PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

it's that time of year again where i love everything pumpkin.

pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin carving,

and how could i forget:

PUMPKIN COOKIES

(recipe will make approximately 2 dozen cookies)

what you will need:

-1 cup of pumpkin puree

-1 cup brown sugar

-0.5 cup vegetable oil

-1 egg

-1 tbs vanilla extract

-2 cups of all-purpose flour

-2 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp baking soda

-0.5 tsp salt

-2 tsp cinnamon 

-1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips

-0.5 cup dried oats

-0.5 cup crushed pecans or walnuts

the how to's:

1. preheat oven to 350 F or 175 C.

2. in one bowl combine the pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg, and vanilla.

3. in a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

4. slowly add in the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture and mix thoroughly.

5. line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease cookie sheet. 

6. drop tbs sized balls onto cookie sheet.

7. cook for 12-15 minutes.

8. make sure they are fully cooked through or otherwise your cookies will have a strange doughy texture.

9. EAT!

perfect with tea on a chilly autumn day

enjoy

:)

CRANBERRY + WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

you can never go wrong with a freshly baked batch of cookies.

however instead of making a regular 

batch of chocolate chip cookies, 

i decided to add a little spin to the recipe.

CRANBERRY + WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

(makes around 2 dozen cookies)

you will need:

-1/2 cup unsalted margarine or butter

-1/4 cup white sugar

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/2 tsp of salt

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1 egg

-1 cup of all-purpose flour

-1/4 tsp of baking soda

- 1/3 cup walnuts

-1/3 cup dried cranberries

-1/3 cup white chocolate pieces

how to make:

1. pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. in a bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.

3. add salt, vanilla, and egg to the mixture. 

4. in a separate bowl mix the flour and baking soda together.

5. mix the flour mixture into the creamed mixture.

6. add in the walnuts, dried cranberries, and white chocolate.

7. mix all together!

8. sheet parchment paper onto a cookie sheet

9. place tbs sized balls of dough onto the cookie sheet

(make sure the balls of dough are 

approximately 5 cm apart from each other).

10. bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until they are golden brown on the outside (bake cookies on middle rack).

11. once cookies are done let them cool for a bit, 

then plate, and enjoy!

:)

MAGIC OF CHIA

ever given chia seeds a try?

maybe you'll give them a shot after finding out all the wonderful benefits of eating these powerful little seeds.

magic of chia:

1. they contain tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps you feel fuller for longer!

2. they fight belly fat by helping you body's muscle, fat and liver cells respond to insulin normally.

3. they contain protein which is great for vegetarians.

4. they help keep your bones and teeth strong since they're packed with calcium.

5. stock up on fiber fiber fiber

check out more health benefits at

www.huffingtonpost.ca/chia-seed-benefits

and here is a clever way to add some chia into your life

chia pudding:

(serves 4-6 people)

2 cups of soy milk

2 tbs of honey

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of chia

1. add soy, honey and vanilla into a bowl and mix until honey melts

2. add chia seeds and mix

3. put in fridge

4. after an hour, mix

5. wait 3 hours and you're pudding is finito

serve with fruit and enjoy!

i got this recipe from

kitchensimplicity.com/vanilla-chia-pudding-with-honeyed-strawberries/

p.s. this pudding makes you quite full 

:)

JAPAN PART 10 - SAVOUR THE MOMENT

as you can see by looking at these pictures,

ice cream was one of the main highlights of the trip.

from a variety of soft ice creams and parfaits, to baskin robbins and dip n' dots; each calorie was savoured to the very last bite.

enjoying conversations over a sweet and chilled treat

can make any day delightful.

however, the beach-bod may suffer.

now that i'm back in vancouver, reality has kicked in and it's time to enjoy savoury treats in moderation.

my friend and i have decided not to eat any ice cream until the first of july. this may not seem that long, but for us it is a great challenge. going cold turkey off pinkberry for even a week is a dreadful task for us ice cream lovers.

i'm on a search to finding magical recipes for delicious yet 

beach-bod-acceptable ice cream for this zesty summer season!

-to enjoying treats in moderation!

:)

WINTER COOKIES

every year our family gets a lot of goodies over the holiday season.

my all time favorites are the triangular cinnamon cookies.

they are soft and chewy and cinnamon spice gives you the sensation that you can taste winter.

chocolate is probably one of my favorite things ever, so it is very tempting to eat all of the chocolates at once.

but i try to resist and restrict myself to one or two a day during the holidays.

now that the new year has started i must get back to my workouts to burn off all this sugar i have consumed.

stay tuned for more posts!

:)

CHOCO CHIP COOKIES

i got this recipe straight from the martha stewart link bellow

martha stewart soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

this recipe will make up around three dozen cookies.

this recipe is super easy to follow, and the cookies turned out to be truly moist and delicious.

we ended up using half white chocolate and half milk chocolate for our cookies and they turned out to be very yummy!

just make sure to not make the cookies too big since they may end up burning at the bottom like some of our cookies...heh

definitely give these cookies a try!

:)

CHRISTMAS PARTY

i went to my dad's staff party at the four seasons hotel this past sunday. 

they have a very pretty display of many christmas tree's. 

this one tree decorated by the children's hospital 

(shown above) was especially beautiful. 

for dinner i chose the vegetarian dish which was the mushroom and ricotta ravioli, and for dessert they served us a praline and chocolate mousse cup with a coffee meringue stick and beer flavoured chocolate.

this dessert was one of a kind!

however, the best part of this night was after the party when i was reunited with my best friend who just came back home for the winter holidays!

more pictures of this night are yet to come.

:)

CHRISTMAS STOLLEN - PART 2

 :)

CHRISTMAS STOLLEN - PART 1

last week i went to go help my dad out at work to make the traditional german christmas stollen.

i underestimated the time and work that goes into these cakes.

it takes hours upon hours to prepare with numerous steps in between.

first you have to prepare the rum covered raisons, the roasted almonds, and marzipan the night before.

then you make the large sum of dough, adding in the raisons and almonds.

next you gotta let the dough rise.

then you separate the dough into individual mounds.

i had never seen this much dough. ever. it was craziness.

while this cake may take a long time to prepare, it doesn't take long for one of these cakes to be eaten bite by bite.

more to come tomorrow.

:)

INDULGE

sometimes you just gotta treat yourself to the real goodness of top quality ice cream.

 baskin robbins and i go way back. 

as a kid my favorite flavour was always cotton candy, but as times change, i guess i have matured as well.

my new favorites are green tea, and perils of praline. these are what i would call more sophisticated flavours.

however, my child-like ways are still present in my humour.

i still laugh at very childish things. like poop.

poop.

haha.

>:)

BANANA NUTELLA ICE

feeling like some good ol' ice cream?

but don't want to indulge in all the fat?

look no further!

how to make this banana nutella "ice cream":

serves 2

total time - 5 minutes

ingredients

-two ripe bananas

-tbs of honey

-one or two tbs of nutella

-50mls of milk or soy milk

1. peel the bananas the night before and wrap them in saran wrap or put them in a freezer bag.

2. once your bananas are frozen, break up the banana into pieces and put them into a blender or mixer.

3. add honey, nutella, and milk or soy milk with the bananas.

4. start mixing! mix to desired texture.

5. it's ready to serve!

6. garnish with banana pieces or chocolate .

i couldn't believe it either, ice cream without the cream. 

and yes it truly is delicious!

it's almost too good to be true.

definitely going to start making this more often.

:)

POPCORN TWIST

ever heard of popcorn creme brulee?

quite the twist added to the original.

yet this treat happened to be uniquely delicious.

if you ever happen to come across something like this, i would recommend you to give it a try.

your taste buds will thank you.

:)