As was expected, I ate myself straight into a coma on Thursday afternoon. Every Thanksgiving, some sort of deranged mindset takes over such that I must help myself to a little of everything and not dare disgrace the table by leaving one speck of it on my plate. Attempting (and failing) to convince the rest of my family and our guests that I needed a break between dinner and dessert, I resorted to doing jumping-jacks while the table was being cleared in order to make room in my belly for the grand finale. You may already know my opinion on the matter, but I plan to say it anyway: dessert is by far the best part of any meal. To me it has many, many meanings and can arrive in plenty of forms. The definition of dessert is unique to every human being who eats, but I choose to define it as an after-dinner bite from which immense pleasure is taken. I usually find it in a few squares of good quality, extra-dark, almost bitter chocolate. Sometimes I make a single ramekin of apple crisp or once, on a whim, a pumpkin gingerbread souffle. My general rule of thumb is to use only natural sweeteners and whole-grain flours, if flour is required. This way, dessert serves as both the challenge and the reward. This Pear & Apricot Tart does exactly that. In the base, I used a combination of whole-wheat and spelt flours and raw honey to sweeten. With trace minerals and allergy-fighting properties (if you buy locally), raw honey is great to use in place of sugar and the generic processed "honey." It's also very easy to find. The honey contributed nicely to the wonderful earthy flavor of the tart and gave it a perfect amount of sweetness. Of course, feel free to add more or less to suit your desires. This tart is wholesome enough to be called relatively healthy, with enough butter to be called indulgent. The perfect balance, if you ask me.

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Pear & Apricot Tart // serves 8

-Adapted from Real Simple Magazine- Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup raw almonds 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon raw honey 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 1/2 + 1/3 cup whole-grain spelt flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder liberal pinch of salt 2 firm pears, peeled, quartered and cored 1/2 cup dried apricots, halved 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup apricot preserves Instructions -Heat oven to 350'. Grease a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan or 9-inch glass pie plate with coconut oil or butter. -In a food processor, process almonds until finely ground. Add butter, egg, almond extract and 1/2 cup honey and process until smooth. Add the flours, baking powder and salt and pulse a few times to combine. The dough will be sticky. -Spread the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan or pie plate. -In a small bowl, toss the pears and apricots with lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of honey. Arrange the pears in the dough, pressing in slightly. Scatter the apricots over the dough and press in gently. -Bake until pears are tender and the center is firm, 55 minutes or so. Cover the edges with foil if they start to brown too quickly, as mine did. -In a small bowl, combine the preserves with 1 tablespoon water. Brush over the warm tart and let cool before serving.

Happy birthday, sister. I made you some buttercream. I smeared it on a pound cake.

It's chocolate. It's definitely not a low-fat food. But you wouldn't want it to be, and all the better, because there's no such thing as low-fat buttercream anyway.

Thank goodness for that.

I know it looks like I sprinkled dirt on the top there, but I didn't, I swear. I took a few squares of Toblerone chocolate, a ziploc bag and a hammer. I know it's your favorite snack, and we didn't have any sprinkles, so there you go.

The flowers are not edible. By the way.

I hope you're enjoying your week home. I also hope you can't wait to go back to school. Because if you didn't, I would worry. College can be a very lonely place if you let it get to you.

You've started saying home when you refer to school, and that's okay. It's a good thing actually. Someday you really will call someplace other than here your home, so you might as well start practicing.

Anyhow, happy 19th birthday, and if you ever feel like making some chocolate buttercream in your dorm room, here's how to do it.

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Deep Chocolate Buttercream // frosts 1 cake

Quick, easy, rich and mousse-like. Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup powdered sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 Tablespoons milk Directions: -Sift sugar and cocoa into a medium bowl. -In a large bowl, whip the butter with a hand-held electric mixer for about 30 seconds. Add half the sugar/cocoa mixture and whip until incorporated. Add vanilla, milk and the rest of the sugar/cocoa and whip to thoroughly combine. -Frost your cake & refrigerate until ready to eat. *Variation: You can add some chocolate liqueur to take things up a notch.

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I've been pretty high on life this week. Although, after the weekend I've had, how could I not?

As I reflect on those few glorious days, I realize how incredibly lucky I am to have met so many inspiring individuals, learned new tools of the trade, and gobbled up unique and delightful food for 60 hours straight in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, San Francisco.

The 2010 Foodbuzz Blogger Festival was a sight to behold. An amazing team of people worked diligently to ensure that we were enjoying ourselves at every moment, and the next time I am graced by their company I will bow at their feet. I became so absorbed in it all that I actually chose to keep my camera hidden away for much of the time. I wanted to completely, fully and presently soak everything in. I didn't want to miss a minute, and the pictures you see here are literally all that I have to show you.

So onward I go, deeper into Autumn and basking in the afterglow. Not only have the leaves become completely crimson, but the air is suddenly cool and biting while the skies are crystal clear. This makes me crave one of my favorite foods of all time, pie. With an abundance of halved pecans from a recent Costco trip (thanks, Mom), I decided that a version of Pecan Pie was in order. True to form, the inspiration for this particular recipe came to me while I was trying to nap one chilly afternoon. Ideas started swirling around in my head so incessantly that I had to give up, get up, and make it happen. I had no idea how it was going to turn out, and I really didn't have much of a plan before beginning to bake, which is why I am so excited to share them.

These bars are something to celebrate! Normally a heavily-caloric indulgence with plenty of corn syrup and other such nonsense, this creation is Pecan Pie without the consequences of having to loosen your belt a notch or two. Have one with a dollop of creamy yogurt for breakfast; as an afternoon snack with tea or coffee; for a dessert that won't leave you sprawled on the floor an hour later. They will leave you feeling sweetly satisfied and ready to tackle the day... or comfortable enough to end it serenely. One note before we begin: If you don't like your desserts to be majorly wholesome-tasting, I would add some maple syrup to the crust. I may do this anyway the next time I make them, as the oat flavor was a little too much of a contrast to the sweet pecan filling. Circumstantially, they are completely vegan and I used pumpkin puree in the topping to add that irresistible goo-factor. You might also add some cinnamon to enhance the pumpkin flavor- I didn't because I wanted the pecans to shine.

Click HERE for a print-friendly version.

Pecan Pie Squares // Yield: 9 Squares

Crust Ingredients: 2 cups rolled oats 1/2 cup pecan halves pinch of sea salt 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 Tablespoon chia seeds + 1/4 cup water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Filling Ingredients: 1/3 cup maple syrup 2 cups pecan halves 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 Tablespoons water 1/2 cup pumpkin puree Instructions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine chia seeds with their amount of water, do the same with the flaxseed, and set aside.
• In a food processor, pulse oats, 1/2 cup pecans, salt and brown sugar until finely ground. Be careful not to overdo it and turn the pecans into nut butter. Add olive oil, chia & water mixture and vanilla extract. Pulse to thoroughly combine and until the mixture resembles a dough and comes together.
• Press the dough evenly into an un-greased 8x8 glass baking dish.

• In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine all filling ingredients. Pour the filling over the crust in the baking dish.
• Bake for about 50 minutes, until the filling is firm and set. Let cool completely before slicing.

*I found these bars to be even better tasting at room temperature the next day.

If you're into this sort of thing, try these Granola Nut Bars from a while back!