Some berry good muffins

Taylor has "muffin mania." Every weekend, she's got the tins out and is ready to go. Giant muffins, mini muffins, healthy muffins, junk food muffins. All from scratch, all delicious. Taylor helped me revamp my grandmother's bran muffins to make them even lighter. The recipe for Raisin Honey Bran Muffins is available at http://www.thesveltegourmet.blogspot.com/. Delicious, and a low-calorie, high fiber way to start your morning.


Another of my grandmother's and mom's amazing recipes is for blueberry muffins. These are fantastic -- a ton of berries and a crispy, crackly muffin top make for a delicious breakfast -- and light! For the recipe, please click here!

My baking princesses, Taylor and Courtney, strike again this weekend with muffins and several different kinds of cookies. What can you create?

Noah's Ark Nanner Pudding

Banana pudding is big in Charleston, and this was one of the best I've ever tasted. The girls got creative with this version. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe. For Taylor and Courtney, anything goes!

Vanilla pudding (with various shades of food coloring...Courtney says you can see a bunny in her yellow bowl)

Whipped topping

Cookies - Nilla Wafers, Oreos, oatmeal chocolate chip, sugar cookies, animal cookies (yes, ALL of them)

Fruit - bananas, blueberries, strawberries

Delicious! Really!

Birthday Cupcakes

Last night we celebrated Taylor's grandmother's birthday -- with these amazing dark, rich chocolate cupcakes with homemade buttercream icing. This is my mother's recipe and the delicious cake I grew up on. I was so thrilled to share it with the girls!

I'm sure most people think it's simpler just to buy a boxed cake mix, but truthfully, this from scratch cake doesn't take much more time -- and it's well worth it.

You Won't Be Puffin When You Eat This Muffin

Several months ago, Taylor asked me if we could bake a healthy muffin. YES! This Raisin Honey Bran Muffin is based on my grandmother's recipe, lightened a bit by my mom, and made even healthier by Taylor and me. It is SO good. And light! Full recipe at www.thesveltegourmet.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

Jenny, can we make bread?!

I can't tell you how many times I've heard this. And from a 15 year old and a 10 year old. They want to bake bread. I love my life.

Honestly, this is the best and easiest bread we've ever made, thanks to the King Arthur Flour website. It is ridiculously good and so simple. The dough is no-knead, and it lives in your fridge until you're ready to grab a hunk of dough and bake a loaf. The girls love it. I typically prefer whole grains, but this bread is a special treat. And no preservatives! Plus, I take advantage of every opportunity to cook with the kids.

The recipe for this delicious bread is on the King Arthur website! Have fun!

Generosity and Compassion -- and Pie!

Taylor and Courtney have hearts of gold. They make us so proud. No matter what we're doing, they are always thinking of others. In this case, we have an aunt who isn't doing well. The girls have helped me prepare meals, and they're always thinking of more things we can do for Aunt Betty. Recently, Aunt Betty sent over some fresh blueberries and asked for a pie (she must have heard about the girls' talents in the kitchen!).

Taylor got right to it, making the crust from scratch and baking it to a flaky golden brown. We didn't try any, but Aunt Betty called us raving about how amazing the pie was. It made her day, and that makes mine. Way to go, girls!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

We still have some follies in the kitchen. Taylor is learning techniques like "cream butter and sugar," and other little cooking terms. I didn't catch her in time to explain that "softened" butter does not mean melted. But that's ok. The cookies actually became one giant, flat cookie pancake. Still tasted good, though! We got it right the next time. Here's what they're supposed to look like. You can find the recipe at www.vintagesavoirfaire.com. Yum! These are even better straight out of the freezer.

Swedish Sour Cream Coffee Cake

We have a full house this week -- 4 adults, 3 kids, a revolving door of visitors, 2 dogs, 2 cats and a tortoise. I really needed help in the kitchen, and I can always count on Taylor to dive right in. At this point, she can single-handedly whip up whatever we need. Her only issue is that she still cooks on my recipes....so now I just make a copy and she can spill whatever she wants!

I figured the easiest thing for 7 people to eat for breakfast would be a coffee cake. It should feed us for several days and what's better than cake for breakfast? Well, this delicious cake that Taylor baked using my grandmother's recipe didn't last more than 12 hours -- it was dessert, breakfast and gone. Compliments to Chef Taylor!

Meatless Meals

Taylor decided recently that she wanted to try vegetarianism. Of course
we support her, as long as she's getting plenty of vitamins and protein. Here are two of the recipes we invented -- Black Bean Burgers and Calamata Olive Hummus. You can find the recipes at www.thesveltegourmet.blogspot.com/! Enjoy!

Pizza Night!

Sure, we could order pizza. But then we'd have to get four different ones with the toppings each person likes. They would just be boring and round. And it wouldn't make nearly the mess that we can make when we have "Make Your Own Pizza Night." This has become a weekly tradition! And no take-out tastes as good as homemade crust, homemade sauce and homemade fun. (Note Taylor's pizza with....bananas.)

Blackberry Picking

What's the best thing about living in the country?
Blackberry picking! (OK, this isn't the best thing about the country...not even close. But it's still fun!)

Taylor and Courtney love exploring, and they spend hours out in the woods. They came home with enough blackberries for several individual pies (like this one) and leftover berries to put in the freezer. Courtney learned how to macerate the berries, and Taylor perfected pie crust from scratch. And let me tell you, these were delicious!

Introduction

This blog is for Taylor, who fills our kitchen with love, fun, and sweet treats. Taylor's knack for cooking coupled with her creativity and artistic expression make for some amazing culinary masterpieces. You'll also see special guest star Courtney, the ultimate food styler. Enjoy!

-- Jenny Fox
(Proud parent, friend and accomplice in the kitchen)