Look at you!

No… seriously.  Look at you!  You’re adorable!

I have some seriously cute readers.  Um…. you guys!?  I had no idea you were so cute and sassy.  Yes… even you Rory, with your Tazmanian Devil mug.  You’ve got sass.  You’ve got class.  You’ve got cuteness for days.

I think I’ve got a crush on each and every one of you.

Can we do this every day?  You know… you send me a cute self pic and I giggle at how precious you are?  Yea?  Ok, great.

In all reality, your pictures improved my life by exactly 56.6%.  I did the math.

See, I bop around my kitchen singing songs, baking cookies and taking pictures.  It feels great.  It brings me a lot of joy.  Then I sit down at a computer, fiddle around, type some words and press some buttons.  You come.  You read.  You giggle.  My smartypants computer tells me exactly how many of you came and left, and came back again… and that’s how my days progress.

But to see your faces.  To hear your stories about your favorite tea cup, and where it comes from, and where you come from… and just to get a glimpse of your life.  Well geeeeez!  It really touched my heart.  I mean that with all sincerity.  Thanks for playing along here like you do.  It means so much to me.

Have I mentioned how cute you are!?  Seriously.  Out of control.

We have some business to take care of, don’t we?

One of you smiling people gets treated to a super sleek Rishi Tea pot and some stellar Rishi Teas.  I hope the rest of you are content with the fact that your faces put a smile of my face that should last for weeks to come.

Kate D!  Lucky You!

Thank you Rishi Tea for your generosity.

If by chance I didn’t get your photo in the grid, please please accept my sincere apologies.  It’s possible that I received your photo after the big grid mock-ups, or your photo didn’t come through correctly.  So.  Sorry.

My favorite tea cup doesn’t even belong to me.  Sounds crazy, right?  My favorite tea cup belongs to my favorite cafe in Los Angeles.  My favorite cafe in Los Angeles is home to perfect sidewalk tables, breezes, shaded sunshine, loads of people watching, and some seriously good sandwiches and coleslaw.

Now… let’s play a game!

You want an awesome glass tea pot with five fantastic teas from Rishi Tea.

I want to know you more.  Is that creepy?   I just think you all are so dang cool, that I thought a giveaway involving awesome tea, a super sweet tea pot, and your smiling face might be just what we all need.

Here’s the deal:

Bust out your digital camera and send me a picture of you with your favorite tea cup.  I know… I’m totally making your work for this giveaway.  Can you handle it?  Come on… this is totally fun!

Email me a picture of your smiling, cheesy, or coy face with your favorite tea cup.  I’ll randomly pick a winner and send off a lovely Rishi Tea pot with five teas.

Emails and attached pictures should be sent to joy (at) joythebaker (dot) com, by the end of Friday March 20th.

But how will you know if you’ve won?  Well, I’ll post the picture of the wining reader and mug on Saturday morning.

But what if you don’t like my mug?  This isn’t a beauty contest friends.  I’m not judging on photo quality or hair stylings.  Just be the awesome Joy the Baker reader that you are!

You’ve got until the end of Friday to play along, so bust out those cameras and get shootin’.  Thanks to you and Rishi Tea for playing along!

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’…

Pancakes.  Sweet.  Slightly spiced.  Otherwise perfect.  Do it.

Chai Spiced Buttermilk Pancakes

Print this recipe!

2 eggs

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground ginnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

healthy pinch of ground cloves

scant 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns (or a dash of freshly ground black pepper)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup brewed black chai tea

4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

½ teaspoons vanilla extract

oil or cooking spray (for cooking)

Step 1: In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, chai tea, butter and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth. Let batter set for a few minutes.

Step 2: Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil (I used grapeseed oil) to the pan or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, when the drops start to dance its hot enough.

Step 3: Pour 2 Tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles that form start to pop. You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.  Maple syrup… that’s nice!