I’ll be honest. I spent most of my adolescence on feeling like an alien, uncertain of how to act, what to say, or even be. But I can say that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to embrace my quirks and that was probably one of the hardest parts of growing up for me.  Yesterday’s birthday felt different.  I felt free and happy to be me, weird parts and all.

I spent the morning catching up with my family then spent the rest of the day with my best friend, J. We soaked up an entire afternoon of summer rainstorms while I unfurled over clean sheets, watching golden sunlight stream in between showers and the flame of my candles flicker as I spent the day doing absolutely nothing. It. felt. great. I ate meals that I lingered over and didn’t feel any urgency to snap a picture of and laughed so much that mascara ran down my cheeks. The night ended with candlelight and clams, happily mopping crusty bread into its sauce of white wine, butter, garlic, and herbs.

It was a perfect day. And as if it weren’t perfect enough, J surprised me with a trip to France and Italy and hit over 20k subs and over 1 million views yesterday. The last year of my 20’s definitely capped off nicely and I’m glad everything happened the way it did, even if I wasn’t always so certain.
If I could tell 20 year old me what I know now, it’d be, “Don’t be afraid to be you. Those who matter will love you no matter what. Be strong, be steadfast, and stay true to you. The greatest things in life have yet to be lived!”

Thanks for the best birthday ever.

This weekend wasn’t too much fun.  Right after I filmed this video {like a couple hours later} I came down with a cold.  Things of comfort: clementines, Korean barley tea, and #PeterPan on t.v. which transported me to being 8 years old and watching it with my baby brother for the thousandth time again versus being lost in a sea of blankets.

Here’s my video for the too much information tag.  Hopefully by the time this goes up, I’ll be much better

This recipe is Dad approved. He is addicted to these things so I was more than happy to whip some up that were homemade where I could control the quality/quantity. I also figured that there could be a million things that could be done to spruce up this classic candy bar, including but not limited to salting the caramel and infusing the chocolate with a hit of coffee {both instances to enhance the flavor} but I managed to make bars that were pretty darn close to the classic without tampering with them too much.

http://youtu.be/ddKNbpvbUmM

5.0 from 4 reviews

Snickers, Homemade

 

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Serves: 12-15 Bars

Ingredients

Base chocolate layer

• 1¼ c bittersweet chocolate
• ¼ c peanut butter
• 1 c roasted/salted peanuts

Nougat layer

• 1 c sugar
• 3 tb whole milk
• 3 tb unsalted butter
• ¼ c peanut butter
• 7 oz marshmallow fluff
• 1 ts vanilla

Caramel layer

• 14 oz caramel
• 2 tb cream

Top chocolate layer

• 1½ c bittersweet chocolate
• ¼ c peanut butter

Instructions

1. Melt together the chocolate and peanut butter. Pour into a greased/lined pan. Sprinkle a layer of nuts over it. Refrigerate between each layer.
2. To create the nougat, cook sugar, milk, and butter for about 5 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter, fluff, and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the first chocolate layer.
3. Melt the caramels with cream and pour over the nougat layer.
4. Lastly, melt the chocolate and peanut butter for the top layer and spread evenly over everything. {It helps for all the layers to be chilled/stiff}

3.2.2807

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

This video with my mama

This movie {and I’m not even a fan of Tom Cruise}

This song:

{I need your arms around me because I’m all alone}

This weekends beach trip!

Did you miss me?  Because I missed you!!!

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

p.s.,

there will be a new video up on Sunday

Before I saw these ripe blushing babies, I could smell them.  I bet the world could be a nicer place if it was scented with the perfume of fresh and sweet peaches.  Unless you’re a peach-hater, is there anything like biting into the soft flesh of a fat peach, so juicy that it dribbles down your chin and splats into a sticky mess?  That sounds like the most yummy mess to me.  To extend the pleasure that these beautiful peaches lent me, I gathered them up into a past time that always puts me in a blissful state and swirled it all into a peach cake, a peach upside down cake that is.  Echoing its natural syrupy way, it pairs beautifully with the pale amber of the caramel crusted top and has the loveliest peach flavor that blooms inside of the cake as well.

httpv://youtu.be/rcwqKM8LaWM

5.0 from 7 reviews

Peach Upside Down Cake

 

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Topping

• Fresh sliced peaches
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 c brown sugar

Cake

• 1½ c unbleached flour
• 2 ts baking powder
• ½ ts fine salt
• 6 tb soft, unsalted butter
• 1 c sugar
• 2 room temperature eggs
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• ½ c fresh peach juice

Instructions

1. In the cake pan, melt the butter and stir in the sugar. Allow it to blend together and bubble.
2. Arrange the fruit slices on top of the caramel.
3. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
4. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for about 5 minutes.
5. Mix in one egg at a time with the vanilla.
6. Blend in the juice.
7. In 3 separate additions, sprinkle in the dry mixture and mix to combine. Don’t over mix.
8. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

3.2.1753

{Recipe for pineapple upside down cake}

Next up, a Korean punch recipe.

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

With Summer rapidly approaching (June 21st), you can’t help but envision BBQ’s and alfresco dining with a generous portion of grilled meat. Along side the conventional dogs and patties, I also enjoy including some chicken, especially this yogurt spiced chicken. The yogurt gets penetrated really well with the spices and makes for an incredibly juicy and flavorful chicken. The powers of yogurt are both delicious and wonderful. You can whip up something savory like this, make parfaits like my friend Sav from EatNowCryLater did or make some light, refreshing (not to mention almost fat free) garlic yogurt dressing or moist and tender honey banana bread.

http://youtu.be/OgTmSKd9xhQ

5.0 from 5 reviews

Yogurt Spiced Chicken

 

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 lbs chicken
• 1 c full fat yogurt
• 2 tb chili powder
• 1 tb smoked paprika
• 3 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Combine yogurt, garlic, and spices.
2. Pour over chicken and allow to marinate for at least an hour (preferably over night).
3. Bring your chicken out about 20 minutes before grilling to allow it to come to room temperature.
4. Grill over high heat and only flip once.

Notes

Does not include marinading time.

3.2.2807

How easy is that?

Happy grillin’!

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

I just had a fat slice of chocolate cake.  Jealous?

I meant to snap a pic but my tummy won that tug of war and now I have a cleaned plate gleaming at me.  Oh if my plates could talk.  They’d tell you that chocolate cake is to gobble up when you’re blue or yellow.  It doesn’t discriminate.  {That and they’re scared of me} -haha!

I had a pretty decent day (lets color it orange).  What about you?

Here are 10 things that didn’t slip by.

Breakfast.  I wake up with a rather carnivorous appetite.  However, I did circle back around the kitchen island and retrieve a sack of spinach, just to bump up the nutritional factor.  I seasoned some tomatoes, scattered some toasted walnuts and dripped the whole thing over with my favorite garlic yogurt dressing.

Tteok {rice cake} the pink ones are my favorite, though they all taste the same.  Check out my mochi recipe.

Dinner of grilled salmon, saffron rice, and wilted spinach.

I will be releasing a new line of plastic wares called “Squish” soon.  Just kidding–if I had a need for another colander, this definitely would’ve come home with me though.

This was my pre-dessert dessert (that is, before the grand finale of chocolate cake).  Having a chocolate craving too?  Check out my s’mores cupcakes.  I have a sneaking suspicion that I’ll be making these again very soon because I just can’t see myself sitting out in the cold just to roast some damn marshmallows.  I’m from Texas and all this 40 degree business is driving me nuts.

Except for this guy….I would go out in the cold for this guy:

I do believe my chocolate cakes got some competition!

Don’t forget to find me on Facebook y’all!  Additionally, I have a new Youtube channel and this is how I feel about it:

Click bombing is not nice but I guess getting new things is?  Yes.  Lets go with that!  Anyways, it relates to one of my favorite pins this week…

True ‘dat!

I heart this.  A lot.

and this?  I just died!!!  I love this more than cheesecake (and I don’t say that lightly because I LOVE cheesecake) but this makes me so happy.  Someone please send me an English Bulldog puppy.  I would love you forever.  Forever ever!

Smiles & cheer…

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

This idea sprung up on me one morning as I sat eating a late breakfast of heavy, streaky slices of bacon, topped with melted, broiled cheese, on crunchy, golden toast.  These bacon cheese fritters are exactly what I had for dinner that night…an echo of an earlier meal but made even more delicious with the magical properties of hot, bubbling oil.

This is even further accessible for the fact that a). they’re super easy and b). when a generous portion of bacon is fried off and cheese is grated earlier in the day, half your assembling work for dinner is completed.

Here’s how to do it:

Bacon Cheese Fritters

 

Author: The Squishy Monster

Ingredients

• 2 c shredded mozzarella (smoked is very nice)
• 8 slices of crisped bacon
• ½ c Italian bread crumbs + healthy grating of parmigiano-reggiano
• 2 beaten eggs
• Egg wash: 2 beaten eggs + 2 tb cream/whole milk
• 2 c panko bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Combine your ingredients together in a bowl
2. Roll a spoonful or so of your mixture into a ball
3. Dip your ball into your egg-wash and roll into your panko
4. Chill all your prepared fritters in the fridge for at least 30 min
5. Fry in batches (the oil should be at 360 or so–a fry thermometer helps)
6. Retrieve your fritters when they’ve reached a deep, golden brown. Remember not to overcrowd the oil and to leave at least 2 inches or so on top in your heavy bottomed pan.

3.2.2124

Love,

Your Squishy Monster ^.~

Watch this video on YouTube Embedded with WP YouTube Lyte.

My poor laptop probably wants to suffocate it, lol.

Tonight, I dined on some delish Brisket (I asked for the extra fatty slices, mind you) =D

Hung out in the artsy-fartsy district of town:

and drank my double Soy Latte looking at the lights strung up in front of the Coffee Shop that twinkled like Stars when most nights, we can’t even see the real Stars bc of the City lights, people watched (one of my faaavorite pastimes), politely declined as a man offered to sell me his crocheted koozies, then ran to seek cover as tennis ball sized hail crashed to the ground.  5 minutes later it was as if nothing had happened.  Life is funny like that.  Sometimes, it’s like it never even happened in the first place, lol.

Something-Fatty-Lights-Espresso-Koozies-Stars-Hail

That about sums up my night =D

XOXO
Your Squishy Monster

I figured I might as well blog.

That and to express my total embarrassment for not being “with it.”  Either a). I’m technologically inept or b). I’m not “cool” and with it bc I’m getting old-ER (that’s right baby brother I am NOT a Grandma)! =D

I got a message tonight asking why I’d been ignoring tweets.  Apparently, I have all of these Twits, Tweets, Twerks…whatever you call em and I didn’t even know I’ve been on Twitter for awhile now and I still don’t know how it works!

This just makes it so glaringly obvious to me that I’m no longer “cool.”  Pop Culture?  Forgettaboutit!  I’m always the last one to know what’s what.  I didn’t know who Snooki or Rebecca Black was until a few months ago…not that I’m the least bit regretful.

I suppose my wistfulness about any fleeting youth here (yes I realize I’m not OLD) derives from the idea that the World is moving way too fast and I wonder if it’s just me who’s going 35 in a 50 mph zone and the kid behind me is yelling profanities through the window?

I moved baby brother in to his College Dorm and I hadn’t the faintest clue what these kids were mumbo jumbo-ing about.

I hate how manic 2012 and beyond seem to be.

Where is the tall glass of Sweet Tea that sits next to you so long that it begins to drip glistening beads of sweat on its glass?  Where are the barefooted children that play outdoors and not locked inside burning their corneas with redundant video games that mimic the mania of the outside world?  Where is the throaty voluptuous talent that has since been replaced by the likes of Lady Gaga?  Perhaps she is the real life illustration of what the world is today.  Every changing and bursting like flame here and there.

I suppose I’m just yearning for a plate piled up with Pot Roast that’s been blistering away for 12 hours with real not instant Potatoes and real dessert that doesn’t come wrapped in cellophane.

That’s all.