Random thoughts

A Night in Havana... possibly some of the yummiest cheesecake bars ever.

Also, technology seems to be flipping me off today.

Does anyone know of an herbal extract that makes one less prone to procrastination? Cause yeah... I'm doing that. A lot. In fact, I'm doing it right now. >_<

Leader-member exchange theory is kind of interesting... but it's nothing I needed to buy a textbook for. Speaking of which, where IS my textbook?

Does this link work? It's an article on how much the US economy is based on people buying stuff they really don't need. Yay, microeconomics!

The goods.

Okay kids, here's the official list so far... there will be some new items coming soon, so stay tuned!

Super-Specialty Cheesecakes

A Night in Havana - $28

The Antioxidant Supreme - $30

Blackberry Bouquet - $28

Mi Amoretto - $28

Vanilla, Spice and Everything Nice - $28

Red Rooibos, Red Rooibos - $30

Love from Lebanon - $30

Kiss from an Irish Gentleman - $30

Li’l Miss Pistachio - $32

Dr. Rea’s Favorite Candy Bar - $32

The Chaiwalla - $30

(You can also sponsor the development of your own dream cheesecake flavor! 

Ask me for details.)

But Hey, They're Special Too!

Plain - $27

Lemon and Rosemary - $27

Lavender & Vanilla Bean - $27

Mint Chocolate Chip - $27

Almond & Raspberry - $27

Maple Walnut - $30

Fudge Swirl - $28

Cookies and Crème - $28

Marbled Pumpkin - $28

Butter Pecan - $32

Mini (4”) cheesecakes also available-- $8.00 each or 4 for $30!

Cakes, Bundts... and Baseballs?*

Cinnamon Coffee Cake (Bundt) - $12

With Nuts - $15

Maple Walnut Coffee Cake (Bundt) - $15

Chocolate Stout Cake (Bundt) - $17

Brown Ale & Butterscotch Cake (Bundt) - $17

*prices recently adjusted for inflation

Layer Cakes are available as well and come with your choice of topping:

Buttercreme: Vanilla, Salted Caramel or Chocolate;

Cream Cheese Frosting: Vanilla, Cinnamon, or Chocolate;

Fruit: Raspberry, Blueberry or Blackberry;

Homemade butterscotch, chocolate ganache, or anything else* you can dream up available upon request. (Prices vary by cake shape and number of layers… and various other stuff.)

*No elephants, pandas or the like, please... they're endangered.

 

Cookies (by the dozen!)

Spiced Red Wine Cookies - $7

Tiny Chocolate Chip - $4

With Nuts - $5

Lemon-Rosemary Slices (fantastic with tea!) - $6

Mini Molasses - $4

Homemade Oreos (ask about flavors!) - $6

Pistachio Shortbreads - $6

Maple Walnut/Pecan - $6

Red, White and Mac-Nutty - $6

Cashew Butter - $8

Atonement Cookies - $7

Italian Cookie Sampler/Holiday Platters available!

Prices and cookies vary; contact me for more info.

Brownies, Blondies…& a Redhead?

Fudgetastic Brownies (w/ organic Fair Trade cocoa)(doz) - $12

Spicy Kahlua Brownies (doz) - $20

Sexy Blondes (two toppings) - $20

Watt’s Whiskey Blondies - $20

Dessert Breads

Sweet Potato Zucchini Bread - $10

With nuts - $12

Perfect Pumpkin Bread - $10

Blueberry Buckle (pan) - $12

With nuts - $15

Mom's Gingerbread (pan) - $13

Spiced Apple/Pear Sauce Cake - $10

Brown Butter Pound Cake - $12.50

Pies for Everybody!

Fresh Fruit Pie (seasonal, ask me) - $25

Somethin' Special Pecan Pie - $20

Sweet Potato or Pumpkin - $20

Banana, Coconut, Vanilla, or Chocolate Cream Pie - $22

Twisty Cone Cream Pie (vanilla + chocolate, or create your own!) - $25

Te-Key-la Lime Pie - $25

Cranberry-Walnut Pie - $25

 Feel free to email me any questions, comments, and special requests you may have.

Food for thought.

http://littlepinkbook.com/little-pink-book/life/9-to-5-myth

If any of you reading this are women who have aspirations to either move up in your current job/industry or maybe begin something of your own, littlepinkbook.com is an AMAZING resource. Bookmark it. Sign up for the newsletter. Write little journal entries about the articles you find that inspire you and make you feel like you CAN actually do that thing you really want to do but are just kind of storing away because you don't really believe in yourself that much. It's interesting what changes you can make by just playing the economist for a second and saying, "Okay, so let's assume that I'm doing this/that I am the kind of person who could actually pull this off."

Changing the way you think is just a first step in changing the way you live. Try it.

A Well-Deserved Shout Out to Famous Lunch!!

So I walked into the library at Sage just now, and look what caught my eye:

Yay!!! This place (Famous Lunch, on Congress St. between 4th and 5th streets) is one of my top 3 in Troy, and the only place I will eat out for breakfast. Scotty rocks the grill all morning long and always makes my scrambled eggs and homefries absolutely perfect. The article talks about how the business has changed very little since its opening (in 1932!) minus the change in decor in 1949. And NO ONE can beat the prices (which haven't changed much either) for the quality. Extremely good food, simple, a community staple.

The Metroland article can be found here.

Go Scotty!

I finally gave in...

... and succumbed to the lure of the cupcake. Here are the results.

The pink is colored with acai berry. Pretty fun project, I must say... and the customer who ordered them declared after trying one that it was "the BEST chocolate cupcake I've ever tasted!"

Epic.

Just wanted to say

I slightly altered the recipe for my Butter Pecan cheesecake on a whim...


... oh baby. I've still got it. ^_^

That said, I will be launching some new flavors this summer; stay tuned for Fried Plantains, Tiramisu, and something yummy involving margaritas. Some exciting new developments are happening too; more info soon to come.

A quick recap

Wow, how time does fly...

Hey everybody, I'm back from a hectic month. Boy, can school get crazy! Not only that, but moving, work and a veeery productive/profitable Valentine's Day sure add to the crazy-mix. The big hits this year were Babycakes... the adorable little heart-shaped wonder that is a layer of your favorite cake on the bottom (I started with my all-natural Auburn Velvet cake (due to the absence of an obscenely large dose of artificial red food coloring, this creation came out a more sultry, dark red-brown color... not unlike the color of my hair at the present, actually). Observe...

And here's a variation... instead of the Velvet, these have the uber-popular Chocolate Stout cake as their base...

As last week was Spring Break, I took a couple days off and visited my city of inspiration (Boston), where CoOriginal Creations was born. I frolicked around the city, ate at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, and my good friend (and co-founder of COC), Beth, and I tried out a new idea for a bar. Think creamy, like Key Lime pie; instead of lime, the creaminess is reminiscent of fresh, tangy raspberries, sweet apricots, with a hint of almond. The crust is a crunchy, crumbly, buttery, whole-grain shortbread.

In a word? YUM.

I will admit, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting... but it was darn good. Below is a picture of how it started out (I'd wanted to get a good detail shot of the whole thing, but Beth had already snuck a piece...

... and this is what it looked like about 5 minutes later, when I'd gotten over my indignation and taken a piece too.

The crumbly stuff on top was awesome. It was just a mixture of brown sugar, chopped almonds and something else, but it was lovely. It added just a bit of a different texture, and Beth and I both love variety of texture when it comes to food.

Here are a few more pictures from my trip...

My favorite fresh veg spring rolls in the entire world!

Looking east on Boylston St. from Copley Square. Please note - there are no effects on this... the sky is just beautiful.

 

Copley is one of my most favorite places to be in the city. It was too chilly to sit on the library steps for hours, but in the late spring/summer, that's exactly what I would be doing here.

Aaaaand, last but certainly not least... the beautiful skyline. *sigh*

I see blue, sunny skies outside!!! Go enjoy the day kids!