Peach and Raisin Yogurt Cake

I've been running this little blog of mine for a little over two years now, and as corny as I'm about to sound, I can't imagine my life without it now. It's become such an ingrained part of my day-to-day routine, that it would be extremely weird (I'm sure there that there is a better word to use than "weird," but I'm pretty sure that it is the most fitting descriptor in this case) to wake up on a Saturday morning and not bake something.  Or not to sit for hours looking up recipes and photography inspiration.  Or not spend time sorting through dozens of photographs and subsequently editing the ones I have deemed to be the most worthy to publish for the world to see. It would be extremely weird not to have a side project with which to occupy my time and learn from. This blog, even though it is still small and relatively unknown in the world of food blogging, has far exceeded my initial expectations, and I couldn't be happier with it.  It doesn't bother me in the slightest that I don't have thousands of subscribers or followers, or dozens of comments on every single recipe that I post. The comments I have received over the past two years have been overwhelmingly positive, and I love reading each and every single comment I get.  This blog has become my go-to place for me to simply write down my thoughts and share a few photographs and a recipe that I find beautiful and delicious, and that alone brings me an immense amount of satisfaction.  For those of you who have been following along since the beginning, as well as the ones who are only recently beginning to tune in, thank you for sticking around. Your kind words are the cherry on top of my happy blogging sundae.  Thanks for reading, for offering suggestions, and for bearing with me while my photography got caught up to speed and during the occasional post where it was painfully clear that I was suffering from an unfortunate case of writer's block. You guys are all really awesome for it.

Aside from learning more about food photography (which I still have tons to learn about) and about myself as a writer, I've also grown much more confident in myself as a baker.  Sure, while I still typically choose to focus on simple, homemade recipes, I've certainly grown from baking more than classic drop cookies and quick cupcakes (not that there is anything wrong with them; they're considered favorites for a reason).  I can now bake a mean pie with a seriously flaky and buttery crust, and mix up a dozen perfectly rich and incredibly fluffy brioche buns.  Two years ago, I doubt I would have considered a completely homemade from-scratch pie to be an option for a simple dessert to share with others, and brioche buns?  Please, those were just something I could only dream about being able to make.  Fast forward two years, and I've offered to bring homemade pies to potlucks without even thinking twice about it, and I'm thinking it's about time that I make another batch of brioche buns.  My next self-imposed challenges include nothing more than piping out a perfect rows of delicate macarons and baking up a dozen fresh croissants to enjoy warm from the oven.  I thrive on giving myself seemingly impossible challenges and overcoming them, and macarons and croissants will be no different.

Blueberry and Peach Yogurt Buttermilk Pancakes

Hello, and happy weekend!  I hope everyone has some kind of fun weekend plans in store for themselves.  I know that I'm going to be spending some quality time with my ice cream machine this weekend.  I have big plans for it, and you guys should all start getting excited for them, trust me.  But, until that time comes, I have another recipe that should get everyone equally excited.  Blueberry and Peach Yogurt Buttermilk Pancakes.  I made these for breakfast last Saturday morning, and I think they are officially going onto my list of favorite weekend breakfast items.  

During the week, I usually have a very simple, uncomplicated breakfast that I can prepare really quickly before rushing off to the train every morning before work.  Breakfast usually consists of a small glass of orange juice (I have to have this at breakfast everyday; the same way some people need their morning cup of coffee to function, I need my orange juice) and an egg white omelette with turkey bacon.  It's quick to make and packs a good amount of protein.  If I want to switch up my breakfast routine a little, I'll have some oats mixed with egg whites, berries and honey (adding egg whites to oatmeal sounds kinda weird, but it actually makes the oats really creamy and delicious) along with my glass of orange juice.  On weekends, though, I usually like to make myself something a little more elaborate.  Waffles, French toast, and fancier omelettes are usually what I go for on weekends, with pancakes being at the top of the list for both me and my sister.  We're just pancake-obsessed.  There's few things that are better than a tall stack of warm pancakes, topped with butter, fresh fruit, and a nice helping of syrup, right? 

Cherry and Peach Galette

Soooo...it's August 1st today.  Um, what?  Really? No way dude, it can't be August already.  Summer can't be almost over and school can't be just around the corner.  That just seems ridiculous. Sure, fall and school and the promise of warm drinks and cozy sweaters and the changing colors of the leaves seem like nice things, and they of course are, but it's still troubling that the summer is almost over.  What's going to happen to me when I can no longer get massive quantities of fresh summer berries and mangoes and papayas and cherries and peaches!?  I suppose I'll just have to make way for spiced apple cider and cranberry pie and warm pumpkin muffins...not exactly a bad tradeoff!  But, until that happens, let's celebrate what's left of the summer with a dessert that truly highlights the best of summer's fruits.  Cherry and peach galette, anyone? 

I've had it stuck in my mind for a looongg time that I had to make a galette.  I didn't know which type of galette I wanted to make, or where my infatuation with them had come from (I hadn't even eaten a galette prior to making this one), but all I knew is that I HAD to make one, and it had to be soon.  I think it must have had to do something with the simplistic, rustic quality that they have.  They're sort of like, half-pie, and half-tart, but stopping somewhere in the middle because you get too lazy to break out a fancy pie dish or get intimidated by the thought of having to neatly crimp the edges of your crust, weave a lattice, or blind-bake a tart shell.  Laziness can actually be good sometimes, though, and in the case of a galette, I wouldn't even call it laziness.  Intentionally making a half-pie/half-tart is just as satisfying, and just as delicious.  The beauty of a galette comes from the fact that it is so darn easy to prepare, and just seeing a heaping pile of lovely roasted fruits surrounded by a ring of crisp, golden brown cust is enough to make anyone's mouth water.

Peach Crumble Pie

I used to really dislike peaches when I was little.  First, my mom would always lecture me to eat the peach very carefully, because peach juice stains everything permanently, and then she would wrap the peach in a paper towel to catch any peach juice so that it wouldn't drip onto my clothes, making the actual eating process such a nuisance.  However, more importantly, they were just too fuzzy for me.  How on earth could anyone seriously look me in the eye and tell me that a hairy and fuzzy fruit was actually delicious…it just made no sense to me. “Fruits just shouldn’t be fuzzy,” I would think to myself, “that’s just weird.”

Fortunately, I’ve become a much more mature person in these past couple of years, and have grown to really appreciate and love fuzzy fruits (except kiwis, those are a whole other story…don’t even get me started with them).  Peaches are one of my favorite fruits, and lately, I’ve been on a real peach kick, and I’ve become pretty obsessed…I even switched from using strawberry jelly on virtually everything to using peach preserves…I’m trying not to let this obsession get out of hand.  They are just too darn pretty and delicious though!