randoms.

just saying - if you click on each of these pictures below it will enlarge them and then you can see his true expressions.


this is what the chubbers thinks of food.
nice.


here the chubbers was waiting for his bath. we had just fed him dinner and he was soooo dirty.


the chubbers LOVES bathtime.
last night he was laughing so hard - at nothing. he just kept laughing and laughing and he was so cute so i made the hubbers come and take a picture of him.
he splashes like crazy and then can't figure out how his face gets wet. it's really funny.

now - here's my weekly recipe, along with a story.

Double Chocolate Loaf Cake – from http://www.howsweeteats.com/
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks soft unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon good-quality vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, putting in a baking sheet as you do so.
Add the flour, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into the processor and blend until smooth.
Scrape down the sides and process again while streaming in boiling water. Remove lid and fold in chocolate chips.
Scrape and pour the batter into a buttered and floured bread loaf pan and put into the oven.
Bake for 50-55 minutes.
When ready, the loaf will be risen and split down the middle.
Let cake cool, then poke holes throughout the top with a fork or knife.
Press all the way down into the cake so the caramel sauce can sink in.

 
Salty Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt, crushed until fine

Mix water and sugar in a saucepan and heat over low heat without stirring until sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to medium-high, allowing the mixture to come to a boil.
This will take about 5-7 minutes, and you can occasionally swirl the pan to stir. Once a golden amber color, remove heat and add cream, vanilla and salt – it will bubble up.
Turn heat back down to low and stir continuously until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let sit at room temperature for 2-4 hours where it will thicken.
Once cool, drizzle over chocolate cake, making sure to hit all of the poked holes so the caramel sinks down in. Serve with additional caramel.

i made this monday morning when we had the day off of work so we could have a nice dessert with dinner. and - cause i needed time to make the caramel sauce. seriously - it really took me like 30 minutes to get the sauce just right. i was so excited to see all my hard work pay off when the hubbers ate this treat and told me what a good cook i was. but alas. it wasn't meant to be.
i baked it just like it said - waited for a crack down the middle (50 minutes cooking) and then i took it out of the oven. well, i should have done the toothpick check. but i didn't.
hours later, i mean really - like 6 hours later, i came back to start fixing dinner and noticed the whole thing had caved into itself. i looked closer and noticed that the whole thing was still very, very gooey. it was not done. still needed like another 10-15 mintues cooking, at least.
so - if / when you make this - make sure it's done DONE before you take it out.
what a sad waste - i had to throw it out. and it looked so divine.