Sunday, January 8, 2012

Wave 'hello' with a cookie!


My best friend Karen and I gave each other fun baking stuff for Christmas - part of the inspiration why I started this blog in the first place.  We had loads of fun last week making sugar cookies and playing around with the assortment of cookie cutters in the gift basket I gave her.   I had snagged a cookie cutter shaped like a five-fingered hand and put the fingers in different positions; peace signs, counting to five, 'devil horns' and all the like.  These cookies didn't last the night, though, and they were damn good.

It had sparked a few ideas that will be carried over to Valentines Day!  Stay tuned - I borrowed the cookie cutter from her!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Welcome to Martini/Bake!

Hello, and welcome to my online kitchen!  Grab a drink and put on your apron!

There are two sweet things that I like - a fruity cocktail and melt-in-your-mouth baking.  Over the holidays, you would have found me drinking one while watching the other rise in the oven.  Maybe that's why the whole process what a little more enjoyable.  I was drinking responsibly, not to worry, and the baking itself didn't suffer - let's not count the first time I made gluten-free dairy-free shortbread that didn't quite set.  Drinking had nothing to do with that.

Suddenly, I found myself thinking about Valentine's Day.  After that, it was Easter, birthdays, even more Christmas ideas I never got around to getting to.  I was making flavoured martinis to match whatever I would be baking that evening (or late weekend afternoon).  Y'know, for just about every cookie, muffin and flavour you can think of, there's a martini for it.  So, why not pair 'em?

I'll be posting this blog full of baking goodness, along with a little sip of something sweet you can enjoy it with.  I'll be finding recipes, decorating instructions and inspirations and a little mixer in between.  You'll find that stuff tagged appropriately in the bar above.  Click In The Kitchen above to see what kind of good stuff is lurking around in my own kitchen, from the finished product to new tools and contraptions I get my hands on.

Now, do me a favour and refill my drink while I put these in the oven ...