 I've been growing a lemon tree in a pot for over 15 years.🪴🍋 It's amazing and giant and I love it ... until I have to move it in and out of the house. (And I use the term "I" loosely. It's really more of a team effort. And by that I mean that one of us moves it while the other encourages. 😂) Once a year, he drags the citrus tree outside where it basks in the sun on my back deck all summer long.☀️ I should clarify that this relocation process normally occurs just once a year.😬 Silly Georgia Spring weather got me this year though. Last month my lemon tree got in a few extra miles. →←→←→🙃  All the effort that goes into moving the lemon tree is worth is when I get giant Meyer lemons to use in special recipes that I can share with friends like you.  Lemon Yogurt Muffins 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons flour ¾ cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon fine salt 1 lemon, zest 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 large eggs 1 cup whole milk plain yogurt ½ cup olive oil 1 teaspoon vanilla
 Bake 5 minutes at 400. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 15 minutes.  Ciao!
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 I still can't wrap my brain around the fact that only a few weeks ago, I was zip lining through the ancient kauri forest in New Zealand. I'm truly blessed. What a magical experience. I had so many great new experiences on my trip - new foods, new people and new things to see and do for the very first time.🇳🇿 I had the opportunity to taste some New Zealand's finest flavors at a market, at fine restaurants, at the cafes and at the wineries. I even had a bite of a meat pie.😅🤣 Tasting the local fare - all part of the travel experience for me.  Now that I'm back at home - the food experimenting continues. I'm still fumbling my way through the intricacies of sourdough. I'd say that I've had more errors than successes along the way but I'm making progress. 😂 One of my latest sourdough experiments was pizza dough. Who knew that sourdough pizza dough was easier than making bread and why didn't someone tell me that I should have started with pizza?🍕🤣 If you've got sourdough starter in your frig and a cast iron skillet, I highly recommend that you give this pizza recipe a try. It's fairly easy - even for a sourdough novice like myself - and it's really, really good.😋  Sourdough Pizza 50 grams active sourdough starter 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 Tablespoons olive oil 50 grams whole wheat flour 450 grams all-purpose flour 325 grams water The night before you want to have pizza:
The next morning:
 Transfer skillet to broiler and cook until top is browned and cheese is bubbly.   Ciao!
 Everyone that I've shown these pictures of Huka Falls to has asked the exact same question: Was the water really that color in person? I can assure you that it was. I don't even know how to describe the color of this water: Ice blue? Glacial blue? I'm still not sure how to label it so for lack of a better word, I'll just call it ... really blue.💙😅
 The falls were amazing and the hike to get there - equally impressive. The trees along the path were tall and majestic and even hug worthy. 
Before we even started our hike to the falls we fueled up with Cathy's amazing breakfast cookies. She made us the most delicious and nutritious breakfast cookies. They were packed with so many healthy ingredients I don't think I could even list them all.😅 They were exactly the wholesome breakfast that we needed.  I did my best to recreate Cathys breakfast cookie goodness when I got home from New Zealand and I got so carried away with adding all the whole grains and seeds that I could find in my pantry that I accidentally left out the oats.🤦🏻♀️ They were still super tasty and the lack of oats didn't stop me from eating them ALL.😂 If you're a recipes are just a suggestion kind of baker - this recipe is for you. Use my recipe as a guide and choose the nut butter of your choice: peanut, cashew, almond or sunflower. Add your favorite nuts, seeds and fruit: sunflower, pumpkin, chia, flax walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, raisins, apricots or dates. You even have sweetener options: syrup, honey, agave or coconut sugar. I feel like you could make these once a week for a full year and never end up with the same cookie twice.😋  Breakfast Cookies 6 Tablespoons chia, flax and hemp seeds 5 Tablespoons cold water 1 cup flour 3/4 cup shredded coconut 1/2 cup quick oats 1/2 cup almond flour 1/4 cup coconut sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspon salt 1/2 cup almond butter 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup tahini 1/4 cup melted coconut oil 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup seeds and nuts (I used pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds and walnuts) 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used raisins and craisins)
 Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir in nuts, seeds and fruit.
 Bake 15 minutes at 350.  Ciao!
 My family teases me about my taking an excessive number of bird pictures when I travel.🐦⬛ I don't deny the fact that I have a weird obsession with capturing birds in photos while I'm on vacation so this post is dedicated to the birds... and to the people in my life who love and accept all my idiosyncrasies - even my vacation bird pictures.😂🦜🤳🏻
I hope that you're not looking for the deeper meaning behind the fact that I featured the birds of New Zealand on a blog with a peanut brittle recipe. There really is none other than the fact that birds eat peanuts - I think.🥜🤣 This was my first ever attempt at homemade peanut brittle and I have to say - it was scrumptious. I have never been a huge peanut brittle fan but I could not stop breaking off tiny pieces and nibbling on this crunchy sweet treat while it was cooling on the counter. It was soooo good. If you've ever thought about making a batch for yourself - I would recommend it.  Peanut Brittle 1 1/4 cups unsalted dry roasted peanuts 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup water 2 teaspoons vanilla  Prepare all ingredients and grease baking sheet.
Melt sugar, corn syrup, water and butter in dutch oven or large saucepan. Stir occasionally.
Bring to a boil and cook mixture, without stirring until temperature reaches 340.
Remove pan from heat. Stir in baking soda, salt and vanilla.
Stir in peanuts.  Pour onto greased baking sheet and spread thin with rubber scraper.
 Let cool and then break into pieces.
Ciao!  When I'm visiting a new city I quite often seek out the local botanical gardens and try and squeeze in a visit during my stay. There's something about taking the time to stroll amongst native plants, beautiful flowers and impressive trees that calms and centers my soul.🌳🌿🌺 I think it's seeing God's beauty on display right in front of me and slowing myself down enough to actually taking the time to enjoy and appreciate it. 
      This was the botanical garden in Wellington, NZ and it was amazing. The flowers were the biggest, brightest and most fragrant than I'd ever seen.🌹
I probably will never have a swoon worthy garden like this one in my own backyard so I'll just stick to what I know best - baking. I'm much more comfortable working with butter and sugar than I am with heirloom roses or tropical ferns.😅🌹🌿 Biscotti are typically more sweet than savory. A crunchy treat to eat at the end of a meal or with a cup of tea or coffee. But there's no rule that says that I shouldn't create a savory, crispy biscotti that I can enjoy alongside a glass of wine or a cold beer.🍷🍺 At the end of the day, there are different types of biscotti eaters. There are some who prefer sweet biscotti like the double chocolate chip and there are others who would rather have a savory biscotti like this Italian Biscotti. And then there are people like me who want both.🤣  Savory Italian Biscotti 4 Tablespoons butter, softened 1/4 cup vegetable shortening 2 Tablespoons sugar 2 Tablespoons tomato paste 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded 2 teaspoons each, basil and oregano 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon table salt 4 large eggs 2 1/2 cups flour
 Bake another 30 minutes at 300.  Ciao!
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