Minus Suburbia

It's been a long time since I was able to regularly update this blog, particularly with relevant food/home/lifestyle content. It was a good run while it lasted and I would certainly love to give it another go, if I returned to the Suburban life. Life has been going in crazy types of directions lately, so I'm giving this blog an official goodbye now.

If you're still following, you might want to keep an eye on ShannAwesome... ;-)

So long and thanks for all the fish <3

Tocky the Rolling Alarm Clock

This toys with the fine line between "want" and "need", as it is adorable but also very practical. You see, when they came up with that "'not a morning person' doesn't even begin to describe it" line, they actually had me in mind.

Not. A. Morning. Person.

So I probably need something like this. Plus, I like that the thinkgeek description refers to its noises as "R2D2 on acid".

I've also seen some other neat alarm clocks, where they hover around the room or require you to put puzzle pieces back together in order to shut it off. Anything special you've seen?

Recipe: Tiramisu

This year for Thanksgiving, I decided to try my hand at something on my 101 list... homemade tiramisu! It was a bit of a daunting task but I was quite content with the results.

I used this recipe from Chef's Pencil because it was a "no-cook" and the YouTube video below made it look pretty simple.

Here is my modified recipe:

For The Tiramisu

• 6 Egg Yolks
• 4 Egg Whites
• 2 ounces of sugar
• 12 ounces grams mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh cream
• 2 cups coffee (cooled to room temperature)
• 1 cup Kahlua
• Approx 48 ladyfingers (savoiardi biscuits)
• 9x13 inch dish
• Electric cake mixer

Notes on ingredients: I have the great fortune to be a Californian, so I was able to purchase the mascarpone cheese and ladyfingers from Trader Joe's. I'm also not a coffee drinker, so I used what I had on hand -- two packets of instant coffee mix that happened to be vanilla latte flavored. This, combined with the Kahlua, made the tiramisu turn out very sweet despite my cutting the sugar in 1/3.

Also, most tiramisu recipes call for rum, but you can substitute just about any liqueur for it. I chose Kahlua because I would actually drink the rest of the bottle and the coffee cream Kahlua would get a little more "coffee flavor" in it, since it wouldn't have much otherwise.

Steps:

• Add the egg yolks & half the sugar to mixer bowl
• Whisk on high speed until light & creamy
• Add the mascarpone cheese & mix on medium speed, until just combined
• Add the cream and whisk for approximately another 2 minutes (until thick & creamy)
• Use a new mixing bowl and dry the whisk
• Pour the egg whites into the mixing bowl
• Whisk on high speed until soft peaks
• Continue whisking and slowly add remaining sugar (1 tablespoon at a time)
• Continue whisking until stiff peaks
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold half of the egg whites into the cream mixture in the large bowl
• Once they are just combined fold through the remaining egg whites
• Add the Kahlua to the coffee
• Soak the biscuits in the coffee mix one at a time for a few seconds, drain and arrange in the dish
• Once one layer of biscuits is completed in the dish, spread on an even layer of the cream mixture
• Place another layer of soaked biscuits on the cream
• Top and spread with a final layer of the cream
• Smooth the top and garnish with some freshly grated quality chocolate -- I used one of my favorites -- sugar free Amberlyn dark chocolate mint
• Set in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

• To make individual portion servings, simply break biscuits into appropriate smaller size before soaking and prepare in the same way as above but in each glass or bowl

Notes: It might have something to do with the particular brand of ladyfingers I was using, but "soaking it for a few seconds" wasn't very effective in allowing the coffee/Kahlua to seep through the entire biscuit. It was more effective to dip it and shake the ladyfinger around a little in the liquid.

Some people may have concerns about the raw egg, but I don't think it had much of an impact on the finished product. Most likely, I will try my hand at the cooked one next time and possibly a variant of hot chocolate in place of coffee.

Here is one of the individual servings I made with the leftover ingredients. (The recipes calls for 12 oz and the marscapone cheese at Trader Joe's comes in 8oz so I bought two and made some extra.) Perfect afternoon snack.

Enjoy!

Competitive Bunny Jumping

Adorable!

Japanese Street Performer WIN

I love when failblog brings WINs.

This whimsy brought a smile to my Monday. Hope it does the same for you!

Recent Obsessions

Me: Glee

(I had heard it was amazing but just now got around to watching it.)

Clement's obsession: the Inception soundtrack

Day 23.5

Whoa, what happened? I disappeared off the face of the blogosphere. =(

I've been adjusting to a new position as a Payroll Specialist/HR Assistant! It's a far cry from my events management experience but I'm enjoying it. The payroll side is about as exciting as it sounds, but I'm learning a lot.

I failed at the 30-day challenge! I thought about starting it over but then I figured... nah. I've spotted a few things recently that made me really miss blogging so I'm trying really hard to come back.

I missed you guys.

Day 23

This was another hard one, because I looked through my favorites list and got sidetracked with re-watching all the awesome things I liked. Anyhow, I finally chose this 2-part segment of Cookie Monster on Martha Stewart, where Cookie Monster is basically obnoxious and drives Martha crazy. It was the first thing I ever favorited and hope you enjoy it too.

Happy Friday!

Day 01 — Your favorite movie

Day 02 — Your favorite song

Day 03 — Your favorite television program

Day 04 — Your favorite book

Day 05 — Your favorite quote

Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy

Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 09 — A photo you took

Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago

Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently

Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 13 — A fictional book

Day 14 — A non-fictional book

Day 15 — A fanfic

Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)

Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Day 19 — A talent of yours

Day 20 — A hobby of yours

Day 21 — A recipe

Day 22 — A website

Day 23 — A YouTube video