Chocolate Covered Strawberries with White Chocolate Drizzle

I have big plans for all the strawberries I picked last week, but so far have gotten off to a slow start. We've been eating the strawberries every day but no tarts, jams or ice creams yet. The girls have been taking some in their lunch bags on school days and I have been eating them by the handful in my morning cereal and once on some vanilla ice cream. Over the weekend, I dipped some strawberries into milk chocolate and then drizzled them with white chocolate for a decadent dessert.

The Early Glow variety of strawberries I picked last Thursday are very small, but also very juicy and flavorful. Dipped in chocolate, each prepared berry is about 24 calories. If you use the average sized strawberries that are most often found in the grocery store, each prepared berry is about 42 calories. The bigger berries are only a few calories more, but they do have more surface area and hence more chocolate. Either way, this recipe makes a sweet, luscious treat for under 100 calories per serving.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries with White Chocolate Drizzle

18 small strawberries, such as the Early Glow variety
or 12 medium sized strawberries
4 oz. milk or dark chocolate
1/2 oz. white chocolate

Choose a good quality chocolate that tastes great by itself. I have used both chocolate chips and squares of a Belgian chocolate bar with good results.

Rinse the strawberries and lay them in a single layer on a paper towel at room temperature to dry. Don't rinse them too far in advance from preparing the recipe because berries deteriorate quickly after coming in contact with water. At the same time, be sure the berries are dry before dipping them into the chocolate.

Place chocolate in a microwave safe glass dish and microwave for 10 seconds.

Remove from microwave and stir with a spoon. This step distributes the uneven heat caused by the microwave and helps melt the chocolate evenly.

Return chocolate to the microwave and heat for an additional 7-10 seconds, remove and stir.

Be very careful not to heat the chocolate too long in the microwave once it starts to melt. Do a lot of stirring to speed up the melting process. When chocolate is heated beyond its melting point, it quickly turns dry and crumbly and can't be made smooth again.

When the chocolate is almost completely melted, simply keep stirring with the spoon until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

Line a plate or a cookie sheet with waxed paper.

Hold strawberry by its stem if the stems are sturdy enough, or by the stem end and dip the strawberry into the chocolate, turning it to coat with the chocolate.

Gently place the chocolate dipped strawberries onto the waxed paper.

Place sheet of strawberries on a level surface in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to set the chocolate.

Repeat the microwave melting method described above for the white chocolate, but at 5-7 second increments.

When the white chocolate is melted and smooth, spoon the melted chocolate into a small sandwich bag and snip a bottom corner of the bag to make a small hole. Don't make the hole too big or it will come out in clumps instead of a drizzle.

Gently squeeze the sandwich bag to drizzle the melted white chocolate over the chocolate covered strawberries.

Store strawberries in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Enjoy! :)

Local History Lessons

We spent several hours exploring the nearby Thomas Edison National Historical Park today. While I knew Thomas Edison (1847-1931) spent a large portion of his life right here in New Jersey, I never visited his laboratories or estate until today. Both his laboratories and his estate have been kept in near the exact same condition they were when fully functional, including the furniture and decorations in his home as well as all kinds of machinery, equipment, materials and chemicals in his labs.

Thomas Edison is one of America's most impressive inventors and is most famous for inventing the light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera. These three inventions are incredibly impressive and have had a tremendous impact on the industrialization of the world. In addition, Thomas Edison was a scientist and business man. He researched, experimented, manufactured and sold many inventions. He was just as much a businessman and entrepreneur as he was an inventor. He lead such a productive, accomplished life.

I enjoyed learning more about history that was made in my local area, but I also had a lot of fun simply taking photos of Edison's laboratories, factories, and home. I took 145 photos but these are my favorites. Not all of them are an enlightening representation of all the ingenuity that went on at Edison's laboratories, but they're photos that pleased me for some reason or another.

I love the look of these old bottles on the shelves.

Of course I had to photograph the bookshelves!


After the chemistry laboratory, we went into the factory where Edison's inventions were manufactured and mass produced.

In addition to the factory areas where production took place, the factory also housed a music room, drafting rooms, photography rooms, stock rooms, and even a library.

The library was at one end of the factory and went up three stories. The woodwork was stunning, as were the number of books. He thought of everything. Even a cot within an alcove of books. Looks like a perfect spot for a nap, doesn't it?

Displays of various phonographs

The Ediphone.

More glass bottles, neatly arranged and a beautiful old desk.

Buckets of sand for extinguishing fires in the machine shops.

Various signs posted throughout the machine shops:

A chart of decimal equivalents.


Air raid instructions.

A calendar from January 1919.

The world's first talking doll was invented by Thomas Edison in 1890 with a miniature phonograph inside it.

A desk in the photography room.


Thomas Edison's Estate called Glenmont. There was a stage set on the lawn in front, I believe for a special event held there just yesterday for Thomas Edison Day.

I am very grateful Edison invented the lightbulb... but I'm also pretty darned grateful for whomever it was who invented the automatic washing machine! These sinks are in the laundry room of the estate. I imagine one is for scrubbing the clothes, one is for soaking and one is for rinsing? I'd be doing laundry all day long!


I couldn't resist taking a photo of the simple roses outside the home.

What are some historical landmarks near you?

In Strawberry Fields

I was in strawberry fields this morning as I went strawberry picking at a small farm about 40 minutes south of where we live. I've been to this farm for strawberry picking several years now, but didn't make it last year, so I was doubly looking forward to picking this year.

I've always thought of "U pick your own" on a farm as such a family event. Me picking as much as I can of whatever it is so I have enough for eating out of hand, making jams and pies, as well as some for freezing for the winter. My daughters picking enthusiastically for the first 15 minutes, then losing interest as they pick wild flowers, inspect bugs or animal prints in the soil, or just plain look for a shady spot to sit and wait for me to finish. Then my husband, our family photographer, dutifully following us wherever we go taking a hundred photos or more of our adventure.

This year it was just me and a friend.

No kids.

No husbands.

On one hand, it was kind of nice. We were the only ones in the fields for a while and we chatted away the quiet hour --or was it two? --as we picked.


On the other hand, it was so quiet! And I found myself missing my girls and my husband. I missed their "help," my husband documenting our adventure in photos, and most of all, I missed their company.

Even though I brought my camera with me, I barely took any photos. Too busy picking. :) Plus, the subject matter wasn't as much fun without my family in the shots. ;)


I came home with 11 pounds (5 kg) of luscious strawberries and 2 pounds (just less than 1 kg) of sugar snap peas that we couldn't resist picking as well. The sugar snap peas will be gone in a snap. ;) My youngest and I will eat them raw as a snack and if there's any left by dinner time tomorrow, they'll be tossed in a stir fry.


As for the strawberries... There's so much one can do with 11 pounds of strawberries, don't you think? Aside from eating them out of hand or in a bowl of cereal.


Over the next few days, there will be some serious strawberry goings on around here. I will definitely be making homemade strawberry jam. I'll set aside a good chunk of time over the weekend to mess up the kitchen with that task. Hopefully I'll process enough so that I have several jars to give as gifts for Christmas. In the meantime, I'm thinking of something quick and easy like chocolate covered strawberries for dessert tonight. I'd also love to make strawberry shortcake or perhaps a fresh strawberry tart with almond cream filling tomorrow. Oh! I also have some rhubarb from my organic co-op, so maybe I'll make a strawberry rhubarb sauce for ice cream. Speaking of ice cream, how could I not make homemade strawberry ice cream, too? I'll freeze any remaining berries for smoothies.

As if there would be any remaining berries ...

So sweet and fragrant. Can't you just taste it?

Do you ever go strawberry picking?

What's your favorite way to eat strawberries?

Library Loot XIX

Library Loot is a weekly blog event that encourages bloggers to share what books they borrowed from the library that week. To participate, simply make your Library Loot post on your blog and link it using the Mr. Linky link at Marg's blog Reading Adventures or Eva's blog A Striped Armchair. This week's link up is at Eva's.

Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

I only checked out one fiction novel from the library this week and it's even a re-loot. I had this one checked out a while ago but had run out of renewals so had to return it a week or so ago. Last night I went back and borrowed it again. I actually started reading it the day before it was due, but didn't get more than 50 pages in or so. I'm promising myself to read it in it's entirety this month.

In non fiction, I'm getting inspired for the bountiful growing season that has just started up in my Zone 6 area. I love the abundance of seasonal fruits and vegetables that late spring and summer provide whether it be from my organic co-op, farmers markets, local farms or my own backyard garden. These three books will give me food preparation and gardening inspiration for the next several weeks for sure.

Well Preserved by Mary Anne Dragan

The first book is actually another re-loot, but I had to have it again because tomorrow I'm going strawberry picking with my friend (the one who borrowed Lover Mine from her library for me last week)! ... and you know what that means? Strawberry Jam!


Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison

I have at least two of Deborah Madison's cookbooks on my shelf, so I know the recipes will give reliable results, be healthy and taste fresh and delicious. As per the author's style, the recipes are familiar yet with special and unique twists and presentations. I just love summer fruit desserts-- I can't wait to try some of these recipes. Don't those raspberry tarts look mouthwatering? Mmmm!

The Kitchen Garden by Alan Burkingham

I merely had to flip through this informative book to know that I needed to bring it home and study it. It has loads of beautiful, clear, and helpful photos throughout and is formatted month by month and details what to do for your garden at that time from sowing by seed, harvesting information, pest and disease identification, and so much more. I'm already a good two weeks late planting a few key summer vegetables, but I'm still going to tackle a vegetable garden this year. Although I can already say the deer are going to be a huge problem.

What's your favorite summer fruit dessert?

Mine is probably strawberry shortcake early in the season and any kind of berry tarts mid and late season. And my Oma's peach küchen for which I have no recipe, so it's just a favorite by memory alone.

What's your favorite summer vegetable to get fresh either in your backyard garden or at the farmer's market?

Nothing beats home or local grown tomatoes. I love the big, full flavored beefsteak tomatoes... cut in thick slices and sprinkled with kosher salt and all kinds and colors of grape and cherry tomatoes on salads or sauteed in a bit of olive oil. Sungold cherry tomatoes are one of my favorite varieties. I also love really good local corn on the cob. And lots and lots of basil.

In Death Challenge Post: May 2010

Interested in joining the Challenge? Anyone is welcome to join in at any time. See the sign up post HERE.

This is the round up post for the fifth month of the In Death Reading Challenge. It's going to be a shorter monthly post than usual at the moment, because I'm too exhausted from a busy and long weekend to write a full post, and it would drive me batty if May's challenge was posted in June, so I'm getting something up for now. I'll come back and edit this post tomorrow and include a few words on my monthly In Death read as well as a discussion topic of sorts.

In the meantime, link up any In Death posts you made this month here. If you made a post on your blog whether it be a review or commentary, please grab the link to your post and enter in the Mr. Linky below along with your name so we can find each other's latest In Death posts easily.

If you're just keeping a running list of the books as you read them, grab the link to your list post and enter in the Mr. Linky so we can recognize your success this month.

If you're reading or rereading without documenting it on your blog, let me know in the comments which book(s) you read in this month. This will also help me keep track of who's eligible for the challenge giveaway in August.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NOTE: Edited to add review and discussion below on June 2, 2010.

Loyalty In Death by J.D. Robb
In Death series, Book 10

The year is 2059 and a terrorist group calling themselves Cassandra is terrorizing New York City, planting bombs in the city's most treasured landmarks, and making demands for money and the release of various political prisoners Cassandra refers to as heroes, all through letters delivered directly to the city's toughest police detective, Eve Dallas. Eve is also investigating two other seemingly unrelated homicides while racing to determine the individuals behind Cassandra and stop them from destroying her city and the people in it whom she has sworn to protect.

Loyalty In Death is another great installment in the In Death series. The crime fiction is well drawn, suspenseful, and dramatic as some of New York City's most beloved landmarks are targeted and innocent lives are lost. Loyalty In Death was published in October 1999, yet reading it now, after the events of 9/11, the crime aspect of the novel was even more affecting in light of the fall of the twin towers that claimed the lives of real people in my community, so that devastation and traumatic loss of life is all too real. In light of this serious resemblance to grave real life events, Loyalty In Death perhaps made me laugh out loud more than any other installment so far. It also offered some genuine familial comforts as Peabody's Free Ager brother shows up in this book and I was also very happy to see another intimate relationship develop in the story line in addition to Eve and Roarke's. Please use ***SPOILERS*** in your comments if you chose to mention it there.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Loyalty In Death and am anxious to continue reading Witness In Death. I already read the first couple of chapters.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Loyalty In Death is also a source of some of my favorite quotes or insights from this series so far.

This one is from Eve's perspective as she observes Peabody and her brother Zeke interacting.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to New York?" Peabody demanded.
"Wanted to surprise you. Didn't know I'd come until a couple of days ago."
He stroked a hand over her hair in a way that had Eve think of relationships again. Some weren't about sex or power or control. Some were just about love.

I found this small scene rather poignant. Although Eve is discovering more and more about relationships that are about love--both romantic and platonic, something like this love between Peabody and Zeke is something she is becoming cognizant of for the first time, yet will most likely never feel for herself.

Much later in the book, Eve and Roarke are in the midst of rubble of a bombed building doing what they can to help the survivors and find the dead, when Roarke has a revelation of sorts when he realizes that he uses his money and business prowess to serve justice to the world whereas Eve uses her skills as cop to serve, both doing what they can to make the lives of others better than the lives of their pasts.

He had the power to see that this was rebuilt, that it was put back as it had been. He could put his money and his energies into that and see it as a kind of justice.
And Eve would look to the dead.

What are your favorite quotes or scenes from the series?

Please indicate which book it is from at the beginning of your comment so that others can avoid spoilers. Thank you.

BEA Bloggers in NYC & A Weekend Road Trip

Last night, I went into NYC to meet up with some of my most beloved book blogging friends who were in town for the big Book Expo of America and Book Bloggers Convention. First, I met the sweet and energetic Michelle from the Red Headed Book Child Blog. Darling as can be, you can be assured that her charming and fun blogging voice truly matches her real life personality.

Then I met up with I my book smugglers, Ana and Thea of The Book Smugglers. And yes, I am claiming them to be mine and yes, you can love them too. Just visit their blog and you'll see how easy it is to love them. In person? Ana and Thea are smart, gracious, funny, energetic and just as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside. As in whoa baby, so gorgeous.

I also met up with one of my fun, sweet southern girlfriends, super blogger KMont of Lurv a la Mode. So friendly and attentive to what you have to say and really... talking with KMont for the first time in person was like catching up with an old friend. So comfortable. I lurv her. Oh! And Mr. KMont tagged along, too. What a cute couple. Hearts.

I also met Angie of Angieville. By now you may have picked up that Angie is one of my favorite book bloggers ever. She not only has fantastic taste in books, but she's articulate, creative friendly and so sweet. She's all that in person too. And adorable. More love.

I also revved up a few other online acquaintances with Janicu and Lusty Reader. Not only that, but I met several other really great book blogging people like Laura and Heather... as well as Kristen and Anastasia.

I had a really wonderful time meeting these friends face to face for the first time and talking about books and whatever else. What a treat this evening was for me! I think I just soaked them all in and now I'm wishing we could get together all over again so I can savor their company some more. :)

My teen daughter and I are going to a big volleyball tournament over the long weekend--she's playing volleyball and I'm playing cheerleader and photographer. It's being held at a major university about four and a half hours away. We're leaving this afternoon and don't expect to get home until late Monday night. Kind of puts the long in long weekend. I'm bringing four books along in case I have hours of free time as my daughter runs around campus with her teammates when they're not on the court. Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn (currently half way through now), Lover Mine by J.R. Ward, Witness In Death by J.D. Robb andEcstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione. Hopefully I'll get some reading in and maybe, if I'm lucky and I can find some wifi, I'll get a post or two up while I'm away, including the May In Death Reading Challenge round up post. If not, look for it on June 1. Either way, have a great weekend!!! :)

What are your plans for the weekend?

Library Loot XVIII

Library Loot is a weekly blog event that encourages bloggers to share what books they borrowed from the library that week. To participate, simply make your Library Loot post on your blog and link it using the Mr. Linky link at Marg's blog Reading Adventures or Eva's blog A Striped Armchair. This week's link up is at Marg's.

Library Loot day is usually on Wednesdays, and I didn't expect to post anything this week since I'm still trying to whittle down my current stack of library books, but I got hold of this one at the very last minute so it turns out I have some loot after all! I had to put in a little extra resourcefulness to get this book, too.

Lover Mine by J.R. Ward

Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 8

Lover Mine is the eighth novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, a.k.a. the BDB series by author J.R. Ward. I started this series back in October 2006 and was easily sucked into this action packed, suspenseful, sexy and romantic paranormal world that Ward so ingeniously crafted. As what often happens when an author becomes a NY Times Bestseller, the Black Dagger Brotherhood books are now released in hardcover first, followed by mass market paperback a year or so later. I do love this series, but vowed not to buy the hardcover releases. Partly because I don't want to spend the money on hardcover and partly because I have the first six books in paperback and I want the whole series to match! I had the seventh book, Lover Avenged on my bookshelf for several months before picking it up on a whim earlier this month and poof! I was sucked right back into the world like I'd never left. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to read the latest book, Love Mine right away. I searched out online card catalogs and found only ONE library in my area that carries Lover Mine. It just so happened to be the ONE library that has restrictions against non-residents borrowing ANY new release from their library and they consider a book a new release for ONE FULL YEAR. Son of a gun!

I was disappointed.

But I was also determined.

I asked my friend who lives in that town to put a hold on it for me. I warned her of the racy title and cover art -- she's on the shy, conservative, easily embarrassed side, but you know what? True friends will push themselves out of their comfort zone for their best buddies, because she got Love Mine for me!!! YES! She loves me! :D

Now if I could get her to read the series . . .

Do you read the Black Dagger Brotherhood series?

If you used to, but don't anymore, what book did you stop at and why?

Ten Things I Love About The Trailer for Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn

I've never been swayed to buy a book based on it's video until I watched this one for Julia Quinn's latest book Ten Things I Love About You that releases TODAY.

I think that book video is just adorable.

In the spirit of Ten Things, I made a list of reasons why I think the video adorable.

Ten Things I Love About The Trailer for Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn:

1-It's a list! ... I love lists!
2-Delightful hand drawn artwork.
3-The music is fitting.
4-Narrator's voice is purposefully over the top, in a fun way.
5-It's witty
6-and a little bit silly,
7-but very charming
8-and romantic.
9-It ends with a cliff hanger!
10-It made me want to read the book!

Want to know more about Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn? Check out this list of Ten Things You Should Know About This Book.

All these fun lists have me literally and figuratively counting on this book being just as delightful and charming as its video and lists.

Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn releases today, May 25, 2010.

You can visit Julia Quinn at her website at http://www.juliaquinn.com/.


Have you ever been swayed to buy a book based on its book trailer?

Library Loot XVII

Library Loot is a weekly blog event that encourages bloggers to share what books they borrowed from the library that week. To participate, simply make your Library Loot post on your blog and link it using the Mr. Linky link at Marg's blog Reading Adventures or Eva's blog A Striped Armchair. This week's link up is at Marg's.

I haven't done a Library Loot post in several weeks since I had so many books out already and was going a little crazy with due dates all over the calendar. I ended up returning two books tonight that I didn't get around to finishing and I had no more renewals left in the system. If I get the chance over the weekend, I'm going back for those two books because even though I left them sitting in a pile unread for so many weeks, it turns out I really want to read them!

I was able to pick up one book tonight that has had me waiting ever so impatiently on the holds list for a couple of weeks now:

Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

The Bride Quartet, Book Three

In this contemporary series, four childhood friends--Parker, Emma, Laurel and Mac--own and operate their very own wedding planning business called Vows. Each of the four women brings a unique specialty to the business--wedding planner extraordinaire, florist, creator of wedding cake masterpieces and photographer. The stories revolve around their friendships, their business and of course, their love lives as each book tells a happily ever after story for each of the four women. Savor the Moment is Laurel's story and if you may guess from the cover, she creates the wedding cakes. Her love interest is Parker's brother Delaney who has been like a brother to all four women since childhood, but Laurel doesn't see him that way. She's had a secret infatuation with Del for years. In a quicksilver mood, Laurel kisses Del and something tells me their relationship takes on a whole new dynamic.

How fun that I'm currently reading two very different books by Nora Roberts. Savor the Moment (May 2010) is a contemporary story of friendship and romance and Loyalty In Death (October 1999) is a suspenseful, futuristic murder mystery written under Roberts' pen name J.D. Robb.

Do you have a favorite author who writes novels in two fairly different genres like Nora Roberts does?

One "Thing" Done ... 100 More to Go!

I am thrilled to report that I accomplished one of my most challenging goals from my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days last weekend! I am over the moon about this one!

Back in October, I wrote a reflective post about my literal and figurative ups and downs with my then new found venture in cycling. To give you a clue, the post was titled Bike is a Four Letter Word. Ha! I know what you're thinking that four letter word is... and believe me, there were indeed times that I was so frustrated and that particular four letter word did in fact pass my lips. Once when I took a rough fall and then a couple of other times as I struggled with two particular segments of our route that were fairly tough climbs up the mountain. Back then, I had to stop twice on each of those two climbs to catch my breath and lower my heart rate before continuing on. Gah! Those stops were so frustrating and disappointing. I was determined, however, to climb those hills without stopping so I made it one of my goals in my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days.

Work hard in spin class over the winter.

Run regularly and simply do more cardio workouts to improve my fitness level and endurance.

Lose some weight.

Keep trying and hope like crazy that I'd meet my goal and conquer those mountains by the end of the summer.

To my utter delight and extreme satisfaction...

I DID IT!!!!

I conquered my cycling loop through the reservation on MAY 15, 2010 and can now climb those mountains without stopping!!!

I was confident I'd reach my goal within 1001 days, and was hoping to reach it by July or August .... but the fact that I accomplished this in May is just so much sweeter! Go, me! :)


Do you have a fitness goal you're working toward this year?

I'd love to hear about it and cheer you on.