Strawberry Bonanza Part 4 - Basil Angel Food Cake with Strawberry Sauce

I am a total sucker for homemade angel food cake.  And lucky for me, the hubs is as well.  Angel food cake is one of those super-impressive-yet-not-impossible-to-make dishes that I love to whip out on a special occasion.  Like, say, a Thursday.  The week's worn you down, but you still have to get through more before the weekend...Thursdays should totally be angel food cake day.

Strawberry Bonanza Part 2 - Strawberry Rhubarb Blondies

You know that something is good when you see people's eyes sparkle when they first taste it.  Well, when my kids first tasted these Strawberry Rhubarb Blondies, not only did I see that sparkle, I also got tackled with hugs and praise.  Now if that isn't a seal of approval, I don't know what is!

Blondies are some of the simplest treats to bake up, and adding the trusty duo of strawberry and rhubarb makes them just irresistible!

Rhubarb Cake with Cornmeal

I don't consider myself much a a baker, but that doesn't mean that I can't bake.  I just prefer simple recipes, and most of the things I like to bake are very straightforward and rustic.  In my mind, bakers are the ones who make complicated confections that are meticulously decorated...not that that's true, but in my headspace, that's what I think of when I think "baker".

This rhubarb cake is a perfect representation of my kind of baking.  It uses rhubarb right from my backyard.  It takes only a short time (with a little prep) to throw together.  It might not be the prettiest cake on the block to look at, but you will melt into a satisfied puddle of goo after tasting it.  It's a very moist cake, but the cornmeal gives makes it more interesting for your mouth, and the pops of tempered rhubarb tartness...wow.

Banana Lavender Honey Cake

So, it happened again.

Against my will, a culinary worm entered my brain and refused to be ignored.  "Banana lavender honey cake," it whispered.  "Dooooooo iiiiiiiiiit."

We did have really brown bananas sitting on the counter...and lavender and honey in the pantry...so it was pretty much meant to be.

King Cake

Mardi Gras is awesome.

Let's face it, even the name rhymes with "party claw".  Forget that it's just "Fat Tuesday" in French...you have no choice but to celebrate on a day named Mardi Gras.

My father-in-law's family is from Louisiana, so our ties to this celebration run to the core.  Ask any of my kids.  The family's favorite dinner?  Gumbo, hands down.  Party beads have been a regular part of the dress-up bins since before the girls were walking.  We may even bleed green, purple, and gold.  But, the Mardi Gras culinary tradition that has our heart in it's sweet, sweet grip is that of the king cake.

King cake has many different forms, and is found in many different countries.  When I was younger, I loved reading a book about a French orphan girl, and was enthralled with her description of finding the bean in her "galette des rois", and getting to wear a paper crown and call the shots all day.  In Mardi Gras terms, it's the last indulgence before Lent comes and spoils the fun by reminding us of sacrifice and restraint.

Banana Snack Cake...No, Even Better...Banana BACON Snack Cake!

I'm not a huge baker, but I do love a good quick bread or muffin that I can throw together and see results quickly.  I love having something warm from the oven for an afternoon snack for my kids to come in from the cold to.

I also like recipes for getting rid of mushy bananas.  My family tends to go through banana phases, where sometimes I can't buy enough, and then other times, I'll get 5 and 3 of them will go brown.  I hate being wasteful, so I package and freeze the mushy ones for baking, if I'm not ready to bake with them right then.  I have quite a few bags of mushy bananas in my freezer at any given point.