*I love the birdfeeder that my biological father made.  It’s in the front yard, and I have a perfect view of it through the picture window from one of my flea market chairs.  I cannot wait until the wintertime to see what other sorts of birds stop by.

*I taught a yoga class yesterday for someone that has the swine flu.  It’s at a studio down the street from my home.  Convenient indeed.  Felt good to help out and start a week earlier than I planned.  I’ll be teaching a Saturday rotation there.

*I love my new car.   It feels really good to have waited for something for like 10 years and to now finally have it.  During those 10 years, I drove two different mini vans.  One was gold, the other one blue.  My new car is silver and I was over being picky about the color.

*I’ve already paid $500 towards the Volvo loan and my first payment is not until December 2.  We pretty much live debt free with the exception of our house payment.  I don’t feel guilty about borrowing this small amount for the car at all.  We only use credit cards for plane tickets or wholesale yoga supplies for the boutique.  I think we’re unAmerican.

*I went to yoga this morning, not to teach, but for myself.  I meditate here at home almost every single morning.  I like the early darkness and the quiet of the house before anyone else gets up.

*Lauren and I made a run to Target today for a birthday gift.  It was 11:30 a.m. and the place was jam packed.  What’s up with that?  I thought the world was broke.  We checked out these awesome chairs my sister is buying.  They’re green and blue and made out of one piece of wood.  Very sleek, modern and comfortable.

*Our son has been invited to a track meet that will take place in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii.  I want him to go.  Of course I want to go with him!  Hopefully, we can figure out how to send him.  We will get all the details this coming Sunday, Nov. 22.  The G.I. Joe’s are going on e-bay soon.

*We attended a choir concert last night.  Our daughter sang in that same Children’s Choir for 4 years and lost interest.  Our niece is still in it.  She sang a solo from Phantom of the Opera.  She looked beautiful and was simply amazing.  She also played her  flute a couple of times while the other choirs sang.  She’s 15, very smart and very talented.

*My sister totally hates her new job and says it just might be the most jacked up company in the world.  On the other hand, her husband is working on a massive resort in the Bahamas that’s being built by Tiger Woods and his bud.  Water features galore.  He’ll be busy for awhile.

*Frank has not had a day off since September 22, that is, until yesterday and today!  Finally, someone wants to work.  What did he do on his day off?  He went deer hunting.

*I’ve been working on serious organization around here.  Our office is full of crap, mine and Frank’s.  I finally purchased a nice book shelf for the hallway and now all of my yoga stuff is in one location.  I am so totally happy.  Yes, simple pleasures rock out.

*In my organization spree, I found several books that I need to read.  Winter weather and tea, oh yes.

*Today was the first day to drive the new car in the rain.  The head lamps have windshield wipers.  Cool.  I wonder if they really make a difference?

*Ghiradelli brownies are totally dangerous, and one should never, ever make them.

*My husband is addicted to watching Star Trek on the computer and I wish he’d put the head phones on.  I love sharing this small office space and bumping chairs often.

*My daughter informed me that the new Volvo commercial features the Twilight cast.  Funny.  She’s totally into the new car now, at first she was sad to see the van go.

*We’re not doing anything for Thanksgiving.  The last few years, we’ve held the dinner at our place.  We’re not having any company.  We’re just going to walk next door.

*I’ve fallen out of love with my hair dresser.  I’m not liking the hair style enough to maintain it, so I’m going to bolt.  Now, what kind of cut do I get?  My hair gets really heavy on the top and it’s driving my crazy.  Of course, my family says, “Let it grow long!”  Riiiight.  I teach yoga.  I need easy, short and low maintenance.  That includes NO flat ironing.  I need blow dry or toss wet and go. 

*My sister got a great haircut one time when she visited here.  I think I’ll go there.   She said it was the best haircut she’s ever had.

*I’ve had my hair professionally colored once and that was before we got married in August of 2004.  Some of my gray hair is not silky and straight.  It’s kinky.  I figure I’ll be the 50 year old yoga teacher with a white fro.  Check me out in seven years.

*Tomorrow is my last class at Jordan Valley Community Health Center.  They’re wanting a winter intersession and I hope the Y will pay me to do it.  I so love that new group, it’s close to home and the space is nice!

*This week is also my last week at MSU.  I’ve done an intersession for them for years.  Otherwise, they’d be without yoga until the end of January.  That would really suck.

 *I have not taken a bike ride or a walk in a few weeks.  Now that it’s raining, I want to!

*I’ve been blogging for a year and half now.  The post I did about the Christmas trees around the world and Hot Yoga have been the most popular.  Who knew?

So… I have so much to write about, so many things just dying to get out. But, I’ve eaten myself into a food induced coma and can barely function. It could have to do with the sundae I had here:

The bread I ate all day long:

Or Fred, the crab we had for dinner.

Had to say which exactly did me in, but did me in they did. Hope you’re jealous… I’m going to go sleep this one off. Oy.

What a tough week and what a blue weekend. I was feeling the need tonight for choco-fest so into the kitchen for brownies and chocolate mousse. First the brownies:

Gluten free brownies

1/2 cup butter (I used safflower oil instead)

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Ghiradelli, my fave)

3/4 cup honey/ 1/4 cup agave (or use one cup sugar)

2 eggs

1tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup gf flour*

1/4 cup chocolate chips

In a sauce pan melt the butter and chocolate (with oil, it’s so much faster) over low heat, stir it constantly, remove and cool.

Grease a pan- you could use an 8×8 x2 pan or whatever you have. I used a pyrex pie pan because it was clean!

Add the sweetener to the choco mix, add the eggs, one at a time, beat after each egg. Stir in the vanilla. In a bowl, stir the flour and baking soda and add the chocolate chips and then add it all  to the choco- mix and into the greased pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

*My big goof was grabbing a half cup measure instead of the 1/3 and these were very cakey brownies. If you use the 2/3 of a cup it will be fudgier! This recipe is modified from a Better Homes and Gardens “Fudgy Brownie Recipe” 2002 Meridith Publishing Group

Now while these baked I went into mousse action

4 egg yolks ( I only had 3 after the brownies)

1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup agave

1 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/2 bar Ghiradelli unsweetened chocolate (you could use more but that’s what was left so I worked it!)

I beat the yolks with a whisk and added the honey/agave and heated the yogurt in a pan until hot ( but not boiling) I put a little of the hot yogurt into the eggs and then put all of the eggs into the hot yogurt and cooked it for 5 minutes, stirring all the time. It got super thick and then I let it cool a little and added the chocolate. I stirred it for 10 minutes and into the fridge. I just tasted it and it’s good.

A chocolate coating makes a tough week go down so much easier. I think I’m ready for whatever comes next….

My two week trip to California could not have gone any better! It was a much needed vaca away from school, but now I’m back in beautiful Seattle and cannot wait to be back in the city and seeing all of my friends again

Click the cut for moar pictures!

Getting ready at Gelesabella’s apartment

Sushi in Santa Monica at Rollout Sushi

soooo many shoes at the Kitson Outlet.

Andy Grammer at 3rd Street Promenade. He was phenomenal! Check out his music here

Okay… you don’t get this in Seattle hah

Cousins!

Santa Monica, why are you so gorgeous

Favorite candid of all

Out on the lake with the fam

Disney Land trip!

lulz

Ghiradelli w/ my Seattle U girls!

On top of the convention center

Just… extremely excited you know

Laguna Beach

Balboa Park

“Sometimes homeless people will come out here at night and relieve themselves in the fountain.”
Oh coooooooool.

I also wanted to nab some Street Style photos while I was at the Street Scene Music Festival too. Meet Liza! Also, the next few shots are kind of the same ish style, but I assure you there were LOTS of bright colors and fedora hats. San Diego hipsters dress so much better than Seattle hipsters. Seattle ones just look dirty Also, one girl denied me when I asked for her picture, it was weird.

Jessica

Dorothy and Tatiana. Street Style will return this Saturday at Bumbershoot!

The band Holy Fuck

Chromeo!

Gregg Gillis continues to snub me all my life. Stage attempt number 2 was a no-go.

Fuglylicious!

La Jolla shores

Kind of looks like last month’s header doesn’t it?

This is the chocolate cake that will fix/solidify/start your relationship (if chocolate has any sway whatsoever over you or your ladyfriend, which is more often than not the case with people who possess a palate and taste buds.) In my experience, the magnitude of the taste and the presumed investment of time in the preparation are enough to bring together two women in love, even if they’ve parted before. When combined with the careful application of tealight candles and the Amelie soundtrack, this is just the right recipe to wow your ex all the way back into your bed.

And (trust me) make-up sex after chocolate this divine is…great.

The school of thought regarding Molten Chocolate Cakes is contentious, at best. A New York City chef claimed to have invented the recipe by accident in 1987 when he removed a chocolate cake from the oven before it had cooked completely and decided to serve it anyway, having found that the center was moist and gooey. A group of French chefs quickly contested, claiming that their country’s culinary elite had invented the recipe years before. Regardless, it’s delicious. And surprisingly easy!

This particular recipe is adapted from one I found on Food & Wine’s website (one of my favorites.)

Also, I recommend using Corningware’s ramekins, which come with an attachable lid. You can bake, store, and reheat while only dirtying one dish! I found mine at a local hardware store, believe it or not.

Buy these:

- 1 stick of unsalted butter (plus a little extra for the ramekins)

- 1/2 tablespoon cake or pastry flour

- 1/4 pound bittersweet chocolate chips (I have to recommend Ghiradelli here–it’s worth the extra pennies!)

- 1/4 cup vegan cane sugar (regular sugar will work as well)

- 2 large whole eggs (look for lovely ones at your local farmer’s market! I found mine in Copley Square on Fridays)

- 2 large egg yolks

- cocoa powder/confectioner’s sugar (optional; for dusting)

Do this:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 16-ounce ramekins.

2. Melt the butter with the chocolate chips (if you happen to have a gas stove like mine, this will happen alarmingly fast. I recommend setting out the other ingredients carefully before this step.)

3. Once melted, whisk the butter and chocolate with a wire whisk or with a fork. Add the sugar, whole eggs, egg yolks, and flour and continue to whisk until well-blended, with only a few small lumps.

4. Pour the mixture into the ramekins and bake (uncovered) for ten to fifteen minutes, or until the edges of the cakes have solidified and become crusty, but the center is still quite near-gelatinous. It must have some sort of stiffness though, or else you run the risk of food-borne illness from the eggs.

5. Allow to cool for at least one minute. This dessert is wonderful to make ahead, refrigerate, and then put back into the oven (at 100 degrees) approximately ten minutes before serving. The cakes can be served in the ramekins, or upside-down with confectioner’s sugar or unsweetened cocoa sprinkled on top (knowing my ex the way I did, I served the cakes with Ben & Jerry’s “sprinkled on top.” And yes, it worked.)

I think it was my grandmother, or another matronly older woman, who told me during my formative years that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. While I don’t know much about the male heart (or stomach for that matter), I do know that chocolate can heal certain things. This isn’t a lesbian relationship cure-all, but it will certainly put you on the path — or at least wow the pants off of your lady.

So I may or may not have had three slices of pizza tonight

They were small pieces, I promise! I had the other half of the pizza dough I made Friday night in the freezer just waiting to be covered with tons of veggies

I made Jeff a ‘pepperoni’ pie using these

He saw them in the store and wanted to try them. They actually taste A LOT like pepperoni. He told me to tell you guys that they’re really good! Jeff is living vicariously through my blog!

I had two small slices of my veggie pie and went back for another small slice because it was so good!

My toppings included:

• Red & Green Pepper
• Zucchini
• Grape Tomatoes
• 1 Clove of Garlic
• Tbsp Chopped onion
• Sprinkle of Feta Cheese
• Part Skim Mozzarella (about three Tbsp)
• Tsp of Grated Parmesan

Dessert was really good

Small piece of Bluenana Bread topped with Saratoga PB Company’s Blizzard Butter and two blocks of Ghiridelli Twilight Delight Intense Dark Chocolate. Amazing!!

I decided not to go to any classes at my gym tonight because Jeff is going out of town tomorrow for a couple days and I wanted to spend some time with him. As much as I love living with him, I’m truly looking forward to some me time.

What is your favorite activity to do on your own?

Have an awesome night!

Good Afternoon!! I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!! I have been cleaning and unpacking all day! I was sore this morning from yesterday’s workout so I decided to skip my morning gym trip. I’m going to a pilates class tonight at 7.

Breakfast this morning was a nice, cold bowl of cereal

Kashi sent me a coupon to try a free product so I chose the Island Vanilla cereal! It was yummy!! I topped my bowl with 1/2 a banana and blueberries. I also had cherries on the side.

Jeff made me iced coffee yesterday so I also enjoyed a glass of that

I poured my iced coffee over penguin ice cubes!!

After cleaning for a while, I heated up the leftover Chili/Black Bean Mess from last night for lunch. I topped some blue corn tortilla chips with the leftovers and grated a bit of Cabot reduced fat cheddar on top. Then I added chopped up grape tomatoes, sundried tomato & basil hummus, salsa, and hot sauce and popped it in the microwave for 30 seconds

Oh man! This was everything I hoped it would be!! It was the perfect leftover lunch! I would make the black bean burgers again just to do this with the leftovers!

None of those unhealthy, nacho appetizer platters from restaurants can possibly compare to this!  For dessert, I had a block of  Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate

And some more iced coffee

I walked to the rental office to pick up our pool passes! I’m looking forward to lounging at the pool one of these days coming up! I’m off to top cucumber slices with tomato and laughing cow cheese for a snack! I was inspired by Gena’s Raw Food & Wreckage post to make cucumber pizza!

I’m trying Hungry Girl’s Mac & Cheese recipe tonight! Thankfully, there is no jalapeno involved in this recipe!

What are some of your favorite leftover creations?

The husband and I decided to take a mini-trip up to the Solvang area for a relaxing getaway before he jumped into his new job.  We really enjoyed our last Bed & Breakfast experience (in Julian) and decided to try it again.  I did some searching online and came across the The Victorian Mansion at Los Alamos.    I love Victorian homes and the themed rooms looked to be fun.  Plus, private tub for two?  Yes, please!

When we arrived, most of the guests for the night had not shown up so we got a tour of the rooms except for the Roman one which was already occupied.

On the first floor is the 50’s and Gypsy rooms.  The 50’s room has a real Cadillac that was turned into a bed.  There was a projector and screen set up to simulate the feeling of being at a drive-in.  It was really cool except for the fact that the steering wheel was still attached so whoever gets that side of the bed should be really short or like to sleep in a fetal position.  This room felt the smallest and the bathroom was tiny.  The Gypsy room was really cool; the bed was in a covered wagon (don’t worry, the wheels were placed in grooves in the floor).  The walls were painted with a forest mural and the tub was sunk into the floor and surrounded with stones.

The 2nd floor was the Roman and Egyptian room.  The 3rd floor had the Pirate and Paris rooms.  The Pirate room had lights that were rigged to sway and the walls were covered with wood paneling to simulate a cabin room on a ship.  The Paris room was water-damaged during renovations so was unavailable.

We booked the Egyptian room.  This room ended up being the largest in the house and the only one with a balcony.  They really went all out with the theme.  The canopied bed was on a raised dais in the center of the room.

The walls and ceiling were covered with material and murals to simulate a tent out in the desert.  There was an LCD TV, DVD & CD players and a fridge hidden in the walls as well as a closet with robes.  Each room had movies that were related to the theme as well as a copy of Sideways since that was filmed in the area.

They supplied bubble bath for the tub and there was a bottle of wine from a local winery as well as chocolate-covered strawberries waiting for us.

The King Tut statue was actually a pull-out door to get to the bathroom.  The shower stall was tiled and had hieroglyphics painted on them.

The door to the balcony was also in the bathroom.  There were two benches and you could look out onto the main street of town.  The manager noted that our room was the only one where you could open a window/door to the outside so if you tend to get claustrophobic or like lots of fresh air, you should book this room.

Los Alamos ended up being a lot smaller than I thought.  Almost everything closes at 5pm so we only had about an hour to wander around.  Actually, it takes only about 5 minutes to walk across town.  Heh.  We spent the hour wandering thru an antique shop and stopping in at a wine-tasting room.  With nothing else to do after that, we decided to have dinner.  Based on recommendations by the B&B manager and a store owner, we went to Full of Life Flatbread.  More on that later…

The wine that came with our room was a Syrah from Andrew Murray.  Neither the husband nor I are wine experts so I can’t really comment on the quality.  He enjoyed it more than I did and so drank most of the bottle.  The chocolate-strawberries were excellent.  I had stuck them in the fridge to enjoy as a dessert later in the night and they were nice and cold.  The strawberries were ripe and sweet and had just the right amout of chocolate coating to compliment but not overpower the fruit.

The tub was awesome.  You forget how nice it is to have a deep tub to soak in for relaxation.  The water runs hot here so keep an eye on the temperature, otherwise you’ll end up waiting for the water to cool down.  It takes about 10-15 mins to fill it up.

At night, it can get very quiet in the room.  If you are like me and the husband and need ambient noise (like a fan), I suggest bringing something to assist with that. The bed was comfy…not overly soft or firm and the pillows cushy.  Just be careful when getting out of bed as it’s really dark in the room and you have steps to contend with.

For breakfast, The Victorian Mansion operates a little differently.  Instead of having all the guests meet in the dining room at a specified time, the Vick delivers breakfast to each room at an arranged time.  There’s a little compartment in the wall that’s accessible from both outside and inside the room.  They place the tray of food in it and knock on your door to signal that breakfast has arrived.

Breakfast for the first day consisted of individual quiches and muffins.  The 2nd day was also quiche but with croissants.  Orange juice and coffee (or hot chocolate) are served as beverages.  Neither of us are coffee drinkers so we went with the hot chocolate.  YUM!  It was not overly sweet and had a hint of a coffee flavor to it.  Dan really enjoyed it and ended up drinking most of it both days.  We inquired as to the brand and turns out it’s Ghiradelli’s.  I know what I’ll be looking for at the stores.

The quiches were a little bland but not bad.  I sprinkled some salt n’ pepper and that helped.  The egg filling was fluffy and not over done and the cheese had browned nicely.  The first day quiches had vegetables mixed in – peppers, onions, olives.   For the 2nd day, we had one quiche that was the same and a broccoli quiche.  I didn’t like the broccoli one as it was too…broccoli-y.  The husband didn’t touch them at all because they were “tainted by those evil green things that come from the ground”.

I didn’t get a chance to really enjoy the muffins as I was stuffed from eating the two quiches.  Dan nibbled at the coffee-cake looking one till he discovered there were blueberries in it.  I tried a little bit of both and they were tasty.  Buttery and sweet, they had a “home-made” quality to them.  The croissants were served warm and were good but I swear they were the same as the ones you get from Costco (which are good!) but there was nothing outstanding about them.

Since Los Alamos doesn’t have much in the way of tourist attractions, we went to Solvang and Los Olivos (wine-tasting rooms galore!!!) which are no more than a 15-minute drive away for something to do during the day.

Overall, this was a great place to stay.  Diane, the manager was really friendly and helpful.  The themed rooms were a lot of fun.  Because it is an old house (built in 1864), you can hear people in the room above you walking around if it’s occupied.  The tub is a really nice perk and the local bottle of wine a nice touch.  We found the price ($250-275/night) reasonable considering all that you got.  It’s the perfect place for an intimate, relaxing getaway for couples.

The Victorian Mansion at Los Alamos
326 Bell Street
Los Alamos, California 93440
(805) 344-1300
www.thevick.com

Do you have trouble waking up in the morning, and a cup of coffee is the only thing that will get your brain working? Do you hate making your own coffee because it wastes a whole pot for one cup?

Never fear, dear readers, because the kick start of Mommas March Mania is here to satisfy your coffee needs.

Win the Keurig Platinum Coffee Brewer (Retail Value $169.95), Keurig’s best single cup coffee maker!

This coffee maker boasts:

• Auto On/Off
• Digital Clock
• Adjustable Temperature Control
• “Set Your Favorite Cup Size” option.

The Keurig coffee maker uses what they call a K-Cup this special packaging is a single serving size for coffee, tea and hot cocoa.  These K-Cups are airtight so they stay fresh and flavorful!  Some of your favorite major coffee brands even make these K-Cups, such as Green Mountain, Newmans Own, Emeril’s, and even (yum!) Ghiradelli.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

1. Visit the Keurig website and tell us what K-Cup flavor you would like to try.  This is mandatory, if this is not done all other entries will be null and void.
2. For a second entry you can tweet the following on twitter: “Mommas March Mania (@mommasreview) has begun! Win a Keurig Platinum Coffee maker and much more.. http://www.mommasreview.com“
3. Third entry – post about it on your blog and leave a comment here with the URL of your post.
4. For a fourth subscribe to our RSS feed or subscribe to our email feed, leaving a link here to tell us you’ve done so. We’ll be posting more giveaways on Momma’s Review soon so subscribing will be a great way for you to stay informed about all the great things you can win in the days and weeks to come.
5. As a final entry donate $1.00 (or more if you’d like) to the I Heart Tucker fund. This can be done through PayPal and your donation would be greatly appreciated. Just visit I Heart Tucker and click on the donate button on the right sidebar, you can also enter raffles on the I Heart Tucker site with donations you have made!  Make sure to come back and tell us you donated.

This giveaway is open to US readers only (sorry to our international readers)!

The contest will close at 12:00 p.m. EST on Sunday March 29th.

For one more chance at an entry see this post.

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered!

I can’t believe that Saturday is Valentine’s Day.  To me, Valentine’s Day ranks right up there with New Year’s Eve.   My married friends forget about it and my single friends think it’s over rated.  However, being a holiday, my creative side can’t help thinking about it.  I know that most of the time I have good intentions as Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that I try and let pass, but in the end my ceative side takes over.  I make heart shaped cookies or buy fun chocolates for close friends and family along with either handmade or store bought Valentine Day cards and get Valentine’s Day candy for my candy dish at the office.

So, what’s Valentine’s Day without some chocolate?  I love this brownie recipe from Ghiradelli.  It’s one of my favorites because it’s super easy.  You use Ghiradelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa, which is easy to find at your grocey store.  I usually find it either with the baking items or coffee/tea/cocoa.  You’ll probably find the recipe on the back of the canister, which is where I discovered it. 

For a Valentine’s Day treat, I make a pan of brownies and let them cool.  I then use a heart shaped cookie cutter and cut into heart shapped brownies.  If you like, you could then frost with chocolate icing.  For a special Valentine’s Day dessert, drizzle hot fudge on a plate, put your heart shaped brownie on the plate, put a scoop of your favorite ice cream on top, drizzle hot fudge sauce over it, put a chocolate covered strawberry (or regular strawberry or cherry) on top and you have an easy, elegant dessert.  (Note – the nuts are optional and I very rarely use nuts because my brother doesn’t like them, so I stopped putting them in my brownies and cookies years ago.)

You can also make hot cocoa with this Sweet Ground Chocolate and add a Peeps Marshmallow Shaped Heart in the center for a sweet chocolate treat.  Kids especially love this. 

Please post a comment and tell me what you do for Valentine’s Day or if you made the brownies and how you liked them.

Ghirardelli Brownies Ingredients

I don’t bake very much, but find cookies kind of fun (and easy) to make.  I don’t bake those very often because Cooper is obsessed with my Mom’s cookies (aka: Grammy cookies!), so we usually have plenty around.

Today I thought I’d bake a few homemade cookies for Papa’s arrival from Wisconsin, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to further my search for the perfect cookie recipe.  I’ve been manipulating oatmeal cookies for over a year now trying to find one that I not only like, but loooove.

My attempt today got me much, much closer to cookie perfection…with a few calls home to mom for advice.  But hey…an expert is an expert, right?

So, here’s today’s attempt:

Kristin’s Cookies – Attempt # 26 (?)

1 3/4 sticks butter  1 stick softened to room temp, 3/4 stick melted in microwave

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups Quaker Oats quick-cooking

1/2 cup Ghiradelli white chocolate chips

1 cup Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips (60 % cacao)

Preheat to 350.  Beat butter and sugars until creamy.  Add eggs and vanilla, beat well.  In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Mix well.  Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar/egg mixture.  Mix well.  Stir in oats and chocolate.  Mix well.  Drop by rounded tablespoon on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake until they begin to lightly brown on top.  I cool them on a sheet of tinfoil on the counter so there’s easy clean-up.   Makes slightly more than 3 dozen cookies.

My first batch is lined up along the top side of this picture.  Perhaps you can tell that they are flatter than the others.  I had gone light on the flour, and after a quick call to my Mom, adjusted the recipe.  The remainder turned out perfectly shaped….thanks Mom.

Caramel popcorn can be a popular holiday gift. We usually receive several tins of it every year, and my kids devour it. As a Recipe Developer, I sometimes try to take a popular concept and give it a new twist. Since I had some extra white chocolate on hand, I thought I would develop a simple new recipe for White Chocolate Popcorn, and it worked great! This recipe takes no time at all and has only two ingredients. Best, of all, there’s hardly any mess. 

White Chocolate Popcorn

Feel free to double this recipe.

Prep: 5 minutes

Yield: 6 cups

Ingredients

1 (11-ounce) package white chocoolate morsels (I used Ghiradelli white chocolate or Nestle Milk Chocolate Morsels)

6 cups popcorn (popped without salt or fat)

Preparation

1. Place white or milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH 1 to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring once.  Combine chocolate and popcorn in a large mixing bowl, tossing gently.  Spread mixture on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper; let cool and store in an airtight container.

Every year, peppermint bark is a holiday hit! My friend and neighbor, Kathy, said she was searching for a wonderful peppermint bark recipe, and since one of my favorite parts of being a Food Consultant for magazines and Food companies is recipe development, I made it my mission to help Kathy out. This recipe is simple to prepare and tastes great. I crushed my candy canes in the food processor to save time and went a little overboard, so I ended up with peppermint snow (as my kids called it-and that’s just how they liked it, by the way). Feel free to chop them more or less, depending how you like it. I used Nestle white and semisweet morsels, but I recommend using a quality chocolate such as ghiradelli (you can also use dark chocolate, if you prefer). Be sure to refrigerate the bark and keep it stored in the refrigerator for optimal results. It will keep for up to 1 month.

Peppermint Bark

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 4 minutes

Yield: 2 pounds

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package candy cane

1 (12-ounce) package semisweet morsels or baking dark chocolate

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Cooking spray

1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate morsels or baking white chocolate

Preparation

1. Place candy canes in a food processor and process until crushed or in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.

2. Melt semisweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl 1 to 2 minutes on HIGH until melted, stirring once. Add peppermint extract, stirring well. Spread evenly on a large 12-x 16-inch baking sheet covered with parchment paper; spray with cooking spray. Place chocolate mixture in refrigerator for up to one hour to set.

3. Melt white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl 1 to 2 minutes on HIGH until melted, stirring once. Spread over semisweet chocolate and top evenly with crushed candy canes. Refrigerate 1 more hour or until set. Break into pieces and give as gifts.

• 830 N. Michigan Ave.
• Chicago, IL 60611
• (312) 337-9330
• Website

Ghiradelli Chocolate in downtown Chicago on the Magnificent Mile

By the time we made it to Ghiradelli, we had already been to two candy shops, but that wouldn’t stop any of us.  After leaving Hershey’s Chicago, the four of us walked across the street to Ghiradelli to see what they had to offer. 

Ghiradelli sits about a half block off of Michigan Avenue in the square surrounding the old pumping station.  Like other stores on the block, it’s hard to miss with all the bright signage.  We walked in and were met by a guy passing out squares of peppermint chocolate.  The shop is more of an ice cream parlor than a retail shop even though they have a wide selection of their chocolates on display near the wall.

Ghiradelli Chocolate Shop on Michigan Avenue in Chicago

My brother grabbed a menu and I thought he was getting in line while we looked at chocolate.  I buy Ghiradelli all the time, so I was somewhat excited about the selection.  Not to long ago, we found these chocolate squares filled with peanut butter.  It took me a while, but I did finally find them, but they were priced a little higher than I see them at other places, so I passed.  We squeezed our way out and found my brother sort of standing in line.  I think he was actually contemplating buying the $30 sundae.  Yes, a $30 ice cream sundae, but it would have fed all four of us and we wouldn’t have had to go to dinner afterwards.

Everything on the menu looked good, but we had dinner reservations in about an hour and didn’t want to spoil our appetite.  We actually talked about maybe walking back after dinner, but we were all so stuffed. 

Ghiradelli is another great treat on the Magnificent Mile.  It’s a treat that you’re only going to find in Chicago, California, Las Vegas, or Florida (ok, so there’s a shop in Wisconsin, but that can still be considered Chicago for all intensive purposes.)

There is a quote that comes to mind that goes something like, “character is who you are when no one is watching.” This seems apt to describe branding at times. There are many brands that put on a good show in communications, packaging, environments only to let consumers down when they least expect it. Some of us have had friends like this in our lives, but how many of those relationships continue to prosper after we’ve been let down?

Brand relationships are about delivering an experience through all of the brand’s touch points. I won’t even go so far as to say that it has to be a consistent experience because I think branding is changing. But it does have to be a unified experience.

I’ve posted the above picture of GHIRADELLI Hot Chocolate as an example of how not to sustain a brand. For those who don’t know, GHIRADELLI is a premium chocolate brand out of San Francisco. As such you would expect brand attributes such as refined, sophisticated, luxurious and crafted to be part of their story. Note, these aren’t differentiated characteristics but rather table-stakes in the premium category.

The external packaging represents these characteristics and helps to validate the price point which you are bound to pay on a supermarket shelf. Once you make the purchase though, you are confronted with a food service, mass market brand on the inside. Why GHIRADELLI decided to pay a design firm for the external packaging and didn’t throw the internal pouch into the brief is beyond me. Did they think that it wasn’t important or that no one would notice?

I would argue that the experience arch for this brand actually peaks when the pouch is torn open and the product is made. By that account the internal packaging is more important to the brand while the external packaging may still be more important to sales. But, to my earlier point, the brand’s character is defined when it doesn’t think anyone is looking. Or perhaps better stated, “a brand’s character is defined when it isn’t selling.”

Dense. Moist. Chewy. Ultra-rich. Flaky top. These brownies from scratch used nearly a whole canister of Ghiradelli cocoa powder! ….and “only” two and half sticks of butter, four eggs and two cups of sugar.

I doubled this recipe (Epicurious, November 2003) to make a full 9×13 pan of these treats.

The christmas season is finally here.  For california natives anything under 65 is considered cold and yesterday I definitely felt the chill in the air. Anything under 65 is when we start layering and bundling. And the two ways that I consider the christmas season to have arrived is when starbucks starts slinging their jolly red cups and when ghiradelli releases their limited edition peppermint bark at borders. MMM delicious! Anywho, like all things that are holy I finally admired the new urban outfitters website for fall/winter. LOVE LOVE LOVE  this dress. it’s so cute and feminine with the little ruffles. Oh UO. getting it right EVERY time. I’ll probably buy some gifts from here and make some more for the holidays.  I really want to make some hand made gifts but there are some people who just don’t understand the whole craft/ homemade genre. Oh well. I’ll just to have to try and convert them.

Off for some mexican food. Love!!!!

This is 5:45 am.  I am awake from 5 am for the past 2 days.  Thanks to the jet lag and probably also the endless virtual list of things that is awaiting for me to complete.  Have been away for about 2 weeks for my U.S. holidays.  It is meant to be more of a shopping trip more than anything and it turned out that way ; ) my luggage including one i that purchased there are full with: Coach bags, Coach small pieces, Bath & Body Works, a boxful of Victoria Secrets, Cole Hann, Prada, Miu Miu, H&M and come food items like Ghirardelli Chocolates and souvenirs.  Some of my purchases:

Check out The Cheesecake Factory if u are going to U.S. yummy-licious…love the pumpkin cheesecake only available from Oct for a limited period.

While i am away, my heart stays in Singapore.  I missed my home, my family and friends.  Weird, just 2 weeks, that’s probably because i did not bring my heart there in the first place.  I seems to have an early list of resolutions for the new year!  Like starting all over again…see that’s what i meant when i say i think i have lots of catching up.  I spent most of this year on coco and getting accustomed to the lifestyle with her.  coco is still in a friend’s house whom is babysitting her.  I found my “freedom” again.  Though i miss coco a little, a probably treasure moments without her most.  I now can wake up early without having to worry she will make noise and want all my attention.  I seem to be able to do more.  I’m sorry coco but this is the fact.  My continued challenge is to get used to and love her more.

Cheers to a new shelle and hopefully i can share more of my “little accomplishements” along the way ; )

Oh yes, good morning pals ;p

As a pregnant woman, I feel that I’m somewhat of an expert on chocolate. I haven’t craved it all that often this time around, but when I wanted it I REALLY wanted it. Which is that different than I am when I’m not pregnant, except that non-pregnant me is more likely to desire one perfect Belgian truffle and pregnant me gets obsessed with things like Dairy Queen soft serve chocolate ice cream.

Luckily this time the Dairy Queen fetish did not return. In fact, I didn’t have one specific craving until about a week ago. Until last week, I was quite happy to eat whatever chocolate we had in the house. Or, you know, ALL the chocolate we had in the house. Anyway, last week the gods smiled on me and I got five candy bars in the mail.

Five GHIRADELLI CHOCOLATE candy bars.

They are launching a new line of candy bars – plain, with crunchies, with different kinds of nuts – at WalMart, Walgreens, Borders, Target and CostPlus. And DAMN, are they good. So good that I’m pretty sure I’ll be craving them after I’m done being pregnant. So good that I want to eat another one RIGHT NOW, dammit. I liked the plain one best, because there’s nothing I love more than the taste of really high quality chocolate all by itself.

I’m not sure whether to bless or curse the good women of Mom Central for getting me on this tour. Because now I need to call Hot Guy and make sure he can stop at Walgreen’s on his way home.

These decadent chocolate chocolate chip cookies are rich and chewy. And the semi-sweet chips make them not too sweet but just enough!  I used Ghiradelli chips and cocoa powder — wonderful stuff.

Double Chocolate Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

(1) Preheat the oven to 350.

(2) Blend the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

(3) Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Gradually stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips.

(4) Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

I’m tempted to just let the pictures speak for themselves, but like Joe Biden, I have a verbosity reputation to maintain.

I also have a sweet tooth reputation to maintain, which is why I finally summoned the courage to whip up a batch of these decadent desserts. Between the truffles, the lemon squares I made last week and the apple pastries that are waiting in the wings (thanks to some overzealous apple picking), sugar is my new best friend.

These truffles – made from yet another Bon Appetit recipe – are simple but extremely rich. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have made them nearly as big as I did (half the size of a golf ball), and probably should have brought them to work instead of eating them all myself. Don’t worry, they lasted at least a week… I think.

Another warning: make sure the chocolate you use is room temperature. I used some Ghirardelli chocolate chunks right out of the freezer and had a hell of a time trying to get the chocolate melted and combined with the cream. In fact, the first time I tried, I was left with a chunky mess because some of the chocolate pieces didn’t in fact melt.

Here’s what it looked like after I re-melted that mess in the microwave, and then re-chilled it:

As you can see from the crater, the truffle base (simple chocolate ganache) is nice and smooth. But if I had to do it all over again, I might have used this guy’s melting process.

For the next step, it would be beneficial to have a melon scooper. I, of course, didn’t, so I went with the sloppy alternative of forming the little chocolate balls by hand. This process yielded some slightly amorphous truffles:

After chilling for an hour, the truffles were ready for their coating. This could be as easy as rolling them in cocoa powder or as sloppy and difficult as rolling them in melted chocolate in the palm of your hands. Guess which one I chose?

After suppressing the impulse to coat whatever I could get my hands on (including myself) in melted chocolate, I covered the truffles but still had some chocolate left over. Being the consummate artist, I decided to use the melted leftovers as an homage to Jackson Pollack, dripping and splattering the chocolate on and around the finished truffles.

Question: Is there anything chocolate can’t do?

*This blog is a retread- Read at your own risk (Of thinking I’m unoriginal) Also, If you’re easily offended, please go back to the Skittles blog. Thank you for listening my speech*

I don’t dig on wakes. 

I don’t care for the whole concept of death either, to be honest. Whatever your belief system is I’d guess the majority of us believe that our bodies are shells for our souls. Some believe when we die our soul goes somewhere… others believe our soul goes nowhere. I’m an Agnostic, so by definition I’m thinking my soul has a one way ticket to Nowheresville. But betwixt us I secretly hope the soul ends up at the Ghiradelli Chocolate factory. Now they have peanut butter squares… mmmmm…

I have a little quick trivia tidbit for you about my profile picture. I remember talking with someone I used to work with, and she asked me what I’d want my last words to be. I told her that I’d want them to be something like: “Oh my GOD! WHAT is THAT?!”

Because really, wouldn’t it be something to be killed by something that’s never been seen? That would be my preference. Unless it copulated with me to death, that is.

Anyhoo, when I made that picture I was trying to make it seem I was being attacked by aliens: 

It would be a historic death, and really funny as far as I’m concerned. 

In reality however, this is probably how I’ll be found deceased: 

(Well, at least I got rid of those accursed yellows & greens first)

But to get waked seems to make the whole thing a worse experience to me. I’ve been to sad wakes (Died too young) and happy wakes (Lived long, and happened to be Irish). But all of them have the ultimate white elephant in the room… a corpse! It’s really hard to talk to someone with a dead body in the room. It is for me, at least.

I told the wife that I do NOT want to be waked. Luckily for me she’s ok with that. If she wasn’t ok with it, I confirmed with her how I’d want to be waked. I’d want to be stood up in the corner of the room, wearing a party hat. Then I’d request that my teeth were applied with Vaseline and my arm and hand be bent up in the “Thumbs up”position. Something like this:

This way, I’d feel like I was part of the gathering. Other than one’s wedding, how else can you get all of your pals together in one night?

You could even play some games for evening, like ‘Pin the Tail on the Dead Guy’ as an example.
(Sidebar: Please…not in the tail)

I’d like to be able to fit in an ashtray after I’m gone. If people want to come look at that, have at it. I don’t want to be buried at all. I like cemeteries for nice walks and photography. That’s about it.

Another idea that I had for my sendoff was to have the wife to bring my body out on a whale watch. Put me in a wheelchair (ala: Weekend at Bernie’s), and when nobody’s looking… dump me right over the side! Thirty-eight bucks for a full funeral, that sounds perfect to me.

The best part is, that i’ll probably die before anyone reads this. See you on the high seas, Captain!