Happy Sunday all!!
Aug17
Sunday Reflections
Happy Sunday all!!
Tag Archives: TenaciousM
Aug15
Rocky Road Bars
I figure if the ice cream works for me, I should try the cookies as well. Who wouldn’t like to find one of these rich treats in a lunchbox or party favor bag? Just wrap each bar in a piece of waxed paper for mess-free transport. Place walnuts in a resealable plastic bag, and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush them to desired size.
PREP: 10 MINS
TOTAL TIME: 2 HOURS 45 MINS
SERVINGS:12
Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
STEP 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter the paper. Set aside.
STEP 2
In a medium saucepan, place butter and cocoa; heat over low, stirring constantly, until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, egg, flour, milk, and vanilla until combined.
STEP 3
Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven; sprinkle top evenly with marshmallows, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Return to oven, and bake until marshmallows puff, about 3 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Then refrigerate until topping hardens, about 1 hour. Use paper overhang to lift from pan; cut into 12 bars.
Aug15
Take Them To The Big Screen: 10 Black Women Who Deserve A Biopic
Repost from madamenoire.com
I’m going to be straight up and ask an honest question here: Where are all the good biography films pictures on black women? I’m not trying to start nothing – actually I’m okay and cool with starting stuff – but I have to say I’m not really impressed with the selection of biopics lately. The TLC, while full of gossipy tidbits, was ultimately a huge dud. So was the Winnie Mandela biopic entitled Winnie (which is available on Netflix but I would skip it). And excuse me for being presumptuous but I don’t have high hopes for either of the proposed Aaliyah projects. And I certainly won’t be supporting the Zoe Saldana/Nina Simone travesty, if ever that sees the light of day.
Perhaps it is the subject or the productions themselves, but Hollywood (inclusive of Black Hollywood too) really doesn’t attempt to immortalize Black women as it does Black men. This is particularly true of the big screen productions. In fact, it seems the majority of biopics on Black women are actually made for television, and by default, have all the cheese and camp of a film made for television.
As such, I have created a list of ten women, who would make awesome subjects for a well-produced and funded film production. Also so Hollywood doesn’t go casting Madonna as Rosa Parks, I’ll also include a list of women, who I believe would good fits for the roles.
DIANA ROSS
Seriously, why shouldn’t there be a film on this Supreme (get it?) being? She has been noted as an influence among entertainment heavyweights like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige. Besides her musical talent, she is also known for a few scandals in her personal life, including a secret child (to be revealed on an episode of Oprah) with Motown CEO Berry Gordy and a very public arrest for Driving Under the Influence.
But in spite of all of her achievements, including a Tony, a People’s Choice and a handful of American Music Awards, Ross has never won a Grammy. Refuting that shade alone is reason enough for me to want to see her on the big screen.
Credit: Madame Noire
Aug14
Over The Hump Old School Sound Check – James Brown
I got a chance to catch the James Brown Biopic, “Get On Up” last weekend, and I must say that I really enjoyed it. I never actually got the appeal of James Brown, in fact, I ran a poll with friends for years trying to understand what I was missing. I get it now, and I really appreciate his story, his determination and innovative approach to marketing himself. And the dancing, what an entertainer!! So, here’s a sample for my Thursday music break.
Aug14
Innovation Distinguishes Between a Leader and a Follower
Happy to share this information on leadership and innovation.
That’s a quote from the most famous innovator in recent history — Steve Jobs. To be successful, a company has to continually innovate. Here are just a few examples of companies that did and are thriving.
Will Housh was a member of the third generation of a family-owned HVAC business. While it was successful, he saw that e-commerce was coming to the HVAC industry while others in the business were unwilling to embrace the new technology. “Even though our family business was generating sales of more than $12 million in a good year, just how sustainable are mom-and-pop businesses in the age of the Internet?” he wrote in the article “How to Make an Unpopular Decision.”
He saw the industry changing. Customers were starting to use the Internet to connect with contractors and get lower prices. So he started an online and retail business, eventually selling his grandfather’s…
View original post 378 more words
Aug13
Paris Is Less Than A Month Away!
Gearing up for my birthday trip to Paris, London and Scotland. I can’t take it, I gotta breathe!!!!
Aug12
10 Tips to Cut Your Travel Costs
Great travel tips from one of my blogger friends.
If you love to travel like I do, here are some tips to stretch your travel dollar…
1. Lodging
Lodging is by far the largest expense when traveling. Couchsurfing is a terrific alternative to the standard hotel room if you’re a bit adventurous. After making an online profile through Couchsurfing.org, you can search their database based on location and other filters, such as age and male/female, for a place to crash for a few nights. It’s totally free and the friendships you make could become lifelong! You may also host people at your place, if you have a couch, an extra bed, or even an air mattress on the floor. In the past two years, I’ve Couchsurfed in Cape Town, South Africa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Philadelphia, and New York City.
Patio of Cape Town, S. Africa Couchsurfing home
2. Solo Travel
If you’re traveling solo…
View original post 540 more words
Aug12
Lessons Learned
Sharing a favorite writer!! Enjoy!
(c) Drifting Into A Dream By Helenka Wierzbicki
If flowers teach us beauty,
Sunrise life,
Water thirst,
Noise silence,
And rain sorrow,
If clouds teach us hope,
View original post 44 more words
Aug12
Chocolate-Mint Thumbprints
Thumbprint cookies — made by pressing a small round of dough with the thumb to form an indentation — are great for filling with chocolate or jam. Feel free to mix the batter with any kind of mint-flavored candy, like Andes chocolate mints, but any kind of mint-flavored chocolate works well.
Yields: 44 cookies
Total Time: 2 hr 30 min
Ingredients
2 ounce(s) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounce(s) mint chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(s) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
3/4 teaspoon(s) salt
2 stick(s) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup(s) granulated sugar
2 tablespoon(s) dark brown sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
1 cup(s) coarse sugar such as Turbinado, for rolling
3 ounce(s) white chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoon(s) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon(s) pure peppermint extract
Directions
1. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the bittersweet and mint chocolates in 30-second intervals until nearly melted. Whisk until smooth, then let cool. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa and salt.
2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter until creamy. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla. Scrape the chocolate into the mixer and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed, scraping the side of the bowl occasionally, until smooth. Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and pat it into a 7-inch disk; wrap it up and refrigerate until chilled and firm, at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F and position racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Spread the coarse sugar in a shallow bowl. Scoop up tablespoons of the dough and roll them into balls, then roll in the coarse sugar; transfer to the baking sheets. Using your thumb or a melon baller, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until slightly firm. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven. Using the melon baller, press into the cookies again. Return the cookies to the oven, shifting the cookie sheets, and bake for 5 minutes longer, just until dry but not hard. Transfer the cookie sheets to racks to cool completely.
4. Put the white chocolate in a heatproof cup. Put the cream into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at high power until boiling, about 30 seconds. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate and let stand until melted, then whisk until smooth. Stir in the peppermint extract. Fill the thumbprints with the white-chocolate ganache and refrigerate just until set, about 30 minutes.
Aug10
Sunday Reflections
Egos & Buffaloes 