Summer Squash Soup

I think this soup was the best use of patty pans all year.  And it got me all excited for soup weather. 



Cloverleaf Rolls

So pretty

 and oh, so good with homemade jam too.

And below, I have to tell you that that is a picture of the inside of a mango pit.  Pit?  Seed?  I don't know what you call it, but mangoes are a mystery to me.  The whole center part.  What shape is it really?  How come you can't ever really see it or make it come clean?  Well, call me crazy, but I was wondering those all too much and finally decided to scrape it clean and brake it open.  And below is what I found.  For some reason, I just really thought it was cool.  A mango.  Who would have guessed?

Mystery Seed?

I photographed this a while back and forgot all about it!  I wanted to do a little guessing game, can you tell me what this is?  And to help you out here, it's about two inches long!

Wedding Cupcakes

In a few short weeks, I will be doing cupcakes for Todd's cousin's wedding.  Yesterday, I worked on some prototypes for the event.  Her colors are navy and hot pink with accents of light green.  Here is what I've come up with so far:

 All the cake is classic white, this one is frosted with key lime frosting and topped with light green pearls.  A really bright flavor!

 The next is a classic butter cream frosting.  I am planning to top these at the wedding with blackberries, but only had blueberries at home when I took the photos.

 The final cupcake is frosted with a Strawberry Butter cream.  I really enjoyed this frosting because it's bursting with fresh strawberries, but will have to tweak the ingredients slightly to make it stiffer so that the lines are more clear and pretty.

All in all, it was a very nice run through.  And I'm getting so much better at frosting now, it really only takes about two seconds per cupcake.  Doing 200 really won't be all that bad!  In fact, I'm really excited.

Eclairs

I have never even thought to make Eclairs before.  Then I went to a meeting last week where some of the ladies were talking about making them and I decided I needed to try.  They are easy, but time consuming.  I made a homemade vanilla pudding to go inside and topped them with a rich chocolate glaze.  They were SO GOOD.  I didn't even try to take a pretty picture.  We were all too excited to eat them.

 Messy, but oh so good.  The pudding was a bit runny, but no one seemed to mind.  We all did a little bit a finger-lickin' in the end.

Pretzel Rolls!

I'd like to introduce you to my newest obsession:  Pretzel Rolls!  Now, I realize that I grossly overuse the exclamation point in my normal typing life, but these really do deserve it.  They taste just like soft pretzels - soft in the inside with a salty chewy crust.  Believe it, these are good!

 After the second rise, these little balls of dough get to sit in a bubbling bath of boiling baking soda and sugar water.

 And then drain for awhile before getting snipped and coated with egg whites and kosher salt.

 I could have eaten the whole batch.  And I just might be making these again very soon.  Because they were not only tasty, but very fun to make too.  If you'd like to try them, you'll find the recipe I used here.

Zucchini Lasagna

All it needs is garlic cheesy toast!