Rose and Chocolate Cake Donuts
You know sometimes, you just need to hunker down and eat donuts. Because… well, just because! :)
This past week has been amazing with the sunny weather and warming outside. The daffodils are starting to peep out and all is chirpy and joyous! The robins are back and even though we chopped down the bush that they built their nest last year, I spied them making a new home a little away from the house, in a bush along the driveway. I love the sound of their chirps as they flit across and if you listen closely on a quiet morning you can hear the voice of their fluttering wings. It is a beautiful thing. Spring is almost here!! Yay!
Chocolate Paired For Everyday
Often, when the day has been a tad stressful or just full (of cries, of surprise laughs), I steal a moment of peace and self love with a square of chocolate. Nibbling on it and just staring out has been a cherished meditative escape. Add Christmas lights to that, and my harmony is achieved, over and over. Have you noticed, it is really really hard to be annoyed or sad or frustrated when you stare at a cheerily lit Christmas Tree??!
Here I was tasting chocolates and dreaming of how I would spend my day eating them. So, this is my vision of how I could so easily have chocolate from breakfast through goodnight kiss. Fortunately, I still get to do this atleast once a day and I highly recommend that practice, if you are at all, looking to find a way to steal a moment for yourself :)
Triple Chocolate Buckwheat Brownie
These days I am doing a bit of experimenting. Some have been happy surprises (like working with buckwheat flour or this service) and some recipes I tested that needed tweaks and yet others that did not work out well. The best test of a new item is indeed in an old favorite. That for me in baking is always a brownie - rich, chocolete-y, moist, fudge-y brownie!
The result was a deeper flavor that stood well with the chocolate, instead just letting the latter take center stage. The brownie, overall, felt a lot lighter to eat as well!
Redux: Rich Chocolate Chip Blondies
Happy Spring Equinox!!!!!
I have much to be happy for! Including magical sunny days and a past weekend fill with smiles and the simple joy of starting something new - plants. From seeds.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of new beginnings, I thought it apt to remember where we came from and the journey here and throw some respect back. So, in honor of my nearly 10 years of blogging, I resurrected a strong favorite with you readers from this blog - Cranberry Squares, that I had posted back in 2010! It has consistently been a highly browsed recipe despite the average to clunky photographs that accompanied the post, teaching me that nothing, nothing beats quality product!
Holy Sundays + Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes
I recently did a Perugina chocolate making class at Eataly in NYC and it was a lot of fun! I got to make my own bacis and also take away a really yummy chocolate olive oil cake that we frosted with cherry mascarpone frosting. I share some photos and recipes from that class here.
Also, I wanted to put forth an idea.. That of celebrating new beginnings each week and making every Sunday a holy one, in your own way...!