Life Through the Lens

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Holiday Treats-a-palooza: Chocolate Covered Everything

It has been tradition in my family ever since I was little to make chocolates. And by chocolates I mean melting yummy milk/dark/white chocolate & dipping everything & anything you can get your hands on into it. It's super easy & always makes impressive (& yummy!) holiday gifts! Here's how I do it:

I like to use Wilton Candy Melts. They're available at Michael's or other craft-type stores. I have used other bulk chocolate discs before, available at candy supply stores, but D.C. seems to be seriously lacking in candy supply shops.

The chocolate melts looks like this when they're dumped out of the bag (no, the irony is not lost in this picture - I am making chocolates, while Brad's protein powder, banana's & water bottle hang out in the background)

Before you get started with your chocolate-ing, prep your chocolate dipping area. This year, I covered our dining room table with waxed paper, which worked very well.

Melt your chocolate on a double boiler or the lazy way: in the microwave on 50% power, stirring every 15-30 seconds. When your chocolate is melted, it will look like this (resist the urge to lick the spoon).

Now you're ready to dip. Oreo's are always a hit, so I tend to make a whole bag or two of those.

You can keep melting chocolate & dipping Oreo's until your heart is content.

If you want to move onto something else, may I suggest nutmallow, or as Martha would call them, "rocky road bars." Melt a bag of chocolate discs, toss in a half a can of cashews, & 1/2 - 3/4 of a bag of mini-marshmallows (I went overboard this year & used almost the whole bag). Give the mixture a good stir, so it's evenly coated & dump the whole mixture into a baking dish lined with wax paper. Then stick it in the fridge!

White chocolate also presents lots of fun dipping opportunities. Just be careful when melting though, as it tends to burn more easily than milk or dark chocolate.

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Dunk that Oreo right in... don't be afraid to get any on your fingers!

White chocolate is also good for drizzling over milk or dark chocolate. Melt some white chocolate, take a small fork & dip the ends in. Then shake the fork back & forth over whatever you're drizzling. If the chocolate isn't melted enough & sticks to the fork or comes off in big blobs, stick it back in the microwave (or over the double boiler) for a few seconds.

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

There's really no end to the treats you can make!

Friday, December 10, 2010

New York City at Christmas

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was sitting at my desk this morning, when suddenly the urge came.

New York City.

Christmastime.

I simply must go.

Unfortunately, New York City, especially at Christmastime, is expensive & our holiday schedule is already jammed.

So since a trip isn't in the picture this year, I thought I would blog about it instead. Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

Last Sunday, we purchased & decorated our Christmas tree. We literally pulled into the parking lot of our church (where we buy our fine tree every year), walked up to one, said "looks good" & five minutes later it was in the car. Simplest process ever. Which was good, because it was freezing cold out.

The biggest pain in the rear about purchasing a live tree is carrying it up the stairs to our fourth floor apartment. This year it resulted in me getting sap all over my winter coat. Luckily, thanks to the Intertubes, I found a genius solution to get it out: hand sanitizer. I am not even joking! Squirted some right on my coat, rubbed it in, & in a matter of moments the sap was gone. Amazing.

So, we hauled the tree upstairs, set it up in the little stand & let it get nice & warm for a few hours. Finally, it was decorating time.

Lights first.

Then it was time to get out the ornaments.
No, I don't think we have enough either, thanks for noticing.

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Per the tradition, baby ornaments go on first.

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Finally, top it all off with a star.*

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Some ornament highlights from our travels this year:

Kayaking Santa, from Bar Harbor, Maine

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

little row boat from Kennebunkport, Maine

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

in honor of the many pounds of lobster we ate in Maine, & elsewhere

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

USS Constitution from Boston

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

Peggy's Cove light house, from Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

the cheesiest Luray Caverns ornament ever, from our anniversary trip there

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

*a super tacky, plastic, 1970's star that has been in my family since, well, the 1970's. My Dad gladly handed it off to me & I am obsessed with it. I refuse to get a new one.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Five for Friday

1. It's back! I thought I would return to Five for Friday because I've found myself with a lot to share lately & not always the photos to do it with. So if you enjoy rambling posts to end your week, this is your place. If not, I suggest checking the ol' blog Monday through Thursday only. I'm going to warn you though: I am feeling verbose today. With that being said...

2. How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was lovely. It was spent in Ohio at my in-laws for the first time ever (the first Thanksgiving trip there, not the first time ever going to their house. Just in case that wasn't clear). My mother-in-law cooked up a turkey & all the fixin's & I made two pies. We ate in the early afternoon, so afterward was filled with much football watching & relaxing. Friday, I drove to Columbus & did some Black Friday shopping with one of my best friend's. She had a list & a plan & we pretty much stuck to both, which was shocking. Saturday was the best day of all, but that needs its own section on this post, so I'll get to that in a minute. All in all, an enjoyable Thanksgiving.

3. Saturday was an epic day in college football. Now, I know that word is thrown around a lot, but it truly was. At noon, Ohio State played Michigan in The Game. Ohio State won The Game, which means that, as of today, it has been 2568 days since Michigan's last victory over Ohio State in football (yes, there are people in Columbus who keep track of such things. Mainly the newspaper).

As if that wasn't exciting enough, at 3:30pm we had Florida State vs. Florida in their big rivalry game. My Florida State Seminoles have not won this game in six years &, quite frankly, it was getting embarrassing. But I had a good feeling about this year. For an extra stroke of luck, I busted out my t-shirt from their 2000 win (my freshman year there), & wore that in lieu of my traditional 'Nole gear. Well, it must have worked. Because they won. BIG. I think I also scared my in-laws with my manic screaming, chopping, fight song singing, running up to the TV & mimicking throwing the spear & other general Florida State hoopla. Regardless, 'twas a good day.

4. To cap off what made Saturday so great (& Tuesday & many days to come) my super, fantastic, wonderful brother-in-law brought me a whole case of my second-most-favorite* beer ever: Great Lakes Brewing Company Burning River pale ale. Not only is it 1. from Cleveland & 2. only available in the Ohio-area, how can you not like a company that makes fun of the fact that in1969 the Cuyahoga River, which runs next to downtown Cleveland, was so polluted it caught on fire. Yes, a river caught on fire. Randomly. Completely on its own. Love it & love the beer. Since we were driving back, instead of flying, I was able to bring the case home for enjoyment throughout the bowl season & whenever the mood strikes. Brian, you're a rock star.**

*My favorite beer is Great Lakes Christmas Ale which is almost impossible to find in bottles. I did snag a glass on draft when I made Brad take a wild lunch detour so we could go to a restaurant that was rumored to have it on tap. Thank goodness that rumor was true!

**Perhaps if I keep using adjectives to describe how great he is, he'll buy me another case.

5. Are you ready for the holidays? How is it December already? Where has 2010 gone? Craziness, I tell you. I was scroog-ing it up until yesterday when I decided to decorate a little tree for my office & was suddenly struck with the holiday spirit. Which is good because I have a lot of baking, chocolate making, present wrapping & tree decorating to get to!

Happy Friday!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Photo (c) Christina Saull - All Rights Reserved

I was suddenly struck with the holiday spirit today. Good thing, because decorations are going up tonight & we're getting our tree on Saturday!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Recipe Tuesday: awesome pie edition

I made two pies for Thanksgiving this year: a healthy (130 calories a slice!) pumpkin pie & a much less healthy peanut butter chocolate pie. Both were a hit with the fam. So even though Thanksgiving is over, in my mind, it's always pie season.

"Healthy" Pumpkin Pie (photo recipe courtesy of the amazing Hungry Girl)

Ingredients
For Crust*
2 cups Fiber One bran cereal (original)
1/4 cup light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown); melted & mixed with 1 oz. water
3 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, granulated
1 tsp. cinnamon

For Filling
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
One 12-oz. can evaporated fat-free milk
3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, granulated
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
1/4 cup sugar-free maple syrup
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
Optional Topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

[In a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Combine crumbs with all other crust ingredients. Stir until mixed well. In an oven-safe 9-inch pie dish sprayed lightly with nonstick spray, evenly distribute mixture, using your hands or a flat utensil to firmly press and form the crust. Press it into the edges and up along the sides of the dish. Set aside.]

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the filling. Mix well. Pour mixture into pie crust. (Filling may be taller than the crust -- this is okay!)

Bake pie in the oven for 45 minutes, and then remove it and allow to cool. Chill in the fridge for several hours (for best results, chill overnight).

Cut into 8 slices, and if you like, top with Reddi-wip** before serving!

*Okay, okay, I admit: I used a store bought crust. It was just easier & it only added one Weight Watchers point to the recipe. You can skip the part in brackets above if you're using a pre-made crust.

**This step is clearly not optional.

"Unhealthy" Peanut Butter Pie

(Photo courtesy of Jif.com... & yes, this is really what it looks like. So. Darn. Amazing.)

Ingredients
1 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat, not that it makes much of a difference!)
1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda)
1 (12 oz.) container (4 1/2 cups) frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided (I used fat-free Cool Whip)
1 prepared chocolate pie crust
1 (11.75 oz.) jar Smucker's® Hot Fudge Spoonable Ice Cream Topping (I used squeezable chocolate shell for the design on the top because it was easier)

Directions
Beat together 1 cup peanut butter, cream cheese & sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium, until well combined. Gently mix in 3 cups whipped topping until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into pie shell. Using a spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of hot fudge topping into the corner of a resealable food storage bag; set aside. Microwave remaining topping on HIGH (100% power) for 1 minute. Stir. Spread topping over pie, covering entire peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until set. Spread remaining whipped topping (1 1/2 cups), over hot fudge layer, being careful not to mix the two layers.

Cut a small corner from bag containing topping. Squeeze bag to drizzle topping over pie. Place remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter in a resealable food storage bag; cut bag corner & squeeze to drizzle in opposite direction from topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

the Topiary Garden

While we were in Ohio for Thanksgiving, I made Brad take a detour by Topiary Park in Columbus. He had never seen it before, & since it is one of my favorite places in the city, we simply had to stop.

Topiary Park is a privately funded park on the grounds of the former Ohio School for the Deaf (a magnificent building), just east of downtown. The park features a topiary interpretation of George Seurat’s famous painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte." It is amazing how much the topiary have grown in the five years since I left Columbus; you can really see the painting now.

This is the real painting - it's massive. It's breathtaking. It's genius. It's beautiful. It hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. I could have sat there all day & looked at it: