The sunny side of the story is that they were edible. Unlike previous batches of creations and experimentations, I would eat these.

I wouldn't share them with anyone without explanation, I would explain the failed experiment through the description of the ingredients and the bad combinations.

Instead, I will feed them to the birds and squirrels and not subject myself to endless bites of only ok calories.

Though it is only Mid-September, football season is now 4 games in and just around the corner is baking season.

As I age I think about meals farther in advance than I ever have. I don't quite act on the thought, but I do plan in my mind.

I have been noodling on what I want to bake this year for Thanksgiving. I just acquired a giant can of pumpkin which I intended to use in a photo as a background to someone else's pie, though I am feeling like I want to find something to make with it. And not just a pie. Suggestions are welcome.

The food that I have been incorporating into my diet, really my life, is more honey. Honey is one of those miracles of nature and we have a wide range of flowers, thus flavors, from all over the world. I have not found the golden rule for honey replacing white sugar.

Baking or drizzling over pastry (when someone else does the drizzling ) always seems so perfect and wonderful!

Think baklava, sapopillas, diples, and this time of year baked pears with a healthy drizzling of honey. There must be a honey pumpkin recipe somewhere out there....

Happy Baking!

FYI - Most of the Panettones are live now for preorder.

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Sugar cookies are super easy to make, a blast to shape and quick to bake. You can eat them straight, or dress them up with pretty sugar, frosting, chocolate or jam. This is a versatile, simple crisp sugar cookie recipe to which you can add cinnamon, cardamom or another spice of your choice.

See the Easy Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe here!

Rosemary honey is a monofloral honey made primarily from the nectar of rosemary flowers (Rosmarinus officinalis), a fragrant herb native to the Mediterranean region. Rosemary is an evergreen herb with small, pale blue or purple flowers. Bees collect nectar from these blossoms to produce rosemary honey. Rosemary blooms abundantly in Mediterranean climates.

Rosemary honey has a delicate, mildly sweet flavor with herbal and floral undertones. The taste is subtle, with hints of rosemary's distinctive scent but without the strong piney or camphor-like taste that fresh rosemary leaves have. This makes the honey smooth and light, with a pleasant and balanced flavor.

Lending a slightly herbaceous smell and flavor, the woodsy notes lend a nice balance to the sweeter, sugary flavors of the honey.

Our first choice mixed into a little creme fraise and spooned atop of grilled peaches.

Shop now for Les Ruchers de Bourgogne Rosemary Honey!

This is a fabulous recipe from Smitten Kitchen. It is sophisticated and flavorful yet super easy to make.

See the Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Whipped Mascarpone Recipe here!

Currently I have 8 different sugars on my counter (more liquid sweeteners stored in the essential pantry) to test and try in different applications. And dark muscovado is the standard by which I compare all others. Compare? Each sugar has a reason to exist, but can it reach the level of devotion we have and have seen for this Dark Muscovado. Remember not all Dark Muscovado is the same.

Muscovado is a soft, moist, fine brown sugar. It's also known as Barbados sugar, where it was once made. But ours comes from the island of Mauritius off the African coast.

While most brown sugar these days is made by combining already-refined sugar with added molasses-like syrup, this is the real thing. This is a less refined product with rich, complex flavor.

This sugar adds a deeper dimension to cakes, fudge, pecan pie, and other desserts with its rich butterscotch flavors. Use it as you would brown sugar - take your morning oatmeal to new heights with a spoonful of Dark Muscovado on top!

Shop now for India Tree Dark Muscovado Sugar!

Deborah recommends using fresh, locally produced milk, cream and eggs whenever possible. The higher the quality and the better the flavor you start with, the better the results. And with only a few ingredients, every single one counts and needs to contribute.

See the Honey Ice Cream Recipe here!

Produced from the pollen and nectar of Lychee flowers located in the Vatovavy-Fitovinany region of Madagascar.

Shop now for Compagnie du Miel de Litchi

The Latin name is: Melaleuca viridiflora, but in English it's commonly known as broad-leaved paperbark.

It is an everygreen plant in the myrtle family and is native to woodlands, swamps and streams in areas of northern Australia and New Guinea.

They call it Niaouli in the Vatovavy-Fitovinany region of Madagascar and it usually grows a small tree with an open canopy, papery bark (which is used for medicinal purposes) and pockets of cream, yellow, green or red flowers.

Shop now for Compagnie du Miel de Niaouli Flower Honey from Madagascar!

Produced from the pollen and nectar of tropical flowers located in the Vatovavy-Fitovinany region of Madagascar.

Shop now for Compagnie du Miel de Forte Tropicale Tropical Rainforest Honey from Madagascar!

Walnut oil and cider vinegar are a natural pair, and they are taken to new heights by the honey. This honey-apple cider vinegar dressing is particularly good over salads of hearty or bitter Spring greens. Try it on a combination of watercress, mache, arugula, and radicchio with some chunks of caramelized apple and toasted walnuts as a garnish.

See the Honey and Katz Apple Cider Vinaigrette Recipe Here!

This oil is very quiet. Reserved, subtle, and delicious, it's an oil that will knock your socks off in a very quiet way.

Inhale, and you get a wonderful aroma unlike any other. Wow! The whiff alone is spectacular!

On the tongue, this huile de noix is only "oily" for a moment before it disappears into a light vapor, imparting an intense, pure, eye-popping, walnut-filled clean flavor.

This pure virgin walnut oil is tops in class, winning Gold multiple times! Filled with polyunsaturated fatty acids in the form of omega-3s, like most nut oils, this is good for memory and cardiovascular health.

It's an oil for flavoring and for finishing a dish, but not for cooking. Use it in dressings for salads, from lentils or beans to any and all greens. Swirl it into soups and blend it into dips for a nutty edge. Or, simply drizzle some over a rare tuna steak or a bowl of fresh pasta with goat cheese and asparagus. Or, simply top a fresh plate of pasta!

However you try it, this oil is a wonder and a joy!

Shop now for Maneyrol Virgin French Walnut Oil!

With a wonderful mixture of olive oil, lemon, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese and more, all topped with a touch of salmon, or any protein like tuna or chicken, this is simple and easy to make. The protein is a supporting member, not the focus.

With so many elements a chopped salad is a complex texture to munch on.

See the Chopped Salad w/ Salmon or Tuna Recipe here!

When it comes to Lummi Island Tuna, I always sample the batch when it comes in...otherwise I won't get any!

This batch of tuna has been the best and the Ventresca, the belly, is so soft and subtle and filled with wonderful flavor all without any added olive oil flavor. Quite amazing!

Ventresca is from the Italian word for belly, "ventre". Ventresca tuna is considered to be the best canned tuna you can find, and this can does not disappoint!

This tuna is soft, supple, delicious, crazy good, gentle, flavorful, and amazing! Did I say crazy good?

You can sink a plastic fork into it with ease, break off a little piece for a quick taste, and the flavor is delicious.

Tuna like this is meant to be eaten straight up—no need for condiments, a slice of bread, or a cracker even. A simple utensil like a fork or spoon is all you need, really.

With just a touch of salt in its own natural juices, this tuna is true pleasure.

It is perfect to have on hand for that little hit of protein that you need in the morning, noon, or night. Pop a can in your pocket, in your purse, or in your backpack.

Shop now for Lummi Island Wild Ventresca Tuna!

This is the most interesting natural salt.

Though it finishes with saltiness, this salt starts with egg. That's right, egg, or more correctly the sulfur (iron sulfide) compound that transforms the salt.

And if you don't know that's what's coming, your taste buds instantly will, and they send emergency alerts racing out the back of your mouth on an impulse nerve to your gustatory cortex to panic you that what you are tasting is spoiled...

...but then something else happens and you reach for another crystal to taste, just to confirm what your gustatory cortex is telling you. This time though, because you expect an eggy taste, you also taste an explosion of vapor, if that makes any sense at all. And the salt comes alive, as a partnership of elements which surprises and pleases, yes pleases, your palate!

Kala Namak is also known as Indian black salt, Kala Loon, Himalayan black salt, and Sulemani Namak. The color of the salt ranges from brownish-pink to dark purple after it has been ground.

Kala namak starts as a halite, commonly known as rock salt, and is mined from the Himalayan salt range. The halite is put through a reduction-oxidation reaction; this is any chemical reaction in which the oxidation number of a molecule, atom, or ion changes by gaining or losing an electron.

Our Himalayan Black Rock Salt is mined in the Indian subcontinent and is in its purest form, without treatment or any refinement process. Packed with 84 essential minerals, it is black after the reduction-oxidation reaction and turns the red-purple color when it is ground into a finer salt.

Long considered a cooling element in Ayurveda medicine, it is used as a digestive aid and for heartburn. Lower in sodium than many other salts, it is a good option for those who need to watch their intake of sodium.

Used in chutneys, Chaats, salads, and fruits - in almost any dish. The salt can be used with tofu to mimic eggs for your vegan friends or mixed in (or sprinkled on top of) an avocado (which is delish!). Kala Namak (despite its egginess) is quite versatile. Use it almost everywhere you salt today (including your bath water!).

This is one palate pleasing pleasantly performing salt!

Shop now for Kala Namak Himalayan Black Salt - Extra Fine!

Duganski" hardback garlic is a variety of hardneck garlic, specifically within the Marbled Purple Stripe group, known for its hard, woody central stem. It is recognized for having large, easy-to-peel cloves and vibrant purple-striped skin. Duganski garlic has a robust, spicy, and complex flavor, often more potent than softneck garlic varieties, making it a favorite among chefs and garlic enthusiasts.

Because it is a hardneck type, Duganski garlic also produces scapes (flower stalks), which are edible and can be used in cooking.

Organically grown

Shop now for Duganski Organic Hardneck Garlic here!