Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Pete and I had a busy day yesterday with out-of-town friends visiting with their new baby and plans to cook dinner for another couple.  I had prepared a vegetarian lasagna earlier in the week, so that all I had to do was pop it in the oven while I made garlic bread and Pete made the salad.  For dessert, I wanted to do something light, but I only had an hour to make something, so it had to be quick. 

Earlier in the week, I had downloaded the Valentine’s Day recipes from West Elm that were created by Whimsy & Spice’s Mark Sopchak and Jenna Parks.  The Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Cakes topped with mascarpone cream and blueberry lavender compote seemed like (and were) the perfect compliment to the heaviness of the lasagna.  Bonus points that the cakes and toppings took less than an hour to make, and used simple ingredients. 




{images by me}

Valentine’s Day Cards

One of the (rare) things I miss about being a kid in school again is celebrating Valentine’s Day.  It was always so much fun to decorate the classroom with red and pink hearts, make the card holders that would hang from the back of our desk chairs, and exchange cards and candy with everyone.  By far the most exciting part was opening and reading all of the cards… and discovering a secret crush.    

Well there may not be a classroom in which to exchange cards anymore, but there are plenty of people in our lives to whom we can send a little love and brighten up their day with a Valentine card.  In order to relive some of that childhood fun, here are some cute card options, all of which come in sets.

From Westmama Designs


From Moncher Designs

From Mello Press


From Idea Chic


From Raw Art Letterpress


From Kathryn Whyte


From Rifle Paper Co.

And a Yummy 2012 to You!

We’re two weeks in to 2012, how’s it treating you so far?  Did any of you make resolutions this year?  Personally, I don’t really go for the New Year’s resolutions business.  I like to believe that change can happen at any time, and I’m always making lists of things I want and/or need to do throughout the year.  As such, yesterday I crossed a couple items off my cooking to do list: making the perfect, kind-you-get-in-a-fancy-restaurant, poached eggs (without the use of special equipment) and marshmallows (because they seemed daunting to make). 

Behold this beautiful set of poached eggs made this morning.  Light, fluffy, and runny… just like what you get at a restaurant.  It took some tries to get it right, but I finally got it.  Here’s the video I watched initially that helped get me started.   



Now for the real yumminess, the marshmallows.  I had been ogling the Whimsy & Spice marshmallows for a long time, but at some point decided that I should just try making them myself.  So I found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen the other day, and decided it was time to go for it. 

I followed all of the steps, and the only change I made was to add salted caramel that I had made earlier in the day (I was a cooking machine this weekend.  The poached eggs, caramel, and marshmallow are only half of the things I made on Saturday).  Once I poured out the marshmallow mixture into the dish to set per the recipe, I just drizzled the caramel on top then ran a knife up down and side to side until the caramel was sufficiently mixed in.  I kept the knife shallow so as not to stir up the marshmallow mixture too much and knock all of the air bubbles out of it (I’m just assuming this would be the case based on my self-taught knowledge of baking). 

I put the marshmallow in the fridge overnight since it was late by the time I’d finished them, and they need to set in the fridge for up to 3 hours.  I crossed my fingers that they would at least be edible in the morning.


I had no trouble getting the marshmallow slab to release from the dish this morning as you can see above.  I tried to use a sharp knife to cut them, but it immediately got stuck, so I used kitchen scissors instead and they made quick work of it. 

Admittedly, I was a little nervous about how they would taste.  Having only ever had store brand marshmallows, I didn’t  know what to expect from homemade.  Some things are just better to purchase than to make yourself.  So believe me when I tell you, these are nothing like the store bought brands.  In fact, these make the store bought kind are more like Nerf balls than food by comparison.  These are melt-in-your-mouth goodness. 

I even roasted one over a burner to test it out, and oh my god, it was even more amazing.  I’m usually a burn until charred black kind of roasted marshmallow maker, but now I see that that was just an attempt to imbue some sort of flavor where none existed.  Again these marshmallows are not those marshmallows.  These are full of flavor even when lightly roasted, and they melt all the way through in about two seconds.  They lasted a little bit longer in hot chocolate (yep, I had a full on sugar-filled morning, no wonder I crashed at 2pm)…well until I started scooping out the creamy, melty marshmallow and eating it.        

Wow, all this talk about marshmallows has got me craving one last toasted marshmallow before bed.  Luckily for me, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet. :)