You’ll need:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Add butter (make sure it’s room temperature), peanut butter, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a bowl (the bowl of an electric mixer if you have one). Use beaters or mixer to make this mixture nice and creamy. Add the egg and mix it in.

Mix in your flour until smooth. Wrap this dough up and put it into the fridge for at least 2-3 hours. The longer the better!

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease it, and use a ice-cream scoop to form equal sized cookies if you want. Roll the dough in your hand into a nice smooth ball. Place them on your cookie sheet, and use a fork to create a criss-cross pattern by pressing a fork into the dough half way, turn it, and do the same thing 90 degrees that way.

Put the cookies in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. When you take them out, they make feel and look like they’re not fully cooked, but believe me – they are. Makes about 24.

I hope you find these cookies TASTY!

To start, you’ll need some colourful paper and scissors. I cut out my hearts by folding half way through the paper and then using the elementary-school-taught method of cutting half a heart (this magically makes a full heart when you unfold it! Who would have known right?!). You can write a message on the front now or later.

Now you can take some fabric glue (or any kind of glue) and glue on a length of ribbon on the front, leaving some on the edges. Add glue to the back of the folded heart and repeat.

Write a cute little note on the inside and you’re done! Cute little valentines! D’awwwww!

I hope your valentine, friends and/or family loves this little something!

Happy gluing, cutting and drawing!

You’ll need:

• 1 egg white
• 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 3 drops peppermint essence
• 2 drops green food colouring
• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate

Whisk the egg white until frothy. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar and mix well. Add the peppermint essence and the colouring and mix well.

Sprinkle some sugar onto your hands. Roll teaspoon sized amounts of the mixture into small balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Flatten each ball with a fork to form flat discs. Place in the fridge for 1 hour (or in the freezer if you’re impatient like me) until firm.

Break the chocolate into pieces and put them in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl on a pan of simmering water. When the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Allow to cool a little.

Dip each candy into the chocolate until half covered. Place candies on the parchment to set. Keep in the fridge until needed!

I hope this recipe satisfies your sweet tooth – or someone else’s!

Also I have reached 100 000 views on my blog so I would like to make a big THANK YOU to every person out there! I couldn’t be doing this without all your great responses! So again, thank you!

You’ll need:

• 2 1/2 cups OO flour (or just all-purpose)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/4 water
• Pinch of salt

On a clean dry work surface, make a mountain with the flour. Create a well in the flour big enough to fit the eggs. Add your eggs and olive oil and then gently whisk them together.

Gradually begin to make little circles from the edges to slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs with a fork. Once the mixture begins to look like pancake batter, add the water and salt. Continue to mix more flour in until it again looks like batter. Now you can fold in the flour.

Knead your dough for 8-10 minutes until it is solid and smooth. During this process, you can add more flour if your dough is too sticky or more water if it is too dry. When you’re done kneading, wrap your dough in plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.

When you unwrap your dough,  it should feel extra elastic, and you should see a bit of colour change. Cut your dough into 2 or 3 pieces to work with.

Use a pasta crank or a rolling pin to flatten out your dough thin. Fold your dough in half twice, and you can cut your pasta into whatever width you like. Gently separate the pasta with your hands. At this point, you can wrap it up and put it in the freezer to use another day, or you can boil up the water, add some salt, and toss the fresh pasta in for 1-2 minutes – until it floats to the top. Because it has not been dried, this pasta will cook  a lot faster!

There you have it! Add your favourite sauce and serve. This was the second or third time I’ve made this recipe and I absolutely love it! There’s nothing like fresh homemade pasta!

You’ll need:

• 1/2 cup sea salt
• 2 tbs grape seed or other light oil
• 1-2 tsp aloe vera gel
• 8 drops essential oil
• food colouring (optional

Combine the sea salt, oil and aloe vera gel. Add your essential oil and then food colouring. Mix well. Store in an air tight container.

Let me know if you liked the video! Have fun!

I personally, do not have a dog. It’s odd that I would decide to make the dog treats, but I know a lot of dogs who would love them! I tried giving one to my cat, but, obviously, that didn’t end up going very well.

The recipe is 4 ingredients and is super easy so I hope you give a try.

You’ll need:

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375′F.

In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 18-20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container.

Make sure you keep an eye on them, because they tend to burn easily.

I hope your dog friend enjoys these tasty treats. You could eat them too of course, but I doubt you would want to…

I ended up tasting mine because you know what they say – “Always taste your food before you serve it!”. They weren’t bad, but are definitely something I wouldn’t like to eat on a daily basis.

I’ve been having a crazy obsession with the show Iron Chef America lately, so to sum this all up I will say, allez cuisine!

One thing different from the regular tutorials out there is that I doubled up the fabric on my scarves. First I did this because I was using a very thin polyester material, but then I continued using it even though I had a t-shirt material. I found that it gave the scarf a fullness and made it a lot thicker!

Step 1

First begin with a rectangular piece of material (40 inches x 70 inches).

Fold it over lengthwise, so the right sides are facing each other, and then sew along the lengthwise opening.

Step 2

Next, reach one arm all the way through the tube at the seam, and grab a hold of the end. Pull the end under and back through the tube so that it comes to math the end at the top. I know this may sound a bit confusing, so I have a video here showing you how to do it!

Step 3

Now once you have matched up the sides, and you have another tube, sew it, leaving an opening about 3 inches before you finish.

Step 4

Using the opening, turn the scarf right side out. Then use a whip stitch to  close that opening. Then, VOILA! Finished!

I hope this tutorial gives you a great present and an awesome new accessory (for way less!).

For the cupcakes you’ll need:

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 cup eggnog
• ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar

For the frosting you’ll need:

• 20 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2½ tbsp. eggnog

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line your cupcake pans with paper liners and the in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; whisk to combine.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggnog, vegetable oil, vinegar, and sugar.  Beat on medium-low speed until well blended.  Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling the cups 2/3 full.  Bake 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 20-30 seconds.  Add in the powdered sugar, salt and nutmeg, and mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the eggnog and  whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 minutes.  With the mixer on medium-low speed, blend in the rum.

Fill a pastry bag (or not) with the frosting and decorate the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon or grated nutmeg, and garnish with cinnamon sticks!

This is a great recipe! Thanks to Annie Eats for it!

By the way, don’t you love it when this happens? You cook your cupcakes and the toothpick comes out perfectly clean? I was incredibly happy about it!Happy cooking and holidays!

The big question – what is quinoa? Well, although it’s not a common item in most kitchens today, quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. You can buy it in your local health food stores, and at some grocery stores throughout the year.

When explaining it to Tessa, I said it was a mix between rice and couscous.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

You’ll need:

• 3/4 cup quinoa (I used regular, but black looks and tastes very nice too)
• 1 cup fresh pomegranate arils/seeds
• One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup diced, seeded English cucumber
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Set the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly under cool running water.  Place in a medium saucepan with 1-1/2 cups of cold water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until grains are tender, most of the water has been absorbed, and the quinoa has sent out little white curlicue tendrils, about 15 to 20 minutes, give or take.  Drain any remaining water and set in a wide, shallow bowl to cool completely.

Stir in the pomegranate seeds, black beans, cucumber, and avocado.  In a medium bowl, whisk the molasses, vinegar, and olive oil, and season well with salt and pepper.  Scrape over the salad and stir well to coat evenly.  Sprinkle generously with additional salt to taste.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate and bring to room temperature before serving.  May be made two or three days ahead.  (For best results, add the avocado just before serving.)

Thank you to www.5secondrule.typepad.com for the delicious recipe!

And by the way, check out this freakishly large difference between the avocado pits! We couldn’t believe it!

Due to its tropical climate, juice is a mainstay in Haiti. Juices from many fruits are commonly made and can be found everywhere. Guava juice, grapefruit juice, mango juice, along with the juices of many citrus fruits (oranges, granadilla, passion fruit etc.). To me, mango sounded the best.

You’ll need:

•  4 cups water
• 3 cups orange juice
• 2 mangoes
• 1 cup sugar

Boil the sugar and water together until sugar is dissolved; let mixture cool. Scoop out the mango flesh and combine with orange juice in a blender. Add the sugar water with puree and continue to blend.

Pour into a pitcher filled with ice cubes and serve. Serves 8.

There you go! I know this isn’t the most extravagant recipe I’ve ever posted, but it is a perfect drink for the morning and is very refreshing.

See you next post.