My little sister just moved back to college. I have decided I will make her a ton of cookies.
My first adventure actually came from an experiment from earlier this week. Well, two experiments. Last weekend, I found myself obsessed with wanting to make Olive Oil Ice Cream. I happened to have Lime Olive Oil from The Olive Oil Shops in Fredericksburg (which I know I keep raving about). So I made the ice cream. Honestly, I didn't care for it. As a matter of fact, I believe I spit it out.
But I took it to my work anyway to see what the girls thought. They all loved it. So, now I'm confused. I wasn't sure if they were lying to me to make me feel better or if they were being honest.
It turned out they were honest. It's gone. They wouldn't go back for seconds if they hated it. My assistant said her first bite is the one that is off, but the more you eat it, the more you love it. Okay -- I can work with that. My other assistant said I had a marketing problem. I shouldn't call it Olive Oil Ice Cream. I should call it Key Lime Pie Ice Cream.
Light bulb.
I hate Key Lime Pie. That must be why I didn't like it. As soon as she said that, everyone vehemently agreed. Okay, problem solved. So this then spurred me to another outrageous thought. Chocolate and chipotle. These two flavors compliment beautifully, and I wanted to see if their affair would make it through an ice cream marriage.
Oh my goodness, they did. The Chocolate Chile Ice Cream is incredible. I'll take it to the girls on Monday, but I did have my co-worker try it Friday night. *bing!
So it was because of the Chocolate and Chile marriage, I wanted to see what a baby would look like. I made a chocolate jalapeno cookie. I first made a compound butter of jalapeno and used that instead of regular butter.
Insert image of me spitting out the cookie. I'm sorry to say that it was a very ugly baby. My mom had a good suggestion though so I didn't just waste 30 cookies. I will freeze and crush the cookies and press it into a pie shell for a Chocolate Mousse Pie.
Next cookie: Coconut-Lime Ginger Butter cookies. I did the same thing of making a compound butter with ginger and using that as my butter for a regular butter and did a basic sugar cookie recipe adding lime zest instead of orange or lemon, and i put lightly toasted coconut in.
It's a hit! The Lime in the Coconut song comes to mind.
The next cookie to go into the oven will be a regular sugar cookie with chocolate and peanut butter chips for a Reece's effect (my sister's favorite). And the last cookie that will be made tomorrow will be a Chocolate Nutella Cookie. If you have not been blessed to meet Mr. Nutella, you must run out and find him. He is well worth his acquaintance.
On a healthier note, I've been going to the gym twice a day. Okay, most days. I've been going to the gym every evening. Yes, there were two days last week where I just went to bed too late and couldn't get up the next morning (most likely because I was at the gym late), but I've been going twice a day. I feel fabulous. The scale hasn't changed too much as of yet, but I'm still optimistic.
One more batch of cookies, and I'm heading back to the gym after a grueling spinning class this morning. Or maybe I'll just do Jillian Michael's yoga. The thought of going out in the Texas heat is making me sweat in my chair.
Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Chocolate Makes The World Better
I'm sorry my non-existent readers. I have been out of touch for a little while. But my little sister was in town, and we have some culinary stories to share.
First off, Wednesday where we left off, we made some peanut butter cupcakes. This sounds great, especially when they are supposed to look like apples. Red icing and stems. The works. Well, I'm sure they would have tasted better if she used the correct flour. I know when you stand in a kitchen with seven different flours, you go for the one that looks like it would work. She went for the cake flour, unbeknownst to me.
So what happened? She made little hockey pucks. I probably could have broken a window if I threw it. Of course, I thought she could handle cupcakes, and I didn't notice this until it was too late. She learned her lesson. Always ask.
Aside from that, I worked on the Watermelon Cherry Sorbet. I was so thrilled when my mother gave me her Cuisinart circa 1980-God knows when as a wonderful addition to my kitchen. So, I bust it out for the sorbet, and what happens? It leaks everywhere. The bowl has a crack from ear to ear.
I remember Mom saying they used that material for the space shuttle. Hmm...
Anyway, I had my backup, little red waiting to be used. I bought little red for my Christmas present. It's a 3 cup food processor. Too cute. It did the job, 3 cups at a time, just fine.
The sorbet turned out great. No added sugar. I brought it to the girls at the office. They liked it and equated it with Sour Patch and Jolly Ranchers. I'll take that.
But I titled today's post for chocolate. Father's Day was now two weekends ago. I got my dad a book I thought he would enjoy, but I had wanted to make him some Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries -- his favorite. Well, the 20th came and went in a flash. So I vowed to make them with my little sister. What better way to make something for Dad than together as sisters. Well, she didn't do it. I did it while she continued on her peanut butter hockey pucks.
They turned out pretty well. By that, I mean, they tasted great. They just looked a little strange. The chocolate started to take on a strange texture. I tried adding cream and amaretto, but to no avail. I will come back with an answer.
Well, I got the best validation today. Dad was apparently feeling a little low over the weekend. But today he texted me thanking me for the "dang good chocolate covered cherries." That's all I needed to know that he felt better by my effort. Even if they look a little gross. ;)
Anyway, no workout/culinary blog would be complete without the work out section.
Sunday, it was on. I brought a friend with me to the super-hot spin class with the super-hot instructor. I knew my friend (we'll call her Heather for anonymity and I don't know any Heathers) would pass out, but I wanted her to see him. Well, see him she did. That class was killer. He does this wonderful move where he'll pump the bike with one leg. I swear it's such a turn on.
But *cough, he also does this move with the whole class where we spin and do push ups on the bike. It's amazing. You want t sure fire way to up your heart rate, do that with minimal resistance. You'll get there in a flash.
Well, I didn't want Heather to miss out on that since I can bring guests only every 60 days. But as I watched my watch, he was cutting close on time. Well, I took it upon myself to start the push ups to give him the clue. He got it. He stared right at me and laughed that I wanted push ups. Well, he gave us push ups. It was awesome.
Two songs later, the usual push up song came on. Last one. Couldn't believe it. He started jumping up and down. He pointed right at me and said, "You wanted push ups. I'll give you push ups." I nodded my head. He couldn't hear me scream if I tried the music was blaring.
At the end of the class, he said, "Anyone who wants to stay for the next class in 15 minutes, just stay on your bike." I looked at Heather whose hair was plastered to her face, and her shirt was nearly see-through with the sweat and white cotton. Her face was priceless as she shook her head almost in disgust. I could have gone a second round, but I got my second round today in spin. Today was also a great class.
Off to tomorrow and the mission of Chai Ice Cream
First off, Wednesday where we left off, we made some peanut butter cupcakes. This sounds great, especially when they are supposed to look like apples. Red icing and stems. The works. Well, I'm sure they would have tasted better if she used the correct flour. I know when you stand in a kitchen with seven different flours, you go for the one that looks like it would work. She went for the cake flour, unbeknownst to me.
So what happened? She made little hockey pucks. I probably could have broken a window if I threw it. Of course, I thought she could handle cupcakes, and I didn't notice this until it was too late. She learned her lesson. Always ask.
Aside from that, I worked on the Watermelon Cherry Sorbet. I was so thrilled when my mother gave me her Cuisinart circa 1980-God knows when as a wonderful addition to my kitchen. So, I bust it out for the sorbet, and what happens? It leaks everywhere. The bowl has a crack from ear to ear.
I remember Mom saying they used that material for the space shuttle. Hmm...
Anyway, I had my backup, little red waiting to be used. I bought little red for my Christmas present. It's a 3 cup food processor. Too cute. It did the job, 3 cups at a time, just fine.
The sorbet turned out great. No added sugar. I brought it to the girls at the office. They liked it and equated it with Sour Patch and Jolly Ranchers. I'll take that.
But I titled today's post for chocolate. Father's Day was now two weekends ago. I got my dad a book I thought he would enjoy, but I had wanted to make him some Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries -- his favorite. Well, the 20th came and went in a flash. So I vowed to make them with my little sister. What better way to make something for Dad than together as sisters. Well, she didn't do it. I did it while she continued on her peanut butter hockey pucks.
They turned out pretty well. By that, I mean, they tasted great. They just looked a little strange. The chocolate started to take on a strange texture. I tried adding cream and amaretto, but to no avail. I will come back with an answer.
Well, I got the best validation today. Dad was apparently feeling a little low over the weekend. But today he texted me thanking me for the "dang good chocolate covered cherries." That's all I needed to know that he felt better by my effort. Even if they look a little gross. ;)
Anyway, no workout/culinary blog would be complete without the work out section.
Sunday, it was on. I brought a friend with me to the super-hot spin class with the super-hot instructor. I knew my friend (we'll call her Heather for anonymity and I don't know any Heathers) would pass out, but I wanted her to see him. Well, see him she did. That class was killer. He does this wonderful move where he'll pump the bike with one leg. I swear it's such a turn on.
But *cough, he also does this move with the whole class where we spin and do push ups on the bike. It's amazing. You want t sure fire way to up your heart rate, do that with minimal resistance. You'll get there in a flash.
Well, I didn't want Heather to miss out on that since I can bring guests only every 60 days. But as I watched my watch, he was cutting close on time. Well, I took it upon myself to start the push ups to give him the clue. He got it. He stared right at me and laughed that I wanted push ups. Well, he gave us push ups. It was awesome.
Two songs later, the usual push up song came on. Last one. Couldn't believe it. He started jumping up and down. He pointed right at me and said, "You wanted push ups. I'll give you push ups." I nodded my head. He couldn't hear me scream if I tried the music was blaring.
At the end of the class, he said, "Anyone who wants to stay for the next class in 15 minutes, just stay on your bike." I looked at Heather whose hair was plastered to her face, and her shirt was nearly see-through with the sweat and white cotton. Her face was priceless as she shook her head almost in disgust. I could have gone a second round, but I got my second round today in spin. Today was also a great class.
Off to tomorrow and the mission of Chai Ice Cream
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