Bits & Pieces

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Wow. It's been a while guys. I have been spending a lot of time away from my official home front and kitchen. Instead I've been keeping my gramps company on the West side of the Mitten. While I have no aversion to small kitchens I do like to remain on good terms with my PaPa. One way I do that is by not making a "mess" in his kitchen. So my baking and kitschen adventures haven't been as frequent as of late. But, being in the city of rapids has allowed me to do some foodie exploring! So without further chitter chatter here's a little bit of what I've been up to this past month-ish.

Back in February I planned on sending Valentine's packages to people. I did... for the most part. But two of my favorite ladies didn't get their packages due to life (it's a biotch sometimes). I was able to make it up to them by sending some spring sweets.

I have gotten over me fear of yeast but sometimes a lady just wants some bread... quick like. So I looked through my bookmarks and found a recipe for a mocha swirl quick bread. Then I pulled out my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe and made a batch of those too. I have been really into giant cookies lately so I made those suckers BIG. I portioned them out with a 1/4 measuring cup!


 The basic ingredients....

 Mmmm batter....

 Divide and add the mocha to one part.

Checkerboard the batter into the loaf pan and make it swirl.

All boxed up and ready to go! Of course I had to add a ribbon.


After mailing out those goodies I hopped into the car and drove to Beer City! No. I do not have any pictures of breweries- although I have gone to a few. But I did find a nice coffee and tea place where I can use wifi and get my daily dose of fancy caffeine.

The behemoth and a chocolate croissant at 
The Sparrows Coffee Tea and Newsstand in GR.


Another day I used my handy dandy Yelp app to find a place that sold pho. Have I told you how much I like a good soup? Pho is harty! And it's a party in my mouth. I am not a fan of beef tendons and tripe so I played it safe and got pho ga. I know! All the foodie purist are booing me right now. But I know what I will and won't eat. So that leaves more for you!

An un-pho-gettable meal at Pho Anh Trang.

Over the weekend I took some time to head back to the Deuce for some quality time with friends. I also had some bizness to take of. A lady be busy ya'll! While in A2 I made my usual stop for some supplies at Trader Joe's. While there I scored a new favorite....


Sweet Potato Tots! 
Dip them in a little whipped cream cheese with honey and cinnamon.


When I got back to GR it was right around Easter... this meant a big family dinner. Luckily I was only in charge of bringing a side. I ended up making a dessert and some cornbread. Who doesn't like cornbread?
 

 What makes my cornbread different? I add cinnamon into the batter.  
Also everyone knows buttermilk is key.

 The other secret? A caste iron skillet! 
This one is my grandmothers... clutch inheritance.

 Into a hot pan and then the oven. Bake approx. 20min.

This is a leftover piece... I broiled some salmon and seasoned 
some asparagus w/ red pepper flakes, soy sauce, garlic, and 
a little sugar for dinner the following night.


The good times just kept rolling! I was lucky enough to hangout with my favorite power couple... The Hoekstra/Kidder couple. They've shown up in posts before, usually when I welcome myself into their home in Chicago. Being enablers of my fancy donut fetish I had to bring them some local flavors. In an alt-monthly I read about a newer place in Ada called Suburba.... It's a small eatery with some good food and even better donuts according to the word on the street. The donuts are only on sale Saturday mornings and are a first come first serve thing. I woke up that Saturday as a woman on a mission and can I just say.... mission accomplished!


 Too cute signage!

A trio of donuts and a scone. 
2 Samoa donuts and a pink hibiscus fluff glazed donut.


Next week I'll be exploring Beer City even more! I will be attending the Doom! release at Founder's downtown. I will try to remember to take pictures so I can gloat share with you all. Happy eats!




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