There are few things that I enjoy more with my breakfast than coffee cake. Though, for obvious reasons, I don’t often get the chance to have it. Well, a couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to experiment with a new coffee cake recipe. Is it really a surprise that it came from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook? I think not.
Continue reading “A Small Twist on a Coffee Cake – MB Recipe 32”
Now that it’s February of 2022, I am doubling down on my efforts to cook more recipes out of the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. January was a slow baking month for me. I only made one recipe from the book, and it didn’t really turn out as I had hoped. The other recipe I made was my son’s birthday cake, which was underwhelming as well.
Continue reading “Magnolia Bakery #20 – Cappuccino Chip Muffins”
Friday was the first day of October, and to be honest, I couldn’t have asked for a better Fall day! The sun was out, but it was a cooler day, and the air was nice and crisp. After taking my usual morning walk, I had the urge to make yummy Fall treats. I was craving the scent of pumpkin spice, warm baked goods, and maybe even chocolate!
Continue reading “Magnolia Bakery #11 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones”
Ever since I graduated college, I drank tea in the morning upon waking up. It’s not that during college I was a coffee drinker, because that wasn’t the case either. I just never really enjoyed coffee. It wasn’t until I started working and got involved with theater once again that I would drink coffee and even then it’s only certain flavors. It’s still extremely rare for me to down a cup of coffee.
I guess I’m just not a coffee person, no matter how hard I want to be.
My love of tea has been a steady one. It is now part of my routine. I wake up and immediately fill the teapot with water and bring it to a boil. While it’s heating, I reach for my mug in the cabinet, place a teabag inside it, and wait for teapot to whirl with steam. Once it’s calling to me, I pour the hot liquid over the tea bag, cover it with my cup lid, and let the black tea steep for six or seven minutes. Yes, that long! I like it strong.
Depending on my mood, I’ll add some stevia or some honey, especially if I have a sore throat. But most mornings, I drink it black. Adding sweeteners to my tea is even more of a rare occurrence since last summer. That’s when I started cutting out excess sugar and processed foods.
On a related note, I do sometimes drink herbal tea as well. But this is rarely done in the morning. I tend to save the herbals for the evenings or in the afternoon on a snowy or rainy day. My herbal tea choices often coincide with the season: fruitier flavors in the summer; warmer, spice-flavored (like apple cinnamon) ones in the fall. Peppermint in the winter. These are almost never consumed with milk or an added sweetener. I find that adding to these teas overpowers the natural flavor of the herbals or the overall flavor it is trying to convey. Lately I’ve found that I’m drinking more dessert flavored teas at night. Red Rose makes some amazing teas that taste just like a blueberry muffin or a slice of lemon cake. They may quell your “need” for something sweet after dinner. You can find them on Amazon here.
Anyway, I digress…
What is your drink of choice in the morning? Are you more of a coffee person?
