World Nutella Day 2014: Pinterest pin tested!

For World Nutella Day (that's today - February 5th!) - I decided to celebrate by testing out one of my easiest recipes on my Recipes To Remember Pinterest board - the 3-Ingredient Nutella Brownie.  Unfortunately, this does not in any way fall into the "paleo" or in any way healthy category... but if you're looking for an easy and delicious treat, this pin is definitely approved!

With only three ingredients involved (nutella, flour and eggs), this recipe had the potential to be either REALLY good, or REALLY bad.

Thankfully, it turned out to be really good!  The ingredients are all things I had on hand, so it was easy to just pull everything out and not have to worry about shopping for anything special.  If I'd had nuts or chocolate chips, I might have mixed them into the batter, or put a few on top.  But they tasted great without any additions at all!

The batter was a little bit sticky, but easy to work with.  And once they were in the oven, the entire house smelled divine within 15-20 minutes!

My brownies only needed about 25 minutes to bake (and even then, I could have probably taken them out a minute or two earlier to get that gooey centre!), but they were perfect with an afternoon cup of tea!

They puffed up nicely after being baked and they looked and tasted awesome!

Future serving options:
- with vanilla ice cream and maybe some raspberry coulis
- with fresh strawberries and whipped cream
- with nuts or chocolate chips mixed into the batter.

So many other ways to serve this!  How would you do it?

Happy World Nutella Day!

Craft Journals

Do you keep a craft journal?  Now that Pinterest is around, I guess a lot of people save their craft ideas right there... but here's a project I came up with before Pinterest, that for some reason, I've never blogged about!

I started with this old folder that I had, and made it a bit more visually appealing.  I added paper, sticker, book quotes and more... just stuff that inspires me and would make me want to open the book.

Inside, the folder (which had a little metal tab to keep everything in place), was divided into sections.  The first section was for tutorials and templates, and I included different ideas that I found scattered around the web, but I also included several sheets of lined paper, so that I could add my own tutorial ideas.
This was particularly useful for blogging, because I could write down what I was doing, and scribble out or add notes as I went along.

I made sure to include dividers with pockets, so that I could slip anything in that didn't fit between the metal tabs.  I have a habit of picking up those little craft sheets from Michael's, even though I rarely make anything from them... so this was a good place to store those.

This picture just amuses me, because even way back then, it was absolutely necessary to have a full tab of party ideas.  I've always loved throwing parties, and I'm super stoked that I've now organized that into my new venture, Superflash Creative.  I would love to help you plan your next party! Just leave me a comment and get in touch.





I'm actually kind of sad that this book didn't end up making the move with me, from Toronto to Florida.  Even though I didn't use it much in the last year or so... it makes me nostalgic.  Perhaps I will just have to create myself a new folder!

So, how do you organize your craft ideas?  Has it changed in the Pinterest days, or do you still keep things on paper?

I'll leave you with this lovely quote from the inside cover :)

Zucchini Sweet Potato Fritters

I LOVE Pinterest! I'm pretty sure I use Pinterest nearly every night to inspire my dinner creations... and I'm glad to know that I've in turn inspired lots of other people's dinners through my Primal Living board!
This recipe is a riff on something I found on Pinterest - Zucchini Fritters by AlexandraCooks.com. As soon as I saw these, I knew I wanted to try them... but I thought I'd make them a little more primal friendly, and see if I could make them using only ingredients in the house.  I cut the amounts too, because it was only me eating dinner, and I didn't think they would reheat very well at work, where we only have a microwave.

Fritters:
- 1 zucchini, grated
- 1/4 of a sweet potato, grated
- sea salt
- pinch of almond flour
- 1 egg
- sage, oregano, (or your choice of spices) salt & pepper to taste
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup red onion
- 1 tbsp butter

Tzaziki:
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
- salt to taste
- squeeze of lemon juice

Method:

1. Grate your zucchini and sweet potato (I used a mandoline) and place in a colander.  Add salt to draw out the moisture.  The original recipe asks you to allow the vegetables to drain for 30 minutes, but I found that even after that time, they were still retaining A LOT of moisture.  What I did was grabbed the vegetables in my hands and squeezed them out, repeatedly.  After most of the liquid was squeezed out, I pressed it between sheets of paper towels 3-4 times, to draw out additional liquid.  I added the almond flour (seriously, just a little sprinkle) and let the veggies sit in the colander while I mixed the tzaziki.

2. To make the tzaziki, add all the items to a bowl and mix well.  Taste to make sure the salt is okay, then chill in the refrigerator until the fritters are done.

3.  Add the egg, spices and lemon zest to a bowl and whisk.  Once incorporated, add the vegetable mixture, plus the red onion.  Stir it all together.

4. In a large frying pan, melt the butter and form three (if you followed my measurements) circles from the batter.  Flatten them with a spoon, because they won't spread very much naturally.
I had it set to medium-high heat (around 6 on the dial) and wait for them to brown.  It may take a little longer than you expect, but check them every couple of minutes.  I think mine ended up taking at least 7-10 minutes on each side.

5. Once they're cooked, serve with a side of the tzaziki, and enjoy!