Cinnaberries returns for September!

Wow. It's been a while.

I apologize for updating so late, but I am certain - rather, I am hoping - that you'll forgive me quite quickly, for with all this time off, I've been ...

Cooking- baking- tasting wonderful concoctions to share with all of you.

So in a way, yes! While I haven't been updating this space, I've been working on the blog each day. Perhaps why this update comes so late - I've gotten into the habit of making something and penning a blog post in my head... only to have it stay in my head.

And in my camera. I've been taking lots of pictures. Too many. As in, my camera flashed the red "CARD FULL" sign today, barring me from taking any more photos and, essentially, forcing me back on the blog to upload them all.

Not to worry though - I'm back because I've missed you, too, dear reader, just as you have missed me. I know. It's okay now; I'm here.

And my, have I learned a lot in these past few weeks. If there's one thing that my short experience in kitchen has taught me, it's that cooking and baking is 10% elbow grease and 90% research.

That's right - Internet research. Much like essays for a 19th century history class or, rather, research and a whole thread of comments on a scientific lab protocol. Because searching for the "perfect ____ recipe" lands a recipe and an entire section of reviews that follow this format, more or less:

"OH MY GOD! This was the perfect recipe! I just added a dash of this, a bit of that, substituted two cups of yogurt for the sour cream, didn't do the cinnamon because my family doesn't like it, and added my secret frosting recipe on top - I'm not going to make anything else anymore, thank you so much! 5 stars!"

This isn't to disparage those reviewers at all, of course. They've actually showed me how personal cooking is, and why it's so fun - you can truly make any recipe your own.

Those types of reviews are also quite helpful - which is why I always read reviews before making any recipe, and why my three cookbooks are sitting, dusty, on my bookshelf. There's no user feedback.

I've also started reading cooking magazines, too. I picked up the most recent issues of Cooking Light and Bon Appetit at the airport a few weeks ago, only to have my mom comment, "I was always wondering who bought those magazines - now, I know it's people like my daughter!"

But hey, if those magazines can give me a novel recipe for light macaroni and cheese (with butternut squash in the sauce!), then they're definitely worth a look.

So, I'm back - with lots of recipes, comments, and pictures! You may have noticed that I tweaked the layout of this site a bit. Perhaps the largest change may be that I have finally figured out how to make the pictures, well, larger.

I'm sure you're just as excited about that as I am. As always, if you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it! Comment away below, or send me an email. I'm eager to hear from you.

Cheers,

Cinnaberries