Chocolate Fudge

Chocolate fudge is a delicious, decadent treat, that's usually only enjoyed when you come across a little shop in a tiny town you've never been to. Well that doesn't have to be the case any more. This is a delicious fudge recipe, that makes just enough for you to enjoy with a few people (or by yourself) without having too much extra sitting around. And if you want extra sitting around, just make more!

Fudge is also something that many people can't eat because it has so much heavy cream and dairy, which doesn't agree with everyone. Thankfully, this fudge recipe doesn't have heavy or condensed milk! It does have some milk, and I used lactose-free, but you can also substitute in any milk of your choice (almond, soy, regular). If you want it a bit more rich, you can use evaporated milk, but it's not necessary. There is also some butter in it, but you can substitute in a vegan butter spread if you can't eat butter either - just some suggestions so everyone can enjoy fudge!

Doesn't that look delicious! I made it in a square plastic container (about 5-6" each side), and it made 9 small squares (about 1.5" x 1.5" x .5") or 4 bigger squares (about 2.5" x 2.5" x .5"). You can also put it in a smaller square container if you want it to be thicker. Whatever you prefer!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoon milk (of your choice)
• 2/3 tablespoon butter 
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup mini marshmallows 
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 
• 1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
• optional: 2.5 tablespoon nuts, chopped*

*I didn't add nuts, but feel free to! Pecans and walnuts would be good, but your choice.

Instructions:

1. Prepare a square container (6" x 6" or smaller - depending on desired thickness) with a small amount of vegetable oil (coating the bottom and sides lightly).
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter, and add in the sugar, milk, and salt. Turn on high heat and cook for about 4 minutes (mainly at a boil), stirring constantly (see photos below for how the mixture changes as the time goes on). I cooked mine at number "5" out of "6" on my electric stove, so if you have a regular burner, turn it almost all the way up.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Add in the remaining ingredients - marshmallows, chocolate chips, vanilla, and nuts (if adding). Mix in until the marshmallows are completely melted. At first, the mixture will feel tougher because of the chocolate chips (they'll melt first), but as the marshmallows melt, the mixture will soften up a bit. 
4. Pour the mixture (more like scoop it out) into the prepared container. Refrigerate for about 2 hours, until firm. Remove from the refrigerator to let soften up a bit, cut into squares, and enjoy!

#2 - at the beginning of stirring

#2 - about 1-2 minutes into stirring

#2 - about 3.5 minutes into stirring (bubbles go down, color darkens slightly)

Fudge is pressed into the container and ready to refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Super Simple and Quick Cookies and Cream Bars

The recipe I have to share with you today is so simple (and so fast) and so delicious, you won't want to wait to make it! If you have these ingredients on hand, it will take you under 5 minutes to make this, and 10 minutes of waiting to enjoy it. It takes 3 ingredients and makes these delicious, gooey, Cookies and Cream Bars - yum!

Don't those look delicious! I personally love anything involving oreos, but I don't think many people would disagree there.


As with all of the recipes on here, this is a miniature amount, and makes very tiny, bite-sized pieces. I personally like tiny desserts (although usually you end up eating more of them, but that's ok - they're tiny, right?), but if you want to make this recipe larger and cut the bars into a larger size, that's up to you.

Ingredients:

• 6 large marshmallows
• 6 regular oreos OR a miniature pack of minis (67 grams) - NOT both, choose a size!
• 2/3 tablespoon butter (also known as 2 teaspoons)

Now, to make this simple dessert:

1. Put the oreos into a zip-lock bag and crush. You can also use a food processor, but for such a small amount, a zip-lock works great.
2. Place the marshmallows and butter in a microwave-safe bowl (as seen in the photo above). Microwave for about 30 seconds (until the butter is melted and the marshmallows puff up). Once done, add the crushed oreos to the bowl, and mix until combined.
3. Line a container with saran-wrap (I used a small square plastic container), and press the mixture flat. 
4. Let set for 10 minutes, and cut into desired amount of squares. I made 16 mini-mini squares (I say mini twice because they are about 1/2 in by 1/2 in)
5. Enjoy!

Mixed up and Pressed into Container!

Cut up and Enjoy! (and I definitely did!)

Our Foodie Weekend!

We've been here for 7 weeks now, and we only have 2 more weekends until we leave (not even two full weekends!) so this past weekend we wanted to explore Hong Kong and enjoy more of the delicious food there is to offer!

On Friday night, we went over to Causeway Bay (an area of Hong Kong we hadn't explored yet). The area we went to is called "Times Square" and it definitely mimics the look of NYC - large buildings, lights, billboards, and tons of people. We walked a few blocks back from the main area and found a Sichuan restaurant (which we had booked in advance) to try. Since coming to Hong Kong, we hadn't been to a restaurant that focuses on Sichuan cuisine and we wanted to try one here. Sichuan food is definitely known for the heat and spice of the food - and this place did not disappoint. So many peppers (one dish was at least three-fourths peppers) and it was really yummy. Definitely not an everyday type of food, as it's much more greasy than what we prefer, but it tasted great! The restaurant had a set price, and we got to choose 2 appetizers and 3 main courses - plus we got an extra veggie side. Here are some of what we had:

Sichuan Chicken (so many peppers!), Cold Sichuan Noodles, Spicy and Sweet Cucumbers, Sichuan Eggplant

All of that food was so yummy! On Saturday, we continued our foodie weekend, and went to an afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental. We had to make this reservation weeks in advance, so we were really looking forward to it - unfortunately, it wasn't what we expected at all. This is a very fancy hotel, which claimed they were "booked" for weeks - it was half empty, in a lobby-type restaurant that was nothing special. The food itself was still yummy and we enjoyed ourselves, but for such a fancy hotel, we definitely recommend having tea somewhere else! There are so many better options that we didn't know about. The sandwiches were yummy but the desserts were not great tasting - fancy looking, but dry and pretty flavorless. Yes, I'm picky - but come on, it's a really nice hotel, they should have better pastries!

On Saturday night we continued our food adventure and tried out a tapas restaurant in LKF. It was so delicious that I didn't take any photos - so you're just going to have to take my word for it! It's called Boqueria, and we had a delicious ham/salami/cheese platter, fried beef and mashed potato balls, and an artichoke heart salad. So good! After dinner, we tried out a new bar, where we had delicious drinks and were able to sample a few yummy appetizers (they were having an event so we got to try some of their food). At this point, you'd think we would be done eating - but we went for one more late night bite. Late night food is very popular is Hong Kong, and we had yet to try it - so I'll just use that as an excuse. We found a yummy pizza place that's always busy, and tried a GIANT slice of pizza. As expected, it was so good. Check out these slices!

On Sunday, we decided to make it a more active day. Bryan had seen the Big Buddha in college, but I had never seen it, and it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hong Kong. After a 10-15 minute walk, 35 minute subway ride, and an hour wait in line, we were able to take a gondola ride to the area with the Big Buddha. The gondola ride was beautiful, and an amazing new way to see Hong Kong and the surrounding areas! Once we got up the gondola, we took a short walk, and went up the stairs to see the Big Buddha. There is also a beautiful monastery very close to the Big Buddha.

Gondola Ride and at the Big Buddha!

Beautiful Views!

When we were walking around, there were also cows roaming, so it was definitely a different experience to be so close to them. They were calm, and seemed happy to roam. There was also a sign that said how far away the Statue of Liberty is, which made it even more clear just how far from home we really are!

8058 miles from NY!

That is very far away from home! I looked up the two cities that are the farthest apart from each other, and Google says it is Taipei, Taiwan - Asuncion, Paraguay (19917 km = 12376 miles). That's literally around the world, but we're not too far off!


So this weekend was focused on staying and enjoying Hong Kong, and as you can see, we definitely did! As I say every weekend - it was another wonderful weekend with my husband (and I always mean it!).