Terre Pruitt's Blog

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Posts Tagged ‘4th of July’

Fourth of July Potluck Dessert

Posted by terrepruitt on July 5, 2014

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaIf you saw my last post you know that I was going to make something that I had seen on Facebook for a party I was going to.  I thought it would be a really quick thing.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?  Never, when I make a recipe for the first time, is it a quick thing.  Also, I was reminded why I never melt chocolate.  I don’t know how.  I think the hotter the burner/pan/water the better.  NOT THE CASE!  So I attempted to make pretty Fourth of July Strawberries.  Well, I ended up with yummy strawberries, but they were far from the pretty picture I originally saw on Facebook.  Also, they took WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY longer than I thought.  I started later than I wanted which had us arriving at the party WAY later than I wanted.  But . . . . that is what I get.  And I really do know better.  I just thought . . . . wrong, obviously.  So I made Champagne 4th of July Strawberries.  The “recipe” is here along with some things I learned and/or experienced.  Perhaps this will help you when you attempt to make them next year.

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Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle Yoga

 

 

 

Champagne 4th of July Strawberries

I used:

*A large container of strawberries
*mason jars
*a bottle of sparkling wine/champagne
*about 3/4 of a package of white chocolate chips
*sugar
*blue food coloring

Wash the strawberries.  Put them in the jars, fill the jars with champagne.  Seal the jars.  Let the jars set in fridge at least 24 hours.  When you are ready to make the dessert, take the strawberries out of the champagne and let them dry.  (The dryer they are the better!)  Mix the food coloring into sugar.  Melt your chocolate.  Dip the strawberries in chocolate, then the sugar.  Place on serving tray.

 

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Ok, FIRST of all . . . . one of the best things that comes out of this is strawberry flavored champagne.  Yeah, it is flat, but . . . then it is just like strawberry wine!  (Oh, that reminds me, I have mine to drink tonight—yay!)

So, originally I used chop sticks to remove the Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle Yogastrawberries because I just didn’t want to stick my fingers in the champagne because I was planning on drinking it later.  Only with the first jar.  Once one jar was empty of strawberries I poured the liquid in it and then just plucked the strawberries out with my fingers of the remaining jars.  I set the strawberries on a paper towel to dry.  I patted them “dry”.  They DID NOT dry.  The chocolate did not really want to stick to the strawberry.

I do not know how to melt chocolate, so something that should have taken a few minutes took forever.  I tried three different methods and the last one . . . .the one I should have started with . . . proved to be the best, but still, as most people know (except me) HIGH heat is not good for chocolate or white “chocolate”.  But I was thinking that it would get hard while I was dealing with each strawberry so I wanted it really “melty”.  Most of you will not have the trouble with the chocolate I had.  I had seen some recipes with frosting instead of chocolate, that does not sound as good to me so I opted for the chocolate.  While I was struggling with the chocolate I kept thinking, “I should have gone with the frosting!  I should have gone with the frosting!”

I ended up having to SPREAD the chocolate on each strawberry.  So I would spread, then stir, then spread, then stir all the while battling my “too hot” chocolate.  After the first tray my husband walked by and bravely said, “Can I do anything to help you?”  And I made him stir while I spread the chocolate on the rest of the strawberries.

I prepared WAY too much sugar.  So that is why I did not give an amount in the above “recipe” because I have no idea.  I later saw something that said 1/4 of a cup.  I think I make 3/4 of a cup of sugar.  Also, I couldn’t find any type of sugar in the store besides powdered, regular, and extra fine.  So I just used regular sugar.

I found that pouring the sugar on worked well.  I used a spoon to pour it on the end of the strawberry.  Although, I think if you properly melted the chocolate and waited a bit before dipping in the sugar, it would be fine.  But with my seized chocolate (see I knew WHAT it was doing, I just didn’t know WHY) the pouring method worked great.

Put the strawberries down where you want them to remain.  Once they were on the tray they were NOT moving.  Again, that could be because of the overheated chocolate.  I will try this again.  In fact, I didn’t use all the chocolate so I am going to attempt it again.  Although I am using my seized, crumpling, leftover chocolate . . . so we will see.

The people at the party were very kind and said the strawberries were pretty.  I think they were admiring the colors not the texture.  And then once a bite was taken it didn’t matter.  Chocolate, whether white, milk, dark, or semi-sweet, on a strawberry is really yummy.  So these were ok.  Not the pretty thing I envisioned, but they were yummy.

And I learned a lot.  I look forward to my next attempt!

So, how was your Fourth of July?  Does a white chocolate dipped champagne strawberry sound good to you?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

What To Bring To That Fourth Of July Party?

Posted by terrepruitt on July 3, 2014

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaIt is the Fourth of July . . . .well tomorrow, but if you are going to a Fourth of July party you might have your “dish” decided upon.  Or you might not.  What are you bringing?  Not that you have to bring something, it just seems very traditional to have a BBQ potluck type of thing on Fourth of July.  So I was wondering what you were bringing.  I saw something on Facebook that I want to bring to the party I am attending, but then the hostess has indicated that she is having a “homemade cake that is red white and blue. (Strawberry, blueberry & almond, with stars & stripes inside!)”  That KIND OF is what I wanted to bring . . . . strawberries with red, white, and blue.  So I decided to bring “my” bean salad which is funny because it is really is a recipe from a friend of the hostess.   (Click here for the bean salad recipe.)  That friend is not attending . . . . . whew!  Naw, she wouldn’t mind that I was bringing “her” recipe.  But I really want to bring that “dish” I saw on Facebook, too.  Since I am unable to really think about being creative for a potluck, I am going to bring it.  It is a dessert type dish that needs at least 24 hours to “percolate”.  So we will see how it comes out.  And, I will be sharing about the adventure of it.  Even though it is really simple I have already taken pictures of the first step with the intention of posting about it.  Of course, it will be after the Fourth of July . . . . . but these treats are festive and can be “adjusted” color-wise to make a pretty plate for any occasion.

I needed something simple that I didn’t have to think about.  I have some work to do and I am gearing up for a really busy month of subbing and I am dealing with that “stuff”.  So the post on Facebook was perfect, until I received the menu.  So I did look for other ideas, but was not feeling very inspired.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaEven though I had already purchased the ingredients for the “other” strawberry thing, I was doing a search for things to make that would be festive I found this an “American Flag” made of kabobs of blueberries (as the stars portion of the flag), strawberries, and bananas.  The strawberries and bananas made up the stripped portion of the flag.  It looks so easy to do, and really very pretty and patriotic.  Click over to Menus4Moms to see the full picture and get some ideas on how to do it.  I am providing a tease of it so you will be sure to click over.  I am making a note of it here . . . . . like I often do so I won’t forget about it.  My blog is the easiest place for me to make notes of things.  I use it all the time for my recipes.  And grocery shopping when I want to make the recipes.

So, enough about my Fourth of July potluck party situation . . . . . what about you?  What are you making?  What are you taking?  I am excited to hear.  I know that if you comment and tell me I will be able to refer to it for next year . . . that is if you are doing a “Patriotic Dish”.  If you are doing something yummy, but not red, white, and blue, I can refer to it the next time I want to make something yummy.  So what do you got?

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Holidays and Exercise Classes

Posted by terrepruitt on July 2, 2011

I have been teaching Nia in the San Francisco Bay Area for two and a half years.  So far every Holiday that falls on one of my regularl class days, I have taught.  I keep seeing postings on Facebook, Twitter, and other places on the internet about how classes are suspended or cancelled over the Holiday weekend.  The classes will resume normal schedule on Tuesday.  I understand this because some of the places where the classes are taught are closed over the three-day weekend.  Also, a lot of people do go away during Holidays, but a lot of people stay home too.  I find that because I have morning classes, my holiday classes are bigger.  People that are normally at work get to come to a morning exercise class.  I love it.

I also understand that holidays are family time so it is nice to be with the family.  Especially since most of the time people are having to get up and rush off on their separate ways.  I am fortunate that my Monday and Wednesday classes in San Jose are at 9:00 am.  Often times people can come take the class and be back with the family before the family is even up and ready to go about the day.  AWESOME!

It seems as if the actual independence day was July 2, 1776, when the actual legal separation from Great Britain occurred.  The document clarifying and explaining what the meant was finalized on July 4th so it seems that was adopted as Independence Day.  In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.  This is all according to Wiki.

I feel it is nice to take a moment to remember why we have a day off.  Usually we are so excited by the fact we have an extra day to play we might forget why.  I know I do.  It really is my blog that helps me stop and remember.  On Holidays I often look up them up to see if I should or could post about them.  Today I decided to post a bit about it and about the fact that Help You Well / me has not taken a Holiday yet.  I post the information on my site too, so that my students know I will be there and people looking for a class will know.  Some people like to try a new class when they have the day off.

I am fortunate to rent the studio where I teach on Monday so I am not subject to a “company” being open or closed.  So I am there.  You can find me at the studio in San Jose.  Even though that is the one day when my hubby might be home and I have to get up and leave him, I am motivated by my students that show up that normally can’t attend on regular work days.  Come join me.

At the time of this post there is a Free Class pass on my site.  Print it out.  Use it.  Come dance with us.  Come celebrate freedom, barbeques, fireworks, picnics, and grilling.  Yeah, dancing can be like that a celebration of it all.  Come see.

Happy Fourth of July regardless of where you live!  🙂

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

It’s a Mystery

Posted by terrepruitt on June 26, 2011

Oh wow!  Last night we went to a mystery party.  It was so fun.  I really was just amazed at the craziness of the character and the twists and turns and just all that was going on.  Since this is a public blog, I don’t want to tell too much because I never know who is reading this and if you were invited to a mystery party with this story line and you got all the details here that wouldn’t be fun.  It was my first party like that and so I was a bit overwhelmed to say the least.

We were on a ship in the 1700’s and we all had goals to accomplish, with abilities, secrets, and information.  Oh and we had “items too”.  And EVERYONE was looking for something.  It was hilarious.  It was fun and I am telling you this because I was so involved in it I forgot to post a placeholder for anyone doing the Ten Minute Workout.  But alas, it doesn’t look as if that was a problem.

I just did mine, but I am going to tell you I actually took out the lunges.  Yes, yes, I know, one of the prime exercises to target the glutes, but it is my foot that I am trying to save.  I have been practicing a Nia routine called Sexi.  I am thinking about doing it this week and it has a lot of ball of foot.  A LOT!   So much so that I might wait until Wednesday to do it, so that I can do it once for my San Jose Nia Class and then once for my Los Gatos Nia Class.  Then have a few days where I am not doing it.  Then pick it up again the following week.   One of my students requested it.

Which reminds me:  YES, there is Nia in San Jose at 9 am on Monday, the Fourth of July.  So come on over.  Many people have that day off so join us.  It will be fun.  We will be doing Sexi!  And Sexi is sexy and fun.

Even though I didn’t do lunges I did target my glutes with the ol’ donkey kick.  But I added some weights to see how that worked.  Remember those donkey kicks?

So what about you?  Did you do the ten exercises?  Did you do ten minutes of any exercise?  That is a great start/addition/quickie.  So let me know.

Posted in Ten Minute Workout check-in | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »