Okay, so I decided to finally use that cheesecake mix I had sitting in the pantry. You know the kind, the ones that promise an easy dessert. Thought I’d give it a whirl. Getting Started First, I pulled out the box. Read the instructions on the back. Seemed straightforward enough, mostly just adding a few things and mixing. Grabbed a bowl, my trusty old springform...

Okay, so I decided to tackle a high altitude cheesecake again. Living up where the air is thin definitely messes with baking, and cheesecake can be a real diva even at sea level. Thought I’d document how it went this time. Getting Started First things first, I pulled out all the usual suspects: Cream cheese (lots of it, left it out to soften) Sugar Eggs...

My Matcha Egg Tart Experiment Today Okay, so today I decided to try making something a bit different – matcha egg tarts. I’ve seen them around and thought, why not give it a shot myself? Here’s how it went down. First off, I tackled the tart shells. Honestly, I didn’t make them from scratch today, used some pre-made ones I had. Just needed to get...

Getting Started in the Kitchen Alright, so the bananas on the counter were looking seriously sad. You know, more black spots than yellow. Waste not, want not, right? Figured it was time to make some banana bread, but I wanted something a bit extra. Remembered seeing those cream cheese filled ones somewhere, sounded good. So, I decided to give it a whirl. Mashing and Mixing...

Okay, let me walk you through something that happened not too long ago. It’s about how sometimes, sticking to the plan, the ‘cookie cutter’ way, just doesn’t work out. The Setup So, we kicked off this project. Pretty standard stuff, or so we thought. Management handed down this new process, a real step-by-step, paint-by-numbers kind of thing. Everyone had to use it, no exceptions. They...

Okay, so I decided to tackle the lard pie crust thing again. People rave about it, right? Flaky, old-school, the real deal. So, I figured I’d document how I do it, what works for me. No fancy chef talk, just what happens in my kitchen. Getting Started – The Setup First things first, I get my stuff out. You gotta have everything ready, especially with...

Alright, let me tell you what I did the other day. I had this bag of store-bought mini cream puffs sitting in the freezer, you know? And they were… okay. But it got me thinking, I could probably make better ones myself and freeze them. So, I decided to give it a shot. Making the Puff Shells First thing, I got out a saucepan. Put...

So, I got my hands on one of those electronic spoon scales the other day. Been seeing them around and thought, why not give it a try? Seemed potentially useful for small stuff in the kitchen. First thing, getting it out of the box. Pretty straightforward, no complex assembly required, thankfully. It needed a battery, one of those small coin cell types, which I had...

Getting Started with Those Fancy Molds So, I finally got my hands on some of those shortbread molds. Saw them online, thought they looked pretty neat, maybe make the cookies look a bit more special, you know? Mine are the wooden kind, traditional looking. Seemed simple enough. First thing, mixing up the shortbread dough. I just used my usual recipe, nothing fancy. Maybe slightly chilled...

Alright, let’s talk about this Stafford County flour. I’d been seeing the bag around, you know, the simple paper kind. Heard some folks mention it, saying it was decent, no-nonsense stuff. My usual brand was getting kinda pricey, and honestly, sometimes it felt a bit… processed? So, I figured, why not give this Stafford County All Purpose a try. Found it down at the local...