Spring Equinox

It seems as if I completed this year's 30-day Blog Challenge and then took off and abandoned blogging altogether. But between my last post—a month ago!—and today, I had quite a lot on my plate...literally and figuratively.

Most notable was our Sonoma-Napa-Cali trip for our third wedding anniversary. It was awesome; the food, wine, and sights were all spectacular!

Because work keeps me busy these days, evenings and weekends have become even more precious—my much-needed time to rest, recharge, and recuperate. I love what I do—it's amazing and unbelievable to see the amount of work that goes into products!—yet I am also keen on maintaining my work-life balance. Hence, there's yoga. And God :)

Spring Equinox, is when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator. A second equinox also occurs in the Fall, in September (Wikipedia). Simply put, today is the first day of springtime! So, Happy Spring, friends! Until my next post :)

*This photo was taken earlier at work right outside my office building. I looked up the gazebo/open dome and saw this magnificent view; I just had to take a pic!

Valrhona Fudge Cakes

Finally got to blog about these at All My Sugar :) Click on the link for the recipe!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This sweet vanilla cupcake topped with a rich, creamy swirl of Valrhona chocolate butter frosting will make your heart swoon and make you fall in love with life itself!

For this, I referenced the recipe in my "Cupcakes a la NYC" post (also at Allmysugar.com). They're inspired by Magnolia Bakery's vanilla-chocolate cupcakes, or even Eleni's—both in New York.

Because I forgot to get some at the grocery earlier, I substituted the melted unsweetened chocolate originally called for with the Valrhona cocoa powder I already had in the pantry. Unfortunately, I didn't measure it out and just kept adding cocoa by the spoonfuls to the frosting, until it tasted just about right. I'd say about five tablespoons, but let your tastebuds be the judge :)

Have a sweet Valentine's Day! With love from NYC :)

Mushroom Stroganoff

Nice and easy: Mushroom Stroganoff recipe by Alton Brown.

Link to recipe: Foodnetwork.com

I just made this and so far, it turned out yummy. I used regular onions instead of the green onions originally called for. Also, I halved the recipe—give or take a few ounces of certain ingredients (i.e. mushrooms, egg noodles).

Two suggested tweaks:

• Add red pepper flakes when heating up the butter (also in the bowl, when serving)
• Add thyme while sautéing the mushrooms

And this completes the 30-day Blog Challenge, woohoo!

Will share my thoughts on this year’s Challenge in another post :)

Happy weekend, everyone!


Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 30

Malt Ball Overload

At Dylan's Candy Bar :) 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 29