Chocolate Antioxidant Bites 🍫

​♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

A quick and delicious chocolate fix is what I am all about right now. This easy and delicious recipe is perfect for when you need a little something to satisfy a craving. The benefits are more fruitful here than store bought chocolate bars and it takes no time to come together. Feel free to change up the combination.

•1/4 cup mix of gogi berries, chopped hazelnuts, shredded coconut and candied ginger

•3/4 cup of organic dark chocolate chips

melt chocolate in a double boiler-a heat proof bowl set over simmering water. It should take about 1-2 minutes. Stir occasionally until melted

on a piece of wax paper make chocolate circles with a spoon-about 16. they should be the size of a quarter

drop a pinch full of the nut and fruit mix on top of the chocolate drops. press them down into the chocolate lightly. let the chocolate bites dry for about 40-60 minutes. place in a refrigerator for faster results.

Enjoy making this recipe and finding your little delights in your everyday. #findyourlittlefriday

Petit Chocolate Cakes🍫

♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

It may be a result of adulthood, but chocolate and are best friends these days. I manage to still sneak fruit into this recipe because my first love, fruity desserts will always hold a place. The cake pan and little cakes are called friands. They originate from Australia and New Zealand. This recipe doesn’t disappoint-I’m also happy to just make these and deliver to your door. They’ve become a staple here!

75g butter

200g dark chocolate buttons

6 egg whites

30g of cocoa

125g almond meal

250g confectioners sugar, sifted

80g plain flour

1 pint of organic fresh raspberries  

Preheat oven to 375*. Grease 12 friand molds.

Melt butter and 100g of chocolate over medium low heat. Lightly whisk egg whites, about 30 seconds. Add melted chocolate and butter, then stir. Add almond meal and confecrioners sugar, stir to combine. Add remaining chocolate, flour, cocoa and mix well. Spoon into moldds, almost to the top. Place two raspberries in each mold. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through. Rest for five minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.

Enjoy finding some time to reconnect with yourself over this holiday weekend and remembering to #findyourlittlefriday ♥️ 

Citrus Cake 🍊

♥️ Find Your Little Friday ♥️

This cake has held a place in my winter baking rotation for the past five years, since Dorie Greenspan’s book ​Baking Chez Moi ​was released. Surprisingly easy to pull off and a show stopper with the toppings. ​I applied my own little modification and decided to add some more of the season's offerings and use blood oranges and pink grapefruits as a garnish. Dorie recommends trying a citrus flavor combo of your choice. You don't need to top the cake with citrus, the syrup recipe that follows works deliciously on its own.  I have found that I loved the look and taste of the additional citrus. 

For the Cake:

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

​1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 large orange

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

For the syrup:

1/2 cup sugar

Juice of 1 orange

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan, dust with flour and tap out the excess. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Put the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl in which you can use a hand mixer. Grate the zest of the orange over the sugar. Squeeze the juice into a measuring cup–you should have about 1/3 cup, but a little more or a tad less won’t throw things off.

Rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant. If you’re using a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment and attach the bowl. Add the butter to the bowl and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each one goes in, then pour in the juice and beat to blend. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. The batter may look a little lumpy and grainy, but that’s fine. Turn the batter out into the cake pan and smooth the top.

Bake the cake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. The top of the cake will be pale, the bottom even paler. As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, unmold it onto a cooling rack, invert it onto another rack and then put the rack over a baking sheet lined with plastic film or foil.

Meanwhile make the syrup: as soon as the cake goes into the oven stir the sugar and orange juice together in a small bowl, and then stir a couple of times while the cake is baking. Don’t worry if the mixture is a little grainy–it will still soak into the cake nicely.

Spoon or brush the syrup over the hot cake, working slowly so that it soaks into the cake. I use only half of the syrup–I like the cake moist but not wet–but you can use more if you want a thoroughly-soaked through cake.

Optional; Citrus Topping-Start this process while the cake is baking

Make the cake the same but do not make the syrup. You will 2-3 oranges/grapefruits. One grapefruit and one blood orange is what I used. You will need to cut off either end of the fruits then trim closely along the sides of the fruit to remove the peel. You will do this a total of 5 times around, creating a hexagon shape. Be sure to stay close to peel and not take too much of the flesh away. Next turn the citrus on its side and cut 1/8 inch thick slice.

In a large surface frying pan bring 1 cup of water and sugar to a boil. Add a cinnamon stick and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the citrus segments and poach in the liquid for another three minutes. Carefully remove the citrus with a slotted spoon and place onto the hot cake. This part is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. Try to make sure there is no space of cake exposed, trim any pieces that hang over the edge. Strain the syrup and pour about half over the citrus. Keep the remaining syrup to add to your coffee or tea.

Allow the cake to cool to room temperature, if you can let the cake set over night. Store at room temperature covered in plastic.

Enjoy this recipe! I hope this encourages you to get baking, anyone in close proximity will thank you for a slice ​of this joyful cake! 

#FindyourlittleFriday ​

Spaghetti Alle Vongole

​♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️

Alright, sometimes mild deprivation in the name of self-care can lead you to place where you need to remember. Remember your pleasure, your balance, your reconnection to yourself and your little moments of delights. For me, a lot of that is recipes, stories, lessons and wisdom-the best is when they can be all rolled into one. I would be remissed if I didn’t get back to sharing more of my own recipes as a way to contribute to, #findyourlittlefriday. Enjoy this recipe that encapsulates all of that for me and then some! 

Serves 4

1 pd of linguini pasta

4 tbsp of unsalted butter

1 yellow onion diced

2 cloves of fresh garlic minced

The juice from one lemon

Splash of dry white wine

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup of fresh parsley rough chopped-Divided

1 pd of fresh little neck clams, rinsed and lightly scrubbed

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Salt a handful for pasta water and to taste for finished dish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt once boiling.  Add pasta, cook for 8 minutes.  You want the pasta to be al dente, still firm in the center when you bite into it. 

While it cooks; melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Add diced onion and sauté for 2 minutes, until the onions start to become translucent.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.  Add lemon juice, white wine, olive oil and red pepper flakes.  Stir, then add half the parsley to combine.  Add the clams and stir once and allow the clams to rest so they can cook.  The clams should begin to open quickly, they only need about 2 minutes to cook.  Discard any clams that don't open.

With tongs, directly grab the pasta and add it to pan of sauce and clams.  Once all pasta is added toss ingredients together until well combined.  Serve in four bowls, top with remaining parsley and grated cheese. Now-prepare to be popular with yourself and anyone who’s tries this dish♥️