Reading Rainbow Roundup

Hello loves,

I recently posted a “to read” reading list, and I was actually able to read a handful of them.  Rejoice!  I thought now would be a great time to report back, as we are finally getting into the post-holiday lull.

Are you feeling the lull?  Truth be told, this semester is whipping by, but I could definitely use a little more fun reading time in my life.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Click image for original source. From cherylstrayed.com

Wild is a true memoir about a young woman who hits rock bottom in her life and spontaneously decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (a treacherous mountain trail from Mexico to Canada) by herself.  As a first time hiker, she has to dig deep within herself to keep moving forward and to conquer all of the crazy adventures that meet her on the trail.  It was really well-written and will make you laugh and cry.  I am nothing like the main character, yet she is completely relatable.  You need to read this.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Juliet Ashton

Click to be redirected to original source at Mazurkaplan.com

Kat recommended this book long ago and I avoided it for so long because it has a stupid title.  Seriously. I am embarrassed to tell people how good this book is because the title is so goofy.  However, this was a wonderful book!  It’s about a writer who is looking for writing material after WWII.  She finds a little town chock full of stories of how a group of friends survived the war together through books.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Click to be redirected to original source at Wikipedia

The Poisonwood Bible was on Oprah’s book club list, so you know it’s a little intense.  It’s about a family who goes to the Congo for missionary work and the story of how their family falls apart.  It shows you 5 different perspectives (it’s narrated by 5 different characters in the story) on religion, family, marriage, and other big-life issues.  I thought the characters were fairly static, but I think that was probably Kingsolver’s intention, in an effort to show 5 perspectives that can all exist within 1 person.  At least, that’s how I interpreted the book.  This book is definitely a conversation-starter and will challenge your own belief system.

Do yourself a favor and read them all.  Immediately.

What are you reading now?  Have you read any of the books I listed?  If so, what did you think?

-Mads

White Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting: Sweets for Your Sweetiepie Week!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to another themed week of goodies: Sweets for Your Sweetiepie Week!!!

Our lovely team of rock star bloggers have put their heads together to ensure that you have a recipe to make for your loved ones this Valentines Day!

If you’ve been tuning in for a while, you know that I get amped up over any holiday and V-Day is no exception. I love an excuse to give out hugs, tell people I care about them, and most importantly to binge on chocolate and wine. This year I am in class all night, so my celebration will have to wait until the weekend. Luckily, my class is Human Sexuality, which is the most exciting class you could have on Valentines Day. I’m hoping we talk about something upbeat like fetishes or swinger parties, and not erectile dysfunction or supernumerary nipples.  Ok wait, both of those topics are great too.  I guess I’m super excited for class!  Maybe I’ll become a sex therapist?!

Anyway, I made these treats so we could enjoy ourselves all week long!

Jonathan is not a huge dessert fan, usually because he claims they are too “sweet”. But his favorite sweet to indulge in is white chocolate. We were recently at a party with a make-your-own-cupcake bar (GENIUS) and I spotted Jonathan helping himself to a few different varieties, which inspired these White Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting.

Can you think of a better combo than white chocolate and raspberry? I cannot.

For the cupcakes you will need:

• 1 stick butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 oz. white chocolate bar
• 8 oz. white chocolate chips (a smidge more than 1/2 bag)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a cupcake pan or use these adorable cupcake wrappers for V-day!

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add the vanilla and eggs until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the 4 oz. white chocolate bar and milk.  White chocolate has a funny way of melting, which is to say it doesn’t melt well.  It gets kind of runny and chunky, but pay that no attention.

Ghirardelli FTW!

Slowly combine the flour mixture with the butter and sugar mixture until smooth.  Try not to whip the crap out of your batter because it will harden your cupcakes.  Nobody wants a cement cupcake.  Be GENTLE!

Slowly add the melted chocolate mixture to the batter until creamy.  Then add your 8 oz. of chocolate chips.

The extra white chocolate chips tossed in at the end really give this recipe an extra oompf of creamy white chocolate flavor!

Double white chocolate intensity

Pour the batter into the greased cupcake pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 16-18 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before moving to the frosting stage.

For the frosting you will need:

• 1 1/2 stick butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tbsp raspberry jam

Whip together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, whipping cream, and pinch of salt until it looks like frosting (about 30 seconds on high).

Then add the raspberry jam and mix it into the frosting with a rubber scraper.  If you are lucky, your friend Jeanne from Inside NanaBread’s Head will send you a giant jar of delicious homemade raspberry, cranberry, and cherry jam for you to use in this recipe. If you aren’t lucky, you will walk with your head hung in shame to the grocery store to get sub par jam.

Thank you, Jeanne!

If raspberries are in season, it might be fun to make a raspberry compote to use in the frosting instead of jarred jam. I didn’t do this because raspberries were $4 when I created this recipe.

Spread the frosting evenly over the cupcakes and top with fresh raspberries or sprinkles.  These cupcakes were divine and got the stamp of approval from the hubby and my coworkers!  Num!

White Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

What are you making for Valentine’s Day this year?  What are your plans this holiday?

-Mads

Please check out the rest of the sweets on other blogs throughout the week! These bloggers are fearless bakers and make me drool on a daily basis. I hope you find something you want to make for your sweetheart!

Sunday:

• Inside NanaBread’s Head–Retro Raspberry Divinity (& GIVEAWAY)
• Comfortably Domestic–Red Velvet Vanilla Marble Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Buttercream

Monday:

• Kvetchin’ Kitchen–Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies
• The Hill Country Cook–Mini Meringue Strawberry Pie

Tuesday:

• Munching in the Mitten–Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
• Bakeaholic Mama–Samoa Crack Dip

Wednesday:

• Climbing Grier Mountain–Avocado Peppermint Chocolate Mousse
• Country Cleaver–Cherry Garcia Chocolate Bark

Thursday:

• My post above–White Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
• Tenaciously Yours–S’more on a Stick

Friday:

• Decadent Philistines Save the World–Lemon Marshmallows
• Comfortably Domestic–Mini Chocolate Mousse Pies

Saturday:

• From My Sweet Heart–Berry Smoothie Ice Cream

Honeymoon in Belize: Part 2

Hey,

This post is the 2nd in a series documenting our honeymoon trip to Belize. Enjoy!
———————————————————————————————–

Caye Caulker is a beautiful island in Belize, where the motto is “Go Slow” and they mean it! After several days of beach-lounging and strolling up and down the coast, we decided it was time for some adventure. Naturally, we signed up for snorkeling in Shark Ray Alley with the sting rays and nurse sharks.

The first stop in the snorkel adventure was a coral reef, which proved to be a little daunting for Jonathan and myself. Jonathan is a first-time snorkeler, so getting him comfortable in the water with a mask on, while trying not to drown myself in the process was slightly anxiety-provoking. We eventually decided that we were holding the group back and to sit this round out. After all, we had two more snorkel stops throughout the day.

The next stop was Shark Ray Alley! Basically, guides stop by several times a day, throw some chum out, and let tourists swim amongst the sting rays and nurse sharks that come to feed. Now, I’ve gone snorkeling with sting rays before, but the addition of nurse sharks (they are about my size) was terrifying. Right before I was about to hop in, I asked the guide if he’s ever been bitten. He proceeded to point out the scars on his fingers stating it was “no big deal”.

The Lazy Lizard–Where Ben and Emily had an awkward date in the sand on The Bachelor

My thought process ver batem: Right. Ok. Deep breath. I can do this. Count to three. One. Two. Nope. Not doing it. Come on! You’re in Belize and will never be able to do this again. Nope. I like my fingers. Jonathan’s already in the water and he still has all his extremities. One. Two. THE HELL WITH IT–THREE!

It was incredible. I could actually hear the sharks choping through the chum and swishing their fins around. Then the guide picked one up like it aint no thang (no wonder he has mauled fingers) and we got to pet the shark. Amazing. I highly recommend doing really dumb and dangerous things from time to time.

When we got back to the island, we decided it was too early for dinner, so we had cocktails instead. I do not recommend mixing booze with sunburn, swimming, heat, and empty tummies.
Luckily, we found huge bottles of water and pizza with habenero sauce to save us from heat stroke. It was touch and go there for a moment.

The next morning we took our water taxi back to Belize City to pick up our rental car. Something about driving on the open road in a foreign country totally makes you feel like Indiana Jones. We were humming the theme song throughout the entire trip.

Our next stop was San Ignacio!
————————————————————————————————

Have you ever gone on any outdoor adventures that make you question your own sanity?  What did you do?

More to come…

Honeymoon in Belize: Part 1

Hello folks,

 

I recently went on a honeymoon trip to Belize with my lovely husband, Jonathan.  I wanted to post some bits and pieces of the trip from my travel journal and our photographs.  The following post is the 1st in a series and documents our first few days of the trip.  I hope you enjoy it! 

———————————————————————————————-

After two, five-hour flights we arrived in Belize City.  Jonathan was confused as to why we were descending, as he didn’t see a city or airport of any kind.  But soon a janky little building and a tiny landing strip came into view, and I knew we had arrived.

The sky and water changed colors continuously throughout the day. It was so magical.

Our trip advisors (Jonathan’s Belizean coworker and the internet) told us to take a cab directly from the airport out of Belize City, due to high crime rates.  Driving to the water taxi, I could see why.  The poverty, garbage, flea-ridden and bloody dogs were none too appealing.

The “water taxi” more closely resembled a slave ship than the luxurious name entails.  Luckily I had taken a high dose of motion-sickness pills and we had a ziplock baggie just in case.

The mixture of heat, body odor, and food smells were more than I could handle.  At this point, Jonathan and I were both extremely concerned that we had chosen the wrong honeymoon destination.

Just as we contemplated turning back, Caye Caulker appeared on the horizon.  This quaint little island off the coast of Belize is teeming with white sand beaches, brightly colored beachfront properties, and hammocks swaying in the breeze.

Finally, we arrived! We celebrated our arrival by having a local beer on the sandy beach.

Jonathan and I fist-bumped.

The first night we dined at Joe’s Habeneros, a romantic restaurant with Belizean food catered to our American tastes.  Delicious.

Much to our delight, the hotel room overlooked the pool, which overlooked the ocean.  It turns out, you can buy happiness, and it is found at the Island Magic Hotel’s honeymoon suite.

View from our balcony for the first portion of the trip.

After an 11-hour nap, we awoke with renewed excitement.  It’s our honeymoon!!!  We drank coffee (fresh OJ for him) and enjoyed fresh fruit (bacon for him) while people-watching.  Fun fact: our tablemate did the dirty in the ocean the previous night with a traveling stranger.  Gooooooooooooood morning!

I can’t explain how relaxing and lovely our breakfast was. I could have stayed there all day.

We then grabbed our books, our suits, and plenty of SPF 70 and hit the beach.  It was glorious.  We leaped off the dock into the ocean and then swam a few laps in the saltwater pool.  Why do you need both?  Why not?

This looks like a naked photoshopped adventure on the open sea. I promise…it is!

Lunch was some fantastic garlic butter fish with rice and beans at Rainbow Grill & Bar.  Then we decided to stroll around the main drag (you can get around the whole island in 20 minutes by foot) and found some incredible homemade ice cream.  If that wasn’t enough, a woman wheeled a cart of homemade cakes right by us.  She called herself “The Cake Lady” and she had a whole heard of people and dogs asking for cakes.  Naturally, we had to have a slice of pineapple cake smothered in caramel.  Vacation is the best.

Betta no litta

If all that wasn’t enough, we had grilled lobster for dinner.  Rose’s restaurant had a limited menu.  Pick what sea critter you want out front, then they’ll grill it up and take care of the rest.  The sidewalk “menu” was the best free advertising I’ve ever seen.  The smell alone would draw people in from blocks away.

Rose’s “menu”

———————————————————————————————

Married folks, did you have a honeymoon?  Where’d you go?

Non-married folks, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

-Mads

Gnocchi and Pesto Soup

Hello hello!

I’m back from my honeymoon to Belize!  It was absolutely fabulous and relaxing in every way possible.  Pictures and posts about that will be up shortly.  In the meantime, I’ve returned to a life of cooking for myself…life is hard.

Which brings me to my next point, this week is SOUP WEEK!

Gnocchi and Pesto Soup…a spin off of the classes potato and vegetable soup

14 bloggers have come together to warm your bellies and your hearts through a week of soup recipes!  I hope you are as excited as I am!  As usual, there is a GIVEAWAY on one of the blogs listed below.  Enter for your chance to win Le Creuset!

When creating this recipe, I wanted to incorporate all of the stick-to-your-ribs goodness that we all crave during the winter months.  I think my body went into major hibernation mode this winter because all I wanted was mac n’ cheese, pizza, and hot mashed potatoes.  The result was an additional 8 pounds (holy hell) that I am still trying to work off.  Damn the winter!

“Winter” is also a relative term.  In California, it means that we will be shaking in our boots in 50 degree weather, but it’s -10 in Minnesota today.  Either way, my body is feasting like a bear in survival mode to live through the chill.  :P

Where was I?  Oh yes, stick-to-your-ribs.  To start, I used my absolute favorite bold garlicky pesto recipe.  This recipe is something my family has been making for years “by feel”, but I finally wrote the ingredients down and posted the recipe here.

Most of the potato soup recipes I’ve used in the past and the ones I’ve seen online are fairly similar.  You start with the mirepoix (fancy term for onion, carrot, and celery), then add potatoes and boil with your liquids.  The twist on this one is the addition of gnocchi and pesto for extra winter tummy-warming heartiness.

Secret ingredients for that extra OOMF!

For the soup portion of the recipe, you will need:

• 4 russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 2 carrots (peeled and chopped)
• 2 stalks celery (chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 package potato gnocchi
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Pesto (store-bought or homemade…please do yourself a favor and make homemade)
• Shredded parmesan cheese for topping

1. Make sure the onion, carrot, and celery are all chopped to roughly the same small size.  A uniform size ensures they cook evenly in the pan.
   

   Mirepoix. I love saying that.

2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and saute onion, carrots, and celery until slightly softened and starting to brown (about 5 minutes).
3. Add potatoes and garlic, sautéing for a minute or two.  You just want a little bit of brown on the edges for extra flavor.
4. Season the veggies with salt and pepper, then add the broth.
   

   If you don’t have a big enough pot (I didn’t), just use two! Also, if you prep your veggies the night before (like me), your potatoes will start to oxidize and turn purple in the fridge. Don’t be like me.

5. Bring to a boil until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes).
6. Give the broth a quick taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
7. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender in batches), blend the soup until it’s nice and creamy.
8. Add the gnocchi and continue over medium heat until the gnocchi is completely cooked (about 3 minutes).
9. Add the heavy cream and stir until combined.
   

   BTW, it is incredibly difficult to pour with one hand and get a picture of the pour with your other hand. That’s why this picture is not focused correctly. I need a soux chef/photographer!

10. Do a final taste test to make sure the seasonings are correct.
11. Pour into your bowl and top with a dollop of pesto and a sprinkling of parmesan!

As far as soups go, this recipe was very easy and the taste was fantastic!  You want to eat this.

What are you making to keep warm this winter?  Did you suffer from the hibernation feed-me-all-the-things feelings this winter?  

-Mads

———————————————————————————————

Please check out these other bloggers over the course of the week.  These women create some of the tastiest recipes and most entertaining stories on the internet.  (Links to soup posts will become available throughout the week.)

Monday:

• Comfortably Domestic–Broccoli Cheddar with Bread Bowls
• The Girly Girl Cooks–Hearty Vegetable Mexican Soup & Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
• The Hill Country Cook–3 Bean & Spinach Soup and a LE CREUSET GIVEAWAY!

Tuesday:

• Munching in the Mitten–Garbage Soup
• My recipe for Gnocchi Pesto Soup (above)

Wednesday:

• Country Cleaver–40 Clove Garlic Chicken Soup with Parmesan Croutons
• Climbing Grier Mountain–Sunchoke Soup with Gorgonzola and Honey Crostini

Thursday:

• The Grommom–Coconut Curry with a lot of Aloha
• Bakeaholic Mama–Beef Bourguignon and French Baguettes

Friday:

• Tenaciously Yours–Eat Live Run’s White Chicken Chili
• Decadent Philistines Save the World–Arizona Mountain Soup with Cornbread

Saturday:

• From My Sweet Heart–Pink Prosecco Soup
• Kvetchin’ Kitchen–Creamy Mushroom Soup
• Inside NanaBread’s Head–Shrimp Bisque

Must-have items for 2013

Hello internet friends,

I’m currently in Belize on my honeymoon, which means I’m either:
A) Soaking up some rays (with my SPF 70 lathered) on a sandy beach
B) Eating delicious tamales, meat, beans, and rice
C) Sharing cocktails with Jonathan at sunset
D) Reenacting all of the date nights from Ben’s season of The Bachelor: Belize

Before I departed on my adventure, I did a bit of shopping and found some absolute gems I need to share with you.

First, and most importantly, is this Sugar Lip Treatment from Fresh (plum is my favorite shade so far).  I’m very particular about my lip products for several reasons.  Lip gloss is too gooey and doesn’t stay on for more than a minute.  Lipstick is often very dry and doesn’t have SPF.  Chapstick is my go-to product, but it doesn’t usually have color, leaving my lips pale and plain.

This product is the perfect blend of lipstick and chapstick with SPF that makes my lips feel fantastic!  It’s not glossy, but it slides on and stays for a long time.  They have a whole range of colors too!

Click image for original source. From sephora.com

This next one isn’t so much a product, as it is a TV series that you need to watch if you’re a 20-30 something female.  “Girls” is a funnier and more intelligent “Sex in the City” with more realistic characters.  I love it with all my heart.

Click image for original source. From wikipedia.com

I’ve never had a good pair of sunglasses.  Mostly because I have a tendency to step on, lose, and scratch every pair I’ve ever owned.  However, this year, some little birdie decided I needed to protect my eyes from the sun and got me these Maui Jim Palms for Christmas.

Getting a nice pair of polarized lenses will save your eyeballs, make you look professional, and teach you how to treat your sunglasses well.

Click image for original source. From mauijim.com

I normally buy the $2 flip-flops from Old Navy that bust about 3 months into wearing them, but these Teva Olowaho sandals are a much better alternative.  They have enough cushioning to keep my heels comfortable and enough give in the straps so that they don’t rub and cause blisters.  I have them in black, but I plan on getting a few more colors for summer.

Click image for original source. From amazon.com

The final product I found that I cannot live without is the Olive Body Butter from The Body Shop.  This bad boy has a mild smell compared to their potent fruity flavors, but I can’t get enough of the subtle earthy smell.  Also, the body butter is not greasy, which is a major plus.  This is a must!

Click image for original source. From thebodyshop.com

What products have you fallen in love with during this shopping season?  What do I need to have to prepare for spring?

-Mads

 

Honeymoon Time!

Hey team!

Jonathan and I are finally going on our honeymoon!  We were planning on going the day after we got married, but I made a scheduling error and actually had to go back to school the next day.  Womp womp.
When I discovered my boo boo, I sat and wept for the vacation that would never be, but then I stopped feeling sorry for myself and planned our honeymoon over winter break.

WE ARE GOING TO BELIZE!!!

A beach in Belize…yes, please!  Click image for original source. From destination360.com

Honestly, Belize was not our top choice for destinations (Argentina, Bora Bora, and Thailand came to mind), but it was the rainy season almost everywhere that sounded interesting.  Belize was a good compromise for someplace slightly tropical with other interesting landscapes, and affordable.  Plus, Jonathan and I are big travel addicts, so I’m sure we’ll get to those other places soon.

The hope is to do at least 1 historical thing (Mayan ruins), 1 beach thing (snorkeling and relaxing on an island), and 1 Indiana Jones thing (cave tubing).  I’m sure we’ll do much more, as we are there for 11 days, but these are our main goals.

We’ll also be on the lookout for John McAfee’s mansion and any evidence of his bath salt drug kingpin ring and murder charges.  More on that bizarre story here.

If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?  What’s your favorite thing to do on vacation?

-Mads