Chocolate and Immigration

Oooooooooooo  Chocolate!!!  

Hi Friends,

This is me on Sunday night after Nick gave me a massive chocolate Easter egg.  

They're all the rage here.  

Forget about dying eggs or easter baskets.  

Just get a big ol fuckin chocolate egg.  

And make it dark chocolate.  Thanks.

You may be wondering why I look so.... rough.  

Well can I be honest? 

Great.  Cuz we are usually honest around here.

The previous night Nick and I were having a discussion about immigration issues and we recently discovered I would have to pay £1,000 to renew my visa when it expires in September.  I'm not even exaggerating this time.

Enter emotional breakdown.  

Conversation between husband and myself went something as follows:

Nick: Why are you crying?

Me:  (lip quivering) I just feel it's so unfair.  I pay taxes.  I live here.  

Why don't they like me?  

Nick : They don't know you.  They just want your money.

Me:  I know it just makes me feel like I don't belong.....  

tear.  sob.  

I don't belong anywhere anymore!  

I can't go a day without someone making fun of my American twang.  

And I'm not even American enough anymore. 

 If I went home now I wouldn't fit in like I used to.  

I say things like "quite lovely."  

I actually believe in universal health care.  

I run for buses.  

Nick, 

I don't even believe in guns anymore! 

(The horror!)

Nick: Kelly lot's of Americans don't believe in guns... 

like Michael Moore.

Me : MICHAEL MOORE!  

Gasp.  Sob. choke. tears.  

You think I am Michael Moore!  

I don't want to be like Michael Moore....

He is fat.....

Nick : .....And he has a beard.

Me: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.!!!

Sob sob sob.

You think I have a beard!?

Choke.  Sob.  River of tears.

I HATE MY LIFE!

Bedroom Inspiration : Oh Deer!

When redecorating our new house, we chose to to do very neutral colors so it would be appealing to lots of buyers should we decide to up and move back to America.

For this reason, I am loving the bedroom of Nikole Herriot, as featured on design*sponge.  So much, in fact, that we chose to  paint a chocolatey brown feature wall in our bedroom.

I think what really gets me are the antlers.  Wouldn't they be perfect for hanging necklaces?  Remember how I desperately wanted to buy a head, but Nick put his foot down?  Well I think since antlers are a little tamer version of that, maybe I could get away with it.... maybe...?  (If you're inclined I would appreciate you leaving comments on how classy and fabulous antlers are for Nick to read.  Comments on how he should give me free reign in the decorating department are also appreciated.)

Though I would have to find a vegetarian friendly antler option.  Any tip offs?  I know I saw wood carved ones online but I can't seem to rediscover them.  Oh and while I'm on the deer kick, isn't this duvet cover the coolest? (brought to my attention by Krystal of Village)  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get away with this though.  Maybe it's a bit of deer over kill (pun intended - yes, I think I'm funny), but I LOVE it!

I think it would be the perfect combination of chic hillbilly.  

Whats not to love?

Well thats the decoration inspiration for now.  If any one else has neutral bedroom inspiration please share it with me!  I am having the hardest time deciding on a color to paint our guest bedroom which has a weird blue/grey carpet.

Other than that we are trying desperately to get everything in a live-able state, but we are having trouble coordinating trades people.  Very frustrating!

Chocolate Tasting Evening at Cocoa

Since moving to England I have become addicted to tea.

When in Rome, eh?

I must admit it took me awhile to "get" what the British obsession with tea is all about.

But last night we went to Cocoa, 

a tea and chocolate shop with our new cougar club for a chocolate tasting evening.  

If only someone would've taken me to this place when I first arrived...

I would've jumped on the tea bandwagon much much sooner.

Isn't it the cutest?  

The adorable shop owner took us on a tasting journey 

from 100% dark chocolate all the way up to white chocolate.

I thought I hated white chocolate, 

but I realized I just have never been given the good stuff.

We also got a doggy bag of truffles.  

I am the annoying person who always eats half of each one....

In the front of the shop there were rows of candy and and tons of chocolate.  

My favorite was dark chocolate flavored with chili and lime... 

I never knew what my life was missing until I tasted that.

Delicious!

I have a feeling I will be taking American visitors here and helping them to get on the tea train.

Is it cheating if chocolate is involved?

A Mini Herb Garden

Ever since we moved here I've been wanting to plant a few herbs for cooking purposes.  Any food snob knows that having your own herb garden is pretty much essential.  Buying the herbs fresh from the grocery store is so expensive and some always go to waste.  But if they're planted the herbs will last ages.  So today Nick and I headed to our local nursery to pick up everything we need to create fresh and delicious spring dishes.  Carrying everything home without a car was pretty rough, but luckily my big super musclely husband carried the pot home!  Oh and all together, the compost, plants, and pot only costs £20!  Not bad, eh?

From top left clockwise we have our major contenders, French Parsley, Oregano, Purple Sage, Moroccan Mint, and my personal favorite Chocolate Peppermint!  Oh my gosh does that stuff smell good!

We're still missing a few of the big players, like Rosemary and Basil, but we're only so buff you know.  Maybe next weekend.

I hope they grow super fast so we can start using them!

ps.  What are your thoughts on garden gnomes?  The nursery had tons of them!  They also had a snow white.  What do you think, snow white and the seven dwarfs - the perfect garden accessories?

Valentine's Day Baking Shenanigans

Yesterday for Valentine's Day Nick and I spent the day baking.  We got a lot accomplished.  Look at this spread....

Nothing makes your house smell better than fresh bread.  This is just a basic whole wheat loaf.  The recipe came with our bread machine.

Next I baked brownies for the woman who watched Heidi for us this weekend.  She was a lifesaver.  Our dogsitter pulled out right as I was leaving to drop Heidi off at her house, Nick sent out an emergency email to his entire work and she pulled through.  I even made them homemade.  I've always used a box before but I have no idea why.  These were super easy.  I followed the recipe exactly, and you can find it here.  If I made them again I'd probably mix some chocolate chips into the batter.  Yum.  I hope she liked them.

Finally, I was going to make Nick his favorite dessert, cheesecake, as a valentine's day surprise.  But he decided I couldn't make it as good as him.  So he made it himself.  He's a cheesecake purist, but I needed a little something extra on it, so I added raspberry jam.  I'd post the recipe, but I don't know it.  Maybe if we all ask nicely....?

Please don't judge me for the number of baked goods on this post.  It WAS valentine's day, and the brownies were for someone else (OK I may have sneaked one... or two).  We had so much fun!  We licked the batter and danced like a couple of soiled tweens at a high school mixer.  We didn't do much mushy bull crap, but Heidi and I dedicated this song to Nick when it came on the radio... We'll never let money get in the way.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse and Chocolate Ganache

WARNING - If you are on a diet, or even thinking about going on a diet you should not read this post.  The following recipe is calorie laden and may contribute multiple inches to your thighs and gut area.  If you suffer from poor will power, turn back now before this becomes a problem.

OK, glad I cleared that up.  Today is Nick's birthday!  He is at the ripe old age of 27.  Even though we are married this is actually the first birthday I have ever spent with him.  So needless to say I pulled out all the stops. No corners were cut, and calories were left to enrich the cupcakes in full force.  I used whole milk, cream and butter.  Nick requested something chocolately and fruity, and I found a fabulous looking recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes - there's even a video showing how to make them.  I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except they used jumbo sized cupcake tins, and we only had regular sized ones.  Also, it took me a lot longer than the 9 minutes the woman in the video took to whip them up.  While these cupcakes look intimidating, they actually weren't difficult at all - just a bit time consuming.  Give yourself a good 3 hours if you plan on making them.


Ingredients


Cupcake Batter


Dry Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 8 oz (2 sticks butter) room temperature

Wet Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 6 oz whole milk
• 2 oz corn syrup (aka golden syrup in England)
• 1 tbsp vanilla

Chocolate Ganache

• 6 oz semisweet chocolate
• 6 oz heavy cream

Raspberry Mousse

• 1 cup raspberry jam (note: The recipe suggests you can make jam from scratch, but because the last time I attempted to make jam I completely failed and ended up with blistered fingers, I opted to just buy jam.  I used Bonne Maman Raspberry Jam and it worked like a charm)
• 12 oz cold heavy cream

Garnishes

• Fresh raspberries
• powdered sugar

How to Make Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C.

Start off by sifting 1 3/4 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup cocoa powder, into a large mixing bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together 4 large eggs, 6 oz whole milk, 2 oz corn syrup, and 1 tbsp vanilla.

In the bowl of dry ingredients, add 2 sticks of butter, and 1/2 the wet ingredients.  With an electric mixer, beat  ingredients slowly and increase to medium, beating for four minutes.  Next add 1/2 of the remaining wet ingredients, and beat on medium for two minutes.  Then add the last of the wet ingredients, beating for an additional 2 minutes.

Line your cupcake pan with paper liners (these really help to hold it together in the end) and fill with batter.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, ours took exactly 27.

Meanwhile, while your cupcakes are baking, make your raspberry mousse.  In a cold bowl (apparently this helps, I don't know why but I stuck mine in the freezer for a little bit) pour 12 oz heavy cream and beat into whipped cream.  Fold in one cup of raspberry jam.  Be careful not to over mix.

To make the chocolate ganache, boil water in a pot, and place a bowl on top of pot, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl.  Add 6 oz heavy cream and 6 oz semisweet chocolate to the bowl, and heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring to mix it all together.

At this point, your cupcakes will probably be done.   Once they're cooled cut a circular opening into the cupcake - I used a shot glass to make the hole, and then scooped it out with a teaspoon.

Next, add a heaping teaspoon of chocolate ganache into the opening.  Then add 2 raspberries (make sure you put the ugly ones on the inside) and a big spoonful of the raspberry mousse.  Place the caps back on top, drizzling with ganache, and placing a raspberry on top.  Sift a bit of powdered sugar on top to make it look pretty and you're done!

You know, I'm not one to brag, but these were seriously the best cupcakes I have ever tasted.  The raspberry filling is to die for, and provides a perfect tangy contrast to the bitter dark chocolate. Nick really liked them!

And so did his gorgeous colleagues, Jenny and Jenny!

Do yourself a favor and make these ASAP.  If you make them for someone, they'll love you forever, guaranteed.

Happy 27th Birthday Nick!