Month: April 2018

Extreme Chocolate Cake

/ Jodi / 72 Comments

Extreme Chocolate Cake.

For those times….
you know them…
when you just need chocolate cake.

I recently saw a question that made me think.

If you had to live without one of the following for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

  • Coffee
  • Cheese
  • Chocolate
  • Wine

For me, it would be chocolate.  Though I adore baking and enjoy chocolate (and even crave it sometimes), if I had to give up one of these four, it would be the chocolate.

I can’t imagine not having coffee in the morning.  A world without cheese?!  I’m just not sure that is a world worth living in.  And oh how I enjoy my glass or two of red wine in the evening.

How about you?

Now even though I would choose chocolate if I HAD to make the choice…. THANKFULLY I do not!

So here’s a chocolate cake I made recently (which is slightly adapted from this one I found at AllRecipes) – just because…

Because sometimes life is worth celebrating with chocolate cake!

Extreme Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • Frosting
    • 1 cup softened butter
    • 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 6 cups powdered sugar
    • 1 cup milk
    • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour three 8-9″ round cake pans.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Mix for 3 minutes with electric mixer.  Slowly stir in boiling water by hand with wooden spoon until fully incorporated.  Pour batter evenly into the three prepared pans.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for 15 minutes in pans, then remove to cooling rack to cool complete.

Prepare frosting by beating butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Stir in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar, then milk and vanilla.  Beat until fluffy and spreading consistency.

Spread frosting on each layer of cake stacked on top of each other and decorate as desired.

I shaved dark chocolate on top using a vegetable peeler from a large bar of Trader Joe’s 72% Cocoa Dark Chocolate and placed halved strawberries around the perimeter of the top.  

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Darkness

/ Jodi / 50 Comments

In the Darkness.

Sometimes
the most
beautiful,
wonderful,
exciting
things
show up
in
the
darkness.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Showing Your True Colors

/ Jodi / 54 Comments

Goldfinch – Mars, PA – April 2018

Showing Your True Colors.

If you could show your true color,
what color would you be?

Yellow is the color of sunshine, hope, and happiness.

Yellow stands for freshness, happiness, positivity, clarity, energy, optimism, enlightenment, remembrance, intellect, honor, loyalty, and joy.

Bright yellow is an attention getting color, and when used in combination with black,  it creates one of the easiest color combinations to read and see from long distances. This is why school buses, taxi cabs, and traffic signs are painted yellow and black.

If you were a color – would you be yellow?

If I could be as beautiful as this goldfinch that visits our backyard, I sure would be.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

My New Yellow Rubber Boots

/ Jodi / 58 Comments

My New Yellow Rubber Boots Watercolor 8×10

My New Yellow Rubber Boots.

It was great to get to spend some time in my art studio this weekend after getting through a handful of “have-to-do” tasks.

After recently painting some loose portrait-type figure paintings like this and this, I felt inspired to try some more “character” type illustrative work.  I was inspired by some beautiful work I found on Instagram done by an artist in the Netherlands, Marleen Kleiberg.

My granddaughter got her first little pair of yellow rubber boots from the Easter Bunny last week, and even though they were two sizes too big, she fell in love with them.   Her Mommy sent a picture on Easter morning of her wearing her new boots.  She was decked out in a denim ruffle-bottomed top and peach/orange knit leggings with a matching bow in her hair (and a mouthful of jelly beans!).

I used some artistic liberty to create this painting, but Pap Pap and Mommy and Daddy knew just who it was when I showed them, and got a kick out of it.

A little over a year ago, I painted this little portrait of her.  I can’t believe how much she has grown and changed in a year!

Oh the joy this little one brings to my world!  And what a fun subject to inspire paintings.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Don’t Stop Working for It

/ Jodi / 34 Comments

Pine Squirrel in the Spring Snow – Mars, PA – April 7, 2018

If you
can’t stop
thinking
about it,
Don’t stop
working
for it.

This little cutie is an American Red (Pine) Squirrel that hangs out in our back yard with the birds and other bigger squirrels (and chipmunks and turkey and deer and Charlie of course).  These little squirrels only stand about 6 inches tall, being just a bit bigger than a chipmunk, and weigh about a half of a pound (200-250 g).

Saturday morning, we awoke to another Spring snow with two or three inches on the deck railing.  This little bugger was not giving up on his quest to get to the (ahem) “bird” feeder for breakfast.  I caught him burrowing full force through the snow that was taller than him when on all fours, but he was determined…. and he got there.

He reminded me not to give up and not to stop working on what we want and where we want to go.

Thanks little buddy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Coconut Dark Chocolate Dream Cookies

/ Jodi / 50 Comments

Coconut Dark Chocolate Dream Cookies.

Are you a coconut lover?
Is dark chocolate your chocolate choice?

Would you choose a Mounds bar even if you are a little nutty?!

Then these cookies are definitely your dream come true!

They didn’t last long in our house.

I used Moser Roth 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate I purchased at Aldi.  YUM!

Not a coconut fan?
Make them for someone who is…
You just might earn Betty Crocker Baking Super Star status .

Just sayin’…

Coconut Dark Chocolate Dream Cookies*

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup solid coconut oil
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped dark chocolate
  • 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream coconut oil and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add in egg and vanilla, followed by baking powder, salt, and flour.

Stir in chopped chocolate and coconut.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto baking stone or cookie sheet.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned and set.  Cool completely.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

* Original recipe slightly adapted from Add a Pinch.

Tiny interesting choices

/ Jodi / 39 Comments

Tiny Interesting Japonica blooms, Mars, PA – April 2018

Tiny interesting choices.

Take wrong turns.  Talk to strangers.
Open unmarked doors.  And if you see a
group of people in a field, go find out
what they are doing. Do things without
always knowing how they’ll turn out.
You’re curious and smart and
bored, and all you see is the choice
between working hard and slacking off.
There are so many adventures that you
miss because you’re waiting to think of
a plan.  To find them, look for tiny
interesting choices.  And remember that
you are always making up the
future as you go,

–Randall Munroe

Isn’t this great advice?!

Remember there is more to life than just working hard or slacking off…. there is so much “in between.”

Cherish those moments!

Look for those tiny interesting choices that are making up your future… your life.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PAWsitive Points to Ponder: A Charlie Guest Post

/ Jodi / 57 Comments

PAWsitive Points to Ponder:  A Charlie Guest Post.

Greet those you love with great enthusiasm – Every… Single… Time… you see them.
Wag your tail.
Jump up on them.
Smother them in kisses.

Stop and smell the roses.
Sniff out the interesting things.
Notice the things that pique your curiosity.
Never stop being inquisitive.

Mess up the bed.
Mom thinks the bed needs straightened up every day…
pressed and tidied and pillows fluffed and in place….
but I love to scrunch it all up into a cozy, wonderful, comfortable mess.  Yes!

Roll in the grass.
It’s a massage.
It’s a back scratcher.
It will make you feel like a kid again.

And never forget –
If all else fails,
curl up in a ball, lay in the sunshine,
and take a nap.

Woofs & Wags,
Charlie

Charlie is an adopted dog with brown eyes and a white-tipped tail who brings joy and laughter to his family and friends.  Charlie is a gifted writer, raving food critic, cat, chipmunk, and donut lover, and exceptionally photogenic model.  Some of his best friends are Mike the UPS Man, Cliff the Mailman, and ANYONE who delivers pizza to the house.   If you would like to read more guest posts by Charlie, simply type “Charlie” into the Search box at the top right hand corner of this link: thecreativelifeinbetween.com.   If you would enjoy a companion like Charlie, please consider pet adoption.

 

Creamy Cauliflower Risotto with Shrimp

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

Creamy Cauliflower Risotto with Shrimp.

On Easter Sunday, we enjoyed an absolutely amazing buffet brunch at a local restaurant in Mars called Breakneck Tavern where they served a positively divine shrimp risotto (among a kagillion other amazing treats).  I only had about a tablespoon of it on Easter, because I wanted to try so many of the other wonderful things they had available (way more than I could sample at one sitting!), but I could not get that shrimp risotto out of my mind.  It was sooooooo good!

Well – I have also  been hearing great things about “ricing” cauliflower and have been anxious to try.

Since I had a beautiful fresh head of cauliflower in the fridge, as well as a bag of shrimp in the freezer, I decided to try a healthier version of shrimp risotto for dinner last night.

O. M. G!  This turned out almost more heavenly than the original one I had a tiny taste of on Easter.  More heavenly because it is so much healthier, but also so delish!!!

My recipe is adapted from one I found at Cafe Delites.  This recipe is a low-carbohydrate, high protein, fiber-rich, calorie-friendly plate of deliciousness!  I hope you will give it a try.

P.S.  If I was making this only for me, I would totally add fresh green peas.  What do you think?  Hubby absolutely detests peas, so I sacrificed for him, but oooohhh –  can you imagine??!!  Pea lovers out there??

Here is how I made it.

Creamy Cauliflower Risotto with Shrimp

Ingredients:

  • 1 large cauliflower
  • 12-14 oz shrimp, peeled and tails removed
  • 2 Tbsp salted butter
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1  cup Half and Half (or cream or milk)
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth (or dry white wine)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp coarsely ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper (optional)

Directions:

Remove core from cauliflower and break into florets.  Working in batches of approximately 1 cup at a time, pulse cauliflower in food processor until it is the consistency of rice.  Place all in large bowl and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp and sear them while stirring until they start to lose their color.  Add garlic and juice of half of the lemon.  Fry for an additional minute.  Add cauliflower, red pepper (if adding) and olive oil.  Fry and stir for 3-4 minutes until fully combined and coated.  Stir in the half and half (or cream or milk) and chicken broth (or white wine).  Grate Parmesan cheese over all and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Combine.  Cover and reduce heat to low to simmer 6-8 minutes until creamy.

When ready to serve, sprinkle with fresh parsley and wedges of lemon from remaining half.  Top with additional Parmesan if desired.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

A Different Perspective

/ Jodi / 36 Comments

A view from atop the hill of the road I walk most every day – Mars, PA – April 1, 2018

A Different Perspective.

For the past 17 years,
I’ve walked the same road.

Each day,
I look for something new.

But sometimes,
we need to veer from that same road

And look at it
from a different perspective.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi