Naomi Robinson

I'll take a dozen, please.

This recipe is full of smart shortcuts.

Yep, you read that right, Tomato Soup Cupcakes. I’m going retro today with these old-school cupcakes. But the tomato soup isn’t a gimmick; it’s the secret ingredient for tender spiced cupcakes with a little air of mystery. I have to admit I had never even heard of these — that is until The Kitchn asked if I’d be up for the challenge of developing a recipe for this throwback treat. Of course I’m always up for a challenge.

You can’t go wrong with scones for Mother’s Day. And you almost have no excuse not to make something home-baked, especially when you can consider these mixed berry scones laced with delicate jasmine come together in just twenty minutes with the help of a food processor. The recipe you see here is my base recipe for almost all my scones.

Traditionally, an upside-down cake is not outfitted with a piped and toasted meringue, nor is it usually drizzled with any sort of syrup. But let’s break the rules here. This Strawberry Upside-Down Cake with its double-dose of strawberries and topping of marshmallowy meringue is worth it. Sure you can skip the extra two toppings, in fact I almost did, but my busy hands and run-away mind couldn’t help but wonder what they would add to the cake.

Growing up, spring rolls were a regular occurrence in my home, but they were always savory — let’s shake things up this summer! There are so many ways you can get your daily fruit, so why not in a spring roll? Admittedly, these summer fruit spring rolls are more work than the traditional bite-by-bite way of eating fruit down to its seeds or core, but they’re also way more fun. Along with that, these rolls make it way easier to dip into the sweet and savory sauce.

Let’s go for a twofer dessert today; one that combines two childhood treats into spoonfuls of Labor Day delight. That’s right, this Labor Day if you get tagged with dessert, here you go: S’mores Ice Cream Cake. This cake comes in two versions; let’s start with the from-scratch one. I used Sara’s Best Chocolate Ice Cream, a recipe adapted from Jeni Britton.

You know what it’s like. You’ve been invited to a dinner party, and suddenly you’re wondering what, exactly, you should bring the host — a bottle of wine, some nice olive oil, a candle? See, that’s usually my dilemma — that is, up until two years ago when I realized that marshmallows make the perfect gift this time of year. And these eggnog marshmallows, in particular, will guarantee you get an invite to the next party.