Heart Shaped Brownies for Valentines Day

I tried to make these brownies look just like the picture on the side of the package of the foil heart tins.

I didn't exactly succeed, but they sure did taste good.

Green Cauliflower Soup with Capers!

I found capers at the Dollar Store! I found capers at the Dollar Store!! So, I bought two jars, and I also found green cauliflower, which is a favorite of mine.

I made this Green Cauliflower Soup with Capers, but cooking together the cauliflower, onions, capers, and lemon juice.

Puree it all together and you have a yummy concoction.

Freestylin' !

Some nights I just throw together a bunch of stuff and hope it works.

green cauliflower soup

yum

Flavored Mayo from Kraft -- Chipotle and Garlic Herb

Today the 99 Cent Only Store had two kinds of flavored Mayo from Kraft -- Chipotle and Garlic Herb. There expiration dates are March 2011, and they still taste great. I'm a little partial to the Garlic and Herb, and have used it as a dip for Wheat Thins and Butter and Garlic Croutons.

I also like the squeezability and slotted top, and the fact that these are not over 4 grams of fat per serving helps too.

Fortune Cookies for Chinese New Year!

Okay it's officially Chinese New Year's now . . . here in Vegas the casinos are literally rolling out the red carpet, for giant dragons to dance on, and over there in the mainland they have torched a five star hotel with fireworks.

So things are really rolling along. I'm not going to take such a raucous approach, but merely enjoy the New Year of the Rabbit with some good old fashioned fortune cookies from the Dollar Store.

The 99 Cent Only Store has Twin Dragon brand in a cute pink takeout shaped package. Each fortune cookie is individually wrapped, and they are crunchy and not too sweet, but their fortunes frankly, leave something to be desired.

You see one of my pet peeves, is fortune cookie fortunes that are not really fortunes, but merely advice, or observations. For example, my first cookie of the day bore this fortune: "Someone's kindness will surprise and delight you." Okay, that's a decent fortune -- maybe someone will buy me a winning lottery ticket, or that Cadillac I've always wanted, or leave me a small fortune (not that I'm materialistic or anything, but the recession is really taking its toll). That would be nice, that is something I would look forward to happening.

My second cookie's (I was hungry) fortune said: "At this moment, someone is thinking nice thoughts of you." Well, I hope it is that someone who can afford surprising and delightful gifts. Anyways, I probably should of quit while I was ahead, because this is the kind of fortune which is sort of a let down. Of course it is not as bad as "BE CAREFUL OF EXTRAVAGANCE," or "Work on improving your exercise routine," those are truly awful words to find chastising you in a cookie.

Yes, I do save my fortune cookie fortunes, and I do have proof of  these (anti) fortunes. That said I have been careful of extravagance, and I have worked on improving my exercise routine, but that is beside the point.

Anyways, did you know that fortune cookies are not really of Chinese origin, but were invented right here in the good ole U.S. of A.? They are actually of Japanese descent, by way of San Francisco and Los Angeles, and real Chinese people in China have never warmed up to the treat.

So have some left over Hot 'n Sour soup, and a fortune cookie, or two, and HOPPY New Year! (It's the Year of the Rabbit . . . get it? Oh never mind.)

Gung Hay Fat Choy -- Chinese New Year and Hot 'n Sour Soup!

Okay, Chinese New Year isn't technically until tomorrow, but it is cold, and I am hungry, and I love Hot 'n Sour soup!

I cracked the code to this soup last year, and  it is so easy to make, you won't believe it. . .

So here is the Ancient Chinese Secret.
Chicken stock, vinegar, and hot sauce. Yep, that's it! Then add whatever you like, or recognize (or not) as UFOs (unidentified floating objects) in your soup. That may, or may not be -- tofu, onions, garlic, bamboo shoots, egg, chicken, mushrooms (and the Chinese have so many kinds to choose from), seaweed, carrots, cabbage . . . the list goes on and on, and that is half the fun.

BTW -- nothing is better for the cold, and/or flu than Hot 'n Sour Soup, and there is an especially nasty strain circulating this season.

So cook up a big pot of this soup, and dispense liberally!