What's New

Currently I am sitting on my couch with a cup of Peppermint-Pat Tea, from Portsmouth Tea Company. My mom and I took a trip to Portsmouth, NH in the winter and visited Portsmouth Tea Company's cafe, where they also have some retail, including all of their teas. Next to each tea (which they have an incredible selection of) is a glass jar with a description and sample of each tea to smell. We were there for a late lunch on a snowy day and had the whole place to ourselves. It was lovely and delicious. Their Peppermint-Pat Tea is chocolate peppermint. Mmmmm.
I am also watching Ace of Cakes, where they have just made a life sized motorcycle cake and a 10 tier wedding cake! Wow, Think Big!

Just took a break to pull out my breakfast muffins for tomorrow morning, yum!

Anyways...
Lately Granola has been baking as usual, and I have been playing with some new recipes. Last Friday night I made dinner: Shitake, Leek, and Sesame Noodles from Rachael Ray! It was delicious! I used soba noodles, and had to substitute candied ginger for fresh ginger since I didn't have any fresh. I decided to used pieces instead of ground ginger to really taste the individual pieces. I love ginger. The recipe also included edamame and black sesame seeds, along with a couple other asian flavorings. Black sesame seeds aren't a common item to keep around, but since I use them in the smoky granola I had them in the house.

On Mother's Day we got invited to our friends home on the Cape! We were asked to bring dessert, so naturally I volunteered. I got out a cookbook and went searching for a recipe. My mom requested oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so I went with it. The recipe I settled on not only had chocolate chips in it, it also used walnuts and cocoa powder. The cocoa powder was really nice because it gave the cookies an extra chocolate boost without taking away from the oats. The cookies were fantastic, and will definitely be made again!

The freshly baked breakfast muffins are oatmeal cranberry muffins. The recipe calls for fresh cranberries and at this time of year I couldn't find them fresh, canned, or frozen! Instead, I decided to use goji berries! Goji berries are full of good stuff: vitamins, protein, fiber, etc. Although I was using dried ones, it wasn't an issue, because they absorb the wet ingredients and become closer to the consistency of a raisin. A great addition to muffins!

That's what's going on in the kitchen, more to come soon!