Millions of Peaches

This time of year, peaches are absolutely perfect. Sweet, colorful and juicy. And plentiful.

A dear friend who owns a farm always brings boxes upon boxes of peaches to church to give away before they spoil, and I excitedly grab them up to make pies, muffins, cobblers, and these cupcakes.

They are heavenly. Divine. Inspired.

And the frosting--brown sugar cream cheese frosting--yes, you heard that right--the frosting takes it to a different level of delicious.

They're not difficult to make. Find the recipe here and follow it to the letter. If you like cupcakes at all, these won't disappoint you. Until they're gone.

Bits of happy

I'm making a habit of carefully noting the small things that are really beautiful, fun and lovely about life. The silliest things can bring me a lot of happiness. Why not enjoy it and share it with you? Why not, I tell you!

Here they are. This week's happy little things:

Making my own bubble tea. Note the bright happy colors of the cooked boba. Just bubble tea in general really, but making my own boba is especially satisfying.

This impressively cool chandelier made from medicine bottles hanging in a San Francisco store window.

Frozen yogurt dates with biological sisters and sisters-at-heart.

Walks through the country. Also the color green.

Food art at In-N-Out. I know this is funny, but really, it just makes me smile.

Mochi from Trader Joe's. They're so pretty and so cool and refreshing. You can't not be happy about that.

I just noticed that many of the things on this list involve food. Such a simple and universal pleasure, no?

Many happy returns,

Chelsea

Live every week like it's shark week.

This is our favorite time of year. Shark week. It's the week when we huddle around the television in rapt attention, poring over every detail as the Discovery Channel unfolds the mysteries of the great white, the mako, the tiger shark, the hammerhead, and their more obscure cousins.

We have a collective obsession with these majestic and terrifying creatures. They frighten and fascinate us.

So, in honor of shark week, we had a shark party. And watched Jaws. And ate these cupcakes:

We call them "Blood in the Water" cupcakes because of the surprise strawberry jam centers. Blue vanilla cake, blue buttercream, fondant shark fins. Heh. Gruesome, yes. Artificially-colored, yes. But fun.

And in light of this week's festivities, a short public service announcement:

We have several guidelines for ocean safety--developed over a lifetime of beach-going, surfing, paddling, boating, swimming--which can help all you beach-goers avoid any unwanted marine life interactions.

• No bleeding in the water. Obviously. 
• No touching. Do not touch your friends while swimming in the water. Especially if you are trying to be conscious of sharks, your friends will react in an unsavory manner. Just don't do it, no matter how funny you think it will be.
• Camouflage.  Avoid wearing red, yellow, and anything shiny. These colors excite sharks. Instead, wear ocean colors to blend in with your marine surroundings. 
• Turn 360 degrees at regular intervals. And don't just turn: look. Being aware of your surroundings could give you more time to reach shore safely should an unfriendly beast appear. 
• Silhouettes are not your friends. If you see a dark silhouette in the distance under water, swim away from it. NOT toward it. 

Trust us... we are experts. Remember these things, and live longer. Sharks will show you no mercy.

Swim away,

Brandie and Chelsea

Experimental cookies and a delicious giveaways

Bananas and chocolate are a perfect pair. Indeed, even the most hard-hearted person melts a little bit at the taste of a chocolate-dipped frozen banana or a slice of fresh-from the oven banana bread with a cup of hot chocolate. And you know that there has got to be a reason that banana split sundaes are so famous.

So, logically, adding a mashed banana to a batch of chocolate chip cookies is the perfect way to jazz up an old favorite. One day we found ourselves with an over-ripe banana that we didn't want to waste, and banana chocolate chip cookies were born.

They're warm, gooey and perfectly sweet. Why didn't we think of this before?

We've experimented a lot with these cookies so far, adding oatmeal for a heartier cookie, adding cinnamon or more banana for a heightened banana-bread-esque taste. The last time we made these, we chopped up chocolate bars instead of using chips. They're really delicious in any variation.

Make these cookies yourself by following our recipe below (or experiment with your own chocolate chip cookie recipe).

And as our last (and regretfully belated) food-month giveaway, WIN a dozen fresh-baked handfuls of experimental perfection. Just comment on this post (tell us about a cooking experiment gone right or wrong) for a chance to win!

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar                                                                 

¾ cup granulated sugar

1-2 mashed ripe bananas

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 ¼ cup flour

1 cup quick oats (optional)

1 or 1 ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

---

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars till fluffy. Add banana, eggs and vanilla; beat till smooth.  Add flour, salt, baking soda and mix thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips and oats.  Drop batter in rounded spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

The first time I heard about these milkshakes, they were featured on a Travel Channel foods show. The description floored me. Could there really be such a thing? Toasted marshmallows are hot. Milkshakes are frozen. Intrigued by the contradiction, I determined instantly to make my own version. Brandie wasn’t so sure. The thought of sipping marshmallows through a straw, frozen, seemed too wrong. But I think I convinced her with this recipe.  Give it a try! You won’t be disappointed.

—-

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes

Like the ones from The Stand in NYC

(recipe adapted from this one at Gourmet.com)

One half gallon of high-quality vanilla bean ice cream (you may use more or less than a half gallon)

20 jumbo marshmallows plus more for garnish

One half cup of milk (more or less depending on desired consistency… I like mine super-thick, so I might use a little less)

Whipped cream

Seriously, that’s it!

—-

Toast the marshmallows. You can do this the old-school (and better) way, over an open fire. Or you can toast them in the oven on the broiler setting. Make them a deep golden brown. The toastier they are, the more potent the flavor (but don’t burn them).

Immediately blend the hot, toasted marshmallows in the blender till smooth. Whip them with about half the milk.

Add the vanilla ice cream and whip till blended.

Pour into glasses and garnish with whipped cream and a toasted marshmallow or two on top.

Sip slowly and enjoy!

Congratulations, chocolate winners!

Congratulations to Terriann, Charity, and The Rambler! You have each won a dozen hand-made chocolate truffles, the perfect remedy to your deepest chocolate cravings. We’ll deliver them all boxed up for you, something fun like the handmade package pictured below. Happy, happy food month everyone, and thanks for your fun “favorite food” entries. We were drooling over all of them. :)

Keep checking back for more foodie fun, and possibly another delicious giveaway!

Love,

Chelsea and Brandie

The Great Chocolate Giveaway

Food. It’s constantly on our minds. A delicious meal or dessert can bring friends together, make us feel comforted, happy, content. It sustains our physical lives, marks our celebrations, sets day apart from day. If you’re a friend of mine, you know that my Facebook status is often an ode to some meal or dessert that captured my heart. Yes, for me, food is a passion.

Thus, we have christened February as “Food Month” here on Words and Whimsy. We’ll share recipes, photos, cooking tips and a little of the passion that drives us to that perfect piece of pie, amazing ethnic meal, or delectable chocolate dessert time and time again.

To kick off the celebration, we’re giving away a dozen rich, hand-dipped chocolate truffles. These truffles are infamous in our circle of friends and family. We’ve given them to our loved ones, used them as bribes, even sold them as a fund raiser for a mission trip to India. They are addictive in the best way.

So comment on this blog post during this next week. Just tell us what the best thing is that you’ve ever eaten, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win!

If you love chocolate, you will enjoy these truffles like a day of warm sunshine in the middle of winter. If you don’t love chocolate… well then, give them to someone who does. Valentine’s Day is coming up, and someone you love would surely appreciate a gift of delicious handmade chocolates.

Happy Food Month!

--Chelsea

P.S. –Thanks to Val for her inspiration and encouragement. 

P.P.S—To keep up with our Food Month giveaways and awesome recipes, be sure to follow us on Bloglovin’ by clicking on the lovely link on the left of this page, artwork courtesy of Danny Roberts.

Chocolate explosions are the best kind. (Happy New Year!)

2011 began with chaos, chocolate and cleaning. It was intended to be a relaxing, low-key evening but somehow went terribly awry at the last minute.

We began by cooking a leisurely Italian meal complete with pesto pasta, Roman chicken, cheesy-walnut-pesto bread, and sparkling pomegranate juice. Delicious.

We then watched a movie—the best movie of 2010, Inception—to close out the year. By 11:34 we had finished the movie and began a lively discussion of its themes, the ending and what we loved about it (everything).

We had planned to toast the New Year with ridiculously-thick chocolate milk shakes, but now the time was running short. By the time I (Chelsea, always thinking of chocolate) remembered our plan, it was 11:53. Seven minutes till 2011. “We can do this!” I assured the others. Brandie and I got out the blender, ice cream, chocolate syrup, etc. We blended away busily while my sister kept count in the living room.

“3 minutes to go!” she would yell, causing more bustle in the kitchen. The blender stopped working, and I was basically whipping the ice cream by hand, still inside the blender, with a spoon.  I spooned some out for my sister’s glass, and she ran to the living room with a whipped-cream-topped frothy treat.

“35 seconds till midnight!” she cried.

I picked up the blender to pour the rest into two glasses when the blender’s bottom completely fell out, causing a minor explosion of chocolate milkshake. There was chocolate everywhere, up and down the kitchen cabinets, on the floor, on my forehead. Brandie and I were laughing hysterically and trying frantically to save some of the precious elixir as it flowed onto the floor.

Our hands full of melting ice cream, we tracked chocolate footprints into the living room as Felicia counted down “3-2-1- Happy New Year!” and we toasted with those darn milkshakes.

We are tempted to think, Dear Lord, this year began with an explosion and a sticky mess to clean! This is a terrible indication of how this year is shaping up.

But then, explosions are kind of exciting. Certainly laughable when they’re chocolatey.  And we are not opposed to our lives being flooded with sweetness. Here’s to a happy 2011 and chocolate for all!