Book Review: Fuse by Julianna Baggot

Hello my fellow bookworms!

Guess what?! I finished another book! Actually, I finished this one about a week ago and I've been kinda too busy to write up a review until now :( Anyways, as the title of this post states, the book in question is Fuse by Julianna Baggot. Fuse is actually the sequel to Pure which is probably one of the most creative Sci-Fi book I've read in a very long time.

The basic premise of Pure is that years ago, there were nuclear bomb detonations all over the world but these bombs were engineered to alter every living creatures DNA so that you would literally become fused with what ever was closest to you. The main character Pressia Belze is a 16 year old girl with a doll head attached to her left hand. Pressia lives in a world that has grown harsh and dangerous. Not only does she struggle to survive but she lives in constant fear that she will be found by the militia to either be trained as a soldier or be used as a live target. But there were also people who were protected from the detonations. These people survived by hiding in the Dome; a structure built to withstand the DNA warping explosions, but only those of important positions and their families were permitted a place in the Dome, these people now called Pures. Our second main character is Partridge whose father is the single most influential men in the Dome. Why? Because he built it. Partridge is plagued with a need to know about the outside world and to find what became of his mother who didn't make it into the Dome in time. He escapes the Dome and meets Pressia Belze and together they go on an adventure to uncover the truth about the world they now live in.

Fuse, is essentially the continuation of Pressia and Partridges adventure. At this point it's hard to say ANYTHING about the book without giving huge spoilers about Pure, which if you haven't read it, I don't want to ruin it for you :(

I guess the simplest way for me to review this book then is to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters developed in a very fascinating and natural way as well as the events seemed well planned and intriguing. The book left me wanting even more but not in the way that I thought the book could be improved on, but in the way that I want to know what happens next. I suppose I'll just have to wait though. There is supposedly a third book in the works but I haven't heard any release dates that are set in stone.

Anyways, that's all for now guys!

Cheers,

Danielle

OOTD: Work Ready

Hey Guys and Dolls!

So I realized it's been a really long time since I've done any fashion related posts and at the same time, I haven't done a 'Going to Work' outfit of the day. So without further ado, this is what I will be wearing to work today!

I work in a women's clothing store and although it isn't necessarily a casual work environment (no jeans, message t-shirts or exposed shoulders), it also isn't a super corporate workspace where I have to wear a suit or all black. In this photo I'm wearing a pair of super thick and comfortable black leggings, a loose knit cream sweater and a cobalt blue scarf which is my favorite colour EVER (it's also the colour of my birthstone!). Also, all of these pieces were from my store. It isn't a hard and fast rule that you need to wear clothing from the store but we get a pretty sweet discount so I say why not?

I like to keep my jewelry and make-up relatively simple but today I thought I'd jazz my look up a bit with a pair of statement earrings. I kept all the emphasis at my eyes by doing a slightly smokey bronze look with black eyeliner and a soft pink lip.

What do you guys wear to work? Do you have a dress code?

Until next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Book Review: Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Hey guys!

So after this book review I'll be all caught up (Yay!) This book I had already started before I left for Hawaii and I took it with me thinking it would keep me occupied on the plane rides there and back.....
I was half right. I finished the book before we landed in Honolulu but holy crap was it a good one!

The book I'm referencing is Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd.

In this book we are introduced to Juliet Moreau, the daughter of a doctor who was hailed for his medical knowledge until he was accused of vivisection (dissection of living creatures) and he disappeared from society and thought dead. Juliet and her mother continued to live in London in somewhat high society thanks to her mother becoming a mistress but after her mother dies, Juliet is turned out into the streets to find honest work cleaning at a medical university. When she runs into her father's assistant and her childhood friend Montgomery, Juliet learns that her father is in fact alive and living on an island around Australia. She demands for Montgomery to take her to her father and she is reunited with him after more than 3 years of thinking him dead. Along the way they pick up a castaway, the mysterious Edward Prince whom is instantly smitten with Juliet though she doesn't seem to feel the same way.

Through the story, Juliet learns that the people she thinks she knows are not who she thinks they are and that the island holds dark secrets about everyone, including herself.

Guys, I enjoyed this book so much! It was gripping and high energy all the way till the ending. I never once felt bored while reading and I thought that the characters were solidly written and incredibly strong. I find that the majority of the books I enjoy are books that have a strong build of action running all the way through with a bit of romance mixed in. If the romance becomes the main focal point, I get annoyed and a little bit bored, but if it's all action and adventure all the way through and there are two characters with amazing chemistry and NOTHING happens between them, I get very frustrated. This book was a very good example of the right balance of action and romance :)

I also felt that this book has such strong imagery, there is quite a bit of potential for a movie adaptation to be made (and when I say movie adaptation, I mean a 5-6 hour long movie that doesn't cut anything from the book lol). I highly recommend this book to all those action/horror/romance lovers out there and if you end up reading it, let me know what you think about it!

That's it for now!

Cheers,

Danielle

Book Review: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Hey Friends!

It's time for another book review! As I stated in my last one, I've gotten behind in my reviewing so this one I actually finished about 2 and a half weeks ago.

This book is Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry.

Most people that I know have read at least one of her books even if it was only in school. I remember reading The Giver and Number the Stars during elementary school and I actually really enjoyed them even at a young age.

Lois Lowry is incredibly talented at creating alternate societies and worlds complete with traditions, hierarchy and history. In The Giver she gave us a glimpse of a world literally without colour or music with it's own secrets and darkness and Gathering Blue is much the same (according to Goodreads it's actually the sequel to The Giver even though it has none of the same characters).

At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Kira, a young woman with a crippled leg that she's had since birth. Her mother has just died and she is now embarking into a world that scorns people with defects or injuries so much that as soon as someone is found to be crippled or hurt in such a way that they're medicine cannot heal it (i.e. broken bones), these people are put out into "the field" to be taken away by beasts.

The world in which Kira lives is incredibly archaic and even a bit barbaric but this society has arisen sometime in the distant future from now.

I really enjoyed reading this book but I found the ending a bit abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying. It leaves a lot of things unresolved and frankly, I found it disappointing. I think this is one of those books that could have benefited from being longer even though the short length was a nice change from lengthy novels. I feel that if Lowry had made the book a bit longer, she could have tied a few things together a bit better and had a bit more solid of an ending to leave the readers with....but that's just my opinion :P

Until next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Book Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Hey Guys!

I'm back from my family trip to Hawaii! It was super nice to finally relax (I never realize how long I go without any time off until I finally take a break lol) but it's also good to be back home and sleeping in my own bed :) I've gotten really behind in reviewing the books I've been reading so the next few posts will mainly reviews. So let's just jump right in, shall we?

About a month (ish) ago, I finished a book called A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.

 I remember being really excited to read this book because it appeared to focus quite a bit on alchemy as well as witchcraft. At first the book started off really strong. The main character is Diana Bishop, a witch from a very powerful and illustrious bloodline but based on a childhood experience, she has rejected her magic and sees it more as a curse than a gift. She meets the mysterious vampire, Matthew Clairmont, a scholarly man with an interest in genetics. Unfortunately, this was where my enjoyment of the book fizzled out.

Diana and Matthews relationship doesn't so much grow into a romance but more jumps off a cliff into an ocean of cliche. Not to start any controversy, but their relationship reminded me of Bella and Edward from Twilight (I don't like that book series, I'll leave it at that for now, if you want to here my rant about it I could probably write a post about it if people want...). The relationship is similar in that Matthew (Edward character) is controlling and thinks that he knows what's best for Diana (Bella) and is always focused on protecting her, and Diana is almost an exact copy of Bella (in respect to her obsession of Matthew/Edward) except that she is a witch and isn't as clumsy as Bella (What? Bella is afraid to run from rapists because she knows she'll trip on her own feet. It's an actual part of the book).

I dunno guys, I finished the book more as a matter of principle than that I actually wanted to. I will admitf that the last few chapters were much stronger that the middle section but it still wasn't strong enough to redeem the book in my opinion.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you enjoyed reading Twilight, you will most likely enjoy this book, but if you didn't, it's probably a good idea to steer clear. But yeah, that's my two cents on that subject.

There are more book reviews to come so keep checking in guys! And if you want my opinion on a specific book, comment below and we'll start up a dialogue or something :)

But that's it for now guys,

Cheers,

Danielle

Mele Kalikimaka Punch

Aloha Friends!

So, a few of you may know that next week I'm taking a family vacation to Hawaii! Technically this is a gift for my high school grad (5 years later isn't that long, right?). In getting ready for the trip, I was reminded of a really delicious drink that I learned about WAY back in elementary school.

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaiian for Merry Christmas so technically this is a holiday drink (?) but for us Canadians, this would be very enjoyable during the hot summer months! Plus, like most punches, this is insanely simple. You'll need:

• 1 can frozen Cranberry Juice concentrate
• 1 can frozen Lemonade concentrate
• 2 Liters Lemon-Lime soda (Sprite, 7up if you needed some brands :P)
• 1 bottle sparkling mineral water (optional in my opinion)
• 1 pkg frozen raspberries

Now, you may be wondering "Ok, Danielle, I have all my ingredients. Now what do I do with them?!"

It's really quite simple. Mix them all together in a large-ish punch bowl (or regular bowl, whatever works for you lol) and that's it!

The result is a delicious mix of sweet and citrus-sour that is super refreshing during hot weather!

Welp, that's all for now!

Cheers,

Danielle

Book Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Hello fellow book-worms,

I felt it was time to post something about books and since I recently finished a book, why not review it for you lovely people!

About a week ago, I tore through Scarlet by Marissa Meyer and when I say 'tore through', I mean that I finished it in a day and a half....

It was nice to finally finish a book because since the start of the new year I've probably started about 5 books and this is the first one I've actually officially finished reading cover to cover. What made this book so hard to put down was the type of story it was. I am a huge fan of sci-fi, fantasy, alternate reality type books and if there's a bit of romance thrown in, bonus.

Scarlet is the sequel to Meyer's first book, Cinder, which is a sci-fi take on the classic story Cinderella which I read earlier in 2012.

Now, before you start jumping I really need to say that the parallels between Cinder and Cinderella are fairly minimal. There is a character named Cinder (duh!), there's a prince and a wicked step-mother and step-sisters and there is a scene where Cinder loses her shoe......but that is where the parallels stop. One of the main plot twists is that Cinder is a cyborg (not a spoiler) living in New Beijing. In a world where robots are considered servants, Cinder is a second class citizen who has become a skilled mechanic. She meets Prince Kai when he brings her an android to be repaired. With added threats of a hostile Lunar race and an aggressive disease without a cure, the pace of the book moves quickly without being overwhelming.

Scarlet continues Cinder's story while introducing a few new characters to the story, a girl named Scarlet Benoit who is based off of Little Red Riding Hood and a man simply called "Wolf". The story begins in France 2 weeks after Scarlet's grandmother has gone missing and just as Wolf, a mysterious cage fighter, enters her life. They set off together to find Scarlet's grandmother and rescue her from her kidnappers.

I found this book to be a very enjoyable read. It may not be exactly the most enlightening piece of literature but the strongly written characters and driving plot reminds me a bit of Harry Potter, a series that I also read at an incredibly rapid speed. I also felt that the way Marissa Meyer layers details into her stories is very smooth and even clever. One of my biggest book pet peeves is when a story just all of a sudden adds something to the plot that makes everything fall into place magically and everything is happy in the end! (it just seems like amateurish writing is all I'm saying). As I said before, all of the details added in Scarlet blended with what was already established in Cinder which shows me that Meyer put a lot of thought into her plot and how her characters interact with each other.

The one thing that I dislike about this series is how long I have to wait for each book! There are two more books coming out in the Lunar Chronicles: Cress ( featuring Rapunzel in the Sahara Desert, to be published 2014) and Winter (featuring Snow White on the Moon, to be published 2015). I am super excited for these books!

Anyways, that's all for now, guys!

Do you have any book suggestions? I would love to talk about books you have all read!!

Till next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Valentines Cupcakes

Hey Lovebirds!

Valentine's day is almost here and if you guys are having trouble thinking of what to get your dashing gent or lovely lady or your friends, here's a little recipe that may be just perfect :)

I found the recipe for this cupcake on a blog called "Can You Stay For Dinner". The thing that really appealed to me about this recipe was that 1) it was super easy and 2) that it was relatively low fat as far as baked treats go. I think people think that for a treat to taste good it needs to be full fat and full sugar (which I'll admit, tastes oh so delicious lol) but it was nice to find a really yummy recipe that isn't full sugar!

Anyways, here's what you'll need:

• 1 Cup nonfat or low fat milk (dairy or nondairy)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Cup all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour (I used 1/2 cup of all purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

First, combine the milk and vinegar and set aside. This is so that it'll curdle like buttermilk.

Next, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt then also set aside.

After that, in a large bowl, combine brown sugar, apple sauce and vanilla. Pour in the milk mixture and mix well.

Once the brown sugar, apple sauce, vanilla and milk are combined, stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. I was kinda surprised that the batter was so thin and runny (like pancake batter) but don't be alarmed! It's supposed to be like that.

Divide the batter evenly among 9-12 muffin cups and bake for about 18 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit. I only made 9 cupcakes and because there was more batter in each cup I had to make for about 5 extra minutes. Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes while still in the tray before removing to cool completely.

These little bad boys were super yummy and super moist! What I really liked about them was that they weren't too sweet like some cupcakes can be and then when you add icing it becomes over powering sweet.

I decided to take these cupcakes to the next level by cutting the top off the muffin and with a cookie cutter making a heart shaped hole in the top. Put some pink icing on the exposed cut edge and replace the cupcake top to have a cute little Valentine's Day treat :)

Do you guys make things for Valentine's Day? or do you prefer to buy gifts?

Until next time, my friends!

Cheers,

Danielle

Ps. I'm on Instagram! Follow me at danielle_spilch!!

A fun new way to eat lunch a.k.a. I discovered Salad in a Jar!

Hello my Pretty People!

So, I can't believe I haven't written about this yet because I've been doing this for my lunches pretty often all through January and February. What I'm talking about is Salads in a Jar!

You may think I'm getting really excited over nothing but let me explain. I have been a salad lover for a long time and not those boring plain salads, I try to make mine kinda exciting and a little outside the box. (If I want potato in my salad and I will, god damn it!). The 2 problems I always came across in the past were that 1) if you put the dressing on the salad before hand, it got soggy and/or leaked into your bag or 2) I would have to take an extra container of dressing and it would most likely leak :( But putting your salad in a jar eliminated all my salad woes!

The trick to the jar salad is that the wettest/least likely to get soggy item goes to the bottom (dressing, cucumbers, onions, etc.) and from there you keep adding until the last layer is your leafy green! It keeps everything crisp and fresh AND mason jars have a rubber seal to prevent leakage! When it comes time to eat, I like to first tip the jar upside down to let the dressing distribute and then I will shake the entire thing up before chowing down on a delicious, nutritious salad :)

You will also make everyone super jealous of your super cool salad. Every time I pull out my lunch at work, someone comments on what a good idea it is. To give you guys an idea of what you can put in your salad, mine often contain things like:

• a homemade balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, maybe oregano and thyme if I'm feeling fancy)
• red bell peppers
• feta cheese
• celery
• cucumbers
• red onions
• carrots
• corn
• peas
• black beans
• romaine lettuce 
• spinach
• chicken, beef or spicy tuna

I've also had salads where I've just put leftovers from the night before in a container with lettuce just to see how it worked lol. Turns out romaine, avocado, and lemon roast potatoes aren't too bad together!

What do you guys normally eat for lunch? Comment below!

That's it for now! Till next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Pink Hot Chocolate

Happy February Friends!

This month, in the spirit of upcoming Valentine's day, I decided to make this super super easy pink hot chocolate. This recipe was the easiest thing I think I've ever made but it looks super cute and is very satisfying for those with a sweet tooth. SO! Without further adieu, let's get right into it shall we?

Here's what you'll need (per serving):

• 1 oz. ( or up to 2 oz. , for a rich taste )  white chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup milk/milk substitute
• 1 tsp.  sugar, optional
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp.  strawberry essence (or any other flavoring you want, I chose vanilla)
• Few drops of pink (or red) food color

First, heat the milk in a pot over medium heat and add chocolate and sugar. Stir constantly until the chocolate melts. Once it is melted, add the essence and food colouring. And that's it! Here's what mine looked like.



You could also serve with whipped cream and chocolate shavings!

Well, I suppose that's it for now. I will keep trying to semi-regularly make posts but things have been getting pretty hectic for me so I may not be able to do DIY's and such as regularly. Anyways, that's all for now.

Till next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Soft T-shirts without fabric softener a.k.a. some things are too good to be true...

Hello Pretty People!

So, I debated whether I would post this entry or not but I think the information is still kinda useful (?) Basically, I ran across something a while ago called "brining" a t-shirt to make it feel really soft. I kind of passed the idea by but recently I've come across it again, so I says to myself, I says "Why not?" So I gathered my ingredients which were:

• Water
• a T-shirt (I used 2 T-shirts)
• Salt
• a bucket

So what I did is mix a solution of 1 quart water to 1/2 cup salt. It took me a little while for the salt to dissolve but when it finally did, I took my two t-shirts and put it into the mixture in a bucket. The directions were to leave the t-shirts to soak for three or more days. I left mine to soak for about 3.5 days and then put it in the washing machine with a bit of detergent. Here's where the experiment/DIY got disappointing. After they were done washing, I excitedly put them in the dryer (last step! Woot Woot!) but when I pulled them out of the dryer approx. 1 hour later........they didn't feel ANY different! I think I would have felt better about this whole experiment if the shirts had felt at least a little bit softer but no, there was absolutely no difference!

*Sigh* back to the drawing board I guess. Hopefully the next DIY I try works out better than this one :P

Till then,

Cheers,

Danielle

Avocados

Hey Guys!

So today, I have a confession to make.... I'm addicted.....to avocados! There, I said it! It's good to finally get that off my chest :P

But seriously, I am addicted to this tasty little food. I recently went to the store and picked myself up a few avocados and it feels like since then, that's all I've been eating. So, I decided to really quickly post a few of the things I made with them. These are all really simple things that don't take very long to make but are just super super tasty!

Let's get to it!

First up is the tried and true (at least for me) Avocado on Toast.

This is literally the simplest thing to make ever. Just butter 2 slices of toast and top with sliced avocado. Sprinkle with a bit of salt to bring out the flavor. This is my go to snack when avocado is in the house. The combination of warm toast and fresh avocado is just so freakin' good!

Ok, Next up is basically just the fancier version of avocado toast, which is avocado and brie on toast!

When we have brie in the fridge, I love to melt it on toast instead of adding butter so one day I decided to add my 2 fave snacks together and Boom! Magic! The warm melted brie was basically made to be eaten with avocado (at least in my opinion).

Next! I made a caprese salad inspired open-faced sandwich.

Basically, just slice up tomatoes, avocado and mozzarella and layer them on a piece of bread. The tomato is a nice contrast to the creamy avocado and mozzarella.

Another, thing I made was an open-faced sandwich with avocado and red hot chili pepper jack cheese.

I found the spiciness of the cheese a really nice change to my usual avocado choices!

Last but not least, I made chicken salad stuffed avocado!

This was so freaking good! The one thing I would do next time is use half as much mayo. It almost over powered the avocado which for me is a big no no. The chicken salad was comprised of left over chicken, red peppers, peperoncini peppers and a bit of romaine tossed in a dressing of mayo and mustard. I don't think I can properly describe how good this was. I'm almost tempted to go out and buy more avocados to try the recipe out again!

For now though, I've used up all the avocados and must resign myself to eat other things in my kitchen.

If you try any of these out, let me know what you think! Maybe we can be fellow avocado fanatics!!

Until next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Cocoa-Black Bean Soup

Hey guys!

So a few years ago, I had a really bad day. It was full of first world problems and an awful boss but my friend Stefan, being the awesome guy he is, decided to cheer me up by taking me out for supper. We tried one place....and it was closed so we decided to go to this cool little restaurant attached to a bookstore in our town. I will never forget the soup that they served that day. It was a cocoa-black bean soup.....I'll just let you imagine for a second how good that would taste. Now take what you imagined and multiply it by 10. That's how great it was. So, a few years later and this soup pops back into my head, so what do I do? Start surfing the net for an awesome recipe is what I do!

So! This is what you'll need for an amazing Cocoa-Black bean soup!:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup no-salt-added tomato purée
2 low-sodium vegetable bouillon cubes
4 cups water
1 (25-ounce) can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (or hot paprika)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

 This soup is pretty simple to make.

First, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and add onion, bay leaves, and salt. Stir occasionally until onions are softened (4–5 minutes).

Next, add celery, carrots, and green pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all vegetables are softened (7–8 minutes).

Then, add tomato purée, bouillon cubes, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.

Next, stir in beans, cocoa, pepper, and paprika and return to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

This is what I ended up with!

This soup was full of lovely flavors. You can't really taste the cocoa but it adds a creaminess to the broth as well as helping the other flavors taste even stronger. My mom couldn't stop raving and asking for the recipe!

Well, that's all for now.

Cheers,

Danielle

DIY Cake/Dessert Stand

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone had a good week. I spent mine mainly working and I went to an audition for an animated kids movie about the solar system! It was a blast to try out some different voices. But getting to the point of this blog post. You know how on Pinerest there's always these posts about how to make your own cake/dessert stand? Well, I kept seeing them and thinking to myself, "Why don't I make one of those?"

So I did!

Before I decided to make these cool dessert stands, I looked at a few different DIY's to see what other people were using to create them. The main thing in common from each separate DIY was that they seemed incredibly easy! So yeah, let's get on with the show :)

Here's what you'll need:

• Plates (ceramic, plastic or glass)
• Candle sticks or cups
• hot glue or super glue

I decided to make two different stands and these are the items I used for each.

Constructing these are really quite simple. Buy plates and cups/candle sticks that you like the look of. Wash them to remove any glue or dust or stickers and then decide the placement of each piece. Make marks with a pencil and then glue the pieces together! This is what mine looked like!

Right now, I'm using them as jewelry displays in my room but the next time I do some baking, you better believe I'm going to be using these guys :P

Another thing you can do is paint them. I decided I wanted very simple white dessert stands but you could easily make them a nice bright color.

Comment below if there's a DIY you've been dying to try. I'd love to try it out too!

Cheers,

Danielle

Wicked Thai Soup

Hey there Friends!

So I'm super excited to share this recipe with you! When I was taking a summer class a few years ago, I got into the habit of buying lunch or a snack from one of the nearby cafeterias. I noticed that they kept serving this amazing smelling soup called Wicked Thai. I decided one day to take a chance and try it out. Ever since that day, Wicked Thai has been my absolute favorite soup. EVER! Once I was finished my summer class I started searching the web for a recipe and I stumbled upon once that looked kind of complicated but ended up being super super simple. The key for me was to not get intimidated by the long ingredient list.

Doesn't it look amazing!?!?!

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (a standard size tray package)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into small dice
• 2 Tbsp. Gourmet Garden™ Lemon Grass herb paste (the stuff in the tube or the real thing, if you can find it)
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup half and half (10%) cream
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp. red curry paste
• 1 1/2 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili paste (or Sriracha, as an alternative but you may need less)
• 2-3 Tbsp. tomato paste (to taste)
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 cups cooked rice (long grain white or brown rice or try a mix of long grain with wild rice for some added texture)
• Fresh cilantro, parsley or basil leaves shredded for garnish

 First, cook rice and set aside (or use left-over cooked rice). 

 

Next, Heat large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp. oil. When hot, add mushrooms and cook until golden and tender. Remove to a plate. In same pot, add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and heat. Add onion, red pepper, and saute just until softened. Return mushrooms to pot. Add broth and chicken and heat through. Add lemon grass paste, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Add cream and coconut milk, turn heat to low, then cover and simmer 2 minutes. 

 

In a small bowl, add curry paste, Sambal Oelek, tomato paste, 2 Tbsp. water and cornstarch and mix until incorporated. Stir into soup until combined and heat until soup simmers, thickens very slightly and has a velvety appearance. Add cooked rice, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste. (You can also add more curry paste, tomato paste and/or Sambal Oelek to taste at this point, as well). 

 

Pour soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, parsley or basil leaves and serve with additional Sambal Oelek for those who prefer a hotter soup.

Here's what mine turned out like!

I think I used a bit too much tomato paste this time around and I bought a different curry paste than the last time I made this soup to see what it was like. The soup was still incredibly tasty but next time I think I'll go back to the old curry paste.

Hope you guys try this out! It may look like a lot of ingredients but they can pretty much all be found at any grocery store and the cooking directions are super easy! Until next time,

Cheers,

Danielle

Chocolate Fondant

Hello again Friends!

So, as I mentioned in my last blog post, I've been working a lot lately, but on top of that, I've been getting pretty run down with an almost cold that has been keeping me from sleeping :( . For this reason, I decided to use my Friday off as a restful, treat myself kind of day!

Days like this usually mean, that I sleep in (which I did), take the time to soak in a bubble bath (you bet I did!) and do some  gentle yoga (just the most relaxing!). On top of that I decided to make myself a special dessert: Chocolate Fondant :)

Chocolate Fondant is a partially cooked chocolate cake, leaving the center as liquid goodness (most people know them as Lava Cakes). This recipe looks quite simple and but it's the baking time that will make or break the cake. Bake it too long and it's a normal cake, not enough and its a soupy mess :(

Here's what you'll need:

• 65g chocolate (approx 3 wrapped pieces of bakers chocolate)
• 65g butter 
• 2 eggs
• 37g sugar
• 25g flour
• 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

First, melt butter and chocolate. I like to melt it in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water so that the butter and chocolate for sure won't burn. Once they are melted, let the mixture cool.

While the butter/chocolate is melting, whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and doubled in volume. This make take a little while and a bit of bicep endurance (lol).

Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture and then add the flour and cocoa. (Folding is essentially a way to gently mix in a folding motion. Still confused? Here's a video!
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCR7t0n6GF8)

Spoon into buttered ramekin or bowl and cook for 7 minutes (depending on your oven, may need to bake for longer). I also like to like to sprinkle cocoa into the ramekin so that the cake comes out of the ramekin easier and has a nice cocoa coating (Yum!)

NOTE: I set my oven to 350 Fahrenheit but I'm still playing around with temp and time for this dessert. So far for my oven, I'll bake for 5 EXTRA minutes at 350. It's a work in progress!

Here was my end result :)

As you can see I topped the cake with some caramel sauce and fresh blackberries and strawberries. The fondant had an awesome bittersweet dark chocolate taste which contrasted nicely with the fruit :) I hope you guys try this recipe out. It can be a little hit and miss but eventually you'll get a knack for it!


Cheers,

Danielle

Spaghetti Carbonara

Hello lovely people!

These past few weeks have been crazy busy for me with working, trying to get together with friends and, you know, the Holidays and all that jazz. I decided to use my day off to run some errands and then make myself one of my favorite dishes: Spaghetti Carbonara!

Traditionally, carbonara is an egg, cheese and butter/oil mixture poured over pasta. The mixture coats the pasta, helping the pancetta and romano cheese really shine. I also like this recipe because of the aromatic garlic and spicy red pepper flakes (not to mention that I usually have some wine left over to have a glass with the Carbonara lol). This is what you'll need: 

I substituted the Pancetta with Proscuitto because it wasn't in the store this time :(

    •    Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
    •    1 pound pasta, such as spaghetti or rigatoni
    •    1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pan)
    •    1/4 pound pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped
    •    1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
    •    5 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
    •    1/2 cup dry white wine
    •    2 large egg yolks
    •    Freshly grated Romano cheese
    •    Handful of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

First, put a large saucepot of water on to boil. Add a liberal amount of salt and the pasta. Cook to al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and pancetta. Brown pancetta 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Add wine and stir up all the pan drippings.

In a separate bowl, beat yolks, then add 1 large ladleful (about 1/2 cup) of the pasta cooking water. This tempers the eggs and keeps them from scrambling when added to the pasta.

Drain pasta well and add it directly to the skillet with pancetta and oil. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Toss rapidly to coat the pasta without cooking the egg. Remove pan from heat and add a big handful of cheese, lots of pepper, and a little salt. Continue to toss and turn the pasta until it soaks up egg mixture and thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with parsley and extra grated Romano.

and viola!

This dish is delicious and I could probably eat it year round (although I would become quite round as well teehee!) but I prefer eating it on a cold wintery night. It just might be my ultimate comfort food! What's your favorite comfort food? Wanna send me the recipe?! Comment below :)

Cheers,

Danielle

DIY Bird Lightswitch

 What's up friends!

You know what I like about Pinterest? I mean, other that it's awesome? (:P) I love that it gives you ideas that you never would have thought of before! I mean, there is some really useful stuff on there. And even if it's not necessarily useful, it's a super cool/cute idea. Take this light switch for instance.

It's literally just a bird painted to look like its perched on the switch cover but I'm a bird fanatic so you can bet that I was doing this in my room!

To get the picture on the wall, I first drew it on paper. When I was happy with how it looked, I took a pencil and scribbled on the back where the picture was to get graphite thick enough to transfer onto the wall and cut the excess paper away. Then I taped the picture into position and traced over the picture outline with a pencil. What you get when you remove the paper is a pencil outline of the picture you drew (in my case a bird!). This will obviously be your template for when you start painting.

Next, I chose the colour of paint I wanted to use (cream, to compliment my green walls), I also chose to use acrylic because it's fast drying and I already had it in my house! Once you've chosen your paint, you quite simply fill it in!

And this was my final product.

 

I think this project went pretty well, but I think if I were to do something similar to this in the future I would try cutting out the picture and then sponging the paint on. Anyways, that's all for now folks! 

Cheers,

Danielle