I’m back on the blog! And all of a sudden it’s October!!
Lots has happened in this month hiatus I took from the blog (and thank you for your patience as I disappeared) - I got married and then went to Europe on honeymoon! That’s right, I’m a wife!
Stay with me as I digress from speaking about these Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins for a moment…
These Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Muffins have pockets of bursty sweet blueberries enclosed in a moist, lemony fresh muffin.
Do you know one of my favourite things about summer? THE FRUIT.
I have a summer fruit addiction. I could consume my weight in fruit every day. My happiest moment this past week was finding a company who will ship me fresh stone fruits from the Okanagan (best fruit growing region out here on the west coast) straight to my door - today I received 10lbs of apricots! Mmmmm… now to decide what to do with them all.
I also just bought a giant box of blueberries from the market last weekend and have been devouring them all week - truly, there are only a handful left. I knew I had to whip up some blueberry muffins - because there’s nothing better than pockets of bursty sweet blueberries enclosed in a moist, lemony fresh muffin.
81 days until our wedding!
J and I just got back from a weekend away finishing the last wedding planning details - we are getting married in the Okanagan - a 4 hour drive away from where we live, so we wont be going up again until it’s time to get hitched! I had my hair trial appointment, we scouted a rehearsal dinner venue, and bought all of the wine we’ll serve. Mmmm… Okanagan wine…
Needless to say, we spent many hours in the car this weekend, and whenever we are on a road trip there’s always one must have - snacks. J’s non-negotiable car snack are Wine Gum candies, but I like to be a bit healthier and usually pack a bag of mixed nuts and whatever baked goods we have on hand. I stashed a few of these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins in my purse and kept the hangriness away.
There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of nowhere and not being able to get a snack. Or having to pee.
Rhubarb!!! Since rhubarb season is fairly short, I have to make sure I use it in as many recipes as possible! After I made Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, I just couldn’t get enough - so today I’m sharing Banana Rhubarb Mini Muffins. Which would probably be pretty delightful topped with a slather of the Jam, if you ask me 😉 There’s no such thing as rhubarb overload in my books!
Sunday was our 1 year anniversary of being engaged! The countdown to the wedding begins! We love to celebrate the little things around here - it’s always a good excuse to open up a nice bottle of wine! 😉
To celebrate, we went for a walk on the beach where J proposed, and then came home and made a delicious dinner together - cooking in the kitchen with him is one of our favourite things to do together. We made beef tenderloin (!), garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted brussels sprouts. For dessert I whipped up one of my famous apple crisps using the recipe that’s been passed down through my family.
As I was sprinkling the crumble topping on top of the sliced apples I wondered if I could turn it into a muffin topping. Streusel-topped muffins? Yes please!
Banana bread. Have you ever met someone who doesn’t like banana bread? Seriously. It is the best. Sometimes I let bananas “accidentally” get too brown in our fruit bowl and then I “have” to bake them into banana bread. We are banana bread obsessed in this house.
I love experimenting with different flavours of banana bread, like my latest Bourbon Banana Bread. This time, wanting to eat healthier for the new year, I upped the healthy-factor and baked a 100% whole wheat banana bread.
And just like that, Christmas is over! And what a whirlwind it was!
J’s daughter was with us for Christmas this year - she is with us every second year for Christmas (alternating with her mom) and I keep wondering if she’ll still believe in Santa in another two years when she’s 8?! Do you remember when you found out that Santa wasn’t real?
Knowing that this might be her last year of believing, we made sure to be extra festive - we ice skated with Santa, let her eat chocolate for breakfast on Christmas morning, sang tons of carols, did tons of Christmas crafts, and read tons of Christmas books. We also ate our weights in panetonne, pecan squares, gingersnap cookies, and eggnog.