Simple Chocolate Truffle Recipe

   By now, I'm sure you all know the deep love I have for chocolate. So when I found this amazingly simple and absolutely delicious chocolate truffle recipe I thought I should share it.
   These truffle are super easy to make and you can coat them with pretty much anything! I chose coco powder mixed with cinnamon, powder sugar (my favorite!!) and shredded coconut, but a little chili powder mixed with coco powder would be good or even cinnamon and sugar would be fun to try.
   I gave these truffles to my friends for Valentine's Day, but they are great for an easy, yet elegant dessert for a party or even for a special night in with your love or a night hanging out with friends.
 
   P.S These go great with wine!!

Chocolate Truffle Recipe

Valentine's Day Gifts to Give and to Get

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I thought it was the perfect time to post a few gift suggestions. These are great gifts to give to a friend, lover, or even just to gift yourself.


Coconut Milk Mango Vanity Tin

 
This candle smells like a lazy day lounging on the beach in the Hawaiian sun sipping on a pina colada. The tin is also beautiful, making it the perfect art piece for any room.

N.V Rose Brut ER Cru from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant



This brut is delicate and crisp with a faint strawberry taste, making it the perfect bubbly to go with a Valentine's day dessert or a night with friends.

Milk and Cookie Mugs 




This is for the cheesy couple in all of us. These mugs make me smile every time I use them and they have a lot of different sayings to fit every couple.


Happy Valentine's Day!! Remember this day is all about making yourself happy!!

xoxo afton

Chicken and Waffles at Discretion Brewery

A brewery that only serves beer, think twice! Discretion Brewery in Santa Cruz takes bar bites to the next level, serving light snacks like savory popcorn to baked salmon and the infamous chicken and waffles, which is drenched in maple syrup and scattered with tiny bits of bacon. Wash these down with a beer like Fourth Conversation or Oh Black Lager and you've got the perfect meal to leave you satisfied and drooling for seconds.  

Summer Iced Tea

A chilled glass of fresh iced tea is the perfect compliment to the budding days of spring and the lazy afternoons of summer. With the unexpectedly sweltering past few days we have had in the Bay Area I have been finding myself craving the thirst quenching tang of iced tea.

Unsweetened or not tea can be the perfect pick me up in the middle of the day, just add berries or fresh mint and the drink turns into a delightful treat.

For an easy homemade summer black tea recipe check out the Recipe for Living and for delicious iced teas on the go check out Verve Coffee Roasters, they have an unbelievable coconut white iced tea that should turn the coffee shops name into Verve Coffee AND Tea. Peet's Coffee & Tea has a fantastic light and refreshing jasmine green tea, but be sure to ask for jasmine downy pearl, it is worth the extra five minute steep time. Lastly if you are in the mood for fruity iced tea that is not drowning in sugar check out Zizzo's Coffeehouse & Wine Bar, they have a great shaken mango passion fruit iced tea that will help kill any stubborn sweet tooth.

Humphry Slocombe

Secret Breakfast and Brown Butter Ice Cream Cone 

Humphry Slocombe is an ice cream shop in it's own category. Jake Goldby, the father of the retro styled parlor uses ice cream as a medium to create one of a kind flavors that put an unusual twist on traditional flavors. Peanut butter Curry ice cream anyone?? 

I stopped in to try their best seller; Secret Breakfast and was blown away. The ice cream is made with bourbon and toasted cornflakes, tasting like a sweet grown-up cereal, but loved by kids and adults alike. 

I also tried the brown butter ice cream, it was not too rich and had that lingering taste of cooked butter and sugar. 

This is a must stop ice cream shop when visiting San Francisco. So venture out of your comfort zone and explore the many flavors of life!  

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe 

These cookies are absolutely amazing!! They are soft and gooey and taste just like regular chocolate chip cookies. The combination of tapioca flour, brown rice flour, and xanthan gum replaces wheat flour without missing a taste bud!!  

Gluten Free Bread

Gluten Free Bread Recipe 

Check out this recipe for gluten free bread!! I didn't use a french bread pan, but the bread turned out amazing, it was fluffy and tasted similar to bread with gluten. The recipe is easy to follow and definitely worth trying!!