Rosewater Meringues with Raspberry Sauce

I have been very inconsistent this week...posts on Sunday and Monday, then...crickets!  I have been slightly sidetracked by that thing they call life.  Yeah, that old thing. 

This week has actually been a great week.  My faith in humanity is at its highest!  Some very good friends are going through a very hard time, and my whole community has stepped up to help them out.  It has been absolutely uplifting to witness.  But you're not here to talk about that.  You're here because you want to know about that thing in the picture above.

That 'thing', well, it is delicious.  It is messy.  It is gooey.  It is sweet (but not too sweet).  It is pink, red and white.  It is perfect for Valentines Day.

Carrot Cupcakes with Zesty Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

Monday.  Sigh.  Back to work.  Is it just me, or does everything feel like it takes more energy on Mondays?  Getting out of bed, making break-fast, getting out the door...  And then you actually get to work.

Today for some reason I loaded myself up with stuff to do today.  I figured that if I had everything laid out on Friday, then I might actually have a productive Monday.  Of course I didn't figure in that this would mean I literally couldn't leave my lab bench for so much as a sip of water for five straight hours.  Or that I wouldn't have lunch until 2pm.  Baaaad planning. 

Do you know what kept me working away, even when my stomach started making noises that sound like something you'd hear in a haunted house, or maybe in a zombie apocalypse movie?  I had a carrot cupcake with the most amazing lime cream cheese frosting waiting for me.  Keep going, keep going, think of the cupcake!  Worked like a charm!

Baked Chai Donuts with a Brown Butter Glaze

This week, the temperature went from above zero (Celsius) to -43 with a windchill, back up to 3 degrees.  What the ?  Makes it difficult to get dressed!  I am tired of the weather roller coaster.  Well, apparently the groundhog didn't see his shadow this year.  Which means an early spring!  I'm ready for it!

These donuts got stuck in my head this week.  I was trying to think of a new donut flavor to try out in my donut pan.  When I came up with chai donuts with a brown butter glaze, I couldn't stop thinking about them.  I knew they were going to be amazing!  Guess what?  They are amazing.  As in, I-can't-go-into-the-kitchen-because-I-will-eat-them-ALL-amazing.  As in, there-won't-be-any-leftovers-coming-in-to-work-tomorrow-amazing.

Chicken, Kale & Artichoke Pot Pie

Oops, I did it again.  I took a perfectly good recipe and added...KALE.  I know.  I have a problem.  I should consider seeking professional help.

It's just that whenever I am cooking, I can hear the kale calling to me from the fridge.  It says: "wouldn't that be better with kale?".  Sometimes the kale is wrong.  Kale does NOT actually make Brown Butter & Bourbon Blondies better.  Nor does it improve the flavor of a Raspberry Rosewater Gin Rickey.  But sometimes, the kale is right!  In this case, adding kale to a chicken and artichoke pot pie recipe worked out great!

Raspberry Rosewater Gin Rickey

Valentine's Day recipes seem to be quite abundant these days!  Valentine's Day at my house usually involves some champagne, me dropping some heavy hints that somebody had better not come home empty handed, and a home-cooked meal.

This year, I thought it would be nice to include a recipe for a Valentine's Day worthy cocktail.  Raspberries are my favorite of all the berries, they scream Valentine's Day, and if you have had a look at my Happy Hour section of this blog, you can tell that I am kind of obsessed with raspberry cocktails!   So basically, it had to be a raspberry cocktail.

This gin rickey is infused with raspberries, lime juice and a subtle touch of rose water.  Then, it is topped up with club soda.  It is sweet, tart, citrussy, fizzy and has an ever so slight floral flavor.  I think it is one of my favorite cocktails I've ever made!

Brown Butter and Bourbon Blondies

Ahhh...the week-end.  My week-end started off a little rocky.  Last night, I was lying in bed, 95% asleep, when suddenly a random thought passed into my brain:  'did I turn off the hot plate at work?'.  Just like that, I was wide awake, and there was no way that sleep would be coming to me unless I dragged my butt back to work to check on the hot plate.  I work in a lab at the University and so leaving a hot plate on in a lab full of flammable chemicals, all sorts of bad scenarios were running through my mind!  So I pulled on some yoga pants and my coat, and dragged myself back to work.  At midnight.  On Friday.  And the hot plate wasn't on.

Soooo.   Today is off to a much better start, thanks in part to these these babies...they have two of my favorite ingredients, brown butter, and bourbon.  Also toasted pecans!  How could these not taste amazing?

Crispy Fried Tacos Dorados

I have been cooking my way through the Around the World in 80 Dishes blog on Epicurious for several months now.  Lately, I haven't actually used an Epicurious recipe.  I guess at this point I am loosely basing my cooking adventures on that blog.  Let's call it my inspiration.

Last week, I cooked up a deeeelicious Ethiopian Feast, which was so much fun to make and even more fun to eat!  This week, I was feeling like Mexican food.  Even though the Epicurious taco recipe got great reviews, and involved slow cooked pork, which sounds absolutely delicious (and I have been itching to use my slow cooker this week), I could not possibly pass up the opportunity to try a Rick Bayless recipe from my new Authentic Mexican cookbook.