The most delicious cake you will ever eat!

Other people may claim that they make the most delicious cake there is, but I am here to tell you they are wrong. Thanks to my gluten free-ness I have been on the hunt for fantastic recipes that won't hurt my belly and I have found some gems!!! This one is my new favorite and will probably become my 'signature' dessert (every good cook has one!). The recipe is beyond easy (5 ingredients!) and takes no special skills (though you do have to know the basics of melting chocolate...) I highly recommend that you stop what you are doing right now and go make yourself some flourless chocolate cake!!

Ingredients:
4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.
Dust cake with additional cocoa powder. (I used powdered sugar to dust but go ahead, lay on the chocolate!!!!)

****And now... PICTURE TIME!!****
(excuse the plastic ware, I despise dishes)

Must be (college) football season

Let me begin this post by letting you know that I BLEED scarlet and grey. I am a buckeye fan and that's that. My husband, on the other hand, is (unfortunately) a Michigan fan. I've forgiven him though, and so can you. Anyways, when college football season rolls around, we get pretty excited. When I was a kid I would get decked out in buckeye gear and cheer on my team and now it's my kids turn to do just that. Now let me explain the colors you see below: Jon is the bigger football fan, lily is a daddy's girl and Christian wants to be just like dad so the pictures turned out a little more maize and blue than expected :/ But homemade shirts are a tradition and the Michigan game is on tonight so alas, the kids have joined the dark side. Don't worry, I'll send them to bed early for their 'disobedience' ;) Lily's shirt came first (I was feeling extra charitable towards Jon and agreed to help her) and then Christian got the bug and created his own. So, please refrain from throwing tomatoes at the atrocities below and attempt to enjoy....

(please note that I have expressed my loyalty to the Ohio State University via leapster letters on my fridge)

Those crazy bunchkins

So I got an iPhone (I've finally joined the Apple cult) and it seems my kids love it just as much or maybe even more than me. They are obsessed with the games (most of which I don't even know how to play) but what but what has really peaked their interest in the last few days is the camera and all the fun distortions it is capable of. They 'borrowed' (snuck) my phone this weekend and had quite the photos hoot! So here are a few of my faves! Oh those silly silly bunchkins!

Another easy meal

If you can't already tell, I have quite the obsession with chicken. I'm sure I've explained the reason behind my obsession before but allow me to reiterate! It's healthy, delicious and so easy to make! I can add a multitude of spices and make it amazing!!! Tonight I went with some S & P (salt and pepper), red pepper flakes (I'm on a spicy kick) and some garlic (no meal is complete without garlic!). So end if story, it was incredible! I added rice since, due to my recent departure from gluten it's about the only option I have. So now it's picture time!!!

Elizabethan Fashion

Fashion is made to become unfashionable. 

-Coco Chanel

This look may not work in our
modern society...

So I am watching the movie 'Elizabeth', (great movie by the way!) and the fashion is just FABULOUS! It almost makes me wish that we were in the golden age where flouncy skirts, corsets, elaborate embroidery and rich colors were the norm. Not that I am complaining, I mean I couldn't live without the LBD! But maybe there is a way to mesh the two? I was perusing Dolce and Gabbana's Fall RTW line and I think they may just have done it! You can view the entire collection here  but i'm including some of my fave looks! So enjoy! And maybe mix a bit of Elizabethan drama into your wardrobe! 

This is my favorite look from the collection
So Chic!

A mix of modern and old world era.
Texture, gold,  mock-corset...beautiful

This one looks a little to 'bo peep' for me but still cute!

Don't let her disapproving look fool you,
she loves these dresses...

~Fireflies~

You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep... 

(Owl City)

The specks of light are either fireflies or dust...I haven't cleaned the camera lens in a bit.

Jumping to catch them...

Last night we were treated to the most wonderful nature show on earth. In our backyard we have a small grouping of trees next to a beautiful lake and Saturday night they were FILLED with fireflies (lest you thought the owl city song was completely random). It was like an outdoor theatre or a festival of lights. There were about two hundred plus fireflies blinking throughout the trees (not quite ten million but I'll take it!) We laid a blanket out and enjoyed the show. The kids chased fireflies and Jon and i enjoyed the moment. I do have to side note that the kids 'capturing' of these little insects cause quite a few to sadly loos their lives by the hands of an over eager five year old, but massacre aside, it was a grand night. Here's some photos of the magical experience! (note: Caleb had given in to sleep a few minutes before the show started so he is absent from the pictures) 

Patiently waiting...

Christian watching the show

I'm not so sure this firefly they caught made it out alive...

Once they realized i had a camera
 it was all downhill...

Getting a lil crazy

What an adventure!

Cupcakes! (Are you in any way surprised?)

So... I've decided to go gluten free. It's been a long time coming but last night I ate a biscuit with dinner and, after my stomach was done screaming at me, I decided the time had come. Do you know what has gluten in it? EVERYTHING THAT I LOVE! Pasta, bread, cookies, basically all the good stuff. But this is not a post about what I cant eat, or what a huge loss I am currently feeling about the lack of pasta in my life. This is a post about the new adventure I am now on. More specifically it is about the most delicious cupcakes I just made that are completely gluten free. No flour is NOT the end of the world (I hope). So these amazing cupcakes may lack flour, but they do not lack flavor. You can find the recipe here and indulge in its delightfulness.  So now for the pictures (the best part of any blog in my mind).

They may not look like much but frosting has a magic way
of making not-so-impressive- baked goods look FABULOUS!

Pure beauty

The frosting was a chocolate buttercream concoction that I found in a recipe book I have had forever. I actually highly recommend the book to all fellow chocolate lovers, its called Chocolate on the Brain and its choc full of delicious chocolate recipes. But enough about that. These cupcakes turned out to be MUCH better than expected, and you can trust my opinion because I am quite the cupcake connoisseur. They were rich and moist and perfectly chocolatey. Now that i know that cupcakes are not off the 'do-not-eat' list I am a bit less upset about that whole 'no-pasta' thing. But who knows, i found this wonderful recipe, there may be a gluten free pasta (that's worth eating) out there in the world. Wouldn't that be nice? So off i head on a new adventure that will (hopefully) bring me less stomach aches, more recipes and many more cupcakes! The adventure starts NOW!

This is the definition of yum-tastic.

Rainbow cupcakes

Just a short little post for the sole purpose of showing off these bright, beautiful and delectable cupcakes. Enjoy.

Note Jon CHOWING on a cupcake
in the background...

So COLORFUL! 

Couldnt resist a bite!

Pasta

First I would like to start this post, as I begin many by apologizing for my lack of activity on this blog. What's that you say? Apology accepted? *whew* lets move on. So I will start of with a fact. Pasta is one of the 8 wonders of the world. I haven't verified this fact but I'm fairly sure it's true. Also I think Shakespeare write a sonnet about pasta... And in my own personal opinion, I'm obsessed with it. When I want to actually cook a great dinner, pasta is my go to. I may not be the best cook but I can make a pasta dish that rivals Emril.... And thats a fact. So the pasta I made tonight was a simple one, nothing super fancy, but it turned out great! I've got one sick child and (knowing how germs spread) probably two more on the way so I wanted something simple and bland enough that no tummys would get upset. Unfortunately caleb (poor guy) is on a strict saltine and ginger ale diet, but the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed this delightful creation! In fact both kiddos got seconds, so that is all the verification I need. The pasta is pictured below but the simple recipe is penne, chicken, whipping cream, peas and parsley. I also added garlic but that's more of a food staple then it is an ingredient. I put that stuff in everything! I just threw everything together (no specific amounts, just what looked good) and simmered it in a saucepan. It was delish!
Note, picture was taken post meal.... We were hungry.

For the Love of Cupcakes

I have this little problem called a sweet tooth. More of an obsession if we're being honest. My latest attempt to feed this addiction is cupcakes. I baked a whole bunch and keep them in the fridge so I can warm them up, frost them and devour them like a starving animal. A few days ago I tried peanut butter cookie dough frosting. It was fantastic. In fact, the kids loves it so much they just are the frosting and then requested their cupcakes re-frosted. Tonight I just used a store bought frosting but I cut up a dark chocolate bar (yum!) & sprinkled it on top. Fabulous. So admire my delicious creations and then steal my idea (its so brilliant I'll allow it) and make your own!  Happy eating.

Here's a short little post detailing my love of boots.


Its cold outside, meaning flipflops just wont cut it and (when it finally starts snowing) flats are just easy access for that dang snow to sneak in and freeze your toes! So tis the season for boots! and i couldn't be more excited.

This is my favorite look! skinny jeans
and brown boots. 

I always want to wear this combo
but im not quite daring enough to
wear leggings. 

Super comfy, super cute!

A classic.

Im kind of obsessed with Blake Livelys style and look! she wears boots too!

Obvi i would wear these daily! :)

Yay for boots! (actually yay for shoes in general!)

cupcakes make the world go round.

while perusing pinterest the other day I stumbled upon some gorgeous cupcakes. purple frosting, glitter and pearls. what could be more fabulous than that? almost to beautiful to eat! (but obvi cupcakes should always be eaten.) so I decided to try my hand at said work of art. I failed miserably but they we're still purple and sparkly so I'm going to go ahead and count them as a win. feast your eyes. (the bottom picture is the inspiration)

nothing beats a good cup 'o joe.

first off, don't freak. my kids are not drinking starbucks coffee. it's hot chocolate. settle down. so now that we all know they're not drinking straight espresso, lets discuss how adorable they look with their kid sized coffee cups. precious. making momma proud! but honestly, on these cold winter days (I saw snowflakes this afternoon) is there anything better than a good cup of coffee? (or hot chocolate). no. there isn't.

Oh the (test) anxiety...

where can i order a coffee drip...
that may come in handy.

It's coming up on exam week and anyone who is in school or has ever been in school knows what this means. Test anxiety! It's a real thing I swear! Now some of you current and past students of academia may be thinking 'I never had such a thing' but you my friend are the one percent. The rest of us agonize over this fateful week and are constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Or maybe I'm just a drama queen and overreact to a simple compilation of questions. Who knows. Anyways, I thought I would share my pre-exam ritual.

What I FEEL like i have to study...

 It starts with a panic attack. Usually something along the lines of "fudge! The exam is tomorrow and I haven't even opened my book." I know what your probably thinking, if I just opened that darn book before panic sets in than maybe that would reduce the anxiety. And your probably right...but this is my exam ritual, not yours. So I freak. This is usually followed by a mad dash to get all that information out and ready for studying purposes. But alas, when I see the extent of the information that is supposed to cram in my little brain, another freak out ensues. And then preparation begins. I lay out all the material, brew some coffee and retrieve my note cards to begin the futile process of learning everything.

Reality of what i have to study.

Upon looking over the mass amount of information, with the initial overdose of caffeine beginning to set in, well you may have guessed it, I panic. But eventually I calm down (as much as I can, remember caffeine overdose) and I begin. I read, make notecards,.and sip coffee. It's my process. So far I've never failed a test so it may just be working! Although to all you not yet in college, I do not recommend this method of studying at all. It induces panic, causes stress, and you may just end up in the hospital due to excessive abuse of caffeine. (there was a case in the 90's where a man has caffeine induced psychosis, ahhh the 90's). Anyhow, I did learn something whilst studying for my final today, psychologist Bandura showed that when students watch a video of a student saying that "they also have test anxiety but this is how they deal with it", the students watching do better on the post video test they are given. So find a video that has this magical quality in it and pass every exam you ever take*. So there are my thoughts on tests. To summarize for those of you who hate reading (sometime a requirement on tests) tests are the worst, but finding your own special way to study could make it a lot easier.

When finals are finished...

*statement has not been proven true in any sort of scientific test. Also you cannot learn the information by putting your textbook under your pillow at night.