Hello friends! I’m having such a wonderful time traveling for wedding photography this spring, which means I’m able to explore new Sweet & Caffeinated spots aplenty!

This past weekend brought me further north in California than ever before, and let me tell you – I AM IN LOVE. Specifically, I’m in love with Mendocino. It’s an adorable town nestled between the Pacific Ocean and a forest of Redwood trees…and no words or photos can really do its beauty justice. George and I stopped at GoodLife Cafe & Bakery on our way out of town early Sunday morning, and it was such a delight!
 
As much as I love lattes and cappuccinos, my choice for the first caffeinated beverage of the day is a regular drip cup of coffee. Always.

It’s so easy to eat greasy food on road trips! I tried to be good and make healthier choices, starting with this cranberry-walnut oatmeal. A perfect start to the day!

George and I may have sampled bites of this cinnamon swirl twist too. Hey, gotta keep the Sweet in the Caffeinated. For the record, it was incredible.

Mmmm that steam.   
It’s important to note that this is the view at the end of the street. Clouds rolling through trees must be one of my favorite things, ever. 

It was a long drive back to LA, but beginning the journey at GoodLife was a very wise choice! What’s your favorite breakfast on a road trip?

This is the correct response to the phrase, “Top of the morning to you,” a phrase commonly associated with the Irish! And another common Irish connection? St. Patrick’s Day, of course! In honor of the upcoming holiday, I made the Irish Soda Bread my mom used to make for me as a kid.

This recipe is easy to put together, but you’d better use currants instead of raisins, if you can find them!

Ingredients:

4.5 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cup currants/raisins (use currants if you can find ‘em. Makes it that much better.)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups buttermilk (or milk you’ve turned to buttermilk with vinegar!)
2 tbsp melted butter

Put your dry ingredients together in a bowl – the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and your salt. Then, add your raisins.

In another bowl, beat eggs, add melted butter and buttermilk and stir. Then, add your wet to your dry, until just incorporated. Put into greased loaf pan (or form into a loaf.) Bake at 30-45 minutes at 375.

Serve with a pat of butter, and you’re having the best slice of breakfast-bread you’ve had in a long time! This favorite reminds me of my mom, of home, and of almost-Spring mornings. I hope it brings smiles to your breakfast table, too!

Happy almost-St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! What do you do to celebrate this holiday?

When Kelly from Studio DIY asked if I had ever made cannoli before, I said no, but “How hard could it be?” She confessed she had never deep fried anything before, and I was horrified because of that. Never deep fried? I could deep fry in my sleep! And so I decided we must rectify this immediately…so I offered to collaborate.

The catch? Kelly, of course, didn’t want to just make any cannoli – she wanted to make rainbow cannoli. Easy, peasy, I said.

And so, we found a recipe, and we made some cannoli. Here’s the recipe:

(Modified from Mario Batali’s recipe)

Ingredients

Shells:
2.25 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
6 tablespoons Marsala wine
food gel for dying shells

Filling:
1 pound ricotta
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons grated orange zest, plus extra for garnish

1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 quarts oil, for frying
sprinkles for ends

Start with your dough – mix together your dry ingredients. Add your food gel to your butter and wine, then mix in with your dry ingredients, kneading if necessary to get the color throughout the dough.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Roll out using four-inch circles, then roll VERY thin (like 1/16 of an inch) and wrap around the cannoli forms. Brush with egg white and pinch close – if you don’t, you risk losing a cannoli shell when it hits the oil! When you’re pinching closed, make sure to only get the egg white on the dough – otherwise you’ll have a hard time getting the cannoli off the forms later on!

Now mix your filling – I found that the recipe’s filling was a bit runny, so I’ve lessened the lemon juice, orange zest, and vanilla. Mix all your ingredients up and then put the filling in the fridge, too, so it can firm up.

Now, make sure your oil is about 375, and then drop ’em in two or three at a time, depending on how big your oil receptacle is. Let them fry for about two and a half minutes, then pull them out. You’ll be putting them in on the cannoli forms, so be careful when pulling out – they’re hot.

When cooled, simply twist off the cannoli form, and then let cool all the way before you fill (using a piping bag or a spoon) and stick sprinkles on the end.

And there you have it – rainbow cannoli! Happy almost St. Patrick’s Day, y’all!

Happy Monday folks! We lost an hour last weekend, but we took full advantage of the remaining 47. On Saturday, across the pond, Rebecca waited to see if it would snow in London. Meanwhile, we hosted a pizza night for friends and Jennie’s parents who are visiting!

Sunday, Mary fell in love with the trees of Northern California as she made her way back home after shooting a wedding in Mendocino. Jennie enjoyed a relaxing day with her parents that included lounging by the pool with a view of the Hollywood & Highland center, three color frittata for lunch, and a sunset trip to Griffith Observatory.

Happy Friday, everyone! A while back, we held a contest for a reader to win a Hodgson Mills prize, and the winner (Hi, Kelly!) graciously offered up the goodies to us, so that we could make something in her honor. We finally rolled around to using something we were given in that prize pack – this blueberry muffin mix.

These muffins came together in a cinch – all that was required was oil, sugar, an egg, and some milk! My only complaint about the mix is that it only makes 9-10 muffins – I want more!! They were hearty, good for breakfast (with a little jam, of course!) and the dried blueberries were so sweet, balancing the whole wheatiness perfectly.

This is definitely a great mix to have lying around if you need breakfast for a crowd, but don’t have the time (or notice) to whip up some from scratch. In just 15 minutes, you’re ready to go. I will be eating the rest of these up this weekend for my breakfasts with jam and butter…maybe I’ll even go have one right now. Do you guys have muffin recipes you’d like us to create for you?