#winning

I've had some good fortune on the interwebz lately. For the past few months I've been keeping my eyes open on twitter and facebook while playing around and entered into a few contests. 

For instance, all I had to do was retweet a blogger's tweet and I won this beautiful rose necklace from Odelma (on Etsy).
Then, I commented on SlowSouthernStyle's blog and won a Emma Graham skirt!
Then, and I can't even remember how, I won a book called Writing Yoga from YogaDork.

Last weekend we were able to go to the International Piano Competition Finals because I won tickets on twitter from 89.9 WWNO, which I saw on twitter! We were soo lucky!! Also, in case you ask, Ben made us leave right before they announced the winner...so we could think of them all as winners- they were Incredible!

Then I saw a post on Yogitoes' facebook asking us to post a photo of our vacation or staycation with our Yogitoes skidless towel and they would choose 5 winners. There were beautiful scenes with gorgeous asanas but I thought I had something special. So, I posted this photo of Benjamin in vrksasana (tree pose) near this amazingly beautiful old New Orleans tree:

i can't find the original! so i had to nab this from facebook...

this is my yogitoes skidless towel that i use over my mat when i'm sweaty (ie all the time)

And I won!! Probably due to my great model. For a while the five photos that won were on the front page of the Yogitoes website. 

As a winner, yogitoes told us they were sending a special little something along and I recently received this package in the mail:

Yay! How fun! 

Those are four bright and summery Yogitoes hBANDS which are headbands, wristbands, eye covers in savasana...or if you're my fiance they're awesome things to wear on your thighs while you run around the house. We may have also wrapped them around our heads like gauze :) hehe  What a great present!

But, it gets even better. Two of my most favorite things in the world are yoga and chocolate. And Yogitoes gets this... I also won my choice of whatever flavor fearless chocolate bar I wanted!!

I chose Exploding Coconuts, which is a bar of "rich raw coconut flakes detonate in palm sweetened (low glycemic!) cacao bliss...70% cacao." The ingredients are only organic raw cacao, organic coconut palm sugar, organic raw shredded coconut. 

Awesome right! Ah, but there's more!! Fearless Chocolate also sent along a one month subscription to their chocolate-of-the-month club, which they call Eat Mail. You pay your subscription dues and then each month they send along whatever they think of making!! I received two whatta-a-melon seedy bars.

front and back

If you haven't tried Fearless before go check them out. It's a really great company. Their icon is a toy elephant, my favorite animal! The chocolate is 100% Kosher, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, and they don't overcook the chocolate so it's technically RAW meaning there's so many more antioxidants than regular ol' chocolate bars from the corner store. One day I will be wealthy enough to be in the Eat Mail chocolate club. Until then, thank you so much to Yogitoes and Fearless for the great prizes! 

Next time you see a contest and think "aw i'll never win," give it a try! You never know what could happen :) 

a sweet kind of bark

Until yesterday, I had never made my own chocolate bark.

my first time experimenting with chocolate bark

It's probably the easiest thing to throw together in a few minutes and it turns out nicely no matter what you do. Plus, it's fun to break it up into pieces at the end. I don't know why I hadn't tried it before.

The fun part is that you can throw into it anything you want.

First, you choose your chocolate. Semi-sweet, dark, white, whatever you'd like. Personally, I don't think white chocolate is even a chocolate. But that's besides the point.
Then you decide what you want to put in your chocolate. Yesterday I chose pretzels for their crunch and salt. Marshmallows for their gooey sweetness. And dried cranberries for some chewy tart flavor.
After you melt the chocolate (in a double broiler or in the microwave-carefully) you simply pour it out and then place the goodies on top, pushing them in slightly so they stick. Then, wait about an hour for them to harden. I ended up sticking mine in the freezer since it's hot in here and so that's why you can see the chocolate sweating a bit. No biggie.

Once it's hardened. Just break it into whatever size pieces you'd like.

After I made these I noticed graham crackers in my cupboard. Not just regular graham crackers- gingerbread ones! So, naturally, I laid those out. Poured melted chocolate over them. Then layered them up with different findings.

I ended up with one covered only in marshmallows; one in toffee bits; and two in toffee bits, peanut butter chips, and almond slices. I haven't tried these yet but they look absolutely ridiculous.

So, go crazy with chocolate bark. I'm sure that you cannot mess it up. My next flavor will be dark chocolate with peppermint candy pieces- but that's for another day.

wrangling down time

Wow, where does the time go?

Well lately it is going to work and yoga...and not much else. Work is 8-5 and i've been told that does not mean open the door at 8 and walk out at 5. Rather, it means be working by 8 and work up until 5 and then do things like shutting down the computer, taking out the trash (oh yes, did I mention I do the cleaning where I work?), and putting files away after 5. But, I am not here to get on a long work rant. Maybe another day. I'm actually still not sure, even as I write this, what I want this post to be about.

Maybe it's about time management. Like I said, I work at least 8-5 every day. I also (if you recall. if not, see my last post) have been doing the 30 day yoga challenge. Today is day #12 and I have taken a class every single day without fail. It's strange how easy it is to put on my lululemon's and drive over there. (okay one Sunday after a bloody mary was a little difficult...). Maybe it's because I made a commitment. I find that I now don't think of it as a lot of yoga. Whenever I get on my mat I think, "it's been a while since I've been here" which is funny since it's probably been 24 hours.

It definitely is taking up a lot of time but what did I really do with that time before? Yah, I'm not sure either. Make groceries? Vacuum? Those things can be fit in at other times, and even neglected a little.

But I do have a guilty feeling. I'm doing this wonderful thing just for myself and some part of me feels wrong for giving this to myself. Why is it that women often feel that they cannot do nice things for themselves but should be doing everything for everyone else? I've got to make a note to keep some balance in that realm.

Back to time management, Ben and I had been looking forward to this fun med school event for a long time. But when the time came to get ready to leave on Saturday night, we both decided that we just wanted to spend some time at home alone rather than go out and probably spend more time talking to our friends. To balance this out we met up today with friends at my favorite lunch spot in all of New Orleans (i'll post all about this place next!) today. It seems that by not going out on Saturday and by spending what could have been a boring lunch break alone with others today I got the best of all situations! And I managed my time well because now I saw Ben and friends at lunch, I worked my whole day, and now while Ben is studying I will go to yoga! :)

Sometimes, things work out well.

Other times, chocolate caramel crunch cake will make it better when it doesn't.

From Ye Olde College Inn

quiche and fudge

Thursday night is so comforting. You know that tomorrow is your last day of the "work week" and then it's the weekend!! Tonight Ben happens to be out canoeing with the tulane med school wilderness interest group. They learn how to be doctors, get this...in the wilderness. But tonight i'm pretty sure they're just canoeing around somewhere. So, after a run and yoga practice I am home cooking up some whole grain rice and a thai peanut curry. I'm excited about this curry because besides tofu and all the usual veggies I've added cubed yams. hehe. I'm sure the rice will not live up to Ben's, however, He has a serious rice routine down and I'm an amateur.

Anyway, I thought I'd post some really simple and quick recipes for you. The first is something I make all.the.time: Quiche. The second is the simplest fudge but taken up a notch.

Okay, so on to the quiche. I'm not going to post how to make a pie crust. So, whatever kind of crusty you like to make go ahead and make it.
Now that your crust is ready you add a layer of cheese. You can choose any kind that you like, shred it, and layer it across the bottom of the crust. By putting the cheese at the bottom and not into the rest of the ingredients you create a barrier so that the bottom doesn't get all mushy.
Second step: you layer whatever you want on top of the cheese. I usually do cheddar and then broccoli. Or swiss and then asparagus. Yesterday I did a mix of all the cheese I had at home and then frozen spinach. Spinach is the only veg i'd recommend using frozen- the rest are fine with fresh if you bought it that day or the day before. Another option besides vegetables is meats. Pieces of ham, crumbles of sausage- I've done this too but soy meats (obviously).
Third step: make the custard layer. I've looked around and most people say to mix 3 eggs with 1 cup of milk. I usually do 4 eggs with 1.25 cups of milk. You can also add your herbs and spices to this mixture. Whip up the eggs/mix and then pour it into the already cheesed/etc pie crust. Most vegetables will float in the custard. No biggie. Pop the whole thing in an oven at 375F for 35 minutes. (In my oven I have to rotate it after about 20 minutes so know your oven). Then, after 35 minutes you can take it out and sprinkle more cheese over the top and bake again for 5 more minutes. mmm.

Quiche is such a great recipe because it's super easy, takes 5 minutes to throw together, and once it's baked it can be a meal right then or you can pop it in the fridge and have some when you wake up the next day and are too sleepy to whip up a whole meal!

On to recipe number two: chocolate peanut butter fudge. And, not just any chocolate peanut butter fudge, Super Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge. The chocolate fudge is something my mom taught me to make when I was very young.
In a saucepan heat up 12oz of chocolate chip morsels and 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. Make sure that you're stirring continuously because chocolate burns easily. Once it's smooth add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Pour the whole thing into a banking pan with foil. Spread it evenly and set aside. Now, again get the saucepan out and heat up 2 cups of peanut butter morsels, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. The chocolate section should be a little set by now so pour the peanut butter section on top of it. Now, just refrigerate!

Simple right?!

oh my sucre

i have to share something with you

i just have to. right now. get excited, i am.

it is Sucre. sitting at 3025 Magazine Street is a haven of amazing sweets.

First, there's gelato. Really good gelato with the best flavors i've ever found. I'm serious.
Then there's chocolates, all kinds. There's bars- chocolate with pretzels in them call to me.
There's little truffle chocolates. A ton of different kinds of little chocolates.
Sucre has coffee, wine, smoothies, shakes. They turn their gelato into shakes!
It has pastries- decadent pastries. Amazing.
It has french macaroons that are famous.
It has big square vanilla marshmallows.
It has these huge cookie things that I'm dying to try.

All of these things Sucre makes themselves daily.

Sucre makes cakes. They hand sculpt gorgeous cakes- when I get married I want a Sucre cake! On my birthday I want a Sucre cake! On Saturday I want a Sucre cake!

Okay, now, what I've been trying to get to are their cupcakes.

See that? That is Sucre's chocolate and salted caramel cupcake with a chocolate fleur de lis on top and their signature sparkle.

The salted caramel buttercream frosting is inside too! It is soo good.

AND, they ship! You can order them and send them to loved ones!! go to www.shopsucre.com or call them up at (504) 520-8311

do it. right now. don't waste any time and order yourself some sucre goodness. it is so worth it, thank goodness i live about two blocks away!

Here's my review of Sucre on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sucre-new-orleans#hrid:Fejv65uBGFmnxSxV03BFjw

Cookie Cupcakes

~RECIPE~

If you love chocolate chip cookies,
and you love cupcakes....
why not combine them!

A cupcake with a cookie on top and cookie dough inside!

I'm not sure where I originally got this idea (may have been on another blog) but it's fun and simple and yummy. Last night I decided to make this easier by buying the cupcake mix, frosting, and cookie dough! You don't always have to make everything from scratch and these are so yummy using mixes.

Okay, first gather a package of already-made chocolate chip cookie dough, a package of cake mix, and some frosting. I like to use vanilla cake mix and chocolate frosting.

Step 1: separate the cookie dough into quarter size pieces and roll them between your hands so they form a ball. Place the balls of dough on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer.

balls of cookie dough freezing

Step 2: make the boxed cake mix as directed by the package, mixing together the ingredients and setting it aside.

Step 3: line the cupcake "tin" with papers. Now, pour a little bit of the mix into the bottom of each cupcake paper.  (i bought theses cutesy papers at Michaels but i'm disappointed with how they fold in on themselves).

mix, cookie dough, all ready!

Step 4: now, retrieve those balls of cookie dough that are in the freezer and bring them out next to the cupcake "tin." Drop one ball of dough into each cupcake.
NOTE: if you don't want the cookiedough to sink to the bottom of the cupcake you can dust them in flour- this works for all add-ins including fruit. But, i think it's fine without that step.

drop em in

one cookie dough ball for each cupcake

Step 5: when each cupcake has its cookie dough, use the rest of the cupcake mix to fill each one to 3/4 full, using the rest of the mix. The cupcake should have more mix on the bottom, then the cookie dough, then just enough mix to just cover the ball of cookie dough.

cover them up

Step 6: bake as directed on the box. about 350degrees for 15-20 minutes. When they're soft but not raw take the cupcakes out and let them cool.

Step 7: use the rest of the cookie dough balls to make the cookies that are going on top of the cupcakes! just bake the rest of the balls to make tiny cookies. these should only bake for a few minutes because they're so tiny they may burn quickly.

bigger works better but small is cuuuute!

Step 8: Open the package of frosting and, with a knife, stir it around. you can also put it in a bowl and whip it- aerating it adds fluffiness and you'll double the amount your originally had! But, I just stick my knife in there and mix it for a few minutes. Then, pour the frosting into a small plastic bag (like a ziplock) and cut off one of the bottom edges. Only make a small cut. Now you have a pastry bag and can swirl the frosting on to each cupcake.

Step 9: Once each cupcake is frosted all you have to do is add one cookie to the top of each. Or, make smaller cookies and add two to each!

this photo does not do them justice bc i had refrigerated it hehe! 

Baked inside each vanilla cupcake should be raw cookiedough- but even if the cookiedough bakes a little it will be great, just like a cakey cookie!

Baker Bidaboo

All set to go to a potluck dinner with friends!!

If you do try these, let me know how they turn out!