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The Chocolate Moon

Posted on by Selena Robins

Ask any grandparent and they will tell you that becoming a grandparent makes even a curmudgeon giddy with joy. I am the proud nana of two beautiful boys (eleven and four years old), and they are the highlight of my day and life.

The joys of nana-life include: rocking it out, playing Fortnite, mini-stick hockey, holding dance parties in the living-room, helping out with homework, and writing stories.

Introducing the newest author in the family; four-year-old, Henri, his debut novel is called: THE CHOCOLATE MOON.

He wrote this book (dictated to me and I typed it, and also served as his editor) in December and I had it printed it up, and gave it to family members.

I am sharing his book with you, and because the subject (chocolate) is so dear to my heart, I am including a scrumptious chocolate sauce recipe at the end of this post—you can even pour it on the moon. 🙂

Chapter One
The Dinosaur and the LadyBug

THERE ONCE WAS a dinosaur named Henrisaurus who lived in a big, purple rock.

Henrisaurus lived in the purple rock with a Ladybug named Star.

Star liked to eat oranges and crunchy carrots.

Henrisaurus loved to eat people, but not Nana’s.

Star told Henrisaurus that eating people was not a nice thing to do, so Henrisaurus stopped eating people.

From that day on, Henrisaurus ate chocolate, Italian cookies, chips, and jujubes.

Henrisaurus loved those so much that he did not miss eating people.

Chapter Two
The Gorilla

One day, Henrisaurus and Star went to the Dinosaur Store and they bought a big moon.

They put the moon in a box to carry it home.

On the way home from the Dinosaur Store they ran into a gorilla who was carrying a big bag.

“What is your name, big gorilla?” said Henrisaurus.

The Gorilla pounded his chest and growled loud. “My name is Skeleton, and I am strong.”

Henri said, “I think you need clothes.”

Skeleton growled again and said, “You should be scared of me.”

Henri shook his head. “I’m not.”

The Gorilla growled again and jumped up and down, pounding his chest.

“Star,” said Henrisaurus. “I think Skeleton would look good in a chocolate suit and shoes. Let’s take him home and dip him in chocolate.”

“That’s a good idea,” Star said.

The Gorilla ran away fast because he was scared of Henrisaurus.

The Gorilla dropped his bag and lots of oranges and carrots fell out.

Henrisaurus picked up two oranges, and three carrots, and gave them to Star.

Then they went home with their new goodies and the moon.

Chapter Three
Home for Lunch

At home, Henrisaurus and Star played with their friends, Microwave, Plant, Red, Isabelle, Pear and Apple.

Then it was time for lunch, so Henrisaurus took the moon he bought at the Dinosaur Store and dipped it in a big pot of melted chocolate.

Henrisaurus shared the chocolate moon with Star and all his friends.

It was yummy.

“What should we buy tomorrow, Henrisaurus?” said Star.

Henrisaurus said, “Let’s buy the sun. It will be good dipped in chocolate.”

They all laughed and clapped their hands.

After eating the yummy chocolate moon, and playing, they were tired, so they sat on a purple couch, and Nanasaurus put the TV on so they could watch Christmas movies and rest.

They talked about tomorrow and how they were going to go back to the Dinosaur store, and then play all together again

-The End –



MEET THE AUTHOR




Simple Homemade Chocolate Sauce

This easy to make (you can get the kids to help you out as well) chocolate sauce can be poured over; fruit, cake, cookies, ice-cream, yogurt, and even the moon, because when it comes to chocolate, the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (250 ml) water
½ cup milk (for extra richness and decadence you can use cream)
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
8 ounces of high-quality chocolate for the best flavor and texture–bittersweet or semisweet– finely chopped

Directions:

Turn stove top to medium heat.

In a saucepan, whisk together: water, milk, sugar, and cocoa powder.

Keep whisking until the mixture comes to a boil.

Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate, stirring until chocolate is all melted.

Put aside for 1 ½ to 2 hours, this will allow the sauce to thicken.

To serve warm, heat on low for a few minutes, or can be served at room temperature, just stir before drizzling.

Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days in a tightly covered container, and rewarmed before serving.

Enjoy!

Comfort Food: Italian Style

Posted on by Selena Robins

Winter is the time for fleece-wear, a roaring fire, page -turning books, and delicious aromas swirling around the kitchen as your comfort food is simmering or baking.

We all have favourite dishes that feel like a hug as we relish each bite; and for me, it’s Italian food.

One of my favourite meals to whip up for a self-care dinner is a simple dish with humble ingredients: Pasta Aglio e Olio (pasta with garlic and oil).

I had some polpette e sugo (meatballs in sauce) leftover from Christmas in the freezer. When I make meatballs, I make a huge batch and freeze them for those days when I need a hug from an Italian staple.

Here’s the recipe for you to try so you too can get your own comfort-food-hug Italian style:

Pasta Aglio e Olio with Polpette

I use homemade pasta, however, you can use whatever type of pasta you have on hand (packaged or homemade), and the same with your sauce–use whatever tomato sauce you normally would use, or no sauce at all, it’s a flexible recipe.

This recipe will serve four. Cut the ingredients in half if making for two.

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic, roasted. You can use raw garlic, if you do, thinly slice 6 cloves
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Kalamata Olive oil (or any other type of Extra Virgin olive oil)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, or less if you don’t like spicy, or eliminate
1 cup finely grated, Romano cheese (this is my preference, but you can use Parmigiano or a combination of both)
1 pound uncooked pasta (your choice)
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Roast the garlic, remove and squeeze out the garlic.

2. Warm up a large pasta bowl.

3. Cook your pasta, according to package directions in a large pot of salted water, al dente. If using fresh pasta, cook only for a few minutes until it’s firm to the bite.

4. Drain and transfer pasta to the warmed pasta bowl.

5. Warm the oil on medium heat in a skillet. Once oil is hot, add the garlic and lower heat to low, stirring the garlic in the oil for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat.

6. Add pasta to the skillet, and toss so that the pasta is coated with the garlic-oil, and sprinkle with salt (to taste).

7. Put pasta back in the bowl, and add pepper flakes, and the grated cheese, and stir well until cheese is combined.

8. Serve with additional grated cheese.

If you’d like to serve the pasta with meatballs, you can find my meatball recipe on my blog. Please click here.

SMILE THROUGH THE TEARS

Posted on by Selena Robins

Like many people who are challenged with grieving the loss of a loved one, the upcoming Christmas season is again emphasizing the loss of my husband in every level of my being.

It’s a daily struggle to navigate life without my beloved. I have learned that even on a day when I feel good, it doesn’t mean that I’ve been cured of my grief, because there is no cure.

Therefore, I have no choice but to find a way to embrace the concept of allowing grief to co-exist with joy, so that even with feeling heartache and pain, I can enjoy moments of joy, laughter, and  . . . smile through the tears.

I could tell you it’s been easy to have grief and joy co-exist with each other, and that it gets better each day, because time heals all wounds, but that would be fiction filled with empty platitudes.

It does not get easier or better with time, however, with time, patience, and a sense of humour, I am finding a balance with handling both as I . . .  smile through the tears.

I am going to share how I am preparing for the Christmas season in the hopes that it will help another person who is struggling with the challenges of pushing through each day of the holiday season.

Something that I personally find helpful; not only to steer my way through any holiday, but also through my daily life is; changing my routine, creating new traditions, releasing any and all idea of what “normal” is, or what it used to be, because there is no normal when it comes to grieving, and at the same time, keeping my cherished husband’s memory and image in my mind and heart as I . . . smile through the tears.

MEMORY FILLED ADVENT PILLOW.

I grew up with the advent calendar tradition for the days leading up to Christmas, and each day I enjoyed a chocolate kiss candy, so I used this idea and added my own twist, creating a new tradition with the Christmas Advent Pillow.

Each day, beginning December 1st, I will pull out a note from the pockets of the pillow that holds a treasured memory of my life with my husband, along with a list of what I am grateful for on that day, as I have also found an attitude of gratitude has helped me handle my grief.

On December 1st I pulled out the first memory and relived that moment in time when my cheeks burned with mortification under my green face (homemade avocado mask), and how my husband’s sense of humour, love and support got me through an embarrassing situation (or what David loved to call them “Lucy moments”) I . . . smiled through the tears.

As I opened the flood gates, remembering all our adventures, my heart and soul once again filled with love and gratitude for the life we had together, and with each memory, I . . . smile through the tears.

I’m still a work in progress and I know I will never nail the concept of having joy co-exist with grief perfectly, or navigate this new life without finding it unbearable at times, but you know what? I’m okay with that.

In the past I have blogged about life with my husband and my “Lucy moments,” and as I re-read them, I . . . smile through the tears.

Here are a few memories if you’d like to read them:

Antioxidant Little Pricks
How Does One Eat A Taco?
Nothing says I love you…Like a box of rice.
Exploding Roast Beef

Always on my mind, forever in my heart, the sunshine in my soul.
I love you, Mr. Rugged

One-Hour for Amazing Thighs

Posted on by Selena Robins

Who says you need to squat, lunge, box jump and twist yourself into a pretzel for amazing thighs?

Not me, that’s for sure.

All you need is a baking pan, root vegetables, olive oil and chicken thighs and one hour of your time.

I know what you’re thinking—that heading is clickbait.

I admit, there is that, but also, chicken thighs are packed with a lot of health benefits which in turn will benefit your own thighs.

A great source of lean protein, and essential nutrients like iron and zinc, boosting your immune system (we all want that these days, right?).

This delicious recipe is easy, fail proof, and clean up is a breeze.

Crispy Succulent Baked Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

3 lbs. chicken thighs, with bone and skin (about 6 to 8 pieces)
4 to 6 potatoes
4 carrots
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 lemon (squeeze the juice out of lemon)
olive oil
Kosher salt (or sea salt)
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 F (260 C)

Line a roasting pan or baking sheet with aluminum foil

Spray the pan with olive oil (or you can use non-stick spray)

After cleansing potatoes and carrots, pat dry with paper towel (this will help keep them crispy) and chop them in large pieces.

Note: You can use any other root vegetable as well.

Line vegetables in pan, and spray with olive oil and sprinkle salt over them

Place the fresh rosemary sprigs on top of the vegetales



Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towel (this will help the thighs crisp up) and then place thighs on top of the vegetables

Lightly brush lemon juice on each thigh, and then lightly spray olive oil over each thigh, season with salt and pepper

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Bake for 45 to 50 minutes (until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 F (74 C).

Remove and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

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There you go, amazing looking thighs and you didn’t have to perform any lunges. 🙂

Enjoy!



Bake Your Best Shot

Posted on by Selena Robins

Take a break from life, the bombardment of 24/7 news and bake a batch or two of Chocolate Chip Bourbon Cookies.

Yes, you read that right. A shot of Bourbon in your cookies is not only out-of-this-world-delicious, but it’s hard to be stressed and sad when you’re eating these cookies.

WARNING: These cookies are addictively moreish.

Put them in a tin and give them as a gift. These cookies freeze well.




Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. hot water

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 1/2 TBSP Bourbon

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups milk chocolate chips (you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips if you’d like, your choice)

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 350F

2.      Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water, set aside.

3.      In a large bowl, add softened butter, white sugar, brown sugar and maple syrup, and Bourbon and cream everything together until mixture is smooth.

Smooth and creamy texture that looks like caramel.

4.      Beat in the eggs, ONE at a time, mix well.

5.      Add the dissolved baking soda and the salt to the batter and mix in well.

6.      In a separate bowl, add: flour and chocolate chips, and mix to evenly distribute the chocolate chips.

7.      Add flour bowl to the wet mixture, and mix all together, but don’t mix for too long or too strong, just enough to incorporate your creamy mixture with the flour and chocolate chips.

Don’t mix too much, just enough to incorporate the dry and wet ingredients.

8.      Set aside for about 1/2 hour (or you can put in fridge for 10 minutes).

9.      Using a tablespoon drop cookies (and flatten just a little bit) onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

10.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are nicely browned.

11.  Leave on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack.

Be a star breadwinner.

Posted on by Selena Robins

When my home is filled with the scent of bread baking in the oven it always brings back nostalgic memories of my childhood.

On Friday’s when I’d come home from school, and before even reaching the front door, the aroma of fresh baked bread filled the air as Friday’s was my mom’s baking day—breads, buns, pies and cookies—she made enough for the week ahead to feed a family of seven.

A slice of delicious love with creamy butter, and homemade jam awaited me for an after school snack.

When I had a day off from school, I would help, and it is at our kitchen table that I learned how to put love into baking and cooking. I made a lot of mistakes when trying it on my own, but my mother taught me that making mistakes is how one learns to make great meals.

As I watched her knead the dough for the breads, I saw how much love she put into each loaf, and how happy it made her when they came out of the oven, all risen and deliciously golden.

She would always make the sign of the cross, and say a silent prayer after she finished kneading the dough.

I followed this routine, as I knew she was giving thanks for the flour, yeast and all the food she was able to prepare.

I told her once that it was such a nice tradition to give thanks while baking.

She told me that it was one of the reasons she prayed while baking, the other reason was that she prayed the dough would rise. 🙂

ITALIAN BREAD RECIPE

Following is my recipe for making bread and buns. I did learn to knead the dough by hand, but thanks to modern technology, a stand mixer does a great job as well, and saves time.

I’m also sharing a tip on how to make your crust golden and crisp and the inside of the bread soft and chewy for a scrumptious slice of carb heaven.

Ingredients:

  • 1 and ¼ c warm water (between 100F & 110F)
  • 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 4 cups flour (You can use any of these flours: 00 or bread flour or all purpose flour)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • spray bottle with water
  • A tray of ice cubes or a oven-proof bowl of water

    Directions:
  • In a small bowl, add: yeast, sugar & water, and stir lighty. Cover with a cloth and let it sit for 10 minutes, or until yeast doubles.
  • Add the yeast into your stand mixer bowl (if not using a stand mixer, add into a large bowl), then slowly add 3 cups of flour and the salt.
  • Using a dough hook on the mixer, mix everything at low speed. Use a spatula to scrape the sides.
  • When all ingredients are incorporated well, mix on medium-low speed for 2 minutes. (If not using a stand mixer, mix with a large wooden spoon for 8 to 10 minutes).
  • Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 1/2 hour.
  • After 1/2 hour, turn mixer to low, and add 1 cup of flour, 1/4 cup at a time, mixing on low until all the flour is incorporated. (If not using a mixer, use your hand to mix the dough well).
  • If the dough is wet and shaggy, add a bit more flour (about 1/4 cup or less) until you get a smooth consistency and it does not stick to the sides of the bowl.
  • Set mixer at medium speed, and mix for 8 minutes. (If you are not using a mixer, then knead the dough by hand for 25 minutes).
  • Once you’ve finished the kneading process, add some olive oil to a bowl, then put the ball of dough into the bowl and ensure dough is all coated with oil.
  • Cover bowl with a tea towel (or you can use plastic wrap) and let the dough rise in a warm (draft-free) area for one hour (should be doubled in size)
  • Preheat your oven to 400F (doing this at this point will ensure your oven is hot enough to bake the bread)
  • Put an oven proof bowl of water at the back of your oven
  • You can either use loaf pans or a baking sheet to bake the bread, whichever you use, line with parchment paper, and after the dough has risen, sprinkle flour on a surface and use this surface with floured hands to shape your bread into an oblong loaf.
  • Put your dough either on the baking sheet or in a loaf pan.
  • Using your spray bottle with water, spritz the dough, cover and let it rise for 40 minutes.
  • After 40 minutes, score the loaf with a sharp knife, with criss cross slashes or diagonal slashes
  • Put the dough in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
  • While bread is baking, spritz the loaf fully with your spray bottle every 10 minutes
  • To check if bread is done after 30 minutes of baking, you can use an instant read thermometer (190F means it’s done), or tap the bottom and it should sound hollow.
  • Once baked, allow the bread to cool on a cooling rack for 15 to 20 minutes.

HOME MADE FRESH BUNS

You can use the same recipe and technique to bake buns.

Bake buns for 15 minutes.

The bread or buns would be great with a steaming bowl of Italian Barley Soup. Click here for recipe.

This blog post is dedicated to my mamma. A beautiful, witty, loving, strong woman who lives in my heart and memories every day of my life.

I’m sure she’s baking a lot of goodness in Heaven.

I love you, my Angel.