Recently I noticed a new addition to the freeze dried foods selection at my local market: tangerines. While I enjoy fresh tangerines, they are rarely available where I live, and the texture of canned tangerines is a little slimy for my liking. Imagine my delight for this new storable tangerine option! Crisp and filled with air like a cheese puff, though incredibly light and flavorful, I immediately thought of making bittersweet and bright, dark chocolate snacks with these freeze dried fruits. Simple to do; the small tiger-striped bites melt in your mouth without the dense chewiness of dried fruit or over the saturated syrupy taste of a jelly. Fun for a party! Next I ground the remaining freeze dried tangerines in my coffee grinder to add an unexpected citrus twist atop dark chocolate chunk brownies. Make your favorite brownie recipe, bake, sprinkle with powdered sugar, then let the tangerine dust work it’s magic at the very last minute. The tangerine and dark chocolate air is an added bonus.
Month: April 2013
rainy spring day watercolor
“More water makes more color,” I said to my niece as we sat inside at the kitchen table, loosening up the dry paint palette with our wet brushes as the spring rain fell outside.
spring sticker cleaning
One of my favorite collections as a kid was my sticker collection. Afterall, I was an American child of the Eighties. Unfortunately I no longer have my spiral album filled with scratch ‘n’ sniff (Mello Smello online?!) and velour stickers, but I do still keep a full sticker box. After years of being a summer camp counselor, preschool art teacher, and avid envelope (letter writer) decorator, I have amassed all sorts of sticky embellishments in there. I am doing a little crafty spring cleaning and want to share the love with anyone interested. If you or someone you know would like to receive a sticker assortment in the mail, send the mailing address to me at cozywalls@gmail.com — first five responders will get an envelope from me soon!
the hunt and tackle
The colorful plastic eggs were not hard to find this year since most of nature is still brown. The egg hunting soon turned into egg tackling, as it became a race to the bright treasures. “I recovered three from my sister’s fumble,” my nephew cheered triumphantly.
cozywalls 