I once knew a couple who were very much in love. They dated for 5 years and didn’t have much money, so he proposed to her with a 1-carrot diamond ring! No, that is not a typo, he found the biggest carrot and carved it into a ring. To her, that ring was more meaningful than a real diamond ring and she proudly wore it until it wasn’t fresh anymore. As demonstrated, you can do more with carrots than just eat them.
I was a thief. The first time was remarkably easy, then came a second, third time, and then it became a pattern. The object of my desire was always the same, the coveted “Coffee Crisp” candy bar.
Gung Hei Fat Choy! I love Chinese New Year! Lots of eating with family, friends, lucky money, special treats, and new clothes (on the first day of the New Year you should wear new clothes to give yourself a fresh start). But I also love that Chinese New Year for me is where I get to have a “do over”. If there were any resolutions made on Jan 1 that haven’t started, then I can try again. And, to all of you who also had good intentions to ie. give up sugar, start a new workout, read more, floss every day, and/or eat more superfoods, well, don’t be discouraged as you can try again in the Lunar New Year….even if you aren’t Chinese!
My Chinese New Year recipe is quite unconventional, in that the ingredients aren’t your standard New Year’s fare. Because, frankly, most of the “special” dishes eaten at this time are not delicious to my North American palate, such as dried oysters, black moss (looks like a clump of black hair), jai (vegetarian gluten dish). Doesn’t sound too appetizing, does it? But I hope this Gung Hei Fat Prawns does! And, it’s loaded with superfoods.
It wasn’t love at first sight, not even second sight. My “date” was quite verbose, but I was seduced by his vulnerability, the ease with which he stripped his….heart bare (clothes stayed on). Once I fell into his grasp, I fell hard for him. My husband knew of this love affair, and was fine with it because the object of my affection is a book, The Goldfinch. I devoured it for hours at a time, good thing I don’t have kids, otherwise I would surely have Child Services knocking on my door. I was swept away by the raw beauty of Donna Tartt’s writing, and how the main character wooed me into his inner life. The story unwound itself page by page and wrapped itself around me in sensurround. The Goldfinch in the title of the book refers to an actual painting that became very dear to the main character, but please go read it for yourself if you haven’t already.
I wanted to make an edible Valentine to The Goldfinch, and thought something lemony would be fitting. I decided to create golden cupcakes that are tart and sweet, which is one of the book’s messages, that is – even though your life may be sour, sweetness can still be found. Because the book is so substantial in content and length I wanted my cupcakes to be dense and substantial, almost like a pound cake quality. For the love of The Goldfinch, below is my Valentine cupcake recipe.
kake2kale 