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