The Funky Kitchen

“Be careful not to overfill them. When they overflow you’ll lose almost all of the filling.” She warned, across the city, through the phone line. I wrote it down at the bottom of the recipe; do not overfill. It’s just that after the whisking, the rolling, cookie cutting and pressing I stood with a great big … Read more Listen to Your Mum

When you’re graciously given a gift of apples (fresh produce! hurray!) it is a blessing. Three boxes of them is a lot to deal with, though, when you know that they aren’t necessarily going to be long lasting on the counter. Recieving so many was my fault, though, she said she had lots, and I … Read more Apples Galore

Today is Mister’s birthday! Someone must love him very much (I wonder who?), because he’s getting two epic birthday cakes. One for his official birthday, today, and one for the birthday party on Saturday. You’ve got to be a pretty special person to warrant two epic birthday cakes! Birthday cake number two will follow this … Read more Happy Birthday Mister!

Much like last year, I baked my birthday cake for the party this year. I only wish that it had been bigger, because nobody got to have a very big cake. Perhaps next year, twin cakes will be called for, but I suppose we’ll see. This cake wasn’t an unambiguously Dana-esque cake. Normally, I would … Read more A Show Stopping Birthday Cake

Do you ever get stuck? There are quite a few other things to do, but all that you can muster is hunkering down with a blanket and a book. Or maybe an episode of Doctor Who or two, but definitely still with a cozy blanket. My mental to-do list whirs in the periphery: there are … Read more Hunkering Down with a Blanket

What staples do you have in your pantry no matter what? What key things are in your fridge that you could not do without? What is that ingredient in your kitchen that makes appearances so often it’s ubiquitous? I have a new favorite pantry staple, it’s bringing an additional depth of flavor to a surprising … Read more Pantry Staples

Growing up I wanted to be my cousin, Ginger. She was the greatest thing since they discovered chocolate, I kid you not. Almost a decade older than me, she did a lot of babysitting in my early years. She was interested in marine biology, so I was going to grow up to be a marine … Read more Imitation is the Greatest form of Flattery

When I think of pickles I think of, well… pickles. You know, pickled cucumbers? But they aren’t the only pickle out there! Pickling is a process, and you can pickle quite a number of things: asparagus, peppers, preserved lemons (technically a pickle). I love pickles. My baba makes awesome dill pickles, and Mr’s mum makes … Read more Not Just Cucumbers

A month or so ago I won a giveaway from Aysegul over at New York’s Delight. The giveaway: pomegranate molasses! A pretty little box showed up at my house about a week ago and I received my lovely gift (thank you!). For the giveaway, Aysegul asked for a comment on a recipe you would use … Read more A Sassier Haroset

I love nights like these. Where the sky is a solid block of mauve cloud because there is so much moisture in the air, but the weather is not quite ready yet to break. When the heat sticks around long after the sun goes down because it has nowhere to escape, stuck in the space … Read more Sticky Summer Nights