Caution: Hot!

Today I got up early (super early) and went to the farmer's market! Working on Saturdays for the past 2-ish years has made it nearly impossible to visit... sadly. While I don't always pick up any fresh produce, I still enjoy walking amongst vendors and farmers and seeing their goods.

This time around, even though I had to get to work, I made it a mission to go!
Why? Because... of Blackmarket Bakery.





Amazing Chocolate Almond Bread Pudding. MMMMMMMMM!
The warm melty goodness of the caramel in contrast to the light sweetness of rum, and almond, and of course chocolate. Then there is the crunch of a few slivered almonds.
SOOOO GOOD! (The minor burns from the hot ramekin are absolutely worth it.)
I never really bit onto bread pudding until Ila's sweet potato bread pudding from the holidays (which I am still waiting for a recipe on). And ever since... I have been hooked.
If I see it, I will get it. No lie. (Unless there are raisins, then I will mull it over.)

Also, I love to see the buckets of flowers. I'm not a flower person... but they make pretty gifts! (So sad when they wilt and die...)


Getting up early was so worth it today! Got to grab a latte with a bud, and stroll the market together and look at random food things. AND, it wasn't hot! We went before the clouds had cleared for the afternoon... AWESOME.

And to continue this "active/productive" streak... I finally got my "corkboard" up!
Note to self: have a boy hammer nails into walls next time.

Cupcake Project v1.0

Celebrating my own birthday is never a big to-do... but when it comes to other people's birthdays, mainly for close friends... I go all out (as much as I can) for them. And it also gives me an excuse to express my creativity. Thus, Cupcake Project v1.0:

Multicolored Cupcakes (White Cake + Neon Dye)

Double Chocolate Cupcakes (Devil's Food Cake + Mini Chocolate Chips)


(oopsies... I dropped the pan in the oven while checking, and sunk these poor mini cuppie cakes. And why are the cupcakes coming out all "dimple faced"?? Could be my messy pouring method.)

Cupcakes frosted with Basic Buttercream

And to finish off these yummy treats, I "created" a baroque-y classical style inspired cake/treat stand:

there's chocolate on my pillow...

and I don't care.

Must've gotten there when I was baking brownies and needed a "break".

ANYWAYS,

i got a new cake stand!!!!! SOOOO loving it! TOTALLY cute. Wish it had a matching dome... but I think that would make it less cute.

And, since I haven't baked anything new yet (tomorrow! I promise!)... I'll just model some ingredients.

I had no idea cream cheese came in these awesome cute little packages! There's been a recipe for Strawberry Cream Cookies that calls for "1 package cream cheese (3oz.)" that I've been meaning to make. But didn't understand how 1 package was 3oz... since typically (as far as I knew at the time) 1 package cream cheese = 8oz block. SO GOODIE! I get to make these cookies without opening (and potentially wasting) an 8oz block of cream cheese.

And since I've been planning to make a cheesecake for a while now... I thought I'd do some "research" for my inspiration of a "self-invented" cheesecake recipe - Orange/Chocolate Milanos.

That should be coming up tomorrow... unless work sucks so bad I would rather die.

uh oh.

I sense an inordinate amount of spending coming up...

Hooray for Holidays... almost

OMG YAY

Got the Fancy Flours holiday catalog today!
(Yes, its online too... but I like the paper and the flippy and the earmarking!)

easy peasy

With more pressing issues to take care of (e.g. cleaning the bathroom), I baked something quick and simple.

Brownies w/ Mini Pretzels

Step 1- Make packaged brownie mix.

Step 2- Mix in crumbled chocolate covered mini pretzels.

Step 3- Bake.
Step 4- Eat!


I feel like a cheater... but who cares. Its yummy AND I have a clean bathroom!

But there's going to be more to look forward to in weeks to come... behold! My cake/sweets making stash! (well, more stuff anyways. Shame on me. Tsk tsk.)

the F.V.

I've been seeing/hearing about some new stores (new to me anyways) and I must say my curiosity is piqued.


The truck drove in front of my on my way to work...
the logo for sure caught my eye. So I look it up, and its another nice little market... I guess reminiscent of Trader Joe's, minus the quirky. I do like the style of it, really crisp/clean/simple... which is really an ode to its name- fresh and easy. DUH.
The closest one to me is in Fountain Valley. FABULOUS.



Heard about this from KIIS on the way to work. I am definitely interested in checking out this 'up-scale' convenience store, or rather the "premium convenience store". I'm more interested in going here than Fresh&Easy. The nearest one again is in Fountain Valley.

What is in FV that draws these business models? I mean... really?

I'll be sure to explore (eventually), and I'm sure I'll see why.

disneyland noms

My visit to Disneyland included the usual... rides and shows. And of course FOOD! We had frozen lemonade and churros to snack on. Then for dinner we had BBQ skewers of delish chicken and beef in tangy sauces. AND a mickey pretzel with warm jalepeno cheese dip. And to top off the night, we stopped into the candy shop on Main Street with a plethora of candy and confections. After careful and semi-compulsive consideration, we made our purchases of...

Rice Krispy Marshmallow Treat
We've dubbed this "The Brick". Shown above is only 1/3 left of the actual uneaten size. YUMMY.

and of course, we couldn't help ourselves when we saw these...


Mickey Mouse Rice Krispy Treat w/ chocolate dipped ears,
on a STICK!

Here's some other shots of the display case we drooled all over and pressed our noses against:

munchiness

Made some "food" this weekend to take to a bbq... easy peasy stuff... but yummy nonetheless.

Spicy Goldfish Cracker Mix

(found on BakeSpace)

3 pkg (6.6 oz each) Cheddar Goldfish
1 Envelope Ranch Salad Dressing mix
3 tsp. Dill Weed
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 c vegetable oil (the original recipe called for 2/3c, but reviews on the recipe by others suggested less... waste not, want not.)

With all goldfish in a big pot/bowl, and ungreased baking sheets ready to go into the pre-heated 250 degree oven...
Mix together ranch, herbs and spices with oil. Toss with the crackers. Then spread out on to the baking sheets to bake for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Notes: People seemed to like these... something different than just normal goldfish crackers. I personally REALLY munched down when these were right out of the oven... and not so much at the party. But, maybe I was filled up on other delish foods. MMMM love bbqs!

Cap'n Crunch Berries Marshmallow Treats
(the store brand, actually)

I used the same "recipe" as before, but this time it came out too sticky. I think there was less cereal (which i GASPED at upon opening this "15oz." box of generic brand Cap'n Crunch), which REALLY makes a difference. I thought about cutting it with some corn flakes I have, but ended up THINKING it would be okay as is. WRONG! So, note to self, not all cereals are the same... experimentation with finding the right balance of cereal and marshmallows is key to a successful and delicious (non-sticky) marshmallow treat! (Too bad "branded" cereals cost an arm and a leg at $5.00 a box!!!!!)

cookie cookie cookie!

Holy monkeys.... I think I need to make some special cookies for a special pup-pup I know named Maggie. Well, they would actually be more for her parents, but same thing! (not really.)

It's a dachshund cookie cutter found on Fancy Flours, which I personally think should get some better graphics of their products. But great stuff nonetheless!

(The penguin example did not strike me as particularly OMG WOW I HAVE TO HAVE IT... so I pass.)

Chill

The story begins:

1 fail + 2 fail

equals

Chill
DOB: December 23, 2007

a new baby for the penguin family!

(... to make myself feel better.)

COLORS!

120 colors of eyeshadow.... and somehow I know I still wouldn't be satisfied.
(There are no deep reds... for example. Tsk tsk.)

damn you urban outfitters...

... how i love you so...