• Saw a man walking his parrot this morning. We don't walk our parrots in Idaho.
  • At the 40th annual ukulele festival. Just had a uke lesson. Very cool.
  • I've seen a bicycle with a surf board rack, a fire engine pulling a yacht & a bronzed old man with muscles like a dinosaur. We're in Hawaii!
  • Hong Kong airport. Free wifi. Chai. Lounge chairs. Kids craft area (gate24). Kids potties. English books. Love it! Gotta board the plane now
  • Hong Kong! There's just something about the fresh air and convenient transportation (Octopus card!) that makes my travel weary body smile.

Pumpkin Gingerbread

any holiday + cold weather = warm, spicy loaf

INGREDIENTS

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (2 cups fresh)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven

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Buttermilk Fantails

2009-09-26@11-34-46

As the famous saying goes, “Without bread, there is no soup.” Actually, I just made that up.

My grad school roommate, Ryan,  recently made Buttermilk Fantails with some success. Since I had a fresh batch of buttermilk in the fridge, I decided to try my hand at them. The process is simple. The execution is not.

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Blueberry Muffins

2009-06-28@08-44-10

Blueberry’s are causing spontaneous moments of great joy in our household. This muffin recipe works with any fruit. We’ve also tried it with cherries. (I think the cinnamon-sugar topping is too much, but Hubs and Schäfer love it.)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3

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Poogan’s Porch Buttermilk Biscuits

2009-01-06@10-06-11

In October I stumbled into a nice little Charleston restaurant called Poogan’s Porch. That evening I was served the best buttermilk biscuits I have ever tasted, along with some honey-butter. I salivate.

So, being in a land where our motto is “if you can’t get ‘em, make ‘em”, I ran across a recipe for Poogan’s Porch

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Monkey Bread

2008-11-11@18-50-45

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 12 ounce cans buttermilk biscuits

DIRECTIONS

Preheat over at 375 degrees. Coat bundt pan with cooking pray, butter or vegetable oil.

Melt margarine in a bowl.

Mix sugars, nuts, and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Open the biscuits, separate, and cut each into 4

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Scottish Oat Scones

2008-09-23@13-07-32

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried currants
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, mix the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, and currants. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl, beat egg until frothy, and stir

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