Verona and Venezia (Italy 1)

So I have made the decision to break my Italy trip up into different sections considering I visited many many places and this way they all get their little moment to shine.  I mean would it be fair to put my favorite city (Florence) with Assisi (where I only spent a few hours--but still loved) NOPE! So this is how it is gonna go...

Day 1: Land in Milan--drive to Verona
I loved Verona so much! We did not have any tours scheduled for Verona so as a group we went to see Juliet's balcony and touch her boob for good luck that we shall return

Funfetti Cupcake Pops!

 Anyone who knows me, knows that I am cookoo for cake pops, and how cute are these cupcake pops!

Usually, I make them with red velvet cake but this time, in honor of my friend and neighbor,  Elysa's 12th Birthday--I made them using Funfetti Cake Mix, yum!

Miss Me?

I have made it home! Despite the silly volcano that decided to erupt and cast a gloomy cloud over Europe, we escaped right before the wind blew it towards Roma!  Thank goodness!

Lookie its the Vesuvious (not the one in Iceland!!! --the one that covered up Pompeii many many many years ago)

While I was away my mother baked (no surprise there) but she also blogged a cake for my birthday! Holy yummers it was so delicious! I barely had any time from when I got off the plane to when my friends were here eating cake with me so I am still extremely tired 4 days later.  My bestest friend also decorate my room for my birthday so when I came home--BAM streamers and balloons gallore, I loved it!

Happy Birthday Chelsey & Snickerdoodle cake

Hey there, this is Chelsey's mom and I hope you don't mind me taking over Cookteens blog for this post.  You see, Chelsey is currently in Italy, trying to make her way home despite the volcanic ash that is over Europe.  And to top it all off, Today is her 17th Birthday.  She requested I bake her a Snickerdoodle cake for her birthday and asked me to take pictures and put it on the blog for her...so bear with me as I am not as good at this as she is. 

I hope you don't mind that I put a little note to her here as well.

Mini Maple Pancake Muffins

Holy Cannoli! (Literally!) I am leaving for Italy today right after school!  I have a free so I came home to do one last post before I depart and to finish packing up all my stuff.  I am soo excited! Any recommendations of what to eat and where to go? I have an entire free day in Florence to spend shopping and eating! (yummy!) 

I made Mini Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins two ways.  The first is how the recipe is supposed to be but using sugar free maple syrup because thats all I had on hand and 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar when I added the granulated sugar.  Fir the second I mixed in 2 tablespoons of light brown sugar with the melty butter before adding it to the wet ingrediants.

Delicious Passover Deserts: A Passover Recap

Hey there I know Passover is over but I have been swamped with teachers cramming exams in before the marking period and is over and packing for my trip to ITALY!! I leave on Friday!!! It's crazy soon, it seems like yesterday I was signing up for the trip and the countdown was 150 days verses 3! Anyways, Passover is over BUT they are too good to not share! 

These are just some of the deserts and other yumms that me, my mom and my sister made this year for Passover and holy yum were the rad!

Look at that carmelization! Apples, cinnamon, sugar, and walnuts! Currently drooling.

Blondie Lovin'  These were so good, we made them AGAIN on Sunday in a spring form pan for Dumbblondie's Birthday!

And of course we made Cheesecake! However, instead of the delcious Nilla Wafer crust (which totes it NOT kosher for Passover, I made it using Chocolate chip macaroons and butter--the the crust for a chocolate chip cheesecake my Mamma saw in a Passover cookbook.  Here are some step by step photografias to how the crust was born:

1 can of Chocolate chip macaroons

In the food processor

Grinded (I think its ground--oh well)  until the couldn't grind anymore

 

Drizzling melty butter... (2 tablespoons to be exact)

 

All combined

Pat, pat, pat...

e Voila!! 

Confession: I love love love my new camera and I take 47 pictures of the same thing.  For example, I have 17 shots of me pouring the crust into the pans and shmooshing like there is no tomorrow.

Anyways there was lots of other treats on the menu with week:

Madel Bread (with cake meal!) --Perhaps I will share the recipe soon, the only dilemma is that it is on an index card that says "Top Secret"

Brownie "Cake" --No photo but basically it was a passover brownie baked in a spring form pan.  It wasn't thaaat great and I would stick with regular brownies, especially since the holiday is over.

Not baked by the Green Gal's but a Tasti-D-Lite "Ice Cream" cake in honor of the 'Blonde's Birfday

She's a chocolate lover so its Snickers and Brownie Batter with Chocolate chips instead of crunchies--kosher obvs :)

And Passover Popovers:

Below is the recipe for the blondies because it was the best thing ever! I had some tonight even though Passover is over!! Maybe try with regular flour?

That's all for now folks, I hope I can get another post in before I leave but if not next time I post I will be 17!!!! Crazy stuff dude, crazy stuff!!

With love and lots of cupcakes,
CookTeen

Recipe: Passover Blondies (parve)
4 eggs
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract (1 tbsp)
3 teaspoons  baking powder (1 tbsp)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup potato starch
1 cup finely ground walnuts
6 Oz. Semi-Sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder, sugar, oil, potato starch and nuts with an electric mixer until well mixed.  Spread batter intp a greased pan (recipe says 8x8 but I used a 9-inch spring form and a 9x9)  Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.  Poke holes in the batter and bake for 50-60 minutes.

**The second time I added half a bag of Heath Pieces on top--tasted so amazing I did not even know what to say when I ate it.  It was my mom's idea so I can totally brag about how good that addition was ;)

Hungry Girl Book Signing!!!

Hey hey hey! So my sister (dumbblondie) and I just love the Hungry-Girl books and daily emails and lucky us, she was doing book signing in NYC right when britty was home from college! Perf!! (that means perfect mama Green--she's a little slow on the lingo sometimes)  Anyways, before practice my sister asked if I wanted to go and of course the answer was "Yes! Yes! A thousand times YES!"

So post practice I took a super quick shower and it was off the the city (yes, I am one of those people who think that New York City is THE city...the one and the only)

CookTeen and Dumbblondie as we get our seats...But then it was time to grab our goodies!!

Vitatops = delicious!! I grabbed a Banana Fudge one I have been dying to try! Can't wait till Tuesday night!!

Cheese-Babybel Light (I am not a cheese person so these weren't too appealing)

Mashed Taters in a pounch--80 calories? Creamy Butter? Is it possible?

Pop Chips --I love love love these for multiple reasons. 1. That entire bag is only 100 calories.  Yes. 100 calories for a large bag of chips. and 2. I hate greasy, oily chips so these are right up my alley

Fiber One. My Best Friend and perhaps the one thing I long for over this holiday.  That, my morning oatmeal and veggie burgers.  But now we have 4 boxes! SCORE DUDE!!

Lookie I Got a shirt for retweeting something!! How cool!

How funny, papa Green with his goodies!

Now the talk slash q&a begins:

B has got a question...

It's signing time!

"CookTeen?"  "Yea, it's not my real name, I have a blog..."

Oh and guess what we also got! A 5 dollar gift card to Tasti-D-Lite...20 dollars can get us (Me!) lots of Tasti except some bad news, you can only use in the City :( but no fret--I spend plenty of time there!

We couldn't go to the after party sponsered by Laughing Cow because I had school the next day but it was a super fun (and spontaneous) adventure!!

With love and cupcakes,
CookTeen