YES WE DID!

My appologies to all of you who have been wondering where I have been. It was never my intention to neglect my blog for so long but as the election progressed I became more and more inspired and engrossed by the possibility that we could actually be the nation that we have always aspired to be. A nation that has filled me with such overwhelming pride that I cried like a baby thinking about the kind of country I would now raise my children in. The election consumed me in a way I never thought possible. I spent every waking moment following this triumph. Everything else was secondary to me. There really are no adequate words to describe what this means for us as a nation. I will be back to baking as usual next week, but in the mean time here is what Hope feels like...

Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama-as prepared for delivery
Election Night
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
Chicago, Illinois

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

YES! YES! OH GOD YES! - Caution NSFW

Pardon me while I change my panties, and have a moment to myself. My knees are still shaking. Oh God these cookies...These gloriously decadent, wonderfully wicked cookies.

These FREAKING COOKIES ARE A FULL BODY "O" WAITING TO HAPPEN PEOPLE!

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Claudia of Fool for Food. Claudia, there are no words to express my gratitude and undying love behind this recipe choice. They may not be the prettiest cookie, but they damn sure are the best. Dorie you may just get your name on my left ass cheek yet.

I swear I felt lightheaded, and had to hold on to my kitchen counter after the first bite for fear that my knees would buckle. These cookies seduce you so thoroughly that if they had a penis I would give them my butt cherry (if I hadn't already given it to someone else of course, but that is another story for another type of blog).

I must warn you though. This cookie is not for those of you who pussyfoot around chocolate. This cookie is for the hardcore chocolate slut like myself. If you are into cutesy, sweet cookies then run along honey. This shit right here is for the big girls. Now leave us to our business...


First and foremost I have no idea why Dorie is calling them cookies when they could very well be one of the best brownies I've ever had. So going forward I am calling them brownies; brownie pops actually because I put them on cute sticks to try to make up for the fact they are not the most aesthetically pleasing cookie I've ever seen. They have so much going on that I really didn't expect to like them. I'm a chocolate purist and I enjoy my chocolate desserts without all the bells and whistles of additional distractions such as chunks and nuts and fruit, but these bad boys sent me over the edge. I omitted the raisins (bleah), and added pecans and used mini M&M's and semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of white chocolate chips(white chocolate is such a cop out. Either you like chocolate or you don't. Technically white chocolate isn't even chocolate because there is no cocoa in it. Are you aware that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't consider white chocolate to be chocolate at all? Yeah white chocolate is for p*ssies) They were all kinds of sinful. Just thinking about them excites me. I'm done talking people because I have to run off and have another cookie in the privacy of my bedroom do the dishes, yeah that's it. Make these, but be ready for them. I suggest a whip and some chains. They play rough.

If you want to have a really good night and are dying to make these cookies you can find the recipe @ Fool for Food. Tell Claudia I love her.

Be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's orgasmic brownies.


XOXO
Stay Sweet;)



P.S. Michelle of Bake-en selected Dimply Plum Cake for next weeks recipe. Needless to say don't come 'round these parts expecting that nastiness. Maybe I'll concoct something else...

TWD-In the great words of Carrie Bradshaw

Me no likey...

Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart chose Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops, and I valiantly attempted his weeks TWD recipe despite my dislike for whoppers and malt in general. I know, utter madness. Stop me before I hurt someone, or myself. I also used peanut butter whoppers since me and PB are BFF now. I think that was the wisest decision I made because the slight detection of PB in this cookie is the only reason I didn't vom.

After last weeks peanut butter breakthrough I felt bold and daring. I felt like the baking diva of yesteryear! Who knows? Maybe I would discover my favorite new cookie! MAYBE I WOULD BE ONE STEP CLOSER TO TAKING OVER THE WORLD WITH MY MAD BAKING SKILLZ PEOPLE! Unfortunately neither one of these phenomenons transpired. These cookies are weird, and chewy, and cake like. The malt flavor is very pronounced and sorta made me want to gag. Truth be told, that picture you see down there with the bite it...yeah, that one. I spit it out.

Straight out of oven these are really gross. The malt is like a crazy punch in the face. After they cool they are still gross, but you dont feel the sudden desperate urge to puke if you take a bite.

If you like malt flavored goodies you may like these (or if your taste buds are broken).

Be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's yummy *barf* cookies.

You can find the recipe @ Confessions of a Tangerine Tart for all of the daring souls out there.

XOXO
Stay Sweet;)



UPDATE: After reading several blogs that made these same cookies and hearing them ooohhh and aaahhhh that they tasted like brownies I grew perplexed. Are these people crazy? Are everyone's taste buds broken? With much despair I headed over to the host's blog and realized that I left out an ingredient (this is why you should only bake when you are coherent and not at 11:00pm when you are sleep walking in the kitchen). I left out the cocoa powder! I wonder if that is why the malt taste was so pronounced? Maybe if I added the cocoa powder I would have loved them? Anywho I hold firm to my opinion until I feel brave enough to make them again. Things that make you go hmmm....

OK, OK, I know I'm late

My apologies for making you wait such an inordinate amount of time between posts, but I was away (yes again. I know, I'm sorry). These last few days of summer seem to be flying by, and I barely have time to shave my legs before the next recipe is up on everyone's blog. So without further adieu I give you Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters (or crack cookies, which is what i'm calling them from now on, because these suckers are dangerously addictive).

This weeks recipe was chosen by Stefany from Proceed With Caution, and Stefany my dear you are a goddess for this pick. I briefly considered not making them (i am being measured for my straitjacket as we speak) due to the fact that I am not a huge peanut butter fan (an understatement considering just the smell makes me want to vomit; no i dont like chocolate peanut butter cups either), but thank the heavens for Operation Baking GALS! (i'm sending these to the troops) or I would never have attempted these.

These cookies are sinful. One bite of these will have all sorts of profanities spewing forth from your delicate lips. I, in good conscience, would not be able to eat one of these in front of my grandma because I might get my teeth knocked out (grandma don't play she will back hand me, and leave me with a broken lip and no teeth). These cookies are so #@$%^&* good that you will offer sexual favors in return for them. No joke. And the cookie dough...OH.MY.GOD dont get me started on this satanic cookie dough. The cookie dough in itself is a feast of flavors and textures that just have your mind wondering into the most wicked places...Lets just say these cookies are your one way ticket to hell. Make them now. You'll be in good company...I promise;)

Be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's crack cookies.

You can find the recipe here @ Proceed With Caution.

XOXO
Stay Sweet;)

I know i've been a TWD slacker

but I was on vacation, and now I'm sick as a dog (seriously I feel like I have broken glass in my throat), but I promise I will be back in action next week.



XOXO
Stay Sweet;)

The most delicious thing in my life...

My Dearest Love,

Words cannot adequately convey how amazing this past year has been. To be blessed with the love of the most amazing man I have ever known is a miracle in itself, and if I were to spend a million nights dreaming of the perfect man he would still fall short when compared to you. I love you completely and unconditionally. I love everything about you, and you are everything that I never knew existed in life and love. I love you for the person that I have become by simply having been privileged enough to know you. I love the way you love me for all that I am, and all that I am not. You love me in every way imaginable and your love far surpasses imagination. My husband; My best friend; My soul mate; My love...who when I ask if I look thinner after being on a diet 5 minutes always says "yes, but you were perfect before"; who tells me I'm beautiful when my hair is practically an afro and I have a full force breakout going on; who acts like getting up in the morning before 10 am is the most traumatizing experience in the world; who will let me fall asleep on his shoulder night after night even though his arm always falls asleep and gets a cramp; who will always pick up at least one box of mac n cheese from the supermarket for me even though there are 3 in the cabinet because he knows how much I love it; who genuinely cares about my family and never complains when we visit them even though they are the loudest, most dysfunctional people you could ever met; who when he hasn't shaven and has a 3 day old beard makes my heart pound so hard and quick that I will forget my name just by looking at him; who I could heat up a TV dinner for and he'll thank me and sing me praises as if I just served him a 4 course meal, and he isn't being sarcastic he is sincerely appreciative and grateful; who GOD FORBID doesn't wear socks to bed at night; who has a collection of 1362245984 t-shirts who's ages ranges from 1 month to 15 years old; My husband whose amazing green eyes pierce my soul and when he looks at me they are filled with such emotion that I almost forget to breathe; My husband, My best friend, My soul mate, How I adore you.

Happy 1 year anniversary baby, and thank you for the most incredible year of my life!

Forever yours,

Laura

Sometimes what seems like a fabulous idea...

turns out to be a nightmare for your taste buds, and so goes the story of the black and white banana loaf chosen by Ashlee of A Year In The Kitchen. Now I have to be honest and say I may have played a minuscule role in the grossness of this recipe (ok fine, I really crapped it up), but some things in life should not be tampered with and that is a strict rule I adhere to for chocolate.

This recipe was destined for disaster, as soon as my tired ass attempted to make it half asleep at 12:00 AM. Don't judge me. I know you are thinking "well that is what happens when you procrastinate", but really I wasn't (this time). I've been running around like a mad man all week because I leave for vacation on Friday, and seriously haven't had a free moment of time (ok, ok so maybe I procrastinated in other areas which in turn affected my TWD timing, but whateva, whateva, you're not the boss of me).

The first step to this disaster is that I attempted to halve this recipe while delirious from sleep. That is never a good thing, as my being exhausted is equivalent to a drunk being passed out on the bathroom floor. Attempting anything coherent in this state is borderline suicidal. The halved recipe called for 1.5 oz of chocolate, but I was too tired to take out my kitchen scale so I eyeballed it. Yeah I know, shut up. Apparently my eyeballing skills aren't as accurate as I believed them to be, but we'll come back to that later.

The next part of this disaster is that in my tired stupor I forgot I was halving the recipe and plopped the entire amount of butter that a full recipe called for in the mixer, and started adding the remaining halved ingredients blind to the fact that they were drowning in butter. I prepared to assemble my black and white loaf, and taste both the regular banana bread batter as well as the chocolate banana bread batter. The traditional banana bread batter was fabulous! Even though the grease from the butter was pooled around the edges and in the middle. The chocolate banana batter on the other hand was all kinds of nasty. The banana flavor in the background of the chocolate nearly made me gag it was so gross. Chocolate should not be tampered with people. This was borderline sacrilege, but I persevered hoping it would be better after it was baked.

I marble the layers together and place my mini loaf pans in the oven, and after about 30 minutes I hear something akin to frying. I run to the kitchen to check on my loafs and realize that the loafs are actually frying in butter, and I suddenly come to the realization "crap I added the full stick of butter".

Fast forward to taking them out of the oven and cooling them. Under the cooling rack is a pool of grease that could have drowned a kitten. I carefully cut into the loaf and butter literally seeps out of the slice. The entire loaf is so saturated with butter that it is wet and dripping. *GAG*

*Please note the loafs squishy consistency, not the least bit sexy*

I tentatively take a bite, and choke and cough. Ewww not only did a pool of butter trickle into my mouth, but the chocolate banana marble completely over powered the traditional banana loaf and it was NASTY. Once again I say CHOCOLATE SHOULD NOT BE TAMPERED WITH PEOPLE! I think the chocolate in this recipe ruined it. Or maybe it has to do with the fact that I may have added more chocolate than required, but still. Chocolate+banana=barf fest.

Also I made a discovery while making this loaf. I didnt have ripe bananas so I used gerber baby food bananas, and I think the traditional loaf would have been fabulous if it wasnt for the chocolate marble. I think i'm going to use that for my banana treats from now on.

Be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll to see everyone else's barf loafs.

You can find the recipe here @ A Year In The Kitchen.

XOXO
Stay Sweet;)