Depending on your powers of observation, you may or may not have noticed a little TLC Cake Crew badge on my blog recently. See? There it is. Most of the time I steer clear of these online cake blog cliques A) Because I’m already in a food gang, and it’s called BrutalSnack, and B) They’re [...]

A few weeks ago I received an email from the peeps Threadless that literally made me squeal with joy on the El. To paraphrase, it said, “Hey Natalie, I see that you are awesome. We at Threadless are also awesome. Perhaps you’d like to be a Threadcakes judge this year?” After I got done making all [...]

Most of the time, I get an idea in my head and spend the next several days scrambling around trying to find all the ingredients needed to make the idea a reality. And by “reality,” I mean “cupcake.” This time, Teno and I were pillaging Trader Joe’s for all their Peppermint Joe Joes when I [...]

Wondering why I didn’t start this recipe post with a photo of the finished product? Um, because I made these with a three-year-old and seven-year-old and they decorated them with Scooby Doo fruit snacks so… gross. Yeah. Anyway, it’s not a big deal – I was home with Teno and Milo on Wednesday because the [...]

Every baker has found him/herself with awkward amounts of ingredients left over. A 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips, a 1/2 cup of coconut, a handful of pecans… no one wants to throw this stuff away because it’s expensive, but how do you use it up in something you’d actually want to eat? Most of [...]

Each month I post a new horror-themed recipe at BrutalAsHell.com. This month, in dishonor of Arbor Day, I’ve created Cheryl’s Revenge (Vegan) Cookies.* Who is Cheryl and how are these cookies her revenge? Well, you’ll have to check out Slash & Dine to find out! *This link has been updated.

Today was an unseasonably warm 56 degree day in Chicago – the sun was shining, the snow melted away revealing three months worth of dog crap and garbage strewn about my neighborhood, and white people everywhere were prematurely wearing shorts. It was too wet to play at the park, so after a quick breakfast with [...]

Now I’m no food stylist, but I can usually make a plate of cookies not look like a pile of scabs. But when your car and your camera break on the same day, and you decide to move out of your apartment and your son gets chronically constipated all at the same time it’s prioroties-setting [...]

I think most people, having spent the week end with their fellow baking blogger and Internet life partner, would start off their post with a fabulous tale of co-baking and recipe swapping. Not I! Oh, The Urban Housewife and I had fun alright – discussing blogs we love and hate, shopping at Renegade in the [...]

strawberry banana muffin Originally uploaded by Bake & Destroy! I’d planned on posting this recipe sooner than now (how soon is now?) but after all the lovin’ I got from Cakespy’s loyal readers my head swelled up so big I couldn’t get out of bed for a week. Tony and Teno have been nursing me [...]