friday links

Happy Friday!

Some of my recent finds at Trader Joe's. 

Some new, some not so new....

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crunchy cookie butter! oh the baking possibilities.

anyone tried this? might get a couple for hubby.

these weren't too bad.  much better than ramen noodles. plus rice noodle is a better taste.

in the frozen section. they are small. too small for the price--I could eat the whole box in one sitting.

anyone tried this?  love the addition of brie, which makes me think to make a brie & pasta at home.

FINALLY! sweet potato tots. can't wait to try them.

small little pre-cooked pot roasts in a bag.  weird. small. afraid to try...you go first.  lol

the price can't be beat. much cheaper than whole foods. has anyone used it?  tell me if it's good?

more pre-cooked beef in a bag.  still, afraid to try.

these were decent.  get the tzatziki sauce to dip them in!

these two together = food harmony

anyone tried these danish pancakes aka ebelskivers

this was good--needs more peanut butter inside.

they were ok. not very onion-like tasting. I want to create my own now, with far less oil.

always weary of shelf-staple tofu. anyone tried this?

these are good. My homemade coconut truffles are much better though. 

not new, but I finally tried it and it was really good. The price is good too.

these were the 'sample of the day' and they were ok. a little dry, but good.

anyone tried this?

I found it hilarious that our trader joe's (cape cod) sells lobster tails at a ridiculous inflated price.

A couple of my friends got this and loved it. You?

As I've mentioned before, during the winters I tend to get a little bit of SAD (seasonal affective disorder), and while I take the fish oil, the Vit D3, etc...I haven't tried the "sun lights" yet.

I was hesitant about most of them until I came across a totally different kind of sun light that mimics the "blue sky of summer".  Did some research for reviews and most of them were positive   I was more than happy to give this a go.  

I did not shine this on the cat.  He was merely posing for the photo--ha!

About a week into using the light, I have to say I have noticed a huge improvement in my mood, and an even bigger increase in my energy levels.

The light is by Philips: Philips GoLite Blu. Sold on amazon. But look for the reviews on youtube.com.

It's a great, portable size. Hard to photograph when it's on since the light is bright, but this photo illustrates how small it is.

Don't use this at night, best to use in the morning.  Give it a couple days to start feeling a difference.

Here is the website for it, but make sure to buy it on amazon as it's much cheaper -- far cheaper!

I was at IKEA the other day and saw this wonderful bed workbar.

Isn't this the best idea?

The prices aren't that bad.

This is perfect for all our shoes in the garage. Well built too.

For this price?  Definitely getting a few for the office. Excellent way to hide all that crap and 'instantly' make the office look cleaner.

I use these for holding my dishes in the kitchen.  Five years later, and they are still going strong.

Can't remember the price of this, but it was cheap.

Would be great for a tv or play room right?

This is a dressing room model at IKEA.  Love how more modern IKEA has become.

Finally took hubby (for the first time) to Five Guys Burgers.

Let's just say he was a happy man. 

The Cadbury Eggs are already appearing!  

Around the web:

pretty pinwheel cookies from lucy's friendly foods

custard creme cookies from warm, snug & fat

pop up groundhog cookies from she knows food & recipes

iphone case doubles as coffee cup holder (very odd) from designtaxi.com

gorgeous mermaid dress from thefancy.com

'packed with love' sticky tape from thefancy.com

quick cinnamon-sugar baguette bread from wherethecookiesare.com

mermaid weathervane (must have this!) from thefancy.com

how to make homemade yogurt in a slow cooker from everybodylikessandiwches.com

gorgeous polka-dot cake! (you have to see this!) from easybaked.net

magazine stool from thefancy.com

how to brew turkish coffee (in case you wanted to know) from seriouseats.com

a list of taste-tested K-cups from seriouseats.com

fool proof pan pizza (love this) from seriouseats.com

that one light switch that you don't know what it goes to? now you do from tastefullyoffensive.com

homemade snow ball cakes

I was going to make the title "sno balls" but the grammar police might come to my house.
But wasn't that what is was called? sno balls?
The ones from Hostess right?


Anywho, cake boss man buddy valastros made sno balls via rachel ray and I of course saw how crazy/wild good they looked and had to make them at home.
They are quite easy---and I'm always honest with you on whether or not recipes are easy, but the spreading of the marshmallow frosting was tricky.
You have to coat the entire trimmed cupcake in this uber-sticky frosting and then coat it in the coconut flakes.
After that it's easy, and trust me when I say these were so good.

I was never a fan of the original snow ball, that marshmallow coating that doubled as a head warmer slash helmet was awful.
And full of chemicals!
These taste nothing like it.  These are far more moister with a creamy marshmallowy (sp) frosting.
If I had to make them all over again with changes?
I would make smaller cupcakes.
In Buddy's recipe he fills the middle cupcake with the frosting.
I did not do this because I just didn't think there would be enough frosting to go around for the coating
and the frosting.  Plus the frosting is sweet--having some in the middle would have been too much (my opinion).
But please make them how you wish.
The coconut flakes look more orange than it's original pink hue.
I think I used a red velvet dye instead of plain red.
If you do make these, first look for a pink dye rather than a red dye if you really want that true "original" sno ball look.
I just have a feeling there is a pink dye out there. Right?

homemade snoball cakes

recipe from Buddy Valastros via Rachel Ray

print recipe

12 cupcakes of your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, cooled

for the frosting:

1 1-pound package powdered sugar

1 7-ounce jar marshmallow cream

1/4 cup softened butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 TB milk

2 cups shredded coconut

2 to 3 drops red food coloring

(I added in a pinch of salt to the frosting)

My cook notes:

I did not use a pastry bag, Just frosted the top, then the bottom.  I also did not put any frosting in the middle since it was so sweet.  But do what you want, not sure if there is enough frosting for the middle and the outside.

Trim the tops of the cupcakes to form a somewhat cylinder shape.

Cut a cone shape inside the cupcake.

For the frosting, beat sugar, marshmallow cream, butter and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. Add in milk as needed until it is a frosting consistency.

With a piping bag, fill the cone-shaped hole with the frosting, then spread frosting over tops and sides of cupcakes.

For the pink exterior, mix shredded coconut with 2 drops of red food coloring in a mixer until you get your desired color.

gluten free salty peanut butter cookies

Ever since Trader Joe's stopped carrying the peanut flour I've been on the look out for more peanut flour.
Luckily at whole foods one day I came across this jar of what I thought was peanut butter, but made me look twice because the insides looked different.
Upon closer inspection I noticed that it was powdered peanut butter.
Instantly I thought this had to work as peanut flour.  Nice dry powder with deep peanut flavor?
Has to work.
And thankfully only one recipe later -- it does work perfectly in a gluten free peanut butter cookie.
This powder is a lot sweeter than a normal peanut flour is so you don't have to use as much sugar.
When I first tweeted this product a lot of people asked how does it taste as a peanut butter?
I still have no idea as I'm just using it for baking--so far.
These cookies tastes just like a normal peanut butter cookie recipe with a deeper peanut flavor.
I only made a half batch, about 12-15 cookies.
Also what I LOVE about this recipe is that it's a snap to throw together; no waiting for butter to come to room temp AND it's a one bowl wonder.

Why add the salty?
Since the cookies are sweet AND they are peanut butter--it just begs for a nice smudge of sea salt
on the top.  (you can omit this of course, but it does taste really good).


Literally one-bowl baking.  Love that.

gluten free salty peanut butter cookies 

print recipe

1 ¼ cup all-natural chunky or all natural smooth peanut butter (not too oily)

¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, room temp

1 ts baking soda

3  OVERSIZED TB powdered peanut butter

1 ts sea salt

plus extra sea salt for the tops of the cookie dough balls, optional but wonderful

Cook notes:

This recipe makes a small batch (about 12-15), if you want more, just double all the ingredients. The cookies have to sit in fridge for at least an hour to come together; don’t let them sit in fridge overnight as they become very dry.  They are delicate and tend to break apart if you make them big. So try not to make the dough balls bigger than a tablespoon size.

You can add chocolate chips to these.

In a small bowl add the peanut powder, baking soda, and salt and mix, set aside.

In a small bowl crack egg open and beat.

In a mixer or by hand, combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined.

Add egg to the cookie mixture, mix well.

Add in the dry mixture, by sprinkling it over the cookie dough, not just depositing it in one large dump. Mix till just combined.

Cover bowl and let it sit in fridge for about an hour.

Do not let this sit overnight as the dough becomes dry!

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll into tablespoon (or smaller) sized balls and place on non-stick cookie sheets or greased cookie sheets. Do not press flat, just leave as balls. Sprinkle just a touch of sea salt on the tops of the cookie balls. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned. These cook up very fast, so I really wouldn’t go past the 10-14 minute mark.

Cool on a baking sheet for a while as the cookies are very delicate and hard to move.

The cookies are fragile and tend to break, if you make them too big.

Should make about 12-15 cookies (small batch).

If you want more, just double all the ingredients.

friday links

Happy Friday!

Our cape cod sunsets have been so beautiful lately; I try to catch as many as I can. All of these are taken with my trusty iphone.  This photo (below) that pink is just stunning.

west dennis beach

sandwich marina. sandwich, ma

clam diggers in chatham, ma

my kind of dinner. never tire of steamers.

chatham fish pier, chatham, ma (with tern island in the distance)


chatham fish pier, chatham, ma

around the web:

homemade vanilla creamer (no junk) from what's megan making
are you making these sunshine mistakes? from mercola.com
very inspiring health & fitness mantras from greatist.com (LOVE these!)
DIY jeweled heels from honestlywtf.com
ultimate guide to protein supplements from greatist.com
the semi-origin of gym machines? from theatlantic.com
relationship between exercise & inflammation from marksdailyapple.com
I love this ad for the van gogh museum cafe from hyperallergic.com
buttered grits cookies! from dessertfortwo.com
how to make candy sugar hearts from crunchycreamysweet.com
influenza sorbet (for real) from jeni's splendid ice cream
be a better cheese buyer from thekitchn
buckwheat: the new baking star from thekitchn
sea-salted choco-toffee rods from the moon blush baker
how to spot fake sriracha from foodrepublic.com
DIY healthier tortilla chips from thekitchn
DIY gluten free all-purpose mix from glutenfreegirl
sloppy tempeh-joe from chickypea
cooking salmon: minimizing that weird white stuff from thekitchn
beyond chicken noodle soup from thekitchn
rundown of 5 fitness apps from foodrepublic.com (I'm getting the yoga stretch one)
chinese mushroom soup from vanillabeanblog
leftover champagne: make vinegar from thekitchn
baltimore crab pretzel sticks from foodrepublic.com
fried pizza sandwiches from diethood.com
rice krispie treat snowballs from chocolatemoosey.com
thai turkey burgers from howsweeteats.com
swedish dream cookies from saveur.com
DIY single serving choco chip cookies from number2pencil.com

And finally a big thumbs up to one of the best places on cape cod to have breakfast: Keltic Kitchen
in west yarmouth, ma.
Should you plan a trip to cape cod, this is the best place to get a homemade breakfast.
Whether you want Irish or not, their food is amazing, prices are very reasonable and the portions are huge.
This is definitely not a tourist trap where they soak you for every dollar and give you a small
meal.  They do get very crowded on the weekends, so come early.
I promise they will take good care of you--plenty of friendly waitstaff who will gladly tell you about their homeland of Ireland.


I had the Keltic Benny with a side of bacon.  Huge right?  The best breakfast I've had in a long time on cape cod.