Vegan Strawberry Pie

by Liz // June 30, 2015 // 2 Comments

Rustic (code word for “rough-looking”) vegan strawberry pie is one heck of a delicious pie. It’s a flaky crust filled with sweet whiskey-coated strawberries, and topped with a brown sugar crumble. It’s really good. I’ve been wanting to post this recipe for awhile now, but life has gotten in the way. I think that between keeping two tiny humans alive, cleaning house, and enjoying the summer, it’s been hard to find the time. My apologies to all who read my blog… all 5 of you. I truly am so proud of Project Pastry Love, and all that I’ve learned so far. For instance, the lesson I learned with this vegan strawberry pie and the other vegan desserts that I’ve made is that Vegan can taste just as good as it’s counter part. Don’t be afraid, and give it a try! Continue reading →

Glazed Doughnuts Filled With Lemon-Blackberry Curd

by Liz // June 23, 2015 // 10 Comments

Glazed Doughnuts Filled With Lemon-Blackberry Curd

I had made a delicious, tangy lemon-blackberry curd last week, but I had no idea what to use it with. I could make a cake and use it as a filling, or pour it into a buttery crust and top it with whipped cream, or even spread it on some toast and have it for breakfast. While all of those ideas sounded tempting, it wasn’t what I wanted. I yearned for something naughtier. Something that tasted so good, and yet made me feel bad about myself afterwards. It needed to be charmingly sweet, but still a total jerk. Oh, and fried. I wanted something fried. I wanted a doughnut. Can you tell that I’ve been dieting for a few weeks? I have only made doughnuts once, and found them to be remarkably easy. True, it is time consuming, but the majority of the time is spent engaging in negative self-talk about how I have no discipline. All the while, that terribly sticky dough is just rising with pride in the corner of the kitchen without any further help from me (it is so darn full of itself). Continue reading →

How To Make Lemon-Blackberry Curd

by Liz // June 17, 2015 // 2 Comments

I’m going to teach you how to make lemon-blackberry curd. It’s a sweet, buttery, and quite tangy curd that’s perfect for cakes, doughnuts and even ice cream. Before we begin, however, I thought I’d share with you a typical day here at Project Pastry Love. When I first entertained the idea of becoming a food blogger, I envisioned happily baking in a clean and quiet kitchen, and then working on my posts in front of the fire, or out in the backyard with a glass of pinot noir by my side. The reality is somewhat different. When it’s baking day for Project Pastry Love, I measure out all of my ingredients in the morning while the babies are eating breakfast and watching TV. This a harried time, as I’m getting everything organized, converting volume measurements into grams, and running back and forth to the boys bringing more milk, cleaning up a smashed banana, and changing the channel to something more pleasant (I cannot believe how violent Tom & Jerry is). Then I get the kids ready for school or summer camp, send them off, and get to baking. As soon as the dessert is out of the oven, I rush out and pick up the boys. We have lunch, we play, and then my youngest goes down for a nap. Now it’s photo shoot time. This is a stressful moment for 3 reasons: I’m a new photographer; some dishes don’t always photograph well; and my oldest has developed the fine of art of photo bombing. See below.

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Once I’m able to get some good shots I wake up my youngest. Oh wait… he’s awake already. In fact, he’s been trying to climb my legs for a while now. Hi Wesley!

So, I reluctantly put my camera down, and I hurry the boys out to the playground. We eventually come home. I put the TV on (Tom & Jerry again?!), and I make dinner. After dinner, we have before-bath tantrums, then happy baths, then before-bed tantrums, then more before-bed tantrums. Suddenly it’s quiet and I worry they’ve stopped breathing in their sleep. Finally, I sit down to type out my post. There is no glass of wine on my bedside table. It’s just me in my bed, with my glasses on, and sometimes a Breathe Right strip on my nose (got to keep myself looking sexy for the husband). I type furiously to outrun the exhaustion that is slowly taking over my body. I look at the clock thinking it must be 10:30 already. Nope. Only 8:04 p.m. Continue reading →

Caramel Cupcakes

by Liz // June 8, 2015 // 4 Comments

Caramel Cupcakes

Cameron graduated from preschool this past Friday, and he and his classmates wore these miniature cap and gowns, and they sang songs, and one of the the songs was in sign language, and one of the lyrics was “I love mommy”, and Cameron stared directly at me while he sang and signed to this song, and my heart burst with sparkles of love, so then I went and ate a bunch of these caramel cupcakes I had made for his graduation party and pondered the fact that I’ve become a person who gets overly emotional at a preschool graduation. Continue reading →

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