This week for me seems to be filled with cooking and baking. I am not sure if it was a sudden inspiration to start making yummy treats in our kitchen or just the need to have my homemade lasagna (a lasagna that would make Garfield drool! Will show pictures in a future post!) The good thing about all the time spent was I finally satisfied my lasagna craving and got to bake again.

This peanut butter chocolate cupcake was first on my to do list. Very simple to put together but the results are incredible! The chocolate cupcake is very light and fluffy, and tastes great even after a few days. As for the peanut butter frosting, you just can’t go wrong with peanut butter! It was so light and creamy! You guys should give it a try if you are big peanut butter fans!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups cane sugar

1 cup  unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons white vinegar

2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, water, vanilla extract and vinegar.

Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients being careful not to overmix.  The mixture will be quite wet, but that’s ok.

Pour the batter until the cups are two thirds full and place in the oven for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cup comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then place on a wire rack until completely cool before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting

enough to frost 24 cupcakes

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 to 4 cups powdered sugar (depending on your desired consistency)

1 tablespoon milk (or water will do too)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat butter and peanut butter until creamy and virtually no butter lumps remain.  Scrape down the bowl.  Add three cups of powdered sugar and beat on low for 1 minute.  Add milk and beat on medium high for 1 minute.  Add the remaining cup of powdered sugar if you’d like your frosting a bit thicker.

Slather frosting onto cooled cupcakes and top with coarsely  chopped peanut butter cups.

“The Cappuccino Coffee Stick is a spoon laden with your favorite coffee-fix that dissolves deliciously into a steaming cup of water. Tear away the plastic wrap, dip the instant spoon and a few good swirls later; a piping hot cup of coffee is ready for your consideration.”- Yanko Design.

I officially kicked off the summer this weekend. Headed out to my cousin’s chaleh to spend Friday swimming and lounging around the pool. It felt good to get away from the city and change the weekend routine I have had for the last two months! Great weather, good company, and amazing yummy chaleh food! Can’t wait for more to come!

By the way, if anyone is looking for amazing burgers to barbecue at home, don’t think twice about calling Prime Cuts.  I consider their burgers to be one of the best burgers I have had! I have yet to try their steaks and bbq beef ribs, but I have heard they are really good!

Jorge Garcia is a genius! This might be the best sandwich ever created in the history of mankind! I have to try it the next time I have a cupcake!

Enjoy!

[dispatchesfromtheisland.]

Oher than my usual indulgences- cars, engines, good caffiene, and Fairouz- Vosges in embedded within- a chocolate store that is ”euphoriac” to the senses.

“The Vosges Haut-Chocolat mission is to create a luxury chocolate experience rooted in a sensory journey of bringing about awareness to indigenous cultures through the exploration of spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, nuts, chocolate and the obscure. We invite you to be aware and open to the many cultures, artists and theories of the world’s people, through the medium of chocolate. What better way to learn about a culture, person or object than through eating. If we can embrace the idea of trying something new such as the perplexing oddity of curry and chocolate, we just may come one step closer to bringing peace to the world through chocolate. One Love, One Chocolate. ”

Taste bud satisfiers include… to name a few ofcourse:

Barcelona Exotic Candy Bar
hickory smoked almonds + Fleur de Sel grey sea salt + deep milk chocolate
Gianduja Exotic Candy Bar
almonds + caramelized hazelnut paste + deep milk chocolate
Naga Exotic Candy Bar
sweet Indian curry + coconut + deep milk chocolate
Hot chocolate with chilli

Indulge right here> VOSGES

Swedish researchers have good news… People who eat chocolate appear to have increased survival rates after a heart attack. (New York Times). \”Full Story Here.\”

My type of science.

A UK research company called Mindlab put together a study called Biscuit Injury Threat Evaluation to see how many Brits were injured because of a biscuit. Even though I believe some people have too much free time on their hands, this study does have some interesting, funny results. It seems like up to half of all Brits have been injured by a biscuit, either through direct contact with it or situations that were invoked by it.

Here are some examples:

• A man who poked himself in the eye with a biscuit. Why he would have a biscuit close to his eye is beyond me!
• People who have fallen off chairs while reaching for a tea-time treat. This one I really would like to see happen!
• Twenty-eight per cent of Britons have choked on crumbs and ten per cent have broken a tooth biting a biscuit.
• A man got stuck in wet concrete after wading in to retrieve a dropped biscuit.

Link: Metro News

Cold War Brownies
Taken from 17 and Baking

Makes a 9″ pan

Brownie
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
Rounded 1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Topping
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
5 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cinnamon

4 tbsp Nutella

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×9″ pan with foil, allowing it to hang over the edges. Lightly grease.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and bittersweet chocolate together. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, then the eggs. Add the flour, cocoa, chili powder, cinnamon, and salt and mix in. Finally, stir in the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.

In a mixer, beat together the cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, and cinnamon. Drop dollops of the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownies. Drop dollops of nutella, too. Use a dull knife to swirl the whole thing. (Alternatively, mix the nutella into half of the cream cheese mixture and swirl. Or leave the nutella out.)

Bake 35 minutes, or until just set. Let cool completely before lifting out and cutting into bars. Store in the fridge.

My suggestion: Leave out the cinnamon and add more nutella!

Last night’s \”Late Night Munchies\” inspired us to once again, domesticate ourselves and do some work in the Kitchen. We were sick of eating in resturants, and felt like having a nice home cooked meal. We didn’t really think it would get overboard. Never ever plan a menu when you are hungry! You will end up with a random list of dishes that don’t won’t usually be prepared together for the same meal.

Appetizer:

Mozzarella & Pomegranate Green Salad

Crab Corn Chowder

Main Course:

Farfalle Pasta with tomato and red pepper sauce

Pomegranate glazed beef tenderloin

Dessert (Freshly baked):

Rice Krispy treats

“Cold War” Brownies

Labor Day Weekend…..perfect opportunity to cook a big meal. After getting all the necessary ingredients, we assembled everything and divided the tasks to ensure we get everything ready before fu6oor. Hard labor was required to pull off what we had in mind….. cutting the vegetables, making the pomegranate glaze, and mixing the batter for the brownies. It was the first time we cook most of these dishes, so were experimenting as we go, adding ingredients we thought were necessary if they weren’t included in the original recipe. Keep in mind that we were both fasting, so we had no idea how it would taste but rather left it to our trusting sense of smell… fingers crossed!

Most of the dishes were not too hard to put together. The soup consisted of cooking the vegetables together first, adding the liquid ingredients, and letting it simmer until it was ready. The most difficult thing was making sure that the beef was not under or over cooked.. taking it out of the oven numerous times to check our progress.

The result: The meal was phenomenal! Everything tasted so good! The pomegranate glaze gave the beef a sweet sour taste that worked perfectly… a contrast of flavors that enticed out taste buds. The meat was tender and moist. The crab corn chowder was spicy and creamy without having a fishy taste. The brownies succeeded to satisfy our sweet cravings, having three types of chocolate, cream cheese, and nutella!  The best part was the kick that the chilli pepper gave it at the end. The only thing we would leave out is the cinnamon. Making the rice krispies reminded us of the good old days, no bills to pay, no family to support, or 9am classes with Professor Wilson lecturing on the history of banking with one eye twitching making it really hard to pay attention.

The best part of the meal: Ending it with good Arabic coffee and dessert while sitting on top of the kitchen counter with NASCAR in the backgorund (its T916’s apartment, what do you expect? Oprah!)summer adventures, how absent minded actions lead to big things in life,  and how much has changed the past year!

Overall, a great way to spend the last day of Labor Day Weekend!

Recipes will be added to our Recipe Section by the end of the day!

On a long Sunday night, we decided to domesticate ourselves and do some work in the kitchen.

Occasion: su7oor.

Results: Magnificent.

T916’s freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (eleventh st’s obsession)

 Gary’s humble presence

 The aftermath

P.S. Rice crispy treats were on the menu but due to some difficulties obtaining the required ingredients, it has been postponed for tomorrow’s fu6oor. Stay Tuned.