Homemade Mocha

I love Starbucks.  I realize that's a very cliche thing, but I do.  They just make really good drinks.  But, Starbucks is super expensive, and college students / violin teachers don't exactly make bank.  So, I've been searching for a while for a good recipe that comes close to their drinks.  This is the first time I've found one that's really good!! It's pretty strong, but you can always just adjust the recipe to your taste.
This is the best Mocha I've found.  It's in the middle of summer right now, so I love this iced, but I think making a frappucino or even just drinking it hot would be great!


1 1/2 cups strong hot brewed coffee
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chocolate syrup, such as Hershey’s
1 cup ice cold milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

for Bee

To the best friend I could ever ask for-- you are my sanity, the other half of my brain, my inspiration, my sister, my twin.  I love you so much!! Philippians 1:3 

Crepes

When I was little, I had the biggest sweet tooth you've ever seen!  I could eat sugar all day long.  I had a friend from kindergarten all the way through senior year of high school, Steph, who I spent the night with a bunch over the years.  I used to love spending the night with her, because her mom would fix crepes in the morning and would let us put anything we wanted in them!  For me, this meant chocolate, sugar, and more chocolate.  This started my love for crepes. Now that I no longer have a such a sweet tooth, I love filling them with fresh fruit and honey and jam.  I got so excited when I found this recipe, because it is so easy and uses ingredients that you always have around the house!

Ingredients

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons melted butter

Butter, for coating the pan

Directions

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for about 10 seconds.  (Make sure you scrape down the sides of the blender, because the flour likes to stick to it and not mix.)  Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear.  The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.  

Heat a small non-stick pan and coat with butter.  Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly.  Cook for 30 seconds and flip.  Cook for another 10 and remove.  

**Sweet Variation-- add 2 1/2 tbs sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 tbs of liqueur to egg mixture

Cute Cookie Tins

Around Christmas ever year, we get a bunch of cookies and other goodies from my dad's clients.  A lot of the time they come in those old Christmas tins that end up piled in some cabinet that no one touches.  

These look familiar??

I love baking, and especially giving the goodies away to friends.  Since I've been baking so much lately, it's become apparent that I really need a better way to package up and transport my baked gifts.  I thought about these tins, but I really didn't want to give someone a tin with little Santas or Christmas trees all over it, and I sure didn't want to go out and buy anything.  So, I decided to fix the problem without spending much money at all! 

Using white primer and acrylic paint, I made my own cute cookie tins that I'm proud to give away with my baked goods!  These two are specifically for my sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, and the fraternity I serve, Sigma Chi.  

Lemon Meringue Pie

Fathers' Day was today, so my whole family got together to have a dinner.  Smoked salmon, corn on the cob, baked potato, broccoli... so good!  But, the real treat came for dessert-- Strawberry Souffle and Lemon Meringue Pie!  Both were my grandmother's recipes, and she is the greatest cook I know.  She, my mom, and I all pitched in.  It was so much fun, and they tasted wonderful!
Happy Fathers' Day, Dad and Nanni!!

This is the recipe for my grandmother's Lemon Meringue Pie--

Filling

Ingredients 

9" pie shell- baked

5 tbs corn starch

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt 

1 1/2 cup hot water

3 egg yolks (whites for meringue) 

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 

1 tsp grated lemon zest

2 tbs butter 

Directions

Mix corn starch, sugar, and salt in sauce pan.  Stir in hot water gradually and bring to boil over direct heat.  Then, cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and clear.  Remove from heat, stir several spoonfuls of hot mixture into beaten egg yolk.  Mix well.  Pour egg yolk back into sauce pan.  Bring to boil.  Then, cook over low heat 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and gradually add lemon juice, lemon peel, and butter.  Cool filling.  Pour into cooled, baked pie shell.  Top with meringue 

Meringue

Ingredients

4 egg whites

1 tsp fresh lemon juice (1 1/2 is better)

6 tbs sugar (8 is better)

Directions

Place egg white in medium size bowl and add lemon juice.  Beat egg whites until they stand in soft peak.  Then, add sugar gradually and continue beating until all sugar is used and whites stand in firm, glossy peaks.  Spread meringue over cool filling.  Start at edges and work toward center.  Be sure to attach meringue securely to edges of crust.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool before serving. 

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I love coffee-- the smell, the taste, everything.  And, pairing it with chocolate is simply heaven!  So, in looking for recipes for desserts that incorporate coffee, I ran across this little delight.  It's fun and easy to make, and it tastes delicious!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (i just used instant coffee powder.. works the same)

1 tablespoon boiling water

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature 

2/3 cup confectioner's sugar 

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (i used big chips and coarsely chopped them)

Directions

1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set it aside to cool to tepid. 

2. Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar together with electric mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth.  Beat in the vanilla and espresso; then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough.  Fold in the chocolate. 

3. Put the soft, sticky dough into a gallon-size zip-lock plastic bag.  Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough out to fill the bag.  As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn't cause creases.  Then, seal the bag, pressing out the air, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days. 

4. Preheat the oven to 325.  You'll need two cookie sheets

5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open.  Turn the firm dough out onto the board and cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares.  Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet. 

6. Bake for 18-20 minutes.  The cookies with be very pale, even when they're done.
You can dust the cookies with more confectioners' sugar while they're hot before serving

Summer Strawberry Cake

This was my first attempt at this dessert.  I used a 9" dish, but it ended up being too small and spilled over!  Ended up kind of a mess.  But, that did not diminish the taste of this delightful dessert! 

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt 

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

Directions

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.  In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar with electric mixer until pale and fluffy (3 min).  Mix in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined.  Add dry mixture gradually, until smooth. 

Pour into prepared pie plate (10" should be fine).  Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter as closely as possible, in a single layer.  (though I had to overlap several)  Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.
Bake cake for 10 minutes at 350 then reduce oven temperature to 325 and bake until golden brown and tester comes out clean, about an hour. 

recent musical discoveries

I love music, more than most things.  So, I get very excited when I find a new artist that I like.  These are just a few of the most recent artists I've discovered and absolutely love!!

"Strings" by Young the Giant

"Rivers and Roads" by The Head and the Heart

"Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron & Wine

If you like these, please go look up more of their music. I had so much trouble deciding which songs to put on here.  All their music is fantastic!

a snowy day year round

You know the feeling of curling up by a fire with your favorite old book, snowing outside, yet you're completely safe and comfortable?  Well, I have that feeling every night when I curl up in my favorite chair with my Bible and the book I'm currently reading, good music, and -- Tea!  Greater than any midnight snack, I love spending my night is sipping hot tea.  My favorites are, as pictured, Irish Breakfast and English Breakfast tea, sweetened with honey.  

Double Chocolate Cookies

A friend and sister gave this recipe to me after serving them at Bible Study.  We are all addicted now! Thanks Stephanie!!

Ingredients

1 box Devils Food cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 bag milk chocolate chips

Directions 

Combine all. Drop spoon fulls onto baking pan and bake about 8 minutes at 350.

** I would make them pretty small, because they are very rich!

Key Lime Pie -- my favorite!

I don't eat many sweets.  It's not that I don't like them, but they just aren't my favorite.  I would take a hamburger over chocolate any day.  But, this key lime pie is just delightful!  It is definitely my favorite dessert.

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup vanilla instant pudding mix

1 1/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1 cup fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

- Process sugar and zest in food processor until sugar turns bright green

- Add cream cheese and process until combined

- Add condensed milk and pudding mix and process until smooth

- Scrape down sides of bowl

- Stir gelatin and 2 tablespoons lime juice in small bowl

- Heat in microwave for 15 seconds

- Stir until dissolved

- With machine running, pour gelatin mixture, remaining lime juice, and vanilla through feed tube and mix until thoroughly combined

- Pour filling into cooled crust, cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours or up to 2 days 

Rebecca's Baked Chicken

Ingredients
8 boned chicken breasts or one whole boned chicken
8 oz. container Sour Cream (optional)
2 cans Creamy Chicken-Mushroom Soup
Sliced Almonds (optional)
6- one inch slice of bacon (optional)
ground pepper
butter

Directions
Roll up meat with pepper and slice of butter inside.  Place in a buttered 10x6 pyrex dish.  Place small pieces of bacon on top of the chicken.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Cover with soup.  Put tsp. of sour cream on each chicken portion.
Bake uncovered at 250 for 2 1/2 hours or until slightly golden browned edges of dish. Serve on top of baked rice.

**I usually half this recipe, because we only have 4 mouths to feed.

Baked Rice--
1/4 cup margarine
1 cup rice
2 cups boiling water
1 tsp. salt
Put everything in 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish. Stir and cover. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

a Literary Treasure

Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequest

It is incredibly cliche that something has 'changed your life,' but this book comes pretty darn close.  My best friend in the entire world, Bee (she'll probably be mentioned in 90% of my posts if I keep up this blog), happened to run across this book in a bookstore around the end of our senior year in high school.  She kept talking my ear off about it and finally just bought me a copy.  I am so thankful she did!  We quote this book constantly, and have even come to refer to the author as simply 'Shauna,' as if we know her.  The quote under the title of this blog is from Shauna.

A summary: "Cold Tangerines is a collection of stories about God, and about life, and about the thousands of daily ways in which an awareness of God changes and infuses everything.  It offers bright and varied glimpses of hope and redemption, giving us room to breathe, to break down and break through, calling us to our best possible lives."

This book is definitely in my top 5! I would recommend it to absolutely anybody.  Here's just a few of my favorite quotes from Shauna:
---"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud... I want to eat cold tangerines and sing loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing... I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift."
---"To me, the Bible is a manifesto, a guide, a love letter, a story.  To me, life with God is prismatic, shocking, demanding, freeing.  It's the deepest stream, the blood in my veins, the stories and words of my dreams and my middle-of-the-night prayers."
---"The world is alive, blinking and clicking, winking at us slyly, inviting us to get up and dance to the music that's been playing since the beginning of time, if you bend all the way down and put your ear to the ground to listen for it."

Thrift Store Makeover

I found these shorts at Goodwill for $1.50!  They were Old Navy and still had the tags on!!  They aren't terrible to begin with, but they're a bit long for my taste, and they're a size too big.

So, I cut about 6 inches off the bottom, sewing up the broken seams.  I sewed a 2 1/2 inch hem, and then took in the sides.  

Now I have a great pair of shorts!! 

Preludium and Allegro

This piece, "Preludium and Allegro," I first learned when I was about 14 years old.  As with most pieces, I worked very hard on it, so much so that it lost it's beauty to me.  But, now, 5 years later, I'm finally picking it back up and realizing the treasure that this piece really is.  It has everything in it!  It's divided into two parts-- the first being slow and intense and packed with emotion, the second is very fast and complicated yet dripping with the same emotional intensity.

Playing this piece brings me this tangible Joy.  It is fun to play, and honestly, it's a great piece to show off my ability.  But, more than that, I have to use every bit of what God created in me to play it.  From the physicality to the emotional intensity, I put everything I have into it, completely draining myself.  But, at the end of that last note, though I am exhausted, I am so much more fulfilled, because I have used all that I have been given to praise the One who gave it to me.  Colossians 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."  

Made-Over Deep Dish Brownies

Typically, the word 'healthy' attached to 'food' is anything but appetizing, especially when it comes to desserts.  But, these brownies are great! And, they have far less butter, eggs, and sugar

Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon coffee
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- Use an 8x8 pan, greased
- Microwave the butter, oil, and chocolate for about 2 minutes.  Stir, and microwave again until melted (about 2 more minutes)
- Stir the brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and salt into the mixture
- Add the eggs and coffee and beat vigorously until fully incorporated and the batter is thick and glossy
- Add the coca, flour, and baking soda and stir until it disappears
- Bake 30 minutes
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/made-over-deep-dish-brownies-recipe/index.html

Here we go...

Life is filled with little moments of Joy, the pure happiness and peace that can come from nothing but the grace of our Heavenly Father.  I find these moments in the little things: baking, sewing, reading, etc.  These are the treasures of life!  Normally overlooked, but yet so precious.  God has blessed us tremendously with our "ordinary" sunsets and chocolate and language.  The Joy I glean from these little treasures I can't help but want to share.  So, here's my tangible Joy