Currently... Establishing Priorities & Slowing Down

It’s the second week of January.  And while we're usually thinking about how to do more and more, I've started thinking about how to focus on my priorities and maybe slow down while doing so.  Just a little bit.  For now, I’m getting the week started on this rainy, freezing rain, school two-hour delay (again) being a little more mindful.

Drinking coffee from a bowl instead of a mug. Last week, the kids and I treated ourselves to Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar. They had s’mores and the 80’s chocolate milkshakes, I had a Mexican Hot Chocolate. It’s spiced up with chili, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper - plus the obvious fact that it’s also hot, it amps up the spiciness. I like spicy, but I felt like I needed some cake or something to go along with it to balance the spiciness.

Chocolate treats from Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar

Anyway – it was served in a funky little tear-drop shaped bowl, their Hug Mug.  To imagine it – cup your hands together like you’re holding water – that’s the shape of the mug.  It felt so cozy. Since then, I’ve been drinking my coffee at home in a bowl, too. In addition to being warm, another thing I discovered – it makes you slow down. I usually scroll through emails, Twitter and Facebook with coffee mug in one hand. Can’t do that with a bowl. It makes you slow down and not multi-task everything.

My coffee bowl and cranberry cornbread from a recipe I found while decluttering.

Still decluttering.  I’ve made a good dent in my cooking magazines and found some good recipes along the way. Last week I made a delicious cranberry cornbread on the snow day.  And the empty organizing containers are piling up in my office. Empty because I was holding onto so much stuff, when I finally went through it, I realized I didn’t really need all that stuff.  It’s a process, but I'm definitely starting to feel a little lighter.

Planning our menu for the week – starting with the freezer.  Somehow my freezer is packed but each day I’m wondering what we’re going to have for dinner. When I can see some more light in there again, I’ll go shopping again.  Until then, I’ll be defrosting and cooking.  And probably throwing out some food that has been in there way too long.  Cleaning out the freezer is a good way to start out the year. Planning meals is a good way to stick to a a healthy eating plan.

Making time for my workout.  My husband is good with his schedule – everyday he works out. Me? I get the kids off to school then decide – workout or check email and Facebook?  The fit of my jeans is a tattletale on which I generally choose. So, I’m trying to get better at putting my workout – and me – first as a priority. As a sniggling reminder, I get dressed in my workout clothes so that eventually I either will go run and exercise or admit that I did not.  I’ve got my sneakers sitting right next to me as I write.

Making time to read.  I’m squeezing it into my waiting time, as well as allowing myself the downtime to read, rather than completing other stuff or flipping through social media doing nothing. I make sure I’ve got my book in my purse when I leave the house, read a page here and there while waiting. Right now, I’m trying to finish Americanah which I’ve been carrying around for an embarrassing long time, even if it is a long book.

1st book of the new year - finishing up "Americanah"

And of course, I’m still just piddlin’.

Have a good week!

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Our Holiday Party: Cookies & Hot Chocolate

If you’re a procrastinator who loves Christmas - how do you make sure your Christmas decorations get up before Dec. 24?  Host a holiday party.  For us, that means our annual cookie exchange.

As always, we ate way more cookies than any person – child or adult – should at one sitting.  Probably more than anyone should eat in a week.  But I’m pretty sure that calories consumed amongst friends are good for you.

Chocolate definitely was the – unintentional – theme this year. 

• chocolate chip - an annual favorite, one family always brings these and no-one else bothers to even try to make chocolate chip
• chocolate wafers – perfect to go with coffee, if there were any left
• chocolate covered marshmallows – okay, not really a “cookie” but who’s going to argue when “chocolate” and “marshmallow” are in the name
• cheesecake bars
• shortbread cookies with pecans, chocolate dipped and plain – these were our contribution
• brownies

Cookies packed up ready to share

Since it was freezing cold on the day of the party (I was actually nervous we’d have to cancel for snow), I made hot chocolate in the crockpot.  Of course, I saw the idea on Pinterest and thought “genius!”  Hot, unburned, creamy chocolate. 

Turn the crockpot on, let it heat a little bit. Pour in the can of condensed milk, sprinkle in the melting chocolate.  The kind I used was in little slivers.  Mix until melted together, it’ll be dark and thick. Add a teaspoon of vanilla.  Pour in milk, about a half gallon.  Mix.  Let heat.  Taste, adjust to your preferences.

Hot chocolate fixin's

For a bit of added fun, we had a fix-ins tray for the hot chocolate: marshmallows, mint chocolate chips, chocolate chips.  Kahlua and peppermint schnapps was an adult option.   

As you know, when hosting an event at your home, there’s a lot of prep from getting the food on the table to  putting clean towels in the bathroom.  Usually, when we have a family party, I call out tasks as a kid happens to wander through the kitchen. Not such an efficient plan. This year, I wrote the tasks that needed to be done on cards - clean the bathroom, make table cards for cookies, set out cookie trays, put candy in bowls, set-up plates & silverware.  The kids then picked out their cards and went about getting their tasks done. They seemed to not only like being useful, but took some ownership in their jobs.

My daughter used scrapbookbook paper to make blank table cards for the cookies (guests filled them in when they arrived).  The kids taped together 3 candy canes to make the card holders.

As the children have grown (we’ve lost count how many years we’ve been doing this but there were some kids who didn’t even exist when we started), it’s been harder to find a date that fits perfectly for everyone. We usually have families rolling in before or after a basketball tournament, soccer game, chorus performance, birthday party, or something.  This year, to make it easier, I decided that we would just order food, cooking a few sides, so that we could concentrate our kitchen time on the star of the party. It also made transport of food easier in a busy schedule.

As always, we had a great time.  But with cookies and friends, how could you go wrong?

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Chocolate at Cacao Atlanta

On my last trip to Atlanta, I went to this really cute yarn shop in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood. I planned to go there again when I went down for the Blogalicious conference, but my college roommate told me that the yarn shop was gone – and was replaced by a chocolate shop. Wow, even better!  (Could you imagine if it was combined? Although, then you may end up with a bunch of chocolate finger-printed skeins of wool which would not be too cute. Okay, so better that they stay separate shops.)

Cacao Atlanta is a delicious boutique of chocolate. It’s all white and cocoa-y colored, and with the café tables, you feel like you just want to sit and eat chocolate all day.  And read a good book! In multi-tasking on this trip, I scheduled a book signing for my novel, Life in Spades, in the shop – it wasn’t cupcakes, but it was sweet, close enough.

My debut novel, Life in Spades - available in paperback, Kindle & Nook

For the book signing, they provided champagne and macarons – pistachio, lavender orange, and of course, chocolate.   I have become quite the fan of macarons since my PR friend took me to PAUL in DC and got me hooked.  I don’t ride the Metro often, but when I do, I try to come up with an excuse why I have to get off at the Archives stop just to get a couple.  Note, these are macarons – with 1 “o” – they are light, almond based cookies with a filling, kinda like a grown-up, fancy, much more decadent version of an Oreo.  Macaroons – with 2 “o”s – is a coconut cookie, which I do not like at all.

A completely unique treat was the salame di Cioccolato.  It looked like, yes, salami that you would pick up in a real deli with the rope tied around it and all.  The chocolate is rolled with shortbread and Amaretto cookies mixed in and you slice it, enjoying a delicate sliver at a time.  And the slivers, literally, melt in your mouth. Yum.

Onsite, they make custom bark. They melt the same chocolate they use for their candy bars, give you a choice of mix-ins like pretzels, nuts, and dried fruits, slather this all on a board and let it cool.  Ta-da!

If you love chocolate, they’ve got all kinds of treats for you. In fact, even if you don’t love chocolate, like one of my friends who was with me (yeah, I don’t really get it, either), they’ve got a slightly bittersweet bar for you, too.  So if you’re ever in the city, take a little trip over to the Virginia Highlands shop (there’s another in Buckhead) and satisfy your sweet tooth.

Home-made Chocolate Bark

Just in case, you can't hop a flight to Atlanta: A school-mom-friend of mine makes a homemade version of chocolate bark using chocolate chips and pretzels.  Simply melt chocolate chips (your choice what kind) in the microwave; line a baking pan with parchment paper and lay out broken pretzels, peanuts, peppermints, whatever on it; pour the melted chocolate over your mix-ins. Let cool, break with a wooden spoon, and enjoy.  Be careful because these are so easy to make, you might find yourself making them all the time.  They are also a nice quick gift wrapped up in festive gift bags.

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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

Chocolate milkshakes?  One of my favorite hot weather treats. Okay, that's not true. It doesn't matter the weather, I'll drink one in a snowstorm.  And who doesn't love chocolate covered strawberries?  Even if you aren't particularly fond of chocolate or strawberries, can you really resist that sweet on sweet flavor?  Not me, I love it.  

 

Today is Chocolate Milkshake Day!  Kinda sneaky trick of whoever makes up these fabulous celebrations to put it at the end of the hot summer, right when you're trying to fit back into your fall wardrobe.  But where there's a will - or a taste, as in this case - there's a way.  This is a tasty treat that combines all of the deliciousness of chocolate and strawberries, just a little bit lighter. (But I'm not a nutritionist, so if calories & fat content is important, then you may want to investigate it more.) 

 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

• Strawberries - I used fresh frozen berries. The kids & I picked them at the beginning of the summer; I cut the big one's in half, sprinkled them with sugar, and put them in a ziploc freezer bag, laid the bag flat in the freezer. Now I can get out how much I need without defrosting the entire bag.
• Almond milk - my recent favorite for smoothies.
• Chocolate protein powder - it makes me feel healthy about enjoying chocolate.  Also, it makes me feel full so a smoothie actually will hold me when I'm running around and don't have time to stop to eat.
• Agave nectar - to sweeten, use just a little bit - less than a tablespoon

 

Put it all in the blender - mix and enjoy!

 

Yummmm....

 

 

Chocolate covered strawberry smoothie - simple & sweet

Drinking Chocolate - for Serious Chocolate-lovers Only

A few summers ago, we were on vacation in Madrid and stopped into a chocolateria that specialized in churros. These foot-long, served hot, crispy churros (yumm, I’m all the sudden hungry) came with a small cup of melted chocolate.  My kids and I debated on whether we were supposed to drink the chocolate, because it was served in a little coffee cup, or dip the churros in it, because it was thicker than any hot chocolate we’d had before. We decided on both, because it was delicious either way and we were determined not to leave a drop behind.

Spanish churros and hot chocolate

Chocolateria in Madrid

Fast forward to this summer when I came across European Drinking Chocolate from Sipping Dreams.  Loaded down with books, it was a tasty little surprise to find Tom and Clover passing out samples of this liquid chocolate in the middle of Book Expo America.

Their European Drinking Chocolate is reminiscent of the Spanish drinking chocolate from that Madrid side-street café.  In the convenience of our own home in a few minutes, we made a little cup of decadence.  The chocolate comes in a solid bar, scored into 4 sections; each section makes a 3-oz. serving.  You can make the whole bar and refrigerate any that happens to be left over; I only made one square and saved the others so that I could make another fresh cup at another time.

It was this easy:  

The chocolate comes in a solid bar, scored into 4 squares. 1 square = 1 3-oz. serving.

Heat 1 square and 1/4 cup of milk over medium heat until chocolate is melted & bubbly. Whisk constantly to make it smooth.

Serve drinking chocolate with your favorite dessert and enjoy.

You don’t need to add sugar (and I like things sweet), it’s delicious as is. This drinking chocolate is just the right consistency to either drink or dip.  I paired it with coffee for a great mocha.  My daughter tried it with marshmallows and strawberry. Both tasted good.  And then on the company’s site, I found this recipe for an Italian Cappuccino – the chocolate mixed with instant espresso and then with crème de cacoa, Grand Marnier, Amaretto, Kahlua, vanilla, and Brandy – how could you go wrong with that?

Now, let me warn you: this is not for chocolate amateurs. You have to like chocolate to like drinking chocolate.  This is not “hot cocoa” like you give your kids after a snow-y day; or perhaps you’re kids are really lucky and it is. Drinking chocolate is thick and it’s thick – no Swiss Miss here. And don’t try to cut calories by using skim milk or soy milk or water – you’d be missing the whole point. This is for serious chocolate lovers only.

The chocolates are hand-made in a family-run shop out in Oregon and are available for purchase in stores out that way or on-line for the rest of us.

Thanks to Tom & Clover for giving me a box to enjoy at home!

As an alternative - if you'd like a drink in chocolate, check out this chocolate shot glass I had on a wine tour.

Lunchtime at Fisherman's Wharf

We had an exciting opening for our 65th Conference - complete with a cable car and Chinese dragon from our host city. For our lunch, we continued to enjoy the local treats on our own.

The famed cable cars run from downtown to the Wharf - we jumped on a few blocks from the convention center for the open air ride up and down the hills of the city.

Walking along the streets the last couple days, I've heard on odd motor-running sound; one of the drivers explained to us that this is the cable that runs under the street that pulls the cars along (you can see the thick cables if you carefully look into the space in the track). Apparently, back in the 1870's, the San Franciscans got tired of losing their horses to exhaustion and runaway horse carts on those hills. Instead, they came up with this cable system, and today, the cars are still operated by hand-pulled and foot-pushed brakes. The downside of this system, as we also found out - when there's a problem with this cable - the cars don't go. It was a little like riding a slow roller coaster, made a little more exciting by hanging off the side and hoping you don't get side-swiped by passing traffic.

At Fisherman's Wharf, we enjoyed a delicious bowl of cioppino, the San Francisco born seafood soup. This is one of my favorite soups, it's so much work to cook, but so delicious! It's a seafood stock with tomato puree, filled with fish, shellfish (Dungeness crab, shrimp, mussels, clams), and squid - yum! Served with garlic sourdough bread - whew! We were pretty full.

Well, 'til we saw the Ghirardelli factory. Sea salted caramel hot chocolate, anyone?

A pause for chocolate

During the wine tour, we made a stop at Sonoma Plaza. Its one of those squares, the kind you would expect in an old mission town - some history, some quaint shops and restaurants. Here, while looking for lunch, I stopped for a sign that read "Free Chocolate Tasting" - how could I pass that up? At Wine Country Chocolates, I had a delicious orange ganache (the filling in one of their truffles) and chocolates, then picked up a bag of macadamia brittle for the hubby, along with a box of hand-made chocolates, including Cappuccino Tiramisu and Hazelnut.

Sonoma Wine Tour

Grapevines in wine country - Jacuzzi Vineyard

Today I headed out on a tour of wine country. I don't usually do the organized tour thing, but I'm on too tight a schedule to figure out how to get up the valley on my own. This one was conveniently organized by Alpha Girl, a paraphernalia company.

We drove about an hour outside of San Francisco, crossing the famous Golden Gate Bridge (which is red?) with a view of Alcatraz. Loved the movie (it's the older Sean Connery, how could you not?) but I don't see how anyone could think they were getting out of that place - it's out in the middle of the water!

Our first stop was the Jacuzzi Family Vineyard - yes, "Jacuzzi" as in the jet spray water spas. This family has made relaxing and enjoying yourself into a fortune. Talk about having a career you can enjoy. They've had the winery since 1997, though this vineyard location has been built only a few years. Passing through the shop area, you walk out onto a beautiful stone patio and then into a courtyard that overlooks the vineyard and the valleys and hills all around. There was a wine bar set up with bartenders, or wine pourers, waiting for us.

Patio at Jacuzzi Vineyard

Now - here's my disclaimer. I'm not any kind of wine expert, but I do like wine. I tend to prefer whites, the sweeter the better. But at a wine tasting, I like to try a variety - who knows, maybe I'll find something new. I filled my glass with a couple reds and a few whites.

Sharese & Jamilla from Ohio tasting wine

The reds: Barbera, with berries and a "vanilla cocoa powder finish" (you know it was the chocolate that got me), their best selling red wine; and the Late Harvest Aleatico, a dessert wine. I also tried this in a chocolate shot - it's just as it sounds, a shot "glass" made from milk chocolate, filled with this wine - delicious! Adding to my list - figure out how to make chocolate shot glasses.

A chocolate shot - as in drinking wine from a chocolate "glass"

The whites: Tocai Friulano, a dry wine with a "vigorous citrus finish", surprisingly wasn't as dry as I expected, it was nice; the Moscato, which was mildly sweet; and the Giuseppina, a Chardonnay, which I usually don't really care for, but this one was good, this one has been aged in oak, with "vanilla, apple, and pear flavors". It was just enough sweet.

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Can't go wrong with dessert

After an early morning swim meet and a cross-country flight, I was ready for a good meal. The hotel concierge recommended a few spots, gave me directions to catch the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf and to walk to Chinatown. I picked famed Chinatown. At the risk of upsetting some folks - or maybe some will enlighten me as to what I missed - I mainly found discount shops filled with Chinese imports - silk (or silk-ish) Chinese-style dresses, slippers, paper parasols and fans, jade cat figurines.

I went 0 for 2 trying to find a good bite to eat. First, the bean-filled pancake from the bakery was more glutinous than I preferred and not enough bean- filling; at least it was only a 75 cent investment. Then the tofu seafood clay pot soup at the dim sum restaurant wasn't served in a clay-pot, was too thick, not flavorful, had too much tofu (and I like tofu), and like 2 shrimp. So much for a good Chinese meal.

I ended up back at the restaurant connected to my hotel - the upscale, seafood restaurant, the Farralon - and took a seat at the bar. When all else fails - a drink and dessert. Perfect!

I had a glass of Araku, a coffee liqueur from Venezuela. This was new to me - its similar to Kahlua, but it's rum based and a little thicker, but very smooth. This accompanied my chocolate sampler - a mini s'more, peanut butter chocolate bites, a sesame covered truffle, and chocolate drizzles caramel corn. I might be putting in a standing order for the week.