I Scream, You Scream: Global Vanilla Shortage!

Have you heard?! I learned from my sister in law last weekend that vanilla prices have suddenly skyrocketed in the last few weeks due to a crop failure in Madagascar. My SIL does a lot of baking as a side business: cakes, cupcakes and cake pops. We consult regularly on vanilla purchases because I live near…

It’s official…I’m finally home

So I’ve been living in my new home and cooking with my new kitchen for oh, about 10 months now, and I only just got around to canning my first batch of anything: Vanilla Pear Butter. And now I finally feel like I’ve arrived. We were away most weekends throughout the summer and early fall,…

Vanilla Almond Crescents (a.k.a. Kipferl)

I made these cookies without knowing beforehand that they’re actually a traditional German cookie called Kipferl. I found this out while I was looking for a recipe for Lebkuchen, a German Christmas cookie that I love but have never made from scratch before. Chris’s family has German/Lithuanian heritage so I’ve become more interested lately in…