TOFFEE BREAK

Merry Christmas Eve!

I couldn't help thinking of my neglected blog. Poor neglected child. I'm sorry.

Will a wonderful Toffee recipe make it up to you guys?

Recipe adapted from Piece of Cake:

1 cup whole raw almonds (*substituted for chopped walnuts for topping)
1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 cups)
1 generous teaspoon fleur de sel (*used sea salt)
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup (*omitted--instead I did something crazy and spontaneous by adding a splash of Bailey)
6 ounces high quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used a mixture of Newman's Own Organics, Nutella Hazelnut Spread, and Hershey's Cocoa Powder)



Directions

Line a rectangular pan with wax paper. Butter the pan.

Drop 1/2 pound of butter into a medium size pot. Wait until it's about 3/4 melted to add in salt and sugar. Keep stirring until the color begins to turn brown. Pour in a splash of Bailey's. Make sure it's just a small drop so the taste of the alcohol doesn't overpower the toffee mixture. Keep stirring until the mixture feels almost like taffy and the color turns almost amber brown. Turn off the fire but keep stirring.

Pour the toffee into the prepared pan. Smooth out the bubbles. Let the toffee cool. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate mixture. Once melted, pour on top of toffee. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Wait for the candy to cool before placing into the fridge for further solidification. Once harden, you can hammer and break into pieces.


I packed the treats into transparent plastic cups filled with Newman's Own Organics Cinnamon Alphabet Cookies, Ghiradelli White Chocolate Chips, Newman's Own Organic Spelt Pretzels, and Newman's Own Organic Milk Chocolate Squares.

Thanks again Newman's Own Organics for letting me spread the love and holiday joy!

Cheers!

JUST LIKE THAT

Remember how the main character Jenna in the movie, Waitress dreams up of all these pies and makes them the next day at Joe's Pies?


That's me--well, minus the pie making...and working at Joe's Pies.

I loved that movie and just like Jenna, I find myself constantly dreaming up recipes or meals to make.

Today, I experimented with spaghetti squash for the first time. The directions online for how to cook the squash sounded pretty simple. The flavoring and garnishes seemed simple too.

Just like that, I created this meal within about 15 minutes.


"Spaghetti" with spinach, a sprinkle of sea salt and drizzle of sesame oil. A tiny bit of dried cranberries on the side and one chopped avocado. I wanted to see if putting cranberries in there would taste good but after trying the combination, I must admit I can probably do without.

IT'S NOT THAT...

It's not that I can't think of anything witty to say right now, it's just that my nose is stuffed, my head is clogged, and I'm chugging down hot tea like there's no tomorrow to hope the ample fluid will cleanse my weak body.

That's how I feel--freezing and wanting to throw a tantrum--except I'm indoors, it never snows here, I'm 10 years older, and I can't shamelessly cry in public anymore.

It's not that I surround myself with people who smoke and drink beer, it's just that they surround themselves around me.


I went running yesterday and noticed these bad buddies in our yard AND next to our mailbox. A Christmas present from our new neighbors?
Thanks Neighbors. We appreciate it.

It's not that I fear going back to school after my winter break, it's just that I fear failure, a.k.a, receiving anything other than an A on my report card.

Help me on this one. I've been told countless number of times that grades don't matter in grad school because everyone receives high grades. However, high grades still consist of an "A" or "B." I cannot get a B because I'm paying too much out of my own pocket for my tuition to end up with a B at the end of the semester. Work harder you tell me? Yes, I concur. I do work hard. I work so hard that I rarely have time to myself; rarely have a break. I work so hard that this "break" is not much of break...which is why I'm sick.

I understand that all I can expect out of myself is to try my best but what if my hardest isn't enough? What if I'm not trying my hardest but I just believe I am?

What if I'm just being paranoid and giving myself too much pressure you say? Yes. I'm female. I over analyze.

Ugh. HELP.

It's not that my interest in food has declined today, I was just saving the best for last.

I find my food less enjoyable these days.

I've been craving peanut butter but the peanuts combined with its sweet content makes me susceptible to rashes. So I opted for the fake, altered Better n' Peanut Butter.


...Diluted with my mom's homemade unsweetened soymilk.

The end product barely has a hint of peanut buttery-ness and obviously didn't satisfy my cravings. My mom asked me so politely this morning after noticing the ambiguous substance in the bowl: "What is that stuff?"

I think I watered it down a bit too much. What do you think?

It's not that I dislike my mom's homemade food, it's just that since I've transitioned to being 90% vegetarian, I've become more picky and more opposed to eating foods with hidden bits of meat in my food.

My mom strives to give me that proper nutrition so she sneaks these meat pieces inside our food. I also cannot be so selfish because the rest of my family still eats meat and I cannot expect my mom to cook fully vegetarian meal to cater to me. However, I've grown rather cranky lately whenever I do not get what I want (especially when it comes to food). Blame it on my sickeness? PMS? Hmmm...

However, I know my mom is trying her hardest satisfy the omnivores and herbivores in the family.

Yesterday's meal consisted of two types of homemade dumplings: spinach, scrambled eggs, and mushroom dumplings and beef, shrimp cabbage dumplings.

It's not easy being a mother. I know.

I should be a better daughter.

BLOGWORLD, HOW I'VE MISSED YOU...

My family and I have just moved across town. It's been so crazy I don't think I've fully recovered. I've been without the internet for about 2 weeks. I thought the withdrawal from the virtual world would make me panic.

Reason #1:
I'm an E-MAIL FREAK. If you kept count of the times I checked my e-mail on a daily basis, you'd probably tell me to just go get a Blackberry. Heck, I don't even use my cellphone as much as I check my e-mail. That's how bad it is.

Reason #2:
I'm a FOODIE. Have we not established that when I started this blog? I probably check food blogs as much as I check my e-mail. (Hmm..my symptoms remind me of ADD but I promise you my doctor tells me that I'm "normal.") I really cannot live without my daily dose of food blogs, just like those who need to read their morning paper.

I must sound like a hopeless cause right now but having gone through two weeks without internet, you guys would be proud to find that I DID survive. I actually didn't mind because I was given something better in return.

Gift #1

Work, an internship, school, spending time with the boyfriend has really left me little time with my FAMILY. However, these two weeks gave me ample time to talk to my mom, help clean up the house, and really allow the whole family to have more engagement with each other since our new house is only one rather than two stories.

Gift #2:

I BAKED.

Chunky Hunky Chocolate Cookies


Recipe:
2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
170g butter
1 C light brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C chocolate pieces

Snickers Sugar Cookies


Recipe:
2 3/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 C softened butter
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp rum
4 mini Snickers chopped

Gift #3:

NEWMAN'S OWN ORGANICS (NOO) came in the mail for me. I had seen their products on other people's blogs and had asked to try them. I had expected just a couple of items but the package was almost too heavy to lift! Thanks Sally for organizing the whole thing and thank you Newman's Own Organics for their generosity!
I couldn't contain my excitement and ripped open the NOO Soy Crisps Barbecue Flavor. I let my family be the genie pigs. I'm happy to report that they loved it as much as I did!



The crisps were a cross between the airy crunch of popcorn but the texture of crackers. The more you chew, the more the BBQ flavor comes out.

My sister couldn't hide how she feels about 'em crisps. She kept saying, "Okay, just one more..." (She really meant 1/2 a bag more).

The best thing about these babies is that the ingredients are simple. I admire Sally's honesty when she had told me that these snacks may not be the best "health foods" but they at least contain ingredients that I can pronounce.


She's right. With all the hype about living a healthy lifestyle, we tend to forget that organic staples are not all healthy for us and that we still need to eat in moderation.

Well, I'll leave it here for now but no worries, there will be a lot more of these NOO reviews to come :). Meanwhile, I'm jumping on the holiday season bandwagon by spreading my NOO love to my friends and co-workers.