Hello! You're So Great!

Hey everyone! I hope that all of you had a great week, I sure did. Now we're just winding down for the end of the year here at my house.

Today I decided to do a post that will essentially give you, the reader, a virtual hug. I honestly feel like that there's too much negativity out in the world right now. For example, I went to look at Google News and the first story that came up was about a couple of doctors being charged with fetal homicide. Wow (which is seriously all I can say). Because of this, I feel like writing an encouraging post.

Okay, puppies and kitties are pretty cliched, but I like this picture.

Guess what? No matter what you do, who you are, where you live, how much money you make, or even how you laugh, you are an amazing person. Why? Because you're here. Right now. Alive. And you have the ability to smile. Maybe life totally sucks, or maybe you're not feeling like enjoying yourself for whatever reason. Things can always get better or worse. You decide if you're going to let it be better or worse.

Keeping a positive attitude will help you have a clear mind to solve your problem. And while you're brushing yourself off from that horrible incident, or trying to figure out your life, or trying to find happiness, or just trying to survive, think about this:

• this universe is specifically calibrated so that you can be alive right here, right now
• the stars are always over us, even when we can't see them, so that you can wish on one right now
• you have the ability to change the world right now, even if it's just helping that little old lady across the street
• today is not yesterday, so you can make today as good or bad as you want (I call that ability "power")
• you have a purpose, even if you don't know what it is
• you have the ability to create something beautiful (a joke, a story, a piece of art, food, laughter, smiles, goofy faces...)
• you can feel pain, which is totally important for survival and recognizing nice things when they happen

"Who has never tasted bitter does not know what is sweet." --German proverb

And think about how somewhere in the world right now:

• someone is praying for you
• someone loves you
• nuns and monks are praying and writing mantras to end your suffering and ensure the continuity of your happiness
• there is an inspiring song being made right now that will touch your heart
• there's a person who just wants to sit down and hug you until all the bad goes out of your life
• there are people trying to make sure that you have a safe and clean life
• children still think that the world is a big, wonderful place where anything can happen
• a book is being written that will change the world for the better
• something ridiculously funny is happening that will make you laugh so hard that you pee your pants

Hope you like this, and I hope that it makes you feel happier. Have a great day!

Here's a recipe: 

Yogurt Coffee Cake

From The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook, page 592

Topping:

3/4 cup chopped nuts (I like a walnut/almond mix)

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons honey, warmed

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cake:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup honey, warmed

2 large eggs

1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour (white whole wheat flour is milled from white wheat grains)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Mexican vanilla is great if you can get your hands on it)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius). Butter and flour a 9x9-inch baking pan.

To make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the nuts, flour, honey, and cinnamon.

To make the cake: With an electric mixer, cream the butter. Beat in the honey and eggs.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat portions into the butter mixture, alternating with the yogurt. Beat in the vanilla.

Pour half of the cake batter into the baking pan. Cover with half of the topping, then add the remaining batter, and top with the remaining topping. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool slightly and cut into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Makes 8 servings

New Discoveries and a Recipe

Hi all! Boy, it has been one crazy week (and it's only Thursday!). But never fear, there are fantastic things in the world to look at and eat. :) Today I decided to post about some fantastic discoveries concerning food (since this is Muffins and Musings).
First, I have discovered a few fantastic looking indie shops that make food-related jewelry. There is Tiny Hands Jewelry, then I ran into Sweet & Savory Trinkets on Etsy, and then another awesome looking Etsy shop called The Menu. Each one is pretty cool looking and I'm excited to share them with you guys. Each shop, although all about food, has its own unique twist (which is why I'm sharing them).

Tiny Hands specializes in scented food jewelry. That's right, scented. I actually bought a chocolate chip cookie charm already, and it smells exactly like a real cookie! (For the skeptics out there that are probably wondering right now: No, I am not an affiliate of any of these shops. It's just good craftsmanship.) Tiny Hands also has plastic food charms that are a little less expensive and not scented, but really cute (yes, I bought one). The selection is really good, too. There's boba tea, a variety of cookies, cupcakes, cake, waffles, pancakes, chocolate, and even sushi (not scented). Another awesome feature is that the customer service is great. For the impatient it can be a little maddening waiting for your order to come, though, since it's made-to-order and it takes up to two weeks to make the charms.

                       
Sweet & Savory specializes in miniature food charms and jewelry. As in close to the size of a dime kind of small. But they're super realistic, judging by the pictures. I'm planning on purchasing the peach earrings sometime soon (I have been coveting them for a while). Unlike Tiny Hands, Sweet & Savory has a bigger variety in the type of foods. Tiny Hands has mostly sweet treats, but Sweet & Savory has things like Eggs Benedict, fruit, ice cream bars, pie, nachos, burritos, and pizza. What's also really cool is that what's on display is available right now, so no waiting.

The Menu really excites me, because I just came across it last night. The Menu specializes in super realistic and quirky food jewelry. For an example of quirk for you, there's a melting ice cream cone hair barrette and a  zombie lunch ring (it's a tiny little brain on a plate with a spoon and fork). The Menu has a fantastic variety of pizza as well. For a selection there's pizza (at five different types that I can tell), ice cream cones, ice cream sandwiches, popsicles, sno balls (those coconut-covered marshmallow and cake balls from Hostess), alphabet soup and even Ritz Cracker earrings! They just opened 4 days ago, so I advise grabbing what you can now before they get so popular inventory turns too quickly.

The next discovery is that I made gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free brownies that tasted good! That isn't really what's so amazing as the fact that they were the right chewy/crumbly texture that all good brownies should have. I got the original recipe from Gluten Free Goddess, but switched to brown sugar for xylitol (because she switched the white sugar in the recipe that she took it from to brown sugar). Here's the recipe below:

Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Brownie Recipe 

Ingredients:

5 ounces high quality dark chocolate

1/2 cup Organic Coconut Oil

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons organic light brown sugar (or xylitol)

1/2 cup almond meal

1/4 cup brown rice flour

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 organic free-range eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla*

Optional:

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired

Dark chocolate chips for the top, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with foil and lightly oil the bottom.

Melt the dark chocolate and coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat, gently stirring. (Or melt in a microwave safe measuring cup and stir together to combine.) 


In a mixing bowl whisk together the brown sugar, almond meal, brown rice flour, fine sea salt and baking soda. Make a well in the center and add the beaten eggs, vanilla extract and melted dark chocolate mixture. Beat on low-medium for two minutes, until the batter begins to come together. At first it will seem thin, like cake batter, but keep beating until it thickens and becomes smooth and glossy.

If you are adding nuts, stir in the nuts by hand and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Even out the batter with a silicone spatula.

Stud the top with some dark chocolate chips and press in slightly.

Bake in the center of a preheated 350 degree F oven for 32 to 35 minutes, or until the brownies are set. The top will crack, like a flourless chocolate cake.

Cool on a wire rack; and remove the cooled brownies from the pan by gripping the foil edges and lifting the brownies out as a whole.


Chill for an hour before cutting. (Though warm and gooey is really divine, if you don't mind them falling apart.)

Yield: 12-16 servings

*For chocolate-mint brownies use 1 teaspoon peppermint extract and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/01/dark-chocolate-brownies.html#ixzz1gccT1DX9

Thanks so much for reading, folks!