Dark Chocalate Covered Almonds

Today I purchased some dark chocolate cover almonds at the grocery store. You know, the ones in the bulk bins. Customers think they are the "natural foods" of the grocery store. At least that we as consumers have been lead to believe. However, they are not gluten-free or dairy free. And the dark chocolate covered almonds were not made with Ghirardelli or Lindt chocolate.

But that's another story.

These tasty little treats are a delight with a Cuppa Joe. I prefer to drink Peet's Uzuri African Blend. They bring out the dark berry flavor of the roasted bean. The coffee brands I like are Starbucks, Peet's, and Tulley's coffee. I occasionally go for the Seattle's Best Coffee brand.

But anyway...

So I am sipping on ol Joe and munching on these almonds. And lo! I had an epiphany. The mega-lightbulb appeared over my head. It was a bright 100 watt bulb. I reached up and pulled the chain. Actually, I put on my sunglasses took and off my shirt. Hey, I wanted a tan. No, not really.

An epiphany means: a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

The epiphany was with the coffee and chocolate covered almond. You get the two separate foods with distinct separate taste together. The coffee and the chocolate pull out the best in another.

Think about that for a moment...

Both have components of caffeine. Each has it's own power of influence. There four sections on your tongue. All together they hit on the bitter, salty, sweet sour of those sections.

Then aside from this, you get a hard crunch from the almond. The chewing of the almond gives you the impact or vibration in the nerves in your mouth and head. I think the chocolate over the almonds is dominant. That is my opinion. I have been swayed the other direction. There is a key ingredient of salt in the chocolate.

The caffeine gives the euphoria in your brain. The caffeine gives you a sense of clarity. It also gives you a rush. Most coffee drinkers add a sweetener like sugar to cut the bitter taste. Plus they might add milk and various sweet flavors. I have seen people add a pinch of salt. Coffee leaves a sour after taste. Try talking to a coffee drinker and you will want to give him a mint or chewing gum.

The chocolate hits the taste of sweetness on your tongue. However, dark chocolate has a hint of bitterness, respectively.

All of this joint power gives you a kick-start to your head and sense from the taste!

It is similar to a baseball batter hitting you in the head with out the headache, the sweetness from kissing a pretty girl who you like and a jolt of energy all together.

But that's not my point...

My point is this, associate with others to whom you want to become. When you do this the best of you and the best of the others with pull out the best. You and the others will make an impact on each other, the people around you and the world.

Take action today, my caffeinated chocolate covered almond!!!

Super Simple Sukiyaki

One of my favourite dishes when I was living in Japan was Sukiyaki. Absolutely delicious whether you were eating it on your own or having it for a dinner party where you can all chat as you cook your food it was absolutely amazing. So the other week we decided to re-create the magic here at home. Now you all can enjoy it too! All these ingredients are available at your local Asian market if not your local Coles/Woolworth's. Yuen's is an excellent Asian Foods grocery store.

Ingredients (Feeds 2-4 people can easily be scaled up)

Your choice of Vegetables/Ours are below

Handful of Mushrooms

1/4 Wombok Cabbage

1/2 a bunch of Choy Sum

1 Bundle of Spring Onions

1 Cube of Tofu

1 Packet of sliced Beef (very thinly sliced we usually buy this from Yuens)

1 Packet of Udon Noodles

1 Bottle of Sukiyaki Sauce

4 Eggs

Rice for 2 people. We use Medium grain, it's the nicest.

How To Sukiyaki!

1) Set up your Electric Wok (deep base) in the middle of a table. Some people use a deep pot or Nabe on a gas burner which also works well.

2) Put your rice on to cook it takes a while

3) Get your Vegetables cut up and ready. Dice your Tofu into large cubes. (If it's too small you will never get it out of the pot)

4) Pour Sukiyaki Sauce into the wok/pot and set to simmer. If it cooks to fast turn it down. Add a glass of water if need be to weaken the Sukiyaki Sauce as it's very strong.

5) Once it is hot enough start adding Vegetables. Separate it into sections and get a little bit of everything in there. Add the meat as well.

6) Scoop Rice out into your little hand bowls.

7) Crack an egg into another small bowl and whisk it with your chopsticks.

8) As you finish cooking things in the wok pull them out with your chopsticks, dip them in the egg and eat them with the rice! It's delicious. Most Australians aren't accustomed to eating raw eggs, but it's quite good. Just be careful about the quality of egg you buy.

9) Add more vegetables/meat to the wok as needed. Cook and eat until you are going to explode with delicious Sukiyaki!

Refilling Soup while you cook!

As you cook because of the water content in the foods you are cooking sometimes the soup you are cooking in can become weak. To adjust the flavour use the following.

To increase Flavour - Soy sauce or Sukiyaki Sauce

To sweeten Flavour - Add sugar

To dilute Flavour - Add water

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Ingredients:

1/3 cup melted butter 

1 cup sugar 

3 tablespoons lemon juice 

2 eggs 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup milk 

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest 

1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries 

GLAZE

2 tablespoons lemon juice 

1 tablespoon butter melted

1 cup confectioners sugar 

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in lemon zest, nuts, and blueberries. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 60 to 70 minutes.

GLAZE

Combine all ingredients mix well. Drizzle over bread.

Sriracha Honey Garlic Glazed Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce or sriracha
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 pound chicken drumettes or wings, tips removed

• Preparation

  1. 1. Whisk together first 8 ingredients in a small bowl. Place chicken in a large zip-top plastic storage bag. Pour honey-garlic marinade over chicken; seal bag, and toss gently to coat. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
  2. 2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat (350° to 400°). Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken, turning occasionally, 35 minutes or until golden brown on all sides.
  3. Wings may be baked at 400° on a baking sheet in a single layer 30 to 40 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time.

INSTAGRAM MOUSSE CAKE

Cake is something that is loved by everyone and served at birthday parties. If you want to be unique, then make this Instagram cake for your favorite blogger or social media fanatic. One slice and they will never experience another birthday the same way.

Ingredients

Jello Cream Section
3 oz packet of strawberry jello plus 300ml cream
3 oz packet of lime jello plus 300ml cream
3 oz packet of mango jello plus 300ml cream
3 oz packet of berry blue jello plus 300 ml cream

Chocolate Mousse
150 ml milk
50 g cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg yolks
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tablespoon gelatin
1/4 cup water
4 ounces milk chocolate
3 1/2 oz dark chocolate
10 1/2 oz of cream

White Vanilla Mousse
10 1/2 oz milk
3 1/2 oz cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 egg yolks
5 tablespoons sugar
4 tsp cornstarch
2 tablespoon gelatin
1/2 cup water
9 oz white chocolate
600 g of cream

Crunchy Chocolate Base
130 g (4.59 ounces) milk chocolate
30 g (1.06 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup rice krispies

Healthy Spinach Lasagna Rolls

 Healthy Spinach Lasagna Rolls

                                                                                           

Ingredients of Healthy Spinach Lasagna Rolls

9 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
1 (15 ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings
salt and fresh pepper
(optional) 1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
32 oz tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
9 Tablespoons part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions of Healthy Spinach Lasagna Rolls

                                                                                           

Preheat oven to 350°. Make sure you drain the spinach well. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, Italian seasonings, chicken, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry by patting them with a paper towel. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over a noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 Tablespoon of mozzarella cheese. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.
To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.

CLEANING YOUR OVEN - The easiest way EVER!

Begin by preheating the oven to 150 degrees (or your lowest setting available). While the oven is heating, put on a pot of water to boil. Once the oven has reached 150, turn it off and pour 1 cup of ammonia into a heat safe bowl or baking dish and place it on the top rack of the oven. Place the pot of boiling water on the bottom rack, close the oven door, and leave them both in the oven overnight. 

The next morning, open the oven and remove both the bowl of ammonia and the pot of water, keep the ammonia – you’ll use it later. Remove the racks and leave the oven door open to air out for 15 minutes. Add 1-2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid to the ammonia, along with 4 cups of warm water, and using a heavy-duty nylon scrubbing pad dipped in the ammonia mixture, begin to wipe away the softened grease and grime along the sides and bottom of the oven. 

It should be a fairly easy job at this point. Wear some kitchen gloves, since ammonia can be caustic to skin. Rinse/wipe clean with a damp cloth.