First off, I love our new camera! My roomates from college bought Ivan and me an amazing Nikon 5000 for our wedding, and though I am only just starting to dabble, it is coming through like a champ. Thanks again to Jay for letting me borrow his for so long…

Also, how adorable are these mini loaf pans! Another great wedding gift that is going to help enormously with my inability to stay away from baked goods. This way, I can make multiple small loafs and give the majority to friends instead of hoarding a whole giant loaf for myself.

This coconut bread is all over the internet, so out of sheer curiosity, I made it. And it’s yummy yummy toasted and spread with a little butter. You know you want it.

For the Recipe, click here:

Coconut and Cinnamon Bread

Confession: I once ate so many shrimp off a shrimp cocktail platter that it soured my love for the little pink crustaceans for 8 years. I distinctly remember eating them on my parents porch as a kid and thinking to myself, “Why the heck am I still eating these things? I am stuffed.” I couldn’t even stand to look at a shrimpy until recently.

But the good news is, I am finally over my binge-induced aversion and enjoy a moderate portion from time to time. Here’s a healthy way to put some pep into them.

For the Recipe, click here:

Curry Shrimp with Sweet and Spicy Couscous

I love a BBQ, but especially a BBQ at the end of summer because it’s as if everyone feels the sun setting earlier, the light taking on that fall-ish feeling and so, they savor lingering outside with a beer around a fire pit with a plate of good food.

Ivan is convinced that I put addictive drugs in this pasta, but I assured him that it is only bacon. But then again, maybe bacon could be considered a drug? Crowd pleasing can be made very easy with a hefty dose of pig. This much, I have learned.

For the Recipe, click here:

Pepper and Pea Pasta Salad with Bacon

Here’s the truth. I have never been one to eat just breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Eating three times a day just seems like cruel punishment. Instead, I prefer to eat 5 meals per day! Breakfast, “second” breakfast (as the hobbits call it), lunch, afternoon crash meal, pre-dinner crazy meal, and lastly, supper. I do this because a) I think about food 24 hours a day, so stretches of even an hour without eating are torturous and b) because, why not?

Ok, ok… so no, I do not eat five monstrous meals because I tend to be pretty active (thank goodness or I would probably be a giant beached porpoise) and I hate feeling weighed down on a run. In compensation, I eat little meals that satisfy the entire palate and hold me over until the next food celebration! This is an extremely easy recipe I use for “second” breakfast or lunch and just so you know… this pesto? It goes on anything. I think you will find many uses for it.

For the Recipe, click here:

Soft Boiled Egg Salad with Fresh Herb and Tomato Pesto

And we are back! After a long hiatus and many festivities, Busy as a Brie is returning to the blogosphere. I can’t tell you what a wonderful month it has been… Ivan and I had our long overdue Wedding Renewal/Party on Massachusetts’ spectacular Cape Ann and it was a million times better than I could have imagined!

So now, I have about 45 new kitchen trinkets from our generous guests that I have to start experimenting with! Some of my favorites include a sparkling water maker in the shape of a Penguin(!), a spanking new Cuisinart which is just itching to chop up some onions, a speedy popsicle maker and some wonderful tart, cake, and loaf pans. I’ve got new bowls and pots and whisks, and gorgeous serving bowls, oh my!

Enough bragging… let’s eat some cake.

For the Recipe, click here:

Lemon Chiffon Cake with Strawberry Lemon Curd Filling

Ok, possibly I spoke too soon. It’s harder than I thought to stay away from Busy As a Brie! Of course, I have been in the kitchen, and I will admit, it’s nice sometimes to just cook by feel and not worry about writing down measurements, but I just made this batch of Pecan Sandies and as I was savoring my second one, I started to feel like I was cheating on you. They were so tasty that not posting the recipe would have made me feel just as guilty as eating the entire batch myself.

So maybe I will just stick to once a week until Ivan and my long overdue wedding extravaganza is over! That way, we both win. Now get on these cookies. I bet you have all the ingredients sitting in your pantry.

For the Recipe, click here:

Pecan Sandies

I have just returned from a wonderful wine-filled weekend in Temecula Valley. Although I did some wine tasting in Stellenbosch, South Africa and vaguely remember visiting a vineyard with my parents when I was a kid, I can’t say I ever went wine tasting during a part of my life where I actually cared about wine. So this was a new experience. One that I would love to repeat, but have quickly learned must be paced slightly differently.

You see, I went with my parents and while my mom is more a sipper, my dad and I sort of treated it like a competitive sport to see how much we could possibly stomach in one day. Not the best way to do it, we found out. But enjoyable nonetheless…I think in about three months, I’ll be able to handle Napa!

Here’s a fresh, surprisingly light breakfast that made our drive to California tummy grumble free!

For the Recipe, click here:

Fluffy Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Fresh Berries

Every year on Fourth of July, we have American Food day at work and inevitably, someone brings in McDonald’s or Kentucky Fried Chicken. I’m always a little queasy looking down the buffet line at the greasy gunk that I find pretty disgusting.

I figure a little fruit with bright pops of color won’t do anyone any harm. And on top of a traditional American Buttermilk Pie with some Rum Whipped Cream, I’m not being toooooo anti-fun. (Fun is defined here as fatty.)

For the Recipe, click here:

Fourth of July Buttermilk Pie

Here is proof that things do grow in the desert. That gargantuan zucchini came from my friends’ garden! Pretty impressive huh? And here is something I am so glad I purchased… a giant muffin pan. Because seriously, the truth is, I make muffins, I consume two or three and then just feel guilty about it. So, I figure one monster one will satisfy my tummy and my mind. Perfect solution to my problem I think. I recommend you get one and make some of these breakfast beauties.

For the Recipe, click here:

Garden Breakfast Muffins