Joy Wilson's Blog, page 111

Tres Leches Cake

We really do have so much to celebrate!  

The sun is above us shining bright.  The breeze is warm.  The shade is ample and cooling, if not still filled with pesky mosquitos.  We sweat.  Our drinks sweat.  Our neighbors sweat and there’s comfort in knowing that we’re all in it together.  

I say we celebrate with cake. And not just any cake, but the perfect summer cake with sweet milk, sweet cream, spongy cake, and sprinkles… because cake is barely cake without sprinkles.

Continue reading Tres Leches Cake at Joy the Baker.

Let It Be Sunday!

A short, Memorial Day edition of Let It Be Sunday because we should all be outside living it up and I’m obnoxious enough to still be celebrating my birthday in gorgeous Philadelphia, there are ribs in the oven calling my name and wine that isn’t going to drink itself.  

I hope this finds you living happily and well! 

Here’s some of the Internet, minus all that hulk Hogan and political NONSENSE:  

•  A fascinating weekend read:  The secret life of Kim Jung Un’s aunt, who has lived in the United States since 1998.

Continue reading Let It Be Sunday! at Joy the Baker.

This is 35.

I’m trying to think back to my 18th birthday.  Was there a pinata?  I hope so.

I’ve never been one to have my life planned out year by year. There was never the plan that I’d finish college (at all, let alone by a certain age), be engaged by 28, married by… what is it, 30?  Pregnant or something or other by 32.  No.  My brain has never worked that way.

Continue reading This is 35. at Joy the Baker.

Shrimp Tempura Sushi Burritos

Sushi Burritos:  an exercise in making my own dreams come true.  Also within the category of being my own dream maker:  making short ribs (really any ribs at all), making angel food cake (it as fluffy as dreams), and jelly-filled donuts.  

I’ve missed sushi since I left beach life in Southern California.  Sure… if you live with me here in Southern Louisiana you might have the spot-on, top-secret sushi spot that I’ve missed.

Continue reading Shrimp Tempura Sushi Burritos at Joy the Baker.

Let It Be Sunday!

Hey friends!  Welcome to it!

I hope this weekend finds you happy and well, having napped, cocktailed, or baconed at least once so far.  

I have a big birthday coming up this week and I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways I care for myself and for the people close to me.  The quiet things that we just do because we’re kind and not total jerks, like changing my self-talk from hyper critical to compassionate… or like making breakfast and giving your partner the best piece of crispy bacon or that extra dab of coffee.

Continue reading Let It Be Sunday! at Joy the Baker.

Roasted Strawberry Shortcakes with Basil Cream

Do you want to know how ready I am for Summer?  I bought a one piece, long-sleeve (yup) bathing suit like… 2 months ago.  It was on a whim, on a cloudy day, on a day I thought that a long sleeve bathing suit would definitely have me looking super Charlie’s Angels on the beach come Summer.  It came in the mail a few days after I ordered it and I thought…. YES, I’m ready for this….

Continue reading Roasted Strawberry Shortcakes with Basil Cream at Joy the Baker.

Really Very Good Vegetarian Nachos

This recipe started out with the most vegan of intentions.  

I scooped nutritional yeast from the bulk bins at the grocery store, feeling like… yea it looks and smells just like fish food… we could totally turn this into a creamy, cheese-ish bechamel-type sauce.  I sautéed garlic in avocado oil, like a very good vegan (?) (I dunno).  I added flour and spice and stirred in the nutritional yeast.  Blended in the blender to a brown-ish orange sauce type sauce.

Continue reading Really Very Good Vegetarian Nachos at Joy the Baker.

Let It Be Sunday!

You know what you can do in New Orleans?  You can walk down the street, walking a dog that is not yours, drinking a beer in a koozie, wearing purple pants, at sunset, like a civilized human being, amen.  These days, more than I’ve ever felt like I really live in New Orleans.  Mostly because my neighborhood is the real real New Orleans deal (no tourist busses drive through), my neighbor called me ‘baby’ in her slow southern drawl, and we acknowledged our shared humanity as she encouraged a jogger running down the street like he was running a marathon for one.

Continue reading Let It Be Sunday! at Joy the Baker.

My Favorite Grocery Store Splurge Items

I’ll find any excuse to treat myself.  Actually, my whole system of self-adulting is based on an intricate balance of tasks and rewards to keep myself motivated and happy.  I pay a bill, I get a chocolate.  I buy a house, I get a jar of raw honey (and a fancy couch).  I make it to Thursday, why not treat myself to a jar of fancy mayonnaise?  It’s a very deliberate system that involves chocolate, lip glosses, fancy bath salts and usually means that I get my taxes paid and keep the lights on.

Continue reading My Favorite Grocery Store Splurge Items at Joy the Baker.

Cream Cheese Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream

We have a history of doing ridiculous things in the name of ice cream since childhood, right?  There’s no life lesson quite like learning how to both chew gum aaaannd eat ice cream when you order Blue Bubble Gum Ice Cream (a flavor surely sent down from the heavens).  I was also master of ordering a dish of ice cream, clenching my child-fist around my spoon and stirring my ice cream a perfect milkshake consistency.

Continue reading Cream Cheese Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream at Joy the Baker.