Showing posts with label so. Show all posts
Showing posts with label so. Show all posts

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Why is Chocolate So Popular on Valentines Day Because it Works!

Im not saying that homemade "Good for One Full Body Massage" gift certificate youre making for your Valentine isnt going to be a huge hit, but just in case, you may want to whip up one or more of these sexy chocolate desserts. Enjoy!

Chocolate Sea Salt Crostini

The marriage of warm, crispy-edged bread, peppery olive oil, bittersweet chocolate, and briny sea salt is sublime.













Chocolate Egg Cream

Along with the chocolate come the simple additions of milk and seltzer water. The magic of this drink is how the minimalist design produces such a rich, yet refreshing chocolate beverage.










Hot Chocolate Stones

You have to be careful when making someone a homemade gift for Valentines Day. Theres a very fine line between, "Oh, you are so thoughtful, romantic, and creative!" and "You cheap bastard!








 

Boston Cream Pie

The cake in this recipe is simply acting as a pastry cream and chocolate ganache delivery system. A Boston cream pie is all about the pastry cream and ganache. 











Burnt Caramel Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Coins

I always thought the saying should have been, "you cant have your chocolate coins and eat them too." I mean who wants to keep cake around? It gets stale.











Micheles Chili Chocolate Cookies

These dense, dark, and dangerously addictive cookies feature a dose of black pepper and cayenne. If my wife, Michele, a renown foodie, calls these her favorite cookies, you know they rock!













Chocolate Lave Cake

For you single guys that arent handsome, dont have money, and cant play a musical instrument, this may be the only arrow in Cupids quiver. But take heart, it is a devastating weapon when used correctly.









Chili Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate mousse is a surprisingly easy "fancy" dessert you can make for your Valentines dinner. This video recipe shows my favorite basic chocolate mousse recipe, with the addition of a little dash of chipotle pepper - which really does some strange and wonderful things.
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Saturday, December 21, 2013

Its the Middle of May So You Know Where We Are


Were in the garden, of course. Thats not us above; those are some turkey vultures that were hanging around in the garden this morning. Weve often seen them circling above, but theyve never landed this close before. They are usually very wary birds. They disappeared once we went out and got to work.


Mr. Ferdzy has invested in a drip irrigation system and he is testing it out. He made an idle comment that he might guest-post about it once it has been in long enough to get an idea of how it works. I will probably hold him to that. One less post for me to do!


And there he is again. Work, work, work. Ive decided he is like the Energizer Bunny. I, on the other hand am definitely Flopsy.

Most of the potatoes are now planted. And yes, we are planning to dig 2 more beds there. Because we are keeping up so well with the ones we already have, ha ha.


More planted potatoes, along with garlic, and in the next bed still too tiny to see, carrots and onions.


The peas that we planted in March (March!!!) came up nicely then decided that had probably been a mistake. Fortunately they are tough and they can take it. They hunkered down and sat there until last week, when they decided it was probably safe to start growing again. They have tripled in size since then and will be climbing the trellises shortly.


Last years new wet beds are a discouraging mess of weeds. Not in any way unexpected. We think it will take at least 3 or 4 years to get them into good condition. The afternoon was spent weeding one, and dumping composted manure on it. Well add a little of the sandy topsoil from the higher parts of the garden, then plant it with celeriac and celery.


And, no kidding, we planted our peppers. We will keep them under the hoophouse for a week or 2 as needed, but there is no frost forecast for the next 2 weeks and then we are past the expected last frost date. They were getting large, floppy and starting to want to form blossoms so it is great to get them out of our plant room, leaving more room for the tomatoes.

So there it is; not much cooking going on. This is a difficult time of year anyway. Potatoes and other stored things getting sprouty, new things just starting to grow. Well be picking some asparagus this week with a bit of luck and maybe some rhubarb too. Spinach still going strong, in fact it is going to seed. Lettuce is up and starting to look a bit leafy. Lots of things to look forward to!
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