Having girls

Can I just take a minute to express how much I love having two little girls?! I love the fact that they get excited to watch “Cupcake Wars” with me… I love that my little one asks when “Sweet Genius” is going to be on. I just love the fact that I have prissy little girls that love to get excited about the same things that excite me!

Cinnamons

I got my Food Network magazine last Wednesday, and when my oldest caught a glimpse of the cover it was on!

“Mommy, please can you make those cinnamon rolls for breakfast?”

Without a thought in my my head I made the biggest mistake a mother can make while having a convo with her children…

“Maybe this weekend honey”

oops! I will blame it on my 1200 calorie diet I’ve been trying to keep up for 2 months now. My brain hasn’t had enough nutrition lately!

Fast forward to Friday evening, when I came home from work. I mixed and mixed, and turned and buttered and wrapped. In the fridge till morning!

This is the point where it was starting to pay off for me. The house smelled delish, and my family was super happy as I pulled it out of the oven.

I snapped one last picture for you, and threw my “not-gonna-be-fat-in-Europe-diet” out the window. I was super pumped at this point: iced coffee & cinnamon rolls.

First bite was eh… yes all that work and eh. If I was going to put all that time in, I really should have stuck with the Cinnabon knockoff that is splashed all over the internet.

It does make for pretty pictures though, right?!

And so I made cupcakes…

Since I couldn’t have sampita for my birthday treat, I scoured Pinterest for ideas.

I found these Tres Leches cupcakes. I did not, however use the recipe for the icing that goes on them. I found a different one that used a box o’ cream cheese & whipping cream. I know it doesn’t look as pretty, but tasted light & airy, so as not to take away from the amazing cupcakes themselves.

My brother also has a birthday close to mine, two days before actually. He came up to visit, and chocolate is his fav, so chocolate cupcakes of course. I had my best friend on the phone at the time, and I also know that chocolate cake is one of her favs as well. She too likes to use her Kitchen Aid, so I ask what was the best recipe to use. She suggested the one on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa container, pretty good I’ll say. I also have to let you in on the fact that I do not like chocolate cake. *gasp* Love chocolate, but not so much chocolate flavored things.

I have been munching on these Tres Leches cupcakes since Saturday, & still can’t get enough of them. I had one minor hang up: once I got to the ‘use a meat injector for the milk’ I was lost for a moment, then, rummaged through my utensil drawer…. SCORE! I surprise myself some times. I used a children’s medicine dispenser, worked like a charm ;)

Sampita 2 vs. Katrina 0

I originally thought that I could never make sampita because I did not have a stand alone mixer. I attempted it once, with my husband’s help (okay instruction), but it didn’t work out too well.

So, this being the case, I began to dream about a Kitchen Aid, and dream, and dream… I would read several recipes needing a mixer. I would watch Food Network, and tell myself some day.

As you know some day came! First mission was Sampita…

And here you are, 10 egg yolks (for the crust) & 10 egg whites for my dreamy, fluffy, cloud-like delishesnesses. Well, FAIL! what a waste of 10 eggs. The crust turned out lovely, and tasted good, but the meringue is just not gonna happen.

I guess I will have to find a baka (OLD Bosnian grandma) to help me :/

One nice thing happen out of the mess. I learnt how to make my own vanilla sugar. One teaspoon of vanilla to a 1/2 cup of sugar. You need this to make my favorite Bosnian treat, you can buy packets at the “Euro-supermarket”. I thought I had some in my cupboard, but did not on close inspection. So, that being said, I guess I am a domestic Goddess for being able to mix sugar and vanilla, right? LOL

Porto’s Bakery

I was first introduced to this wonderful-in-everyway-place by my lovely sister in law. This introduction, unfortunately was over instagram. You see my SIL lives in LA. Once she finished USC (yes, extremely proud over here), she officially took the plunge of living the high life of a studio apartment *sarcasm indeed*. What is not sarcastic however, is that I am living vicariously through her. Who wouldn’t want to be young, with tons of fun friends, on your own, in Los Angeles? So when we went to visit this past summer my only wish was to go to this place. It’s obviously the closest I was going to get to being young and fun in LA, with children behind me. haha So off we went:

The architecture inside and out was so pretty. I wanted to take tons of pictures, then redecorate my house accordingly.

Tell me one thing in this case that me, my husband, and my two girls wouldn’t want to take home?! Every. single. thing. I wanted to buy and smuggle on the plane.

This is what my husband and I settled on: Tiramisu on the left and mochachino on the right. Mine is the right, good thing, cause it was the most delicious one! I could use one right now, this 1200 calorie diet I’ve been on needs to be blown up!

A Latte Love <3

I know that Valentine’s Day is done, but one more post on that thought, okay?

I made this drink cozy for my husband a couple years ago, but came across it again just in time for the day. Unfortunately things have been crazy at work for him, so I stopped by Starbucks & bought the biggest cookie I could find… because I equate chocolate chip cookies with love, don’t you? I believe that he thought it was the best Valentines as well.

Happy Valentine’s Day 2013!

 

I wish you all a very loving & lovely day…

I am happy to announce that I am off to party it up with a bunch of Kindergarteners.

So? Are you loving my chocolate décor as much as I? I am beaming with pride for myself on this one! I don’t usually toot my own horn, but I’m lovin’ myself on this Valentine’s Day.

A Chocolatey Idea

I need to start off this post by saying, I am no chocolatier. I am, however, a chocoholic. Not the kind that I crave it one week a month, and not the kind that I LOVE, love. Love! Chocolate (although I do). I do mean it in ever sense of “aholic” you can imagine. Hide it? yes. Horde it? yes. Not willing to share? yes. But the one that made me stop and evaluate my situation is the day I stopped to get lunch and bought three salted dark chocolate caramels, individually wrapped. I put one in my mouth, and the other two in my pocket. Within the ten minutes I needed to get back to work, I had another one gone… I sat at my desk, seething for the last one. LOL desperate? I think so! I really wanted to keep it for that 2 pm crash/hang up, but no! It was gone 10 minutes later.

Now that you know my love/hate relationship with this most wonderful/most loathed object in my life, I have a nicer story to end with…

As I was drifting off to dreamland the other night I had a vision of creating chocolates for Valentine’s Day. They were going to combine two of my favorite flavors, Chocolate (of course) & raspberry. I had some jam in the fridge…

I also had a very lovely silicone heart mold I wanted to use for the occasion. You guessed it, the idea nagged at me, just as that last salted caramel. I decided to try my hand at being that non-chocolatier. I have to say, for my first time with “filled” chocolates, I feel like I did a fabulous job! The professionals seem to get more “stuff” in the middle, but I was fearful it would ooze out the back or the sides. They tasted just like my vision as I drifted off to sleep.

<3

AngelFood

There are my things that I have expressed my <3 on this blog about. Such as? Well my Family of course, the Beatles, Mata Samiches, my garden, & many many others. But yet one more food love I have to tell you about… As far back as I can remember, I have fond memories of walking into grandma’s farmhouse to a Angel Food cake upside down on the vintage glass pop bottle. I <3 Angel Food cake, like as in, eat a whole one in one day when I was 10, kinda love! No. Seriously :)

I have one problem though, as much as I enjoy this deliciously scrumptious-nesses, I can not seem to remember to bring one of those pop bottles home with me. I also can not remember to buy a bunt pan {of which I have no other use than this}.

So the other-day-ago, I was zooming along the baking aisle and found myself looking longingly at the Angel Food cake. I decided to put it up in my cupboard and then THEN I would remember next time I was at the store to buy one. But to my surprise as I was reading the back that night, I found all I needed was a couple loaf pans.. of which I have one! SO, I made one batch and while it was baking I placed the other half in the fridge with the thought that I would at least get a taste of this wonderfulness if the other half didn’t work out…

BUT.. It did!

So I was pleasantly surprised twice and got to have my lovely Angel Food cake and eat it too {pun intended} Of course it wasn’t as good as grandma’s, but let’s face it, it never is!

Doughnut Cravings

Not sure about you ladies out there, but sometimes I need some fried dough, nice & greasy, with some extra-sweet sugar on it! Yes. You all know what I am getting at! Cravings, we all have them from time to time.

Now I am not a big doughnut fan for the most part, but someone made the mistake of showing me how easy it is to make them.

Don’t read too fast, you might not get this: you need to popp a can of roll biscuits and fry. That is it! I took out the tiny heart cookie cutter from my kitchen drawer, and cut me up some “doughnut holes”. Don’t they look delish?!

Confession of a Bad Mommy

Hi! My name is Katrina, I am a mother of two, and I have a confession to make. This past Sunday, I allowed my daughters to eat carnival food for breakfast! I know, I know, but hear me out…We did not get our elephant ear that I promised the girls, so…

I got out the biscuits I bought to make donut holes, and also made these elephant ears. It was so simple, the hardest part was dodging the splattering oil when I dropped them. I simply pulled each biscuit as far as it would stretch without ripping. When I dropped it in the oil, I had to hold it down with my spoon to avoid it bubbling up in the middle too much. 

Once I took it out of the oil, I simple sprinkled them with cinnamon & sugar. Yes, that easy, & yes they tasted just as good as the real deal. YES! My girls were super excited about all of this idea

Chocolate Crème de Pots

 

Six brand new perfect little coffee mugs… what shall I put in them? We do have a bit of an obsession in our house, considering my husbands culture. Yes Bosnians love there coffee, and I have to admit I snickered a time or two at these manly men drinking out of tiny little cups. I seem to have embraced it though, not the actual drinking part, No! I embraced the shopping side of things.. I love these tiny little cups now. I got a lucky find while in Indy a few weekends ago, and found these cuties for 95 cents a piece.

I could have a little coffee party to show them off, right? Nope. I decide to showcase them with a little better of something in them

I am a chocolate lover, and this is one quick easy dessert I frequent. Crème de Pots.. almost like pudding, but thicker and creamier and yummy-er.

You will need:

1 cup half and half or light cream

4 ounces of semi-sweet baking chips

2 Teaspoons of Sugar

3 Beaten Egg Yolks {freeze the left over whites for another recipe}

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla

          

Got everything together? Good. Now get out your heavy saucepan, and combine the half and half, the chocolate chips, & the sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. I have included {fuzzy} pictures of the color changing process. Be sure to stir often, as it will scorch on the top if you don’t. While babying you chocolate, also get your eggs separated, and scramble up the egg yolks. Once you get a thicker, darker looking mixture, you will need to temper the eggs and chocolate mixture. To put it in laymen's terms, if you pour the hot mixture straight into the egg mixture too fast your gonna end up with scrambled eggs!  So pour little by little of the chocolate into the egg mixture bowl, and stir as you are doing this. Once you have all the ingredients together, all but the vanilla that is, cook it on low heat once more. Only 2-3 minutes this time.. till the mixture thickens up more. Remove from the heat, put your vanilla in, then your ready to put that yummo stuff into your fancy cups. Or any other dishes you might have/like. You will need to refrigerate these for 2 to 24 hours. I put mine in for only about 2 to 3 hours and they were ready to go.

Lesson learned for next time? Make two batches, We had one lonely cup missing some delishes-ness-es.