For Halloween, we decided to make cupcakes with a "blood-filled" center!

Start with a basic vanilla cupcake recipe. We used our go-to baker's secret, the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

We are lucky enough to have some very talented people that we call friends, and among them are the creators of a fabulous audio drama series, The Katniss Chronicles, which is based on The Hunger Games book trilogy.

Sometimes, in the life of a geek, you don’t just have a TV show or book series that you love, but you also have a favorite person to share it with. For months, Jennie and I have wanted to make a TARDIS cake in honor of my love of Doctor Who. And, when the time finally came to plan our Whovian confection, I couldn’t stop thinking about my favorite fellow Doctor Who lover, my good friend, Oren.

Among other talents, Oren is a masterful baker of pies and something of a connoisseur of new pie flavors. He and I discovered buttermilk pie in a hole-in-the-wall diner in middle Tennessee when we were on a cross-country road trip last year, and I’ve been telling everyone who would listen about this pie ever since.

I don't know about you, but I am still in Fringe withdrawal. I was late to the party; I didn't even start watching the show until a few months before it ended. But, once I got started, I was hooked on the pseudo-science-y plot devices, the mystery of the observers, the playful episode easter eggs, and, of course, the lovable mad scientist, Walter Bishop.

It's no secret that I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, so I leapt at the chance to spend a weekend with friends in Orlando and visit the Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios. Naturally, Harry Potter-themed treats were a necessity. So, I made my own version of cauldron cakes!

When Peter Jackson’s first Lord of the Rings film opened in December of 2001, I began a long tradition of associating Tolkien stories with the holiday season. I read all the books. My father re-read them. And, for a few years, seeing one of The Lord of the Rings films with my dad became an important Christmas ritual.

This holiday season, I was excited to renew that tradition by seeing the newest Tolkien film, The Hobbit.  In preparation, I started reading the book, and I was pleased to discover that Mr. Bilbo Baggins is a foodie!

Have you ever wondered about your favorite superhero's favorite foods? Food is a universal language, and you can use it to connect with anyone -- even characters in your favorite comics! When our friends over at Fanboy Comics suggested that we collaborate with them, our wheels started to turn as we imagined the many possibilities of exploring foods related to some of our nerdier tendencies.

That's right, aside from our love of Brussels sprouts and farm fresh eggs (nerdy in its own right), a few of us at Garlic, My Soul display some of the more classically nerdy characteristics. Be prepared to get more acquainted with that side of us, because this will be the first of many geek-tastic GMS posts. And, we thought we'd kick things off by conducting a little thought experiment.