Kitchen Travels

Kitchen :: Totally Easy, Totally Delicious, Totally Vegan! Vanilla Cupcakes

So yeah... remember in my last post, how I promised to share some recipes from my Halloween dessert table in "a few days"? Do 90-something days count as "a few"? Probably not. What can I say? I've been busy. More on that later.

Kitchen+Travels :: So I Made a Little Halloween Dessert Table...

So I made a little Halloween Dessert Table for a Fall carnival at my children's school a couple weeks ago. Everything on the table, from the cake to the candies, was 100% natural. True! No artificial colors or flavors. It got a great reaction from the kids and parents, which made me so happy. Everyone just loved it, including...

Yes! The amazing Amy Atlas is featuring my design on her blog today! Can you believe it? I am overjoyed. What a wonderful way to start the weekend. Thank you, Amy! And for you, my lovely readers, I'll have recipes for desserts from the table up in the next few days.

Please drop by Amy's blog and leave a comment to let me know what you think of the dessert table. And if you are interested in having me style a dessert table for your upcoming party, contact me! I'd love to design something sweet for you and your guests.

Kitchen+Travels :: Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure Contest

Do you guys dream at night? I do. All the time. Some nights more than others, but my dormant mind is definitely on the active side of the dream scale. Sometimes my dreams are so vivid and wonderful, like the flying dreams from my childhood, or the dreams I sometimes have as an adult, in which I can jump reeeeeeaaaaalllly high and far. Other times, things are more random and/or just plain odd... like the night I kept dreaming about making juice. Juice? What does that say about me? Wait, don't answer that.

Local Travels :: Esther's Cupcakes

Doesn't it seem like cupcakes have been popping up everywhere in the last few years? There are blogs, blogs, and more blogs, all about cupcakes. They show up at parties ranging from birthdays to baby showers. The Food Network regularly pits cupcake bakers against one another in the popular T.V. show, Cupcake Wars. Even the traditional wedding cake isn't safe from the cupcake craze. And you know what? All that is just fine by me. I love cupcakes, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Whew! I'm so glad I finally got that out in the open.

Kitchen :: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, I'm happy to be guest posting over at my friend Stephanie's blog as part of her Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge.

Stephanie is the talented voice, baker, and photographer behind 52 Kitchen Adventures. We first met at a blog-related dinner event where, about 20 minutes into our meal, we discovered that Stephanie and my husband work together. Small world... again.

Bonus: you can join the 3C Challenge, too! Click here for all the details, then head on over to 52 Kitchen Adventures and check out my guest post with my recipe for Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. I promise you'll want to run right home and bake some of your own! Because whether you're gluten-free or not, these cookies ROCK. 

See you back here soon at Kitchen Travels!

Travels :: Sacramento's Got It GOOD {GOOD: street food + design market}

Sometimes, people just get it right. Such is the case with the GOOD: street food + design market, a new art and food event that premiered last Sunday afternoon in Sacramento.

When I first received the invitation to the GOOD event from Roshaun at Unseen Heroes, I thought it would be a great opportunity for my husband Randy and I to spend some time by ourselves. Like, on a date. But it was not to be. Our playdate plans for the twins fell through at the last minute, so we ended up taking them with us. On the upside, it was so nice to have some quality twin time, and any time girls can get a "tatoo" (aka: handstamp), it's a good thing.

Breakfast in Italy: Gluten-Free Artisan Bread

I know you're supposed to wait until it cools to slice it. I have no willpower when it comes to freshly-baked bread.

Before you get all jealous about my breakfast in Italy, let's be clear: I am most definitely not in Italy at the moment. Nor do I plan to be in Italy, sadly, any time soon.

That is, unless Nike rings me up and asks me to make a movie about what it means to #makeitcount, in which case... I'm there. Hear that, Nike? I'm available. Any time. Just say the word. Nike? Hello?

Easy, Homemade, Beautiful Burger Buns (with love)

It's Valentine's Day, and most food bloggers have been posting all kinds of sweet and beautiful treats on their blogs for the last few weeks. I know lots of people make a big deal of this "holiday" every year, and for many, expectations are high. There will be chocolate, heart-shaped confections, expensive dinners, champagne... or at least the hope for these things.

Not for me. Valentine's Day doesn't hold any particular magic or allure for me. Don't get me wrong -- I am not one of those people who hates Valentine's Day. It's nice, and the sentiment behind it -- a day dedicated to love -- is, well, lovely.But my husband and I have never been the type of couple who get starry-eyed simply because the calendar says February 14. Maybe it's because he worked in the bar and restaurant industry for so many years. Kind of hard to plan a special date on one of the busiest nights on the year.

Foraging and Roasting Fresh Chestnuts

This is the third in a series of "catchup" posts. xo

Chestnuts! For me, like many Americans, they are woven into the fabric of fall and winter holidays. In a way, we all grew up with chestnuts, or at least the idea of them. Each year when the weather turns cold, we know we'll hear Nat King Cole famously crooning about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. We'll be singing the songs we love to sing, at the fireplace as we watch the chestnuts pop. Pop! Pop! Pop! If we find ourselves in one of New York's five boroughs (or any number of European cities) around the holidays, we might be lucky enough to snag a cone of freshly roasted chestnuts, hot from the corner vendor. 

And if we're fans of those gorgeous holiday magazines - aren't we all? - we'll be reading about chestnuts and dreaming of ways to cook with them. I'd bet money that every single November issue of the now-defunct Gourmet magazine included at least one chestnut recipe. It's a tradition that I sorely miss.

Wordless Wednesday: Chocolate Rosemary Truffle Cake with Rosemary Sea Salt Caramel