Sweet like chocolate

You know what they say about cake.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Well, it's a little different with chocolate.

Last weekend I made my chocolate, and you guessed it - I ate it too.

And guess what - it's really simple.

A friend of ours had us over for a chocolate making class and had our very patient teacher Davina teach us the basics.

Here are a few recipes:

DROPPED CHOCOLATES - ALMOND ROCKS

No of Portions: 5-10

Ingredients                             Quantity

Almonds                                    60 g

Chocolate                                  30 g

Method:

1.     Toast Almonds and allow to cool.

2.     Melt chocolate over a double boiler on gentle heat.

3.     When thoroughly melted, mix the almonds in, ensuring they are completely coated.

4.     Allow it to cool slightly, then drop clusters of 3-4 chocolate-enrobed almonds onto a butter paper. Allow to set, then peel off from the butter paper and store in boxes in a cool, dry place.

DIPPED CHOCOLATE - CHOCOLATE MINT

No of Portions: 5-10

Dipping Chocolate

Ingredients                              Quantity

Chocolate                                      50 g

Chocolate Ganache                  

Ingredients                              Quantity

Chocolate                                     30 g

Cream                                            10 ml

Mint Essence As Needed

Method:

1.     Heat the cream.

2.     Add the chopped chocolate into the cream. Stir till smooth.

3.     Add the mint essence to the ganache.

4.     Put into the fridge to set for 15-30 minutes.

5.     Roll the ganache into small balls.

6.     Refreeze.

1.     Melt chocolate over a double boiler on gentle heat.

2.     Remove the mint balls, dip into the melted chocolate and allow to dry on a butter paper-lined baking tray.

3.     Repeat this process twice.

MOULDED CHOCOLATES

Ingredients                            Quantity

Chocolate                                    60 g

Method

1.     Melt chocolate over a double boiler on gentle heat.

2.     When thoroughly melted, temper and pour into moulds.

3.     Gently tap the mould to prevent air bubbles and allow to set.

4.     De-mould, wrap and store in boxes in a cool, dry place.

SOFT CENTRED CHOCOLATES – Rum Centres

Ingredients                             Quantity

Chocolate                                    60 g

Rum Ganache

Ingredients                             Quantity

Rum                                         as required

Chocolate                                    30 g

Cream                                           10 ml

Method

1.     Heat the cream.

2.     Add the chopped chocolate into the cream. Stir till smooth.

3.     Add the rum to the ganache.

4.     Put into the fridge to set for 15-30 minutes.

5.     Roll the ganache into small balls.

6.     Refreeze.

1.     Melt chocolate over a double boiler on gentle heat.

2.     Remove the mint balls, dip into the melted chocolate and allow to dry on a butter paper-lined baking tray.

3.     Repeat this process twice. 

SOFT CENTRED CHOCOLATES - MARZIPAN

Ingredients                           Quantity

Marzipan                                    30 g

Chocolate                                   60 g

Method

1.     Melt chocolate over a double boiler on gentle heat.

2.     When thoroughly melted, temper and pour into moulds. Leave for a minute and remove excess. Leave to set. Repeat this process 2 more times.

3.     Roll the marzipan into small balls, place into the moulds and cover with more chocolate.

4.     Gently tap the mould to prevent air bubbles and allow to set.

5.     De-mould, wrap and store in boxes in a cool, dry place.

I couldn't believe that's all it takes to make chocolate.

Sweet!

What does the fox say?

via

Have you ever wondered about what sound the fox makes?

Well, you don't need to anymore because Ylvis has figured it out for you.
And there seem to be a whole bunch of sounds,
Which vary probably due to the changing moods of the fox?

As ridiculous as this song is, it's just so catchy.
If I listen to it once I know I'm going to sing it all day.

This way I end up brushing up on all the animal sounds.
And also learn about how the fox communicates with the ho-o-o-o-orse in mo-o-o-o-orse.

I have to say - This is gold!

God created Man...

...And then Man created God.

Photo by me.

I suppose it's something like the Chicken and Egg paradox.

But I wouldn't think too much about it.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

A tea party (in my mouth)

While in Germany, we ate prunes everyday.
Life was good!

And then one day we made a cake.
Just because it was teatime.
It was the quickest, simplest and yummiest cake ever.

A tea party in my mouth.

Here's how you make it:

Susanne's Prune Cake

Ingredients
Flour                    250 gms
Butter                   125 gms
Sugar                    62.5 gms
Prunes                  1 kg
Almond flakes

Method
Mix the flour, butter and sugar and make a dough.
Line a 10" diameter cake tin with butter and dust with flour.
Line the bottom and sides of the cake tin with the dough.
Use the remaining dough to make a crumble and keep it aside for use later.
At the bottom of the cake tin, on the dough put a generous amount of almond flakes.
Cut the prunes into quarters but do not separate at the bottom of the prunes.
In this way, place the prunes in the entire cake tin over the almond flakes.
Once again top the prunes with almond flakes and the dough crumble.
Bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.

Guten appetit!

We made one more cake (as you can see in the photo) but I wasn't paying attention so no recipe there.

Photo and Video by me.

Baden-Württemberg in 15 seconds

via

Last month I travelled all over Baden-Württemberg for 2 weeks.

And I had the best time ever.

In a nutshell I saw castles, sunflower fields, more castles, more sunflower fields, neat haystacks, stalagmites and stalactites, the bluest pond, organic farms, hills, forests, music shows and car museums while always being surrounded by beautiful vineyards and amazing company.

It felt like I was living a dream for 2 weeks.

We'd eat fresh berries and fruit picked directly from the trees.

Have the sweetest Aplesaft.

Eat Spaetzle. Drink Sekt.

And have the best breads and cheeses.

Everyday.

What does one call this if not heaven.

I spent 15 days in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany.

Here it is, in 15 seconds.

Video by me.
Music : Groove Armada - At The River.

Baden-Württemberg - A Photographic Journey

All photos by me.

Discovering Auvers-sur-Oise

via

A few weeks ago I visited some friends in Paris.
And together we did a day trip to Auvers-sur-Oise, a town only 30km from Paris.
It's where Vincent Van Gogh lived and painted for the last 3 months of his life.

We took the train from Paris to Auvers-sur-oise one morning and spent the entire day there.
It was a day so well spent.

Jumping in the Wheatfields

I have always been a fan of Van Gogh's.
Maybe because he was the first artist I ever knew of at age 5.
Back then I knew nothing about art or his distinct style or anything about his life.
But when I went home after visiting the museum and seeing his art, I painted my own version of Van Gogh's sunflowers.
What's funny is that I still remember how I was convinced that our paintings looked identical.
I love how confident and sure of myself I was at that age even when I didn't make sense.

Sketch of Eglise Auvers-sur-Oise by me

So when I got to visit Auvers-sur-oise and see where he lived and painted, it was quite an experience for me.
Van Gogh wanted to leave the hustle and bustle of Paris and so this is where he moved to find peace in the countryside.
He made 80 paintings in 70 days.

The size of his room at the Auberge Ravoux was tiny (only 7 sq.m.) and it seemed pretty depressing.
But Van Gogh didn't really paint here since it wasn't allowed so his paintings were mainly landscapes, and churches. And he also did a couple of portraits.
When you walk around the town you can actually see where each painting was painted.

Room No.5 on the 2nd floor of the Auberge Ravoux.

He was very close to his brother Theo [Thedore Van Gogh] and Dr. Gachet and wrote to them often.
Through his letters one can see that he was quite depressed - like an artist so immersed in his art that he drowned in it and couldn't come up for air and save himself.

Van Gogh shot himself in the wheatfields and came back to his room to die. He was only 38.
Dr. Gachet and Theo were by his side at his death.

Vincent and Theo's graves.

Van Gogh's life was as depressing as his art was beautiful.
It's sad that his art was appreciated only after his death.
Today people adorn their walls with his prints.
Some are even using his art to make art of their own.
While other's are making a feature length animation based on his life.



Here are some of his works juxtaposed with the locations where they were painted.

The Church at Auvers, 1890

Wheatfield with crows, July 1890

We ended the day with a picnic by the river Oise.
We bought some ham and camambert to eat with our baguettes.
And eclairs for dessert.

The day couldn't have been more perfect.

Photos by me.

Twerk it out

Did you watch the VMA's yesterday?

Did you remember anything besides Miley Cyrus doing whatever it is that she was doing?

Well, she crawled out of a bear.
She stuck her tongue out and her tongue was unusually long. Which was just disturbing in itself.
She made the strangest hairstyle ever. Were they bear ears?
Because she danced with bears in a bear onesie.
And even the bear on the onesie was sticking his tongue out.
It was like Inception - but with tongues.

She then ripped the bear onesie and revealed her matching latex bra and panty outfit.
And the worst part hadn't even started.

She began twerking.

Her performance was pretty tongue in cheek.

While her face wasn't.

Jay Z and Miley via Laughing Squid

Wait, there's more.
She then wore a foam hand - the kind you see at sporting events like baseball/ basketball games.
Or in this case at the VMA's so Miley could touch herself and Robin Thicke.

It was stranger than strange.
But that sort of is what the VMA's is all about.

I'm not sure about whether everyone was disturbed by it because of her age or because of her actions.

I just found it funny.

It's one of those things people do for a quick 15 minutes of fame.
Which makes you wonder why Miley did it.
I suppose this was just Hannah Montana's coming out party.
Because if I called it her Debutante or Cotillion, it would just sound wrong.

It's time Miley does her version of Britney Spears' I'm not a girl, not yet a woman.
Because it seems like she's currently twerking in limbo.

Option [d]

via Cherry Bombe

When I am killing time, I want to:

[a] Eat a fruit.

[b] Make art.

[c] Get a pet.

[d] All of the above.

Note to self: When in doubt always choose option [d]

Wah Gwaan

Wah Gwaan?

Well, nothing much.

I'm just having one of those days where I want to speak like a Jamaican all day.

Do you ever feel like that?

I can't really speak Patois but I do my own version of it.

And then I came across this song called Ragamuffin by Selah Sue.

She seems to be my sister from another blister.

Is she the Dawta of a Jamaican?

No maan.

She frah Belgium.

Who would've thought?