at home with ann

It's that time of year when we have more tomatoes, corn and zucchini than we know what to do with.  We got 8 ears of corn and several pounds of tomatoes in our CSA pickup last week, so our meals have been all about corn, tomatoes, corn and tomatoes.  On Saturday we made homemade pizza (using this dough ) and topped it with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, corn and basil.  I really liked the addition of the corn on pizza, but I would recommend leaving the basil off until after baking because ours got kind of toasted. We were at the beach, so we used cookie trays instead of the pizza stone for baking, and we could totally tell the difference in crust crispiness.  Pizza stones are well worth the investment.  Also, taking crappy pictures with the flash in bad lighting doesn't do it any favors, but I wanted to give you an idea of what it looked like. Sunday night we had burgers, topped with tomatoes, and grilled corn on the cob.  I asked Jon to grill all t...

While this is the best banana bread recipe ever, it's good to try new things.  New things that don't have six tablespoons of butter in them.  Especially since we can polish off a loaf of banana bread over the course of a weekend without much difficulty.  Also, I went on an applesauce buying bender for Colin a few weeks ago, so we have plenty around.  I considered trying to healthify up this recipe a bit more by subbing in wheat or wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose and cutting down the sugar, but then I didn't.  I'll let you know if I do, and if you do tell me how it goes.  If you are a fan of AHWA on Facebook (and I hope you are!), you know that I made this in just a few minutes during naptime last week.  Then I thought about using all my extra time to clean the bathtub but opted to complain about it on Facebook instead.  Lower Fat Banana Bread 2 cups flour 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon...

This is a ridiculously easy dish to make, and works well as an hors d'oeuvres to bring to parties.  I double check the spelling of hors d'oeuvres every time I write it lest you think I'm a moron.  I can also tell you from experience that it is a good addition to appetizers-for-dinner night.  I hope we're not the only people who do that, because it's amazing.  It's the perfect way to justify chowing down on cheese and crackers and the like because it's a meal.  Anyway, I've wandered off topic again. I made my own pesto for this, but you can certainly use store bought as well, making it even easier.  I've also done a variation where I subbed goat cheese for some of the cream cheese. Pesto Bruschetta 1 french baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices (you can toast, or not ) 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature (light cream cheese works well here because it's a little easier to spread) 1/4 cup pesto (start with a couple tablespoons and adju...

This is a nice twist on traditional hummus, and you know I usually can't get enough of the chickpeas.  Replacing the chickpeas with edamame and the traditional olive oil with sesame oil gives this an Asian flavor that pairs especially nicely with rice crackers.  I recommend the wasabi flavor if you like the spice.  The only part of this that I didn't like was peeling the skins off the edamame.  I know it gives the hummus a creamier texture, but it took a good 20 minutes during which time I was singing Disney tunes loudly to Colin in an attempt to keep him entertained and not chewing on the baseboards.  Next time I might just live dangerously and see what happens if I leave them on. Edamame Hummus recipe from Daily Garnish  Ingredients: 1 16 oz. bag frozen edamame 2 garlic scapes, roughly chopped (or one clove of garlic) 1/4 cup water (adjust as necessary) 3 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Tablespoons tahini 2 Tablespoons sesame oil Salt Directions:...

I should call this the 7 1/2 month update, because that's how far behind I am! We have been having the best summer!  Seeing lots of friends and family and bouncing from one beach to another.  We were lucky enough to spend a few days with my best friend and roommate from high school, Megan, and her two little kids, who are 3 1/2 and 1.  They are adorable, and it was great (if a bit crazy) to hang out with all the kids together.  We've visited with both sets of grandparents, and spent the week in Maine with my parents, my sister and her family.  I spend considerably less time on the beach baking in the sun and more time cleaning sand out of Colin's mouth, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Colin loves the beach.  He likes to be held standing at the edge of the water and stomping his feet, he likes to sit in tide pools and splash, and most of all he likes to eat sand.  The delicious organic peas I lovingly steamed and mashed for him, he does ...

I am sorry I left you for two weeks!  We were on vacation in Maine, and then have been having some major happenings in life with Colin.  All good things, but not conducive to sitting down and writing.  I had to choose between napping while Colin napped and writing, and I apologize, but the sleep won.  I am back, though, and have one of the most popular cookie recipes I bake to share with you. Among the food I brought to Maine last week were these molasses cookies.  Also known as my Dad's Most Favorite Cookies.  The only change I would recommend is to store these in a container as opposed to a large plastic bag. I did the latter, and when I had to acrobatically climb into the backseat to attempt (unsuccessfully) to calm down our crying baby at hour 4 of the traffic jam, I landed on the bag of cookies. They did not fare well.  Still tasted delicious but less round than what you see here.  Molasses Cookies recipe from Joy of Baking 2 cups...

And rainbow sprinkles, because that just ups the party factor.  We had a few friends over this weekend to eat, drink, play bocce and meet Colin.  I figured cupcakes would be a good way to cap off the day.  Our lovely friends also brought delicious desserts, and gave us the leftovers, so I've been doing my best not to eat more than two a day.  Because two desserts a day is reasonable, and six is not.  Spoonfuls of leftover frosting from the fridge do not count towards this limit, in case you were wondering. I used these recipes from Brown Eyed Baker .  They came out perfectly!  Plus, I finally made halfway decent looking frosting swirls.  The key was to use a real piping bag and not cheap out and try to use a ziploc.  Too many ziplocs have exploded frosting on me.  No more. Vanilla Cupcakes Yield: 12 regular sized cupcakes 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 stick unsalted butter, ro...