Ciabatta

Dear Turkey,

Ciabatta bread is the kind of thing that impresses people. I even impress myself when I make it. It's really easy, but I can understand why they charge $4 for it at the store -- it's that good.

You can start making ciabatta the day before, two days before if you're an overachiever, or just a few hours before you want to eat it. It helps if you have a stand mixer, but it's not required. So, if you have some people you need to impress, or even just yourself, go for it.

Bananas Foster Crepes

Dear Turkey,

I was reading a glossy food magazine yesterday (I am ashamed), and they had this no-bake cake made of a stack of crepes glued together with delicious sugar and stuff. It looked good, but I disagreed with their premise that this was 1) easier than baking a cake, and 2) cooler than baking a cake in summer. Having made a big stack of crepes yesterday, I can tell you that standing in front of a hot stove for 20 or 30 minutes is neither easier nor cooler than putting a cake in the oven and coming back 20 or 30 or 50 minutes later.

In conclusion, if you're going to bother making crepes, don't smoosh them into a cake so that nobody can really appreciate the fruits of your labor. First you can do something like this. And then you can do something like this:

Chia Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dear Turkey,

In order to feel trendy, I sometimes like to dabble in chia. I made these cookies with chia because I wanted to be able to eat the batter. What I didn't expect was that they. are. amazing. And healthy.

If you don't have chia, you could substitute flax seed or probably even wheat germ. All of these things are emulsifiers when added to water, which is one of the main reasons that people usually bake with eggs. The two sticks of butter don't hurt, either, but I'm sure you could replace them with vegan butter. Whatever you have in your kitchen, go! Make these cookies now.

Brown Sugar Muffins

Dear Turkey,

One of my loyal readers (no, not you; I mean one of the ones who actually reads this blog) asked how last week's muffins would be with brown sugar. Maybe she thinks that brown sugar is healthier than white sugar? Maybe she was out of white sugar? I don't know. But I did an experiment and they are delicious.

I also used olive oil because I am out of canola oil I love baking with olive oil (true story). These muffins are chewy, nutty, dark-brown-sugar-y and just awesome. They are different enough than most people's usual muffins that they are worth adding to your repertoire.

Simple and Delicious Chocolate Chip Muffins

Dear Turkey,

You know that I am all about healthy vegan muffins. But sometimes I want a muffin that tastes like what my mom used to make (or what I can buy at the coffee shop for $4 and has 500 calories). I love this recipe because it's so simple, you can really concentrate on the chocolate chips. It doesn't even have salt.

This muffin is moist, and you can pull the top off and pretend it's a cupcake or cookie or something. It's also a good way to use up random milk/yogurt/eggs in your fridge (I still used my favorite template). I added some whole wheat flour for character-building with delicious results.