Fifty Shades of Pecan Pie: Baby Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pies

I don't believe in guilty pleasures, I believe you should be able to like what you like ~ Dave Grohl

Bookshops are selling out of it.  Comedians are lampooning it.  It even made it on to our national news.

Everyone seems to be talking about Fifty Shades of Grey.

I'm a wee bit hesitant to wade into the Fifty Shades frenzy but it's such a cultural phenomenon that it's pretty hard to ignore.  AND I'm dying to know what you lovely readers think...

Now I'm no book snob, I mean, what's not to love about fun trashy quick reads, right ladies?  I'll happily own up to being one of the legions of Twilight, Sookie Stackhouse, and Jamie Fraser fans but with Fifty Shades....me not so likey.  I don't even know if I enjoyed reading the books.  Not because I was put off by the smexy factor (although some of it was cringe) but it was more that books just weren't that great a read.  They weren't terribly romantic at all: Christian was a bully, Ana, a push-over, there wasn't a heck of a lot of plot, and the whole thing just dragged ooooooon.    Anyhoo, have you dipped into the Fifty Shades books? What did you think? Am I being too harsh?

On a semi related note, this recipe for Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tarts is so adaptable, I like to think of it as Fifty Shades of Pecan Pie:  dark, sinful, and easy to whip up.

If at first you don't succeed: Guilt-free Oreo Chocolate Mousse Tart

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm ~ Winston Churchill

Recently my in-laws decided to go vegan.

Whereas I am very happily non-vegan.

I unabashedly love all things creamy and cheesy and can't help but be skeptical of vegan recipes that say they are just as good as the full cream versions.  Cream, cream cheese and butter, makes all things luscious and delicious.  I always find myself poo-pooing vegan recipes, I mean how could a soy/nut alternative be anywhere near as good?  And how reliable are the tastebuds of someone used to vegan fare when comparing to decadently delicious dairy equivalents?

But to accommodate my in-laws' new diet, I've ventured into the weird and wacky world of vegan dessert making.  Unfortunately, I didn't hit the ground running.  In fact, it was a big fat vegan FAIL.  I made a vegan lemon cheesecake that stubbornly wouldn't set and tasted like a lemony cashew nut milkshake.  Not quite the "tastes just like cream cheese" decadent dessert the recipe promised.

{lemon cheesecake FAIL}

But instead of being put off, it made me more determined to try out more recipes to get that elusive vegan victory.

And sweet sweet victory came in the form of this Guilt-free Oreo Chocolate Mousse Tart - a chocolate cream pie with a secret ingredient.

Cinnamon Sugar Mini Doughnut Muffins

Doughnuts.  Is there anything they can't do? ~ Homer Simpson

I read an article yesterday on the Top 10 Worst Foods for You.  Number one was Soft Drink, which I hmm'ed and nodded at with gravitas, quietly smug that I don't drink fizzy drinks.  But then I got to number two which was pork crackling which made me decidedly less smug and then came number three:  Doughnuts by which point I found myself huffing with indignation.  Have they considered Deliciousness and Good-For-The-Soul-ness I argued to my screen??

Doughnuts have got to be one of my many food Archilles heels.  A Boston Creme takes me to my happy place.  I once signed up for the local gym and rewarded myself after every session with half a dozen Dunkin' Donuts.  Needless to say I gained rather than lost any weight.

Despite my love of doughnuts, I've never tried making them before.  All that waiting for the yeast to rise and then deep frying just seemed like too much of an effort when you can pop up to the mall for a doughnutty fix.  I was also convinced that the so called Baked Cake Doughnuts could only be a poor substitute for the almighty yeast/fried variety.

So how did I come to make these Cinnamon Sugar Mini Doughnut Muffins?

You are worth every word of love

{curio bay, new zealand}

There's a post making its rounds on Tumblr at the mo.  Not sure where it started but it's beautiful.  I loved it so much I wanted to turn it into a picture and share it with you all.  So voila!

The original post says to:

Give everyone and anyone this message, go to random blogs, someone you don’t even know, stretch your ask limit, anon or not, tell them they are worth it. Because the world needs more love.

Couldn't agree more.
You are loved xox

Narnia, Horizontal Grass, and Close Encounters with Sea Lions: The Catlins

{waipapa point}

Wind & current, however, are mischievous
play-mates.  When a decision
is made for them to insert
a speak-easy-soke into the
sea's water wheel works then -  

O then, drama abounds for sure,
and the window to the sea-ward
side of my crib begins rattle-screeching
an order for me to ‘Come out! Come out, Sloth!
And witness this!’
‘Uh huh’, I say.
—Hone Tuwhare, Here’s looking at You, Sea.

In a far flung corner of New Zealand, at the very bottom of the South Island, is a rugged coastline known as The Catlins.  It's wind-swept, bitterly cold, and has some of the most harshly beautiful places I've ever visited.

It also has Bluff Oysters.  Deliciously-succulent, sweetly-plump, bluff oysters which pretty much gives it an awesomeness score of 'Out of this World'.  A must visit if you are ever in the south east corner of New Zealand.

Keep calm and have Earl Grey Currant Loaf

Tea? It's a hug in a cup ~ Patrick Jane in The Mentalist

You know you're a coffee addict when you're on a first name basis with the local cafes and they can whip up "the usual" without you needing to even order.

Ahhh coffee: bringer of awakeness, elixir of life.

That magical first cup in the morning to render me human, a second steaming hot flat white at lunch to get over the 2 o'clock dip, and perhaps a cup with an afternoon biscuit.  Coffee is always a good choice.

But despite my OCD (Obsessive Coffee Disorder), a simple cup of tea also has a place in my heart.  Whereas coffee is an invigorating, life-giving brew, sometimes, when you're really stressed out, studying to all hours,  under-slept and over-worked, what you find yourself craving is not necessarily an caffeine hit but a soothing, calming, comfy cup of tea.

And hey if it's good enough for The Mentalist, it's good enough for me.

So when I was heading over to the in-laws for a cuppa a while ago, I whipped up this Earl Grey Currant Loaf in homage to the humble cup of tea.

Mmm Malted Milo Malteser Ice Cream

Ice cream is exquisite.  What a pity it isn't illegal ~ Voltaire.

I got brain freeze walking home tonight.

Yes, an ice cream headache just because it was so darn cold down here in Dunedin and not because I got to eat delicious ice cream.  Talk about jipped.

I gotta say though, despite the freezing temperatures outside, I could still totally do a big bowl of ice cream for dessert.  Just what is it about this classic frozen dessert that makes it so universally loved, so good, so addictive?  The endless flavors and toppings?  Maybe its dreamy smoothness?  Or the way it melts into creamy sweetness in your mouth?  Whatever it is, there's one thing that's for sure: ice cream equals happiness.

{via icanread}

Getting that pseudo ice cream headache just made me long for this Malted Milo Malteaser Ice Cream I made a wee while back.  It's a glorious malt bonanza.  Chocolate malt powder, malted milk power AND chocolate coated malt balls.  Coz let's face it, everything tastes better as ice cream.

Bada Bing: Cheesy Eggplant Parmigiana Bake

In prison, dinner was always a big thing. We had a pasta course and then we had a meat or a fish.  Paulie did the prep work.  He was doing a year for contempt and he had this wonderful system for doing the garlic.  He used a razor and he used to slice it so thin that it used to liquify in the pan with just a little oil.  A very good system.  Vinnie was in charge of the tomato sauce.  I felt he put in too many onions, but it was still a very good sauce.  ~ Henry Hill (voice over), Goodfellas

We were at a 40 hour Famine fundraising quiz last week and as you tend to do in such quizzes, we got into a bit of a debate as to whether it was Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin that sang a particular crooney number.  Since my brain's default setting is thinking about food, this naturally got me thinking about the glamorously scandalous Rat Pack and all the delicious Italian American dishes they would've no doubt enjoyed back in the day.  Dishes like chicken marsala and eggplant parmigiana which you can't help but say in a Sopranos accent. Dishes that conjure up images of Goodfellas in slick suits dining cozy little establishments in Little Italy.

{totally boss}
{via anythinggauche}

Which made me remember this Cheesy Eggplant Parmigiana Bake dish I made a little while ago but had completely forgotten to blog about.  How could I forget to blog about something so tasty?!?  This pseudo-italian vegetarian number is packed with cheesy tomatoey eggplanty goodness.  Rib-sticking go back for seconds nomminess.

You really should try this dish out, capsice?