German Chocolate Brownie Mouse Cakes

Brownie One Person cakes with chocolate mouse and vanilla butter-cream frosting. Happy birthday skye!


Brownie Mix:
8- 1 ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup butter
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cupcake tin. In a bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix until blended. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients. Incorporate together until smooth, about 2 - 3 minutes. Pour into cupcake tins and bake for 15 - 20 min. Check them so they don't get to hard and crunchy. There ready just when a toothpick goes in and comes out clean. Save for later and let cool.

Use chocolate mouse recipe from before. Let cool in fridge.

For Butter-cream frosting
1/2 cup of butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon warm water
1 egg white

mix all the ingredients in a bowl on medium high until smooth. Let sit in fridge for 30 min - an hour.

To assemble the holiest of unholy;
cut brownie cup cakes in half, hamburger way ( horizontal ). Fill with chocolate mouse and put back together, saving a little for decorating designs. Let them all sit for 30 min in the freezer. Take out and frost! Decorate with chocolate mouse using a tooth pick.

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Sugar Cookies

I have never been a baker. It takes timing, knowledge, patience and creative problem solving on the spot with a gentle hand. I always over work dough, over flour and burn. So when I decided I would attempt to make a cookie as a gift for Christmas, I was a little scared at the outcome. Being an explorer at heart I figured " what the fuck" and went with a classic. The sugar cookie. I knew only one person could tell me truly how to do it best...

I used Martha Stewart's Recipe, Ideal Sugar Cookies.
Martha has always been my hero, despite what some people say about her. Now I know she is a stuck up bitch, but she is a Boss Bitch and she knows how to bake. Hell, straight out of jail she was back on t.v making 'green brownies' with the rap icon Snoop Dogg. If that isn't keeping it real, I don't know what is.


Anyways, My cookies came out perfect, 15 min on the dot they were golden. You can cut them into any shape or size and it makes about 2 dozen 4inch sized cut out cookies. I went with circles and oh's because there easy. The frosting I decided I would do classic Royal Icing, which I found out by experience does NOT taste as good as it looks. I didn't research the fact that this icing tasted similar to soap, more so as I saw the words "glossy" and "royal".

Royal Icing Mix
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
food dye for color, optional

In a mixer or hand mixer blend together the egg whites, lemon juice and vanilla on low until blended. Slowly, cup at a time, add in the sugar turning up your mixer to medium low. Do not blend to fast or you will end up with dense whipped cream. Finally, add in the food dye. Use immediately as the icing will begin to harden when exposed to air ( giving it a glossy finish )
Stuff in a pastry bag and your ready to go!

Note: never will I again attempt to make a pastry bag out of parchment paper from scratch. It is the work of satan and far more frustrating than worth the end results. Hail to whoever designed pre made resuable pastry bags.

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ultimate grilled cheese!

Remember that fancy pesto walnut mayo spread? I didn't lie when I said it would make the ultimate grilled cheese. Okay so this is probably abusing the fact that I said walnuts are healthy by suffocating them in extra sharp cheddar cheese but...
look at that ^
holy shit! isn't that tasty!?


2 slices of crunchy bread like sourdough, french or ciabatta
About 1/4 cup cheese or 2 slices of any good aged cheese. I used extra sharp cheddar
2 tbsp Fancy Pants Mayo
Dried Parsley and Paprika for garnish
Nonstick cooking spray

Try Also: Sliced Tomato, Sprouts, Spinach, Avocado or Red Onions.
And Vegans, If you have found a soy/almond or "cheez" spread you love, sub it!

Spray your pan with nonstick cooking spray just enough to make it slick. Take your bread and on the inside of one piece spread out the Fancy Pants Mayo. Add whatever garnishes or veggies you like, Tomatoes and fresh basil would really make this grilled cheese but I was out. On your cool pan layer the bread, garnishes, cheese and anything else, sandwich style. Grill one side on high heat for about 2 min until golden, then flip and turn down to medium low and grill for about 6 min until cheese is goey and melted. Cut and serve! Pair with a side of tomato soup!

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double chocolate Mouse With Mint Whipped Cream

So, sense I got my kitchenaid mixer early, I obviously just HAD to use it. To see if it worked... Anyways, it's probably the most beautiful piece of equipment my peasant hands will ever have the grace of using and I fucking love it. Whipped cream fluffed up in seconds with high airy peaks, Cookie dough batter perfectly incorporated and creamed butter the most velvety I have ever seen. <33 style="font-size:130%;">Chocolate Mouse:
4oz extra dark bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter, chopped
3 eggs, without the yolks (yellow stuff)




Start by adding your cream to a medium sized bowl and using an electric mixer, fluff up on high speed rotating slightly until soft peaks start to form. ( Meaning you could stick a spoon in it and when you pulled the spoon out there would be a little peak in it. ) Move the whipped cream to the fridge and chill.

Now cut up your dark chocolate into fine little strips. Get your double boiler going. You want the pan on the bottom to only have a couple inches of water in it and to be at a low simmer. The water should NEVER touch the top pan, even when bubbling. In double boiler top melt the butter and chocolate stirring constantly and gently until melted. Add vanilla extract. Once the chocolate has melted dip your pinky in it and place some on your bottom lip. It should feel warm, but not too cold or too hot. If its not warm to the point where you really feel it, continue to melt. If its hot, take it off the burner and let it cool for about 10 min.

in another small bowl ( I know, a lot of dishes ) use your electric mixer to fluff up your egg whites until they start to get frothy. Add sugar and fluff up again. Your chocolate should be cool by now. Take your egg whites and mix them in to your hot chocolate a little bit at a time, stirring so the eggs don't cook. Your chocolate should get a little glossy and thicker. Take your whipped cream and ad a quarter of the chocolate to it, FOLDING, not stirring, gently until incorporated. Do this until completely mixed. Your mouse should be light and fluffy, if you stir it too much it will get thick, dense and heavy. Put it back in the fridge and let it cool for 1 hour or overnight.

Sweet Mint Whipped Cream:
I layered my mouse with this because I felt that it needed something to make the dish brighter and feel lighter. The mint goes great with the dark chocolate and makes the entire dish feel... happy :]

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp mint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Just like before, in a medium bowl ( i don't recommend trying it in a small bowl, I learned that the hard way ) fluff up your heavy cream until high peaks start to form, about 3 - 4 min depending on the strength of your mixer. Once the consistency of whipped cream forms, add both extracts and mix again. Now, with your mixer turned down to medium high, slowly add in the sugar so as not to clump. Tada! Light, fluffy, sweet and minty homemade whipped cream!

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christmas came early

My boyfriend came home from work today with my Christmas present's. It's three days before Christmas but I'm still terribly impatient. After struggling with trying to figure out what it was and him tearing up the receipt he finally caved in and gave it to me. At first he said "its a perfume." that would have been nice but he just got me a perfume a couple months ago and I sparingly use that so when I heard what it was my expression got a little flat. I opened it up anyways and guess how surprised and silly I felt!


later tonight I'm making sugar cookies, chocolate mouse and Hershey's thumbprint cookies. So excited; I heart kitchenaid.

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Fancy Pants Mayo and Feta Walnut Spread

I love walnuts. I love using walnuts in my cooking as often as possible. They are perfect paired in a creamy spread, baked into sweetie goods, used as a savory stuffing for meats or even roasted with veggies. This nut can do it all. Who can't forget that there packed with all-important omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3's these guy's carry is said to improve cholesterol, have inflammatory benefits, lower the risk of weight gain ( sign me up ) and contain ellagic acid, a compound that boosts immune systems and has anti-cancer properties. A quarter-cup walnuts provides 90.8% of the daily value for these essential fats! And there delicious! Here are some quick and easy recipes so you can add walnuts to your diet;


Cream Dat Nut
This spread is great for toast, crackers or even in sandwiches. Perfect to hang out around when you have a couple guests over. Dare I say, the new humus?! Naw...
I like to make this in big batches so I measure it out in a parts system so I can easily double the recipe. If you absolutely need measurements I added in a rough estimate of those too.

3 parts walnuts ( 1 cup )
2 parts feta or tofuti cream cheese ( 3/4 cup ish )
1/2 parts olive oil ( 1/4 cup )
some water on hand to thin it out
a squirt of saracha to taste
for every 3 parts walnuts 1 hearty tbsp of paprika
for every 3 parts walnuts 1 clove of garlic
salt to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice

In a food processor or chopper add the walnuts and blend until they become fine like a grain. Slowly add half the feta or tofuti. If you decided to make this vegan, add the tbsp of lemon juice now to substitute for the tangy feta flavor. Blend this together until a paste starts to form. Slowly funnel in the olive oil in a steady stream, or incorporate by tsp at a time. You want your spread to be thick, but not too chunky. If it doesn't look like it could spread on toast easy, blend it some more and add a tiny bit of water to it. Now add the paprika and garlic, making sure you push down the sides of the bowl to really mix everything in. Taste your spread and add however much saracha or salt you think it needs. Garnish with some olive oil drizzled on top and a dash of paprika!


Fancy Pants Mayo
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup Parmesan or nutritional yeast
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 tbsp water
3 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup mayonnaise or vegenaise
Just like the previous recipe, this "spread" is great on just about anything, especially sandwiches! If you decide to do it vegan I recommend adding more garlic and pepper. Makes the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich or you could even toss with day old cold pasta and fresh veggies to make a pasta salad!

Start by blending the walnuts and basil together until a paste starts to form. Really blend the walnuts this time so that there smooth and creamy. In a steady and slow stream add the olive oil until a chunky pesto consistency starts to form. Add in garlic, salt and pepper and blend together. If its too thick add a little bit of water to smooth it out. You want it very soft and smooth. Finally add either the Parmesan or the nutritional yeast. Move to a small bowl and add mayonnaise or vegenaise. If you don't have vegenaise laying around a soy yogurt would work too. Salt and pepper to taste again.

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Peach Simple Syrup

This is something I usually always keep on hand in my fridge. It's easy, tasty, and goes great in cocktails and deserts. Especially vodka! chom nom nom
You can replace peaches with any frozen fruit of your choice.



2 cups water
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cup frozen peaches
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract









In a sauce pan bring water to a raging boil, mix in sugars and stir slowly so it dosn't over boil. cook for about 3 minutes.

Pour in vanilla extract and frozen fruit one piece at a time to not cool the pot too fast. Bring back up to a strong boil. Turn temperature down to medium low and simmer for about 10 min.
Remove pot from heat and let sit for another 10 min, or until cool. Seep the peaches like you would a tea. If you can, it helps to use the back of a spoon to mash them slightly. Move syrup mixture to a bowl with something to strain the peaches with. A sugar sifter works well.
Take the peaches and either mash them more with a spoon or put them in a food processor for a couple seconds. Bring purred peaches back to the syrup and put in an air tight container. Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 months. Pour over vanilla ice cream, plain yogurt, or mix with 1 parts vodka, 1 parts peach syrup and 2 parts club soda! Hola!

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Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

revised from Noble Pig
5 strips regular bacon
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon maple extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts



The original recipe called for less flour but my first batch ended up coming out flat and fell apart. I added a little more flour, dropped the oven to 300 and added a pinch more baking soda. I don't have an electric mixer so the little bit extra flour really helped when mixing the butter in. Also, it called for maple smoked bacon but I found that with all the maple extract regular bacon worked out just fine.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking tray lay out 5 strips of bacon and place in oven while it warms. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In either a mixer or chopper, cream the butter and sugars for about 3 - 5 minutes depending. If by hand use separate bowl and a fork to fluff the butter and fold in the sugars, one at a time slowly. Once mixed well, add the egg and maple extract. Move to the dry ingredients and incorporate the butter mixture to it mixing only until the flour dissolves. Don't over stir it!

By now your bacon should be done. Take it out of the oven and dry on paper towels, turning the oven down to 300. Chop finely along with walnuts. Add to cookie batter with chocolate chips leaving 1/4 of the cup to sprinkle on top.
Using a spoon or melon baler, scoop out 1 inch sized balls and drop onto clean baking sheet 2 - 3 inches apart. I just wiped down the one I used for bacon. Make sure you don't over cram the tray cause these guys spread out pretty far. Do them in batches of six. Place in the center of the oven and cook for 12 - 15 min. If there browning to fast turn the oven down to 285. You want them to get golden on the edges and still a little soft ( not gooey ) in the center.

Once finished move the cookies to a wire rack to cool to stop the cooking process. Allow them to rest for up to five minutes.

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Moe; Develish and Delicious Foodie.

I've always wanted to make a blog about all the awesome recipes and restaurants I have come across in my adventures in living on my own. At first only 16 and new to the world, I thought being broke was okay and top ramen was to be served 5 days a week. The only good food I ever had in my partying days was prepared by other people by some not so friendly bank breaking prices. Over the years I've done it all. Vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian, lactose, raw etc etc. Even though I live in the welcoming and expanding city of Portland that caters to serve just about everything, it dawned on me. I can make this at home, and better.

At first cooking was completely bizarre, if not frustrating, and something I only did alone and stoned. But my roommates would always eat up all my leftovers and beg for me to cook more. This motivated me to study some very helpful cookbooks, read recipes online and become and advent food blog reader. After struggling with finding my middle ground in all the labels, I came to realize one important thing; My absolute and total love of big, fatty, salty, cheesy and greasy food.



These day's I'm always trying to top what I created last with something homey, comforting and stick to your ribs good! I feel a little better about all this by buying vegetables from farmers markets, cooking with organic gourmet cheeses and keeping the meat intake to a minimum. Oh yea, and I still get stoned and experiment recipes by myself first.

Here I hope to share some of the amazing recipes I've perfected over the years, some with vegan and vegetarian options, some not, and all the great places Portland has to offer to eat that you may have never known about.

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