nickgerber:

Chicago in Spring is dressed in Bradford Pear Trees. Mind you they smell like crap, but they sure look good.

It’s been summer here in my hometown, rainy and hot. The spring flowers bring me a good day. (´▽`)

Romance in my heart. 我心中的浪漫。

Romance in my heart. 我心中的浪漫。

"I should’ve bought you flowers and held your hands. Should’ve gave you all my hours when I had the chance."

— Bruno Mars - When I was your man

咸鱼哥讲得好 我们为他们做了很多事 以为他们会被感动 殊不知 被感动的只有我们自己罢了。

A corner in Gulangyu.

A corner in Gulangyu.

Tags: lifestyle wood

"I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU!!! I SWEAR TO GOD I HATE YOU!!! OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU…"

— Eminem - Kim

Tags: Eminem Lyrics

Not yet mature enough; still easily paniced; always easily spoil everything or do i just deserve it in a most ironic way?

goddessofscrumptiousness:

The Makings of a Perfect Brownie:
1) A perfect brownie should be crunchy on top that the surface cracks the minute you sink your teeth into it.
2) The texture should be chewy and moist and fudge-like that the act of chewing every morsel of it is equally pleasurable as that of having a foodgasm.
3) A perfect brownie should never contain any leavening agents such as bicarbonate of soda or baking powder (unless you want a cake-like brownie, then I believe one should just eat cake instead). Any brownie recipe that includes these sacrilegious additions is well, a sacrilege!
4) The proper mixing of all the brownie ingredients is also a factor. If you just mix all the ingredients together and dump everything into a baking pan, the brownie top won’t be as crunchy, unlike when you separate the egg whites from the yolks, beating the whites with sugar just until thick and frothy, much like a runny meringue before mixing with the rest of the ingredients is the secret to a crunchy top… I promise!
5) And lastly, of course a perfect brownie should taste like it is blessed by a Mayan god cacao connoisseur. It should be ooh-ing and screaming chocolate. So use the best quality chocolate bar or cocoa powder.
Crunchy Top Fudge Brownies
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup good quality cocoa powder (I use a German brand cocoa powder -Heintz, you can use a Dutch-processed cocoa powder… means it is alkalized)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs (medium), separated
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups dark chocolate chips
*2 cups whole walnuts (optional)
Procedure:  
Preheat oven to 350’F. Line a 9”x13” rectangle baking pan with baking parchment.
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. When melted, remove from heat and add cocoa powder, mix until smooth.
- Add brown sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolks and flour. Set Aside.
- Using a hand mixer/wire whisk/stand mixer, beat egg whites until frothy. Then slowly add the granulated sugar until meringue gets into a soft peak stage.
- Fold the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture. Then mix in the dark chocolate chips and walnuts (optional).
- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until when toothpick inserted in the center of the brownie comes out with moist crumbs (not wet brownie batter).
- Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then lift from the baking pan and cut into 24 square pieces. Cool cut brownies on wire racks.
- Store in an air tight container. Laid flat and layers separated by parchment paper.
Makes 2 dozens
[Recipes]  [Pinterest]  [Twitter]

goddessofscrumptiousness:

The Makings of a Perfect Brownie:

1) A perfect brownie should be crunchy on top that the surface cracks the minute you sink your teeth into it.

2) The texture should be chewy and moist and fudge-like that the act of chewing every morsel of it is equally pleasurable as that of having a foodgasm.

3) A perfect brownie should never contain any leavening agents such as bicarbonate of soda or baking powder (unless you want a cake-like brownie, then I believe one should just eat cake instead). Any brownie recipe that includes these sacrilegious additions is well, a sacrilege!

4) The proper mixing of all the brownie ingredients is also a factor. If you just mix all the ingredients together and dump everything into a baking pan, the brownie top won’t be as crunchy, unlike when you separate the egg whites from the yolks, beating the whites with sugar just until thick and frothy, much like a runny meringue before mixing with the rest of the ingredients is the secret to a crunchy top… I promise!

5) And lastly, of course a perfect brownie should taste like it is blessed by a Mayan god cacao connoisseur. It should be ooh-ing and screaming chocolate. So use the best quality chocolate bar or cocoa powder.

Crunchy Top Fudge Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup good quality cocoa powder (I use a German brand cocoa powder -Heintz, you can use a Dutch-processed cocoa powder… means it is alkalized)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs (medium), separated

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups dark chocolate chips

*2 cups whole walnuts (optional)

Procedure: 

Preheat oven to 350’F. Line a 9”x13” rectangle baking pan with baking parchment.

- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. When melted, remove from heat and add cocoa powder, mix until smooth.

- Add brown sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolks and flour. Set Aside.

- Using a hand mixer/wire whisk/stand mixer, beat egg whites until frothy. Then slowly add the granulated sugar until meringue gets into a soft peak stage.

- Fold the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture. Then mix in the dark chocolate chips and walnuts (optional).

- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour or until when toothpick inserted in the center of the brownie comes out with moist crumbs (not wet brownie batter).

- Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then lift from the baking pan and cut into 24 square pieces. Cool cut brownies on wire racks.

- Store in an air tight container. Laid flat and layers separated by parchment paper.

Makes 2 dozens

[Recipes]  [Pinterest]  [Twitter]