Yesterday was my last day at work. I can’t believe it is actually over. I’ve been waiting and counting down for a couple of months now (longer than that really, but that was when I made my decision to quit), but now that it’s over I feel odd. I had my struggles with work for quite some time, but it was still sad to say goodbye. I don’t regret the decision to leave, but all day long I found myself pausing to take it all in: This is the last time I’ll sit in this cube fixing bugs… this is the last time I’ll walk downstairs to buy lunch… this is the last time I’ll use this laptop. It was all kind of surreal. I didn’t spend a lot of time this week looking ahead, I spent most of it looking back and saying good-byes. The few glimpses to the future I did have were scary. The unknown is scary. I’m excited and it feels good to be taking a step forward, but I am a little freaked out to be out on my own.
Before I could go, I wanted to leave my friends with a parting gift. Brownies. What could be better than brownies? But I couldn’t decide what kind to make: a classic fudge brownie? s’mores brownies? cheesecake brownies? I just couldn’t choose. That is, until I finished reading The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz. The last recipe in his book is for Dulce de Leche Brownies. Ding ding ding, we have a winner. So I pulled out the Spanish dark chocolate that my friend Erinne gave me and bought a can of dulce de leche (it was made by Nestle. I may try making my own next time but the can from Safeway wasn’t too bad).
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Tagged as: brownies, david lebovitz, dulce de leche, last day
Yep, you heard me right: A week without sugar. Can a girl who has eaten brownies for dinner really give up sugar? Better yet, why would she even try? I have no idea. Hehehe. Okay, to be completely and embarrassingly honest, I ate an entire buttermilk cake by myself… over two days. Well, technically over about 16 hours, but it was only a single eight inch layer. And it had cherries in it (cherries are healthy). But in addition to the cake, I also ate a handful or two of marshmallows with chocolate (think s’mores minus the graham crackers and fire). And all of this was really just the culmination of several months of carbo-loading in the form of pure refined sugar (and a little butter of course).
You see, I am addicted to the white stuff. So in a moment of weakness strength, I gave it up. That’s right, cold turkey. I reasoned that I needed to reset my sugar cravings. Kind of like the recasting Mireille Guiliano recommends in French Women Don’t Get Fat
except without the leek soup weekend and only concentrating on my biggest offender: sugar. I’ve been working out more and seeing progress in how my clothes fit, but my weight hasn’t budged. And in this moment of clarity I thought maybe, just maybe, eating a bit less butter and sugar might help. Maybe. I wasn’t convinced but thought it could be possible. So there I was, resolute and determined… and on Monday, I declared that I would cut out refined sugar from my diet for an entire month. Fruits and naturally occurring sugars are fine… and some natural sugar substitutes are okay in moderation (I mean, I have to have something sweet. I might implode if I have no sweets at all).
Then on Saturday, Dan and I had a couple of friends over for dinner. And they brought dessert: a chocolate cake called “Black Magic” with strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar. So I had a piece (or two)… it would’ve been rude not to have some. Did I mention the maker of this Black Magic is a pastry chef named Christine who also makes fabulous truffles? I’m not just saying this because I know her… NeoCocoa truffles are decadent and delicious just like truffles should be. I’m only human, people. What would you have done? That’s right, the sugar-free streak bit the dust. And it was totally worth it.
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Tagged as: agave syrup, brownies, fitness, french women don't get fat, good housekeeping baking, healthy eating, sugar free, sugar substitute, weight loss
Last weekend I went to Tahoe and stayed in a cabin with a bunch of people. When I say cabin, I don’t mean little 4 walled thing with 20 people crammed in. No, this place was insane… big enough that with 20 people it did not feel crowded. At all. Anyhow, remember my cupcake disaster where a dozen pink cupcakes jumped off of my counter in some sort of a cult suicide ritual? Well, those cupcakes were intended for the crowd in Tahoe, but their premature end left me disheartened but not down for the count. I packed a box of Duncan Hines brownie mix, a bag of Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix, chocolate chips, heavy cream and butter, and dreams of these insanely decadent looking brownies from Bakerella (she used chocolate chip cookie dough, I opted for peanut butter because… I love peanut butter and chocolate). Brownies with peanut butter cookie dough baked into it topped off with chocolate ganache. How to describe it… decadent? Yes. Delicious? Yes. Bomb-diggity? Foshizzle.
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Tagged as: brownies, chocolate, cookies, good housekeeping baking, oops, peanut butter, snickerdoodle
What did I do before DVR? Oh, that’s right… I actually got stuff done. Ha. But now I can have a crazy week and come home on Friday night and catch up on the week: Biggest Loser, Top Chef, Grey’s Anatomy, and reruns of Good Eats and Barefoot Contessa. Maybe it would be cooler to be out on the town, but I love my couple of hours with Padma, Alton and McDreamy.
So here I am, Friday night, in the middle of a cat sandwich blogging, reading Baking: From my home to yours (Am I the only one who reads cookbooks?), and watching Top Chef: Finale Part I in New Orleans – Laissez les bons temps rouler! Pretty-boy Jeff made it back by winning a quickfire challenge that Emeril judged (Bam!). Now there are 5 competitors: Stefan, Fabio, Carla, Hosea, and Jeff. I like Carla… and Fabio. I find Hosea to be a bit too whiny and Stefan is too arrogant. And is it wrong for me to say this? Jeff is just too pretty. Stefan does seem to be one of the strongest competitors but… meh. What do you think? Who is your favorite Top Chef competitor? And who do you think will win?
And now for this week’s roundup:
- Linda of Tender Crumb started her quest for the perfect brownie with a classic brownie. (I’m super excited to follow her search!)
- Outrageous Oreo Crunch Brownies from eat me, delicious. (Oreos!)
- Risa of Baked Perfection Chocolate Caramel Brownies (they’re covered in chocolate chips with caramel inside of the brownies… mmm)
Well, folks, I’m gonna go rescue a couple of bananas from their imminent demise… (Boo. Fabio is gone… boo.)
Tagged as: brownies, top chef
Today I helped D. move. I wasn’t required to do any heavy lifting, I just had to pack up all of the kitchen stuff and other little things. Now most of D. and the boys’ stuff is at their new abode. And D. and I are currently relaxing in the new living room (sort of relaxing… the Sharks game is on, so the relaxing is a little sporadic depending on what’s happening with the puck).
We’re both tired. And I felt a treat was in order after a hard day’s work. But this called for instant gratification. No baking, no mixing… Then I remembered that we still had not broken into the chocolate I had put in D.’s Christmas stocking. AND I just happened to remember where it was packed (surprise, right?).
So tonight D. and I are are sipping a Clos du Bois Cabarnet Sauvignon and nibbling on a Brix extra dark chocolate. The box recommends pairing it with a cabarnet sauvignon or bordeaux. The chocolate is dark but not bitter; it’s semi-sweet but not like chocolate chips, it’s darker than that. It pairs well with a big California red, but D. doesn’t think a Bordeaux would stand up to the semi-sweetness of this dark chocolate. But we both agree that with the cab it pairs very well. I found the Brix at World Market. If you like wine and chocolate, I recommend it. It is a nice treat.
And finally, the roundup:
- Peanut Butter Cup Brownies from Lori aka The Recipe Girl (can you all tell I like chocolate and peanut butter?)
- Irish Cream Dream brownies from HoneyB on The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch (this is another Cooking Light recipe)
- Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes from Deb at the Smitten Kitchen (Awesome blog, awesome looking cupcakes! I know, not a brownie, but these look like serious cupcakes… serious enough I will have to try them myself. And soon.)
Tagged as: brix, brownies, chocolate review, wine
