Muffins cioccolato e pere

Ho inserito questa ricetta nel forum di Coquinaria nel 2004 e ora come allora, con poche modifiche, continuano a venire dei muffins straordinariamente buoni!!
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Per realizzarle 12 grandi muffins vi occorrerà:

Miscuglio 1: 250 g di farina setacciata, 100 g di pepite di cioccolato, 1/2 sacchetto di lievito + 1 cucchiaino raso di bicarbonato, un pizzico di sale.

Miscuglio 2: 180g di zucchero di canna chiaro, 2 uova, 50g di burro molto morbido (o fuso e raffreddato), un cucchiaino di estratto di vaniglia, 3 mezze pere sciroppate, 2 cucchiai di sciroppo delle pere.

Decorazione: alcune mandorle sfilettate

Preparare il miscuglio 1 (secco) in un'insalatiera, mescolando bene. Battere con la frusta le uova con lo zucchero in un altra insalatiera, aggiungere il burro, la vaniglia e mescolare. Schiacciare le pere grossola-namente con la forchetta ed incorporarle al miscuglio 2 con due cucchiai del loro sciroppo.Versare il miscuglio liquido (2) nel miscuglio secco (1) mescolando il necessario, deve rimanere grumoso. Mettere l’impasto in stampini di silicone ai 2/3 della loro capienza, cospargere con mandorle sfilettate e porre in forno a 160° per circa 20’.
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Nella mia cucina:

Tier cake plate Easy Life Design 

Stampo multiporzione muffin Pavonidea

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Gadget ON: Sony CP-ELSR CycleEnergy - USB Portable Power Bank 2000mAh Review

The Sony CP-ELSR CycleEnergy is one of the newest products that Sony Lifestyle released last year, and they send me one for product review.

This Sony CP-ELSR CycleEnergy is a portable power bank for smartphones, it's pack with Li-ion 2,000 mAh, so this mean it can fully charge most smartphones one time (provided that your smartphone battery is less than 2,000mAh). 

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6 Cheeseballs for the Superbowl!

The Superbowl is practically a foodie holiday because it's another reason to gather with friends and food... and with the Superbowl happening this coming weekend, what will you be enjoying as you watch the big game? Superbowl eats run the gamut from BBQ, burgers and hot dogs, Tex-Mex, snacks, etc. In the past I've done several of these menus for the Superbowl but this year, I'm focusing on cheese... lots of cheese... because I love cheese. In fact, I noticed I've made quite a few cheeseballs over the years. So for this year's Superbowl, I present to you 6 cheeseballs that are worthy of sharing for Superbowl Sunday. Or any day. If you ask me, I'd have a cheeseball everyday!...

Cheddar Ranch Cheese Ball

Italian Herb & Garlic Cheeseball

Smoked Salmon Cheeseball

Buffalo Chicken Cheeseball

Spinach & Artichoke Cheeseball

Gorgonzola & Shallot Cheese Ball



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Globe subscribers to enjoy LTE on their iPhone 5

Globe subscribers on iPhone 5 postpaid plans can now experience fourth-generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) on their devices by updating to Apple’s latest software, the iOS6.1.

The availability is on the heels of Apple’s announcement that it has enabled the LTE functionality of the iPhone 5 in the Philippines.

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LULU ROUGET & THE BIRTHDAY LUNCH

Many years ago, a July offered us a month of rainy days. Black and gloomy, no rest for the weary, rain day in, rain day out. Rain, incessant, insistent rain. Yet we awoke that fateful day, the 23rd of that long-ago July, to a sky painted baby blue. I stepped out onto the street dressed all in white, my wild mane of dark, dark hair against a backdrop of brilliant sunlight, a glorious summer day and we walked to the town hall to be married. A month of rainy days broken by one single day of summer splendor.

This month of January has been little more than a dreary string of comfortless days of rain. We’ve huddled inside for weeks now, staring out the window, watching the world scurry by, hurry through the raindrops slithering down, the rumble of the tramway below matching the grumble of storm clouds. The urge to take a breath of fresh air, a stroll around town has been quashed day after day, as the rain just does not let up. Our moods straining under the outside gloom, we flip on the apartment lights and wonder when this month of January will see a flurry of snow or a streak of light. Yet we awoke that fateful day, the 28th of the month, to the sun peeping through the cracks of the old wooden shutters. Drawing them higher, our eyes squinting against the vigorous, near violent flood of sunlight pushing to get in, a glorious day wished me a very happy birthday.

Truth be told, I almost forgot my birthday this year. Maybe its age, maybe it’s the desire to begin to forget the ticking of time passing, maybe I have simply been too busy lately. But I hadn’t thought about my celebration until I slipped in between the sheets the night before and it suddenly hit me. My birthday. I knew nothing in particular had been planned, but that didn’t really matter; I knew that JP would devote the entire day and his undivided attention to me and only me. And oddly, destiny always has a hand in things, teasing our senses and toying with our expectations, and like a cat, we always end up falling on our feet.

The day began with a walk in the park on the outskirts of the city.

Back home, rubbing the dirt off of Marty and tucking him back into bed, we approach the topic of lunch head on. Alone for the day, we decide to slip on better shoes and nicer jeans and go out for a celebratory meal en tête-à-tête. Ideas bounce back and forth, names of restaurants and lunch joints ticking off our lips like delicate little ping pong balls. We sidle up to the blackboard posted outside of the neighborhood Irish pub and peruse the long list of salads and our choice is made. We push through the door and are politely yet firmly told that all the tables are booked. Ah, destiny, it seems …. Back into the street I suggest Lulu Rouget, which is just down the stairs and across the street. I first heard about this lovely little restaurant at the launching of the 2013 edition of Les Tables de Nantes restaurant guide back in November. Lulu Rouget was one of three local eateries to be named a Coup de Coeur, a favorite of the jury. The restaurant was selected and lauded for its unique and creative cuisine based on the highest quality local ingredients.

Lulu (Ludovic) Rouget (red mullet)

The young owner/chef of Lulu Rouget, Ludovic Pouzelgues is part of the new guard of la Cuisine Française, dedicated and passionate, basing an inventive cuisine on the simplicity, the flavors and textures of only the highest quality, freshest local products. I was truly swept off my feet hearing him speak about Nantes, the city and the region’s gastronomic riches with enthusiasm and devotion. Since November, JP and I have often walked in front of Lulu Rouget. Each time we do, we pause in front of the elegant charcoal walls, the amusing red and white logo swimming across the plate glass window, ogle the menu posted out front and promise ourselves to go one day. And it seems as if destiny has brought us here today.

We are greeted warmly at the door and offered the two seats at the bar, which is perfect as it gives me a view directly into the kitchen and of the chef at work.

There is no à la carte; Lulu Rouget proposes a menu du marché unique for lunch – one starter (entrée), a choice of two main courses (plats), one fish, one meat, and a single dessert. Pouzelgues works only with fresh, seasonal, local products so limits what he offers to the best, to just a few creations.

Salade “canaille” (rascal or scamp) of finely minced pieds de veau (calf’s foot) on a bed of mixed greens dressed with a creamy, tangy, vinaigrette. Never would I have imagined finding myself eating pieds de veau but there you have it, it was that good; the slightly sweet meat playing off the tart vinaigrette and the cool freshness of the greens, the slightly chewy meat complemented by the crunch of the croutons.

Lieu jaune, poireaux grilles, flocons de sarrasin - a wonder, a perfect blending of smooth sweetness from the creamy, near whipped parsnip purée upon which the pollock was placed, the nutty crunch of the toasted buckwheat scattered atop, meltingly perfect fish, accented by one single lovely, perfectly grilled, organic leek. The whole highlighted by an herbed crème fraîche. No words to describe perfection, nearly impossible to communicate the voluptuous textures, the surprise of the buckwheat, the perfect – astonishing – gentle wave of flavors playing on the tongue .

The perfect île flottante – traditional, artisan, just as the menu claims. I couldn’t resist. Who could? Is perfect too strong a word? How about sublime, in the cool crème anglaise, less sweet than what one is used to, allowing the hint of vanilla to assert itself ever so gently, mellow enough to balance the drizzle of salted butter caramel? How about impeccable, in the ethereal lightness of the poached whites; not moussy, as some are, not dense as are others, nor uneven in their ultimate quality? An extraordinary île flottante – and I’ve eaten many – but how can I be surprised when Pouzelgues was trained by Nantes’ very own Vincent Guerlais, chocolatier-pâtissier extraordinaire?

In the evening, Lulu Rouget offers clients the choice of two menus: 'les yeux ouverts' or 'les yeux fermés' : choose the former – ‘eyes open’ – and you know what to expect. But choose the other – ‘eyes closed’ – and you’ve put yourself blindly, confidently into the hands of the young chef, leaving him carte blanche to prepare whatever he chooses, creating whatever the days freshest products and his imagination inspire. No need to wait for the next birthday, the next celebration. We will be back to experience another extraordinary meal at Lulu Rouget, les yeux fermés.

I needed nothing more this day except a quiet evening in with the family and homemade crêpes, from my husband, from the heart.

Lulu Rouget
1 rue Cheval Blanc
44000 Nantes
tél: 02 40 47 47 98

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Champ {Scallion Mashed Potatoes}

I'm a big fan of ethnic cuisines and seeing that The Baron has some Irish roots, I figured I'd cater to some dishes highlighting his background. One well known dish is Irish Champ {Scallion Mashed Potatoes} where comforting mashed potatoes uses scallion infused cream and butter to impart more delicious flavor. This was such a nice change from the usual mashed potatoes with a nod to the Irish...

I've found myself making more potato side dishes lately and my default potato side dish is mashed potatoes. But thanks to The Baron, he's given me some inspiration to make some variations to traditional recipes. It sounds so easy and it is... scallions add a subtle onion flavor and some specks of color to what normally can be bland and colorless. If you have any green onions to spare, give this a try for a different spin on mashed potatoes...

Champ {Scallion Mashed Potatoes}
recipe rom One Last Bite



 

Ingredients

• 3 pounds (6 to 8) unpeeled baking potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold)
• 1 large bunch (4-oz.) scallions (use the bulb and green stem)
• 1-1/2 cups milk or light cream or half-and-half
• 4 to 8 tablespoons butter
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Peel and cut up potatoes in bite sized pieces. Place in a pot and cover with water. Boil until tender and drain; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, finely chop scallions and place in a medium saucepan. Cover scallions with cold milk, cream or half & half; and bring slowly to a boil. Simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes, then turn off heat and leave to infuse.
3. Add the potatoes and butter to the scallions and milk mix with boiling milk and scallions. Mash with a potato masher to your desired consistency.
4. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
5. Serve with additional butter if desired.

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Mozilla Firefox Flicks Global Video Competition 2013

Do love taking videos on your smartphones and digital cameras! What if I tell you that you can use that talent in creating a masterpiece and get a chance to win some cold $$$ cash!!!! Yes you've read it right the price is $5,000. 

That did get your attention right! well read on to know how to join on this Firefox Flicks contest.

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Easiest Sausage, Pepper and Onion Recipe ever...

A month or so ago I was chatting with Aggie from Aggie's Kitchen on Twitter (follow me there).  We were talking about dinner ideas and it was decided that dinner was going to be sausage, peppers and onions.  But I was feeling real lazy and insisted on doing it in the crock pot.  Neither of us were really sure it would work.  But it did and...

It turned out good.  Really, really good.  So good in fact that I make it that way at least every other week now.

Sausage, Peppers and Onions in the Crock pot

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Italian style sausage (chicken or pork both work well)
• 2 large peppers sliced lengthwise
• 2 onions sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 can of Northern Beans, rinsed and drained (optional)

Directions:

• Cut sausage links into pieces and brown in a small bit of oil.
• Place peppers, onions, garlic, oregano, tomatoes and beans (if using) in crockpot.  
• Drain the sausage and add to the crockpot.
• Cook on low for 5-6 hrs or high for 3-4.
• Serve over rice, pasta or on a toasted roll like I have above.

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TM EXTEND - Extend the life of your favorite promo for only Php 5

TM introduces another FIRST in the industry—TM EXTEND --- which provides TM subscribers an extra 24-hours to enjoy his favorite TM promo for only Php 5.

“TM keeps true to its commitment of giving our subscribers everyday value for money through TM EXTEND which provides a one-day extension of our subscribers’ current TM promo for only P5,” explains Issa Cabreira, TM Brand Head.

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Classic Lettuce Wedge Salad

I remember it like it was yesterday. On our third date, The Baron asked me to plan our date {he planned our previous dates so I guess he needed a break lol}. I felt under pressure because the last thing I wanted to do was do something lame. So, I ended up planning a day mini golfing followed by dinner at a local steakhouse. The Baron is a steak fan... so I knew going to a steakhouse would be a good choice. Well, it was a good choice. A great choice! So great, that we ended up ordering practically the same exact meal {I love how we have such similar tastes in food}. For our salad course, we had a traditional lettuce wedge salad. Every time I think of that salad, I think of that special date. I realized that as much as I enjoy this salad, I don't make it very often. So I did recently for a dinner party and this Classic Lettuce Wedge Salad was simple and delicious with its tangy blue cheese dressing, colorful toppings of diced tomatoes and red onion, and the best part - crumbled blue cheese...

Towards the end of the year, I hosted a Prime Rib Throwdown. Prime Rib is an annual meal we have during Christmas or New Year's Eve that's normally prepared by my brother. This year, I switched things up and we decided it would be fun to have ourselves a throwdown. We both prepared our own version of prime rib and blindly served it for friends to determine which was better. For the dinner, I prepared this salad and it was a perfect salad course leading into a prime rib dinner...

Classic Lettuce Wedge Salad
recipe slightly adapted from Serious Eats



Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• 6 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound applewood-smoked bacon
• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 8 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup diced red tomato

Cooking Directions

1. To make the dressing, add the buttermilk, sour cream, 4 oz blue cheese, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper to a blender or food processor and blend to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
2. To make the salad, heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Line a metal tray with paper towels. Drain the bacon. Cool, crumble, and set aside.
3. Remove the root end from the lettuce, and cut the head into 4 wedges. Place one wedge each on four individual serving dishes. Dress each wedge with 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Garnish each with the crumbled bacon, cheese, onion, and tomatoes.        

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Windows Phone HTC 8X now available with the Smart Unlidata Data Plan 2000

Windows Phone 8 was launch last year, with some array of beautiful designed smartphones, one of this is the HTC 8X that is really slim and sexy smartphones with Dual Core Snapdragon S4 at 1.5 GHz. Recently Smart launch the availability of the HTC 8X to Smart Unlidata Plan 2000.

HTC created the Windows Phone 8X to blend the virtual and the physical utilizing a three dimensional, pure uni-body design based on the Windows Phone Live Tiles.  

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Creamy Lemon Scampi Chicken

What do you get when you pair garlic, butter and lemon? Scampi. It's one of those dishes that really gets me because it's not only good, it uses pantry staples making it easy to whip up anytime. It's been awhile since I've made shrimp scampi but with no shrimp on hand, I thought chicken would hit the spot... and it did for my guys! This Creamy Lemon Scampi Chicken was a twist on the classic scampi recipe where a creamy, luscious, garlicky, lemon sauce blankets juicy chicken breasts and served over rice or pasta...

So I can't take much credit for this recipe. In fact, I got some help from my friends at Campbell's Kitchen. I recently worked with them to try out some of their recipes and products, which helped me save some time on busy weeknights to get dinner on the table. This recipe was from their website and my favorite guys, The Baron and Joel, agreed this was a recipe I should make again.

Campbell’s Kitchen offers more than 3000 recipes to satisfy every taste, budget and busy schedule.  From seasonal favorites to quick & easy classics, you’re sure to find recipes that can be made in minutes with ingredients you have on hand. And because they’re from Campbell’s, you know they’re timeless and guaranteed to please even the pickiest eaters.

 Creamy Lemon Scampi Chicken

recipe from Campbell's®

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 (roughly 1 1/2 pounds) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Hot cooked rice or pasta for serving

Cooking Directions

1. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
2. Stir the soup, water, lemon juice and garlic in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve the chicken and sauce with the rice or pasta.        

Campbell's Kitchen has provided me with free product to help with my review, but anything I receive from Campbell's Kitchen does not affect my thoughts on its company or their product.

Presented by Campbell’s Kitchen

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Conor's Quiet Joy

Autism is a spectrum in many ways including the ways in which it is presented through various media. Everybody, particularly the main stream media,  loves the feel good stories of accomplishment.  We all suffer when we see images of self injurious behavior: common occurrences in severe autism although rarely reflected in the mainstream media or in autism research accounts.  The photos of my son Conor in the composite above show him during the recent holidays in a calm, happy mood that is seldom depicted in portrayals of autism. 

Despite the hustle and bustle that comes with the season Conor, who can become quite agitated by loud, strange noises and disrupted routines, was able to stay calm, enjoy the company of visitors and ...  be happy.  I had not viewed these images when they were taken and found them while saving some recent outdoor pictures.  

I can't explain to someone who does not have a severely autistic child with profound developmental delays how much moments like these mean to me. Conor's quiet joy is not the stuff of a CNN feature but capturing and revisiting it  makes this Dad very happy. 

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Bietoline multicolor

Non si può neppure definire una ricetta, ma era la prima volta che le acquistavo e che le vedevo sui banchi del mercato: ve le consiglio, sono delicate e decisamente coloratissime!

Vi basterà metterle in padella sgrondandole dell'acqua del lavaggio, con un velo d'olio ed un paio di spicchi di aglio schiacciati, rosolare per qualche minuto, salare e... pronti in tavola!

Nella mia cucina 
Padella Risolì
Piatti Villa d'Este Home

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Globe offers most affordable 4G Prepaid Sticks

TECHNOLOGY has made it possible for people to move their world, empowering them to become instruments in helping others in need.

Take the case of Tattoo brand ambassador Bianca Gonzalez who has been a cyberspace crusader for many years, helping rebuild hopes and dreams. Bianca has used her celebrity status and her wide cyberspace influence to be of help to other people.
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Temple Run 2 get it on your Android Devices

After a successful release on iOS platform with more than 20 million download, the ever popular Temple Run 2 is finally available for Android users too.

Well if you had played the first version, you will love this latest version more, now you are not limited to just running, jumping on some flat road with obstacle, this time there are more environments, power ups and special powers.

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The Harsh Reality End of the Autism Spectrum

If you believe IACC Neurodiversity advocates  present and past,   Ari Ne'eman and Matthew Carey,  autism is not something that should be cured.  You won't see much about the harsher aspects of life with autism disorders if you read their writings. In their view autism is nothing more than a different way of thinking, not a ...  disorder ... or group of challenging symptoms for which cures are needed.

No, the enlightened  Neurodiversity thinkers who are selected to represent the mythical "autism community" at the IACC see autism in the image of the members of the ASAN Board of Directors, researchers who work with Dr. Laurent Mottron or successful entrepreneurs.  For them, and other ND True Believers,  autism's greatest horror occurs on those rare occasions when a media outlet like Slate presents a perspective of a parent whose child presents with autism, intellectual disability and seizures, to say nothing of serious self injurious behavior or unintended aggression toward family and others who actually care for them.

I was surprised today to see CNN present a video of a family using marijuana to alleviate their son's very serious self injury.  Below is the video as shown on KPTV 12 Portland, Oregon  showing some painful realities from the harsher, severe end of the autism spectrum, far away from the irrational ideology of the Neurodiversity advocates who misrepresent autism to the world:

Following is a video From Kim Oakley a gutsy, honest mother of a severely autistic son with epilepsy and author of the blog Autism, Epilepsy and Self-Injurious Behavior, also much different from the high functioning autism of  media stars,  academics and ASAN corporate directors:

 

In the DSM5 the APA is continuing the process of eliminating the intellectually disabled and most severely challenged from the autism spectrum.  They are reducing the intellectually disabled from the vast majority of the autism spectrum pre-DSM-IV to the small segment that IACC Neurodiversity rep Matthew Carey falsely presents to the world.  

This forced removal of the intellectually disabled from the autism spectrum will not help them. It will not aid us in understanding why persons with symptoms of autism, intellectual disability and epilepsy are so prevalent in association with each other.  It is not based on "science".  It is intellectually dishonest. It is cold indifference to the realities of severely autistic children and adults. 

Autistic children and mothers were once hurt by the unsubstantiated cold mothers theories of Kanner and Bettleheim. Today it is in fact parents who know of the realities facing their severely autistic children far better than the academics and Neurodiversity ideologues who are once again banishing them from sight.  

Today the real cold parents are the clinical and research professionals who are supposed to help autistic children but are abandoning those most in need of their help. They are, to borrow the APA expression, cleaving meat loaf at the joints. they are cleaving from their sanitized spectrum those who present with the most challenging autism symptoms. 

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VISUAL FEAST IV

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CITY 

The sun peeps over the horizon, grasse matinée, watching the sun rise from under the covers we begin our day.

The sun rises a little higher, testing the water one toe at a time, deciding to dress in brilliance. Hand in hand, as is our way, we wander the streets taking in the charm, the humor seasoned with a dash of tongue-in-cheek satire, Nantes’ hidden secrets.

Hangar à banane, les machines de l’île, our Sunday stroll. We savor the sights, the imagination burgeoning from the streets, bursting from the hearts of our fellow nantais. The trumpeting bellow of the beast, his slow, lumbering walk across the pavement. Skirting around the totem feet, scurrying back to town.

White light bouncing off the white stone of this white white city. Handsome women, virile men in tarnished bronze stare elegantly off into space seeing what isn’t there as the water shimmers down their shoulders, over their bodies. Winter offers a glittering cloak of white and chill; disrobed, robed.

Music for the eyes, for the ears, for the soul. The city is alive and dancing. Just for us.

Night falls, misty, damp. The lights on the island like flames blurred through tears, flames beckoning, drawing us closer. Night falls on my city and I bring its magic home with me as I crawl back into bed, snuggle under the covers, between the cool sheets. I close my eyes and wonder what tomorrow will bring, what sky will greet me in the morning when we draw the shutters open.

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