Mariposa Latin Inspired Grille, Sedona, Arizona – July 2017
Mariposa (the Spanish word for butterfly).
Being
Becoming
Blooming
Creating
Discovering
Embracing
Evolving
Flowing
Fluttering
Forgetting
Forgiving
Growing
Inspiring
Learning
Living
Loving
Overcoming
Reflecting
Remembering
Soul Searching
Surviving.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
We celebrated my youngest son, Nick’s birthday yesterday. I was excited to try to recreate a recipe he recently had and loved at Firebird’s Wood Fired Grill restaurant a month or so ago while traveling.
So instead of a birthday cake this year, I made these beautiful, decadent treats for his dessert. He loved it and said I aced it. Momma’s heart is happy. This dessert is beautiful and delicious and will make any occasion special.
It is so worth the time to create a magical, delicious dessert. And the beauty of it is that it can be made a day ahead of time and assembled right before you serve it for an amazing treat.
I know there is someone on your “list” who would do almost anything for one of these!
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 – 2.35 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
4 oz raspberry sauce (made by straining fresh 6 oz raspberries through a sieve with 1 Tbsp sugar)
16 fresh raspberries for garnish
chocolate granola for topping (recipe follows)
Whipped cream
4 – 6oz Mason jars
Directions:
Place heavy cream in pot on medium high heat, and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, and add chocolate chips. Whisk until smooth and chocolate is completely melted. Set aside and cool to room temperature. Reserve 1/2 cup of the chocolate ganache. Mix milk, yogurt and remaining chocolate ganache (other than 1/2 cup) in a mixing bowl. Stir in the pudding mix until fully incorporated. Pour 5 oz. of custard into each Mason jar or dessert dish. Top with 1oz reserved ganache per jar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Top with raspberry sauce, vanilla whipped cream, fresh raspberries and chocolate granola. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint.
And the chocolate granola….
O M G!
This is a treat in and of itself!
I might be able to live on just this.
Make it to accompany the Chocolate and Raspberry Custard in a Jar Dessert or to top yogurt , ice cream, or to just toss in your mouth as a yummy snack.
Oats and almonds and walnuts coated with cocoa and agave nectar and drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate….
Heaven in a bite!
Ingredients: Directions: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt agave nectar and butter on medium-low heat. In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, cocoa, sugar and melted butter mixture to coat well. Spread the mixture in a single layer on a baking stone or sheet, and bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Allow mixture to cool completely. Serve over Chocolate and Raspberry Custard Dessert, ice cream, yogurt, or enjoy as a snack. Adapted from a recipe from Laura in the KitchenChocolate Granola
2 cups of Old Fashioned Oats
1 Cup of Sliced (or slivered) Almonds
1 Cup of Chopped Walnuts
1/4 cup of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/3 cup Sugar
1/4 cup of Agave Nectar (you can also use Maple Syrup)
1/4 cup Butter
1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
And here is the birthday “boy” with his birthday dessert.
Happy Birthday Nick! You have made the past 26 years more joyful than you will ever know. I wish you love and happiness and as much chocolate and raspberry custard as your heart desires.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
One of my favorite cocktails on our recent visit to New Orleans was one I had at the bar at the National World War II Museum believe it or not.
Who knew this beautiful museum had a bar!?! An awesome restaurant and bar actually – called The American Sector – with yummy drinks and treats. And what a joy it was to sit there and buy a drink for a World War II veteran we met and chatted with for a little while in between activities and exhibits.
If you make a visit to New Orleans, this museum is a MUST SEE! I do not consider myself a history buff, and I am ashamed to say I did not pay very good attention to history in school. This museum, which combines galleries and exhibits, a 4-D movie, and interactive activities made learning the stories of heroism, tragedy and liberation enjoyable and interesting.
But back to this drink. I don’t recall what it was called on the menu, but I do recall what was listed in it, and I have tried a few times to recreate it at home.
Last weekend, at the end of a beautiful sunny, warm Autumn day, I made this one that was just what I was hoping for. This drink is not for “froo froo” sweet cocktail drinkers. It is sour and tart and refreshing. Since I can’t recall what it was called, and since I made it my own way, I am giving it my own name. I call it Jodi’s Grapefruit Gin Gimlet. If you are a gin lover like me, I hope you’ll give this refreshing cocktail a try.
2 shots Bombay Sapphire Gin
1 shot St. Germain Liquer
1 Grapefruit
1 Lime
Ice
Fill Cocktail Shaker with ice. Add gin, liquer, freshly squeezed juice of one whole grapefruit and one lime. Shake vigorously. Pour in cocktail glass.
If the grapefruit is a little too tart, you can stir in a 1/2 teaspoon of powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Friday Weekend Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
It was a girl’s field trip day on Saturday to Northeast Ohio for Christmas in the Woods!
Yep – more Christmas shenanigans!
What fun we had getting our Christmas crafting inspiration and shopping on.
Then, we topped our day off with a card-making / stamping class and dinner at Selah Restaurant in The Vault!
Check out the fun atmosphere that Shakerwoods turns into for Christmastime – 20 years strong now – – – but my first time.
It was a cool day with sprinkles off and on, but that made it all the more “Fall” like and got us in the Christmasy spirit.
It was Colleen’s first trip to any kind of Arts & Crafts Festival like this. She loved it, and I loved having her along! We have such similar tastes and interests that make it so much fun to be mother and daughter “in-law!”
We had a ton of fun with some of my old Middle School friends, Janet and Judi – and pretty much acted like we were back in Middle School.
Well – maybe just I did!
The trip was organized by my friend, Stacey Ailes, who is a Stampin Up Artist Extraordinaire (check out her website/blog if you haven’t already). Stacey did an amazing job corralling 11 women for a 14-hour day of adventure.
Colleen immediately spotted The Burlap Factory and ran so fast over to it, I could hardly get her picture! LOL! 🙂
The whole experience and scenery was just breathtaking. From the little Chapel in the Woods…
to the little Shaker School House….
where Colleen found the outhouse, but alas someone was already in it. (She is such a sport for posing and going along with my silly shenanigans!) ❤
Janet spotted this beauty for me to capture along our walk.
The day was filled with beautiful scenery, tasty treats, and all kinds of fun and friendly people…
Like this cute couple who were willing to stop and pose for a photo in their fun hats…
or this lovely lady who I asked how she could eat ice cream on such a chilly day. I came to find it was a Steamy BBQ Chicken and Mashed Potato “Sundae” with a cherry tomato on top, of course!
One of the highlights of the trip for many of the ladies was a B.E. Taylor concert right smack in the middle of all the action where the beautiful Christmas music could be heard echoing throughout the woods.
We bought some fun things and got a lot more great ideas. We’ll see if the ideas come to fruition…
The wonderful guys at the Great Harvest Bread Company had the cutest bench by their booth that said, “If you Knead to sit or just Loaf, please rest your Buns here.” Since they were kind enough to let me take a photo, of course I had to buy some bread. Italian Herb for me, and cinnamon swirl for Marty. (and oh by the way – DELISH!)
We passed on the fried pickles and fried snickers, but did enjoy an awesome reuben sandwich and sat with some folks who live right in our own hometown and are regulars on a different night at our hometown John’s Bar – so maybe we’ll see them again soon!
After getting inspired by the amazing crafters and talent, nourished body and soul with food and music, and spending enough money…
We ventured out of the woods and drove to Selah Restaurant in Struthers, about 20 minutes away.
What an awesome venue! Graced with art, photography and design, Selah is located in a turn-of-the-century bank with a rich history that gives it a unique and charming character.
Stacey had reserved “The Vault” for our special class and dinner.
It was such a unique experience to sit in the charming setting of the old vault of the bank.
Selah kept a lot of the original architecture of the bank, including the teller windows, adding such unforgettable charm.
The Vault was softly lit with a dozen or more candles, which was wonderful for our dining experience, but a tad challenging for our crafting time.
But it was way too cute and quaint for us to complain about that since we loved the atmosphere – and the company!
Stacey does such a phenomenal job teaching newbie, beginning stampers (of which we had four) and challenging some of us more experienced with new ideas and techniques. I sure admire Stacey’s talent, gift of teaching and sharing, and kind and generous heart.
What made it EVEN MORE FUN was the fact that I got to see an “old” friend from a few years ago when the company I work for had an office in Northeast Ohio. Charlotte and I have kept in touch through Facebook, and she has become a follower of my blog as well as a fan of Stacey’s talent. When Stacey came up with this idea, her and Charlotte connected on this venue, and they created all this wonderful magic.
Charlotte brought her forever BFF, and my new friend :), Carol. They were adorable together. They cannot remember a time when they weren’t friends. You see, their parents were neighbors and they grew up together, went to school together, married high school sweethearts and still live only a couple blocks apart.
These were their very first cards they made. They did an awesome job, kept us smiling, and really enjoyed stamping.
Judi also made her first card Saturday. Here and Janet buddied up working on their projects. Judi loved it so much, she wants to join our regular monthly classes at Stacey’s studio, so we are excited to welcome her.
Here’s Charlotte doing her first embossing, and these three chickadees were our seasoned pros! Cindy has a great website and blog if you want to check out here amazing talent here. I always appreciate Stephanie’s kind encouragement and comments. Nancy is a new friend I made that is married to a long-time friend and work acquaintance of Marty (such a small world!)
We laughed our way through the evening. (I was even hoarse by the time I got home!)
And of course we had to finish off the evening with some pumpkin cheesecake and carrot cakes to tide us over for the hour-long trip home!
Fun times with great ladies…
at life in between.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 