As much as I may enjoy a busy, fun filled weekend every now and again, this nonstop travel and craziness has got to stop. Returning home from work last night, I was so tired that I completely forgot about dinner. Trust me, that never happens. So I celebrated the longest day of the year by getting the year’s longest night of sleep. Eleven hours later I feel like a completely new person. Not to worry, this new person still likes … Read More
Fruit and Nut Chocolate Bark
There really is nothing like waking up in the morning knowing the day is completely yours. No responsibilities, tasks to complete, or places to be. Of course being the list maker that I am, a ‘to-do’ list was still made. But today’s list was in my head instead of on paper, a fun list of sorts, and the consequences of not completing the items on my list? None whatsoever. You really should try it every now and again. After you … Read More
White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
I officially have no life. Wait, check that, I have a life and it consists of traveling in the car and going to weddings. Case in point? My last six days. They went something like this… Drove three hours back to northwest Iowa for a wedding. Spent a day baking hundreds of cupcakes and a wedding cake. Went to said wedding. Drove back home early Monday morning (6 a.m. early) and went straight to work. Sweated it out at hot … Read More
Black Bean Veggie Burgers
A few months ago I did something I never thought possible, something a little crazy, a tad unusual, and something that made J’s dad, a cattle farmer, scratch his head in bewilderment. I became a vegetarian. It started over dinner at a Mexican restaurant near my apartment while eating with a good friend. She introduced me to a website of a family living and eating vegan. That means no meat, cheese, milk, yogurt, eggs – basically anything that comes from … Read More
Breakfast Bowl Celebration
Whew! The last two days are a complete blur. I hardly remember much of Friday, when baking 300 cupcakes and making a wedding cake took over my life and was a bit too exhausted on Saturday to remember much, either. I can, however, say the wedding was lovely, the bride was beautiful, and I think everyone had a pretty amazing time. Oh, and the cupcakes were well-received, too! Because I am a creature of habit, I will be eating this … Read More
Chocolate Revel Bars
No time for extra words today because after I post these Chocolate Revel Bars, I’ll be heading to a church kitchen a few miles away to spend the day baking. Baking 300 cupcakes and a two tiered wedding cake to be exact. Sure I’ve done this before, it seems that every time wedding season comes around I commit to at least a few weddings, but it never gets any less stressful. I play it cool and collected every time. But … Read More
Lemon Loaf Cake
Growing up for most of my life as an only child I highly valued my alone time. Time to think, relax, dance around the house in my pajamas, you get the picture. Sure, I have two younger sisters that I love very much, but seeing as they live in Florida with my dad and step-mom, the day-to-day of life was an only child scenario. Oh boy did I grow to love that alone time, much of which was spent cooking, … Read More
Triple Berry Pound Cake Muffins
Camping mission accomplished! More often than not I judge the success of my day, or in this case weekend, by my level of productivity. As far as productivity goes, this weekend was a major success. Not only did I experience camping for the first time, but we also managed to secure an apartment for J. to live in when he starts his job next month. That may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but if you saw some of … Read More
Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad
I am going camping. I’ll say it again. I, Madison Mayberry, am going camping for the very first time in my 22 years of life. For those who only know me through this site, it may be hard to understand the humor in this, but for friends and family who know living, breathing, non-camping me, it is nothing short of earth shattering. To top things off, I am recovering from a 24 hour bout with food poisoning that left me … Read More
Chocolate Covered Marshmallows
This recipe, if you can even call it a recipe, almost didn’t make it to the pages of Espresso and Cream. I got to dipping marshmallows in chocolate one night to satisfy a sweet tooth craving, never really thinking of sharing the idea with anyone else, but when J. arrived at my apartment last week his enthusiastic reaction made me do a double take. “You’re going to put these on the blog, right?” he asked. And so in the name … Read More
One-Bowl Blackberry Cake
If ever there was such a thing as a ‘breakfast cake’ this, my friends, would be it. And if there was such a thing as a ‘perfect for every occasion’ cake, this would also be it. Time and time again I have made this humble dessert: for brunches, breakfasts, coffee dates, and dinner parties. And every time it comes through for me – the knight-in-shining-armor of cakes. It wins extra points for having a very basic ingredient list, for … Read More
Broccoli-Raisin Salad
After three days of blistering hot and humid weather, I’m convinced Iowans are a very discontent group of individuals. Weather here is hardly ever deemed pleasant or even satisfactory,which I believe is a combination of outlook and cold hard facts. It seems Iowa is a bit of an extremist state in matters of the weather. My two favorite seasons, spring and fall, get only slight acknowledgment because Iowa prefers to vacillate between the dead of winter and the peak of summer. … Read More