YRT - English Toffee Mocha

Just for a quick review, last time I checked out Mocha Coffee and liked it just as much as I did when I made the recipe.

This time I checked out English Toffee Caramel (link in title).

Well, not quite.

You see, I knew what it tasted like, and I don't have anymore of that Lisa's stuff -- it was just a gift from a friend. A one time thing.

So, I couldn't really make it again and I don't feel like buying something that would take a few days to get here just so that I could stay faithful to the YRT... I will, but only when I can -- like, when it's convenient for me.

See, most things in my life revolve around me.

Just kidding!

Anyway, it's delightful and I really do like it. So try it if you have the Lisa's stuff.

The picture will come soon. Let's hope.

I'm thinking about asking YellowBlissPhotography to take pictures of them so that I can post them on here because I hate the idea that I'm taking someone else's. It's so fake and ... well, really, I feel silly using someone else's pictures for my posts and putting my URL on top of it. It's just so lousy.

So that's what I'm thinking.

See you later, gotta run.

Decor Redo

Just so you guys know, this blog will undergo a bit of a big do-over this coming Friday, so be ready!

I will make the blog private, so you won't be able to stop by anymore, because I like having things a bit more private while I'm redecorating and renovating.

It will look pretty much the same, but I hate the tabs I have right now, so I'm hoping all of the blog's settings and looks will be pretty much the same (and easy to get onto the "new" blog) when I'm done. URL will be exactly the same, we're not going anywhere.

You should be able to get on either Sunday or Monday, I'm not sure yet.

I'll keep you posted, or you'll keep you posted, depending on how frequently anyone stops by, but just so's you know. :)

Also, you may find more changing than just the tabs but don't freak out, it'll look basically the same.

Just one last thing before I go -- I've been debating for a while whether I should change the name or stick with it, so comment below if you have any [good] idea(s) on some [good] names for my sort of blog. I'm sort of going with the looks of blogs that are basic, easy to find your way around, and I also want it to totally look like I'm not even using blogger. If you know what I mean.

Some examples would be
Buttered Side Up
The Bear Cave (not so much like that, but pretty simple like that)
Yellow Bliss Photography (don't tell her I sent you)
and then, since YellowBlissPhotography links back here and I like the style...
the wanderer awaits

...but, not quite that poetic.

Just sayin'. ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

YRT - Mocha Coffee

Just like last year, the link will be in the title and I'm not going to tell you from now on.

Or I will the next YRT post. Haha. ;)

Anyway, I knew exactly how this coffee tasted because I'd made it so often I don't have to make it again. Besides, I don't have any SwissMiss (we finished it a week or two ago *tear* but that's OK, I have the Caffe D'Vita stuff which is simply de-vine! so I don't mind) so I wouldn't be sticking to the recipe.

Just so you know, you can, in fact, use unsweetened cocoa powder (I know, too much trouble and who would do that well I would). Just be sure and add brown sugar. Not dark brown, too molasses-y, and not white sugar because it's too...white-sugar-y. Use brown sugar because it's a different taste and it's more for cocoa than both dark brown and white sugar. Just a tip. Or, you can leave out the sugar and go rugged! and just drink it with that bitter taste of cocoa powder that isn't sweet or whatever tickles your sister.

So, I decided on Mocha Coffee from a recipe I happened to see while combing the internet for a nice (or close to nice) or artsy (artsy schmartsy) picture that I could use for my post, so that's my title.

And just so you know, I do not like using other people's photos, I really hate it because it's like oh wow look at this lady using other people's photos unashamedly and just slapping her own URL on it but I also hate -- and hate more than taking other people's pictures, apparently -- the "You Might Like" space for pictures being either black or grey. It's really not very pleasing to me.

So, that's the reason. And I have absolutely no clue why I'm telling you this, especially because it has nothing to do with recipes at all.

While you're pondering that, I'm going to go have some coffee.

Eat, drink, and be merry!

P.S. this recipe tastes in between coffee and cocoa. Like, if you put coffee and cocoa in the same cup, that's the taste you would get when you drank it. So, you'll probably like it. If not, let me know and I'll make sympathetic noises. Off-line, of course, but at least you'll know. Enjoy! ;)

Decadent Hot Chocolate | America's Test Kitchen

Okay, raise your hand if you don't like hot chocolate.

If you raised your hand, then why are you here.

And if you don't know that hot chocolate and cocoa are the same, join the club me neither. Wellll, ok, I wasn't that extreme.

I just never called it hot chocolate.

But since the recipe below (from America's Test Kitchen) called it hot chocolate, I will too. Besides, everyone where I live calls it hot chocolate, so why not blend in with the crowd? And really you have to admit that hot chocolate sounds much more richer than COCOA. Cocoa reminds me of this watery brown mixture that you manage to swallow in as little time as possible, burning your throat on the way down, that's so bland you don't even know why you like it so much. It's just because you don't want to add more and you don't want to pour it out after wasting about five spoons of the stuff that it's bland, though.

Yeah, that stuff.

Really, it was just because I was such a terrible penny-pincher and cocoa-mix-pincher. I just wanted to ration it properly so that the mix would last for weeks and weeks!

...and at the rate I was going, it would.

Anyway, last Sunday we made this and it was really really delicious.

Rich, creamy, sweet enough for me (I don't like bland, bitter, or not-sweet -- exception: black coffee -- so basically, in a few words: I don't like hot chocolate. Cocoa. Whichever it is that's not sweet normally), but not too sweet -- now there's a picture-perfect cup of hot chocolate!

Also, it has only a couple ingredients (win!), all of which you should be able to find in your house, even when the house is stripped bare of anything close to resembling edible-ness (double win!). Another thing, few ingredients means fewer dishes (triple win!).

Win win (or winwinwin) for all of us, emiright.

And all you need is a saucepan, lid, spatula, measuring stuff, ingredients, and a stove to make it. Easy!

So, to make this creamy, lucious, delightful, satisfying, fullfilling, refreshing, fills all your senses, delicious, mouth watering, you will fall in love, fruity tooty, tangy, tasteful, sweet, a pinch of lemon, tempting, dangerous drink *gasp of breath* follow the directions below. 

(sorry! I just saw this, and thought maybe it could be used to describe hot chocolate! Besides, "fruity tooty" is a fun word, especially when used to describe hot chocolate!)

Note: this is not America's Test Kitchen's exact recipe... I've changed it a little bit. I will probably not post the original, but you can probably find it online. 

Serves:  4
Time (start to finish):  10m, fast

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c milk (not precise)
• 1/2 c heavy cream (not precise -- just throw some in)
• 1 T cocoa powder (not sweet)
• 1 T sugar
• 1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (I throw in a big handful)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Put in milk, cream, cocoa powder, and sugar in pan. Once hot, and looking puffy on the top, turn off the heat. Really, it doesn't need to look puffy, it just needs to be hot. Ask yourself if you would be comfortable drinking it the way it is...if you let it cool off a little bit? If so, you're ready for the next step. It DOES NOT need to boil -- just until it's steaming or a few degrees above what you're willing to pour down your throat. Just make sure it's not uncomfortably so. Your throat, though.
2. Once you've turned off the heat, put in the chocolate chips and the vanilla. Cover immediately after that so that the chocolate doesn't stick to the bottom.
3. Let chips melt about 1 min, then whisk smooth before serving.
4. When done, top with whipped cream and plop a candy cane in, for looks, or serve plain and

2016 YRT

Happy New Year!

I know, I'm really really late.

Everything is happening, all of a sudden.

So, I'll hopefully be doing some YRT stuff, but I'm not sure if I'll be totally on the ball this year... though, seeing how off the ball I was last year, you can probably see where I'm headed this year.

Anyway, first recipe I'll be trying is the Coffee Recipe #4, post on January 1st, 2015.

I've made some changes to the way I'm going to be doing the YRT. Instead of doing the stars thing (who needs those?), I'll just have a little intro about how much I like, how much you might like it, whether it's good or not, how fast it is, etc. etc. ... basically anything that pops into my head.

This oughtta be fun.

Aaaaalso, I'll be finding pictures on the internet to paste onto my recipes. I know, they're not my own. You'll find that I put the source (where the picture came from) as the caption, underneath the picture, so I'm not saying it's my picture! And I *do* ask permission when they want me to. Unless I can't find out how to comment (some of them are really confusing!) and then I just get a new picture. So don't worry.

And hey, this is one of those back-of-the-woods blogs that nobody knows about and nobody reads (about) (so they'll never know that I took their picture) except the blog author who thinks it's the best.

Which, I have to say, I do.

Just kidding, it's not the best.

But I have a soft spot for it, anyway.

Which is why I've posted on it so often this year *oops*.

And just so you know, I'll try to come up with more creative names for each of my coffee recipes. Yes, all 15+ of them. I only have 15 up at the moment, but I have tons and tons more, it's just that I haven't gotten around to them all and a lot of them are very boring. For example: "make inst. coffee. Put in white sugar. Put in cream. Put in cocoa. Stir. Enjoy."

Yum, yum.

Also I would love if you comment with some suggestions on the names of the coffee because I need them!

My originality is going to be below zero by the time I'm done with the 2016 YRT, no kidding.

(that's why most of the coffees are named "coffee recipe #3, 7, 10, 15, etc.)

Looking forward to it (not George Washington so I can say anything)!

Christmas Queso

I'm not really a fan of queso, and this didn't turn out great but it was because of the cheese we were using and I still found it really good. It's an American thing, though. "Queso" is Spanish for "cheese", not for the cheesy dip that I tried yesterday for a dinner I was hosting...

so try it. See how you like it.

If you've never heard of this, comment below. I'm curious to see how many haven't tried it.

I myself have only had it once. Last night.

Serves 10 or more.

Ingredients

• 12 oz. cheese (I used pre-grated, but it turns out rubbery because of the starch. Either grate by hand, or use a hunk of cheese, roughly 12 oz., to produce the best results)
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes (with jalapenos)
• 1 tomato, chopped

Directions

1. put cheese into med.-size saucepan over medium heat.
2. open can, chop tomato, if not chopped. Once chopped, set aside.
3. once cheese has melted, put in chopped tomatoes, stir until well-mixed.
4. pour in can of tomatoes, minus the can.
5. stir until well-mixed,
6. serve immediately with tortilla chips and

 and happy holidays!

P.S. Yes, I did put this under "toppings" because some of the girls at the dinner put it on their tacos. Doesn't sound very good to me, but as long as they liked it.

Post Review | Microwave Mug Cake

This is just a temporary thing... I'll probably do a few and then stop for good, but these are just in case I ever want to "review" my posts.

Click here to see the original post.

Normally I would have you click on this post's title but I find it kind of a pain when I want to see comments or comment on someone's blog and I can't click on the title because it takes me somewhere else, so this time I decided to embed the link in the post, not "on top" of it.

If you know what I mean.

So, how did I like the microwave mug cake?
I didn't.

It was horrible!

Dry, rubbery, not at all sweet, even though I'd added an extra tablespoon because I had tasted the batter and gone, "ah, not quite right - doesn't taste very sweet to me" and besides, I was making it for a little girl, so I knew she would want it sweet.

Good thing she liked it, because I sure knew I didn't.

When I told Mom she told me she'd never found a recipe she liked - they always turned out to be dry and not very good.

What I wanted was moist. What's a cake - even a mug cake - if it doesn't have a bit of moisture to it?

Same goes for brownies. Can I advise, if you're going to make it from scratch, save yourself the trouble and just get Ghirardelli's mix? It's delicious! In fact, it's basically the same recipe I used when I would make brownies from scratch. And no I'm not being paid - this is 100% my own opinion. It's moist, flavorful, and sweet, with pockets of melted chocolate (chips) here and there. Mmm, makes me want some. I used to not like brownies, but now I do. Good ones, that is.

Not ones some people I know make. Wouldn't touch some of those with a 10' pole and that's saying a lot.

I'll eat mostly everything.

Mostly.

There are a few exceptions, like badly-made - or just plain made - eggs. I don't really like eggs, unless I have bacon to go along with it, to drown out the taste. Sometimes I'm in a mood for eggs, but mostly not. Unless I'm really really hungry and that's once in a blue moon because I can just make myself something.

So, about the microwave mug cake, if I can stop straying from the path like I tend to do.

There I go again.

That kid will eat anything I make and pronounce it good, but I'm a little bit more picky. This tasted vaguely familiar to some brownies I've tasted before, see above. Except mine wasn't as sweet, which made it all the more horrible.

If the bad brownies I've had before pale in comparison to this, something's not right.

What's not right?
Here's a list of aaaaall the things wrong with the recipe I've been discussing.

1. No sweetness
   So it calls for three tablespoons of white sugar. I put in four. Still didn't work. I put in 1/2. Still didn't work. It wasn't bitter, per se, it just wasn't sweet. How to fix it: I would say get a better recipe, but if you don't have any idea where to look, I'd say America's Test Kitchen because Mom recommended one of their mug cake recipes to me and I have yet to try it but if Mom recommends it, how can it go wrong. But if you don't want a different recipe, try adding 6-7 tablespoons of sugar. Sound like a lot? Wait until it's cooked!
   
   (What's the saying? "Don't judge a book by it's cover"? In this case, "don't judge the sweetness by the dough")
2. No dome
   It was more like upside-down flan than a cake. It just went down. It sagged in the middle, the opposite of me. Just kidding, no more jokes. haha. How to fix it: to tell you the truth, I absolutely have no clue. Cook for less time? I wish I knew. I'm not a cook, so LMGTFY. Click it. It won't harm you. Maybe get some laughs out of you, but that's about it.
3. No moisture
   This was like eating flour and water, only harder. More like eating dough. Dough that isn't sweet. I don't know, it was so unlike anything I've ever tasted that I can't find anything to compare it with! So what was wrong with it? It was that you had to use your saliva to break it down. Mug cakes are supposed to break down and almost seem to melt in your mouth! You're not supposed to do the work! How to fix it: Try adding some water to it. I don't know how much, and I don't know if this will work, but when I read the thing about mug cakes in the America's Test Kitchen recipe (hopefully I'll have time to try it and write about it before 2016 - but don't hold me to it), they talked about how all mug cakes they came across were dry. I said to myself, "Exactly!" so they advised (if I remember correctly) adding some water to it. Since this isn't a very big mug cake (though big enough that you can't use a 7 oz. mug, you need something more like 12 oz.), use 2+ tablespoons of water and stir thoroughly before putting it in the microwave. Try it out and see how you like it. If it's still dry, add another 2 or so tablespoons, depending on how dry it is. Practice makes perfect, even if it means wasting ingredients. Try using friends or family as guinea pigs - always works for me. ;)

And I could probably think up some other problems with it if I wanted to but for now I'm going to close up shop and call it a night.

After all, this is only making me hungry and we don't need that.