How about red wine and chocolate cake in one? Meet Red Wine and Chocolate Cake…Mmmm…
Yes, it’s another drool-worthy recipe I spotted on Smitten Kitchen this week. It has ingredients like mascarpone cheese, cinnamon, plenty of chocolate and of course, wine.
Recipe in the link above. If you make it, enjoy and report back (and save me a piece…!)
All the rage in Starbucks come Autumn, but why not try and DIY? I found a great looking pumpkin spice latte recipe over on daily nibbles blog.
You will need: milk, sugar, canned pumpkin (obviously), ginger, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and espresso. (Full recipe and lots more photos here.)
Autumn is such a cozy season. What Autumn delights do you enjoy most?
Also -
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!
It’s muggy. Hot night. End of summer. Winter looming. So most nights since I’ve been back in New York, we mix up margaritas and sit out on the porch. Crickets chirping. Everything dark besides the flickering candles lining the table. So margarita recipes are catching my eye now. Here’s one from Cupcakes and Cashmere (a lovely blog which you should definitely pay a visit to when I finish here) that’s on the list: Orange and Lime.
Instructions:
2 limes
1/2 orange
2 1/2 oz. tequila
1 oz triple sec
1/4 oz. agave syrup
1/4 oz. Grand Marnier
In a cocktail shaker with ice, juice 2 limes and 1/2 orange. Add tequila, triple sec, and simple syrup. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain over glass with new ice cubes and float Grand Marnier on top.
When we were kids, my dad used to bring my brother and I soft pretzels from Auntie Anne’s in the airport on his way home from business trips. Cinnamon and sugar on top or cheese dip. We loved them. A few days ago on a shopping trip, my mom and I stopped by and enjoyed a couple of cheese ones.
I found a recipe on Smitten Kitchen to make your own – mini ones. All it takes is stuff you probably already have in the kitchen: water, sugar, yeast, flour, salt, oil, baking soda, egg. Just roll ‘em up:
And bake.
And enjoy.
PS – Remember that entry about Chinese tea eggs? Well my mom’s lovely Chinese friend made me some and now I can say for sure they are definitely delicious!
So this morning, we talked about tea. Now, let’s talk about Chinese Tea Eggs (cha ye dan). Yea, eggs.
They look like this:
Think hard-boiled, cracked shells, steeped in tea, anise, cinnamon and soy sauce (and mandarins or sugar if you have a sweet tooth).
Sounds pretty bizarre to me, but I’m curious so I have to ask – has anyone ever tried these? Are they good? I love eggs and tea, but I don’t know about together… and with anise? Soy sauce? What do you think? Would you try them?
If you would, there’s a recipe here from Globetrotter Diaries. Let me know how it goes.
In Colombia, we eat loads of delicious tropical fruits – little green mamones, wonderfully sweet mangoes de azucar and fleshy orange zapotes, but not so many berries. At this time of year, when the Summer is winding down into Autumn, when the trees in New York are getting ready to spill their pretty leaves, berries are the perfect fruit – raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries. But in the five months I’ve been in Colombia, I haven’t eaten a single berry. I miss berries. And how scrumptious does a mouth-watering peach and blackberry crumble sound? Drool over these photos from Sprouted Kitchen for a minute and then get back to me. The recipe is here. Somebody send me some blackberries please.
And with ice cream on top…another thing I can’t eat in Colombia!
So somebody please make this and enjoy it for me.
What’s your favorite berry treat? For that matter, which is your favorite berry?
In the summers of 2007-2008 (okay, starting in February) when we had a fantastic fire pit in the back garden of our house in London, I taught countless people from countries all over the world how to make s’mores. We had great fire parties. This is one of our masterpieces. Can you feel the warmth?
Admittedly slightly big for s’more toasting, so we waited as it died down:
Eventually, it reached s’more-making perfection and we broke out the supplies: big marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate bars and sticks hunted from nearby trees. The toasting began!
If you’ve never made a s’more, watch this (but ignore the wimpy fire):
Here’s some gloriously gooey s’mores photos for your drooling pleasure and a few of beautifully glowing fires.
Photo: Nothin’ Says Summer Like S’mores by the Fire by Angiezpics on Flickr
Photo: Holy Mother of Goodness by Haeshu on flickr
Photo: Something Sinfully Good by d_rod on Flickr
Photo: Pine Cone Embers by SugarbearSteve on Flickr
Photo: Well the Weather Outside is Frightful by Lyle58 on Flickr
Photo: Cozy Campfire by Cammer’s Camera on Flickr
Photo: Campfire by Paul Rutowski on Flickr
Would you like s’more?
My typical breakfast in North Tonawanda, New York:
- Bowl of Lucky Charms or Cocoa Puffs with milk
- Tea
- Occasionally with toast or pancakes instead
My typical breakfast in London:
- Lemon and poppyseed muffin
- Tea or chai tea latte (or if the season is right, egg nog latte, yum!)
- Or yogurt with granola mix
My typical breakfast in Mogotes, Colombia:
- Potato soup with fried egg on top and bread
- Or a slab of steak
- Agua de panela
My typical dream breakfast:
- Tea or egg nog latte
- This delicious looking recipe I just found on Desserts for Breakfast – Chai pancakes with tea-poached plums
Who wants to join me?
What do you eat for breakfast?
As the days get cooler (well they don’t in Colombia, but I like to pretend there’s still seasons in my life), there’s not much better than a hot, steaming bowl of soup. In London, my favorite was chicken pot pie soup from Eat. A must try, if you haven’t. (Unless of course, you’re one of those strange vegetarian people…*Agne & Danny*…)
I never thought I’d say this, but besides shopping, proper tea and English bookshops, what I wish I had most is my own kitchen. Shock and awe. But seriously. I’m gathering a list of recipes I want to make when I’m allowed to cook again.
Anyway, as I was saying. Soup. How delicious does this bowl of roasted tomato with a huge chunk of mozzarella look? Sprinkled with fresh basil? Nothing says Autumn quite like it (except of course home made chowder…but more on that later.)
For the recipe and more mouth-watering pictures of the ingredients, head over to Sprouted Kitchen.
