Very proud of my cake

Here is the chocolate cake I made for my son's 3rd birthday.

Little artist

My little one just loves to paint, he gets so serious about it :-)
And I love this pic.

Nice hair style

It is winter and I have decided not to cut my hair for a little while, just to see how it looks and what cool things I can do with it.
Here's an example of what I would like to try :)

Low Dutch Twisted Braid Updo

My baby boy

 

Almost there

Less then a hundred days until baby is here!!

It is really exciting and I can't wait to meet my baby boy. I talk to him all the time and watch him move around in my belly, and it is really funny to see my belly change shapes.

Next week, the first part of the family is arriving to spend the holidays with us! This is our last Christmas as a 2 person family :)

Hope you will all have a great time!

What's new?

And here it is, me and my belly at 22 weeks.

That's the exciting news of the summer :D

He (yes it is a baby boy) became my obsession and my world in such a short time, it is just amazing. It's the beginning of the greatest of all adventures. Let's have fun!

just yummi

Zucchini and Ricotta Galette (smittenkitchen.com)

Crust adapted from Williams-Sonoma, filling adapted from a Cook’s Illustrated tart

I might be tempted to double the cheese filling next time I make this; it puffed beautifully in the oven but then deflated a bit. Then again, at their current levels, the zucchini and cheese balance each other nicely. There’s something to be said for not fixing what ain’t broken, right?

Since I oohed and aahed over this crust, for those that like to dissect recipes as I do, I thought I’d note that funnily enough, it’s an almost-match for my favorite pie dough, in technique as well, save two ingredients which apparently make all of the difference: 1/4 cup sour cream and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. What this makes is an even flakier, softer pastry, the kind that leaves croissant crumbs everywhere. I know the next obvious question is “so, can I use this for a pie dough?” but I don’t advise it. It is too soft. It will get soaked and deflated under all of that heavy baked fruit. It is at its best when it is free form, just like this.

Serves 6

For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chill again
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water

Filling:
1 large or 2 small zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup (about 1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon slivered basil leaves

Glaze:
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Make dough: Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make filling: Spread the zucchini out over several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let drain for 30 minutes; gently blot the tops of the zucchini dry with paper towels before using. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil and the garlic together; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon of the garlicky olive oil together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare galette: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet (though if you line it with parchment paper, it will be easier to transfer it to a plate later). Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the galette dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Shingle the zucchini attractively on top of the ricotta in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of the garlic and olive oil mixture evenly over the zucchini. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open. Brush crust with egg yolk glaze.

Bake the galette until the cheese is puffed, the zucchini is slightly wilted and the galette is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with basil, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Solar Energy

Today I am just looking at what's new online, thanks to Feedly, and I just want to share this with you. If you are interested in solar energy and how it works, Check this out How does solar energy work?

Have a great day!

Recipe of the week :)

I just found this recipe on smittenkitchen.com and it just seems yummy!

Let me know how it turns out!

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes

While the Guinness in the cake gets mostly baked out, the Baileys is fresh and potent, so if you’re making this for people who don’t drink — ahem, nobody I know, but I hear such people exist — you’ll probably want to swap it with milk.

The Baileys frosting recipe makes a smallish amount of frosting — enough to just cover the cupcakes. Because they were so rich and this frosting so sweet, I felt it only needed a little. Double it if you want more of a towering effect.

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling (Updated to double it, based on many commenters suggestions — thanks!)
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting (see Recipe Notes)
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag (though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work)

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

[This is a fantastic trick I picked up while working on the cupcakes article for Martha Stewart Living; the test kitchen chefs had found that when they added the sugar slowly, quick buttercream frostings got less grainy, and tended to require less sugar to thicken them up.]

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes. [I used a star tip and made little "poofs" everywhere and sprinkled it with various colors of sanding sugar to keep it looking festive for New Years. I bet shaved dark and white chocolates would look gorgeous as well.]

Do ahead: You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)

Yoga & Me

I decided to start Yoga and it is just amazing: it makes me feel good, happy, relaxed... Try it and you'll see. I haven't been doing it for long and I already feel great. I have more energy, I am less stressed and my back feels great.

And if you are interested check this out http://www.yogajournal.com/

Enjoy

Cute

Parce que ça fait du bien de rire http://www.professeurdesecoles.net/

The Debate Over Social Media at the Office - Entrepreneur.com

Check out these two articles.
The Debate Over Social Media at the Office - Entrepreneur.com
I think it is really interesting to see how things have changed and how it can be hard to deal with the new technologies. I don't think that people should spend all their day on Facebook while at work, but why not allow people to check it from time to time (taking a little break?) and then be (more) efficient? Everybody needs a break: it use to be a cigarette break or a coffee break, why not a facebook or twitter break? That's assuming that people know how to manage their time and their priorities :)

December in New York

Mon ordinateur devient fou.....

Oui, les saisons, c'est devenu du n'importe quoi: une semaine il fait 6, celle d'après 25... du grand n'importe quoi.
Et biensûr mon ordi, qui se dit que lui aussi veut suivre la tendance, décide de faire des siennes. Il y a d'abord eu le disque dur que j'ai dû remplacer (heureusement sous garantie), et maintenant c'est la carte graphique.... d'abord des traits de couleurs sur l'écran, puis des zones d'ombres puis plus rien!!! Je bosse sur un écran externe, mais tout de même je m'étais bien habituée à mes deux écrans :)
Et puis comme si ce n'était pas suffisant, mon dossier photos est... vide aaaahhhhhh!!! non mais c'est quoi ce délire.... Heureusement il n'y avait que deux albums que je n'avais pas sauvegardé ailleurs, mais bon quand même!!!

Enfin voilà.

L'automne est arrivé...

Et oui ça y est. Hier pour la première fois depuis qu'on est arrivé à Norfolk j'ai eu froid le matin et en fin de journée.... Je suppose que c'est normal, l'automne arrive tranquillement. Heureusement que les journées sont encore chaudes et agréables :)

Côté boulot, tout va bien pour le moment et on verra ce qu'il se passe avec mon visa en jnavier, on en saura peut-être un peu plus.
Voilà, les news. On attend la famille pour Noël!!!

Bon allez, je vais bosser car cet après-midi nous partons à Sherman (10h de route) pour le mariage d'un ami :)

What a big surprise!!!!

It couldn't have been better!!!!



Voici la petite histoire qui va avec la photo:

C'est à peu près à cette époque qu'on s'est connu en 2007, donc James m'invite au restaurant,et comme cela faisait un bon moment que nous n'étions pas allé au restaurant on se fera une soirée chic. Je ne sais pas où nous allons c'est une surprise.

Nous voici donc débarquer dans un petit resto à côté de chez nous: Voilà (C'est le nom du resto). Petit resto "international" mais vu les plats sur la carte, c'est un resto français. Bref on arrive, le serveur est là, à l'entrée, et il nous emmène directement à une table sur laquelle il y a un bouquet de roses rouges et un gros ballon en forme de rose (trop mignon). Nous commandons du bordeaux. Le repas: James commande une Fajita en entrée, puis un steak au poivre. Moi je commande un feuilleté au chèvre chaud sur un coulis de fraise, puis un carré d'agneau avec des pistaches grillées. Tout est très bon, je dirais même délicieux!

Bref c'est le moment de choisir le dessert. Comme on a trop mangé on décide de partager un truc style flan au chocolat. James décide de prendre du champagne, moi je n'en veux pas, le serveur me dit "oh allez, une petite coupe pour finir la soirée", bon d'accord, va pour le champagne. Le serveur nous porte le flan, qu'il pose entre nous deux, et là me donne une assiette pour y mettre ma part de dessert, je regarde, et LA boîte est sur l'assiette. Le temps de relever la tête vers James pour "comprendre" ce qu'il se passe et il est déjà à mes côtés, un genou à terre et dit quelque chose, attrape la bague et me la met. Je sens les larmes rouler sur mes joues, le serveur applaudi, du coup on entend un "ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" dans le restaurant tout le monde applaudi, nous félicite jajajajaa à l'américaine quoi.

voilà en gros comment ça c'est passé :D

Chincoteague

Le week-end après le concert nous sommes allés à Chincoteague voir des amis. C'est un petite île située à 2h au Nord de Norfolk. Elle connue pour ses chevaux sauvages qui y gambadent. Petit week-end relaxant :D

Crüe Fest2

Ce soir nous sommes allez voir Motley Crüe en concert, C'était encore mieux que l'année dernière. Ils ont joué tout l'album Dr. Feel Good" et des chansons de "Saints of Los Angeles" ENORME!! Nous avons payé $10 pour les places. Ok on était un peu loin mais on voyait bien la scène. Puis juste avant que Motley Crüe commence, oh surprise, on nous a donné 3 entrées pour s'asseoir juste derrière la fosse: TROP BIEN!!!


Petite vidéo pour le plasir:

Les sirènes

Si j'ai bien compris, la sirène est l'emblême de Norfolk donc il y en a partout de toutes les couleurs!! Elles ont toutes la même pose mais leur décoration varie.

Around Norfolk

Premier festival à Norfolk: Harborfest!!! puis ensuite Virginia Beach


USS Winsconsin