Category Archives: posts by j

don’t leave home without it

m says i carry too much stuff…except for when i have something she needs and then i carry juuuuust the right amount. here is what i never leave home without (not in any particular order…well, maybe a bit of order):

  • blackberry…of course
  • keys…second…of course
  • purell…of…oh, ok, i’ll stop
  • chapstick (chapstick brand. mint. has to be mint.)
  • floss
  • pen, preferably a pretentious one of the fountain variety
  • various OTC remedies
  • ponytail holder
  • iPod shuffle and blackberry earbuds
  • canon powershot 790 IS
  • carabiner (one of the world’s most useful items)
  • bottle of water
  • jacket
  • dpoa (the one item that makes me uber-prepared)

let the cake speak for itself

ever since dainties, i have become a cupcake fanatic. and i don’t even like sweets. sadly, dainties disappeared (although, per the owner, you can still place an order for them as long as you order at least 72…72?!?). you can also find dainties on the web here and here.

because of dainties and the disappearance of said cupcake, i now sample various cupcakes around LA as i discover them. on a recent trip to larchmont village (coincidentally, the dainties chef/owner recommended larchmont village pizza to me), i not only discovered excellent pizza (more on that later), but i also discovered crumbs.

crumbs is $0.75 cents more expensive and 33% smaller than dainties and, except for 2 flavors, lacks the ganache that i’ve become so madly passionate about. the only cupcakes with ganache are the chocolate cake hostess (duh!) and the new chocolate cake madison (which has raspberry filling). we ordered the hostess and we both enjoyed it. the cake was a bit too sweet, but it was fresh and i would order it again.

(finally, i’m getting to the whole point of this post) i was initially skeptical of crumbs because of *all that frosting*. frosting, ewww. so, today, on my second visit to larchmont village, larchmont village pizza, and crumbs, i had to decide if i was going to go with the madison or try something with a mountain of frosting on it. we decided on the mint chocolate chip (or grasshopper as advertised on their web site): “Rich chocolate cake filled and frosted with mint cream cheese and rolled in chocolate chips, then topped with a dallop of vanilla buttercream and oreo pieces” and also injected with chocolate fudge (you can’t have too much decadence). the cake is pretty good. but all that other stuff is just overkill. ***let the cake speak for itself!***

i will always miss dainties which had the perfect combination of cake and ganache and flavored whipped cream. *tear falling* *sigh* i miss you, dainties.

something new in the m+j household

using our borders rewards membership/coupon, we bought a toddy coffee maker. using ethiopian beans m roasted on 24 may, she made a pot of coffee last night. this is our second attempt. the first attempt resulted in slightly grassy (underroasted) coffee because m tried to roast a whole pound at once in the behmor and the roasting program didn’t let the coffee come into the second crack. surprisingly, the coffee wasn’t bad – i’ve had grassy coffee in the french press and, well, ewwww.

the toddy coffee definitely tastes less acidic and smoother. i could hide the grassy flavor with lots of milk and sugar. this second batch is better (no grass) and definitely stronger as we let it “brew” for 20 hours instead of the recommended 12.

part of the reason i love french press coffee is the oils, and the toddy extracts them, so i like the reduced acidity, but i’m not completely sold on the resulting flavor. it’s great for iced coffee, but, alas, i’m a hot coffee connoisseur. our coffee exploration continues…

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