January 22 - pickled carrots January 22, 2015 17:14

I was going to quill more today to finish my mom's gift, but the day ran away from me. After my recent Cordon Bleu sushi class, I seemed to have mastered it. By that, I really just mean I've figured out a system to make sushi really quickly. During the class, one of the greatest tips they gave us was to pickle the veggies - kind off. They had us cut up the cucumbers, peppers, and carrots ahead of time and marinate them in rice vinegar and mirin. Made all the difference and provided so much flavour - authentic or not. 

So I decided, if I'm going to be cutting up veggies and marinating them, why not pick the carrots ahead of tjme? First off all, they're not as crunchy which won't give sushi that weird texture. And second, it will give off a great taste. Here's the brine I used, but I'll only be able to tell you if it's good in a week or so - it has to set. 

For a 375ml jar:

• slice up enough carrots to fill 3/4 of the jar. 
• Place them in a bowl and sprinkle a tbsp of salt. This will soften them up
• boil 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1/3 cup regular vinegar, 2.5-3 tbsp brown sugar, and a spoonful of Sriracha sauce. Mix, bring to a boil, and simmer for a few minutes. 
• Rinse the carrots to get the salt off. 
• Place them in a jar. Top with the brine. 
• Let cool, then refrigerate. 
• Let stand at least 4 days before eating. 

i love pickles stuff with steak, on salads, with cheese for appetizers, and in my case, I made these specifically for sushi making! 

January 20 - Reese's peanut butter cups January 20, 2015 15:02

I was planning on working more on quilling today but I think another quiet simple day is called for. So I made Reese's Peanut Butter cups from scratch. 

For those who may seem confused for a split second, these:

Justin, so caringly, knows what *I* want, and got me a peanut butter cup mold for Christmas. Just to clarify, these are his favourite - subtle, right? So I decided to give it a try and it turned out simple enough and delicious to no end. Just a bit time consuming for each layer to harden. 

Step 1: melt chocolate. I did half and half of dark chocolate chips and milk chocolate. Melt it in the microwave for 2 minutes at half power. 

Step 2: line your mold or muffin pan with a very thin layer of chocolate and shove in the fridge to harden. 

Step 3: combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and salt until a smooth consistency. I don't like it overly sweet so I didn't add as much sugar as one would think. Stick your finger in every so often as you beat it to try it, you can always add more as you see fit.

Step 4: once the chocolate is hardened, spoon in the peanut butter mixture but make sure to leave enough room for the chocolate topping. Shove in the fridge to harden.

Step 5: remake the chocolate for 30 seconds at half power. Spoon a smooth topping. Let harden and EAT! Om nom nom. 

January 10 - sushi January 10, 2015 22:20

Today, a 9 year old dream came to life. I was given a Cordon Bleu class as a Christmas gift from my wonderful parents-in-law. And even more so, it was The Art Of Sushi. 

It took majority of the day, but I learned quite a few new techniques and overall had an incredible time. From getting out of the house, to eating my favorite food to learning cool ways to make it... It really was a dream come true.  

His:

Mine. I may not have a crazy carved dragon of root vegetables, but I got a cute little asian sushi set :D

January 6 - fail #1 and cookies! January 6, 2015 23:14

Today is a sad, sad day. Between still being exhausted, actually taking the dog out, and having a doctor's appointment, I decided to try and learn how to knit. After 2 hours I ended up with a raging headache, a nap, and a collection of knotted yarn. Fail. 

I soon gave up and decided to make pom poms. Unfortunately I HAD to choose the shedding yarn and they ended up useless. Fail. I'll save the pom pom idea for a future project I have in mind. 

So I made up some cookies so this day doesn't go to waste. And they were KICK ASS. This is an approximate recipe since I made them up as I went.

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp instant coffee
• 3/4 tbsp Cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips 

mix them all together, spoon onto a cookie sheet, and bake 10 min at 350. These. Were. Amazing. 

Maybe the day wasn't a full waste afterall. 

Om nom nom nom. 

January 1 - CAKE January 1, 2015 23:13

I've been racking my injured brain for ideas on how to make this year better. Last year I started by posting a photo everyday of something that made me happy in order to try and stay positive. But the posts quickly started getting annoying for everyone seeing as they were mostly all of my dog. 

So this year, I decided to be more pro-active and try to use my creativity to the max by doing a project a day. Anything from a cool recipe, sketch, painting, woodworking, scrapbooking, or miscellaneous. If you have anything you want me to try or any ideas you'd like to challenge me with, hit me up in the comments! 

I cheated a little with the first post of the year since it was 11pm by the time I thought of this project and I actually spent the entire day eating YESTERDAY's project. It's a chocolate-Nutella-banana cake. 

The cake dough is a favorited recipe from my grandma-in-law but I tweaked the insides! 

Such a super and easy cake!

• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 2-1/4 cup flour 
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp each: baking powder, baking soda, instant coffee
• 3/4 tsp salt

mix it all up and add:

• 1-1/2 cup orange juice or water
• 3 eggs
• Then add 1-1/4 cup of oil over the span of 45 seconds as you mix it. 

Bake at 350 for 40 min and voila. Cut it up into however many layers you want, spread with a thin layer of Nutella, cover in a layer of banana slices, and whip up 2 cups of whipped cream with 2 tablespoons sugar or to taste.

DELISH. 

Total time: 55 min + cooling in between 

Total cost: <$10