Chocolate Filled Strawberries

Do you know your neighbors well? I'm sad to say that I don't. My husband and I have lived in our condo complex (with eight units total) for almost five years and beside the residents in one other unit (#4), we've been here the longest. Our complex is made of a mix of owners and renters and over the years we've seen a steady rotation of residents in many of the units.

A couple of weeks back I came home from a run and saw that each unit had an invitation taped to their door for a neighbor get together hosted by the new neighbors in #5. Since I teach most nights, I was excited to find out this party was on the one Friday in May I decided to take off! Woohoo! Now came the exciting part...what was I going to make????

I had some left over strawberries from a sorority event and I remember seeing a bunch of different chocolate-filled strawberries on Pinterest a while back, so that's what I decided to do.

I started by chopping off the tops and a little bit of the bottom of each strawberry so it could stand on its own. Then I used a spoon or melon-baller to scoop out some of the insides. Once you're chocolate is ready, you have to fill fairly quickly. I didn't so my chocolate started to harden inside my makeshift pastry bag and I had to squeeze the bag so hard, this happened...

Yup...chocolate explosion! I squeezed the bag so hard it burst at the seams (literally) and got chocolate everywhere. No problem, though! I just transferred my berries to another plate and sacrificed myself by eating the messed up strawberries.

At the end of the day, the berries were a hit and hubby and I had a great time meeting some of our neighbors! Can't wait for the next get together!

Enjoy!

THE PASTRY POSTS CHOCOLATE FILLED STRAWBERRIES
Makes approximately 30 strawberries

Ingredients
30 strawberries
8 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

• Chop the stems off of the strawberries then take a little bit off of the bottom so the strawberry can stand on its own. Scoop out some of the berry insides using a spoon or melon baller so you have room to fill with chocolate. 
• Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and set aside.
• Over medium heat, warm the cream, vanilla and cinnamon until it starts to simmer. While the cream is warming, stir it gently every once in a while to keep all of the ingredients mixed and to make sure nothing is sticking or burning.
• Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a couple of minutes before you begin stirring to combine and melt all of the chocolate. Stir until the mixture is nice and smooth then transfer into a plastic bag (or pastry bag) fitted with a large tip (I used a #12). If you don't have a cake tip, you can just snip the corner off of the plastic bag and pipe the chocolate out from there.
• Fill each strawberry with chocolate.
• Enjoy!

Monday Musings

• Aren't these flowers gorgeous? I bought them from Trader Joe's this weekend and they are now beautifying my kitchen table.
• I saw 42 on Friday and loved it! Such a great baseball movie, and a great movie in general, as well. The story of Jackie Robinson is incredibly inspirational and it was so sad to see everything he went through when all he wanted to do was play a game that he loved. 
• Did anyone see Gatsby? What did you think? It's on my list!
• This weekend my hubby and I are heading to the Bay Area to visit my dad and run the Bay to Breakers. This is one of my favorite weekend's of the year because I LOVE the race. It's a beautiful route and I have lots of good memories running it with my dad and uncle (and now my husband) over the years. My uncle passed away from cancer 2 1/2 years ago, so my dad and I love to think of all the wonderful memories we shared running the race with him each year. 
• After the race my husband and I will be enjoying a stay-cay for a couple of nights in Coronado. I'm soooo looking forward to just hanging out for a couple of days and enjoying the great weather we've been having here.
• Speaking of weather, it's hot here! And I don't mean just hot by San Diego standards, I mean actually hot! When it's already in the 70s at the beach when you wake up, you know it's gonna be a scorcher! Stay cool everyone!

Have a great week!

Christina

Dairy-Free Berry Banana Smoothie

So, as I've mentioned many times before, I LOVE Trader Joe's. On a recent trip I decided to pick up a carton of vanilla almond milk and give it a try. Since I'd never had it before, I thought I'd ease into using it by substituting it for regular milk in a smoothie. I LOVED the results!

Almond milk is made from ground almonds and, unlike regular milk, is lactose and cholesterol free. Almond milk is also low in carbs and calories and high in protein, so it's good for you, too. Hooray all around!

Although I love going out to breakfast and eating breakfast food, for whatever reason I'm not big on making it at home. I was super starving one day last week, so decided that would be the day to try out my smoothie. As I mentioned, I loved the results and am excited to start using almond milk more often in smoothies and in baking.

For this smoothie, I went to my go-to ingredients of a mix of berries and bananas, but feel free to substitute your own faves!

THE PASTRY POSTS DAIRY-FREE BERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE

Ingredients
3/4 cups strawberries, roughly chopped
1/4 cups blueberries
1/2 of a banana
3/4 cups of vanilla almond milk

Directions

• Place all ingredients into a blender and blend away until you reach your desired consistency
• Enjoy!

Monday Musings

• So, The Stones concert was last night! It was wonderful :) As I mentioned last week, I bought the promo $85 tickets and didn't find out where my seats were until I picked them up. Turns out they were kinda really crappy seats :( We were pretty much on the side of the stage with no way to see the large video screen. Right before the show started my dad and I (and about 20 other people) moved over one section, so we were a little farther toward the back of the stage, but still a great view of the band and of the big screen, so we were happier. The show was great and the guys can still rock it. Highlights of the night were Gimme Shelter and You Can't Always Get What You Want featuring the San Jose State Choraliers. Both songs gave me chills!
• Does anyone know where I can watch full Mad Men episodes online? I've missed two episodes this season already and am going to miss another in a couple of weeks and I'm dying to watch last nights episode!
• How's the weather where you are? The weather here in San Diego has yet to make up its mind if it's Spring, yet. I know I shouldn't complain about San Diego weather since it's nice all year long (do you hate me right now?), but it was gorgeous last week and now it's really raining. Bleh.
• For a while it's seemed like there weren't any books I really wanted to read or movies I wanted to see and now I feel like there's not enough time to read or watch movies. I think I bought five books last week for my Kindle and I really want to see 42 and, of course, The Great Gatsby.
• More about Gatsby - I've loved the book since I read it in high school and LOVE the first movie. Mostly because my beautiful boyfriend Robert Redford is in it and looking mighty nice :) My goodness, he's gorgeous in that movie...
• I've been obsessed with making sweet potato fries. This weekend I even planned my meals around what would go well with them so I could keep making more! 
• This past weekend, I realized how in love I am with Trader Joe's. I could probably write a whole post about how much I love it and what my favorite items are. It would be long, but so delightful :)

Have a great week!!!!

Christina

Monday Musings...on a Tuesday

Las Vegas - April 22

• Well another month has whizzed by us. How is that possible????
• April was the month of making travel plans! I've got three coming up between now and the beginning of June! Two trips home to the Bay Area and one to Austin for BlogHer Food!
• Last weekend I took a quick trip to Vegas with my dad and sister. Vegas has become one of my favorite places because it is so close, can be fairly inexpensive to stay there if you know where to look, has amazing food and great people watching. For reals - I don't do the clubs or the craziness. I actually go to eat and relax :)
• One of the places I ate in Vegas was Lotus of Siam. This place has been on my foodie bucket list and it did not disappoint! This was the best Thai food I've ever had. We went for lunch and my dad and I had the buffet. I think I ate my weight in curry, pad thai, egg rolls, garlicky chicken wings and rice! The walls are lined with pictures of celebrities and world class chefs who have eaten there. Amazing! Have the fried bananas if you go---you will love.
• While I was in Vegas I may have bought something for my unborn (and may I add, un-conceived) child. Yup. I did that. The reason we went to Vegas was to see the Cirque du Soliel show Love and while perusing the gift shop, I bought a onesie (on super sale for $4) that looked like a Sgt. Peppers uniform. I plan on taking a picture of my 12-18 month old child wearing it, with a big Sgt. Pepper's hat and fake mustache. Uh huh.
• This coming Sunday I'm making a very quick trip to the Bay Area to see The Rolling Stones. I CANNOT wait. This will be my fifth time seeing them and I was lucky enough to score two $85 tickets. All the other tickets were between $160 and $600 (before fees) and the catch is that I won't find out where my seats are until I get there and pick them up. The tickets can be some of the best seats in the house in the "Tongue Pit" or anywhere else in the arena. Eek! I keep saying that I want my seats to be close enough so Mick Jagger can spit on me :) I know, gross, but I love him :)

Have a great week and Happy May!

Christina

Oven-baked Sweet Potato Fries

I must admit that I wasn't a big fan of sweet potato fries until the past couple of years. The first sweet potato fries I fell in love with were at my favorite neighborhood restaurant, Urban Solace. They have since switched to using Kennebec potatoes for their fries, but I still crave their sweet potatoes.

I don't know what was wrong with me that I didn't love sweet potatoes until then, but now I order them at restaurants any chance I get. Because of my aforementioned craving of sweet potato fries, I've started making them at home, so that I can fill my craving at any time.

This recipe is simple, but so flavorful! You'll begin by peeling and cutting the sweet potatoes into fries or wedges (whichever you prefer).

Once the potatoes are cut and ready to go, you'll add the oil, salt, pepper and spices and stir to coat.

Pop those babies on a cookie sheet and bake until crispy! After that you're ready to eat!

I topped mine with a little bit of Maldon salt when they came out of the oven to add a bit more flavor.

Happy Cooking!

THE PASTRY POSTS OVEN-BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
Maldon salt for sprinkling, optional

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 400F.
• Toss peeled and cut potatoes with oil, cinnamon, paprika, salt and pepper.
• Place on a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until crispy, approximately 35-40 minutes. Toss potatoes half-way through to ensure even baking. 
• Once out of the oven, top the potatoes with Maldon salt (or other flaky sea salt), if desired.
• Enjoy!

Monday Musings

• How the heck is it April already? Crazy.
• The husband and I are continuing to work our way through Downton Abbey. Tomorrow arrives the second disk of the third season and I am anxiously anticipating all of the things that I already know are supposed to happen. Last week I Googled when the fourth season would start in the US (January 2014) and I have NO IDEA how I'm going to wait that long!!!! I think I may have to move to the UK so I can see it a few months earlier.
• Less than one week until the season premiere of Mad Men! The show is one of my favorites and I'm so excited for its return!
• Today is Opening Day for the A's!!!! I love, love, love baseball and am so happy it's starting again. Mad Men and baseball both start in the same week? I can't handle all of the excitement! :)
• Has anyone seen Oz the Great and Powerful? I think I'm going to see it this afternoon. I've been curious about it since I saw a preview for it at Christmas, but have been reluctant to see it. I'm a HUGE Wizard of Oz and Wicked fan and don't want to be disappointed. I'll let you know what I think!
• I ate this crazy deliciousness this week at Extraordinary Desserts. It was a warmed French apple pie with brown sugar ice cream. Woah. My mouth just watered thinking about it.

Have a great week!
Christina