Girl Versus Dough - Page 9 of 99 - Baking bread and other adventures.

cannoli cupcakes

July 12, 2016

We’re coming off of a very good weekend. My parents came into town to visit, in part so my mom and I could do The Color Run in the Twin Cities on Sunday. We enjoyed the gorgeous weather, ate lots of yummy food (like these cannoli cupcakes!) and got some yard work done around the house like responsible adults.

Then yesterday, I found a giant bug in my coffee. And the little one woke up with a fever. So I had to postpone taking care of the laundry that is currently covering my entire bedroom floor, send the husband out to get groceries for the week (which is always a task done correctly on a wing and a prayer) and prepare for a full day of snuggles and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Thankfully we had a few extra cannoli cupcakes to make up for the abrupt change of course from the weekend.

grilled mushroom pizza with rosemary and smoked mozzarella

July 7, 2016

I need you to do something for me: DROP EVERYTHING. And make this grilled mushroom pizza immediately.

OK, maybe that’s too pushy, considering I just had my first sip of coffee and am myself nowhere near the energy level to, like, get off the couch, but in about an hour or two? It’s pizza time.

The reason for my haste is this: This pizza is good. But like, really good. Like, really really good. Like, really really really real — it’s just good, OK? And you need to get it into your life as soon as is appropriate for your schedule (which I’m hoping is maybe, definitely, today).

chocolate graham crackers

July 5, 2016

It’s the Tuesday after the holiday weekend, which always feels like a Monday, amiright? Good thing we can lift our spirits with chocolate, in the form of homemade chocolate graham crackers.

I don’t know about you, but for me, summer does not begin until a s’more has been had. My first s’more of the season was had just a few weekends ago, marshmallow toasted over a crackling bonfire, fireflies lighting up the backyard. It was summer magic, I tell you.

I’m hoping/planning for more of those magical summer moments, and I’m going to make them happen with these homemade chocolate graham crackers. They’re simple, easy, deliciously chocolatey and perfectly, magically, summer.

pineapple mint granita with rum

June 27, 2016

Hiya, frands! I’m writing to you from the Windy City, where the hubs and I spent the last few days celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary (WHAT I FEEL OLD) by doing what we do best — eating.

Seriously, I did not realize just how much food I can actually put down in any given day. But if you’ve been following along on the Snapchat or Instagram, you know. YOU know. There’s been a lot of food that’s gone down into my belly. And it’s been great.

That being said, after these crazy food frenzy trips I am always happy to get home and get back into my little routine, and to eat more normal meals and lighter fare. But dessert always has to happen. That’s where this lovely Pineapple Mint Granita with Rum comes into play.

avocado coconut toast

June 23, 2016

Let’s get one thing straight here: No one, certainly not I, needs to tell you how to make avocado toast. It can be as simple as spreading an avocado on — you guessed it — a piece of toast.

But see, there’s avocado toast, and then there’s AVOCADO TOAST. And then, there’s AVOCADO COCONUT TOAST. With thin-sliced avocado, coconut oil, red pepper flakes, coarse sea salt, toasted coconut flakes and a squeeze of lemon all on homemade multigrain bread. And that’s the kind of toast I’m here to tell you about today.

multigrain sandwich bread

June 20, 2016

This multigrain sandwich bread is the kind of bread that gets me excited about baking bread, you know?

Let me explain. See, in the summer, no one really wants to be baking. We’d all rather be out of doors, out of office, out of kitchen, etc. I get it. I’m with you. I’ve grilled our dinner no less than five times in the last week (would have been six, if not for that random torrential downpour we had the other day when I was JUST about to go out and grill some pork chops. Dernit). Sometimes, the last thing I want to be doing is baking bread when the sun is shining and beckoning me outdoors.

But no matter the time of year, I love bread. This is pretty clear about me at this point, I would hope. And nothing compares to a homemade loaf fresh from the oven. If I could sing, “Glory glory hallelujah!” and dance a jig every time I baked a loaf of bread, I would (maybe I already do this, WHO CAN SAY). So that’s how this multigrain sandwich bread came to be — because I was craving bread (duh), I needed bread for our morning toast and our lunchtime sandwiches (for picnics!) and I felt like this bread was worthy of the sacrifice of just a few short hours in the kitchen so we could eat homemade, fresh-baked bread for days to come.

One bite, and I was in love. It was so worth it.