Blackberry, Blueberry & Honey Lattice Pie + a Blackberry Honey Basil Julep

One bite of this blackberry, blueberry, & honey lattice pie and I was immediately transported to the holidays back at home. The crust is warm, buttery, and flaky while the filling is the perfect mixture of sweet and tart. The berry filling has a secret ingredient, a splash of Powell & Mahoney’s Blackberry Basil Mixer, which gives the filling an herbal and aromatic sense of depth and flavor. The honey adds a subtle warmth and sweetness to the contrast of the tart berries, reminding me of the berry pies my Grandma Cooley would make every holiday gathering.

Hello, friend.

With every recipe, I learn something new I hadn’t known before. That is something I most love about working with food. Each recipe is a new beginning, a new story to be told. Every ingredient plays an integral part in creating the overall feeling or emotion of the meal. It’s a powerful sensation. So, what did I learn with this recipe? Well quite simply: Lattice pies are freaking hard to master! This was my second attempt at making this pie. During the first attempt, I made three mistakes: 1). I made the cocktail BEFORE I started baking, 2). I forgot to add the cold water at the right time (must have been a strong cocktail!) which left me with a tough and crumbly dough, and 3). I ran out of tin foil and I didn’t have any pie guards. Long story short there, I burnt the edges of the crust to a charcoal colored crisp and the lattice weave was slightly tacky and doughy. Tis was a sad day for sure. I took a moment to feel sorry for myself before tightening up my apron once more and heading back into the kitchen for trial number two.

Whole Wheat, Pumpkin & Brown Sugar Brioche {w/th Lime and Cilantro}

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This recipe for whole wheat pumpkin & brown sugar brioche has been a freaking journey in the making, let me just tell you. I have been actively developing this recipe and its variants for little over a week now. Failed attempt after failed attempt has left me disheartened and run-down. Thankfully, I was able to break away from my bread making disasters and spend a few days in Fort Wayne for the Breadsense summit. Getting out of dodge and spending time away from my kitchen, with the trashcan of faulty bread attempts beginning to overflow, helped inspire my creativity and boost my confidence to get back in there and finish developing the dang recipe. With my bag of Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Graham flour in hand, I started on my bread baking adventure. Eight days and four attempts later, I finally produce a loaf worthy of the blogosphere! 

Update: I was invited by Erin from Cloudy Kitchen to be apart of Sara's and Aimee's #VitrualPumpkinParty. Essentially, it's a big group of food bloggers from around the world coming together and collaborating by sharing recipes for all things pumpkin. How cool is that?! I thought it was only fitting that I would share this particular recipe for the occasion! When you're done reading this post, be sure to check out some of the other incredibly talented bloggers from the list at the end of this post. Tell them TK sent you! 

Hummingbird Cake with a Goat Cheese & Chamomile Tea Frosting

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Hummingbird Cake is a Southern classic, and rightfully so. This is an incredible cake. I adapted from the original cream cheese frosting recipe by making a creamy goat cheese & crème fraiche frosting infused with chamomile tea to add a decadent yet subtle compliment to the rich, moist, tenderness of the cake.

I apologize for the late posting. I’ve been out of town all weekend attending the Breadsense summit for Aunt Millie’s in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which was a complete success! It was my first time at Aunt Millie’s, so it was exciting being able to meet all the creators, marketers, and individuals involved with the Breadsense program. We toured the Aunt Millie’s plant, talked about audience and market segmentation, and even got to play with puppets. All I can say is that there are some exciting new things coming in 2017 that I cannot wait to share with all of you. Plus, on my way back home, I got to stop in Indianapolis and have lunch of Lauren (of the Saveur-nominated food blog Harvest and Honey), which was absolutely delightful! We ate at this adorable little brunch café Eggshell Bistro, which was outstanding, to say the least. Over cups of coffee, we talked about all things blogging, food, and photography. We gawked over our favorite bloggers as we chowed down on plates of shakshuka and rosemary & ham tarts. It was so wonderful being able to meet a fellow blogger who is just a stone's throw away regionally. Being able to connect with other content creators like Lauren makes me appreciate this little food community even more than ever.