SMOOTHIES!

I have become obsessed with making smoothies after my mom showed me this amazing mixer she bought a while back and these nifty little easy to follow recipe magazines you can pick up at any grocery store. Smoothie King withdrawals have caused me to start making my own.

I made a short video awhile back following one of the recipes. I’ve been experimenting, the other day I made a chocolate strawberry smoothie. It was pretty yummy. :9 But for this video I made a blueberry fruit smoothie, not sure why the blueberry gets to be in the name, but that’s what it was called. You can always substitute with fruit of your liking, my favorite combination is raspberries and strawberries. *Tip: sometimes the seeds sort of get in the way, so if you hate pulp then you might not like the texture the seeds leave behind, so you can always strain the smoothie before serving it in a glass.* Also, I’ve been having fun with using the cute cups my mom has acquired. Making a smoothie was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be, of course that could just be because I’m incompetent when it comes to making things that don’t require yarn or fabric. Before using actual measurements and this new mixer, I would just wing it. I thought making a smoothie was just about adding certain ingredients together.  Oh was I wrong, I created some pretty gross concoctions. I won’t scare you with the details.  But now my smoothies have been coming out pretty good, I’ve been having a smoothie every other day. Perfect treat for a hot day.

• 1 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peaches
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

Hope you guys enjoy making your own smoothies and thanks for reading and commenting.

This post was written by:

KIM VERA - (view all posts by Kim)
Kim works as a museum Copywriter and helps out with events from time to time. When she isn’t working or blogging, she is probably off taking a nap. Feel free to email her at kim@mind-speaks.com

Valentine Sweetie

So Valentine’s Day was yesterday, Mija and I decided to make some yummy sweets for our coworkers. And because I like posting about cute things such as this. XD

So I have been wanting to learn how to knit a 3D heart for the longest time…ever since I first learned to knit to be exact. So this year I finally knuckled down and decided to learn. But I am the type of learner that learns better after watching someone else do it. So having two years of searching the net I found many tutorials for crochet versions and a few knitted versions. All of which were impossible for me to handle. Then my favorite knitter just happened to post a knitted heart tutorial on her youtube channel. I proceeded to learn how to make the flat heart and then decided to make two flat hearts and sew them together to make it 3D. It came out alright for a first try but I was not as satisfied with it. Then the next day she posted this wonderful tutorial on how to knit a 3D heart. And I was determined to master the pattern,after many crooked and lopsided hearts I have now memorized the pattern. I am still perfected it but I think I now have a handle on it. I decided to knit a few for my editors, I tied some around baggies of chocolate covered pretzels.

And because I was in such a hurry I didn’t even take a picture of the finished baggies. But this isn’t the last you’ll see of these hearts. I intend to use them for many occasions.So we made chocolate covered strawberries, pretzels and even marshmallows. The chocolate pretzels were sooooo good, we had some leftover but they didn’t last for very long. :9 I’m also craving cheesecake at the moment. I always tend to update about food when I’m most hungry.  So frustrating!!!

Well that was my Valentine’s Day. I hope yours was just as nice and I hope you spent it eating delicious food. Because that’s how it should be spent.

This post was written by:

KIM VERA - (view all posts by Kim)
Kim works as a museum Copywriter and helps out with events from time to time. When she isn’t working or blogging, she is probably off taking a nap. Feel free to email her at kim@mind-speaks.com

Pan Dulce

So this recipe is a work in processes I’ve been wanting to make Pan Dulce for a long time now ( for those who do not know what pan dulce is its a Mexican sweet bread with a cookie shell on top.)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of yeast
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/2 cup luke water
• 3 1/2  cup of water
• 4 eggs, beaten and room temperature

Preparations:

Mix 1 table spoon of sugar and yeast into lukewarm water. let it sit for 10 mins.

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Slowly add in eggs, salt, and yeast mixture. Add flour in 1 cup at a time until incorporated. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45 mins.

Divide dough into 16 pieces and shape each into a ball. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet with plenty of space between each ball. Press each ball slightly to flatten it. let dough rise for a hour. After the dough is on its way to rising make topping.

Topping ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of shortening
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Optional: food coloring

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. With you’re hands, divided the topping into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and roll it out on a floured surface. Until its large enough to cover each dough. About 5 inches in diameter. Lightly press topping onto dough and use a knife to cut a pattern into the topping, but not into the dough.

After you add topping bake at 350 for about 15 mins or until lightly golden.

I still want to work on this recipe so if y’all do decide to make it I would love your opinion on it ^^

Also since it doesn’t have preservatives it will only keep for two to three days.

Enjoy~

~Kat~

This post was written by:

KAT VERA - (view all posts by Kat)
Kat is a lead pastry chef. When she isn’t in the kitchen she’s traveling space and time with Doctor Who and solving mysteries with Sherlock. Email her at kat@mind-speaks.com