A Wanderlust Affair

An amazing interactive infographic that unveils the true cost of an iphone. Story unfolds as you scroll down and you see the phases an iphone goes through. How cool is that?!

Wicked interactive infographic about the eating patterns around the world. Check it out!

clientsfromhell:

Client: Here’s that $3,000 we owed you.

Me: Thanks! But where’s the rest?

Client: Well, we were talking about it, and we think the quoted price in the contract is a bit more than we’re willing to pay.

Me: But…

Client: We’re paying you in cash off the books. That means no taxes! Don’t you hate it when you work hard for money and the government keeps it from you? We’re doing you a favour!

Add what you’re owed to the World’s Largest Invoice and help freelancers #getpaidnotplayed. 

FREELANCERS UNITE!

gingerhaze:

From the amazing restaurant recipe book “ReFresh”!

A delicious blend of lettuce leaves, alfafa sprouts, steamed spinach, grated beets and carrots drizzled with roasted nuts and seeds. 

Here’s the problem we face, every day of our lives. Nearly everything that generates enduring value requires effort, focus, and even some discomfort along the way.  At the same time, we’re deeply wired to avoid pain, which the body reads as mortally dangerous, and to move toward pleasure, the more immediate the better.

We’re also exposed to more temptation than ever. The world is literally at our fingertips, a few keystrokes away. It’s forever beckoning us, like the Sirens singing to Odysseus, who lashed himself to the mast of his ship to resist their call.

The sirens sing to us, too: Have the dessert. Skip the workout. Put off the hard work. Surf the web. Check your email. Indulge your whims. Settle for the easy way out.  

Read More →

Why do we give up our sacred space so easily? Because space is scary. During these temporary voids of distraction, our minds return to the uncertainty and fears that plague all of us. To escape this chasm of self-doubt and unanswered questions, you tune into all of the activity and data for reassurance.

But this desperate need for constant connection and stimulation is not a modern problem. I would argue that we have always sought a state of constant connection from the dawn of time, it’s just never been possible until now.

We are depriving ourselves of every opportunity for disconnection. 

The need to be connected is, in fact, very basic in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the psychological theory that explains the largest and most fundamental human desires. Our need for a sense of belonging comes right after physical safety. We thrive on friendship, family, and the constant affirmation of our existence and relevance. Our self-esteem is largely a product of our interactions with others.

It is now possible to always feel loved and cared for, thanks to the efficiency of our “comment walls” on Facebook and seamless connection with everyone we’ve ever known. Your confidence and self-esteem can quickly be reassured by checking your number of “followers” on Twitter or the number of “likes” garnered by your photographs and blog posts. The traction you are getting in your projects, or with your business, can now be measured and reported in real time.

Our insatiable need to tune into information – at the expense of savoring our downtime – is a form of “work” (something I call “insecurity work”) that we do to reassure ourselves.

To read more

Been craving to make lentil soup since forever! So found this recipe through AllRecipe site and decided to give it a try. Tweaked it a bit turned out amazing overall!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown lentils
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 8 cups water
• 2 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 small onion
• 2 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground masala
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation

Rinse lentils in cold water several times before adding to cooking pot. In a medium-size cooking pot, add lentils and water and boil for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile chop carrot, onion and celery.

Add quartered potatoes and cook until tender.

When potatoes are cooked, remove into a mixing bowl; mash and set aside.

Add carrots, onion, celery, and chicken soup base to pot and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes or until lentils are soft.

Add turmeric, ground masala, cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Now add mashed potatoes, mix well and just bring to boil. Adjust seasonings to taste. 

Serve with toast, rice or by itself. Delicious and hearty!

Tried BlackOut Chocolate Cake at Future’s Cafe. It was so good so had to try to make it. Luckily, found this recipe here: Source and this is how it turned out.

Makes one 9-inch round cake, about 12 servings

For the cake:

• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pans
• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 cup brewed coffee (I used espresso)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the pudding:

• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¼ cup cornstarch, sifted
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Make the cake:

Center an oven rack and heat the oven to 325 f. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper circles. Set aside.

1) In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

2) Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa and cook until fragrant, about a minute. 

3) Off the heat, whisk in the coffee, buttermilk, and sugars until dissolved. 

4) Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in the flour mixture. 

5) Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and smooth with a spatula. ( I used one large rectangular pan and cut it in half at the end)

6) Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes, rotating the cake pans halfway through baking. 

7) Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

For the filling:

Cook the sugar, chocolate, half-and-half, milk, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth, shiny and thickened. 

Off the heat, stir in the vanilla. Transfer the pudding to a large bowl and refrigerate, with plastic wrap pressed flush against its surface, until cold and set, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Assemble the cake:

Using a large serrated knife, slice each cake into 2 even layers. (Since I cut 2 pieces of this rectangular, I cut half of it as well)

After refrigerating the pudding, it thickens and turns into this perfect creamy frosting! <3

You then crumble one cake layer into medium crumbs and set aside. Place one cake layer on a cake plate or cardboard round. Spread 1 cup of the pudding over the cake layer and top with another layer. (In total you should’ve had 2 crumbled cakes and 2 whole cake layers

)

Repeat with 1 cup more pudding and the last cake layer. Spread the remaining pudding evenly over the top and sides of the cake.The whole construction might look a bit jiggly at this point but after you press the crumbs all around it will get more stable, especially after some refrigeration time. Sprinkle the cake crumbs evenly over the top and sides of the cake, pressing lightly to adhere the crumbs.

The cake can be made a day ahead and kept under a cake dome in the refrigerator.

Hmm a decadent piece of blackout chocolate cake finally!