Pumpkin has many personalities. Americans have experienced the sweet, spicy version we love so much in our pumpkin pies and pumpkin breads. More recently we have learned to love pumpkin and coffee in pumpkin lattes. And slowly we are accepting that pumpkin is also a versatile ingredient for savory dishes like pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin ravioli, and pumpkin soup…

I like creamy, rich soups the best. In chilly weather there is just nothing like a hot, creamy soup to warm you up. At the same time I love exotic flavors. This Thai Coconut Curry Soup has it all!
Rich and creamy, with a faint coconut flavor that is followed by a tingle of spiciness. As my dad used to say, “This soup has some authority to it!”.

Eating hot peppers really does cause your circulation to increase and it warms you up more than just a warm soup alone would. You can simmer this in a crockpot or make it on …read more

Browned butter is a wonderful ingredient. It was used a lot in vintage recipes because it gives a lot of flavor easily. In these cupcakes the butter adds a rich, nutty, caramel flavor that pairs nicely with the very sweet penuche frosting.  Although the frosting has coconut and pecans it is more like pralines than the traditional frosting for German Chocolate cake.

The frosting is very thick and has a creamy fudge-like consistency. It is best just to spoon a dollop on the top rather than trying to spread it. You wouldn’t believe how amazing the house smells while these are …read more

Coconut Cherry White Chocolate Bars are amazing. The bottom is a layer of  shortbread, followed by a gooey sweet layer of coconut, cherry and white chocolate and the thinnest of sugary, crispy crusts forms on top during baking.  Pure bliss. Pure richness. Best of all these, like all bar cookies, are  super easy and quick.

O.k..so it took me nearly all night but I did some baking. In fact this recipe is out of my cookbook….sort of. I found out something interesting tonight. I can’t even follow my OWN recipes verbatim.

This oatmeal cake is as homey and comforting as it gets. My Aunt Lillian made it often and, while you probably would not find it in a Parisian cafe oatmeal cake really does taste like what a quilt, a good book and a roaring fire would taste like if you could taste that feeling. . I believe that I bake this in a 9″ square pan.
  Oatmeal cake is not too too sweet…Just right with a cup of cold milk or a cup of coffee…
  1 1/4 c boiling water
1 c quick oatmeal
Pour water over oatmeal and let stand for 20 minutes.
 Add:
1 …read more

Here are the pictures! Thanks Marc!!

I will post pictures of this in a bit. You see, there has apparently been a mutiny in techni-land and my computer is not speaking to my camera. Even my husband, who is the computer fixer in our family, has been unable to mediate between the two. He has graciously and wonderfully volunteered to take my camera to work and load the pictures on his laptop when he has time and then emailing them to me. As soon as that happens pictures will magically appear on today’s recipe. Life is good.
Anyway. In my …read more

The original for this can be found at Epicurious. I changed it up a little bit because the first time I made it I wanted a little more intensity in the flavor. I really love this but it is a bit more dense even than a normal carrot cake..the buttercream… What can I say about that?…oh my.
I made this for my husband Marc’s birthday which we are celebrating today. He loves spice cake and I expect that this carrot cake will disappear in an enthusiastic burst of activity….similar to the termites in the old Looneytunes cartoons. …read more

UPDATED! HERE is the picture..and we had a great time taking care of the *example pie*!
I looked through my files..thought I had a picture of this and didn’t…aww…gee, I suppose that means that I am going to have to actually force myself to make it so I can get a picture in the next few days..I know, it’s tough, but someone has to do it, right?
  This is an absolutely delightful blend of flavors. A layer of buttery rich praline coats the flakey crust and then a thick layer of coconut cream, all snugly covered with a thick whipped cream.
 Coconut praline …read more