Dark Cherry Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt

Dark Cherry Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt

Dark Cherry Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt

Living alone has its perks. After crashing at home for the last eighteen months, I'm reveling in the glory of unmade beds, marathon television watching, and eating dinner on the living room floor. I can sit around in my pajamas all day long with no one to judge my choice of clothing. My mother, however, will tell you I did many of these things before I was living by myself and, as we all know, mothers are usually right.

Living alone also has its downsides. It can be lonely. The endless freedom can begin to feel oppressive when you find yourself with too much time on your hands. For the last six days I haven't eaten a proper meal because I haven't been able to see the sense in cooking just for myself. I do, however, keep baking, which poses a world of new problems on its own. For instance, am I really going to have to eat a dozen cupcakes all by myself?

Dark Cherry Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt

Truthfully, I've never had to consciously bake for one. I've always had coworkers, friends, or parents to give away any cupcakes or cookies I couldn't eat by myself. It was a successful system and everyone enjoyed playing their parts—I would bake and they would eat. Now, however, I need to work on scaling back my recipes, like making six cupcakes instead of twenty-four (but even six cupcakes can still be too many to expect one poor soul to eat). Unfortunately, there are some recipes that simply cannot be scaled back, such as loaves of bread or layered cakes.

Baking for one truly hit home for me this past weekend. I set out to make a granola toffee that ended up failing spectacularly. Though it wasn't good enough to share with you, it was fine enough to devour as a midnight snack. Half of it disappeared before I had realized exactly what I'd done (and I had to throw the rest away or risk no longer fitting into my wardrobe).

Trust me, there is little sympathy to be found when complaining about having too many baked goods lying around the house.

Dark Cherry Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt

Fruit-on-the-Bottom yogurt is not a novel or new idea, but it's a elegant one that has stood the test of time. While I don't typically buy this kind of yogurt in the store (I find it too sweet and not particularly filling), creating my own version using thick, Greek yogurt and fresh fruit makes this quick breakfast much more appealing. Until I master baking for one, this is a sweet treat I wouldn't mind having too much of in my refrigerator.

I used dark, sweet cherries, but any fruit could take its place at a moment's notice. Simply adjust the amount of sugar or honey to the sweetness of the fruit or berry.

Dark Cherry Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt

Dark Cherry Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurt makes for a quick breakfast or snack on the go. Dark, sweet cherries are cooked down into a thick sauce and layered into jars with honey sweetened, plain non-fat Greek yogurt. Whether you like to mix the fruit into the yogurt before stealing a spoonful or save the sweet cherries for the very end, this yogurt will satisfy any hunger pains that pop up during your day.

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Coconut Waffles

Coconut Waffles

Coconut Waffles

There is an adjustment period that comes with moving. Even after the belongings have found their way into closets, shelves, and onto living room walls, the new house is not a home. Not yet. It often feels like I'm a visitor who has come to stay, signed the guest book, but has yet to realize I'm not going to be leaving anytime soon.

Adjusting to anything new takes time, as we all know, and there is little to do to hurry the process along.

Coconut Waffles Coconut Waffles

In the middle of cooking dinner, I often forget which cupboards and drawers I've put silverware or certain utensils and end up tearing apart half the kitchen just to find a spoon. In bed, I lie awake longer than usual, not used to hearing the foreign creaks and groans of a new building. I turn my key the wrong way in the lock, never sure which direction will lock or open the door. These are small things, certainly, but the extra moments I spend adjusting (and readjusting) the shower head or flipping on the wrong light switches leave me feeling like a guest in my new surroundings.

Perhaps it is only when you've mastered the little things that you can feel as if you finally belong in the place you've chosen to be your new home.

Coconut Waffles

Sunday morning breakfasts are my favorite meal of the week for a hundred reasons, but mainly because it's one of the few meals my entire family sits down and enjoys together. Sunday brunch is full of comfort foods and loving people. After eating the past half dozen meals alone, in front of a computer screen, I needed to feel contentment that can only come from a Sunday brunch.

At four o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, I sat down on the floor with a plate of syrup soaked pancakes in my lap and flipped on a familiar re-run of my favorite sitcom. Somehow, it brought me closer to home.

Coconut Waffles

These coconut waffles have a subtle, comforting flavor. Whole wheat waffles are infused with coconut milk and flaked coconut pieces in the batter to bring in the delicate coconut flavor. During cooking, the outsides of the waffles crisp up slightly while the inside stays soft. I prefer to top these waffles with flaked, toasted coconut and a little more maple syrup than is probably considered healthy. Whether it's Sunday brunch or a weekday afternoon, I hope these waffles bring you comfort, whenever and wherever you may be.

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Rhubarb Ginger Muffins

Rhubarb Ginger Muffins

Rhubarb Ginger Muffins Rhubarb Ginger Muffins

This past weekend was spent packing up my belongings. Taking clothing out of the closet, folding it in baskets, and dearly hoping that it doesn't wrinkle. Pulling the baking supplies off the shelves, wrapping them in layers of paper towels and coffee filters, and placing them in boxes marked with the word glass in thick black marker. I wondered what's important enough to bring along or trivial enough to leave behind. I wondered if I've chosen correctly. It's strange to see my life packed up into cardboard boxes (and stranger still to see them fit neatly into the back of my car).

It's moving day.

Rhubarb Ginger Muffins

Moving has always been such a bittersweet process for me. It's one of life's true adventures. New cities, new countries, new stories, and new friends are all out there, waiting to be discovered. The thought is exhilarating enough for the butterflies to awaken and whirl and twirl around my stomach. I'm attracted to the idea of moving, of cutting ties and embracing something fresh with open arms. The spirit of moving is looking the unknown in the eye, shaking his hand, and greeting him with a hello.

By the same token, moving is hard. I don't want to have to say goodbye to the place I call home, to the city I've grown familiar with, or to the people I love. Though I wish all my goodbyes could be see you later's, the truth is that sometimes they aren't. People or places get left behind; they fade away into oblivion, into memories, despite best efforts to clutch tightly onto them. I've moved a dozen times in the last five years. I've left so many things behind.

Rhubarb Ginger Muffins

This time I haven't moved very far—only half a state and three hours away. For the first time in my life, I'm living alone. My belongings are unpacked, finding refuge in closets and cupboards. I feel optimistic. My adventure no longer sits on the horizon, to be gazed at with all the longing emotion of a fading sun. It's here and now. It's today.

As I sit here on this new-to-me couch, with my feet propped up on a borrowed coffee table, I wonder how long it will take for this new place to become home.

Rhubarb Ginger Muffins

These Rhubarb Ginger Muffins were a whim on a Tuesday afternoon. Whole wheat ginger muffins meet a wonderfully tart rhubarb and lemon jam, blending bold flavors seamlessly. Just before baking, the muffin batter is topped with a spoonful of jam. Due to the weight, the jam falls directly into the center of the muffin while baking, making these muffins self-filling and giving them an unique appearance. I was surprised by how taken I was with these muffins; they easily fall into my nearest and dearest favorites.

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