Long time no see! That was the longest hiatus I’ve ever taken here on the blog, but it turns out that writing a book is a lot of work - who knew? It has been a great project to work on but has kept me away from here for far too long and I am […]

It’s Peanut Butter Nutella time! Peanut Butter Nutella time!
All winter long I have been crazy for hot chocolate. Thankfully we have a helpful cookbook on our shelf called- well… Hot Chocolate. It includes many delicious chocolate drink recipes that will surely keep me happy for the rest of these evil winter months. It’s even got […]

When I think of homemade baked goods, I generally dream of fuuudgy brownies and sofffft cookies. Soft and chewy treats are definitely my preference, however there are a few exceptions - one of which is the crispy, crunchy florentine.
Florentines are thin lace cookies traditionally made with chopped almonds. Unfortunately Taste Tester can’t eat nuts, so […]

After finding this post on Tastespotting, I knew that I couldn’t go on without knowing what on earth Peanut Butter Bread tasted like. I had to make some! One of my cookbooks - the Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook - happened to have a recipe for it.
I can now rest assured with the newfound knowledge that […]

Wow, it feels great to post two days in a row… :) Feels like it’s been a while since I’ve managed that!
Make no mistake, the book Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Life by Luann Dunnuck isn’t a cookbook, or at least not primarily.
The book’s summary states, “Invigorating and inspiring, Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Life reminds […]

This cookbook is one of many that I’ve flipped through a bunch of times and stalked on the shelves in various book shops. Here’s a sampling of the dialogue that goes on in my head:
“Sigh. There it is again.”
*flips through*
“Ooooh!… Chocolate Caramel-Pecan Souffle!
“No. My shelf is way too full. I can’t even jam […]

So after my last sadly tragic attempt at making chocolate peanut butter croissants, you’d think I’d veer away from trying them again for a while. But I had a sheet of frozen puff pastry leftover from last time and tired of it mocking me every time I opened the freezer, I decided to give it […]

Not the greatest shot, but that’s Zingerman’s Delicatessen in the background, the cafe is in the foreground and in between is an outdoor seating area for patrons to chow down.
The second Taste Tester mentioned going to Michigan for vacation, the first thing that popped into my head was finally getting the chance to visit Zingerman’s […]

Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World by Lisa “Hungry Girl” Lillien has some pretty fantastic looking recipes in it. With a small apartment and a full bookshelf, I often toil about purchasing new cookbooks. Why clutter up my apartment when there’s a plethora of new recipes constantly being […]

I realize writing a review of a book before you have finished it is not the norm, but I just had to share this quote from Steve Almond’s Candyfreak with you:
“Every now and again, I’ll run into someone who claims not to like chocolate or other sweets, and while we live in a country where […]