Category: deliciousness

J is for Jaffa Cake

15 Comments
Today’s post comes from my lovely and talented critique partner, Sue. She’s super-fab. Check her out on the Twit: @scwine

 
J is for Jaffa Cake
Yes, I know. You know about Hob Nobs and Cadbury’s, you may even drink tea like the British do, but I’m betting you don’t know what a Jaffa Cake is, and that okay. Great, even. Because once you know, and you actually taste one, you’ll be dreaming about them, and worse, eating them constantly. It takes at least three weeks to kick the habit. It’s bad. These fascinating little cookies have a layer of yellow cake, with a strip of orange jelly on top, covered in dark chocolate. The description doesn’t do them justice. But next time you are shopping, and you come across the ‘International’ aisle, or, rather quaintly, the ‘exotic foods’ section (that’s in a Stop and Shop in CT), pick up a pack of Jaffa cakes. Double dog dare you. Or, make them from this lovely British recipe:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/homemadejaffacakes_91480 
Oh yes, you’re going DOWN!

J is for Jaffa Cake

15 Comments
Today’s post comes from my lovely and talented critique partner, Sue. She’s super-fab. Check her out on the Twit: @scwine

 
J is for Jaffa Cake
Yes, I know. You know about Hob Nobs and Cadbury’s, you may even drink tea like the British do, but I’m betting you don’t know what a Jaffa Cake is, and that okay. Great, even. Because once you know, and you actually taste one, you’ll be dreaming about them, and worse, eating them constantly. It takes at least three weeks to kick the habit. It’s bad. These fascinating little cookies have a layer of yellow cake, with a strip of orange jelly on top, covered in dark chocolate. The description doesn’t do them justice. But next time you are shopping, and you come across the ‘International’ aisle, or, rather quaintly, the ‘exotic foods’ section (that’s in a Stop and Shop in CT), pick up a pack of Jaffa cakes. Double dog dare you. Or, make them from this lovely British recipe:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/homemadejaffacakes_91480 
Oh yes, you’re going DOWN!

G is for Gatsby

11 Comments

(And while we’re at it, I’m checking off #2 on my LIST)

 

(Okay, F. Scott…..you had me at the title page.)
Bonus:
G is also for gazpacho. Which I made for the first time yesterday. I figured since I’m having one of my characters make it, I should learn too. Check it out:

 
 

brought to you by…..

G is for Gatsby

11 Comments

(And while we’re at it, I’m checking off #2 on my LIST)

 

(Okay, F. Scott…..you had me at the title page.)
Bonus:
G is also for gazpacho. Which I made for the first time yesterday. I figured since I’m having one of my characters make it, I should learn too. Check it out:

 
 

brought to you by…..

C is for Cupcakes

17 Comments
I love cupcakes. 
I wish there were songs written about them so I could sing along in my car, then perform them at open mike night and get discovered by Tommy Mottola or Lou Pearlman (if he wasn’t in jail for ripping off the Backstreet Boy). Then I’ll go on a Cupcakes for Peace world tour, raising cupcake awareness across the globe about the deliciousness of cupcakes. After I blow my voice box from too much red dye number 9, I’ll have to auction off my cupcake-shaped house in the Hollywood Hills (which was right next door to Brad and Angelina, incidentally). And, wandering the streets, homeless, I’ll no longer be able to afford, ironically, cupcakes.

So, for now, I suppose I’ll have to be satisfied with just eating them.

Brought to you by…

C is for Cupcakes

17 Comments
I love cupcakes. 
I wish there were songs written about them so I could sing along in my car, then perform them at open mike night and get discovered by Tommy Mottola or Lou Pearlman (if he wasn’t in jail for ripping off the Backstreet Boy). Then I’ll go on a Cupcakes for Peace world tour, raising cupcake awareness across the globe about the deliciousness of cupcakes. After I blow my voice box from too much red dye number 9, I’ll have to auction off my cupcake-shaped house in the Hollywood Hills (which was right next door to Brad and Angelina, incidentally). And, wandering the streets, homeless, I’ll no longer be able to afford, ironically, cupcakes.

So, for now, I suppose I’ll have to be satisfied with just eating them.

Brought to you by…

Audrey, Audrey, Angelika and my List

6 Comments
Hello, dah-lings!

#29 – from my LIST – “Have a Day at the Angelika”

I simply adore the Angelika–our uber-chic and fab art house theater. It shows the films other theaters are afraid of (documentaries, foreigns and weirdo indies.) 

For years I’ve been dreaming of spending an entire day within its hallowed, art-deco glass walls…..drinking in artsy film after artsy film, with perhaps a little lunch in between at one of the many charming restaurants near the theater.  

Which is exactly what a friend and I did this past weekend. 

As you can see, we started our adventure early with a 10:30am film.
Hello, girl in the striped shirt. I see you!

I put off seeing The Artist. In fact, I planned on never seeing it. Honestly, I’m not sure why. Perhaps because I seldom agree with the Hollywood Foreign Press, and since this particular film was the Academy’s sweetheart this year, I figured I would pretty much hate it on principle. 

Oh, how I love being pleasantly surprised at times like these.

The movie was phenomenal. Clever, funny, sentimental, nostalgic. The acting way flawless, never over-the-top. The costumes, makeup and sets were perfection. I can’t say enough. I could have sat through the whole thing a second time. Two thumbs up. Five stars. Eight cows.

After stepping out for a sushi lunch, the next viewing was Delicacy. Audrey Tautou is so beautiful and her wardrobe was to die for. (Though my movie companion thought her high-waist wool tweed trousers with the bow on the front were hideous. We agreed to disagree.) This was a sweet little French movie. Not great, not bad. (On a more writerly note: the husband….I’ll be writing a character who looks like him someday. Major swoon.)

Last (as well as least) was A Separation. A rather un-charming, uninspiring film out of Iran. First of all, what does Iran know about film making anyway? But that’s another story. The plot was thinner than Kate Moss, the story went nowhere and the constant yelling, lying and general unkindness really got on my nerves. I have no idea why this film is so beloved by Hollywood….which brings us back to my original bone to pick with the Hollywood elite. Review: Stay away; see The Artist; eat sushi.

Does it look like we’d been in the dark indoors for six hours? Yeah, kind of.

Want to read more? My awesomely-cute friend blogged about our experience HERE.

#38 – Upgrade jewelry 

Okay, so here is the deal. Over the years, I’ve collected piles of chunky necklaces and matchy-match earrings (and other similarly ugly, tacky, just-plain-old pieces). Which I never wear anymore. And even when I did, they inevitably ended up coming off halfway through the day because I would start to feel claustrophobic. Psychologically, maybe, but still. Ergo, as part of the big “list,” I decided to purge.

And as a reward, I would pick out something lovely at Tiffanys. (I love making win-win deals with myself!)

Simply pulling this box out of the bag made my heart beat fast.
Isn’t this just the sweetest thing ever?

Audrey, Audrey, Angelika and my List

6 Comments
Hello, dah-lings!

#29 – from my LIST – “Have a Day at the Angelika”

I simply adore the Angelika–our uber-chic and fab art house theater. It shows the films other theaters are afraid of (documentaries, foreigns and weirdo indies.) 

For years I’ve been dreaming of spending an entire day within its hallowed, art-deco glass walls…..drinking in artsy film after artsy film, with perhaps a little lunch in between at one of the many charming restaurants near the theater.  

Which is exactly what a friend and I did this past weekend. 

As you can see, we started our adventure early with a 10:30am film.
Hello, girl in the striped shirt. I see you!

I put off seeing The Artist. In fact, I planned on never seeing it. Honestly, I’m not sure why. Perhaps because I seldom agree with the Hollywood Foreign Press, and since this particular film was the Academy’s sweetheart this year, I figured I would pretty much hate it on principle. 

Oh, how I love being pleasantly surprised at times like these.

The movie was phenomenal. Clever, funny, sentimental, nostalgic. The acting way flawless, never over-the-top. The costumes, makeup and sets were perfection. I can’t say enough. I could have sat through the whole thing a second time. Two thumbs up. Five stars. Eight cows.

After stepping out for a sushi lunch, the next viewing was Delicacy. Audrey Tautou is so beautiful and her wardrobe was to die for. (Though my movie companion thought her high-waist wool tweed trousers with the bow on the front were hideous. We agreed to disagree.) This was a sweet little French movie. Not great, not bad. (On a more writerly note: the husband….I’ll be writing a character who looks like him someday. Major swoon.)

Last (as well as least) was A Separation. A rather un-charming, uninspiring film out of Iran. First of all, what does Iran know about film making anyway? But that’s another story. The plot was thinner than Kate Moss, the story went nowhere and the constant yelling, lying and general unkindness really got on my nerves. I have no idea why this film is so beloved by Hollywood….which brings us back to my original bone to pick with the Hollywood elite. Review: Stay away; see The Artist; eat sushi.

Does it look like we’d been in the dark indoors for six hours? Yeah, kind of.

Want to read more? My awesomely-cute friend blogged about our experience HERE.

#38 – Upgrade jewelry 

Okay, so here is the deal. Over the years, I’ve collected piles of chunky necklaces and matchy-match earrings (and other similarly ugly, tacky, just-plain-old pieces). Which I never wear anymore. And even when I did, they inevitably ended up coming off halfway through the day because I would start to feel claustrophobic. Psychologically, maybe, but still. Ergo, as part of the big “list,” I decided to purge.

And as a reward, I would pick out something lovely at Tiffanys. (I love making win-win deals with myself!)

Simply pulling this box out of the bag made my heart beat fast.
Isn’t this just the sweetest thing ever?

37 days and counting

7 Comments
Oh, I’m so glad you asked. Yes, I’ve been working very hard on my LIST.

Wanna see my latest progress?
#23 – make ricotta cheese

The recipe was dead easy. 3 ingredients. Even I can handle that.

This spreadable deliciousness was a huge hit at the dinner party I attended over the weekend. I think I may have found my new go-to.

#11 – retry 10 foods I always thought I hated: Cheerios

Not good. Not bad. Kind of bland. But at least they didn’t taste like puke–which was my fear. Win!

#30 – wear false eye lashes

creepy, no?

I wore theses mamas to a dinner party (yes, the same dinner party with my artisan ricotta). They’re freaking eight inches long, right? And, no one said a word. A few minutes after my arrival, I actually sneaked off to a mirror to make sure they were still on there. They were. And still…no reaction. After a while, I figured they weren’t as dramatically insane as I’d thought. The next day, I asked my friend if….ha-ha….she’d noticed that I was wearing freaking eight-inch falsies. She said she thought I’d got new mascara or something, but that my eyes popped. Ok? Hmm. Well, anyway. It was a goal. And an experiment. And I removed the spider legs the next morning. I think I’ll save them for Halloween. 



#37 – Take a long walk in the rain without an umbrella


This one took a while, because it’s been unseasonably (ha-ha) warm and dry the past few weeks. But then suddenly, the heavens opened and it poured like crazy all weekend. Well. I grabbed my pink wellies and pink checked rain coat and hit the running trail that I abuse myself on every day. With camera phone in hand, I took a couple shots of things I’d never noticed during my runs. And I must say, it’s quite beautiful. Thanks to the rain, things were green and blooming and just stunning.

Self-port of me enjoying the down pour. Too bad I didn’t notice until I was on my way back to the car that my “Big Ass Fans” cap was gone. Sad.

Er…what the devil? I think I would pee my pants if I’d seen one of these nasties.

This kind of wildlife I can handle.

The super sexy soaking-wet “After” shot. My camera lens and car windows were all nice and foggy.

Since I’m a music junky, during my lovely, rainy walk, my iPod came with me, serenading me with songs from the playlist of my current work in progress…including but not exclusive to THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS. I mentally wrote a new chapter, so the walk was productive for multiple reasons. Score.

37 days and counting

7 Comments
Oh, I’m so glad you asked. Yes, I’ve been working very hard on my LIST.

Wanna see my latest progress?
#23 – make ricotta cheese

The recipe was dead easy. 3 ingredients. Even I can handle that.

This spreadable deliciousness was a huge hit at the dinner party I attended over the weekend. I think I may have found my new go-to.

#11 – retry 10 foods I always thought I hated: Cheerios

Not good. Not bad. Kind of bland. But at least they didn’t taste like puke–which was my fear. Win!

#30 – wear false eye lashes

creepy, no?

I wore theses mamas to a dinner party (yes, the same dinner party with my artisan ricotta). They’re freaking eight inches long, right? And, no one said a word. A few minutes after my arrival, I actually sneaked off to a mirror to make sure they were still on there. They were. And still…no reaction. After a while, I figured they weren’t as dramatically insane as I’d thought. The next day, I asked my friend if….ha-ha….she’d noticed that I was wearing freaking eight-inch falsies. She said she thought I’d got new mascara or something, but that my eyes popped. Ok? Hmm. Well, anyway. It was a goal. And an experiment. And I removed the spider legs the next morning. I think I’ll save them for Halloween. 



#37 – Take a long walk in the rain without an umbrella


This one took a while, because it’s been unseasonably (ha-ha) warm and dry the past few weeks. But then suddenly, the heavens opened and it poured like crazy all weekend. Well. I grabbed my pink wellies and pink checked rain coat and hit the running trail that I abuse myself on every day. With camera phone in hand, I took a couple shots of things I’d never noticed during my runs. And I must say, it’s quite beautiful. Thanks to the rain, things were green and blooming and just stunning.

Self-port of me enjoying the down pour. Too bad I didn’t notice until I was on my way back to the car that my “Big Ass Fans” cap was gone. Sad.

Er…what the devil? I think I would pee my pants if I’d seen one of these nasties.

This kind of wildlife I can handle.

The super sexy soaking-wet “After” shot. My camera lens and car windows were all nice and foggy.

Since I’m a music junky, during my lovely, rainy walk, my iPod came with me, serenading me with songs from the playlist of my current work in progress…including but not exclusive to THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS. I mentally wrote a new chapter, so the walk was productive for multiple reasons. Score.