30 Day Challenge!

In an effort to get myself drawing more, I am going to do a 30 day drawing challenge! So, here's day one, a self portrait. After I scanned it and flipped it, it looks so off :/ It's somewhat accurate to the picture I was referencing, but there's differences in angles and the perspective is a little off. The side of the face and the nose position are the most off.

I'm referencing two different 30 day challenges and picking which topic is more interesting for me to draw. This one and this one. Will I be able to keep up? Will I add a new blog post daily? (Doubt it, but I'll upload all of the challenges)

But this is to get me into the habit of at least sketching daily. I'll improve that way. It has been quite a long time since I have seriously drawn. I've been working on colouring that REALLY old image of Rydia as well.

In terms of what I've been playing recently, I've been going between Majora's Mask (bought on my Wii :B) and Pokemon White.  I also bought The Legendary Starfy, but I've only played that a little so far.

I have a confession: I've never beaten a Zelda game. I could not get past Queen Gohma on Ocarina. But I'm gonna beat MM. It's not as hard as I remembered as a kid. The puzzles are quite simple so far, though I've only beaten up to Showhead Temple. I've also preordered Ocarina for my 3DS, so I better get past the first level this time!

I should post a few images I've taken using AR on my 3DS. I do have to wait for the internet browser since my computer can't read new SD cards.

Peanut Butter Truffles

Poor, neglected blog. I made these tasty buggers over the holidays, way back in December. Chocolate-Peanut Butter ganache dipped in even more chocolate. Very rich. I used a 70% cocoa dark chocolate in the ganache, which I found to fight too much with the flavour of the peanut butter, I would recommend using a semi-sweet chocolate instead for a milder chocolate flavour.

I didn't count how many truffles this recipe yielded,  though the smaller you make the truffles, the more you get! Ganache is adapted from here.

Ganache

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Coating

• 8 ounces dark, high quality chocolate, chopped
• Chopped peanuts, for topping (Optional)

-Place the peanut butter and chocolate into a heat proof bowl.

-Heat the whipping cream and vanilla until simmering. Pour over chocolate and peanut butter and let sit until chocolate is mostly melted.

-Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

-Place ganache into fridge for 30 minutes until set and cool, but still easy enough to work with.

-Roll ganache into balls, less than an inch in diameter.

-Put the truffles into the fridge for a couple of hours. The cooler they are when dipping, the better they stay together. A bit of ganache melted into the chocolate you are dipping into will ruin your chocolate.

-Melt the rest of the chocolate over a double broiler, making sure the water in the bottom of the double broiler does not touch the bowl with the chocolate. Stir very often, chocolate is very delicate to work with.

-Let the chocolate cool as to not melt the ganache. Around room temperature works, though the cooler the chocolate gets, the more solid it becomes, so work fast.

-Dip ganache balls, shaking off excess chocolate.

-Top with chopped peanuts while truffles are still malleable.

-Leave in fridge again for another few hours to set, then store at room temperature.