{recap} 14 Life Lessons Learned in 2014

Posted on by wallflourgirl

As the Year in Review statuses saturate our Facebook news feeds and we sift through the impossible, mounting pile of recaps about friends who have gotten engaged, friends who have had babies, friends who have traveled the world, friends who spend their youthful years recording themselves at the top of the Eiffel Tower with selfie sticks: as all of these things happen, the question inevitably arises. Has anything really changed for us?

The answer might be a simple one for you to answer, or perhaps it’s really difficult, depending on what has happened in the past calendar year. I … Read more

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Creamy Carrot Peanut Soup

Posted on by wallflourgirl

Carrot Peanut Soup 2--122714

I will always be young at heart, but I’m a stodgy old grandma in stomach.

I should know–I just spent the past week with my grandma and spent every mealtime sitting side by side shoveling the same pile of the mushiest, creamiest, dissolveable-iest edible stuff into our mouths. With matching chopsticks and purple down jackets, I might add. (We’re pretty cute like that.)

A huge part of this uncanny resemblance is that, since I started grad school, I have become a weirdly obsessive “texture person.”

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I have somehow always labored under the impression that most people outgrow their pickiness about … Read more

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Gingerbread Granola {Gluten-Free} for #BobsRedMill

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{Congrats to Linda for winning my My Bakers Box giveaway last week! Can’t wait for you to bake up a storm, girl!}

So today I’m actually going to talk about food on my food blog (instead of completely random things like my year in Facebook statuses and goodness in this world). Imagine that.

Gingerbread Granola 2--121914

Exactly zero times a year before I became a food blogger, I ate gingerbread. Zero, zip, zilch.

Watch Harry Potter movies 1-7 five times on ABC Family? You betcha. But toss me the whole lot of holiday favorites–pumpkin pie, peppermint, figgy pudding, fruitcake–and you might as … Read more

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Friday Wallflavourites: Edition 20

Posted on by wallflourgirl

{Note: I’m busy in the kitchen these days taking holiday orders from my Etsy bake shop! If you still need holiday gift ideas, order up–ship straight to your home or a friend’s!}

Gingerbread cake is seriously one of the best reasons that the holidays even exist. Take that, and revamp it into a Gingerbread Layer Cake with Salted Whiskey Caramel  like the awesome Izy from Top with Cinnamon did, and you can wave a merry goodbye to all self-restraint.

Gingerbread Layer Cake with Salted Whiskey Caramel

Did I mention that I love gingerbread cakes? For an easy one-bowl fix-all, I’m going to try this Gingerbread Apple … Read more

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Thick, Puffy Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies

Posted on by wallflourgirl

{a year in Facebook statuses} 

Every once in a while, I stop spamming my feed with #bakerproblems and share something meaningful. Today I’m spreading the holiday joy with these warm, puffy, thick, ginger molasses sugar cookies and a glimpse back at where this year has taken us…

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{December} 

Sitting at Starbucks, I bought a large coffee for a homeless man who was asking for any type of help people could give. As I continued working, I watched him, fascinated, as he limped around outside, cup out but constantly in motion. Then I realized that he was taking napkins and wiping … Read more

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Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Rum Cake for #SundaySupper

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Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Rum Cake 10--121414

BREAKING NEWS: GOOD PEOPLE DO EXIST.

Last Thursday, apparently I lost my wallet. I did not know I lost my wallet. In fact, if I hadn’t received the email from the police department the following afternoon, I probably would not have noticed until I was late for an important meeting and could not find my wallet anywhere. 

But I did not know. So the email was all like, Surprise! We gotz yer wallet! Come an’ get it. Humdiddlydum, Police Guys. 

And I was all: ……….Oh.

Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Rum Cake 2--121414

So after somehow muddling on my boots and feeling pretty nervous, I mucked down to … Read more

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Mini Peanut Butter Jelly Parfaits {+ My Bakers Box Giveaway!}

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What is your resting face? Do you wear a worried frown or a mild smile or a cheeky grin or–dare I say it–the classic resting bitch face? (No offense meant–some people just have it! And if you’re one of them, it’s totally okay. Seriously.)

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I ask because I like to play something called the Resting Face Game when I’m walking around the town, traveling, en route, etc. It’s the sort of zany social/mind game only somebody like me would play, but the goal is simple: break as many “resting faces” as possible. Is someone frowning? Make them smile! Is that … Read more

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Strawberry Smoothie Cubes {+ 3 Ways to Enjoy Them} for @WilliamsSonoma Smoothie Week

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Strawberry Smoothie Cubes 11--120814

Winter is coming!

Here in California, we’ve been saying this for about 11 months now, and winter still has not come. I don’t think it has visited our neck of the woods since about the Ice Age, and even then I suspect it let us off easy.

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This is lucky because my running shoes have been pounding the pavement quite a bit lately. Yesterday, I did a(n excruciatingly mellow) 13-mile run through Beverly Hills, jogging through posh Museum Row, the highly upscale Rodeo Drive, and making a pit stop at my favorite Harry Potter and Dr. Who-themed store, Whimsic Alley… Read more

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Friday Wallflavourites: Edition 19

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Congrats to Abby, who won last week’s Peanut Butter & Co. giveaway! We can’t wait to send you your delicious peanut butter!

This Cranberry Cinnamon Roll French Toast via Deliciously Yum just about rocks my world! I don’t know about you guys, but I think I’ve got a tiny bit of room left in my yoga pants to accommodate this… cranberry-cinnamon-roll-french-toast

Thanksgiving leftovers are never in short supply, so why not put that cauliflower to good use with this Cranberry Balsamic Cauliflower Wings recipe via Cupcakes and Kale Chips?

Cranberry Balsamic Glazed Cauliflower Wings are a sweet, savory, sticky appetizer or side dish that everyone from vegans to carnivores will love. Gluten free, too! | cupcakesandkalechips.com

If you’re a flan fan, you’re going to DIE when you … Read more

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{No-Churn} Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

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Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream (No-Churn) 3--120214

‘Tis the season to be jolly!

‘Tis the season for being good commercial consumers, voracious listeners of 24/7 holiday music, and hopeless romantics who watch ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas movie marathons while indulging in a giant bowl of homemade pumpkin spice ice cream.

I’m as crazy about the holiday season as the next person. Yes, mass commercialism sucks balls, but unless you’re absolutely determined to be cynical about hot chocolate and fuzzy feelings and hot chocolate and great holiday classics such as Elf or How the Grinch Stole Christmas–and let’s face it, who can be cynical about … Read more

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