what jen does

Life, home, and a little travel

Author: JEF

  • sourdough pancakes
    recipes

    sourdough pancakes

    I’ve been making pancakes on Sunday evenings for probably 2 months now… or perhaps more honestly. Sometimes figuring out what to eat for dinner every night can be a lot, so knowing that Sunday is for pancakes makes life a bit easier. Plus it normally means bacon is also on the menu.  Given that I…

  • buttermilk cinnamon peanut butter donuts
    recipes

    buttermilk cinnamon peanut butter donuts

    Yes, that is a really loaded name for these small donuts… but it is all the truth. Donuts were not on my list of things to make during this quarantine but I had some fresh buttermilk… and I’m trying very hard to reduce my waste. Why the fresh buttermilk? Well, I obviously had to make…

  • grapefruit white chocolate macaron
    recipes

    grapefruit white chocolate macaron

    So, I am continuing to experiment with macarons… and this might have been my best batch to date. They were great for so many reasons. One, the flavoring was very solid. Two, the consistency and shell structures were real good. What did I do differently? I finally bought a scale. I always thought using scales…

  • bagel egg bake
    recipes

    bagel egg bake

    Let me introduce you to a very easy and impressive brunch recipe. I honestly have no idea what to call it – but perhaps a “bagel egg bake”? I’ve attempted several different brunch casseroles over the years and this is one of the best. It is also one of the easiest. There are only 6…

  • recipes

    blood orange cardamom cake

    Hello there beautiful. That is what you can say to this cake once you flip it out of the pan.  I was looking for something a little bit red and a little bit fun to make for a galentine’s brunch this weekend. It was incredibly easy to make and a bit of a shocker to…

  • my 2019 christmas card

    my 2019 christmas card

    2019 was quite the year. It some ways it was a dumpster fire and in other ways it was wonderful. Obviously the dumpster fire didn’t make the actual Christmas card photo 🙂 But overall, it was a year that was spent mostly outside, wearing leggings, or looking for Lowe’s coupons online.  I did come to…

  • Chocolate dipped merengues
    recipes

    Chocolate dipped merengues

    I am fully committed to merengues as a household staple. I believe that I have now made them weekly for a month? The minute I eat the last one in the container…. I just start to whip up some egg whites for a fresh batch. The recipe isn’t wholly different from the peppermint merengues that…

  • Nighttime Moon Milk
    recipes

    Nighttime Moon Milk

    I believe I first saw this recipe on Instagram back in the Fall. I was immediately enchanted by the idea of “moon milk” and had to know more. After reading the Bon Appetit description, I was sold. I love sleep and this promises more sleep. While I had all the spices at my disposal, it…

  • tomato recap 2019

    tomato recap 2019

    Funny story. I wrote nearly this entire recap post in September… and it has taken me this long to finish it. I’m getting ready to think about this year’s garden plans. I’ve got about 15 tabs open in my browser and they are all different tomato varieties. The tomatoes were pretty solid this year. Solid…

  • taco lentil soup
    recipes

    taco lentil soup

    I haven’t stopped talking about how good this chili / soup is. It is so good that I even bought more lentils at Whole Foods yesterday. That should be a clear testament to the gold star status. Each year for Christmas my sister and I make new recipes for my grandfather as presents. In the…