Sneak Peak: Puglia

Getting to and from Italy was a total disaster: Cancelled flights! Missed connecting flight even after lots of dramatic running at the airport!

However, Italy itself was fabulous. More soon.

Applesauce Spice Cake

It's that time of the year where it's all apples, all the time. I had an overabundance of applesauce from project canning and was looking for ways to use it up.

This cake is from Deb's second cookbook, which has a party cake builder section to mix and match different types of cakes and frosting. While this cake is similar to another one on Smitten Kitchen, the recipe from her book is a bit more versatile since you can swap out the applesauce for mashed bananas, pumpkin puree or grated carrot to change the type of cake. It's also a one-bowl recipe, which is a bonus.

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Yucatan 2019

Remember when I went to the Yucatan? Me neither. The past several months have been a big blur, but here are some photos from my trip.

Mexico remains as photogenic as ever - I will never stop loving intricate doors against colourful walls.

Swimming in cenotes was a highlight of the trip, though their spectacularness was difficult to capture in photograph. Visiting the ruins of Mayapan was fabulous due to the lack of crowds. Fun fact: I desecrated the ruins by throwing up on the grounds. Good times.

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Discoveries of Summer 2019

Bike rides where you don't feel like you're in the city.

I've done this route multiple times and have yet to get sick of it.

Toasted homemade sourdough bread tossed in a caprese salad made with tomatoes from my dad's garden, olive oil I lugged back from Portugal, and Maldon salt a friend kindly brought back from England.

I was doubtful anything could improve a caprese salad, but I was wrong.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry is one of the first fruits to make an appearance in the summer and I kind of went nuts over them this year. So far, I've made preserves, pie, cake, sorbet and ice cream.

I'm slowly getting a better understanding of ice cream making and went with a custard-less base to let the fruit flavour shine through. While alcohol and corn syrup is supposed to make the ice cream less icy and more creamy (an issue with fruit-based ice cream because of the high water content), I went with neither because I don't mind my frozen strawberry slices a little bit icy.

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