So, here is the truth

2 weeks plus of snapping shots while cooking and baking and I never sat down to post!

Oh well - that's life in the fast lane! Get ready to catch up!

Friday night dinner at home

Snow Day Strawberry Blueberry Bars

I even made homemade filling! These little babies are to die for! You should have seen Brian drooling!

If you want a great recipe for bars - Cook's Illustrated is the answer. These were really easy, and had I used the filling they recommended, they would have been pretty fast too. If you are in the market for a great fruit bar recipe - I am happy to share my Cook's Illustrated with you.

(Too much to type it all out!)

Pumpkin ginger muffins

Snow=Pumpkin for me. It doesn't need to be fall to enjoy a pumpkin treat! Thanks to Marco, I woke up early before our meeting at work and had time to bake a batch of these healthy breakfast muffins!

Interesting picture I know, this is why I had to post it! MUSHY and DELICIOUS muffin batter!

Another Thai Curry

Red curry, coconut milk, lime, chicken, broccoli, red peppers, green beans and mung bean sprouts.

Maine Maple Sunday

I have lived in Maine my whole life, and eat pancakes like they are going out of style - yet I have never experienced Maine Maple Sunday. It is like the Trek Across Maine, I did it once, and now I have signed on for a life long commitment to a giant maple syrup party at Harris Farm!

We piled into Aunt Jeanne's truck and off we went. Paul, Brian, Amy, Aunt Jeanne, Dad and me - already quite a family event. Then of course, you run into the darndest folks at parties like this! Aunt Di, Jason, Lee, Matt, Alexis, and this little peanut - Isabella were all there when we arrived! It was an unplanned Dumas family breakfast! FUN!

It was 20 something degrees, and despite the fact that we talked about how cold it was outside, no one really dressed for the weather! Even though it was completely worth it - the hour in the windy cold weather was a little rough! Until the doughnuts arrived.

*A side note: They used their own wheat for the flour! AMAZING!

We ate doughnuts and the last 15 minutes flew by! We began to feel the heat wafting out of the building, and smell the sweet pancake batter cooking on the griddles... This is all of my breakfast dreams come true.

The sun was shining and despite the cold, everyone was smiling. It is so funny how hundreds of people can gather in Maine like this. We all want a taste of that sweet liquid dream, fresh fluffy pancakes, a side of homemade sausage, and fresh blueberry milk - so badly - that we will do almost anything. So many times in life we wait in long lines or suffer a "delay" of any kind, but never has it paid off like it did at Harris Farm, on March 27th.

They had 2 giant flat top griddles for making the mass quantities of pancakes. This is on my list of must have "kitchen gadgets" of 2011. If you don't have a griddle to make a stack of 15 full sized pancakes at one time, then your kitchen is not properly equipped!

Strawberry, banana, chocolate, coffee, blueberry and orange cream milk! Even a girl who is lactose intolerant can't pass up an opportunity for a little sip of fresh Harris Farm milk! Or for some homemade maple cotton candy for that matter! After breakfast, we walked to the sugar shack. This is where the syrup making actually happens!

There was also maple caramel popcorn. I know it sounds like we had a lot of junk food, just remember that it was all made with pure ingredients and lots of love. (Two very important ingredients in healthy eating!)

Go to Harris Farm and enjoy a real taste of Maine.

Check out the events on their website - and maybe we will bump into you next time!

http://www.harrisfarm.com/events.html

Turkey Salad

Do this!

Toasted walnuts, craisins, bleu cheese dressing, rosemary and turkey.

We eat this a lot when we have turkey or chicken leftovers and it is always delicious.

Cheap and feels gourmet!

Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies - Thanks Quaker!

Need I say more? Quaker Oats, you have done it right for 130 years, I think we can trust your oatmeal cookie recipe! I have never really like raisins though, so welcome tart cherries instead! Tried and true... this one has been put to the test!

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup raisins

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Thank you Quaker Oats for a great recipe to use over and over again for many years to come!

Chicken Cacciatore Pizza

Ok, so maybe we added some sausage to the mix too - it is almost chicken cacciatore! This time the crust was a ball of whole wheat dough from Royal River. It did work out perfectly and I have not perfected pizza dough!

Tyler Florence - Crepes!

He has made it easy by using the blender! We love an excuse to mix a sauce or batter in our new blender.

Crepes do not have a very complicated recipe, but it isn't always easy to get it right!

Using Tyler's recipe, I had the best results yet. I rolled a slice of ham into the crepe and served with maple syrup. Easy, fast and yum! (We might have shared one crepe filled with Nutella too!)

Tyler's Recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon butter to brush the crepe pan

Directions

Add milk and eggs to blender and combine. Add the flour 1/2 a cup at a time, blending after each addition to ensure there are no lumps. Add pinch of salt and melted butter then blend for 30 seconds until you achieve a smooth, silky consistency. Set aside in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to rest.

Dip a piece of kitchen paper in butter and grease a small frying pan. Ladle a spoonful of batter into the pan. With a flick of the wrist swivel the pan in order to get a nice even covering all over. A good crepe should be paper- thin. Cook on a high heat and flip it over when you see the edge turning golden brown.