Coconut Bread

Sometimes when I'm visiting the home of a friend or family member, I'll take a sneaky peek at their cookbook collection and - if I'm feeling really sneaky - I'll snap photos of some of the recipes with my phone so I can make them later. What's the point of me buying a new cookbook if I can just creepily take pictures of yours when you're not looking?

So we went to visit my boyfriend's mom in Calgary recently... and long story short, I have a lot of pictures of cookbook pages on my phone now. My favourite book to look at when I'm at her house is Donna Hay's Seasons because like all of Donna Hay's other books, it's filled with pretty pictures of simple and interesting food. This recipe for coconut bread caught my eye right away.

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Pistachio Macarons

Recently I've had a string of okay-but-not-great baking experiences, using recipes I found online. I'm usually pretty discerning with recipes I find on the internet - I pay close attention to ratings and comments, and I'll rarely use one that has no feedback at all. But I just wasn't having great luck. The things I made weren't bad, per se, but I wouldn't take the time to make them again. So after those disappointments, I decided to hit the books - cookbooks, that is.
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Sour Cherry & Almond Tarts

Once I get the first whiff of spring, I immediately want to do the following, all day every day: 1) stroll along Whyte Ave, coffee in hand; 2) sit on a patio, any patio, and get day-tipsy; and 3) go to the farmers' market, namely the Old Strathcona Farmers Market. The Strathcona market is great because it's indoors, so even if you have premature spring fever and it's still -10 degrees outside, you can get that lovely market experience without freezing your buns off. 

We went to the Strathcona market a few weeks ago, and it was packed with equally eager market-goers. Among the goodies I picked up was a bag of frozen sour cherries from Rainbow Acres farm. I can never find cherries in the grocery store that aren't candied or swimming in sugar, so this was exciting. Real cherries are such a rare treat. Plus these were already pitted! Since then I've browsed what feels like hundreds of cherry recipes, until I finally landed on this cherry almond tart from the Joy of Baking. It was a tough decision, but someone had to make it. 

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Incredibly Chewy Maple French Toast Cookies

 

Allow me to introduce Attempt #2 in my quest for a copycat of Bloom Cookie Co.'s maple french toast cookie. Damn you, Bloom, for making your cookies so unattainably delicious! (But please don't stop whatever you're doing. It's amazing).

I decided to try my hand at these again (attempt #1 can be found here) because I bought a package of maple french toast Blooms at Remedy on Friday, and I remembered how crazy good they are. Plus it's March, which means it's sugaring off season down east, which means MAPLE TIME. AKA, the most wonderful time of the year.

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Rye Baguettes

 
Is there anything cooler than getting a surprise in the mail? I love how finding a UPS notification amid piles of junk mail and bills is guaranteed to make your day like a hundred times brighter. I'm lucky enough to have a very, very sweet mom, and a couple weeks ago she ordered me the Nordic Bakery Cookbook and had it sent to me, for no reason in particular. Best mail ever (and best mom ever).

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