before Ben gets home from work so that I can look forward to him walking into the house, inhaling deeply, and saying, “Mmmm smells gooood in here! …Banana bread?!?!”
If that’s not the very picture of domestic bliss, I don’t know what is.
First of all, thank you for your responses in my last post. I felt like I just made a bunch of new friends, and now I want to visit y’all in Australia and the UK and throughout the U.S.! I really do appreciate that you’ve joined me here on this blog and I hope you continue to benefit from what I share here. 😀 – JoEllen
This recipe is DELISH and I had to share it with ya while the zucchinis are still big and ripe and ready to go this season! I made it this week and brought some to our friends who just had their second child (NEWBORNS ARE SO FRESH AND SWEET AND CUTE TO HOLD!) and received this adorable feedback from their two year old son:
We thoroughly enjoyed your meal! Isaac kept saying “Joellen did not cook the soup. No no the chef cooked it.” I kept telling him auntie Jo cooked it but he kept insisting it was a chef. lol. he really loved it.
See? Kid-approved. And simple to make. Can’t ask for much more than that.
Maybe it’s just me, but zucchini in soup form tastes nothing like sauteed zucchini. I like it both ways, but I would have never guessed that the soup version would taste the way it does! It’s bright and creamy and smooth and even a little sweet.
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