Truffles and Ganache

I made truffles with a simple ganache recipe I saw on 5 minute fix this weekend. These truffles are simply a chilled ganache rolled in toppings such as crush walnuts, cocoa powder, or sprinkles. The ingredients are simple: equal parts chocolate and heavy cream. I've used both 60% & 54% chocolate, both were delicious.

Ganache Instructions:
- Scald heavy cream by heating it on low heat until small bubbles roll up around the sides of the cream, but it doesn't come to a rolling boil.
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler on medium/low. If you don't have one (I don't), just pour water into a pot and fill it partially with water, then put a glass mixing bowl that fits on top of the pot. You can also use this bowl for mixing and have one less dish to wash.
- Take the chocolate off of the heat once it's fully melted and pour in the scalded milk in three parts, folding it in between pours.
- Mix the chocolate and cream till they're fully mixed an you have a shiny emulsion.

This ganache recipe can be used for... anything you use ganache for.

Truffle Recipe:
- Chill bowl of ganache in the fridge until it's thick and hard, but still slightly moldable.
- Scoop out balls of chocolate with a cookie dropper onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper on it.
- Chill chocolate in fridge for about ten minutes.
- Roll chocolate between palms until they're smooth and round, then roll them in toppings.
- Re-chill chocolate and enjoy!

You can also dip the rolled truffle in melted chocolate (with no cream!) for a chocolate shell. : )

Peach Cobbler Recipe

So, last night Brian wanted some peach cobbler and since I owed him, I had to make it. I figured I would just pour some peaches in a pan and make up some jiffy mix and put it on top. Naturally, that didn't happen because our mix was bad. I'd never made peach cobbler before, but since I had to, I.. well, I had to. I found a recipe online but it was too plain for me, so I made it my own. Here you go!

Ingredients:
Bottom Crust-
1/2c (1 stick) unsalted butter.
1c all-purpose flour
1c white sugar
3tsp baking powder
1c milk
1tsp vanilla
Filling-
1 large can of peaches (30oz)*
1c sugar
2tsp lemon juice
1tsp lemon zest (jarred is fine)**
1 tbsp cinnamon
Top Crust- ***
1/2c flour
1/2c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2c milk
1tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit!!!

Step 1: Melt your butter in a cup or bowl and pour it in the bottom of a casserole dish or cake pan.
Step 2: Combine flour, sugar and baking soda in a medium bowl and mix them with a fork.
Step 3: Pour milk and vanilla into your flour mixture and stir until just combined. This will be lumpy.
Step 4: Pour your batter mixture into your baking dish, on top of the butter.
Step 5: Drain peaches and pour them into a medium bowl. Stir in the other filling ingredients (Sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, lemon juice) and pour them on top of your batter in the baking dish.
Step 6: Follow steps 2 and 3 again with your top-crust ingredients and pour them on top of your peach mixture.
Step 7: Cook in oven for 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden. About thirty minutes through, I brushed the top crust with butter and sprinkled it with sugar to make a golden, slightly shiny sheen on the crust.

* If you like a lot of peaches, you can add another 15oz can of peaches to your mixture.
** If you don't have lemon zest, you can just add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice.
*** The top crust on this recipe is not necessary, but is delicious.

Birthday Picnic

Cupcake decorated by myself!

A few weeks back (May 16th) I had a birthday picnic with a few friends. Rachel, Kaitlin Rae, Emalie, Brian, Amanda and I joined together and ate, drank and were merry.

On the menu, there were frozen berry skewers (blueberries, strawberries, grapes, blackberries), frozen chocolate dipped bananas, chicken salad croissants, cucumber sandwiches, black and green teas as well as cherry lemonade. Everything was delicious and my lovely friends helped me make most of it! (Less work for me... yay!)

The highlight of the day (one of them) was cupcake decorating. I made cupcakes the previous night and everyone decorated one the day of. It was a lot of fun, and we had decorators icing as well as over 15 types of sprinkles to use!

After eating and decorating, we sat in the gazebo and played apples to apples for nearly an hour in the hot, summer sun. It was a lot of fun and I wish I could have days like this more often!

The Perfect Cupcake (and other delicious baked goods)

These "Lucky Charms Cupcakes" are courtesy of Betty Crocker's flickr page.

I've noticed recently that I'm nearly obsessed with baking, but the largest part of my heart is reserved for cupcakes. I've tried a few different recipes, including some from famous bakeries from Europe and the US. I have countless cookbooks (no such thing as too many) and have done a number of online searches. The point of all of this yammering is that I still haven't found the perfect cupcake recipe, and I'm dying to know what it is.

Someone may claim that there's no such thing as "perfect", but when it comes to food we should ALL know that's a lie! The perfect cupcake is firm but still soft, and moist but not wet on the inside. The recipes I've tried have either been too sweet, not sweet enough, too dry or not dry enough.

If you have a recipe you think is "perfect", feel free to post the recipe, a link to it or email it to me! It doesn't have to be for cupcakes, either. It can be for breads, pies, meats, side dishes or anything else cookable.

Courtesy of ilovemuffins's flickr page.

Strange Pets

If anyone knows the truth about having strange pets, it's me. Ask any of the people I know, and they will tell you about the lovely (and wide) selection of pets I have had over the years. Having an out of the ordinary pet can be fun and a great conversation piece, but can also be very time consuming and tiring.

My first "strange pet", Thanasomis Ambre. Ambre was a scorpion, bought from the local flea market for $10. She was an emperor scorpion of about five inches long, from head to tail. While Ambre was cool to look at, she wasn't a very "cuddly" creature. I can account for being bitten or pricked multiple times during our short lived relationship. Ambre died after only being in my care for a week, and although I will never be fully certain, I believe it was from being mishandled by family members.


My second "strange" pet was a piglet. She was a Vietnamese piglet given to me by a man living in a nearby city on a farm. She was VERY cute and if you laid with her on the floor, she would nap with you and everything. She loved to have her belly and ears scratched, like a dog. The downside to Piggy (the name she was given), was that she was very tempermental. Piggy was not fixed and in heat when we got her, making her a very moody and noisy pet. After a week, it was decided that since I didn't have the money to have her fixed, I wasn't quite ready to have my own pet pig.

My third "strange" pet is a rabbit that is currently called "Bunny". She is a nine month old Lionhead rabbit (the fluffy type) with the personality of a young puppy. She is the friendliest rabbit I've ever been around, and is hardly skiddish at all. Taking her to the dog park or having friends hold her has yet to be a problem. She is very cute and sweet, but no one is perfect and Bunny is no exception. She, during the larger part of the day, runs freely throughout the house. One problem that I have with her is that she poops rather often. Luckily, rabbit poops are hard and easy to sweep up. The second problem I have had with her is chewing: she chews anything that can be chewed by her small teeth, such as boxes and wicker. To combat this, I have given her her very own basket, hay and old towel to munch on during the day.


Some more normal pets I've had are three different dogs (Hershey, Sanchez, Timothy), two cats (Fiestacat, and Coffee), a Guinea pig (Lump), and a hamster (Princess Peach).

Ette Girl: Simone Simons

Simone Simons is so pretty, there wasn't much I could do to enhance this photo!

Name: Simone Simons
Birthdate: January 17th, 1986
Musical Range: Mezzo-Soprano
Website: www.simonesimons.nl
Current Band: Epica
Musical Background: Simone started playing the flute at a young age and played for two years. After that, she joined a school musical and wanted more. At fourteen, she had pop singing lessons and later changed to classical singing after listening to Nightwish's album "Oceanborn". In 2002, she joined Epica, her current band. They've released five different albums and have toured all over the world. Simone has worked with bands such as Kamelot, Ayreon, Primal Fear, Aina and the Equilibrio Musical. She is also currently working on a jazz project with Oliver Palotai and will be on his debut album Sons of Seasons.

"I believe in myself and in the strength of the human mind." - Simone Simons

Simone is an inspiration to me, and many other women, because she breaks the "regulations" and barriers of metal music by being one of the few frontwomen of metal today. She uses her melodic voice to bring about a new light about the metal spectrum, and has opened the eyes of many in a male-dominated metal world, proving that if women can be and enjoy metal while still remaining feminine, they really can do anything.

Food Experimentation: Popcorn

Tonight, I bought new popcorn and decided that sticking with the normal popcorn-and-butter method that everyone always does wasn't going to be enough for me. Here are some recipes and ideas I came up with that you can practice on popcorn:

Cinnamon Sugar Popcorn Recipe:
Ingredients:

1. 4 Cups popped popcorn, preferably not pre-bagged. I use Orville Redenbaucher's popcorn.
2. 1 tablespoon powdered cinnamon.
3. 1/4 cup of sugar.
4. Bowl or container of sorts
5. Butter, to taste.
   

Step 1: Butter your popcorn as much or as little as you'd like. Don't salt the popcorn, or that would defeat the purpose of having sweet popcorn.
Step 2: Pour cinnamon and sugar into a bowl with your popcorn. Cover your bowl or container and toss it until your spices are thoroughly mixed.
Step 3: Enjoy!

Parmesan Garlic Popcorn Recipe
Ingredients:

1. 4 cups pre-popped popcorn, preferably not bagged.
2. 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (or any Italian blend)
3. 1 to 2 tsp. powdered garlic.
4. Bowl or Container to put your popcorn in.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to broil.
Step 2: Put your popcorn on an ungreased cookie sheet, and try to leave as little space between kernels as possible.
Step 3: Sprinkle the cheese and garlic onto the popcorn.
Step 4: Bake your popcorn for a minute or two until it is lightly browned and your cheese is melted. Watch your popcorn to assure that it doesn't burn, as oven temperatures vary.
Step 5: Remove your popcorn from the oven and allow it to cool for about 2 minutes.
Step 6: Put your popcorn on a plate or in a bowl and enjoy!

Those recipes may impress yourself, your family or your friends, but here are a few ideas for if you're feeling like doing a little less work but having all of the taste:

• Dip popcorn in caramel sauce or melted chocolate for a sweet, crunchy and sticky snack.
• Mix chocolate candies (such as m&m's, reese's pieces or snocaps) with your popcorn for a sweet and salty mix.
• Try popcorn seasonings by Kernel's Seasons. They come in a variety of flavors such as white cheddar, kettle corn and nacho cheese. I picked up small sizes for a dollar each at my local Blockbuster.
• For spicy popcorn, try sprinkling hot sauce on your popcorn or dipping it in spicy nacho cheese.
• If you're feeling vintage, poor your unsalted popcorn into a cereal bowl and add in some milk, as well as a sprinkle of sugar. Popcorn was one of the first breakfast cereals, and although it's an outdated meal, try it and you may be surprised.