Mango Margarita

/
Mango Margarita

Mango Margarita

It was a rainy day, the type where the clouds are heavy and full and the sun stays hidden. I adore when these days come around, Mother Nature's excuse to spend the day relaxed and indoors. Though I don't need to find a reason to bake, these long, gloomy days make it feel just right. The oven never runs the apartment too hot and freshly made cookies and cakes taste just a little bit sweeter.

These days come as a surprise, a small reminder in a busy world to slow down and embrace the calm of a quiet day.

Mango Margarita Mango Margarita Mango Margarita

Last weekend was the start of summer break. To celebrate, a round of drinks was in order. I have made it no secret that margaritas are my cocktail of choice and that statement still stands today. In the past, I have played around with winter flavors, but this occasion called for something a bit brighter. With mangoes on sale at the market, it became an easy decision. After whipping up a couple in the blender, my boyfriend and I toasted each other for the coming months.

For sun, for hot afternoons, for cool evenings, for friends and family.

Mango Margarita

Mango Margaritas are a refreshing drink for warm summer nights. A traditional margarita is infused with the puree of fresh, ripe mango. With a squeeze of lime and a shot of triple sec, the fruity drink becomes lip-smacking tart. Though I found two teaspoons of sugar to be just right for me, you could add more or less to your own tastes. Serve on the rocks or blended to suit your own tastes.

Read More

Berry Topped Angel Food Cake

/
Berry Topped Angel Food Cake

Berry Topped Angel Food Cake

Two big moments quietly arrived last week—Pastry Affair's 4th birthday and my own 26th birthday. Pastry Affair's momentous occasion arrived with little to no fanfare, forgotten at first, and sheepishly remembered a few days later. It feels so natural for me to identify as a blogger now, to spend hours each week in the kitchen and behind the camera creating. The event just slipped my mind. I should be celebrating these moments with more of a flourish (they do come few and far between); next year I hope to remedy this problem.

Pastry Affair and I struggled this past year (how much this showed, I do not know). As a first year high school teacher, I often felt emotionally drained, devoid of free time, and guilty for not being able to balance blogging with a new career. I knew this space would grow quieter once school began, my recipes decreasing from three times a week, to two, to one. I didn't, however, realize that my feelings towards blogging would change. Instead of being my safe haven, my escape from the world, it felt more like work than it ever had before. I began to avoid this space.

Berry Topped Angel Food Cake Berry Topped Angel Food Cake

More than once this winter, I wanted to throw in the towel and say goodbye to this space—not indefinitely, but for awhile. I felt stuck, struggling with writer's block and a lack of inspiration. Despite these feelings, I pushed through to come out on the other side. My relationship with Pastry Affair is slowly on the mend. Baking and photography have stayed a constant love in my life; I am drawn back to it if I stay away for too long. With summer vacation starting next week (and more free time than I'll know what to do with), I imagine that our relationship will make strides. I am ready to love this space again.

Thank you for staying here, for your comments and emails, for your endless support. You are the ones who keep me coming back to this space, inspiring me to create new recipes, pushing me to grow as a photographer. Whether you realized it or not, this year I needed to feel your support the most and you certainly did not disappoint. Thank you, truly.

Berry Topped Angel Food Cake

Strawberry Topped Angel Food Cake has been my birthday cake of choice since I was very young. I remember looking through an old Taste of Home cookbook as a child, seeing a picture of this cake in the centerfold pictures. It may not be brightly colored or adorned in frosting, but its simplicity was perfect for me. My mother made it for my birthday then and nearly every year since. The combinations have varied slightly, drowned in chocolate syrup some years, and left plain for others, but the heart of the cake has never changed. To tell you that I adore this cake simply would not express the memories or joy behind it.

As a newly defined 26 year old, I made my own birthday cake this year. I had a quiet celebration with my boyfriend, feeling more like an adult than I have in years past. I have a career, I keep up financial spreadsheets, I have a greater understanding of who I am. Even so, I haven't left young adulthood completely behind. I still binge watch my favorite television shows, I eat popcorn for dinner more often than I should, and I rarely make my bed. Mid-twenties, I have found, are an interesting harmony between youth and adult, a harmony that deserves cake.

Berry Topped Angel Food Cake Berry Topped Angel Food Cake

Berry Topped Angel Food Cake has been and will always be my ideal cake. The cake is feather light with an incredible sponge. With a spread of whipped cream and a topping of ripe strawberries, the cake is complete. While any berry would be appropriate, I prefer the cake with sweet strawberries. This cake is a keeper, no matter how old or young you may be. Serve it with extra berries, macerated in their own juices, for those like me who would prefer berries with every bite.

Read More

Roasted Strawberry Red Wine Popsicles

/
Roasted Strawberry Red Wine Popsicles

Roasted Strawberry Red Wine Popsicles

The sun is warm and bright and I feel like a new person, emerging from a cocoon of winter jackets and subdued moods. Summer is nearly upon me, with only a week left of school until break. As a gift to myself, I am taking the summer off from work to travel, to breathe, to spend time in the kitchen, to remember what it feels like to have free time once again. Last year, I struggled through my summer, trying to juggle six graduate school courses in an effort to finish my master's degree and dealing with a six week long recovery from an operation that knocked me to the ground.

I hope that this year my summer will be different—curative to both mind and spirit.

Roasted Strawberry Red Wine Popsicles Roasted Strawberry Red Wine Popsicles

After a long bike ride through the woods and by the lake, my skin is warm and pink from the sun. Once I found my way back home, I collapsed on the couch, overcome by heat, and reached for one of these popsicles. It was the right choice for the right time, refreshing and sweet.

I have been on a berry kick lately, mixing blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries into my morning bowl of breakfast quinoa. After dinner, I often bring out the berries again, dipping them into melted chocolate (a vice that I find too heavenly to give up). When I was coming up with this popsicle recipe, it only seemed natural to reach for the berries once more. Mixed with a little red wine, these popsicles are as sweet as they are energizing.

Roasted Strawberry Red Wine Popsicles

Roasted Strawberry Red Wine Popsicles are a sweet, bright addition to your warm summer evenings. Strawberries are roasted in sugar and balsamic vinegar (to bring out the flavor of the berries) before mixing with sweet red wine to form these frozen treats. Since the red wine is a major component of the base of these popsicles, it is important to choose a wine that you already love and enjoy. Because of the alcoholic nature of these popsicles, they are not suitable for minors.

Read More