In honor of my Mom

My mom really enjoyed baking. I think she just liked making us happy with her goodies. She was such a giver. Her chocolate chip cookies and banana bread were amazing! And we can't forget about her popular Chex mix. All of my friends loved it so much. Man, I would kill for some of that right about now! Seriously, it was incredible! So, today in honor of her, I decided to bake this afternoon. I'm sorry to my roommate and her friend if I was kinda loud in the kitchen with the blender, mixer and banging dishes.

First I made her infamous chocolate chip banana bread muffins. My roommates have come to really enjoy these so I like making them even more for them. I also whipped up an interesting orange and carrot sponge cake. Gina's family brought over a ton of oranges yesterday so I wanted to make something that I could use a few of them in. It turned out surprisingly well actually. It involved several steps so it was pretty fun to make. Not only did I have to steam carrots but I also had to puree them with fresh squeezed orange juice that I had to manually squeeze out. Whew! Then, I had to separate egg whites and egg yolks which I've never tried before. After several failed attempts, I can now do it! I know that my mom would have been impressed.

If you are lucky to live close by, then come on over for a piece!