Joy the Baker

This time last year I was up to all sorts of mischief in the kitchen.  

Don’t believe me?  Well check out the Blood and Bones above.  Red hot chocolate with bone shaped meringues?  Sinister. 

How about this Butterscotch Pudding with Bourbon Whipped Cream.  One tablespoon of bourbon for the whipped cream…. five tablespoons of bourbon for my belly.  Please.  Thank you.

Then there’s the Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Spread.  Cake and frosting for breakfast.  Sure, I can call them pancakes.  Yes, I added a vegetable… but seriously… this is just good old fashioned cake before noon.  I say do it!

It’s Friday friends!  What sort of mischief are you going to get up to in the kitchen this weekend?

Pumpkin. 

It’s October and it is time.  Pumpkin.  

Hold on to your hats.  I’ll be all up in your grill with peppermint and chocolate for Christmas before you know it.  

For now….

Pumpkin.   Don’t fight it.

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Is it just me, or are there butterflies everywhere?  

Maybe it’s butterfly hatching season…. that’s a technical term: butterfly hatching.  Obviously.  

Exhibit A:  On a particularly rough day at work, a butterfly just about the size of my hand fluttered around me showing off its black, yellow and red wings.  Absolutely gorgeous.  

Exhibit B:  Just this morning a butterfly whizzed past my nose as I rode a bike through the Oakland hills.  High speed butterflying.  

I don’t even need an Exhibit C, I’m tellin’ you… there’s something in the air:  butterflies.  

So, all of this beautiful fluttering action has lead me to, well… look for a little meaning in all of it. 

I know… totally cheese ball, right?  It’s just that I feel something in the air.  Maybe it’s the change of season, or maybe it’s my sun sign doing God knows what to my moon sign.  Who knows?  I just feel a flood of change coming my way.  I think that’s what all these butterflies are trying to tell me.  Change is a’comin’, in more ways than I might already think.  That… or it’s just butterfly hatching season.  I don’t know.

In other news:  I have a fridge full of zucchini and I made zucchini pancakes.  

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Some things just shouldn’t be a luxury.  Some things are an absolute necessity.

Spending too much money at Target, for example.  Sometimes… (you know it’s true) that’s a total necessity.

Hot bath plus cold beer.  You need it.  I need it. Necessity.

A super comfortable dress that shows a little shoulder.  Everyone loves a little shoulder.

A girlfriend you can talk about your lady parts with.  Yes, I said lady parts.  Please don’t under estimate this necessity.

Aaaaand, last but not least… a little pancake love on a weekday morning.  Do it.

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Dear Future Husband and Future Children,

While it’s clear that the universe hasn’t yet pressed us together into a family mold, I think it prudent to get a few things about our life out in the open.  You know, for the sake of transparency.

Future Husband!  In all likelihood, I think you’re the coolest guy around.  You’re awesome.  While I’m certain there are things you do that drive me a little mad, the fact that you help me with the dishes and make me tea in the morning just makes me swoon.  I’m a little quirky.  You’re probably a little nutty too.  That’s only  fair.  You should know that I sometimes show my love in… pancakes, piles and piles of warm pancakes.  Pancakes for breakfast.  Pancakes for a snack.  Pancakes for dinner.  Pancakes.  It’s important that you like, no, loooove pancakes and understand that when I make giant plates of them for breakfast, I’m just trying to show you how much I love you.  Deal?

Future Children!  You’re super cute.  You must be just adorable.  You should know that I want to squeeze you constantly.  When I mix up your names, you should know that it’s not that I don’t know your names… it’s just that things get a little complicated when I’m trying to wrangle all y’all.  Eat your broccoli.  It will make you beautiful, or at least that’s what my Mom used to tell me.  When you feel mortified by my very presence in your teenage years, just realize that that’s all part of the game.  I’m actually not that uncool and you’ll realize that at some point.

Also, like I told your father, I’m going to make you piles and piles of pancakes some mornings.  Eat them, because I love you and you love me, and we love pancakes.

Thanks Future Husband.  Thanks Future Children.  I love you like crazy.  K.  Thanks.  Bye.

Future Wife/Future Mother,

Joy

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I like you.

No..,  I’m being completely serious here.  I totally like you.  I think you’re great.  You know when you sometimes steal the covers and fart in your sleep?   That’s cool with me.  Maybe that happens to all of us.

Yes.  You.  I like exactly who you are.

I’d like to make each and every one of you breakfast.  This weekend.  You and me.  Let’s do it!  The only little snafu is that, I can’t be everywhere, making everyone breakfast.  I’m going to need your help.

Will you make yourself breakfast on my behalf?  Sure, it might sound a little silly, but I’ve got my serious face on right now.  If you’ve been around these blogparts for more than a minute that you probably know that I love… I seriously looooove breakfast.

See, I love breakfast and I totally like you.  I thought that maybe… in this really cool way… you could find a recipe here on Joy the Baker, make it for yourself for breakfast this weekend… and maybe that way just feel a hint of exactly how rad I think you are.

Can we do this together?

Jump on over and drool through some of my favorite breakfast recipes.  Pick one.  Make it for yourself this weekend.  Share it with friends.  Share it with husbands and families.  Make the wife breakfast!  Make yourself feel good with a little weekend breakfast, and you’ll experience a just a bit of how good you all make me feel every day.

Carrot Cake Pancakes.  Say you will.

Chocolate Chocolate Banana Bread.  Say you might.

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Everyday requires a little adventure, wouldn’t you agree?

Some days (say… yesterday for me) that adventure can be as simple as taking a new route home from work (and getting lost driving through the canyons).

Other days, that adventure might mean moving to France for three months  (not my adventure, but bon voyage dear Carsen!).

Maybe sometime during this bright and brisk week, your adventure will involve these Chai Spiced Pancakes.  I dunno about you, but there’s something about a steaming plate of pancakes makes me feel like I’m living the good life.  And chai spice?  Well, let’s just agree to calling that a mild pancake adventure.

Whatever adventure means to do, I say go and do!  Big or small.  France or pancakes.  Treat yourself to a little adventure this week…. and forever.  Foreva, eva, eva?  Yes.

In other exciting, non pancake related news, the 2009 Bloggies are announced this afternoon.  You might want to hop on over there and check out the big winners.  Remember waaaaay back a month ago when I was nominated for Best New Blog?  Yea… well.  Win or no win, being nominated has been the most awesome kick in the pants.  Thanks for making that happen for me.  Really.  Thanks!

Wait!!  There’s more!  Here’s a super secret tip!  You might want to find yourself back here this time tomorrow for a super awesome giveaway.  I’m just sayin’…

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These are the four pictures that are going to make you seriously consider why you aren’t in your kitchen right this second making these pancakes.

These are the four pictures that might just have you prioritizing the next few hours, the next few days, heck(!) your entire weekend around these pancakes.

Yea… that just happened. I just dropped that madness on you. I know… totally unfair.

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Forgive me.  I realize I’m a complete maniac about pancakes.  Not only did I post about pancakes just a few days back, but those pancakes were nearly two weeks in the making.

How about a pancake heavy on the cake?  These carrot cake pancakes are like living in the best of both worlds.  You’ve got all your warm pancake goodness embellished with carrot cake spices, loads of carrots and.  AND!  cinnamon cream cheese spread.  In some ways, and let’s try to keep this a secret,  these carrot cake pancakes are just an excuse to spread sweet cinnamon cream cheese spread all over my breakfast.

Joy, of Joy the Baker is learning all about Italian wines and cheeses.  I got home from a morning wine tasting and decided that I needed something that would sit in my tummy and stick to my ribs.  See,  at this particular morning wine tasting I discovered why there are spit buckets.  If you don’t spit out the glorious wines you’re tasting, you might find yourself tipsy, trying to pronounce Italian wine names to your Italian boss before 10 in the morning.  Not so hot.

Not a winner,  but these pancakes are.

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Praise the heavens! These pancakes were two weeks in the making. And it all started with.. well.. forgive me.. a starter.

It turns out that a sourdough starter, a mixture of flour, water, bacteria and yeast, makes some pretty stellar pancakes. The cakes came out slightly thin, nicely browned and light as air. The starter and baking soda combination created insanely porous and light pancakes. The flavor? Combine sourdough bread and pancakes. Delicious. Super delicious. The slightly sour pancakes are perfectly complimented with maple syrup and sweet strawberries.

If you’ve followed along with me on my starter adventure, I hope you’ll try these pancakes. Jump on over. There are a few things you should know about this wacky pancake mix.

If you have no idea what’s going on, here’s a link to a link to all the sourdough starter madness.

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Am I starting to bore you?  Here I am with another pancake post.  I would almost feel bad about posting so many delicious pancake treats, but I can’t help myself.  I’m serious.  I’ll look you straight in the eye and tell you that I really just can’t help myself.  I must make pancakes about once a week.  I have them for dinner.  I wake up early and make them for breakfast.  And, because we’re all friends I’ll admit this, I freeze old pancakes and take them to work and reheat them in the toaster for lunch.  So you see, I have a serious pancake obsession!

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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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