Keeping Calm

I saw this photo today on Facebook and it made me smile. It’s exactly what I tell any of my friends who are stressed out with school, work, or any of the other stresses that come with life. It’s good advice that I hope you’ll take in stressful times. Thanks for reading! 🙂

World of Tea

Davids Tea is my personal favourite tea store. Everyone knows that. I’d even go so far as to say that Davids Tea is the best tea store in existence. Sometimes though, it’s a good idea to branch out and try a new tea store. With the help of a gift card, that is just what I did this past weekend. I tried the World of Tea.

Me and my friend R walked into the store laughing and talking at a normal decibel, but as soon as we walked into this store it was as if we had just walked into a meditation room. There were other customers in the store however they were talking in hushed tones and whispers. The salesmen didn’t say hello or anything either, which did not help to enhance the friendliness of the atmosphere. They just continued speaking a language that I can only distinguish as some Asian language. We continued our way in though, and once we got in we were pleasantly surprised by their assortment of green tea. Rose petal green tea, Dragonwell green tea…even the good ol’ regular green tea.

Nevertheless, a large collection of green tea is all that this store really has going for it. The only music playing in the shop is a sitar and the feeling that I had to be constrained in the store wasn’t nice. I couldn’t help but make comparisons to DavidsTea as I was shopping there. Davidstea would have not only more variety but the people there are also much friendlier. When I got home I made a cup of the sweet cinnamon tea that I made and I have to say that it’s ok, but not great. My sister really loves the masala chai tea that I got (1 of 3 black teas that they had to offer) but I have yet to try it.

After this tea shopping experience, I have to say that although it’s good to branch out and try new things, it’s also good to stick with what’s good. I would’ve been curious about the little tea store down the street, so I’m glad that I took the time to go in. However I think I’ll stick with DavidsTea for all of my future tea shopping experience. If you would like to experience the World of tea and form your opinions though, here’s the link to their website for more information: http://world-of-tea.ca/en/

Thanks for reading!

Molasses Spice Cookies

After loading the photos off of my camera, I can finally blog about this baking adventure. I baked these yesterday, and everybody in my family really enjoyed them. My dad even had 2! I can’t say that I’m quite surprised though. My family has always been one to quite enjoy molasses cookies. I think part of the reason why is because they’re so moist. I have yet to taste (or bake!) a dry molasses cookies.

I got this recipe from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook Heavy-Duty Revised Edition. It’s a rather lengthy title, but everything that my family has ever eaten out of this cookbook has tasted quite delicious. These cookies are no exception. Moist yet crumbly, sweet yet spicy. This cookie has it all, the ideal dessert for anyone.

The recipe is straight-forward and really easy. I followed it to the t and the cookies turned out great. It’s suggested at the top of the recipe to dip your hands in water when rolling the dough into balls, as it will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and it also helps the sugar stick to the dough. I really suggest that you follow that suggestion–I forgot to dip my hands in some water for one batch of the cookies and things got a little bit messy. Other than that though everything was smooth sailing.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup light or dark molasses

Instructions

1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread 1/2 cup of the sugar in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, pepper, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the molasses until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl. and beaters as needed.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds (the dough will be soft). Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is combined.
4. Using wet hands, roll 2 tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in the sugar to coat and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and the tops are cracked but the centers are still soft and underdone (peek through the cracks to check the centers), 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.
5. let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or tranfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Remembrance

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Soldies have fought in many wars. Wars that have cost them their lives, an arm or a leg. Wars that have cost them their sanity, some their families. Wars cause so much pain, but they also cause so much joy.Just one example of this is when at the end of WW2, Europe and the world were finally free from Hitler’s reign. When the Taliban are completely and 100% out of Afghanistan, the people there will taste true and pure freedom for the first time in many years. So if you see a veteran walking on the streets today, or any day, take a minute and thank them. I can guarantee you that they’ll be glad. Thank the soldies who are currently serving, and are on leave. I can also guarantee you that they probably don’t here much thanks.

Wars are always violent, messy and sad. Hopefully no more wars will be fought in the years to come. But today, let us remember and thank the soldiers who fought for us. Let us remember the ones that died and that got injured; let us thank them for fighting to get us our freedom. Freedom comes at a great cost, and they paid it for us.

Lest we forget.

Chocolate chips

Every baker has their favourite ingredients. For baking anything that includes chocolate chips, here are my favourite chips. Chipits. Your typical, supermarket friendly chipit. Nothing gourmet about them, but they 100% chocolate (I think!) and that’s all that matters. I even have friends that come over just to munch on some. You can get chipits and almost every grocery store; Costco, Loblaws and Sobeys included. Thanks for reading this short and sweet post!

Have you started making plans for the upcoming holiday season?

Every year, like many families, our family does an advent calendar. Just like any other advent calendar, this one has the 24 days that contain 24 chocolates. For kids, this is one of the best parts of the Christmas holidays. Davids Tea has created a healthier, and in my opnion tastier, advent calendar. You guessed it, 24 days of tea.

Instead of getting a tid bit of chocolate every day for 24 days, you get a tid bit of tea. 24 different kinds of tea, varying from Chocolate rocket to Mulberry Magic. No type of tea is neglected. All types of teas are enjoyed 🙂 Follow this link for more information: http://www.davidstea.com/featured/the-holiday-gift-guide/our-favorite-holiday-gifts-1/24-days-of-tea

 

 

I know what I’ll be drinking for 24 days this holiday season. Thanks for reading!

Fruit on top cake

I may not be a fan of baked fruit, but this cake made me rethink things. A few weeks back, we had our neighbours over for dinner. They were asked to bring a dessert, so  one of them did. She baked a fantastic cake with fruit on top. If I remember correctly the fruit on top of the cake were peaches, strawberries and pears. However she said that you can use pretty much “any fruit that’s rotting in your fruit bowl!”.

The sliced almonds on top of the cake provided a lovely crunch to your bite. This was an amazing summer dessert and I loved it. I don’t know where she got the recipe, but it was definitely a success. Hopefully the next time that they come, she’ll make it again. 🙂

 

Thanks for reading!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Whenever there’s a birthday at my sister’s school, the lucky birthday girl brings in cupcakes. Since tomorrow is my sister’s birthday (Happy Birthday sis!) I offered to make her cupcakes. The class is only 11 people, so it’s not that big of a deal. However if you take into account that one girl is allergic to eggs, another to milk and another to gluten, and things can get complicated.   So when the school decided to put together a school cookbook, one of the moms put this recipe in. It’s a no eggs, no dairy product chocolate cake. This cake tastes so good though, you wouldn’t guess that it had none of the a fore mentioned ingredients.

There is honestly nothing to complain about with this recipe. I would even bake for friends who weren’t allergic to eggs or dairy products. The recipe is fast and easy, with an extremely short ingredient list. Even the newest baker could bake these cupcakes! 🙂 The frosting on top of the cupcakes is betty crocker along with smarties and sprinkles, per my sister’s request.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoons vanilla

Instructions

Mix together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Add water,oil,vinegar and vanila. Stir until smoothly combined, then pour into an 8 inch square pan or 1 dozen muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven (350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30-40 minutes for cake, or 15-20 minutes for cupcakes. Note that because there are no eggs in this recipe, the cake will take longer to “set”.

Thanks for reading!