Happy Christmas, New Year, Birthday and Chinese New Year!
Sorry for the delay in posts. More coming soon.
scenes from winter 2011/2012
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Category Archives: sweets
scenes from thanksgiving 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
Rise ‘n’ shine
Back to SBD for a short stint, until the next special event (did I mention our wedding anniversary is a mere week away?) Until then, please enjoy this dramatic image of “bad carbs”, brought to you by the Microsoft cafeteria located on the 28th floor of Lincoln Square in Bellevue:
To your left, some weird orange-marbled bread. To your right the danish, the chocolate croissant and peeking out of the corner is the item most likely to be purchased by the husband out of all of these choices, the apple fritter.
For anyone keeping track, the danish (if there is cream cheese present) probably clocks in with the highest number of calories, at around 490. All but the orangey bread will put you in the 400+ calories range. But considering the size of that slice of orange-ish bread up top, it’s probably in at least the mid-300 range, don’t you think? Never mind the question of, how in the world did that get so orange??
New Easter tradition?
Trophy Cupcakes took a page from the Easter Candy syndicate. They create these scrumptious cupcakes that are only available once a year: Easter weekend. What’s so special about a Hi-Hat? Well, have you ever tried a chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate-covered fresh marshmallow?
Well unfortunately you’ll have to wait till next year.
Last year the Trophy gals at the Bravern tried to convince me I needed to put in an order but I just wasn’t into it. And I did have a twinge of regret. So this year, upon noticing their mention on their FB page that orders were filling up, I decided something had to be done. I put in an order for 2 Hi-Hats, that I picked up on Saturday afternoon during the toddler’s nap. What a great surprise she had upon waking up. A treat she shared with her Mom!
I’ll admit it. I got a little giddy when I explained what I was planning with the husband. He just wishes he enjoyed cupcakes as much as I do. The cake itself was moist and not too rich, a perfect complement to the sweet, creamy marshmallow and the decadent chocolate casing. If you notice that one piece is bigger than the other, it’s because I didn’t think it was appropriate for a toddler to have so much sugar. Am I right, or am I right?
I might have mentioned earlier that I had ordered 2 cupcakes. Tonight, after a long day of Easter celebrating, the only thing that could ease my stressed mind was another half of our second Hi-Hat. The other half awaits in the fridge for my little cupcake.
I believe I have found a new Easter tradition for the toddler and me.
Birthday Fun
Some of the fun food/activities during birthday celebration time, then see below for some photo highlights:
- Blue C Sushi. Now, I know it’s not exactly gourmet stuff, but it is a lot of fun and easy to bring the kid. Of all the things she could have pointed out that went by on the conveyor belt, what caught her eye? The Mighty-O Donuts. Wow. Good thing we were heading to the next item on my list right after lunch…
- Trophy Cupcakes! I’ve been looking forward to this since my office moved from The Bravern to Lincoln Square. No easy access to Trophy, you see. It was also fortunate that my birthday fell on a Thursday … Chocolate Peanut Butter day. Yay!
- Shopping. I told the husband that for my birthday I wanted to go shopping. By myself. So yesterday I hopped the bus to downtown and spent a quality few hours with my debit and credit cards. Nordstrom Rack was my main destination, but also toured the Gap, Old Navy, Pacific Place, among others. My main goal was to try on a bunch of pants to figure out what size I am. And what I learned it it all depends on where you go. Great. It was really enjoyable to walk in and out of stores, to try on clothes without having an entourage (i.e. family) waiting for you. Bliss!
- Zoo! After shopping I took the little one to the Zoo. We mainly just hung out at the Family Farm and we finially got around to checking out the “habitat discovery loop”. Carousel, too. The only drawback to the Carousel was that I took her twice. That’s $4. Which meant four fewer dollars for …
- Red Mill Burgers. We haven’t been to RM for a while (used to go more frequently when we lived in Ballard, and/or before we had the kid). Sorta forgot that they are a checks/cash only establishment. So I had them ring up 2 burgers, and was there anything leftover I’d buy some fries. Nope. Had we just sprung for one carousel trip instead of two … but how can I not splurge for the little girl? Definitely made the right decision.
- Cake from Metropolitan Market. No picture. Because I ate it too quickly. Since I came home fries-less, the husband went hunting for something more at the store and came home with (among other things) a slice of chocolate mousse cake. Since I opted out of baking a cake this weekend, this slice definitely hit the spot. Even if it did give me a sugar headache immediately afterwards.
If it’s not obvious from the above list, I’m taking a break from the usual SBD (sort of) while birthday week celebrations go on. It’s the year of the rabbit! I’m a rabbit! So take a guess as to how old I turned on Thursday. Does the littlest one understand birthdays? Not sure, though I don’t think so. We aren’t exactly the “happy birthday to you” song kind of family. I do wonder if she understands that she gets a tasty cupcake when someone’s birthday comes along. (though she often calls the banana muffins I’ve been making “cupcakes”, so maybe not).
Chocolate Peanut Butter to the left, Red Velvet on your right. The toddler picked out the “Samoa” for herself, but I’ve had the Samoa and I didn’t want her bouncing off the walls. So I chose the domesticated Red Velvet for her. She didn’t put up much of a fight:
Here are a few other pics from the birthday festivities:
A Red Mill Burger (just a cheeseburger), which I split with the toddler. That I only had $10 cash on hand (RMB takes cash or checks only) made the decision to forego fries, onion rings and a shake pretty simple:
My birthday beer. Courtesy of the husband:
I originally planned to make Chocolate Guiness Cake. Bought the ingredients and everything. Then yesterday had a change of heart and decided I really didn’t want an entire cake hanging around the kitchen while I return to those SBD times. I told my husband my decision and then said something like, “So you can have that Guiness that’s in the fridge.” He just looked at me as if to say, “Duh”. Ha ha. But, he did find this fun beer for me. Better enjoy it before the weekend festivities are over.
BTW, check out in the background of the beer pic, to the far right, a glimpse of the cute Chuck Taylors I got for L at the Rack. They’re velcro and they are awesome! She’ll have to grow into them but I’m super excited. Why is it I’m buying the toddler stuff on my birthday? Because it makes me feel gooood!
Pineapple Cake Cookie Thingy
It’s Birthday Week. Woot! I asked the husband to tell my in-laws to refrain from making me my traditional pie this year. While a slice would be great, we both agree that an entire pie is a bit overkill, especially considering our efforts to reduce sugar intake (which is hard to believe, considering this current post and the one I just wrote as well).
It didn’t occur to me to mention this to anyone else. So imagine my surprise when a birthday package came in the mail from my parents, carrying one of my favorites:
These Pineapple Cake Cookies (I don’t really know what they are called), a Taiwanese treat, are lovely. A buttery shortbread surrounds a sweet, chewy, dense pineapple center. When I was younger my parents would buy these in small plastic containers with 10 or 12 of them per package. I could eat half that package in one sitting. I still can, I’m sure. The ones that arrived in my birthday care package were quite a bit more fancy. They are from a bakery in my parents’ San Gabriel neighborhood, and 2 cake-like cookies are freshly sealed in a smaller package. Perfect to share with the toddler, who shares my sweet tooth, and my love for pineapple cake-cookies. Especially perfect that the husband isn’t a fan of them (more for us). A little research on the Web brought up a homemade recipe. I’m not about to try to make them from scratch. The ones from the store are pretty good.
The ones from my Mom’s neighborhood bakery are pretty much divine.
I’ve had to stash the cookies in hiding place to avoid eating several in one sitting. These will hopefully last through the end of the month. At least (let’s hope) through the end of Birthday Week.
Sweet! I mean, Suh-weet!!
Last week I finished the book Candyfreak, by Steve Almond (small sidenote: the writer and I have “1 mutual facebook friend in common”, according to Bing. Maybe you have friends in common, too). A delightful sweet treat! It made me feel less-freakish for loving sweets as much as I do. In addition, it made me feel much more normal because I am definitely not as freak-ish as this guy Almond is about candy. The book basically details his youth as a, well, candy freak, specifically when it came to chocolate candy bars. His obssessive-compulsive candy behavior sends him on a pilgrimmage to several independent candy bar factories in the guise of “research for a book”. He tours a number of factories that make the confectionaries that their locals love … I remember in the Alton Brown series Feasting on Asphalt, Alton made a point to try all of the local candy bars he could find).
Memo to self: Investigate if there is a chocolate factory that offers tours somewhere in the Seattle area.
I recommend this if you loved chocolate or candy as a kid. It’s a delightful (and quick) read. Made me want to write to the writer after finishing it. But I’m a few years late and he’s moved on to other projects.
I wasn’t a local-candy freak growing up (to be honest, I don’t remember if Connecticut even had “local” favorites). But I did love Snickers. I remember working at the Bishop Corner Shell gas station and for lunch, if I didn’t go to McDonald’s, I’d have a bag of M&M’s or a Snickers bar and a Coke for lunch. And a few blow-pops. Ah yes, a healthy adolescence.
Anyway, I finished the book late Tuesday evening (or, rather early Wednesday morning), and Wednesday at lunch decided to take a quick trip to Cost Plus World Market across the street from my office. Yes, how lucky am I, to work kitty corner from CPWM. There they carry tons of European candies with funny German names or kooky Japanese characters. But they also carry some of the retro bars that Almond mentions in his book. In the pic below you’ll see the Clark Bar (which I remember from the movie “Terms of Endearment”); the Abba-Zaba; and next to that the Big Hunk (the Big Hunk plays a somewhat memorable scene in Almond’s youth). On the left, behind the display of the pig that poops chocolate you’ll see Pop Rocks peeking out.
You’ll also find here two candies that were very significant in my college years: Mike & Ikes and Swedish Fish. Without those, Chewy Spree and Skittles, not sure I could have made it through my third and fourth years.
Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews is another old-fashioned candy, famous in Philadelphia. They were later sold to Just Born (makers of Mike & Ikes, Hot Tamales, etc).
For the record, while I was seen walking around Cost Plus carrying both a Clark Bark and a Peanut Chew for a few minutes, eventually I put them down and picked up a bag of Utz’s Butter-flavored pretzels. Why? Because since leaving Chicago I’ve been haunted by the loss of what I considered the best-tasting pretzel ever, that being Jay’s Butter Minis (available all over Chicago, but nowhere near me!). Utz’s was a pale comparison (a little too salty, not buttery enough).
I also bought some Swedish Fish. Which I had to give to my office neighbor the next day for fear of OD’ing on them (not exactly SBD-friendly).
One final note. I wrote ages ago about my favorite Easter candy, the cadbury mini-egg. This chocolate treat has quickly made it up the ranks to be probably my favorite chocolate candy (or at least is in hot contention with the See’s Scotchmallow. While the See’s favorite is available throughout the year, the CME has budget considerations on its side. And, let’s be honest, I’m not actually buying candy all year long. Just when the mood strikes). In my previous post I wrote about how one bag got me through the Easter season. Not to be outdone, this year I’ve already purchased 4 bags, well-hidden from chocolate-fiends, to last me well after Easter comes and goes. I’ve got my eye on at least one more bag (specifically the “royal dark” flavor) before Easter comes along. Just need to make it to a store that has them in stock …
Now, I think that’s enough about candy for one post. Nearly 750 words, according to WordPress’ word count.
what do you do when the boss is on vacation?
we make s’mores.
on a panini grill!
then we get sugar crashes and feel sick. but so worth it.
Cupcakes I have loved
Trophy Cupcakes - Halloween Cupcakes
Trophy Cupcakes - It's a Mummy
Trophy Cupcakes - Espresso, Mocha and Latte specials
Trophy Cupcakes - Fall
Trophy Cupcakes - Summer
Trophy Cupcake - It ain't a party unless someone brings the CCs
I’ve got more cupcake pics … i feel like i take them all the time. Just gotta find them!
Trophy Cupcakes keeps me sane at work. It’s sad, but I’ve basically memorized their menu. The boss brought in a dozen cupcakes for a meeting yesterday. Someone asked what kinds they were and with barely a glance I quickly blurted out, “Pineapple Upside Down; Red Velvet; Samoas; Chocolate Vanilla”. People stared. “What??” I said. I hung my head a little bit sheepishly. Then had a chocolate vanilla. Yum.
Happy VD
I told the husband last week that I didn’t want flowers on Valentine’s Day (what we prefer to call “VD”). I didn’t want jewelry (not that we can afford it right now). I didn’t want a fancy dinner. I all I wanted, I told him, was some petit fours from the Market. And he delivered. Hurrah!
petit fours for valentine's day
They are delicious. Light and airy, with a touch of marzipan in the center of two layers of cake. Just the right amount of sweetness.
Thanks to the husband!