Holy Dee-Lish, Batman!

Everyone has to stop what they're doing! I've got another recipe that has to be made right now! They are crazy-amazing, liquid-hot chocolate magma sin cakes, and wowwie, are they worth making. I made these bad boys at ten o'clock at night, and it only took 10 minutes to make, 15 minutes to bake. While baking, just whip up some homemade whipped cream to go with, and you've got a meal!

This recipe comes courtesy of Brandielle posted on The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients

• 4 pieces (squares) of Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 whole Eggs
• 2 whole Egg Yolks
• 6 tablespoons Flour
• 2 cups Heavy Cream to make whipped cream
• 2 tablespoons Granulated Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Spray four custard cups with non-stick cooking spray and place on a cookie sheet.
3. Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about one minute, or until butter is melted. Whisk until the chocolate is also melted.
4. Stir in powdered sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and yolks. Stir in flour.
5. Divide between cups.
6. Bake 13-14 minutes until sides are firm and center is soft. Let stand a couple minutes so as not to burn your tongue off.
7. Combine cream and granulated sugar, whip until stiff. Huh, huh, I said stiff.
8. Invert cakes on pretty little dessert plates and top with the whipped cream.
9. Die from ecstasy.

Sac of Sic

Having never been on a whale watch before, I was hyper-excited. I was going to be able to see the most magnificent creatures in the ocean, all within yards of my boat, AND in the wild. I was psyched!

Nukeboy and I decided to nestle ourselves inside the cabin at the tables in order to stay warm. It was expected to be in the upper thirties out on the water. Our windows opened up, so we figured we'd still be able to get some fresh air and great shots of the whales. Then, my eyes came upon these:

Obviously, there would be some motion sickness bags on the boat. We were going out 17 miles from the coast into the Gulf of Maine, over swells and swells of ocean. There were bound to be some green faces. But I had my Dramamine. I was rockin' like Dokken.

I more closely examined the Sic-Sacs to try and figure out what I was staring at. Are those elves?

Why yes, I do believe they are little Elves of Regurgitation. Look at this little guy; frown on his face. He looks very unhappy. I think he better rip open a Sic-Sac.

Now that's the ticket!  Smile on your face with a full Sic-Sac.  All better now.

So why is it when I filled up three, yes count them, three Sic-Sacs, I still felt like death inside with no happy little elf smile on  my face, praying that a whale would leap up and swallow me whole in order to end this madness?  Are those the shakes?  Why yes, they are!  Uncontrollable shakes and shimmies since I vomited all the contents of breakfast, dinner last night, and the lobster from two days ago, not to mention the strained peas from 1975.  Oh God, I swear with all that is in me, there's nothing left!

Nothing left but a few memories of blurred whale sightings, the bottom of a Sic-Sac, and the knowledge that I will never get on a whale boat again.

Yankee Doodle Dandy,

-TYG

Meatloaf Sandwiches and Awesome Friends

My very, very, very good friend (and maid of honor) and I met up for food last night while she was in town for work. (To protect the innocent, this BFF of mine will be known as the LG Network.  LG for short.) There's nothing better to me than good food, a great friend, and a warm summer evening in Boston. Boston really is a beautiful city, and when the tide is up and there's a warm breeze moving through, it's even more delectable.

After a sinful meatloaf sandwich and a cup of chowdah, LG and I strolled Congress Street and walked along the harbor solving our problems, our co-workers problems, and the world's, while we were at it.  Life makes so much sense at twilight.

Then, we came upon her hotel and saw this:

This:

And this:

Never mind the fact there was a marble bathroom larger than my kitchen and a bed that went on for days covered in 800 count sheets.  Though, it was really comfortable.  What really impressed me was the 180 degree view from her 12th floor, corner, cityside room.

I really do love this town...especially at twilight.

Yankee Doodle Dandy,

-TYG

Vacation...at last!

Well, after a 10-hour day on the road, we finally made it to our destination: Acadia! That silhouette is the NukeBoy at low tide outside our hotel in Bar Harbor. We eased our way into town, having lunch in Kennebunkport then deciding to take Route 1 all the way downeast. It was slower, but well worth the sights. After one night on the cheap floor, we've upgraded to oceanfront, which I'm hoping, will be well worth it. No more parking lot view for us po' folk!

Today? No idea what we're going to do! But it's not work! We'll probably explore the town, maybe hit a trail, maybe do a Windjammer tour. Who knows? That's the beauty of VACATION!

See you on the flip side!

Yankee Doodle Dandy,

-TYG

Bouldahs

I found it in a patch of Poison Ivy in our woods.

We dragged it out,

put it on piano rollers,

then started rolling...

...all the way up the block.

Look at my Monkey Man go.

See, I helped. There's my shadow taking the picture.

Exhausting work, huh?

Don't you like your new home? Are you too good for your home? Go home bouldah!

Stone wall...a thing of beauty.

Yankee Doodle Dandy,

-TYG

Antiquing

Another beautiful day in New England had me and Nukeboy out and about. We decided to take a Sunday drive up to Greenville and check out the antique store up yonder way. It's in this old factory building next to a river coming out of, wouldn't you know it, Mill Pond.

It's disturbing seeing toys I played with at antique stores. They had a whole slew of Fischer Price peeps. These were one of my favorite things to play with. I loved Angry Boy. I would try to scrape his freckles off.

Then I found this.  It was labeled a "Hair Processor."

How five 200-watt light bulbs would make your hair gorgeous is beyond me.  It looks like a prop from Beetle Juice.

They actually had a grindstone. I have never seen a grindstone in person. I feel more complete as a human to have been able to behold such an item and then to share it with you.

I seriously contemplated this item.  It was labeled a "rug beater." I could find more intriguing ways to use this. Especially when Nukeboy crosses that line of annoyancy and sends me over the edge. I'm sure his kids would be the same way. Just thinking about the future...

...and then I saw this. Much more effective. All good households and housewives need maces.

I did, however, splurge on these two items.  The first was a pair of silver lamé fashion gloves.  Why not?  No idea what I'd use them for, but I fell into that "it's on sale" category and just had to have them.

The second item was this amethyst choker.  See, the gloves are good for something. I can be a hand fashion model and show pretty jewelry, like on HSN.

It's made of meshed metal and lined with stones. Fake, of course. On sale, a given. Plus, it looks like I have a cat collar on, which is an added bonus.  See how it accents my silver lamé fashion gloves.

You can't hit an antique store without seeing Coke products.

These freaked me out, not only because they were still filled with that not-so-carbonated-anymore nectar of the gods, but two of the bottles were anniversary items from old local supermarkets.

Nancy, are you recalling these? Any reason why you didn't buy a crap load of these to store in your basement when you worked there for the future hope of making a million dollars on 25-year-old bottles of Coke now?

You apparently had a second chance when the take-over happened...

With all that Coke swimming around our heads, we were in the market for something cold to drink. So we wrapped up our shopping excursion and headed toward another Coke product: the A&W Restaurant.

They will actually come out to your car and serve you, old school, but without the skates. Besides, someone would break their leg in that parking lot thanks to our lovely, icy winters and the havoc that salt wreaks on tar. A&W girls could get lost for days in those pot holes. That would be a tragedy. Though, it could make for a funny sitcom.  Each week an A&W girl would get lost in a different Rhode Island pot hole sending them to another time and place in our blessed history, or future, for that matter.

Moving on, we opted for wieners "all the way," chili cheese fries, and root beer floats. Soft serve vanilla ice cream has to be the reason why we are all on this planet. I have to find a soft serve machine to keep in my kitchen. Please check eBay for me, guys.

Oh, and Steven, I'm not really into Coke paraphernalia, so you better get your butt over to our apartment and pick up your beautiful parting-gifts, and thank you for playing.

Yankee Doodle Dandy,

–TYG

What Am I?

Take a gander. Got a clue as to what it is?



Obviously, a microscopic something-or-other.



I expect some creative comments!
– TYG