TWD: Coconut Butter Thins

EEK! I forgot to finish my draft write up for these delish cookies and I just realized I never posted my blueberry crumb cake. Write-ups are coming tonight after work. Thanks for your patience!

kisses!

TWD: French Yogurt Cake

I'm too pooped to write too much but this week's recipe was very good. Apparently, every French person over the age of 4 knows how to make this cake so thank goodness I was able to get it done without any major issues. My pan wasn't quite the right size so my cake was shorter than some of my fellow bakers but it tasted amazing, especially after I trimmed the edges off. They were a little too done for me.

I used orange marmalade as the glaze since I couldn't find lemon. Next time, I might even skip the glaze. The cake is the really star of the combo.

Head over to TWD and see how all the other bakers did this week. There was a fancy option for this cake and some folks really did it up. I, of course, opted for the basic option. Hey! Sometimes simple is just better. But, you can judge for yourself. And if you want the recipe pop on over to My Cookbook Addiction and say hi to Lilliana.

I'll be making this one again!

Updates

Wow! So much has been going on recently that I've really been neglecting my blog. Sadly, I don't think that will change anytime soon since things don't really seem like they will slow for a while.

I've gotten a lot of questions about the big announcement. The hubs and I are expecting our first child sometime around 9/28. We don't know the gender of the baby yet but we do hope to find out when it is time. I am now in the 12th week and feeling pretty good. I had about three weeks of morning (er, all day) sickness but thankfully, that seems to be gone. I still get pretty tired and when I can, I take a nap at lunchtime. If I get in a good 30-40 minutes of sleep, it really makes a huge difference for the rest of my day. I'm getting a tummy pooch but don't really think I am 'showing' yet. Though, my body is definitely changing (especially the girls). We are obviously super thrilled about the baby and just hoping for a happy healthy bundle in just a few months.

My sister is still moving out to live with us and should be here in late July. She's a great girl and I am so happy she'll be around when the baby is born though I've told her many times that we don't expect her to be a baby slave. It will be so nice to have some of my family nearby since all the rest live 1500 miles away. The hubs family is close by and I know they will be a huge help. I really do have the best inlaws.

We are in the house hunting process though I probably won't talk about it much online until the deal is done. I am preparing myself for a long and stressful journey so I don't get too disappointed when we don't get the first thing we love. Our agent warned us that the market now is tricky and patience is key. However, it is hard to have patience when I need a place for my kid to sleep in just a few months!

Anyway, we have some big changes afoot for 2009 and they are all good things. I'll try to keep you all posted with updates and if you have any questions, post 'em and I'll do my best to answer.

Hope you guys have a great week!

TWD: Lemon Custard Cups – Citrus Flan in disguise!

Happy Tuesday everyone! This week's Tuesday with Dorie recipe was lemon custard cups. With just a handful of ingredients, this recipe was a cinch to whip up. However, there was plenty of opportunity for some good techniques to practice - whisking, straining, and baking with a water bath. I enjoy worked on my skills.

I LOVE lemon and citrus but this recipe wasn't my favorite. When many of the TWD bakers commented that they thought the taste was too eggy, Dorie responded by letting them know that custards are supposed to be eggy. I'm glad I read the posts or I would have been expecting lemon pudding and this wasn't pudding at all. The flavor was good and the consistency was flan-like and jiggly but it just didn't rock my world.

Growing up, my Mamaw and Poppy would take me to Luby's (or Furr's) cafeteria and my Poppy always got either flan or tapioca pudding for dessert. I think he would have liked this week's choice. I pretended I was sending it up to heaven when I tossed out the remaining cups. Hope you liked it Poppy!

Head on over to Tuesdays with Dorie to see how the other bakers fared and if you love citrus and/or custard, drop by The Way the Cookie Crumbles by Bridget and get the recipe! You can also find it in Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

My deepest apologies for not taking a photo!

Does a picture have to be worth a 1000 words?

Or is one word enough?
-Rachel