Swedish Visiting Cake

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Swedish Visiting Cake

Swedish Visiting Cake

If the variety of self-improvement books on the topic are any indication, there are thousands of ways to live your life. There are different strategies out there to help you fulfill the life just right for you. Some people live their lives in pursuit of money, others in the pursuit of helping others. Some choose to live their lives in devotion to a god, others in devotion to success. With so many options and opinions on the subject, I've always wondered where on the spectrum I would fall. Would I ultimately choose the way of the American dream, of success and money? Would I subscribe to a humble lifestyle, full of family and friends? Would I do something big, or would I settle for a familiar lifestyle?

Out of college, with my life laid out before me, I find it hard to even guess where I will find myself in the future. Even so, I can't help but wonder which lifestyle was meant for me. Of all the self-improvement books I could choose off the library shelf, which one would resonate with me?

Swedish Visiting Cake

While this thought has been swimming around my mind the last few years, in various levels of consciousness, I never imagined a simple phrase overheard at a nearby restaurant table would be the answer to my question. He said, waving his fork in the air as if to punctuate the point, he wanted to live an anecdotal life.

I realized, in that moment, that it was exactly what I wanted too. An anecdotal life.

I don't care about having a highly successful career. I'm not hell-bent on amassing a great fortune. While I'd love to help others with my life, I'm not sure I'm ready to devote my future to that just yet. However, I do like to hear a good story and I can't imagine a better life than one filled with true, tall tales to tell.

Swedish Visiting Cake

Upon reflection, I've realized that I have been happiest when I have been living the anecdotal life. When I'm filled with adventure and curiosity, where everything is possible and anything can (and does) happen, where each day may be a little more uncertain than the last. While I realize I can't always be traveling the world or making big decisions, finding myself in new situations or exploring unknown facets of my personality, I want to keep my mind open to the possibilities. I don't want to shut them out if they come calling, whatever form they may arrive in.

These last couple years have been filled with quiet stories for me, with months of my life making up the space between paragraphs. I miss finding myself face to face with a mountain goat in the rocky mountains. I miss the adventures and conversations with friends that now live far away. I miss being the girl who sits outside with her camera just to capture the sunset. It's easy for life to feel like a lull in conversation, for the winter blues to wash away the heat and life of summer. It's harder to put yourself into a place where new, unexpected stories can be born.

After all, if I don't keep composing new stories to tell, what else will we talk about next time we sit down over a cup of coffee and a piece of cake?

Swedish Visiting Cake Swedish Visiting Cake

This Swedish Visiting Cake is chewy and sweet, with complex flavors. Without any leavening agents, the cake sets rather than bakes up, resulting in a cake with a texture similar to a coffee cake rather than a typical birthday cake. Originally a recipe from Dorie Greenspan, I played with a few of the ingredients, resulting in a cake I can't help but love. Browned butter, orange zest, and almonds combine to make a trio of flavor that only grows more depth as time passes.

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Rosemary Focaccia

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Rosemary Focaccia

Rosemary Focaccia

Growing up, my mother made a loaf of homemade bread in our bread maker every Sunday during the cold winter months. Sunday's lunch was often the most looked forward to meal of the week, as it was always prepared from scratch and with lots of love. Homemade soups and stews were the feature, but a loaf of homemade bread was never amiss. My family devoured the loaf of bread in one sitting, arguing over the final pieces.

Everyone, of course, but me.

Rosemary Focaccia Rosemary Focaccia

I was a picky eater. I was an indignant eater. I didn't like sandwiches. I didn't like bread. And I certainly didn't like crust. Occasionally I'd manage to eat half a piece of my mother's homespun bread, but I always opted for the saltines if they made an appearance. As it so happens, over the years my tastes evolved and I found myself wanting to eat more bread and less saltines. However, because I was an indignant eater (and terribly stubborn to boot), I couldn't let my mother know I actually liked her bread.

So, I begrudgingly ate my saltines and lifted my nose at the sight of the beautiful, crusty bread. I did this for years.

Stubbornness was (and still is) one of my many flaws.

Rosemary Focaccia Rosemary Focaccia

It wasn't until I moved out on my own that I began to eat bread with great fervor, savoring each piece as I wish I had in the previous years. When I moved to Montreal, my love for bread flourished. With a dozen bakeries in walking distance wafting the smell of yeast and crusty bread into the streets, a baguette or two found its way to my kitchen more than my waistline would have liked.

Baking my own bread has really allowed me to appreciate each loaf for its own unique taste and texture. This Rosemary Focaccia was my first foray into the realm of focaccia and, long after this bread has disappeared, I still find myself wishing for just another piece.

Oh, what I would give for just another piece...

Rosemary Focaccia

This Rosemary Focaccia is salty and chewy, with an unbelievable crust. The bread is made with fresh rosemary, coarse sea salt, cracked pepper, and olive oil. The bread's thick crust develops from baking in the oil, giving it an almost fried quality. It is perfect served plain, with no additions or spreads. This bread shines on its own. I've made this bread twice in the last couple weeks and, though it is fairly involved, I have a feeling it will make an appearance again very soon.

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Hot Cocoa Cookies

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Hot Cocoa Cookies

Hot Cocoa Cookies

I haven't given out a valentine since elementary school. This is a sad realization I made just moments ago, but it's the truth. When I was small, Valentine's Day was an event. My mother allowed me to pick out the valentines going out to my classmates and, for every year, I picked out exactly the same one. The front had a drawing of a featureless cartoon face. The back held a bunch of stickers featuring silly glasses, large noses, and big ears. It was, in essence, the Mr. Potato Head of valentine's.

I figured if I loved this valentine enough to hand them out year after year, my classmates wouldn't mind receiving exactly the same one.

Hot Cocoa Cookies Hot Cocoa Cookies

The first Valentine's Day that I did have a sweetheart, we were separated by a state. By the time we were near each other once more, the holiday was long forgotten. Though I have the same sweetheart this year, distance separates us once more. Perhaps the third year is the charm?

Nevertheless, I've gotten very good at rocking the single gal's Valentine's Day. Romantic comedies, brownies, and copious amounts of carbohydrates are prominently featured. One year I made a stack of chocolate chip rainbow pancakes that stood at least a foot tall (or so it seemed). I managed to get through half before falling into the happiest of food comas in front of my favorite romance movie, Moulin Rouge. Another year I made a batch of chocolate rum truffles and gifted them to myself (because I'm worth it).

Hot Cocoa Cookies

This year, I'm planning a low-key celebration. There will be a big bowl of pasta, a glass of wine, one (or three) of these hot cocoa cookies, and an order of Ryan Gosling's abs for dessert. My Netflix account has seemingly read my mind and devoted an entire section to him. Who says I can't be my own valentine?

Whether you have someone to share this holiday with or not, whether you choose to recognize this day as a holiday or whether it's just another Tuesday, there is one thing we can all agree on—every day is made better with a batch of cookies.

Hot Cocoa Cookies

The intersection of hot cocoa and cookies is sweet and gooey. These hot cocoa cookies have a thick, chocolate cookie base with a layer of chocolate and warmed marshmallow. These cookies are sweet and taste best when fresh from the oven (but then again, what doesn't?). If they are room temperature, I like to toss them in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the chocolate layer and soften the marshmallow. Though they wouldn't be amiss with a mug of hot cocoa, I love them with a tall glass of cold milk.

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