Guys, I’ve been getting some serious writer’s block. I have plenty of material. Plenty of ideas… so many ideas. On teaching, on parenting, on marriage… and of course, food. I have stories and even some portions written out… but my brain is just not up for the task of pulling it all together into coherent pieces right now. PLEASE FORGIVE. Please stay. It’ll come back to me soon!
In the meantime, can I just share a super easy and super delicious recipe for salted caramel hot cocoa? It’s the ultimate warm-ya-to-yer-toes, rich, luxurious bowl of comfort. Mmmm.
I mean, this blog is called Cuppacocoa, after all, so what better time than this rainy winter season to share my new fav way to mix up a cuppa?
Is there arsenic in your tomatoes? New tests reveal that tomatoes contain high levels of…
…JUST KIDDING. I hardly know anything about that stuff. But here’s what I DO KNOW: I’m tired of using just one tablespoon of tomato paste and eventually throwing the rest away. Seriously, can you think of a time when a recipe called for more than one tablespoon of tomato paste? I cannot.
It happened again today, as I was brewing up a batch of Beef Bourguignon (aka fancified French beef stew). I looked at that 1 tablespoon tomato paste on the recipe and had that inner dialogue again: Tomato paste. Doh. I don’t have any. I guess I could buy some. But do I really need it? For that ONE tablespoon? I won’t even use the rest. I guess I could cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge til the next time I need it. But that probably wouldn’t be for a long time, and then I’d end up throwing it out anyway. No. I don’t need it. But… I’m spending all this time doing everything else by the recipe, what if… bah it’s just one tablespoon. Who needs that…
Well, you get the idea. I mean, I was doing other things while I pondered this, but the tomato paste conundrum simmered away in the back of my mind, one of the 2,857 tabs I’d have to come back to.
Ben and I thought we’d hit upon a great idea when we decided to serve Earl Grey Panna Cotta in 2 oz. shot glasses
Well apparently I have an awful memory, because turns out my friend Wendy has been serving panna cotta in shot glasses for a long time! I have a vague memory of this from years ago, but it’s so hazy that if she hadn’t mentioned it, I would not have remembered :(. Sorry to idea-steal, friend. Or, thank you for the idea-share? =P
I started with plain panna cotta, but I decided to jazz it up by steeping some earl grey in the cream, first. It looked nice, but plain, and I think dark chocolate compliments earl grey well, so I decided to layer that in. Finally, hubs decided the whole thing could do with a little crunchy texture, and I happened to have a package of milk chocolate toffee bits
My baby girl just turned one! I still can’t believe the first year has passed! I was inspired to make the outfit above when I saw this cute outfit on Etsy. For the party, I didn’t have a clear theme, but just picked out things I liked as I perused Pinterest
When I was in high school, I was hanging out with some friends at a summer camp when someone said something about “special brownies.”
My ears perked up and I instantly chimed in, “I make special brownies!”
Everyone stopped talking and looked at me. (This was a Christian camp, mind you.)
Wow, they’re really interested! So I offered, “…I can make you some!”
Stares.
CARAMEL APPLES!!!! I remember ALWAYS wanting one whenever we passed a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, but they were always so expensive. I finally tasted one during my senior trip in college, and there was no going back. Shortly after, I spied them at Safeway and decided it was time to try making them myself. It was a delicious but messy affair, and I had to call Ben in to help me out.
It wasn’t very pretty that first year. The caramel gooped on the bottom so there was an uneven ratio of sweets:apple, but you know what? They were SO GOOD! We made four apples that year, and it was such a treat every time we sliced one open. Thus began an autumn tradition in our home. We’ve made it every year since, and our methods have gotten a little better each time.
We’ve experimented with different apples, tried disposable chopsticks instead of popsicle sticks, used various toppings (chopped almonds > sliced almonds, IMHO), and used different methods to keep the caramel from pooling at the bottom. Our method is still not perfect, but we’ve come a long way!
Now that cooler weather has hit us, I’ve been transitioning into warm, roasty toasty breakfast foods. One comfort food that I am happy to welcome back is this warm-ya-to-yer toes apple cinnamon oatmeal!
Mmmm! This is a delicious and heart-healthy way to start your mornings! I prefer steel cut oats over other types because I like the toothsome texture better, and also because they’re less processed (i.e. better for you) than other oat varieties.
A few years ago, a friend hosted a soup swap, where a bunch of us met and swapped quarts of soup. It was an impressive affair, with soups ranging from oxtail soup to clam chowder to Tom Ka Gai.
I was relatively new to cooking and had never really made soup before, so it took me a while to figure out what I could manage. I decided to go with butternut squash soup. I actually thought I was going fancy, because for me, peeling and cutting up all that squash seemed so labor-intensive! I packaged my soup with some “homemade Acme baguette croutons” on the side, hoping that it would convince people to PICK MINE!! 🙂
The event was pretty fun, and I came home with a nice variety of soups to sample. I did, however, decide that butternut squash soup was too much work to make, so I didn’t really consider making it again… untilllll…
I DISCOVERED PRE-PEELED AND CUBED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AT COSTCO!
I feel it is my duty to introduce you to my latest pastry fav: The Kouign Amann (queen ah-MAHN “queen-yah-manh”). Imagine a croissant, but instead of thin sheets of dough layered with butter, it’s layered with butter and sugar. Together, they bake up into a delightful pastry with golden layers of caramelized goodness crisping and flaking in your mouth. MmmmmMmm!
My favorite is the chocolate kouign amann. Just imagine the one above with some chocolate in the middle. I have no good pictures because I keep polishing them off before remembering that I wanted to snap a picture for you. Oops =P.
I tried my first kouign amann two years ago after one of my BFFs (and fellow dessert-lover) emailed me: i want to take you to get a kouign amman (have you had one yet??) from a neighborhood store!
Truth be told, I wasn’t all that excited about it. I couldn’t figure out how to pronounce the words in my head or out loud, which somehow made it less exciting to me. But do you see those two question marks? That was her subtle way of saying “Have you had one yet? Because if you haven’t YOU REALLY SHOULD! YOU WOULD LOVE IT!!!” I know this because we’ve been BFF-ing it for over 15 years. Yup.
And she was totally right. She took me to get one the next day, and I LOVED IT:
yummmmmmmmmmmm the toasted chocolate kouign amman was SO yummy! we toasted it and ben devoured almost the whole thing. he loves it. you’re right, it develops such a nice crunchy crust! i told him i’d ask you to bring one down with you next weekend… and he asked me to ask for two haha :).
I love the way the whole house feels when I make this banana bread loaf cake. Every room is infused with this amazingly warm, spicy aroma that makes you feel all cozy and homey and delicious and wonderful when this is in the oven. Sometimes I make it a point to bake it before Ben gets home from work so that I can look forward to him walking into the house, inhaling deeply, and saying, “Mmmm smells gooood in here! …Banana bread?!?!”
If that’s not the very picture of domestic bliss, I don’t know what is.
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