Vermont

This week I didn't have a specific baking goal, since I am on vacation in Vermont with my family. I assisted in the final stages of making chocolate chip zucchini bread, which turned out to be delicious (I ate five out of six muffins in a span of just hours).

My sister has been taking the lead on a lot of the cooking. This morning she made blueberry pancakes that were just a little zesty from a squeeze of lemon, and thin and crisp along the edges. They were complimented by the gen-u-ine Vermont maple syrup we drizzled atop. That isn't to say that anyone in my family is slacking. In addition to hikes, board games, and biking misadventures, we all have a night where we prepare dinner for the family.

Regarding this blog, I have a few new goals for this project. I want to:

1) Make cupcakes instead of a cake.

2) Try more vegan variations.

3) Use a contemporary recipe or two.

4) Work out. Not that I have a scale, but I'm pretty sure I've gained weight since I started baking (and eating desserts) so much. See above statement on muffin consumption.

UPDATE 8/29/2014

Just kidding! I did actually make a cake last week. Four people in my family have birthdays in August, and so I made a very simple white cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. It was very traditional and delicious, and not at all fancy, though it did have pretty periwinkle sprinkles (or as my sister and I call them for some reason, “sparkles”).  It was scarfed down very quickly. I had a total of one small piece.

My sister Jessie and brother Luke

sweet picture of the cake (tiny piece!)

yet moments after this happened, and seemed much more honest

Perhaps the best thing about this cake is that I made friends because of it! The mixer at the house where we stayed was busted, so my Mom went door to door trying to find one for me. Eventually she found a couple who were home and lent her theirs—an old-fashioned hand one. It wasn’t all that much of a help, a fork worked fine, but when she came back she said: “Michael, you will love returning this. The man has an adorable accent.” When I returned it, I met a lovely couple who lived next door! We had dark and stormy highballs and they introduced me to their dog and showed me their garden. It was great to make friends while on vacation, though I wish I had seen more of them.  They had a gorgeous home and land, and seemed to live an idyllic existence.