My favorite things from JUNE!

June is well over and gone, but that's not going to stop me from telling you what I loved about it!

Lately, I've been very in love with aloha prints (more on this later.) I found this beautiful pink floral blouse at JCPenney last month and I've adored it ever since.  In the store, it was paired with a matching maxi skirt, but I really like the casual look I get with blue jeans! I paired this outfit with my vintage Hush Puppies suede oxfords. I bought mine at a thrift shop near my house in perfect condition for seven dollars. For dressier occasions, I wear this top and shoes combo with a navy and white polka dotted skirt. I liked wearing this outfit when I was downtown getting coffee and thrift shopping with a friend!

During June I baked a lot of goodies, but I think my favorite was the Swedish prinsesstårta. I was searching for some Swedish pastry recipes to try out and this one caught my eye like no other. It was beautiful and delicious; plus, the assembly was pretty simple. The layers were spongecake, lingonberry jam, whipped cream, more spongecake, vanilla custard, a HUGE dollop of whipped cream, MORE spongecake, all covered in tinted green marzipan! I have to say, after making this cake, I have a new found love for almonds! I put almond extract in practically everything! I found a very good video tutorial, but it's in Swedish. You can get the general idea of what to do just by watching though!

This month I've fallen in love (once again) with Altar'd State department store.  I took my little sister shopping and I wish we had gone there first on our trip! She found some cute dresses and tops with tassels. I really loved that all the clothes were very fun and cute, but still modest! The only thing I didn't love was the pricing. For a girl who loves thrift shopping, $70 seems like a bit much for a simple cotton dress. We visited the store when there was a MASSIVE sale going on, so I felt good about all the purchases!  They have some really precious pieces, so you should definitely check them out online or in store if there's one near you! 

This month I tried some delicious sodas from Joia all natural sodas that I found at World Market. My favorite flavor (not pictured) was the lime, hibiscus & clove. It was so fresh and had a wonderful flavor. I had the grapefruit, chamomile & cardamom flavor with a lamb bacon burger (recipe found in Bon Appetit Magazine's May issue.) The blackberry, pomegranate & ginger flavor was not my favorite. I love all those things individually, but the soda was just too sweet for me. These sodas are perfect for a summer barbecue and/or pool party. They're refreshing and fun and oh-so yummy! The colors are so fun and festive.

I made some super tasty sweet buttered polenta pancakes during the month of June! Polenta is just cornmeal that has been cooked down to a thick porridge originating in Italy. I bought my polenta at World Market pre-packaged in a tube, but you should be able to find it most grocery stores. I sliced the polenta into 1/4 inch thick discs and cooked them in a buttered skillet until they were crispy on the edges. I served them with a pad of butter, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, summer berries, and copious amounts of maple syrup. These were a yummy, but healthy alternative to regular pancakes; and they were easy to make too! This was by far my favorite meal from June!

Peace and LOVE. XXX.

Candied Orange Slices in Spiced Chocolate

Father's Day was not too long ago and I was contemplating what to give my dad. He's always loved chocolate and fruit; and since cooking happens to be my specialty, I  decided to make him something special! Here are the instructions for making delicious candied orange slices dipped in spiced chili chocolate. (NOTE: these take about 1-2 days to dry out.)

You will need:

Organic oranges (I used about 2 & 1/2 small oranges.)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar + extra for coating

1 cup water

Chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate baking chips.)

Powdered chili

Small or medium pot (depending on how many orange slices you're making.)

A note: I doubled the sugar syrup because I had a lot of orange slices to candy.

To start:

1. Wash the orange(s) thoroughly with warm water and dry. Slice your orange(s) into 1/4 inch discs. You can even cut these circles in half if you want smaller candies.

2. Next, you're going to blanch these slices. Put them in a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil. Strain them using a fine mesh sieve and put them aside. Repeat the blanching process, except this time, put the slices into an ice bath when they're done.

3. Now its time to make the sugar syrup! Put the sugar and water into the pot and set it on medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once the syrup begins to bubble, stop stirring it. 

4. Put the oranges in the syrup and let them candy uncovered for approximately 1 hour.

5. After 1 hour, place the oranges on a cooling rack for about 15-20 minutes. Once this time has elapsed, coat both sides of the slices in sugar and place them back on the rack. 

6. Let the slices dry out for 1-2 days (or until you just can't stand to wait anymore.) 

7.Melt your chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. I always use the microwave to avoid my chocolate seizing. Stir in a pinch of chili powder and begin dipping! 

8. place the orange slices on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

I really loved making these delicious angels! The chocolate with the chili and the citrus was such an amazing combination! You could even substitute oranges for grapefruit or blood oranges! I used World Markets autumn colored single serve pie boxes to wrap these beauties up! I hope you enjoy making these and have fun sharing them! 

                                           

Peace and love. XXX.