#Baked Goodies

[warmcupoflemontea]

[sneakyguacamole]

Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake

Via Bon Appetit. FYI: I watched a social media video of a BA staffer making this recipe, which really helped, because this cheesecake *jiggles* when it comes out of the oven. + this cheesecake was even better on the second serving, after being stored in the fridge. Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes Yield: 12 servings 3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated…

[thedaveandkimmershow]

Our second day was an Aunts day.

It was also jet lag day, sadly.

No idea why.

We went to bed coming up on midnight at the end of our first day, both mentally sluggish and sleepy. And yet...

And yet four-thirty in the morning of our second day we are fully, inexplicably, wide awake. Both of us at the same time.

So we streamed that movie, Enola Holmes 2, from my laptop to our room's large screen monitor. By the time credits rolled, it was just passed 630AM. We stayed up another forty-five minutes before setting an alarm for 830 and trying again.

Kimmer actually fell asleep while I lay there, eyes closed, waiting for sleep to come.

And then the alarm went off.

So that happened.

Fortunately, we enjoyed an easy, lazy morning after that, our only agenda item being to visit my aunt and uncle who live nearby. I did a bit of my own reading and writing while Kimmer worked on her current paper for her doctoral program studies.

Oh. And I had one of the marzipan rolls my one uncle gave me at the airport the day before. I think there are six total in the package. So I'm indulging one each morning until it's time to go home.

And yeah. Since you're thinking it I'm gonna say it out loud: it's AMAZING I have that kind of self-control.

😁

Around noon, we pivot toward readying ourselves for what will be a lovely, twenty minute walk to my aunt and uncle's home. Unfortunately, the morning's rain is persisting. Plus there's wind.

Kimmer had the foresight to pack a pair of small collapsible umbrellas that actually work on such a day... just barely. They keep our heads dry and manage to not blow out.

All we can ask for.

☺️

We're out the door quarter after one, walking a bit of cobblestone before reaching the main street that'll take us most of the way to my aunt 'n uncle's place. Ten minutes later we're at the local market trying to make sense of packaging labels, trying to figure out which ones declare nut allergens and which ones don't. There's a lot of dutch food here I remember growing up. We just need to make sure we identify the ones that'll kill Kimmer. ☹️

So yeah. Other than the possibility of random nuts baked into the food causing Kimmer to die on the spot... there really are a lot of fantastic food memories here: the traditional holiday raisin rolls, stollen, and oliebollen. And then everyday things like chocolate hail I used to spread as often as humanly possible on top of peanut butter that was spread on top of butter butter that was spread all over hot slices of toast.

Stuff like that.

There are a lot more goodies at this dutch market as opposed to what I would consider food staples. Which is just the best thing ever.

We're at the market about half an hour and by 2 we're walking the sidewalks again. Under a little harder rain. Into a little harder wind.

At one point I miss our turn and we go a block farther before turning back and landing at my aunt and uncle's place twenty minutes after leaving the market.

Approaching their front door, another of my aunts pops her head out. I manage to not embarrass myself identifying her after more than twenty years because I saw a photograph of her the previous night in a photo album from a recent family celebration.

Thank God.

Once inside, we settle down at the dining room table for the next coupla hours for a lunch featuring salad, meats, cheeses, teas, and breads both hot and room temp. At the table are Kimmer 'n I, my aunt 'n uncle, and my other aunt who's visiting.

Like the previous evening with family, the conversation ranges all over the place. And maybe what's fun about these conversations isn't just their eclectic nature but the general tone. Friendly. Light-hearted. Familiar. With an easy humor within reach at any given moment. Even as the topics broaden out beyond family.

Quarter after four, my aunt who's visiting whisks us away for the half hour drive to her home.

Now here's the thing about her home: it's a half block from where my grandmother, my mom's mom, used to live. It's in the same village in which my parents were married. I visited here as a child when my uncle, my mom's youngest brother, was alive, when this home was still home to he, his wife, and their two boys, my other cousins who are really super tall these days. 🤯

My uncle passed away nearly twenty years ago. He and his wife's two boys grew into men with their own homes, their own lives. This is now simply the home of my aunt who lives where she always lived, in this village of friends who've been here a long time as well, in this village in which she worked for decades.

We're here another couple hours and during those hours we explore memories going all the way back to how my aunt met my uncle when she was fifteen, how she left for Holland when she was eighteen.

The story she tells involves people I can't even imagine, by the way. My aunts and uncles as teenagers, as early twenty-somethings.

There are photographs my aunt shows us, over which we marvel because yeah. Teenagers and twenty-somethings.

It's hard to believe even as I examine the photographic evidence with my own eyes.

So we spend two hours and an insane number of decades and stories that span a wide range of emotional territory and narrative arcs. At one point my aunt wants to give my dad a call to thank him for the Christmas card he and mom sent her. Also to wish him a happy birthday in advance of today which is his birthday. I help her untangle a couple technical issues with the call and, the next thing I know, my dad's voice is on the line. We speak briefly and then I hand the phone back to my aunt.

And they talk for a while.

Later, my aunt hands the phone back to me and I fill my dad in on what's happened since our last call a day ago (ish).

One other theme of this day, by the way, is that we're relentlessly being offered goodies. As if we can't possibly have had enough.

That's not wrong, by the way. 😉

That definitely continued from one aunt to the next. Even before we got to my second aunt's home, she asked us if we like apple juice and pear juice. Soon as we both said yes, she stopped at a nearby shop in her village where they make the apple juice and the pear juice.

We've got a bottle of each, now. ☺️

Then at her home, she offered us a jar of pears that we gladly accepted. Then she offered us teas followed by an apple tart, two apple tarts, of which I ate one and brought the other with us. Then cheese(?) cookies. Then home-made cookies in a round tin that are simply delicious.

She even offered more substantial food like bapao, a steamed bun with a filling. We politely passed given the amount of eating we were already indulging. Which made me remember:

We always returned home heavier when I was a kid and we came to Holland for family visits.

Our family in Holland was always feeding us.

And that's a thing that hasn't changed from then to now. 🙂

In the end, we had an unexpected, deep, touching, and lovely visit. An absolute bonus to our experience.

My aunt drove us back to my aunt and uncle's place through a nighttime wind storm that threatened to push her car sideways off the road or into oncoming traffic.

Not the best way to end our day.

She was taking us back because Kimmer accidently left her phones there. After a quick hand-off of phones, she dropped us at our hotel, hugs all around.

We may get a chance to see her again before we leave. This was a pretty definitive visit, though. And I'm amazed by it.

Interestingly, we'll see her sons later tonight as, apparently, we continue this experience of my family's greatest hits.

☺️

[parveens-kitchen]

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars RecipeDive into the world of decadence with our Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars—a delightful union of rich Nutella and luscious chocolate chip cookie dough. These bars are the epitome of indulgence, baked to perfection for a gooey, delicious treat that’s sure to become a favorite. Get ready to tantalize your taste buds and impress your friends with this…

[booksbakingandblogging]

Recipe: Raspberry Cardamom Marble Cake

It feels like absolute ages ago since I posted a new recipe, which is about right because the last one dates back to October. I used to post new recipes a lot more frequently, but over the last couple of months, I’ve been leaning more toward baking tried and true old favourites than developing new bakes. Last week, however, I got the idea for this cake and I wanted to give it a go right away.…

[ikenoklasm]

let them eat (storebought) muffin

[shmobugsbrainrot]

freya and elise are gfs obviously but I just couldn't stop thinking about lebkuchen and rozenmarine,,,

[pianokantzart]

Walmart being completely out of its online stock of carving pumpkins gives me mixed feelings. On one hand: Yay people are still doing Halloween things! Go carve your pumpkins, Boo.

On the other hand: I have to leave my house to buy a pumpkin :/

[blueberry-mufffinz]

Reck and Gite @eyedrips You Wanted More Reck And Gite Posts So Here Is Your Reck And Gite Post

[godshideouscreation]

I've been busy baking. I do ship out to mutuals 👀

[warmcupoflemontea]

[sneakyguacamole]

Cheesy Cornbread With Tomatoes

Via Bon Appetit. Yield: 6–8 servings ¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil; plus more for pan 1⅓ cups (208 g) yellow cornmeal ½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 2 large eggs 1½ cups sour cream (from a 16-oz. container) 4 oz. feta, crumbled 8 oz. mixed heirloom…

[champagnexowishes]

[hellcheercaine]

Sorry Billy, Steve is just having a moment with his baked potato since he’s hungry