Oh happy day, oh happy day! The first fruits of summer are starting to appear and it’s time to start the feast.

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Strawberries and cream.

The words go together like… well, not like love and marriage. Those used to go together automatically. Now, not so much.

And not like peanut butter and jelly. Since peanuts are pretty much banned from elementary schools these days, it’s more like soynut spread and jelly.

Just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?

How about wine, women, and song? Sexist.

Halloween and candy? Dangerous.

Computers and crash? Sorry, IT…

Ah, here’s one we can all agree on: Night and day.  It works backwards, too: day and night.

But still, not nearly as compelling as those succulent strawberries and rich, smooth cream.

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Beautiful biscuits are elusive to many bakers. My first-ever biscuits some 40 years ago were rocks. Phrases like “cut in the shortening” or “stir only until moistened” were not part of my vocabulary or skill set when I was a teenage baker.

How was I to know that my dough, stirred smooth into a batter and dropped on the cookie sheet, would yield biscuit rocks of family legend? Biscuits my dad talks about to this day?

Thankfully, King Arthur Flour has a guaranteed recipe for biscuits. These guaranteed recipes are perfect for beginning bakers, and for those who just need a bit of baking success to yield picture-perfect treats that will boost their confidence.

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Every month  the web team gets together to plan out our emails and blogs. A few months back, we were planning for July. “What should we feature on July 21?” asked Tracy, the magician behind the scenes who makes many things miraculously happen on our Web site.

“That’s my birthday, I’ll have the day off,” chimes in PJ.  (Yes, here at KAF, we get the day off on our birthday – one of everyone’s favorite company benefits.)

There’s a long silence… we all know what this means.  Who is going to bake the birthday cake?  Among the thousands of other things she does here – baking, blogging, copy writing – PJ always makes the birthday cake… (more…)