Chocolate & Hazelnut Dessert: What's Not To Love?!

Two of my favorite ingredients - chocolate and hazelnuts!

Ohhh yeahhh.

The recipe is not mine, so I can't share it with you.

(It's by raw- food chef, Matthew Kenney.)

These are the ingredients it called for.

Here are the first ingredients I used, along with my food-processor.

Since everything was 'liquid', I'll use my BlendTec Blender the next time.

I love that blender!

Here are some stats:

Commercial-quality, 1,560-watt, 3 horse-power motor !!

Pre-programmed blending cycles, digital touch-pad controls,

auto shut-off. And much more -

Which I'm too lazy to type.

These are the next ingredients on the list.

I added them to the others - and gave them a little spin too.

Then I chopped-up some hazelnuts.

It became boring, so I poured them into my BlendTec and 'pulsed' a few times.

I placed them in a bowl and folded them into the chocolate.

Almost ready!

I placed some in two pie-tins,

and popped them into the fridge for 15 minutes.

(There was a lot left over. No complaints here!)

The end result of Matthew's were little squares, like Brownies.

But I wanted to put it in those cute little, foil candy-cups -

So I decided not to cut it after all.

I rolled them into little balls instead -

And stuck a hazelnut on the top of each one.

TA DAAA!!!!

But then there's always this.

And this.

And even more of this.

But then - there's this!!

But, no matter what anyone says...

The best part is still - THIS!!

"I polished off the last of the Halloween candy today.

I had every intention of putting the leftover in the freezer,

but my husband said, "Why? You'll just break a tooth,

or buy a chain saw."

- Erma Bombeck

Why hot water?

Celebrating Hot Water And Cool Cups -- Part One

Celebrating Hot Water And Cool Cups -- Part Two

There are SO many things to love!

I love "Followers" and comments too!

(Thank you!)

Signing off for now,

gabriele

Happy Halloween: From My Family To Yours

My, now seven year old, granddaughter's first Halloween.

Halloween was so easy, when these photographs were taken.

A little bit of paint and you called it a day.

This is my oldest son as Gene Simmons, of "Kiss".

The costumes were simple and fun.

Here is my youngest son as a clown.

My youngest daughter, as "Pippi Longstocking".

Complete with a stuffed monkey.

(As in 'toy'. Don't sick PETA on me!)

My youngest son as "Dolly Parton".

(I'm sure his back hurt at the end of the night.)

My oldest daughter as a gypsy, my youngest daughter as a ghost,

and my oldest son as...

Your guess is as good as mine.

Whatever he was, it went over big in the neighborhood -

He came back with two bags of candy!

Which I rifled through, as I did everyone's, as soon as they went to bed -

helping myself to as much chocolate as humanly possible.

As they got older, they knew that the Halloween candy-bags must be hidden from Mom,

if there was to be any left for them, in the morning!

(Other than the sour, hard candies and Tootsy Rolls.)

Even I would get dressed for the occasion.

I was the Bride of Frankenstein for many years, just

the outfit would change. The hair and make-up stayed the same.

Brushing-out my hair afterwards, was quite the adventure.

Painful doesn't even begin to cover it.

Then, I decided I'd be something else one year -

And Dolly came to town again!

I generously padded my front...

My rear and my hips.

(Dolly would be proud.)

Here is my oldest daughter, the gypsy, again.

And this is her, now thirteen year old daughter, when she was little.

Wearing a fairy costume, that her mom made for her!

Such a good mom!

And here is the same little cutie-pie.

(I want to reach in there and poke her little tummy!:)

And here is her, now seventeen year old daughter,

with the same little one, her sister.

(Making a very interesting face. Was it something I said?)

My oldest granddaughter (above) used to love "The Count"!

I bet she still does.

(This one's for you, Sweetie.)

These days, the costumes are fancy.

Very fancy.

Very, very fancy!

But, even now, home-made is still good enough!

This is my, now six year old, grandson.

Have a safe and fun Halloween, everyone!!

There are SO many things to love!

I love "Followers" and comments too!

(Thank you!)

Signing off for now,

gabriele

Wheatgrass: So Good For You, But Tastes Like Cr**!

That's just my humble opinion. And my taste-buds.

To those of you that scoff at my green-smoothies,

(you know who you are, Mary and Luny:).

You should taste this stuff!

Having said that, some people don't mind the taste.

Because it's so incredibly healthy, I chug-a-lug some every day.

It's supposedly wonderful for pets too.

I buy it from my local market. It's apparently not that difficult to grow it yourself,

but I don't have the room, or the patience.

Usually people hold the top of the grass and cut the bottom with a knife.

But knives freak me out!

So I use my trusted kitchen scissors. And feel safer for it.

(Yeah, yeah - I know I'm a wuss!)

I cut it all and stick it in two freezer-bags. Then it goes into the refrigerator.

I take a handful and give it a little rinse.

This is my juicer. I bought it years ago. Unfortunately, the price has gone up.

It's a "Wheateena Marvel Red Label Wheatgrass Juicer".

Available on Amazon.com, of all places. Remember when they only sold books?

If I can't find an obscure item anywhere, I can usually find it there.

Now I go there first.

I stick some wheatgrass in the chute, with the pointy-tips down.

And let the juicer do its thing.

Look how it grinds every bit of juice, out of those blades of grass!

I pour the juice from the bowl, into the glass, so that I don't waste any.

That thing looks like something the cat hacked-up!

(I bet I made wheatgrass sound even more appealing to you now.)

Here it is, my two ounces of...

Let's just say, "healthy stuff".

After I've emptied the glass of every drop, I chase it down with this....

A big ol' honkin' slice of raw, Chocolate-Raspberry Cake!!

Just kidding!

(I wait a few minutes.)

If any of you are interested in learning more about this, 'healthy stuff',

I highly recommend this book by Ann Wigmore:

"The Wheatgrass Book".

I love all things "Ann Wigmore"!! (OK, maybe not the hairdo.)

If I had the time, I would love, love, love to go to either one of these places!!

"The Ann Wigmore Foundation Retreat" in New Mexico.

Or the "Ann Wigmore Natural Health Institute" in Puerto Rico.

Healthy eating and gorgeous surroundings - what's not to love?!!

I've used this quote by Ann Wigmore before, but I think it it fits this post as well.

"Think of nourishing the body, rather than eating."

I hope you all enjoy the 'healthy stuff'!!

There are SO many things to love!

I love "Followers" and comments too!

(Thank you!)

Signing off for now,

gabriele