Chocolate olives

We love olives! Any colour, stuffed or unstuffed, marinated or plain, pitted or unpitted, Italian or Greek (well, we do favour the Italian), canned, jarred, or homemade, we just plain love olives. This gigantic jar gifted to us from a very dear friend is full of Greek olives, pearl onions, sweet peppers, jalapenos, almonds, and garlic. These olives remind me of a certain olive grove in Italy; I don't remember picking olives ( I was more interested in chocolate back then) but I was in the company of people who were labouring to harvest the hard green olives that would then be transformed into liquid gold olive oil. My tastes have matured and I can now appreciate both chocolate and olives; nutella-stuffed olives anyone?

Good-bye Maura, Hello apple pie

It's been a quick visit; shopping, only one movie, lots of appointments, and chinese take-out. But in between packing this morning, she had time to whip up a mountain-high apple pie that is so good it renders you speechless.

Gaga over Prada

This is what caught my eye today as I wandered through VV during my lunchhour. Love the colours and the zippered bottom compartment. There is even a tiny key to lock the bag. Overall, the purse is in good condition, with just one little stain on the front. Roomy on the inside with one pocket which displays the Made in Italy label. Very pricey so it is still there, if you are interested.

No before, just after

I don't have a before picture of this cardholder that I found at a thrift store; all I can say is that it was brown. It also had hinged doors on top so Mr. Cowboy removed them, filled all the holes, gave it a good sanding, and even made a new knob for the drawer. One coat of linen white paint and it was ready to go to the store filled with some new cards.

Sunday buns

These are called Sweet Orange Buns and though they are great tasting they are a little too sweet. Very strong black coffee needed when having one of these babies. The dough is wonderful to work with but the next time I make them I am going to omit the three cups of confectioners' sugar and one cup of butter that is used to make the filling which is spread all over the rectangle of dough and then rolled up into a log like cinnamon buns. A sprinkle of sugar and lots of cinnamon will make these just as good. And maybe next time I'll add all the orange zest right into the dough.
The recipe is from the latest issue of Saveur magazine.

Chocolate hedgehogs

I just love this fabric that I found in the remnant bin at Fabricland - hearts and hedgehogs. It is 100% cotton so it will make a nice shopping bag; I'm going to pair it with a stripe for the bag liner and a nice red or brown for the pockets. Have already photocopied it several times to use for cards or in my scrapbook. Oh, right and then there is the cake. This is the best Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake that I have ever had. The frosting is made with bittersweet chocolate and tons of butter. The recipe is from the April 2010 issue of Bon Appetit.
This was the 'Happy Saturday' cake that I took to work today. Made for a very enjoyable day what with everyone wearing their chocolate smiles.

Quiet post

Sunday walk

Fortified with apple pie pancakes (Michael Smith recipe) and tons of coffee we braved the frosty morning and walked the reservoir trail. The path was icy, the sun warming us as we trudged up the hill. A bald eagle circling the mountain,too far for pictures. We walked as far as the ravine, neither of us wanting to risk the treacherous trail to get to the other side.

Piazza Navona

It's almost like being back in highschool, posters covering every inch of wall space in your room and the insides of your locker. These days I've given up the posters but every time I open my locker at work, he's there to put a smile on my face. Now you are all probably assuming that it is a picture of Mr. Cowboy, but it is not. And it's not even a real picture; it's just a photocopy of a black and white photo from his book. He's sitting at a cafe in Roma in Piazza Navona at night. Just sitting there, all by himself. He certainly won't be by himself on June 16th.