My Birthday was in May. It was a little hard, being away from all of my friends and family, but even with the distance I still had a great birthday. It ended up being a Birthday Week as packages trickled in.
I have complained about the weather (or lack of sunshine) for a long time (3 months?). I am just not used to it [Sorry Minnesota, not trying to bash you, given this is an off year for ya, but PERK UP! rain everyday is no fun either!]. I never had to savor the sunshine before. It was cloudy days I looked forward to in Fresno. Days to be huddled up in blankets with my dogs and a good book, or a marathon of some teenie-bopper show (think 90210, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars that are all about the drama). I am not supposed to want to do that every day!
My mom and sister sent me an assortment of my favorite Fresh & Easy snacks, some Armenian treats only to be found at Hye Deli's (which last I checked, aren't anywhere in Minnesota), like Pekmez, Halva, and little pistachio candies, and some clothes.
My in-laws sent me a gorgeous bouquet to brighten my desk at work. That was a wonderful surprise!
My best friends absolutely spoiled me. California and sunshine were a theme across the board, hands down.
A new key charm for my keys, so that the sun is always with me.
A bottle of wine (that actually benefits shelter dogs)
Fresh organic strawberries. From California. Over-nighted. Hands down, the best strawberries ever - no sugar needed, we devoured them by the bowl-full and I froze what we couldn't eat.
Lastly, the Hubz took me to an acclaimed Steakhouse (review to follow), over the weekend. On my birthday day I baked a loaf of bread, and he made me Fettuccine Alfredo, with Angel Hair. We drank a really good Tobin James Silver Reserve Petite Syrah and watched the Life of Pi - and he got me Luigi's Haunted Mansion 2 (I love nintendo).
So I wasn't going to have a cake, because I would be the only one to eat it. [The Hubz only eats cheesecake, and peanut butter cookies my baking endeavors are wasted on that man.] Cupcakes were out of the question because I lost my cupcake tin in the move across the country. So I decided to make these mini donuts.
And glazed them in a chocolate ganache that I whipped up:
Use a double boiler or place a heat proof owl over a pot of boiling water and mix ingredients until it becomes melty chocolate goodness.
I have complained about the weather (or lack of sunshine) for a long time (3 months?). I am just not used to it [Sorry Minnesota, not trying to bash you, given this is an off year for ya, but PERK UP! rain everyday is no fun either!]. I never had to savor the sunshine before. It was cloudy days I looked forward to in Fresno. Days to be huddled up in blankets with my dogs and a good book, or a marathon of some teenie-bopper show (think 90210, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars that are all about the drama). I am not supposed to want to do that every day!
My mom and sister sent me an assortment of my favorite Fresh & Easy snacks, some Armenian treats only to be found at Hye Deli's (which last I checked, aren't anywhere in Minnesota), like Pekmez, Halva, and little pistachio candies, and some clothes.
My in-laws sent me a gorgeous bouquet to brighten my desk at work. That was a wonderful surprise!
A new key charm for my keys, so that the sun is always with me.
Lastly, the Hubz took me to an acclaimed Steakhouse (review to follow), over the weekend. On my birthday day I baked a loaf of bread, and he made me Fettuccine Alfredo, with Angel Hair. We drank a really good Tobin James Silver Reserve Petite Syrah and watched the Life of Pi - and he got me Luigi's Haunted Mansion 2 (I love nintendo).
2 cups semi sweet chips
1/2 cup half and half
2 tbs butter unsalted ***
The recipe makes a lot of donuts so I took a plate to work and froze a gallon baggy worth of them (frozen cake with icecream is pretty much ice cream cake, right?).
***okay so make sure your butter is real butter. Here, it's so hard to find butter that is just pasteurized cream/sweet cream; almost all have "natural flavors" which, to my taste buds, make the butter taste like margarine. It's not my cup of tea.
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