I really wanted to photograph the line outside the bakery. When we went there on Saturday evening there were customers but no line.
My sister loves me a lot. She walked with me up Bleecker Street after our outing to Brooklyn.
I was able to photograph the line.
Tourists from Japan on Sunday Afternoon – they found the reference in a guide book
Here is the line at the Magnolia Bakery. Often photographed and talked about. My sister found a site online with 282 photographs of Magnolia Bakery products. Guess I was a little late with my desire to take this photo. But I did it anyway.
Earlier in the day we walked through Chinatown on Mott Street
Mary and I ate these delicious Hot Cross Buns from Rocco’s Pasticceria after we rode Jane’s Carousel (part of tomorrow’s post)
Cupcakes in the Angelique Cafe Food Cart
Select Blendz- Doo Wop Group in front of Amy’s Bread on Bleecker St.
No falling sprinkles today but one good cupcake leads to another. My sister said cupcakes aren’t her favorite as the frosting is disproportionate to the amount of cake involved but many people are crazy for cupcakes. I have seen a line around the corner on Bleecker Street at the Magnolia Bakery, many times.
A couple of weeks ago on a Monday, I went to a friend’s house and these chocolate cupcakes were the dessert. Here is the recipe for Chocolate Heaven with Chocolate Buttercream.
I’m on a team for the Biggest Loser at work and we weigh in every Monday morning. Good thing I had the rest of the week to try to make up for the indulgence.
I looked through the cookbook where J got the recipe from and everything sounded enticing. Old fashioned baking with plenty of real ingredients. From Savannah Georgia, the Back in the Day Bakery is the name of the cookbook. J had heard the owners, Cheryl and Griffith Day, featured on the radio show Splendid Table. Their specialty? Vintage Desserts!
I had taken the cupcakes and fruit into school on the student teacher’s last day. The little HO train people were in my desk.
I thought “food scape” and some students photographed the little people shoveling in the icing. But I thought it might look like a food museum and there were falling sprinkles to be mindful of so
the little hand-painted mom picked up her baby out of the stroller and held it close. Maybe she is waiting for transportation.
So I got home from my weekend in Ohio, Sunday night with no chance to photograph the neighborhood for the weekly photo challenge as it was dark outside. Changing the clocks didn’t help me with enough light by the time I pulled in the driveway
-but in my inbox I found a message from my son Matthew who lives in Zagreb, Croatia (9 years already!)
The subject of his email: Guest blog 🙂 The dilemma of what to post? SOLVED!
—————————————————————————————————————————–
Dear Ma, Yesterday I spent the evening with the Kaplowitz family. My dear friend Joe Kaplowitz is pretty much the only American I know over here and he invited me over for an American-style chocolate cake. Not only is he a brilliant jazz musician but he is quite an accomplished baker to boot! His beautiful wife Lela is a marvelous singer and they recently came out with a big-band album of original compositions called With Every Breath that you can hear (and buy!) hereAfter enjoying a generously-sized hunk of cake chased by a glass of milk, Joe, Lela, their daughter Lucija and I played a cut-throat game of Name That Tune. Lucija is also a budding musician, so as you might imagine the competition was pretty stiff. Then we headed to the parlor for a concert. Joe and Lucija, who plays the violin, teamed up for a set of traditional Croatian melodies played over some soulful blues piano. Perhaps I was witnessing the concept for the next album being born.Joe’s cake was so tasty that I plan to go back over tomorrow for another sliver. In keeping with the spirit of the blog, will get the recipe tomorrow and send it to you!Love, Matthew
p.s. Here is the recipe, just in from Zagreb this morning
I emailed my friend Rob to see if he had any updates forNational Pie Daythis year. He is the only pie judge I know. Official, that is.
Just a year ago he was guest blogger with the National Pie Day post. When I went to retrieve the post and his photoswith Willard Scott and Keegan Gerhard, I remembered how a fellow blogger helped me out that day. No visible pictures had posted when I published the guest blog, just blue boxes with question marks. I saw them on my computer but no one else could see them on theirs!
After school let out, I drove down to Homestead from Carrick. Judith and Daniel extended a warm welcome and we caught up. I hadn’t been there in awhile but was so glad I went.
I had my Christmas list and wanted to support my Independent Kitchen Store.
First, I ordered the 4 cheese pasta bake with a side of sautéed spinach at the Tin Front Cafe.where I sat at the old Chioda’s bar. The restaurant is vegetarian. A lovely Spring mix salad with balsamic dressing and asiago cheese shavings, a slice of crusty bread.
Yum. I heard about the up and coming new restaurants coming to the avenue in Homestead. Judith showed me the special honor in the Pittsburgh Magazine. Her son, Daniel Valentine, was recognized for his work to rebuild and revitalize Homestead and was chosen as a winner in the Forty Under Forty awards.
“Winners were chosen based on their passion, commitment, visibility, diversity and overall impact on the region.”
Congratulations Daniel!
Then after dinner I shopped in the adjacent Annex Cookerywhich is the most beautiful store.(Smidge of Just a Smidgen blog would love it!)
Field trip today with high school students, exploring Slippery Rock Univeresity. The weather was almost like early Spring if you can believe it.
At lunch the kids were thrilled with the fare in the Boozel Dining Hall. Especially the desserts. Jim the baker was gracious and allowed me to photograph him and his cupcakes but I was shooting into the window light so he allowed me to take another. His coworker said he is already famous. He told me he comes from England, or at least his forbears did. It was crowded and loud and we had to catch the bus back to school. I wish I had gotten more info, how he became a baker and how long he has worked at the university. Thanks Jim!
What a great day the students had, touring and visiting the library and a dorm room and trying out the climbing rock wall and pool, eating in the dining hall.
First photo taken with the iPhone.
And the middle portrait shot with Canon 5D with a 24-70mm L lens, available light,no flash ISO 400 f /4 shutter 100
Final cupcakes photo with the Canon 5D as well. When you compare the first and third cupcakes you know you need your camera at all times.
Some of the family is eating gluten-free. You might have seen the crumbled cake top from the other day (which was delicious)
And the family is trying to reduce intake of refined sugar. I wanted to bake something they could eat if they wanted to do so.
My mother used to make this with regular sugar when I was growing up. I just switched to the coconut palm for the body of the cheesecake pie and used a bit of maple syrup for the sour cream topping. I used FULL FAT cream cheese and sour cream. Some free-range organic eggs
I made this for Saturday night after Thanksgiving
This is a crustless pie. Not too sweet. It looks like it has a brown crust but it is just the butter browning the edge and the color of the coconut palm sugar. It’s an iPhone photo today.
Here is the recipe.
Butter a glass pie plate. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. I baked this one at 350 and the electric oven where I was staying is hotter and faster than mine at him and I think it was too hot for it. I think that is why it had more cracks than usual.
Mix well 2 -8 oz. packages of cream cheese (room temp) with 3/4 c coconut palm sugar
ruthehbackup2.home.blog 