One of my favorite things about this time of year is how much baking I get to do. With Thanksgiving, my husband’s December birthday, and the Christmas season all within six weeks of each other, my oven is seriously put to the test. Cookies, cakes, bars, brownies, cheescakes -- you name it, I’m probably baking it. By the time I reach December 26, I’m admittedly a little baked out. Which brings me to the overabundance of baked goods every...
Not going anywhere for awhile? No, this is not a recipe for homemade Snickers bars. But, this is a recipe for All Day Apple Butter, which, you may have already surmised, will take you all day to make. We’re talking 10-12 hours, people. However, there’s only about 30-40 minutes of active cooking time, and the rest is all passive time until you’re ready to blend and jar the finished product. So, winter storm have you holed up inside? Make...
Fig and Pepper Bread is the easy, homemade, artisan bread you never knew you wanted this fall. Get ready to fall in love, Tartlets, as I take you on a bread-making adventure. Why is Fig and Pepper Bread the book-inspired recipe for First Frost? If you've read First Frost, you know why I picked Fig and Pepper Bread for this book-inspired recipe. For those of you who haven't read the book yet: Get on that. It's a great book. Fig and Pepper Bread...
It's Cincinnati Chili Season, everyone. My favorite time of year. We're well into September now, and that means it's time for crunchy falling leaves, taking cozy sweaters out of storage, all things pumpkin spice and apple related, and...the return of FOOTBALL! And the return of Cincinnati Chili, the unofficial football of Tartlet Cottage. A love story about food and football I can't even believe I'm writing this post. If you knew...
Hey guys! So, I’m working on my manuscript this week, which means that I haven’t had time to do much reading. I started Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman, and I’m really loving it even though I’m only, like, five pages in. Josh Malerman wowed me last year when I finally read his 2009 novel Bird Box, and I’m totes excited for this new one from him. However, I had to take a break from it this week because I don’t like to read something by...
What's the book-inspired recipe for Stray City? The recipe I’m pairing with Stray City, which is about the lesbian who has an affair with a man, is Roasted Acorn Squash with a Turkey Sausage, Craisin, and Brown Rice Stuffing. I chose it because it’s mainly a vegetarian recipe. But, like main character Andy, it sneaks a little meat in there. (HA! Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.) Since the book is set in a city full of vegetarians and...
As I was reading The Broken Girls, I was trying to think of what recipe the story would inspire me to make. Food doesn’t factor real well into the novel – at several points, one of the main characters eats packets of crackers in lieu of dinner. *shakes head sadly* I wanted a good, hearty meal to shake the chill of the dreary weather, both here and in the book, and since the story takes place in Vermont, I decided that maple syrup had to...
