Food Bloggers

I had to jump on this bandwagon and decided to share my idea of myself, if only for shits + giggles! Enjoy.

Food Bloggers

[Giveaway Post] Cadbury Mini Egg & Chocolate Chip Blondies + What I'd Do Differently Than Katniss from The Hunger Games

I recently finished reading The Hunger Games. Not the series... yet. Just the first book. I liked it. I loved it, actually. I haven't been this interested in a series since Harry Potter. I love the characters, the plot, the settings. It's all amazing.

BUT.

I've been thinking about a few things. Sure, Katniss is brave and strong and pretty much a Warrior Princess, but are there things that she and her friends could have done differently? Well, I explore that very question!

Top 5 Things I Would Have Done Differently If I Was Katniss Everdeen

1. First of all, I would never have gone to the name drawing ceremony thing. I know it's probably illegal not to, but I mean, would anyone really have missed you? If you were at home eating a mint leaf and milking your goat, would anyone really notice you weren't there? And even if your name was called, you could just lie and say you were super sick from all the mint leafs you were eating and that you also just had a glass of sour goat milk. 

2. She was way too calm during her training/ days leading up to The Games. I would be clawing at the walls trying to get out. I mean, like, crawling through the plumbing, hiding in laundry baskets to try and get out.

3. I'd be throwing knives at people trying to get out of that building. I mean, we all know that she can throw a knife, as made evident on the train, but come on. Did it not occur to her to maybe throw knife at a guard? And even if she hadn't escaped, nothing wrong with stashing a butter knife in your underwear when you get talking onto the playing field, right? 

4. Maybe paid a bit more attention to the subtle hints that Peeta was throwing at me and, I don't know, maybe made a plan from the beginning. "Hey, Peeta. What do you say we team up and at the end, if we're both still left, we threaten to kill each other if they don't let us both win? Plan?" Not hard.

5. Finally, I'd probably have died a lot sooner. Not on purpose, but God knows I'm not that resourceful. I'd be the dumb one who would think that the best plan would to have been to stay at the Cornucopia from the beginning and try to kill as many people as possible, thus getting killed myself. I picture either a knife in my back or tripping over  a root and hitting my head on a rock.

Cadbury Mini Eggs + Chocolate Chip Blondies
Yield | About 16 bars
Adapted from JoyofBaking.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup Cadbury Mini Eggs

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350'F and grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan.
2. Melt the butter and let cool to room temperature.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
4. With an electric mixer, beat the egg and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract and the melted butter.
5. At low speed, mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
6. With a wooden spoon or spatula, mix in the chocolate chips and Mini Eggs.
7. Spread the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the top of the Blondies are dry and golden brown.
8. Let cool before cutting.

Click ahead for the GIVEAWAY! 

[Giveaway Post] Cadbury Mini Egg & Chocolate Chip Blondies + What I'd Do Differently Than Katniss from The Hunger Games

My Starbucks Adventure + Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

I will be the first to admit that I'm not the grandest fan of coffee. It's the taste. It's not the caffeine, it's not the colour, it's the taste and no matter how much cream or sugar you load it up with, I can still taste the coffee swimming around in it. I can dilute it with as much as I want, but when push comes to shove I still can't get past the taste of... well, whatever it is.

The other day I found myself at Chapters. I was scrounging for books that I'd buy but never read but that would sit in my home and make me look well-read. Inside the Chapters was a Starbucks. For those that know me, they know I'm a huge celeb junkie and I'm about the most impressionable person you will ever meet. If Ellen told me to wrestle a grizzly... I probably wouldn't, but if she told me to shop at JCPenney, I totally would. I'd spend four dollars on socks, just to make her happy. Feel free to leave your comments about how I'm what's wrong with the world.

I was in Chapters, staring at Starbucks, and I instantly thought of Lauren Conrad sipping that monstrous pink drink she's always photographed with and it occurred to me that, maybe I could be like, I don't know, the male Lauren Conrad if I had a drink. I wouldn't be famous (I'm not that delusional) but maybe I could walk with a reality star confidence.

 

In my desperate attempt to emulate LC, I bought a Skinny Iced Mocha something, waited like 10 ten days for it to be ready, and I was ready to walk with my reality star swag. I left the store with my iced goodness and bag of books in hand. Took a sip, and BLEGH. It was coffee. The ice did nothing. It didn't make it cold, it didn't change the flavour. It was room temperature coffee with, what I hope was ice.

That was it. I was never going to be like LC.

A few days later I resolved to give it another go. I picked a new Starbucks, because clearly the other one was cursed or out to get me, and walked in, again confident that I would obtain what I needed. I scanned the menu boards and really thought about it. I had to get something good. Something fruity. Something sweet. Something that was actually cold. There it was. Tazo Shaken Iced Passion Tea. Venti, obviously.

That was it. I was hooked, addicted, whatever you want to label it as. Call up LiLo, I need a good rehab recommendation.

It was tasty. I mean, I had officially found my drink. This would be my beverage of choice at Starbucks. No more coffee, thank God. I would drink this. This delicious blend of tea and goodness.

Did I mention I finished it in about three minutes? Oh well.

And now, for what you're all here for, besides hearing about my LC obsession. Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod! Probably the best cookie I've tasted in a long time. That's all I need to say.

My Starbucks Adventure + Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

What's Leonard Thinking?: Episode 1

Here's what my dog is probably thinking about right now. You know, when he's not contemplating String Theory or where gravity comes from, he likes to kick back and really soak in celeb culture.

What's Leonard Thinking?: Episode 1

And Now For Something Completely Different... This Week In News!

I know it's not Friday and I probably have no right to tell you about what's going on in the world, but I felt that it was my duty (as established by me) to round up some of the most interesting news of the week. No recipe for you today, but I figured that not everything I say has to come with something delicious to stare at. Most of the times, yes.

And now for something a little different...

#1: Jan Berenstain died. The woman who, along with her husband, started the Berenstain Bears dynasty, and I call it a dynasty because it's been a long time and I don't really know what dynasty technically means, passed away. When Jan died, so did my childhood. I literally grew up on these stories and, as my parents will attest to, though maybe not directly, I pretty much forced anyone around at bedtime to read me one of these stories. I still have my entire collection which is like... a lot of books.

#2: Rihanna and Chris Brown are apparently back together, which I think is the biggest mistake in the entire world, if not only for the fact that the man is clearly whacked and in serious need of a hug from someone he hasn't paid. Also, I think he might need anger management, but I also think that could come from not enough cupcakes in his system. We all know Rihanna could do soooo much better than the guy who likes to grab his crotch and steal people's iPhones.

#3: Jessica Simpson is still pregnant. Am I the only one who hadn't actually realized that she was still with child? After an e-mail from my sister's I did one of those "Oh snap, she is!" I think, by my calculations, she's going in to her 900th trimester and the baby is the size of a horse.

#4: Meryl Streep FINALLY won the Oscar she so rightly deserves and Viola Davis when home with nothing. The Queen of All Acting was honoured in a way that only other rich people can honour her: with a golden statue that will effectively raise how much she's able to ask per film. Personally, I was kind of rooting for Viola Davis from The Help and, if it were any other time, I would scream at the TV and yell that Meryl was robbed. She's pretty much robbed whenever she isn't nominated. I'd like to turn your attention to Kathy Lee Gifford who, on that show she's on, the morning after the Oscars, said that Meryl had put on a performance that no other actor in the world could have pulled off in The Iron Lady, while Viola played a role that others could have taken on, which is why Meryl very much deserved to win. Uh, girlfriend. Might I remind you about 2009 when Meryl was nominated for and DID NOT win the Oscar for her role in Julie & Julia? The woman played Julia Child and lost to Sandra Bullock who played a southern blonde with no really characteristics or mannerisms different from herself. I think Kathy Lee Gifford should think about that.

#5:Beyonce finally took her baby into public. That's right, folks. Blue Ivy or Pomegranate Orchard, or something, FINALLY made her triumph diva walk to the outside world once Beyonce was able to pull her away from her 19 nannies. Oh wait, I think she did. Her mother had her completely wrapped up like she was hiding a football from the offensive line on the other team. No matter how thick the cover, that child just sort of exuded wealth and instant fame. God, I'm so jealous.

And Now For Something Completely Different... This Week In News!