I don’t know why, but I’m on a total donut kick lately.  Not that I’ve been making them a lot (although I did try making these recently) but that I want to be making them.  I just picked up a donut baking pan this weekend and I’m ready to try these this week!

Pumpkin Spice Donuts from Blue-Eyed Bakers

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After voting today, I came home and made baked oatmeal with berries & banana before starting work.  It was such a great way to start the day!  Next time I’m going to put greek yogurt on top.

{image shown via my Instagram @letterandlark}

We’re going apple picking later on this week, and I’m already thinking of all the different things I can make with our bounty.  I have always wanted to try making apple cider donuts, and I think that this will finally be the year!

Baked Apple Cider Donut Holes from Feastie

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A week ago the temps dropped into the 50′s and instantly I was obsessing over autumn.  I wanted to wear a sweater, drink a mug of hot cider, and eat something with root vegetables in it.  I had eaten barley at a friend’s house the week before and there was something just so warm and comforting about it, that I thought about it for days afterwards.  After a quick google search, I came across this recipe from Real Simple.  It was exactly what I was looking for!  The perfect autumn dinner to make you feel warm and cozy on a chilly night.

I can assure you, that the leftovers were as tasty as the night I made it; in fact for days after, I looked forward to every leftover lunch.  I read some of the reviews and added some garlic, swapped out the onions for shallots, used veggie broth instead of the chicken, and used swiss chard instead of the spinach.  Oh, don’t forget the best part!  I saved the seeds from the butternut squash, toasted them with olive oil, and sprinkled them on top…  Seriously delicious.

Baked Barley Risotto with Butternut Squash from Real Simple

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This past weekend was my husband’s birthday and my sister found the best chocolate cake recipe for our dinner party, and it happens to be vegan as well!  It was perfect for our family since my nephew has food allergies and often has to eat separate food from everyone else, but finally could eat the same dessert as everyone else.  It was the right amount of chocolatey, not too sweet, and perfectly moist.

Definitely put this on your “to-bake” list!

{image shown via my Instagram}

I’ll be making this cake by Mark Bittman for tomorrow’s 4th of July festivities – so excited at the chance to bake again (it’s been a while).  We’ll be having a really low-key 4th of July with just another couple tomorrow, but I’m welcoming the quietness after the last few crazy weeks.  It’s sort of funny having a holiday in the middle of the week; we weren’t sure if we should even do anything or just hole ourselves in.

Whatever your plans are for tomorrow (if you’re celebrating), hope it’s a relaxing day with those you love!  See you here again later on this week.
– Colleen

It’s been a chilly week around New England, but I’m looking forward to the more summery temps hopefully by this weekend.  Perhaps it will be nice enough to need to make some simply fruit popsicles?  These from Call Me Cupcake look a-m-a-z-i-n-g.  Seriously, yum.

{image shown belongs to Call Me Cupcake}

My husband is feeling under the weather today, so I made him his favorite: Matzo Ball Soup.  I do cheat and get the matzo ball mix (it’s so quick!), but I add fresh parsley to the matzo balls and add plenty of fresh dill to the broth.  There’s nothing homemade Matzo Ball Soup can’t fix!

Check out Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Matzo Ball Soup.

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Doesn’t this cake from Honey & Jam look amazing?  And it has a black tea frosting… very interesting, I wonder what it would taste like.  Who in my family has a birthday next so I can have an excuse to bake a cake this weekend?

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Check out this totally drool-worthy photo shoot of Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from Call Me Cupcake.  Talk about some amazing cookies and drop-dead gorgeous photographs!

FYI family, I’m in charge of baking cookies for Thanksgiving – currently bookmarking this!

{images shown belong to Call Me Cupcake}