Summertime: Sour Cherry and Chocolate Scones

I'm popping in with a quick hello.  And, can someone please tell me how August has pulled into the action already?  July went by in a flash, and I hope you managed to check a few things off your summer bucket list.  I managed to zip to the lake for Canada Day weekend, and it was everything you want a summer weekend to be.....hot, but not too hot, barely any bugs, and an overflowing snack drawer.  We ate super well, with all of the lake necessities: s'mores, burgers and beer.  Canoe rides were had, loons were heard and I sat on the dock, watching the sun go down.  With half of summer over, it's time to do all the things you want to do before it's too late.  Go on that Ferris wheel ride; bury your toes in some sand; take your mom on a road trip and stop for ice cream along the way; eat a peach so juicy that all the juices run all the way down your arms, chin, chest; lay on your back, gazing at the stars, wondering if someone, somewhere is gazing at the same stars as you.

Summer Break: Fried Bannock and Book Updates

I'm back!  It's been awhile.  I hope your summer is off to a wonderful start.  How is it that half the year is already over?  Gah!  When I think about it, I've done so much in the past few months, been so many places with the cookbook, I'm happy to have a bit of breather over the next couple of months.  Plans are beginning to shape up for the fall, but right now, I just want to enjoy what is happening at the moment.  Be here now, and all that.  But first, a little recap of my Toronto trip.  Go grab a coffee (cold brew or otherwise).  I'll wait. 

On The Road with All the Sweet Things, Plus Media Links!

Hey all!  I hope you're doing just splendidly on this fine late May day.  What a month it has been!  All the Sweet Things cookbook was been out in the world (officially) for 31 days, and what glorious days they have been.  I've hopped into my shiny new red car and driven over 2,000 Kms to Regina, Lloydminster, Calgary and Edmonton.  I've met sweet old friends along the way, and made plenty of new ones.  Thanks to all who came out to say hi, eat something sweet, buy a cookbook from me, and get it signed.  How I love scrawling my name into your book!  I'll never get tired of that.  I'm home now, taking a bit of a breather, then I hop a plane in two weeks and head to Toronto.  That's right, Toronto friends, I'm coming your way.  I hope to see you at Cookery on June 10th, around 4 pm.  Head to the bottom of this post for more details.  I'm so excited to be in your town!  Let's chat cookbooks and eat cookies and catch up, okay?

Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins, Gratitude and a Giveaway!

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, 

and that gratitude is happiness doubled in wonder."  ~ G.K. Chesterton

It's April 25th, which if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know that it is the official publication date of All the Sweet Things.  This means my book baby is out in the world, for all to read and enjoy.  It's an overwhelming feeling, frankly, to see all of your hard work and dedication for the past two years, being held by other people in their hands.  To think that two years ago I was just thinking about what my cookbook proposal should be.  And now, the book is real and being purchased by friends, family and strangers.  I love the strangers!

Mini Eggs and Book Tour Stuff

It's Easter weekend, and whether you're up to your eyeballs in coloured eggs with the kids or having some much-deserved chill time with Netflix and those darn addictive (and pretty!) Mini Eggs, I hope your time off is treating you well, so far.  I'm doing that combination work/play thing this weekend, but Mini Eggs will be present at both ventures.  Seriously.  Can't stop.  And look!  They match the cover of my book perfectly.  I'm in love!  I was teasing Tree, the designer of the book, that those tasty eggs were the inspiration for the colour palette of the book... turns out I wasn't too far off the mark on that one as she is a fellow member of the Can't Stop Eating Mini Eggs Support Group.   

Brown Butter Buttermilk Banana Bread and Book News!

"I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face."  

~ Langston Hughes 

I know it's still March, and maybe you still have snow on the ground.  Maybe you're currently wearing a sweater and wool socks like I still am, but the air, oh the air, smelled like spring today and I daresay it made me almost weep.  This has been a long winter, like they usually are.  I'm so glad that warmer temps are on the way, as is the Big Melt in the yard.  I swear I have a small lagoon out there right now, but stomping through puddles is a yearly right of passage, amiright?

At a Glance: Sugar-Coated Cake Doughnuts

I was scrolling through my phone this morning, and lo and behold, one year ago I was visiting my mom, and we were testing the last leg of recipes for the cookbook, including this doughnut recipe.  At this point last year I was so close to being done my manuscript I could taste it, and yet had about 20 recipes to go.  A bit of bakers fatigue was setting in, as I suppose it would after going hard for 4 months, testing/baking about 8 recipes a week.  Flash forward to one year later, right here, right now, and I'm so happy to hold my very own copy of All the Sweet Things.  It arrived in my mailbox on Valentine's Day.  Fitting, as I put all of my heart into this project.  To finally hold everything I've worked so hard on, well, it's an indescribable feeling, but something along the lines of joyous and awesome and freaking fantastic comes to mind.