kittens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 smokey brought james downstairs the other day, so we let her (yes, james is a girl) roam for a while. she's so tiny!!!!

 smokey, cuddling with her babies on the couch. the one peeking there is james.

mouse and james, cuddling with elmo and me. and the kitten trapped between my leg and elmo's foot... that's mouse. mouse is my favourite of the two.

the only thing better than chocolate treats... is homemade chocolate treats.

blithe and i spent the evening together tonight, and i have to say, it was such a special time. we don't often get time together without the boys, so this was truly wonderful.

i will post in a little while about the why's and what's about the evening on blithe's blog, but here is what i want to post about here:

WE MADE CHOCOLATES!!!!!

we decided that chocolate would be a perfect treat for two ladies, so off we trekked to Bulk Barn and picked up some melting chocolate (milk and dark - i might be indecisive... i'll let you know when i figure it out) and some skor bits. mmm... skor bits...

so we came home and melted said chocolate. blithe threw some of the pieces into the pot and stirred it up, and then she tossed in the skor bits. together, we poured the melted goodness into these little cups and left them to set.

i'm about to try one now... unwrapping it...putting it into my mouth... savouring it as it melts in my mouth (well, the chocolate is melting. skor bits don't melt)... stroking out from the goodness...

oh, i don't think i should share these with blithe. i'm going to have to save her from them. they're just no good. [wink]

alright, alright. i'll let her have some. after all, i promised that she could take some (1 or 2 pieces) in her lunch tomorrow. and we're going to give the boys each a piece, too, because they will love it.

we have never made chocolates. usually i just buy a twix or kitkat or something... occasionally, i indulge in dark chocolate with red chili (which is beautiful, by the way). but the chocolate blithe and i made tonight... these are wonderful, and beyond easy, and we are sooooooooooooooooo making this again!!!!

i still have the dark chocolate pieces. i just need to find the right je ne sais quoi to put in it. so tomorrow, i will be adventuring in a couple shops i know. what fun!

well, the kidley-winks are back at school...

... yes, yes, old news, i know. but! once again, it means...

lunches.

and so, i give you... tomorrow's lunches!

home-made chicken soup (sans peanut butter - see the next post for details on that beauty)
celery sticks (which i think are gross, i admit. but the kids love them, and i insist on at least one healthy snack)
apple juice
chocolate chip cookies. which i am going to make this evening.

now, i prefer to send all healthy snacks in lunches. but we're getting low on snack-y stuff in the house tonight, but i have all the ingredients for the cookies. and if i make cookies tonight, i can send some to school with blithe and bram, and asher will have a cookie when he gets home at lunchtime.

so i headed over to my fave site of all time, allrecipes.com and voila! here's the recipe i'm going to use tonight:

Chewy Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1-1/4 cups white sugar
1-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 375F. sift together flours, baking power and baking soda; set aside.
2. in a large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. beat in the eggs and vanilla, until well blended. gradually stir in flour mixture. stir in chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.  drop cookies by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheets.
3. bake for 10 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are light brown. let cookies cool on the baking sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

i can't wait to see how these turn out. and i'm going to try hard not to eat the dough. we'll see how it all turns out.

no... words... it's just... so... beautiful!! {drools all over keyboard}

so, um, yeah. i'm addicted to cake wrecks. i really am. i'm not too proud to admit it.

the problem here is that... well... i'm also highly suggestible. which means that,

inevitably,

every time i check out cake wrecks...

um...

i want cake.

so, since i live my life online (ok, i'm not that bad, but my laptop is often within reach), i updated my FB status:
Heather really wants some cake now. cake wrecks + highly suggestible heather = craving for a really ugly, really yummy cake!!

true story.

well, imagine my delight when my friend recommended i check out the 5 minute cake recipe page on FB. and let me just say... it was the best sidetrip through FB i've ever taken. (see "highly suggestible heather" comment above.)

well, gentle reader, here is the recipe:

5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

add dry ingredients to mug, and mix thoroughly. add the egg, and mix thoroughly.

pour in the milk and oil, and mix well.

add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 mins on high. the cake will rise over the top of the mug; don't worry. allow to cool a little, and tip onto a plate if desired.


doesn't this just sound like the most beauteous thing you have read all day?!?! as soon as kids leave, i'm making this for myself. i'll post the review when i finish it. :)

ps - clicking on the title of the recipe will take you straight to the FB page, so as to give credit where credit is due.

wha-?! asher on My Simple Life?! yes. and it's all just so very normal.

ah, normalcy. boring balm, sweet elixir of mundaneness (mundaniosity? mundanity?), when the only thing to do is watch tv and blog and stare at the walls for a few hours.

and laundry and tidying up and running the dishwasher and making beds and making meals.

and then staring at the walls a little bit longer.

because i can.

because the kids are all in school!!!!!!

that's right, folks! the kids have now officially started school!!!!!

yup, you read that right! all the kids have officially started school!!!

including... drum roll, please... [does drum roll on laptop]... the littlest man!!!!!

look how proud he is of himself, waiting for the bus on his first day of school!!! he's been waiting for this for so long; he's been practicing sitting "criss cross applesauce hands in your lap" for weeks! he's learned how to sit like that for a whopping 3 seconds!!! i'm so proud!!! (i'd be prouder if he could sit like that for 3 minutes, mind you, but beggars can't be choosers, a mom can dream, insert wishful-thinking/i'll-take-what-i-can-get comment here.)

yup. they're all at school. all of them. all of them.

all of them.

chocolate salami?? WHA-?!?!

once again, i'm watching Taste Budz with the kids. and today they are making... get this!!... chocolate salami!! as a lover of chocolate AND salami, i'm intrigued!! here's the recipe:

3.5 oz dark chocolate
3.5 oz milk chocolate
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 lady finger cookies
1/2 cup almonds, chopped, skin on, toasted
1 cup Rice Krispies
1/2 cup dried cherries, cranberries or apricots, finely chopped
fruit, for serving with salami (try strawberries, kiwis, pomegranate or raspberries).

Directions
Melt dark chocolate, milk chocolate and butter over a double boiler.

when chocolate is melted, stir in honey, cinnamon, salt and vanilla.

crush lady fingers in ziploc bag. you need about 1 cup of rough, coarse crumbs.

add lady finger crumbs, almonds, Rice Krispies, and dried cherries to the chocolate mix. stir to combine. let cool 10 to 15 minutes. this will make it easier to roll the mixture.

roll in parchment paper to form a log. then wrap tightly in saran wrap, tapering ends so they are rounded like a salami. refrigerate until set, about 2 to 3 hours.

cut chocolate salami into 1/2" to 1/3" slices. serve with small dollop of yogurt cream. store in refrigerator. makes about 20 slices.


i wish i could show you a picture, but i can't find one. you'll just have to believe me when i say that it looks amazing!!!! if you want to find the recipe for yourself, check out Taste Buds.