White Chocolate Raspberry Mousee and Getting to Know You

Thank you, thank you Mandy!  I haven’t been keeping up with my posts lately for a few reasons – we’ve been busy finalizing all of the design and selection details for the kitchen remodeling project (just a few more details and then about a month wait for the cabinets); we’ve had such glorious weather here in Massachusetts that I’ve had to get out and make hay while the sun shines (no, I don’t have hay, but I’ve got plenty of weeds); and I have a nice batch of photos to share but alas, they are stuck in that black hole called Windows 8 (I’m going to try tipping the computer upside down to see if they’ll fall out).  So when I saw Mandy’s idea to do a post on “Getting to Know You” I thought it would be a great idea to reconnect with my blogging friends and sneak in a little, tasty treat at the end.  I loved Mandy’s idea of a no pressure, if you feel like it, post of answers to a list of questions to get to know each other better.  If you’d like to join in just add your post and link to Mandy at The Complete Cook Book.   Oh, and if you do…. be sure to ask her about her new and exciting bay and olive wreath making business!

1.  What is your favourite non-alcoholic drink?

Coffee

2.  What is your favourite alcoholic drink?

Mimosa

3.  What is your favourite food?

Lobster – boiled dipped in butter

4.  What is your least favourite food?

Tofu – is that even a food?

5.  What do you eat that others think is really weird?

Chicken liver

6.  What is your favourite thing to cook/bake?

Cinnamon rolls

7.  If you could only chose one, would it be sweet or savoury?

Savoury

8.  What time do you usually eat your dinner during the week?

6:30 or 7:00 pm

9.  What kitchen item/s have you never owned?

A pressure cooker but I only got a food processor a year ago

10. What tip would you give to a newby cooker / baker?

Let other’s help you

11. What is the best vegetarian dish you have eaten?

Eggplant armesan

12. What is the easiest meal you can cook?

American Chop Suey

13. If you could only grow 3 herbs in your garden, what would you grow?

Basil, parsley & chives (chives aren’t really an herb are they?)

14. What would you use as a substitute for salt?

Got to have salt

15. What 5 items would you pack for a quick and easy picnic or day out?

Cheese, fruit, crackers, Genoa salami, and a bottle of wine

Now about that Raspberry Mousse…

Ingredients:

2         Large bars of white chocolate, chunked up into pieces
1 1/2  Cups of fresh raspberries
1        Cup of whipping cream

–  Puree raspberries in food processor or blender
–  Melt chocolate in a double boiler (or use microwave in 30 second intervals)
– Whip cream
– Set aside the melted chocolate in the top of the double boiler & set  raspberries over the bottom half in a heat resistant bowl to warm the raspberries

– Slowly stir the melted chocolate into the warmed raspberry puree – I did end up putting this back into the food processor to really blend the chocolate & raspberries
– Fold the raspberry chocolate mixture into the whipped cream
– Refrigerate for about 4-6 hours and garnish with raspberries…maybe a little mint leaf

Thank you all for the Wonderful Awards – Happy 2013

Happy New Year to all of my friends and readers and all of my readers who have become friends.  I’m a little tardy with acknowledging my appreciation for the many awards I’ve received and passing them on, but celebrating the new year is the best way I can think of to thank all of you who have kept me blogging for one year now.  As always, thanks to my wonderful daughter, Niki for pushing me over my own personal cliff by pre-announcing this blog to her Facebook world and jumping in with her own ideas.

It’s hard to decide who exactly fits best under each award and all of you, in my opinion deserve every award.  I want you all to know how much I enjoy reading your blogs and hope that you keep doing what you’re doing.

My first thanks go to Vina’s Delicious Recipes for nominating me for both the Sunshine Aware and the Blog of the Year Award.  She’s an incredibly creative and talented lady with a terrific food blog.  Please stop by to say hello to her and savor her recipes.

Here are the rules to accept this award:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award
2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.
3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them
5 You can now also join our Facebook page – click the link here ‘Blog of the Year 2012’Award and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience
6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

My selections for Blog of the Year (2012) Awards:
http://bamskitchen.com/
http://fromthebartolinikitchens.com/
http://ourkitcheninventions.wordpress.com/
http://happinessstanlives.com/

Home

Now for the Sunshine Award:

http://whilehewasout.wordpress.com/
http://buttersugarflowers.com/

I also have Danny, now at his new self hosted website http://www.1227foster.com to thank for the honors of the REALITY and Sensual Awards.  I’ve followed Danny since I started blogging and am always impressed with his creative combinations and suggestions.  He always seems to pull a meal together like a magician and is certainly willing to experiment.  Although he has bazillions of great recipes, I have to send you to him for the best Mac & Cheese in the world.

For the REALITY award:

http://backroadjournal.wordpress.com/
http://adetailedhouse.com/
http://enjoymyadventure.wordpress.com/
http://unorthodoxepicure.com/

Rules for the Reality Blog Award

1. Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you
2. Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back to them
3. Answer the 5 questions presented
4. Nominate up to 20 blogs for the award and notify them on their blogs
5. Copy and paste the award on your blog somewhere

Q&A for the Reality Blog Award

1. If you could change one thing what would you change?  My impetuousness – maybe think things through a little more
   
2. If you could repeat an age, what would it be? 28
   
3. What one thing really scares you? Losing my eyesight
   
4. What is one dream you have not completed, and do you think you’ll be able to complete it?  To spend months in different cities and other countries to see if I might like to retire there & I don’t see why I can’t.
   
5. If you could be someone else for one day, who would it be? My dog – what a life!

Now finally for the Sensual Award (which frankly I don’t understand because I’m sitting here in my sweats with my wet hair up in a towel & an avocado mask on my face (hey, avocado’s not just for eating you know) but I think the idea is that creating wonderful food is a sensual experience) – but specifically for his awesome love letter to his wife, Adam definitely deserved this award as well as Man of the Year (but I don’t have that one to give Adam, sorry):

http://unorthodoxepicure.com/

Thank you again to all of my readers for your support and great comments.  I appreciate hearing from you and look forward to reading all of your new posts for 2013.  Please feel free to pass along the award wealth to recognize and support your favorite blogs.