_saturday brings.... chocolate cravings_

any good chocolate craving can be solved with these... 

mmm..gooey mess. not super appetizing. but look below...and voila! 

crispy glossy chewy chocolate goodness. and with no oil, butter or wheat. yay! 

So since I decided to more or less eliminate wheat from my diet... it's been an adventure.  Mostly an adventure in baking. I love baking, but it's been a challenge to change the way I bake to remove wheat..aka flour from the list of ingredients. Not exactly easy. Also, though a recipe is labeled "gluten-free" and "good" ..it does not mean it is! I have a feeling my baking adventures will result in many more failed recipes before the right combinations are found. Well, challenge accepted.

My first pretty successful recipe? These cookies. They have a ridiculous flaky top and chewy center. Just make sure you bake them long enough.. otherwise they will be impossible to get off the baking tray. be warned.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

3      cups powdered sugar
2/3   cup good-quality cocoa powder
1/4   teaspoon salt
1 1/4  cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used a larger, dark chocolate chip the second     time I made them, and they were fantastic)
4     large egg whites
2     teaspoons vanilla
1/4  teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1_ Preheat oven to 350`. Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper. Aluminum foil also works, but parchment paper is my favorite.

2_ Mix the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add egg whites (give them a good stir first with a fork to mix them), vanilla, and almond extract (if you like almond). Stir the mixture until well-combined. It should be thick but still stir-able. Add more powdered sugar if it is too runny. Add the chocolate chips and mix throughout the batter.

3_ Spoon the batter onto baking sheets in 1 heaping tablespoon portions. Spread them out as they like to run into each other if they aren't perfectly level. By the way, they will probably look strange. I thought they looked like silly brown blobs until they came out of the oven and were magically beautiful. My sister thought the same thing... "Ang,... did you forget an ingredient?..."

4_ Bake at 350` for 14 minutes or until tops are cracked and glossy. Move the entirety (cookies and parchment-paper) to wire racks to cool slightly.Peel the cookies off the parchment carefully and set on wire rack to cool fully. If you have trouble getting them off, you probably didn't cook them quite  long enough.. but if you put them in the freezer for 10 minutes or so after they are cooled first, they usually peel off pretty well.

This should make about 2 dozen cookies, depending on your preferred cookie size. 

Menswear Inspired.

Menswear Inspired. by ohmana on polyvore.com

Arrow
Menswear. / Wolfendale Vintage
Accessories / Camera bag
My Style Pinboard / the best comfy long tee - jcrew
Menswear. / cardigan. from old navy of all places..
My Style Pinboard / scarf
Menswear. / wooden watch
My Style Pinboard / woven loafer

_friday wears...sweaters and scarves_

 When looking through my normal list of blogs that I follow, I came across this picture, and instantly fell in love with the look. I have a sweater similar to it, but in red.. perhaps I can create the reverse. But I've found a few pieces to mimic the look, all at relatively low prices (yay!). I love fall style, so warm and inviting, and with the best colors and textures. Have any favorite looks you've come across this autumn?

H M long cable knit sweater, £25
H M top, £20
H M zip bag, £6.49
Red shawl, $15
Asos Notch Detail Glasses, $7.19

_thursday is thankful for...encouragement_

The last couple weeks have been...well, interesting. They seem to be chock full of projects, stresses, and dramas I usually have no intention of ever getting overwhelmed with. But with the combination of it all, it seemed unavoidable. My default reaction is to worry, worry a lot, and worry secretly. I drink double the amount of tea (making it an obscene amount) and have almost uncontrollable urges to bake and relax.. but no time to do it, like I'm being pulled in so many directions at once.

But then, this magical thing happened. Well, it's not magic, but sometimes it sure feels like magic. Encouragement.  Not the fake, pat-yourself-on-the-back encouragement, but the random people that come completely out of the blue to say they are praying for you or think you are awesome. I don't think I've ever had a stretch like the last couple weeks that have been so encouraging. What I need to work on is getting better at accepting compliments and encouragements...but I'm thankful I am so much better at receiving than I've been in the past. I was pretty comical then.. but that's another story.

What are these magical encouragements? Well, there has been a range. For instance, the other day I was wearing my maxi dress, which I love; but, I know it makes me stick out a bit...which I do not love. Troy is not known for it's always upstanding gentlemen, so when one guy started to make a comment I instantly cringed, thinking it was going to be something derogative or cheap. ...but it wasn't even about the dress. This rough-around-the-edges guy gets my attention and says, "Hey, you're eyes are gorgeous." What?!? It was one of those compliments that stopped me dead in my tracks, and I was left speechless. That might not seem like an encouragement to most people, but to me it showed that people are seeing a little more than the obvious when they see me... and I think that is fantastic.

Also in the range of compliments, a good friend relayed a compliment to me given by someone I hadn't even met (..or was even standing near, if I remember?). But apparently this guy had called me 'Stunning.' What?!? Again, it was a slam-on-the-brakes moment for me. I like the way I dress, but I do not spend a lot of money or time or energy, really. I dress very conservatively....the way I dress is just not something I am looking for affirmation in. So when I get noticed,  I'm a little caught off guard.

Hanisch Bakery, Red Wing, MN.

Anyway, and for real straight-to-the-heart, I-don't-deserve-this types of encouragements, I've received multiples in a span of about 3 days. First, an amazing package in the mail from my grandparents that wasn't even expected. (Brown paper packages tied up with string? yes please. well, they are minus the string, but still unbelievable adorable). And what was the crazy unexpected surprise? Bread. Yes, I love bread. But this was Swedish Limpa Rye Bread from a Swedish bakery back home. This wonderful delicious bread had traveled 1250 miles to my doorstep. With an accompaniment of chocolate. And an amazing encouraging long letter.


Then, the next day, another unexpected encouraging package from my best friend back home, containing gifts that made me laugh out loud and jump out of excitement, and a letter that made me cry and laugh while reading it. I don't deserve this friendship, and yet she encourages me often and abundantly! There are no words to describe my love of this girl, she means the world to me!

This is probably more text than I've had in a post for.. forever. Good time to quit. But overall, I am left this week feeling busy, but very thankful. And thank you to everyone who encouraged me so graciously. You rock.

-AO

_tuesday sounds like...kimbra_

I came upon Kimbra just by happenstance a day or two ago. And I'm shocked I didn't hear of her earlier! She has some serious pipes, a percussive/a capella style to her voice, some soul, and some pop all mixed together. She has style and flair.. and she's only 21! This New Zealand girl is going to go far. Very Florence + the Machine, yet I actually enjoy her vocals more. She seems interested in trying new things - including collaborations with Gotye and Miami Horror. She has a colorful 50s tinge in her music videos, a very characteristic long dark bob, and a Nina Simone/Ella Fitzgerald soul and flair to her. That's a lofty comparison, but at her young age, Kimbra seems on that same trajectory. Please listen, dance, and enjoy a few songs -

A the colorful upbeat single "Cameo Lover" off her new record Vows. 

"Settle Down" another fantastic track off the new album.

And finally, a live track of "Good Intent." She really is a musician at heart. ..Did I mention she also plays guitar?

Happy Tuesday!

       -AO

_thursday is thankful for....family_

Because of where I am going to school and my inability to fly back and forth (and pay for flying back and forth) , I only get to see my family over Christmas and summer breaks. But even though I can't talk to them always or  get to see them much, I am still really thankful for them! They are so supportive and loving, I can be myself around them, and we have awesome adventures together. What more could I ask for? Lately I've been thankful for summer memories... which seem so long ago with these crisp fall breezes!!

Adam, one of the only cats I like.. mostly because he's nothing like a cat. He's ridiculous. 

My beautiful Grandma and her great-grandkids. Who are awesome! 

Our backyard

Sunlight in Iowa

Sunset on my solo roadtrip.

The perfect lake sunset. 

Two words: TONKA TOASTERS. 

Epic Crappie. My dad is pro. 

Finally got to go to the Twins stadium. How perfect is this view? ...not a perfect game, but the stadium makes up for it.

Happy Thursday!
            -AO

_wednesday tastes like...artisan bread_

 I think there is nothing better than freshly baked bread on a crisp fall day. An artisan bread with a crispy crackly crust and chewy soft warm interior. My mouth is watering just thinking about it... And because this recipe is from the amazing 'Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day' empire, it's surprisingly easy. 

Simple Artisan Bread


Ingredients:
_ 3 cups lukewarm water
_ 1-1/2 tablespoons granulated fast-acting yeast (2 packets)
_ 1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
_ 6-1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached all purpose white flour.

Process:
1_ Warm water to about 100 degrees F, then add yeast and salt to the water. It's best if you do this in the same bowl you want the dough to rise in, which should hold about 5 quarts. (I just use my largest mixing bowl, then cover it with plastic wrap later. )

2_ Mix in the flour - no need to knead. Add all at once and mix with a wooden spoon until all incorporated and there are no dry patches.

3_ Allow the dough to rise, covering the container but not airtight - make sure there is somewhere for air to escape. Let rise at room temp until it rises and then collapses. This will probably take around 2 hours.

4_ Keep the dough in the refrigerator overnight, keeping it covered.

5_ When ready to bake, remove a 1-pound piece of dough around the size of a grapefruit from the dough. Stretch the surface of the dough on all four sides, creating a stretched smooth surface on the outside of the ball.

6_ Let the dough rise for 30-40 minutes, then place on a baking sheet (Technically you are supposed to use a baking stone. Being a college student and having limited money and storage space, I make do with a baking sheet). Make sure to flour the baking sheet to prevent sticking.  Make a few slashes on the top of the bread with a (very) sharp knife. I tend to make an X-pattern.

7_ Preheat the oven to 450 F, and place a tray of water in the lower rack of the oven. This creates steam within the oven, creating that magical crackly crust.

8_ Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. When you remove the bread from the oven, it will crackle, which is called the 'sing'. (fantastic thing, eh? singing bread!)

9_ Allow the bread to cool.... though mostly I don't have enough patience. I tend to dig in. Though the texture is usually better after the bread cools.

10_ Store remaining dough in the refrigerator for up to 14 days. The flavor improves after each day, and you can use whatever little is left over in your next batch of dough!

Enjoy! 


       -AO