chocolate craving

A bit of a coffee break at Revolver over the weekend... oh yes, with the accompaniment of a chocolate croissant.  So yes, that did hit the craving spot... although the longer I stare at this picture, I am wishing I bought a few more to take home.

holiday grazing

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas over the weekend! My mind is still in holiday mode... there has been a lot of grazing on treats and leftovers these past couple of days... throw in a lot of social eating too, and I am quite surprised my pants aren't tight... yet. Here are some treats we made over the weekend -chocolate covered cake balls and Snoopy holiday cookies. Mmmmm... sugar.....

chocolate sweet, less the wheat

I am totally not a baker... love to cook, but still haven't really gotten into the baking. So when my sister's birthday dinner came up, and a wheat free desert option was a must, I volunteered to make the cake?! My memory of a store bought wheat free cake at a work function years ago left me with memories of a dry and inedible cake that everyone politely moved around their plates or smuggled into their napkins, so I figured I would spare my sis the same culinary torture. Anyhoo, rather than start from scratch (since, yes, it has already been established, I don't really bake), I thought I would try a store bought wheat-free cake mix.... and lo and behold, it was really good! And yes, please don't make fun of my amateur cake decor... that unfortunately, I had to do from scratch!

chocolate filled weekend

It was a busy weekend filled with family events, so I'm finally updating tonight! Hope everyone had a great long weekend... ours was quite chocolate filled. I still have quite a few delights left over, so I am going to try my crack at will power and make them last this whole week... at least. I'm crossing my fingres I don't wake up one morning this week with little foil wrappers all around my head.

hot chocolate day

Oh, it is one of those grey-ish days today... actually, it has felt like one of those grey-ish weeks this whole week. (I need some sunshine!) My solution? Hot chocolate... and in a very large mug. I'm sure there is an official "Hot Chocolate Day" already on the calendar somewhere out there, and if there is, I would like to propose it be changed to Hot Chocolate Week! Ok, now back to sipping my chocolate-y goodness.

peppermint forest

I am just finishing up some last minute holiday baking... ok, well not really baking in the case of these... technically melting and prepping... ta-da... some cool white peppermint bark. These will be packaged up with a batch of cake balls that are currently baking in the oven. (Notice how I chose super easy recipes?... as you can guess, I am not much of a baker... heehee). My goal is to finish making all these treats and eat as little of them as possible. These are for giving, and I have to keep reminding myself that it would be very disappointing for the receivers to get a sad half empty box of treats. Must resist!

pass the milk, please

Snack time! Nothing better than homemade double chocolate chip cookies from Roger's mom... mmmm. I think I am going to pour myself a nice tall glass of milk now!

happy birthday roger!

Today is my hubby's birthday... Happy Birthday Roger! We had a great birthday weekend and had a wonderful brunch (eh-hem... made by me), visited the Vancouver Art Gallery, took in a movie (yes, we saw Hot Tub Time Machine in all its 80's cheesiness), went for a lovely dinner at a french bistro and had some cake. Here is the cake I made... um, not from scratch, since I don't really bake. Do you recognize the character?... it is Cheburashka! (I had posted about him a couple of months earlier here). Well, I can't say I would ever win any cake decorating awards here, since bake is not my forté, but, hey... I tried. You will be happy to know most of it has already been eaten, though.

sweet treat

I headed down to the local bakery yesterday and picked up a few sweet treats - some polvoróns. Made from toasted flour, milk, butter and sugar, they are a lot like shortbread cookies, but a bit more powdery and less greasy. (That is the chocolate one you see there, and yes, it tastes as yummy as it looks!) All the little polvoróns even came wrapped in pretty coloured cellophane... so I had to snap a pic to share. Yummy!

breakfast of champions

Yes, that's right... I had a chocolate brownie this morning; an ooey-gooey warm melty chocolate frosted brownie. Ok, so I didn't make it... it is from Whole Foods... but I am not too picky in the early morning hours. I had to start my Friday on a good note, and I think this was the perfect way.... a girl deserves a treat every now and then, right? Have a happy weekend!

ps. don't forget to enter the March giveaway!!! Last day to enter is Sunday and winner is announced this coming Monday!

chocoholic dream

How much chocolate-y goodness can you eat in one evening? Well, this was the test Roger and I took when we attended a friend's birthday at The Sutton Place Hotel's Chocoholic Buffet on the weekend. Yes, you read right... an all-you-can-eat chocolate themed buffet. After sampling everything from chocolate mouse, fondue, small pieces of cake, crepes and the chocolate croissant bread pudding (which was easily my fave - see pic above), I must admit I had to tap out after two and a half trips fearing of diabetic shock/sugar hyper overload. And I say two and a half trips, because the last trip up resulted in an unfinished plate of chocolate dipped strawberries and torte. I think I will be cleansing from chocolate for the next little while.

Photos: The Best Damn Food Blog There Is