I love, I mean LOVE fruit. Monkey seems to be taking after me in that regard. He's nuts about almost every fruit we've given him. Right now, he's really enjoying blueberries, blackberries and peaches. He even taught himself how to pick blueberries.

With all the local fruit available, I've been stocking up the freezer with fruit, making pies and jam. I like to try out new recipes, or adapt ones that I have so that I can use what's on hand, or just change things up a bit.

I made a Blueberry Peach Loaf, which was a huge hit with the little man, as well as Blackberry & Strawberry Jam. I love blackberries, but Hubby doesn't really branch out beyond apples, bananas and strawberries, so straight up blackberry jam is pushing it.

For the jam, I simply followed the recipe in the liquid Certo box for Strawberry jam, but substituted half of the strawberries for blackberries. The result: super yummy jam that Hubby will eat!

As for the Blueberry Peach Loaf, the recipe called for sour cream, I only had some plain yogurt in the fridge, so that's what I used. I also have a tendency to substitute half the AP flour with whole wheat pastry flour in most of my baking, unless it's a cake! I love using the whole wheat pastry flour because it's ground so fine that it doesn't effect the texture of the final product. It's great for pies, pizza dough, even cookies!

Blueberry Peach Loaf (my adapted version)

1 cup AP flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 peach, peeled and diced
1 cup (approx.) blueberries - let's be real though, I dumped about 3 handfuls in, so it was probably more like 1 1/2 cups

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or line a loaf pan.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add in eggs, vanilla and yogurt.

Combine flours, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. (Or if you're me, just throw them all into the cream mixture; who wants to wash more dishes!).

Gently stir together, about 7-8 strokes. Add fruit, and continue to gently stir until everything is just moistened. DON'T OVER-MIX! If you mix too much, you will get tunnels and your loaf will be tough. I could go into a whole thing about building up too much gluten, but I won't. Just don't over-mix and you'll be fine.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Enjoy!

I love being creative in the kitchen. I find it theraputic. Unfortunately I no longer have the metabolism of a 13 year old so I can't eat all that I make. No, I can eat it all, I just shouldn't. In order to bake as much as I want to, I give a lot of things away as gifts. From granola to jellies here are a few of the things I've done in the past, but didn't really get around to this year. Hopefully they will inspire you.

Cookies
Whether it's Espresso Shortbread or Vanilla Bean Icebox Cookies, a pretty bag or tin of cookies made with quality ingredients, (local unsalted butter, organic vanilla, free range eggs), is always appreciated. I find that the classic, old fashion cookies have great keeping quality so they work really well. Depending on the recipient I'll even tuck in a copy of the recipe.
See my previous post for a few recipes that are great for giving. 

Biscotti
One year I made custom flavours for family, everything from classic chocolate almond to spiced fruit and nut to blueberry white chocolate. I use a simple basic recipe and then jazz it up with  different flavours. I like to package these using paper coffee bags or in some cellophane.

Spices
I love making my own spice mixes. I keep a basic Tex-Mex one on hand that I use for tacos, chili and anything else that needs a kick. Hubby also is super at making different rubs of meat. Simply whip up a big batch of your favourite spice mix fill up some pretty jars and label. Include a few ideas for how to use it!

Preserves
Since I can remember I've been inolved in making jam. Strawberry season rolled around and I got the task of standing on a chair by the sink hulling the strawberries while mom and dad did the slicing and boiling. Then it was rasperries, apricots and blackberries. As I got older, I graduated to using the food mill. Each summer and fall I look forward to stocking up the pantry with jam. This year I only got a few batches made, the week before baby arrived, I made Stawberry Vanilla Bean jam and in August apricot. I`ve still got Roasted Garlic Jelly on the list. Hopefully next year I`ll get ahead of myself and get enough made to give away! 
Because there is quite a bit of science involved in canning, and no one wants to get Botulism or other nasties that can appear in improperly canned goods, it`s important to use highly tested recipes. I find that the Bernardin website has a great selection of recipes and good instructions for beginners too!

Christmas is probably my favourite time of the year to bake cookies. I love making the family recipes I grew up on as well as adding new and exciting treats to my repetoire. For me baking during this time of year really holds a special place in my heart because, to me, it means family. Whether it's Nana's ginger snaps (excellent year-round with tea by the way), or Grandma's sugar cookies they all have so many memories.
One of my favourite is my Grandma's almond cake. The first time I made it was 2 years ago. The recipe was the last Christmas gift I got from her. It took me 8 years to bring myself to make it. And reading the recipe still makes me cry. I didn't get a chance to make it last Christmas; between teaching, participating in a local baker's market, moving and a serious case of first-trimester narcolepsy, it just didn't pan out. This year it's a must on the baking list.
 I usually go a bit overboard with the cookies, partly because of my sweet tooth, but mostly because I love having them around for family and friends. Also, I love baking cookies with people. One of my best baking assistants is my hubby. I do most of the baking, but he's a great help. Whether it's dipping cookies in chocolate, taste testing, cutting out shapes or refilling my eggnog, he's always there with enthusiasm and a sense of humour. The other night he helped out with the Cardamom Honey cookies while I fed baby. Yep, those are Christmas lobsters he's making!

I've tried not to set the bar too high for myself this year. Baking and taking care of a 5 month old at the same time isn't easy. Things get burnt. The dog steals anything that isn't closely gaurded.  So what gets done gets done, and I'll probably opt for more slice and bake cookies rather than cut outs this year. I do know that I'm already looking forward to Christmases in the future when little hands can help us make cookies together.

Here are a few of my favourites for you to check out. Sorry, only a lucky few get the family recipes!

• Cardamom & Honey Cutouts
• Icebox Shortbread
• Raspberry Hazelnut Linzer
• Chocolate Hazelnut Cutouts

Hope your baking is full of friends, family and lots of love!

As soon as Hallowe'en is over there is talk about what to do with all the candy. I've heard everything from thow it out after a week to donate it to the food bank. Growing up I knew this stash had to last through to Easter so I always rationed my treats very carefully. I'm not into wasting food. And it someone spent money on it, and I'm far too, let's say thrifty, to throw it out. 

This year we saw 13 trick-or-treaters and had 3 large boxes of candy = lots of leftovers! Rather than just eating them all myself, and I've had my fair share, they are going to be mixed into some of my favourite baked treats. This way it doesn't get wasted and I don't have to buy choclate for baking for the forseeable future.

So far I've made, and eaten, chewy cookie bars with Reese's Pieces. Sorry, no photo. They didn't last long enough. They were really good.
Other plans include: peanut butter cup brownies, coffee crisp cookies, and smartie cookies or cookie bars. Basically, anything that is chocolate is going to be used up like chocolate chips!
Here's my super easy Cookie Bar recipe. I often use a combination of chocolate and dried cranberries or nuts, and have been mixing it up using leftover candy instead of chocolate chips.

Chewy Cookie Bars
1/4 cup butter at room temp
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips (really who measures the chocolate chips?!)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8 x 8 pan.
Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla.
Stir in dry ingredients.
Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into pan.
Bake for 25-30 min.