chocolate coconut mousse

i make this every other day. it is so quick, and so good, and you don't even need a food processor. i got the idea from here, where i get almost all of my dessert recipes.

chocolate mousse:

1/2 can cold coconut milk
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup

mix it up really really good. it's the best. i think it would be good on top of chocolate pudding.

marble mountain

(view from the top of the bunny hill day one-it was snowing super hard)

(apres ski beers + games)

(heading west)

(view from the "easy" hill)

(happy on day three)

so j and i had an amazing time at marble. i spent day one on the bunny hill, day two with an instructor and trying to carve on the bigger hills. day three i mostly spent laying on the hill wishing i wasn't so sore. i fell at least 50 times this weekend. no exaggeration. i would recommend to others trying to learn snowboarding that by day three, maybe you just wanna have a few beer in the chalet, because you are going to be so sore, it will not be fun. 

other things from the weekend: 

sorrentos restaurant in corner brook- cheesy pasta and pizza. decent if you are in the mood

chez west restaurant in corner brook- semi-expensive steak, salmon, chicken. nothing special. i was not a big fan

river's end efficiency units- like a tiny apartment. it was cool for us, but everyone else on the hill was talking about their chalets with hot tubs. but this place was less than 5 minutes from the hill, which was cool

chair lifts- not as scary as i thought. though the marble ones look like antiques. so rickety. 

board rentals- i recommend testing out both bindings right away. not cool to realize they don't work after you have taken the chairlift up. 

this week

(sweet hourglass)

(amish bread starters are spreading around our town right now) 

(some new nail polish plus my fav rings) 

(long snowy commute)

j and i are heading to marble mountain for a weekend of snowboarding. i have to admit that i am nervous. especially about the chair lift. and running into someone on the hill. but looking forward to a weekend away with j. there's nothing better than driving out of town after a long week of work. 

healthier peanut butter cups

i made these on the weekend when i wanted to test out my new silicone muffin pan. i basically used this recipe, except i had no chocolate chips, so i had to make my own chocolate using this recipe. these are way, way better than the store bought ones. and way bigger too.

peanut butter cups:

3/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup peanuts, ground in food processor
1/4 cup flaked coconut, ground to flour in food processor
1 cup oats, ground to flour in food processor
1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup (or more) cocoa powder
1/4 cup maple syrup (or more to taste)

put the last three ingredients in a measuring cup or bowl that fits over a small pot with simmering hot water. mix over the hot water pot until liquid.

pour chocolate into the muffin tins just so the bottoms are covered (i made 12, but you can make less if you want the chocolate to peanut butter ratio to be higher). put in the freezer for 10 minutes

mix first 5 ingredients until a dough forms. put a spoonful on top of each chocolate bottom you have made in the muffin tin. flatten it out a bit but not to the edges.

pour the remaining chocolate over the peanut butter mixture in the tins so the peanut butter is just covered (you may need to reheat the chocolate a bit)

place in the freezer again for an hour or more. then run some hot water on the bottom of the tin and pop out the cups. a silicone pan is sweet at this point.

new hobby

so j and i have a new hobby. reading to each other. it started with an audio book i got from the local public library. and now we are totally into having a beer and reading a few chapters. i would fully recommend it for those couples who live 3+ hours away from anything resembling a city. and if you liked james frey's other two popular books, you will like this one too.

this week + peanut butter granola

(homemade granola)

(so good with almond milk)

(drums at the local variety show)

(elevator shot from our weekend in the city)

this weekend will be pretty chill. j and i are having a little belated love day on sunday, though he did text me a pic of roses on the actual day. i am hoping for a breakfast in bed type situation. the granola is really, really good. it was gone within hours of me making it. 

peanut butter granola (copied almost exactly from summer harms blog from here)

4 cups oats
3 tablespoons ground flax seed (i used my coffee grinder)
3 tablespoons wheat germ
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey

preheat oven to 250
mix dry ingredients in a big bowl
heat wet ingredients on stove until runny, stirring well
pour the peanut butter mix over the dry stuff, mix well
spread onto pan, bake for 25-45 min until browned. check every 15 min and stir. (it took me about 25 minutes)

best cookie pie ever

this is amazing. it's like a huge chocolate chip cookie that is sorta healthy. made from this recipe. this is really worth trying. i have made it three times in a week, and fed it to my coworkers and friends, who all love it. i think it would be good with vanilla frosting on it. make this

s and j visit the rock (aka a fairy tale weekend)

(rocking out to signal hill)

 

(view from the hotel room)

(windy times on signal hill)

(the drive to the edge of canada)

so the weekend was windy, rainy, chilly. and awesome. it felt so good to hang out with my best friends. they have been part of my daily life for over 10 years. we always have the best time. 

weekend highlights:

bottomless mimosas at yellow belly. we got our money's worth

hotel hot tub time

visit to windy signal hill

visited most eastern tip of canada. debated also visiting most northern and western tip, but decided that just the eastern tip was perfect

the vegan had her first steak in years

happy love day

(j and i on fogo island)

i love this weekend

i'll be with my girls this weekend in the big city looking for dresses to wear to my little wedding. i can't tell you why i love this photo so much, since we all look so bored while we are clearly in paradise. but i love it. happy weekend

this week + homemade spelt pizza dough

the snowy weather is turning us into some pretty serious homebodies. eating in, experimenting with new recipes, wearing my lulus and slippers a lot. drinking lots of coffee with chai spice. it's all good.

(homemade pizza with my special spelt flour.. recipe at the end) 

(new  nuknuuks)

(beautiful meringue, before i burnt it) 

(this is where i'm at. monday is big mary day on the rock) 

spelt pizza dough

1 pack yeast

1 cup warm water

2 cups spelt flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon guar or xantham gum

heat oven to 350 degrees
in a small bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water. let sit 10 minutes. add honey
in a large bowl, mix up the flour, wheat germ, salt, guar gum
add yeast mix to flour mix. stir well to combine. let sit, covered for 30 minutes
knead it with some more flour for a few minutes, then roll it on a greased pan. poke some fork holes
bake for 5 minutes, then add toppings, then back another 10 minutes or until browned

so this is winter

(hand-shoveled rink on Cobb's pond)

(j lacing up)

(fishing and bucket-sitting in a bay)

(frozen ocean)

j and i have been spending a lot of time skating and snowboarding. i am loving the shoveling, really. my abs and back are going to be so strong. and it is so cool to see people ice fishing everywhere. they just drill a hole in the ice, throw the line down, sit on their bucket, and wait. people usually bring hot coffee and snacks. an ice picnic. i want.

less than a week away

on saturday my two favs are flying to the rock for the first time. can't wait

happy friday

j and i will be enjoying the snow this weekend. tons of it here. also, i am kind of loving this idea.

snacks lately...

(greek yogurt + coconut milk + kiwi)

(super amazing raw brownie)

skating on the pond

we went skating on Cobb's pond. we had to shovel the snow off ourselves, which was surprisingly rewarding. also, i held a hockey stick for the first time. i'm a natural.