February 22, 2012

Earl Grey Chocolate Cake

Food blogs are funny. If you look at this picture, you might assume that I had a neighbor/ friend over for tea. In reality I was standing on a chair, trying not to make a lot of noise while my 3 year old napped away in his room upstairs. I was also trying really hard not to fall off said chair; I don’t have a good history with standing on chairs…

I was sorting my way through a pile of papers during Cooper’s nap when I found a little recipe card for this Earl Grey Chocolate Cake. It’s been waiting to be made since I clipped the recipe out in college. I was craving something chocolatey, I had all of the ingredients and wanted a cup of tea. It was a sign. I feel it’s important to always pay attention to signs like these. This cake came together in less than 15 minutes and it took about the same amount of time to clean it all up. I love that in a cake.

After the cake was done and sprinkled with powdered sugar, I had a pretend tea party in my kitchen where I drank one cup of tea and ate two slices of cake. You can’t let cake go to waste like that. When it’s exposed to air like that it’s got a short shelf life…or something.

Tea parties for one are where it’s at. Especially when a beautiful Earl Grey perfumed chocolate cake is your star dessert.

A fancy hat & gloves are totally optional.

recipes, Uncategorized

February 21, 2012

Orange Spiced Cashews

When I have company over I like to make some type of nut concoction. Nuts round out a cheese plate and they are usually appreciated by people who are vegan & gluten free (as long as you use the appropriate ingredients).

These orange spiced cashews evoke images of Darjeeling Limited.

It’s totally the combination orange zest, coriander & cumin with that sweet corn syrup.

You know what that means, right?! Tracy is going to do a weird visual thing again. Wait for it…

around the home, Uncategorized

February 20, 2012

MY FAVORITE KITCHEN TOOLS: PART 1

One of the most popular emails I get is “I’m working on a wedding registry, can you tell me what essentials I should put on it?” So here you go! The SHUTTERBEAN kitchen could not operate without these items:

around the home, my everyday life, Photography, Uncategorized

February 18, 2012

My Everyday Life: Week 7

Here’s what this past week looked like:

This license plate says MWUHAHA. I was thoroughly amused by this on my commute to work.

Uncategorized

February 17, 2012

I love lists, Friday!

Ron Swanson Embroidery! Does it need an explanation?!
Katie’s photography inspires me to no end.
I could watch/have watched these gorgeous videos ALL DAY LONG.
1 shirt, styled 5 ways! I heart numero uno!
Mini cakes made in cans. BRILLIANT!
I love that this post starts with Let’s fry our breakfast. Umm OK!
This muffin and this pudding make me want hazelnuts SO BAD.
Gonna make something special with this Freezer Paper Stencil HOW TO!
The trouble with working from home…
This is how I see the world. Finally! A representation of how my brain works.
Nothing prettier than cut open citrus. Seriously.
I love listening to the latest Turntable Kitchen mix at work.
How to look like Ryan Gosling. WHOA.
My hair is no where near long enough to make curls, yet I watched this whole video.
What a tasty looking Soup Roundup!
This Spin Doctors song will always conjure up this scene for me. Always.

On the Joy the Baker Podcast this week, it’s Real Life Real Talk. We catch up on what’s going on in our lives and we overuse (we meaning ME) the word SHUCK.

This week on High Straightenence, I sort out & organize Cooper’s toys! It’s a fun mess.

out & about, Uncategorized

February 16, 2012

Highlights from the Alt Summit:

It’s been almost a month since I was at the Alt Summit in Salt Lake City…. Yeah, I’m a little behind. I finally carved out a little time to go over my notes from the trip and now I’m ready to digest them! Even though this conference wasn’t a Food Blog conference, it left me with PLENTY of food for thought. See what I did there?

Here are a few of my highlights:

Be proactive instead of reactive. Think of this is in terms of getting organized & getting things done. Instead of hanging out on twitter & facebook first thing in the morning, get to work! Wasting time being apart of someone else’s conversation doesn’t help you with starting your own. You will have more to show for your hard work if you’re actually working.

Don’t think of balance as a seesaw. Balance isn’t a straight line. Think of balance as if you are juggling balls. Each ball in your life has a different weight. Through the process of elimination, you can decide which balls to let go of and which to hold on to dear life for. You must constantly evaluate and weigh the importance of each new thing you plan on inviting into your life. It is also important to take a step back and evaluate how to make things better so you can continue to juggle the biggest balls in your life (get your head out of the gutter).

Guilt. If it won’t motivate you to do something, then it’s a waste of your time.

recipes, Uncategorized

February 15, 2012

Baked Artichoke Squares

My parents entertained A LOT when we were growing up. It was pretty exciting because it meant a few things. 1. We could play video games without my parents getting into our business. 2. We could steal cans of Coca-Cola from underneath the card table and make our own soda concoctions in the backyard 3. My mom would have certain special things for us to eat like Baked Artichoke Squares & DESSERT. We only had dessert when company was over.

The thing about these Baked Artichoke Squares is that they’re not the prettiest looking appetizer. What they lack in beauty, they make up in taste. Me and my brothers always got into them before our parent’s guests arrived and my mom would chase us around the house totally peeved. Flash forward a few decades and I’m in my own kitchen, making them for company. I always have a difficult time not polishing off the batch before I put them out on a plate for guests. Old habits die hard.

My friend Jessica put it best by describing them as being like “portable artichoke dip!” She’s totally right. It’s like artichoke dip met quiche and had a baby. And the baby was the most perfect baby EVER!