Thailand: incredible food and very large animals

Posted on January 24, 2012 by allison

One week ago I arrived in Thailand, full of eager anticipation to taste one of my favorite world cuisines in the mother land, just as it is meant to be. I don’t remember the first time I ate pad thai in my life, but it has long since become a near addiction for me. Tangy, sweet, spicy, nutty deliciousness has ensured that I almost never order anything else when eating Thai. After resolving in 2012 to post once a week and already lagging behind in my goal, it didn’t take long to settle on a topic: the incredible Thai food in which I’ve been voraciously indulging for the past seven days. That and a couple of cute animal pics for good measure, because everybody loves those. Continue reading →

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vegan kiwi apple tart

Posted on January 12, 2012 by allison

Normally I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions. It’s hard for a resolution not to come across as superficial or fleeting, tossed around as a conversation piece or to give someone a false sense of hope that this is the moment when everything is about to change: your whole world can improve this year if only you make it your Resolution to do so (whether “doing so” entails losing weight, eating better, opening your heart to love, scrapbooking every day). Often people seem to quickly develop love-hate relationships with their NYRs, sometimes even before that relationship has begun. In December a person is already thinking about THE LIST, but likely already they’re considering the odds of whether they’ll follow through. Or whether they’ll even remember their list past January 3rd. Continue reading →

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spiced apple pomegranate mini pies

Posted on November 28, 2011 by allison

Like lots of other curious and romantic minds throughout history, when I was younger I was enthralled by Greek mythology. How easy it was to get lost in the world of those larger than life mystical creatures, humans, and deities. My copy of D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths was beloved. I tore through its pages almost nonstop throughout my childhood and teenage years, gulping down tales of nymphs and centaurs and wishing someone would hurry and invent time travel so I could see for myself what life was like in ancient Greece. In the 6th grade I sewed my own Aphrodite dress for Halloween, so determined was I to do everything I could to channel the glory of that luscious Olympian time. Besides D’Aulaires, there was Xanadu and Xena Warrior Princess to quench my thirst for this mythical world – and the endless reaches of an extremely hyper, immensely overactive imagination. Continue reading →

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sausage apple leek w/ fresh thyme

Posted on November 21, 2011 by allison

One upon a time there was a pastry crust that longed to become a savory pie, so tired was she of constantly enduring the fleeting, albeit fanciful, forays into fruit, custard, cream, and chocolate creations. There was something slightly unstable about these saccharine concoctions – something a little too emotionally raw, a little too naive. She had a feeling the world had a whole lot more to offer than all that cinnamon and sugar fairytale hype. And in that respect, our hopeful little pastry crust could not have been more correct. Continue reading →

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baking in Africa: pineapple passion fruit pie

Posted on September 23, 2011 by allison

Fruits that I don’t typically associate with pie:

  • Pineapple
  • Passion fruit

And yet, my fellow pie lovers, here you have it. A pie that defies cultural norms. That dares to be different. That is bold and unique and damn proud of it. That says, loudly and clearly to anyone who will listen, “Who says you can’t have pie in the tropics?? Who!” Continue reading →

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CAKE?

Posted on September 16, 2011 by allison

Today we have quite a special treat (pun intended): A guest post by the very talented and very lovely Ali Lambert, a lover of cake and plans and all things birthday…

“I like cake.  A lot.  Probably more than I should.  I am an equal opportunity cake lover; cupcakes, sheet cakes, layer cakes.  If you have ‘cake’ in your name, we’re going to get along.  So, pushing aside any pie vs. cake awkwardness, I, the Patron Saint of CAKE, would like to share with you a little story about a girl, a birthday, and an epic baking adventure. Continue reading →

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baking in Africa: banana chocolate chunk cookies

Posted on September 8, 2011 by allison

For anyone who has traveled outside the U.S. you know that chocolate chip cookies are relatively hard to come by. I find this odd considering how positively delightful a treat these cookies are. Especially when they are freshly baked and you burn your mouth a little on the oozing chocolate because you just couldn’t wait to bite into this steaming, delicious-smelling cookie in your hand. Now that I think about it, freshly baked cookies might just be one of the most soul-warming foods there is. One of my goals in life is to know a handful of cookie recipes by heart, so that on a whim when friends come over I can say, “hey who’s in the mood for cookies?” And then promptly whip up a batch before anyone can say “only if you’ve got milk.” Continue reading →

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giraffe center – what to do when the tallest creature you’ve ever seen comes towards you

Posted on August 29, 2011 by allison

The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW) Giraffe Center was founded in 1979 as a conservation effort in Nairobi. Now you can go to the Giraffe Center and pay to let giraffes slobber all over your hand. Apparently their saliva is antiseptic, though I am skeptical given that I fell deathly ill the day after my visit to the giraffe center. The way it works is you climb up onto this high-rise wooden veranda structure, and hold out your hand full of pellets until Eileen or Harry or one of the other spotted giants comes over and slurps up the pellets with its sand-papery grayish-purple tongue (that is close to a foot long).

Let me back up for a minute. Continue reading →

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baking in Africa: coconut banana bars w/lime

Posted on August 15, 2011 by allison

It’s been a month since I’ve baked anything.

It’s been a month minus one day since I left the U.S. and boarded a plane for Nairobi, Kenya. When I decided to come here for three months to work for Akili Dada, one of the first thoughts that popped into my head was “I have to bake while I’m there.” I couldn’t go three months without baking. Just wasn’t an option. That said, I knew that baking in another country would be an adventure to say the least. And baking in Africa.. well, let’s just say I had been to Kenya before and didn’t recall a great number of pies or cookies abounding in the streets of Nairobi. Continue reading →

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vegan bread pudding w/cherries, almonds, & peaches

Posted on June 24, 2011 by allison

Let’s be honest. Bread pudding is not the most appetizing name for a dessert. For me, at least, it doesn’t conjure the same kind of mouth-watering thoughts as, say, pie… or cupcakes… or triple chocolate fudge brownie.  Continue reading →

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