         
Archive for the ‘Spirited Living’ Category
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
As you may know, my husband and I are not really Valentine’s Day people. We don’t really have any need for the traditional V Day gifts (and I am SO not a jewelry person!), it ends up feelings pretty contrived, so we usually just hang out and chill. Of course, external pressures usually have us checking in with each other every year, with “do you WANT to do anything…?
It always feels like we *should*. This year, we decided that we’ll be brewing a small batch of a red, “Valentine’s Day” wine or mead. I think we’re leaning towards a sweet raspberry mead. Anyway, I digress…
| Last night we were eating dinner and discussing the various funny stuff we’d seen on the net, when I mentioned a booze bouquet I’d seen on Pinterest. The person had affixed mini booze bottles onto sticks, and made a little bouquet of it.
As we’d recently been reminiscing on how much fun we’d had doing V-day ceramic mugs for each other a few years back, the idea of making booze bouquets for each other came up. Like many of our crazy ideas, it went from “wouldn’t it be fun…” to DONE in no time flat!
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We headed to a craft supply store to pick up all kind of crazy Valentine’s Day craft stuff on clearance. Neither one of us really knew what we were planning to do as we poured over ever manner of red, pink, and sparkly V Day nonsense, discussing ideas, and ultimately purchasing our respective supplies. After that, we went to our favorite liquor store, and each bought a dozen mini bottles for each other, each not letting the other see the surprise selections.
The whole time – and on the way home – we excitedly talked about our ideas and plans, actually looking *forward* to our little V Day celebration. Neither of us could WAIT to get home and dig into the craft supplies, and seeing what we could come up with.
We had a blast. Weird crafty projects with my husband are always a ton of fun (Pi Day Pi-natas, Chocolate Zombie Easter Bunnies, and epic Pysanky using Crayons, for instance!).
Also? Men + Booze + Craft supplies are a pretty epic combination. Just WAIT til you see what he came up with!
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Posted in Celebrations, Crafts, DIY, Gift Ideas, Spirited Living, Valentine's Day | 1 Comment »
Friday, January 27th, 2012
You’ll probably recognize this cake as the cover shot of my second cookbook, Evil Cake Overlord.
| It was actually a last minute substitution for the original photo we’d planned for the cover… while our “Citrus Splendor” cake is gorgeous – and super delicious! – it just lacked the “ominous” and “evil!” look I was aiming for, for this cover.
B052 cake, on the other hand, did NOT disappoint. Look at these photos. That cake is leering at you, just daring you to make it!
B-52 cake was a favorite from my cake flavors menu back in the day, and was actually a fairly popular choice for wedding and groom cakes. It’s something that anyone can make, but it definitely involves a bit more time, effort, and dirty dishes than many of the other cake recipes on this blog, and in Evil Cake Overlord.
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The ambitious will be rewarded for their efforts though – this cake is stunning both to the eyes AND the mouth! Alternating layers of blood orange and mocha cake are filled with alternating layers of Irish cream buttercream and Blood Orange chocolate truffle ganache!
Give it a go… and be sure to send us pictures!
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Posted in Adults Only! (Boozy), Cakes & Cupcakes, Desserts, Recipes, Spirited Baking, Spirited Living | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
| Yesterday, I blogged my brand new, AMAZING recipe for Gluten-free fruitcake cookies. Today, I have a sister recipe to it!
Forget everything you’ve heard about fruitcake, and about gluten free baking. This is a gorgeous, extremely tasty fruitcake that will be loved by all – fans of regular fruitcake, fruitcake haters, people with gluten allergies, and even those who aren’t restricted to gluten free.
This cake has a wonderful texture – you’d never know it was gluten free. Trust me – I’m the BIGGEST snob about gluten free baked goods! |
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This cake, though? I’d eat this for breakfast, in addition to as a snack, or dessert. I’ll be making variations of this throughout the year, to satisfy any urge for baked goods. This is WAY too good to be designated JUST a holiday thing!
We used a mix of raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots, and pineapple, but you can use a combination of whatever dried fruit you love. It is boozed up with Southern Comfort, which works SO well with the fruit flavors, in my opinion.
For a HUGE variety of dried fruits, there’s no beating Nuts Online. Apples, blackberries, cantaloupe – so much variety! Just go for the more natural, chewy type dried fruit. Banana chips, freeze dried, etc won’t work as well.
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Posted in Adults Only! (Boozy), Cakes & Cupcakes, Desserts, Entertaining Ideas, Gluten Free, Holidays, Recipes, Spirited Baking, Spirited Living | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
The fact that this recipe even exists… it’s sort of a miracle.
| You see, I’m one of those people that hate fruitcake. It’s not that I buy into mass “ew!” hysteria (I love broccoli and Brussels sprouts, for instance!), it’s that I find glaceed / candied fruit to be one of the nastiest things on the planet. I mean, right up there with Velveeta. Gross.
Then, there is the “gluten free” issue.
As I mentioned in my recipe for an Easy way to make French Macarons, I am NOT a fan of anything that uses fake flours to make a regular recipe into a gluten free recipe. I’m a major “Gluten Free” Snob, and pretty much stick to treats that are inherently gluten free, such as coconut macaroons, Pavlova, and French Macarons.
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I’ve just always found anything made with the fake flours to be nasty, both in taste and texture.
You may be asking yourself, right about now, WHY I created this recipe. Well, I’ll tell you – painkillers! (more…)
Posted in Adults Only! (Boozy), Cookies, Gluten Free, Holidays, Recipes, Spirited Baking, Spirited Living | 2 Comments »
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