Coconut Whipped Cream

Since becoming both a baker and a blogger, I have noticed an intrinsic change in the way I approach, prepare, and appreciate food. In many ways, I anticipated that a small evolution would take place when I carefully typed out my first post, but I could not have imagined how much it would affect (and continue to affect) my life.

When I started blogging, it was out of desperate desire to find a passion for myself, a need to express the confused emotions and excitement of growing up and coming into my own. I latched onto the idea that baking was where I should be, clutching onto the hope as if it was the only life saver in my ocean of feelings. There was no evidence to support these feelings—I did not bake often and knew very little about it—but I was so frantic to find something to call my own that this indomitable mountain did not seem to matter. When I began blogging, I started from scratch. I taught myself how to create desserts through trial and error. I experimented with yeast, rolled out pie crusts, and stumbled around the kitchen, sharing these moments of discovery with you.

I have met people who have changed the way I think about food. While I lived in Montreal, my roommate unknowingly shared her philosophy of cooking and eating over the dinner table each evening, as she consistently prepared fresh and healthy foods (a feat I had yet to master). She took me to the local farmer's market and shared her thoughts about fruits and vegetables, as we wandered through the colorful, vibrant aisles with our market bags growing increasingly heavier. Though her wisdom was disguised as everyday conversation, she unconsciously taught me to treat my body with respect. Looking back, it was a lesson I needed to learn more than I understood.

By chance, I once listened to a segment on the radio in which Nigella Lawson talked about her perspective on summer fruits. Her passion was so evident and her descriptions so vivid that I was swept up in her approach to food. Her words affected me so deeply that I can recall them several years later.

In those early months of discovery, when I could not have anticipated what my approach to food would become, I imagined myself making colorful cakes and using sprinkles on everything from cookies to ice cream cakes. My real evolution has taken me by surprise—a mixture of rusticity, homespun flavors, and what I hope to be honesty. I am driven by the seasons and fall prey to my whims and cravings. What started as a desperate compulsion to find a passion has matured into a journey of butter, sugar, and self-discovery.

Any path that leads to something so simple and elegant as coconut whipped cream is a path I deem worth following.

Coconut Whipped Cream is a dairy-free/vegan alternative to traditional whipped cream. The natural fat content of coconut milk makes it possible to whip it up with a mixer, creating soft peaks. While coconut whipped cream is not as stiff as whipped cream, the flavor is immaculate and can be spooned over any dessert of your choosing. The natural subtlety of coconut, along with a few vanilla bean seeds, makes this whipped cream memorable.

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Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

It is cold outside. The small corner of my world has been in a bitterly cold spell the last few days, keeping everyone indoors and wearing thick wool socks. The weatherman cheerfully informed me this evening that the windchill will drop to -40 degrees F/C, which is actually colder than the South Pole at the moment (I checked). While my mind drifts to white sandy beaches and hot sunshine, my body reluctantly heads out into the cold air, bundled up in so many layers I can scarcely see the sidewalk beneath my feet.

The cold bites and slashes against my face, bringing tears to my eyes like a punch to the gut. The wind, when it strikes just so, steals my breath away as I gasp and struggle to open my lungs against the icy air, muttering unheard expletives from my lips.

Can it be spring yet, please?

These past few evenings, I have found myself beneath a pile of blankets with a hot drink between my palms. With nowhere I need to be, I've turned the oven on for heat, roasting up dinners and making simple comfort foods. Staying warm can be its own art form.

As I finished off another mug of hot cocoa this afternoon, I was fondly reminded of the several batches of homemade marshmallows I made over the winter holidays. Though I have had this recipe in the cue for a little while, the time finally seemed right to pull it out. I can't be the only one with a hot chocolate addiction this time of year, can I?

When the idea of homemade marshmallows was first proposed to me, I wasn't terribly interested. Couldn't I just buy what I needed from the store? Nevertheless, I wouldn't be a proper baker if my curiosity didn't get the better of me so I set out to make a batch of them for myself. The process was surprisingly easier than I had imagined it to be, but the results are what really knocked me off my feet. Friends, homemade marshmallows are divine. Store-bought marshmallows pale in comparison, both in texture and taste. I can't turn back.

I was so smitten with my marshmallow discovery that I made several gift bags for friends and family over the holidays and served them alongside the Christmas cookies. Plain or dipped in warm chocolate, these marshmallows will certainly bring a smile to your face.

Vanilla Bean Marshmallows are soft and pillowy, with a bright flavor profile. Both vanilla beans and vanilla extract lend an intense flavor to these sweet marshmallows. Whether plain, chocolate dipped, or soaking in a mug of hot cocoa, there is no wrong way to enjoy this simple treat. Though the directions for the recipe may appear long, the process is simple. I wanted to provide you with the clearest instructions so there was no confusion along the way.

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Chewy Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Bars

At times, I struggle to live in the moment. I'm always looking forward, planning ahead, or dreaming about the future. When the everyday begins to grow lackluster, my mind wanders to exotic holidays through ancient cities and foreign landscapes or to the everyday moments of future life that may or may not come to pass. My head drifts above the clouds while my body goes through the daily routines.

I struggle to ground myself in the familiar day-to-day activities of making dinner and studying for exams.

In many ways, a part of me has always been a dreamer. When I was younger, I could never decide what I would be when I grew up. I could imagine the details of a life where I was an author, a zookeeper, a doctor, or an astronomer. I wanted to play a part in all of these lives. I never wanted to settle down, to make a real decision about life, because it felt like there was such a finality about doing so. I wanted to leave more doors open than I would ever hope to shut.

When I walk through home and furniture stores, I imagine my future home and how I'll fill the empty rooms. My home by the sea will hold worn wood furniture and carry the colors of the skies; my home in the woods will welcome long shadows, stone, and the spirit of a dancing flame. These daydreams feel so real in my head; I find myself too busy divining a future that I've failed to cover the white-walls in my current apartment to make my house feel more like a home.

As I've grown up, the dreamer in me has had her fair share of doses of reality. Decisions are inevitable (though never final) and every path has its share of ups and downs. Even when doing something I love, my head still floats above the clouds, wondering what may be around the next corner. As the ever wise JK Rowling cautioned me, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." Those words struck such a chord.

The truth is that I have been forgetting to live in the present for quite awhile now. Instead of dreaming about becoming a mother or wife, a teacher or world traveler, I need to appreciate being a young woman with few ties to hold me down and high aspirations to lead my way. These days will pass too soon. Thanks for the reminder, Ms. Rowling.

These Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Bars have a little trick up their sleeves. Though they may appear to be cake-like in texture, they are actually pleasantly dense and chewy. Vanilla bean and cinnamon round out the flavor, while cornmeal lends the surprisingly texture. Topped with a light vanilla glaze, these bars may find a place in your fall rotation.

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