I started making a version of these muffins around the time baby started doing more snacking, and we’re still making them almost a year later. That’s saying a lot: baby is still finding them tasty, and I’m still finding the time to make them! Originally, it was just a way to use up his leftover baby cereal – which we had way too much of! 6 tubs of oat cereal had seemed reasonable at the time, but I hadn’t really thought about how little of the stuff they would actually eat! As I found out, not that much! Anyway, what is a mom to do with 5-1/2 tubs of leftover oat cereal? Turns out…make banana muffins!

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A colleague of mine (also with an October birthday) approached me with the idea of a “super birthday” recently. In his family, everyone’s birthday is celebrated with one extravagant dinner (the person who gets to choose the establishment is picked by drawing names from a hat). I haven’t seen or gotten together with some of the staff at school for a few years, so I thought it was a great idea. The meal and the date have not been decided yet, but obviously we needed to start cake testing ASAP! Originally, I thought about making a cake that I had tested many many many times in my pre-selection for Canadian World Chocolate Masters, but instead decided I wanted to try something new. I ended up with what Megan is calling the “super chocolate cake for your super chocolate birthday”, inspired by a version of this that I saw on Instagram.

This cake is pretty simple to make. First you start off by baking the crumble (gluten free) inside the ring, then layer on a gluten free chocolate sponge a la Heston, then finish with a layer of dark ganache on top (slight modification from the original recipe) to ensure it is sliceable. It’s simple, easy to make and perfect for chocolate lovers.

The last time that we did a supper club was last Fall, it’s been a while! Since I started daddy day care (edit: I’ve been told it’s “parenting” when the kid is your own), it has been increasingly difficult to devote a lot of time to food. Nicholas is really on the move now and keeps me busy, and since I’m on parental leave right now I don’t have teenagers to help me test recipes. Lately most of my time goes into steaming finger foods and making a variety of purees to ensure that the kiddo is getting everything he needs. In case your curious, the reviews have been good so far – in particular, Queenie, our dog, has definitely gained a few pounds from snacking on anything that hits the floor (except bananas, apparently).

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Anyone remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books? I hear they are making a comeback. Anyway, these granola bars are coming to you courtesy of some post-best (read: expired) tahini and a random not so good cookie recipe…I’ll spare you the details, but 5+ trials later here we are!

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Tool of refinement: Microplane. A lot of people think that a microplane’s sole purpose is to zest or grate. What about cleaning the less than perfect edges of a pate sucree, as shown with the half pipes here?