I know this is a bit of a departure for me. But seriously- check out these grits with grilled sweet corn, grilled onions, jalapeno peppers and sharp cheddar cheese.  Amazingly delicious!  

Grits are a corn based, sometimes breakfast, sometimes dinner, always delicious cereal type food.  Is that clear?  Grits are similar to something like polenta, which is another corn product.  Essentially grits are coarsely ground corn.  They’re popular in the Southern United States, where they know how to do them up right with butter, cheese and bacon.  Bless them for they’re fantastic use of fat.  Seriously.  

My grits were cooked in water and salt, then graced with a generous pat of butter.  I grilled up some fresh sweet corn, onions and jalapeno pepper until they were nice a browned then layered that on top of the cooked grits.  The whole dish was topped with a handful of grated sharp cheddar.  I had a tub of sour cream ready too, just in case I needed an extra dollop of richness…. but I decided to be reasonable and skipped the sour cream.    

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Did you know that they sell quick bread box mixes in grocery stores!?  I think that’s so strange.  Fake flour, loads of sugar, and ultra dehydrated blueberries in a box to be mixed with water and eggs.  This concerns me… deeply.  Exactly how quick does a quick bread have to be to make it in this world?

I think homemade quick breads are dreamy.  With enough creativity and guts, you can throw just about anything into a quick bread and call it delicious.  This go around I tried zucchini and sweet potato.  The combination produced a full and unique flavor:  not too heavy on the zucchini or sweet potato flavors.  And of course, because I’m me, I also loaded the bread with spices, nuts and cranberries.  You can modify if to your taste, I make room for that in the recipe.  Because, yes, I care.

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I know.  I’ve been coming up with some pretty strange combinations lately.  This ice cream and hot fudge combination may be the strangest yet.  Remember that homemade hot fudge sauce from last week?  Well, after trying it on nearly everything in my kitchen, it seemed that the proper thing to do was make some ice cream.  Blueberry sour cream ice cream sounded perfect for the approaching summer, and I crossed my fingers that it would work with hot fudge.

The combination was unusual, but fantastic!!  The ice cream is a beautiful blue purple, and the blueberry flavors are highlighted by the light, slight tang of the sour cream.  Smothering that mess in dark chocolate hot fudge adds a depth and richness to the light ice cream.  It’s absolutely delicious!  Like one of those fancy, strange sounding desserts at a hip and trendy restuarant.   (more…)

Thanks to all of you for the kind words in my cookie giveaway.  I’m so glad I could lure some of you silent readers out into the commenting world with the chance at free cookies!

And the winners of fresh baked, express mail, Red Velvet Black and White Cookies are:

Megan of Meganscooking

Jennifer who is pregnant and probably really needs some black and whites

Tara who’s sister is a wiz at apron making

and Whitney in Chicago.  Good luck on your big test!!

I’ll be baking this week and ship those cookies off to you all soon.  And don’t fret, there are more yummy giveaways coming soon.  I just can’t help myself!

 What’s the strawberry treat above?  It’s a simple and surprisingly delicious dessert.  A bowl of quality vanilla ice cream, topped with sliced strawberries and drizzled with good aged balsamic vinegar.  I know it sounds a little crazy, but it’s a pretty incredible, fresh, perfect for summer dessert.  Go out on a limb and try this one.  Do it for me. 

Please allow me to take a break from the usual photo and recipe post to tell you all how fabulous you are!

I only started Joy the Baker about 5 months ago.  In those short months, I have connected with fellow food lovers from around the world.  The response has been truly heart warming.  The praise, support and inspiration has really changed my life.

Thank you!  Thank you for visiting so loyally.  Thank you for reading, drooling and commenting.  Thank you for trying my recipes and telling me about your successes and oopsies.  Thank you for all of the laughs and inspiration that you have unknowingly provided me.  

The only real way to say thank you is with cookies.  These Red Velvet Black and White Cookies have gone off the charts in their popularity on this site.  So, three lucky Joy the Baker readers will find these little beauties in their mail boxes- a thank you from me to you!  All you have to do is a leave a comment on this post, and I’ll pick at least three random names, ship them off, and you’ll enjoy cookies!  Go on, leave me a comment.  Tell me something good.

Thanks again for all of your support!  It means so much to me! 

I’m a sucker for treats warm out of the oven.  But really, who isn’t!?  One of my favorite things to burn my mouth on is muffins fresh out of the oven.  I thought I’d treat myself to some classic blueberry muffins, but when I saw frozen black raspberries in the grocery store, classic blueberry went right out the window.  The raspberries add loads of flavor and tons of sexy purple black coloring.  These muffins are perfect, fresh out of the oven for a weekend breakfast, and then freeze well for a mid week breakfast treat.  And I sure do like my breakfast treats.  I can’t help myself.

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I made some glorious dark chocolate hot fudge this afternoon.  In the 20 minutes it took me to whip it up, I looked around the kitchen and found countless things to douse in hot fudge.  

Sliced bananas were a clear choice.  Simple and delicious and showed off the richness of the warm dark chocolate. Ice cream is an obvious choice, but you’ll have to hold your breath for a future post on that.

And then…. I started to lose my mind in hot fudge land.  How about hot fudge on black raspberry muffins?  cold cereal?   crackers?  sour dough bread? jasmine rice? waffles?  

Yea.  I know.  A little out of control.  It’s just that this sauce was so easy to make, and seems to versatile.  

What’s your favorite thing to smother in hot fudge?

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I love waking up about half an hour early on Wednesdays to make pancakes for breakfast.  They really take very little time to throw together, and they make a world of difference to my day.  I can’t save my pancakes only for special weekend breakfasts.  Sometimes (every Wednesday) I need that weekend indulgence before I throw on the chef’s coat and dive into the big kitchen.

Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Pancakes are surprisingly light, healthy, and keep me full well into the afternoon.  Drizzled with homemade Vanilla-Brown Sugar Syrup and served with a side of fresh fruit, I can indulge in the comforts of a lazy Sunday morning, even on a daunting weekday. 

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Ok… with this recipe I’ve totally been busted.  It’s late April and here I am with a pumpkin post.  That can only mean one thing-  I’ve had a can of pumpkin in my pantry since last Thanksgiving.  Absurd!  I know!  That little pumpkin gem must have gotten pushed to the back of the line in the past few months.  Well, it’s seen the light of day in these most delicious cookies.

  These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are a combination of cookie, cake and pancake and quick bread.  They’re super soft, moist and cakey.  They’re full of pumpkin and spice flavor, and the chocolate just sends them over the top.

  I know I can’t be the only one with a lonely can of pumpkin in the pantry.  These cookies are a simple and delicious was to celebrate that forgotten can!  Throw some vanilla ice cream in, and life has suddenly improved.  It’s as easy as that!

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There are countless reason why I love making brownies.  All they require is a bowl and wooden spoon.  They’re moist and satisfy that deep chocolate craving.  But more sentimentally, brownies are one of the first things I remember making with my sister growing up.  We’d take out one bowl, one pan, follow the directions on the back of the unsweetened chocolate box, and about 45 minutes later- warm brownies!  We’d burn our fingers trying to get the hot brownies out of the pan.  But it was worth it to sit down with a plate of warm brownies and cold milk to watch episode after episode of I Love Lucy.  Those were the days.  These old school Fudge Brownies with walnuts and chocolate chunks were made in an effort to reach back to those days eating brownies on the living room floor with my sister.  The amazing thing is that one bite into the warm chocolate  took me right back to being 10 years old, baking with my sister.  It’s pretty remarkable what a brownie can do! (more…)