A Month for All Things Pink and Heart-Shaped
I’ll preface this post by stating loud and clear that I am a romantic. I am not ashamed.
I love Valentine’s Day! Yep, I’m one of THOSE PEOPLE. So get ready because all my posts this month will be pink and/or heart-shaped.
Valentine’s Day suffers from a lot of criticism like it being a “Hallmark Holiday” and that there shouldn’t just be one designated day for people to celebrate love. Well, it’s my life so I’ll shower myself in heart-shaped glitter and cute little chocolate treats if I want to! I’m a lover of love. My high school yearbook quote was the infamous saying- “The greatest thing you will ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” I stand by it. This quote doesn’t just refer to the romantic kind of love, but love in all its forms. It’s truly a gift to let yourself give generously and help selflessly with no intention of receiving anything in return. It is also a gift to allow someone else to do the same for you without feeling guilty, prideful or like you’re not worthy of their kindness. Know your value and others will know it too.
This Valentine’s Day, whether you’re single or in a relationship, just embrace the sappiness of it all. Valentine’s Day can be about loving yourself too. Heck, go buy yourself a large heart-shaped cookie and flowers on Saturday. It’s a day to love and no one said you have to exclude yourself from that. You don’t even need to make February 14th a romantic day if you don’t want to. As long as it’s filled with things you love to do…and eat. Treat yourself! A box of chocolate and a good cheesy movie can be just as thrilling as any other “Valentine’s Day” plan. Is it weird that I find thrill in the uncertainty of what’s inside the next piece of chocolate? Maybe, but who cares.
STIR
Oreo Dragon Fruit White Chocolate Truffles
Having a blog isn’t all about sharing with you only my successes in the kitchen, I want to share my honest experiences in the kitchen. So this was my first time making truffles and I’m not sure if it was an off day for me or if these delicious little bites really are actually a nightmare to make. In theory they were easy. All I was suppose to do was crush up Oreos, mix in cream cheese, roll them into balls, chill them, melt chocolate, dip the balls in the chocolate, and done! That wasn’t how it actually happened.
I tried to dye my melted white chocolate with natural coloring using dragon fruit juice, which resulted in the chocolate solidifying into a putty-like mess refusing to remelt. I also tried pink fruit punch which 1) did not turn the chocolate pink and 2) also made the chocolate solidify and get crumbly. I did some research and apparently when even the slightest amount of liquid hits the chocolate, it “seizes up.” This confuses me because don’t some recipes call for melting your chocolate with milk? I don’t know, maybe I made that up.
Anyways, so because I was unable to use pink chocolate for the chocolate shell of my truffle, I decided to use the seized up pink chocolate dyed with dragon fruit for the center of my truffles and as a pink crumbled chocolate topping. The dragon fruit did not give the chocolate any flavor, just color (which is good).
I tried for a third time and dipped my frozen Oreo balls into the melted chocolate and after three of them were successfully dipped, it started to seize up again! On top of that, how are you suppose to dip anything fully into chocolate and take it out without leaving imprints from your fingers on the sides?? That’s a serious question, so if you have an answer, please let me know!
As you can see, this was quite a challenge for me and I had a rough time. However, I’m really pleased with the end product. I love that I didn’t have to use food coloring because food coloring always kind of freaks me out because it’s so artificial. They look beautiful with the pink center and they taste awesome. Too bad I only have three. The rest of my Oreo cream cheese balls are chilling (pun intended) in the freezer all naked and sad. This may be my first and last attempt at truffles. We’ll see.
STYLE
Valentine’s Day is a chance to be a little flirty with your wardrobe. My Style for this Valentine’s Day post is less “va va voom” and more cute with a little bit of edge from the leather Frye cage heels and my cutout tank. This Express crepe tank is business in the front and party in the back. The front is quite conservative, but the back has a cute ladder cutout with a flowy tail which shows off your back without showing too much.
These Frye heels are clunky in a good way. They have a wooden heel which assures stability and security so you won’t 1) get stuck in a vent on the sidewalk or 2) twist your ankle. Both of which has happened to me. [Funny story: I was walking in downtown SF wearing heels and one heel got stuck in a manhole vent. I ended up having to take off my shoe and squat down to yank it out with both hands. What made it worse was that I was walking alone so there was no one to laugh with me. It’s okay though, I just laughed at myself and made sure not to make eye contact with any witnesses.] Anyways, because of the leather cage style of the heel and its block heel, it can be a casual shoe as well.
As always, please feel free to contact me or email me to let me know what went wrong with my truffle making process, any helpful chocolatier tips you may have, and/or your feelings about Valentine’s Day! Thanks for reading and have a Valentine’s Day full of beautiful treats!