blogging ahead

despite the fact that we bought this cake to celebrate bill knapps day, which was january 18th when we decided to eat bill knapps cake and nap, i'll post this picture in honor of national chocolate day today.

perhaps it was one of my mentally unarticulated goals for the new year to put a bit more priority back onto my blog.  i'm not sure.  but lately i've been feeling a real urge to get this place back on track.  my free time comes in sporadic bursts these days, and to be honest, we don't have a whole lot going on at the immediate moment.  i'm too chicken to head out for cute photos in the snow (in all fairness this is like super ultra mega cold snow).

if you wanted an accurate run down of our day to day activities you'd hear things like "doing a lot of laundry, but leaving it unfolded."  Or "watching netflix and cracking a beer."  Or "simultaneously doing dishes while cooking chili."  Or "petting the cat and talking to steve."

we're just not all that fascinating at the moment i suppose.  but that's ok, it means i finally have a chance to get my tush back here and blog!

but on that note, you may not see my word count sign offs as it will be impractical to reconcile with scheduled posts.  no worries, however, i'll be sure to keep you updated on my writerly exploits.

so now what?  i just told you how boring we are.  so let's look ahead!  tally ho!  i'm going to start pre-writing blog posts to keep this place fresh when i get busy again!  make ahead meals so to speak.  and to compound on the forward thinking most of these posts will be varieties of future plans!  we do have a wedding after all, and a lot more than that on the horizon as well!

photo recap

 

my signed peter doig print broke the bank, but looks incredible in its frame.

steve created the most awesome chocolate-cinnamon sticks with the remaining trader joe's pizza dough.

i discovered the best delivery sandwich in town.

i got lunch delivered to work because it looks like this outside.

steve sent me a happy surprise picture of himself and bert while i was working.

and.... i'm only a lot obsessed with these sunglasses.

Super-Ultra-Mega Treats

For a summer in college I worked at this mom and pop owned bakery / cafe back in the zoo ("kalamazoo" for those of you that haven't caught on to this blog title yet).  I used to throw out the left over donuts at the end of every day and was welcome to take / eat as many as I pleased.  Let me tell you that was NOTHING compared to my current workplace.  Apparently architects are addicted to sugar.  Yesterday, Charley's mom, who is known around the office as "The Cookie MoMster," showed up with 5 catering plates of sweets and I almost went into diabetic shock just looking at everything.  Then I tasted quite literally the greatest cookie I have ever eaten in my life.  Disclaimer: I am not a huge cookie girl.  I am more of a cake/fruity-custardy-crumbly/pie kind of lady.  If you ask me there is nothing better than a piece of chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick, so if you are a religious chocolate chip cookie person these might not blow your mindhole the way they did mine… but I suspect they still might.  They are THAT good.  Fortunately, Angie (The Cookie MoMster), is the most thoughtful lady alive and always provides the recipes for her baked goods.  So if you are looking to make someone a treat… or gain a lot of weight… make these things.  You will not be disappointed.

Chocolate Toffee Caramel Bars

Prep Time (30 mins) Ready in 3 hours

1 (18.25 oz) package butter recipe yellow cake mix with pudding

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1 (12 oz) package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup white vanilla chips

3 (1.4 oz) chocolate covered toffee candy bars (heath bars), cut into pieces

½ cup butter or margarine

32 vanilla caramels, unwrapped

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

1.)  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 13x9” pan.  In large bowl combine cake mix, oil, and eggs; blend well.  Stir in chocolate chips, vanilla chips, and candy bar pieces (mixture will be thick).  Press half of mixture in bottom of greased pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.

2.)  Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, combine butter, caramels, and condensed milk.  Cook over medium-low heat until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally.

3.)  Remove partially baked crust from oven.  Slowly pour caramel mixture evenly over crust.  Crumble remaining cake mix mixture over caramel.

4.) Return to oven; bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until top is set and edges are deep golden brown.  Cool 20 minutes.  Run knife around sides of pan to loosen bars.  Cool 40 minutes.  Refridgerate for 1 hour.  Cut into bars and store in refrigerator.

Servings: 24 bars

Serving Size: 1 bar

Calories: 430

Calories from Fat: 190

Total fat 21 g

Saturated fat 9g

Cholesterol 30mg

Sodium 280mg

Carbohydrate 55g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 46g

Protein 5g