It's All Hip Hop: 05.2011

29.5.11

a day off.

some sun for my sad plants: " I'm trying to keep you happy sweet ones. "

...while reading the hunger games

music. peace. inspiration...

... oh but where's the motivation?

and again... thank you friends. Thank you Noelle, Thank you Dee. Thank you thank you thank you.

28.5.11

  I know it's not forever, but this temporary stay is having such a calming effect on my soul... the soul thing is longterm I'm hoping. Regaining peace and contentment within myself and the world around me. Letting myself breath again and thanking God everyday of how grateful I am and how lucky I should feel to have so much Love around me. Friends, family; they go hand in hand really. Your closest friends are your family... however we have to admit it's not always the other way around. ;)
Thank you
   for this day,
   this love,
   this life,

   and to all the people, who make it happen.


whatever "it" is.

love,
jro

16.5.11

I love my ladies.

What a day in Santa Barbara. Beautiful, relaxing, an easy day. And a little shopping never hurt anyone...

it's said so much but how it is oh so true ... LIVE , LAUGH , LOVE , and Be Happy.

15.5.11

strawberry rhubarb pie. omg...

I have never messed around or been interested in rhubarb because I was always turned off by the celery appearance. and please don't hate on me for this, but I have never cared for celery. It's the strings. It's weird. Anyway, I had a request for strawberry rhubarb and decided to give it a shot. I went to the farmer's market and picked up some delightfully sweet strawberry's and about a pound and a half of these giant rhubarb sticks... after a beautiful Saturday afternoon of baking, I made one of my new favorite pies! I had to use a crisp like topping because I used left-over dough and only had enough for the bottom.

slice 3 cups worth of rhubarb. (1/2 inch or so)

4 cups of strawberries. Large slices or just cut in half.

I used what little dough was left and made little strips across the top then filled in the blanks with the crumble.
CRUMBLE:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. oats
1/4 or 1/3 c. brown sugar (depends if you want more of that sugar crunch)
a dash of cinnamon
4 T. chilled butter (cut into small pieces and cut into dry ingredients to make it crumbly)

INSIDE THE PIE...
3 c. of rhubarb
4 c. of strawberries (if they are large strawberries I would suggest doing 3 cups)
3 T. cornstarch
3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 T. unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees f.
Combine all dry ingredients. Take about 2 T. from the mix and sprinkle over the bottom layer of pie crust. Now take the strawberries and rhubarb and lightly toss in the mixture. Make sure it is all coated; then pour the filling in the pie shell/dish. Top with more dough, or crumble topping... or both!
bake for 35 minutes.
tip: juice can tend to rise up and over the pie onto the bottom of your oven so I suggest places a baking sheet or stone underneath the pie to catch spills.

If you let the pie sit and cool like you are supposed to you will not have to much excess juice. My neices could not wait so we had to break the rules and dig in. Still delicious though.

baker baller. holla.

12.5.11

chocolate dipped creme filled cupcakes...

if heaven had a flavor...

use chocolate cake recipe for cupcakes,

cream filling:
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1/4 c. shortening
1 1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
1 pinch-o-salt
3 T. milk
1 t. vanilla extract,

whipped topping:
about 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar (or to taste)
1 t. vanilla extract

chocolate topping:
2 c. semi-sweet chips
2 T. canola or vegetable oil
melt on low heat until chocolate and oil is blended and smooth,
let sit and cool for about 5-10 min.
now DIP or POUR chocolate over cupcakes,
then refrigerate until chocolate has completely chilled or hardened,
and ENJOY!

9.5.11

breathe...

take a moment...

stop...
and breathe.