A Taste Treat: Tropical Lemon Bars

When life gives you lemons, make lemon bars!  Usually lemon desserts are not at the top of my must-indulge list.  But today, I felt the need for the sweet, tart gooeyness that only a lemon bar can provide.  I adapted a classic (and easy!) lemon bar recipe to have a tropical twist.

This plate says, "What can you do with a lemon?"
How "parfait" for my new lemon bar recipe! 

The Art of the Cookbook

“Always start out with a larger pot 

than what you think you need.” 

― Julia Child

Even as a child, I remember thumbing through the pages of my parents' cookbooks, discovering new dishes and finding foreign ingredients.  Back then, cookbooks seldom looked the way they do now.  No glossy full-page photographs or food stylists or assumption that the reader was a foodie--just the words of the chef, perhaps a drawing or two and the trusted recipe.  

Cocktail du jour: Champagne Cocktail

When I sip these lovely libations, I feel as if I'm whirling around the dance floor at one of Jay Gatsby's West Egg parties.  Even if I'm wearing stretchy pants and sitting on my derriere while indulging in this bubbly treat, I somehow feel instantly more glamourous. 

"Pinkalicious" Raspberry Cupcakes

Yes, yes, I know some of you may say, why are you sharing a recipe that includes boxed cake mix?  Well, I say to you, naysayers, Giada does it!  And if it's good enough for Giada, it's just fine for me. 

Breakfast in Bed: Chocolate-Banana Oatmeal

Sometimes before I go to sleep, I put my hair in a side-braid and pretend that when I wake up, my maid will have brought me tea and eggs in little egg cups and toast all on a tray with white linens.  You know, Downton Abbey style?  But, since I live instead with a harried husband and a precocious two-year-old and alas no lady's maid, I shall look for alternative means of having a delightful breakfast.

Bonjour, again...

"I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition." -Martha Washington

Well, it would appear I took a year off!  I didn't really plan to stop writing.  I wasn't in want of recipes to share nor flowers to arrange nor adventures to detail, but I simply lost some steam and became focused on family and work.  And a year passed by in a blink.