Lunchtime Links for March 31st, 2016

• Oh, Sweet Basil: Classic peanut butter cookies.
• Two Peas and Their Pod: Buffalo chicken nachos.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Brownie mug cake.
• Brown Eyed Baker: Salted chocolate chip and toffee blondies.
• Averie Cooks: Croissant French toast.

Georgetown Cupcake - Football Field Chocolate Cupcake

It's obviously not football season right now, but I wanted to share this cupcake flavor that I got a while back.  I thought this was a cute and easy way to make a football themed cupcake for any time of the year.  This free secret flavor from Georgetown Cupcake consists of their classic chocolate cake with a big swirl of bright green turf colored vanilla frosting, and a little football shaped fondant topping.  I love the idea of a "sports field" cupcake for a theme party, and it doesn't require any fancy preparations! 

Lunchtime Links for March 30th, 2016

• The Kitchn: Scalloped potatoes.
• A Kitchen Addiction: Monster cookie bars.
• The Pioneer Woman: Banana bread donuts with Nutella glaze.
• Bakerella: Peanut butter cup filled brownie cookie sandwiches.
• Crazy for Crust: Chocolate swirl cheesecake pie.

March Skoshbox

The March Skoshbox was full of sweets that fit right in to the Winter to Spring transition perfectly!  There's a mix of "wintery" rice crackers and "spring" fruit-based sweets which made for a very diverse set of snacks.  

From the top left we have - Hi-chew grape gummies, Doraemon monaka (airy chocolate filling inside a crispy shell), mini strawberry chocolate chip cookies, yogurt candy, and lightly frosted savory rice crackers.  I have to say my favorite was the Doraemon monaka mainly because it was shaped like Doraemon and super cute!  With the next box being the April box I anticipate some more spring/fruit based snacks, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they send!    

Lunchtime Links for March 29th, 2016

• Crazy for Crust: Reese's stuffed chocolate chip cookies.
• Love and Olive Oil: Thai red curry Risotto.
• Dessert for Two: Small batch baking pans.
• Kirbie's Cravings: Crispy baked garlic tofu.
• Picky Palate: Gooey cinnamon roll cake bars.

2016 Kenwood Cherry Blossoms

During the short but amazing cherry blossom season in the DC area, I always make it a point to go to both the Tidal Basin in DC, and the Kenwood neighborhood in Bethesda.  Both can get very crowded during peak bloom dates, but it's totally worth it!

The Kenwood area is a sprawling neighborhood filled with beautiful homes, and cherry trees up and down practically every street.  It's quite a sight to behold and really amazing to walk through!  Because parking is a major issue (which makes sense as it really is a neighborhood and it would be a nightmare for the residents if street parking was allowed everywhere), I usually walk to Kenwood via the Capital Crescent Trail starting in downtown Bethesda.  It's an easy walk and I don't have to worry about parking at all in order to enjoy the cherry blossoms.  You can't miss the Kenwood area from the trail - as you walk away from downtown Bethesda you will see a LOT of cherry blossom trees directly in front of you.  

As you can see, it was a little overcast when I went this past weekend, but the trees were still full of flowers and really pretty.  There were lots of people out enjoying the walk through the neighborhood streets and taking photographs.  Even with the lack of parking, I highly recommend the Kenwood neighborhood as a major attraction on its own if you like cherry blossoms!

Lunchtime Links for March 28th, 2016

• Dessert for Two: Crispy Easter bark.
• Gimme Some Oven: Avocado potato salad.
• My Baking Addiction: Mini vanilla bean cakes.