This is my first Easter on the blogosphere and I’m awed by the creativity of  some of my fellow bloggers. I’ve found a treasure trove of ideas out there for cute things to create this week. These are just a few of the adorable treats  from some super talented bloggers.  

Natural Dyed Easter Eggs by Big Sis Lil Sis

I first saw this on the cover of Country Living Magazine. I love the natural muted colors of these eggs. Using flowers and  leaves as a resist is brillant.

Chocolate Nests by Ezra Pound Cake

 These nests by Ezra Pound Cake are adorable and simple to make. The photo is great.

Speckled Egg Cupcakes on Bake at 350

Bridget at Bake at 350 is so talented and creative. These Speckled Egg Cupcakes are another of her creations.
 

Easter Bunny Macarons by Raspberri Cupcakes

 I’m a sucker for anything bunny shaped. This would be great for a post Easter egg hunt snack.

Stenciled Chocolate Snickerdoodles by Big Sis lil Sis

 These stenciled cookies are perfect for those of us that aren’t comfortable with piping bags and tips.

Easter Kit Kat Cake by So How's It Taste

 A cake wrapped in Kit Kats! What a great idea. This makes an adorable cake basket.

Easter Basket Cupcakes from the Fig Tree

The Splendid Table is my all time favorite food podcast. Lynne Rosetto Kasper is the host and she makes you feel like you’re having coffee with an old friend. Her guests are always interesting, whether they’re talking about fried chicken in Mississippi or wine in France.

KCRW Good Food is broadcast by Santa Monica College in California but don’t let the California slant dissuade you. The first part of the podcast is always dedicated to what’s new at the Santa Monica Farmers. It’s always so interesting to listen to the vendors and chefs discuss how to prepare the fresh fruits and veggies. The rest of the show is dedicated to all types of food related news from food politics to where to get the fa in Los Angeles. Evan Kleiman the host is always a delight. 

Earth Eats is published by Indiana Public Radio and is dedicated to sustainable agriculture and local foods.  Annie Corrigan and Chef Daniel Orr  usually talk food and prepare at least one recipe while giving cooking tips and tricks. 

Edible Radio is a smorgasbord of regional and community based food related podcasts. My favorites are the Kitchen Synch with Kate Manchester and Smart Food with Jane Black.

The Food Programme is published from London by BBC 4 radio and host Sheila Dillon talks about a variety of topics related to England’s food community. Most of their topics have global appeal but it always interesting to hear England specific topics. It reminds me that good food is universal.

NPR Food pulls together all of the food related segments that appeared on NPR within the past week. I love NPR for the eclectic mix of information they broadcast. They could be talking about everything from food truck politics in Los Angeles to soul food in New Orleans.

The Sporkful is more of a fun type of podcast. While The Splendid Table could be equated to reading a classic novel, the Sporkful can be equated to a comic book. It’s not for people that like to cook, it’s for people that like to eat. Dan Passmand and Mark Garrison talk about a different topic each week in almost excruciating detail.  Things like donuts, reheating burgers, and other inane foodie minutiae are discussed and debated.

Food Network Humor satirizes the Food Network and it’s hosts.  I really wanted to hate this podcast because I don’t typically find humor in other people being ridiculed. The first time I listened to Jillian Madison and Michelle Madison I laughed out loud. They’re absolutely hilarious. No one on the Food Network is safe from their satire.

What are your favorite foodie podcasts?

Glazing apple muffins

Forrelle Pears

Girl Scout Cookie Yogurt Parfait

In honor of Chocolate Covered Nut Day – Cashew Raisin Chocolate Bark

Hubby

If you aren’t familiar with Dr. Axe, check out this video of him making Herbed Turkey Breast, which is one of the recipes in the cookbook.

The drawing runs from Sunday February 27th at 2:00 pm and ends on Friday March 4th at 7:00 pm. The drawing will be on Saturday, March 5th.

If you would like to enter the drawing for The Real Food Diet Cookbook

1. Get 1 entry by leaving a comment on this post answering the following question:

What is your favorite healthy snack?

2. Get 1 entry by tweeting the following:

I just entered to win The Real Food Diet Cookbook by Dr. Josh Axe. You can enter too at MusicCityFoodie.com  http://ow.ly/44lrR #JoshAxe

Chocolate Cranberry Cake photo courtesy of Tim Pierce via Creative Commons

We’ve all had it happen. You pull out the mixing bowl and carefully measure out all your ingredients. You mix everything into a beautiful smooth batter and  pour it gently into your best cake pan. You slip it into the oven at the right temperature being careful to note the time so you don’t over bake. When it comes out of the oven, your excitement starts to build because your cake looks beautiful. After it cools you frost it with your mothers special butter cream frosting  and you get ready to dig in. You cut the cake and notice that something isn’t quite right. The inside of your cake looks a little odd. You take a bite and your heart sinks. Dry. Mohave desert dry. Need to drink some milk just to swallow it dry. Damn it. What went wrong?

Baking can be a very delicate thing and it doesn’t take much to ruin a cake. A little too much flour,  an incorrect oven temperature, or too many minutes of mixing and your cake may not turn out the way you expect. There’s alot of chemistry in baking so making a cake isn’t a good time to improvise to show your individuality.  These are 5 of the most common cake baking problems and what can cause them. Which of these things have happened to your cakes?

1. Cake is dry

a. Baked too long
b. Not enough fat or sugar
c. too much flour

2. Cake falls apart

 a. Opening door too often during baking
 b. Under mixing
 c. Oven wasn’t hot enough

3. Cake is too heavy

 a. Over mixing when adding liquid or flour
 b. Oven temp too low
 c. Too much fat, sugar, or liquid

4. Cake has a coarse texture

 a. too much baking powder or baking soda
 b. oven temp is too low
 c. not mixed enough

5. Batter overflows pan

 a. over mixed
 b. too much batter in pan