Thought I would share a select few shots from my brief trip to Thailand. The word scenic doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Category: Travel
Five Things
I learned about Singapore on my recent trip.
- The city’s mascot is a mer-lion. I think I would have learned this if I did a little more research before I went, but regardless, I think it’s a fantastic mascot! How do you get more majestic then a lion and mermaid combined?
- The country turned fifty years old last year. We missed out on the year long celebration. Here’s to fifty more!
- The metro system or MRT seems to be what American metros are trying to be. The trains are clean. We were never stopped or delayed at any point which is shocking compared to the DC metro. There was an overwhelming amount of signage about rules of behavior which are actually enforced by platform attendants rather than ignored (give up your seat, take off your backpack, no eating or drinking, etc.).
- Hawker centers are a very popular place to grab a bite for any meal, any day. They are basically large foot courts of small food stands (and sometimes markets) that are government regulated to ensure cleanliness. You can find any standard dish from any Asian country (each stand basically specializes in a few dishes), and you don’t even have to bus your own table. The couple times we ate there my meal was less than four USD for a large plate of food.
- Carrot cake is neither carrot nor cake. The dish seems to be diced radish sautéed with a few other vegetables (no carrot) in a brown sauce. Not bad, but absolutely nothing like carrot cake in the US which is a cake that has carrots.
Almond Joy Brownies: A Hershey Inspired Dessert
This month, I made a trip to Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, PA on the way back from visiting my alma mater. Â One of my memories as a child is going to Hershey Park in the summer to ride all the thrilling amusement rides and to visit Chocolate World. Â The best part of Chocolate World was the ride inside that detailed the process of making Hershey’s chocolate. Â As you walk into Chocolate World, you are blown away by the smell of chocolate emanating from the building. Â The aroma is overwhelming and you become immersed into a magical world where nothing matters except all the chocolate treats that you can purchase there. Â Needless to say, I went home with a goodie bag.
When i returned home, I felt the need to whip up my very own chocolate creation inspired by Milton Hershey himself. Â I put a Hershey twist on brownies. Â I used Pillsbury Dark Chocolate brownie mix and doctored it up to make Almond Joy Brownies. Â I made the batter as stated on the box, then added 1/2 tsp of coconut extract, 1 tsp of almond extract, and 3/4 cup sliced almonds to the batter.
I poured the batter in a 13×9 inch pan and then topped the batter with coconut flakes. Â I used Toasted Coconut Chips from Creative Snacks Co. Â This sample bag was given to me by one of my sales reps this summer. Â If you use regular coconut, be sure to toast it in the oven before you top off the brownies.
Bake the brownies as directed on the box.  The result is a twist on a classic and your dinner guests won’t be able to pass on dessert.  Top a brownie with the ice cream of your choice and hot fudge sauce to make an even more irresistible dessert.
Sadie Dishes 
