Wednesday, April 30, 2014

strawberry pavlova trifle


The resurfacing heated debate of whether pavlova originated in New Zealand or Australia was really the inspiration for this week's chow creation. Just kidding - I just really like yummy things and this was surely that and even more! This pavlova layered dessert is not only delicious, but it is also texturally and aesthetically delectable. The crunchy chewiness of the pavlova, layered between smooth creamy pudding and accented with fresh sweet strawberries. This is to die for - literally, if God told me this was his welcome gift I would die right here right now (I'm just kidding, please don't kill me now. At least let me finish the post). 



To kick off this three component dessert I'm going to separate some eggs. You only want the whites. If you get just the smidgiest bit of yolk in your whites consider it breakfast and start over. The yolk will prevent the whites from whipping and you'll be standing over your pavlova for hours wondering why it stays flat. Reserve 3 of the egg yolks for the vanilla pudding. 

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

coming Soon - strawberry pavlova trifle


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

10 easy picnic dessert ideas - happy national picnic day!

I couldn't figure out why the links, or the descriptions weren't working or being displayed. For the time being if you like a picture type it into the search bar on the right hand side and it should pop up. And as always, 

Chow!


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goji berry cashew granola bars - 1st annual picnic earth day celebration!


Happy Picnic Earth Day Chowder Heads! This is our first National Picnic Day, Earth Day Mashup and I hope to remember to do this for all the years to come. My goal is to show ya'll how to make something that is uniquely Earth Day themed while also picnic friendly. What I came up with are these Goji Berry Cashew Granola Bars. Think of these like an upscale version of the archetype trail mix bar you get at the supermarket. These packable snacks are chock-full of sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy. I just think they are the perfect embodiment of what the earth provides for us and the variety of flavors it can produce - #motherearth, #savetheenvironment, #aliensarenotreal. So without further ado let's get started! By the way, I've gotten comments that I invariably say "did I mention this is easy to make" in all my first paragraphs, so I want to apologize and I won't ever do it again. Unless, by pointing it out I inadvertently say it again in which I don't apologize because that was the plan. 


Like I said before, these aren't your average, one note, cloyingly sweet supermarket granola bars. These are naturally sweetened with honey, a little bitter from the goji berries which I will explain later, salty from the sea salt, and just the slightest bit spicy from some black pepper. Although these have the look, texture, and feel of a mundane granola bar, when you bite into one I'll guarantee it'll be an experience like none other. 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

coming Soon - goji berry cashew granola bars - 1st annual picnic earth day celebration

April 22 is Earth Day and following that is National Picnic Day. So for this post I thought I would show off my crazy math skills and put the two together to give you my first annual Picnic Earth Day blogpost. Every year after this one I hope to celebrate with you the infallible beauty that is the earth we live on, while we eat on it, at a picnic, with a deliciously earth themed chow-fection. Our Goji Cashew Bars are still in the oven so I really hope ya'll come back to give these a try. And as always, 

Chow!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

chocolate cashew butter - this takes more time explaining than making


Those of you who know me, know that I love desserts disguised as breakfast items. Like coffee cakes, muffins, and danishes. But this Chocolate Cashew Butter is the most incognito of them all. This is like the nutella of kidney shaped nuts. You can market nutella all you want with multigrain bread and floating bubbled nutrition facts. But at the end of the day, all it is is eating chocolate for breakfast. Which is precisely why I love this recipe. It taste similar to nutella, except creamier and nuttier but without all the high fructose corn syrup and artificial additives. 

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

coming soon - chocolate cashew butter


All you need is a blender. You can do it. Well you should probably wait for the recipe. Unless the recipe is above this post. Just wait for the recipe. Gosh why do you always have to make everything so complicated.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

raspberry jam swirled buns - a surprising experimental success!


Imagine splicing one of these in half and spreading warm butter on its toasty side. Actually, that's a good idea, and it's breakfast, hold on one second...



okay I'm back. If there are any typos it's because I have a roll in my left hand. I love sweet rolls, in fact before this blog I used to make all types of bread, baguettes, brioche, pita (I'll try to put out more yeast based recipes in the future). But I think my favorite in terms of the all important simplicity to reward ratio has to be the humble roll. Not only are these easy to make, but everyone craves over these. Unlike the store bought rolls which are dense and cakey, my buns are perfect - pun intended. These are fluffy, airy, full of flavor, and most of all you'll look like you spent hours to make these. Well actually you did but it's not a lot of work just waiting, I'll get to that below. 

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

candied lemon slices - more like lemon rings


These days the shelves at the stores are inundated with rows and rows of processed overly sweet crap. You want to be able to feed your family delicious sweets that you know they'll love, but more than that, you know what's in them. That's why these Candied Lemon Slices are exactly what you've been waiting for. Well, they started out as slices but turned into rings. Later I'll show you how you can avoid this. They're naturally sweet, chewy, and you can be sure that they taste like the real deal because they are the real deal. Not only will the kids love these, but you'll love them too because they are just so easy to put together. You literally only need sugar, water, and a couple lemons. Heck, it's even easier than going to the store to buy them. So let's get started. 


First you need to obtain some lemons, obviously. Try to pick lemons that are round so all of your slices turn out the same. Although it may seem like common sense, you should also use lemons that have no blemishes or dried parts because remember we'll be eating the rinds as well. Rinse your lemons thoroughly and using a very sharp knife, cut an inch off both ends. 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

coming soon - candied lemon slices

Chewy sweet lemony slices of spring deliciousness. I'm still writing the post but it'll be up either tomorrow or the next, check back soon. This isn't an April Fool's joke by the way it'll seroiusly be out shortly. And as always, 

Chow!