Desserts 4 Today

Making a candy bar card to mark a special occasion can be a novel and memorable way to make someone's day. All it takes is a little thought and a few simple materials, plus a few chocolates of course. This way your project winds up being a sweet gift as well as a greeting card.

Here is How to Make Your Card

Candy

First think about the reason you want to make the card. Is it to mark a special birthday or anniversary? Has someone achieved a goal? Do you want to mark the beginning (a wedding?) or an end (retirement?) of something?

With your occasion in mind, the next step is to take a trip to the local supermarket and to browse the confectionery aisles. Look for candy bars with names that suit your theme or message. Purchase your chocolates. You may choose small candy bars or individually wrapped chocolates, for example. You just need to be able to read the name of the treat and the sweet needs to be a suitable size for attaching to your card with pins or adhesive.

Now look for some cardboard or thin Styrofoam to make the backing for your card. The bigger the backing, the easier it will be for a group of people to read your message, and the more chocolates you can fit into your message. Make sure your backing is strong enough to support the weight of your chocolates as well.

The next step is to head home to lay out the chocolates in front of the computer. I spend some time brainstorming ways to make a message for my friend or family member, using the chocolates to help spell out my message.

When I have a message in mind, I type it into a word document. Then I format the font (I like Verdana) to be about the same size as the words on my chocolates. I leave some space between my lines of text so I can cut the words of the message apart when I print them out. If you would rather write out your message by hand or spell it out with alphas, paint or even words cut from magazines, of course you can.

After printing my message and cutting out the phrases or words, I start pinning the message to the board or backing sheet.

Work out the middle of your message and lay the words on the middle of the backing sheet. Do they fit where you want them? Can you fit your chocolate words in too? If everything fits, start pinning or adhering the words and chocolates to your backing sheet.

It should not take long to finish making the candy bar card once you know what you want to say.

A Message Idea for Your Candy Bar Card:

To get you started, here is a message I made up for a Father's Day candy bar card:

I would have to go to MARS to find a Dad like you. Ever since I was a BABE (Ruth) you always TAKE 5 to BOOST me up when I am down. You are a TOP DECK kind of Dad!

I trust you will be inspired to make your own special candy bar card now, but be warned. If you are anything like me, there is a hazard involved in making this type of card. It is the temptation to eat the chocolates before they reach their intended recipient!

Would you like to see an example of a candy bar card? I have one here: http://www.papercraftcentral.com/candy-bar-card.html

At http://PaperCraftCentral.com/subscribe.html you will also find step-by-step guides for making many beautiful paper craft projects. You can ask questions about paper crafting, submit your own work and subscribe to Paper Twists, a newsletter all about papercrafts, for free!

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Every February 14th, we observed the Valentines Day in many countries. It is the day that we show love to our love partners. Traditionally, we send flowers, gift, greeting cards, or treats. In many cases, we give the gift of puppy. Let us show how to find to name the puppy. A puppy is a cute gift for Valentines Day. Naturally, you may want a good dog names that relates to Valentines Day. It was a special day. And, you want to cherish the memorable day.

When you think of Valentines Day, you may think of a few things. For example, chocolates, love, red, flowers, romance, and romantic dinner are a few things that comes in mind. With the list, you can find the best dog name for the puppy.

Confection

From all the confections, the chocolate is given the most for the special day. The chocolate is a great name for brown or dark dogs. Roasting the cacao beans, the chocolate maker creates a delicious and sweet confection. Depending on the amount of cacao, the chocolate is the range between light brown to dark brown.

Red is the color of Valentines Day. The cards, gifts, flowers, and decorations have some red in it. Admon, Clancy, Crimson, Griffin, Griffith, Hong, Miaka, Rouge, and Ruby are dog names meaning red on their origin. From the list, Hong and Miaka are from exotic origin. Hong is Chinese dog name, while Miaka is Japanese dog name. The rest are English origin except for Admon, Rouge, and Ruby. It is a dog name from Hebrew, French, and Latin origin respectively.

There are many more English dog names that are derived from the word red. Here are some examples. Redd, Reed, and Reid are derived from the word red. Some dog breeds may not be exactly red color, but the fur color may be close enough to red. The choices are Arun, Aruna, Broderick, Griffin, Griffith, Kapila, Radleigh, and Raleigh. Arun, Aruna, and Kapila that are Sanskrit or Indian origin means rust colored or reddish brown. Broderick, Griffin, and Griffith are from Welsh origin. The names mean reddish. Now, Radleigh and Raleigh are English dog names meaning red wood.

The fruit that is tantamount with Valentines are apple, strawberry, cherry, and raspberry. Apparently, they are red fruits. Thus, it can be ideal name for dog names. The guys like to give flowers in Valentines Day. The favorite flowers are three red roses. Flora means flower in Latin. Thus, Flora is a Latin origin dog names which means flower. The variations of Flora are Flor, Floria, Florian, and Florrie. The names have variations in different origin too. Hana (Japanese), Florella (Italian), Mali (Thai), and Prasoon (Indian) are example of the variations from another origin.

In many languages, there is a word for love. Therefore, the word has become dog names for many dog owners. For example, Agape literally means love in Greek. Here are some dog names that literally means love in different origin. Ai (Japanese), Amor (Latin), Asta (Norwegian), Ife (African), and Manoj (Sanskrit) means love in another origin.

Valentines Day is one of the happiest days that we observed every year. As you can see, the day numerously served as inspiration for dog names. There are many more, but we run out of space to write.

Dennis is a free lance web developer. He owns and operate the Chinese dog name, and Japanese dog name websites.

There's no better way to cap off a hearty Filipino meal than with something light and sweet for dessert. No, not ice cream or milkshakes, although those are great too-we're talking about native Filipino desserts. If you think sweets have no place in Filipino cuisine, you can't be further from the truth. From simple sugar-raised doughnuts to elaborate cakes, there's always a sweet Filipino food that's sure to satisfy that sweet tooth.

But one dessert that deserves a mention is the Filipino pastry. Although not as popular as our kakanin or rice cakes, Filipino pastries are a steady favorite in many regions. They're also a great start if you want to bake your own Filipino desserts recipes. They don't require as much attention as kakanin, but they give you just the same sweetness. Here are some of the most popular pastries in Filipino cuisine, plus some recipes to help you get started.

Sweets

Buko Pie

It's hardly surprising that one of our favorite desserts comes from our top fruit export. Outside the country, buko pie is sold in pre-packed frozen slices, so we're lucky to get it here fresh and hot, not to mention cheap. It is a popular pasalubong for people who go south of Luzon, particularly to Laguna, Quezon, and Batangas. The filling is made from young coconut flesh mixed with macapuno, coconut milk, cream, and sometimes caramel. Most bakeries carry a cheaper version of the pie made from sweetened coconut juice and flour. If you feel like making your own, here's an easy recipe you can try.

Buko Pie

Ingredients:

2 c all-purpose flour

2/3 c shortening

1 egg yolk

¼ c cold water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vinegar

4 c shredded coconut meat

300ml condensed milk

2/3 c cornstarch

1 c coconut water

Procedure: Preheat your oven to about 435oF. In a bowl, combine the salt and flour and cut in the shortening until they form pea-sized pieces. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolk, water and vinegar, then add to the flour mixture. Mix until the dough is soft and pliable. Split the dough into two balls, one part a bit bigger. Roll out the bigger dough until it's slightly bigger than your pie plate. Fit into the plate and let hang over the sides. Roll out the smaller dough, then set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients and cook until thick. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, then pour into the crust. Cover with the smaller dough, seal the edges, and bake for about one hour.

Boat tarts

For a quick, cheap sugar fix, boat tarts are your best option. These are small, open pastries with a filling of caramel, ­langka (jackfruit), mango, or some other sweetened fruit. You can find them pre-packed in most groceries and cafeterias. They are a popular dessert for school lunches, mainly because they are fairly cheap and go well with most Filipino food recipes. If you can pull off a simple cake, boat tarts shouldn't be a problem.

Pili Nut Tarts

Ingredients:

1 kg all-purpose flour

½ kg ground pili nuts

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup condensed milk

1 cup ice water

Procedure: Mix the flour and sugar, and cut in the butter until they form small pea-sized balls. Slowly add in the water, stirring along the sides to help the dough hold together. Form the dough into small balls, then roll out about 1/8 inch thick. Press into tart molds and prick the sides and base with a fork. Bake the dough for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the condensed milk, sugar, and ground nuts. Pour into the baked crusts and top with pili slices. Return to the oven and bake until the filling turns golden brown.

Macaroons

Filipino macaroons are made with coconut shavings, which make them chewier than flour-based American ones. It's actually one of the easiest Filipino cooking recipes, so it's a great starter recipe for beginners. This one puts an unusual twist on the basic recipe.

Pandan Macaroons

Ingredients :

1 cup desiccated coconut

½ cup coconut cream powder

1 tsp pandan extract

¼ cup melted butter

1 ¼ cup sugar

¼ cup bread crumbs

3 eggs, separated

1 ¼ cup warm water

green food color

salt to taste

Procedure: Preheat your oven to 320oF. Grease a baking pan with butter and sprinkle a little flour to coat. In a bowl, mix the water and coconut cream powder, then set aside. Beat egg whites until they get foamy, then beat in the yolks. Combine the bread crumbs, desiccated coconut, sugar, salt, and butter. Add in the egg mixture, dissolved coconut cream, food color, and pandan extract. Mix well and pour into the pan. Spread evenly and shake down to compact the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the sides are browned.

Carlo Villamayor is the owner and co-author of the Filipino food [http://www.kusina.ph/] blog, Kusina.ph. A devoted cook, he makes it his personal mission to spread the joy of Filipino recipes [http://www.kusina.ph/low-fat-filipino-desserts-recipes/] with food lovers the world over. Bon appetit!