Samantha Epp

Shared posts

03 Aug 02:40

Back to school: How provinces are planning for start of school year during pandemic

by The Canadian Press
1221786452

Plans are being made across the country for how to safely send students back to school in the fall as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

31 Oct 13:28

BET Debuted 2 New Series 'The Oval' And 'Sistas'

by hewontgo


The Oval and Sistas were both created, written, executive produced and directed by Tyler Perry.

Scandal 'The Oval' described as “the story of a family placed in the White House by people of power while also highlighting the personal side and everyday lives of the staff who run the inner workings of the nation’s most iconic residence.”

“The Oval is not a political show. It’s a story of an interracial couple in the White House. It’s about following them upstairs to the residence, following the Secret Service home, following the maids and the butlers home. It’s a powerful, fun thing for me." - Tyler Perry

Girlfriends “Sistas” is described as a show that “follows a group of single black females from different walks of life who bond over their one common thread: why am I single? In this bold new series, viewers watch these women navigate their 'complicated love life' status, careers and friendship through the ups-and-downs of living in a modern world of social media and unrealistic relationship goals.”









source, 2, 3, 4

ONTD Did you watch the series premieres ?
30 Sep 05:08

Upside Down Banana Coffee Cake

by Emma Chapman

This upside down banana coffee cake is the kind of thing you might bake to bring to potluck brunch or a book club gathering. It’s dense, flavorful, not overly sweet, and just plain delicious. Sort of the perfect cake alongside a cup of coffee, so if you choose to eat this for breakfast I will not judge you (I may be just as guilty after all). I used this bundt pan to bake in, making this pretty darn cute with basically no effort, but any bundt pan or a square baking pan will do.

I am a BIG banana bread fan, and this upside down banana coffee cake recipe, as the name suggests, is like if a coffee cake and a banana bread had a baby. Oh yes, it’s that good. If you use a bundt pan for baking you’ll get the upside down effect with the crumb topping baking on top, but then being served on the bottom (unless you want to serve your bundt upside down, which I suppose you could do). However, if that’s just too much for you, you could bake this in a square baking pan with the crumb topping baking and being served on top like a more traditional (American) coffee cake. Up to you. Both ways are divine. Just see my note in the printable recipe card below for slightly adjusting baking time if you do.

Also, do you already know how to quickly ripen bananas? If not, read this post. It’s easy and can take less than an hour in case of coffee cake emergencies.

And if you’re thinking, “Emma, I don’t have a potluck brunch to go to.” I think you should throw one. Or if you’re thinking, “Emma, I’d love to be in a book club but there isn’t one where I live and/or I haven’t been invited to one.” I think you sound like the perfect person to start one. Sometimes we have to make the life we want, yes? You got this.

Happy baking, friends! xo. Emma

Upside Down Banana Coffee Cake

  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3-4 ripe bananas (around 315 grams, peels removed)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

crumb topping

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3-4 tablespoons cold butter

  1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars (not the sugar for the crumb topping though, we’ll do that last). Stir in the eggs, vanilla, mashed bananas, and sour cream or greek yogurt. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet until a thick batter forms.

  2. In a medium bowl, make the crumb topping by combining the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Use a pastry blender or your clean hands to combine. The mixture should be crumbly, but if you press it together in the palm of your hand it should hold together before crumbling again. Similar to a pie crust consistency, but a little dryer.

  3. In a bundt pan that has been lightly oiled or buttered add the cake batter. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top. Bake at 350°F for 35-38 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the cake to test if it’s done (it shouldn’t have gooey, unbaked batter stuck to it when you pull it out). Allow to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing.

If you want to bake this in a square baking pan, like brownies, you can. Simply aim for 30-35 minutes of bake time instead. Again, it’s best to test with a toothpick as all ovens can be slightly different (especially in high altitude).

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.
09 Jan 03:43

HFPA president Meher Tatna did not wear black to the Golden Globes



HFPA president Meher Tatna was one of the only women three women not to wear black to yesterday Golden Globes. Explaining her decision, she said that she her mom planned this dress months ago. Tatna was born in India and says that it's a cultural thing. The Golden Globe is a celebration and we don't wear black at a celebration and her mother, who would be watching the telecast, would be appalled to see her in black. She further added that this dress was for her mother.

Actress Blanca Blanco (that's her real name??) decided not to wear black as well, going for a red dress instead.



After a couple of tweets saying that "The issue is bigger than my dress color" and "Red is passionate". She explained her stance further in detail:

"I love red. Wearing red does not mean I am against the movement. I applaud and stand by the courageous actresses that continue to break the cycle of abuse through their actions and fashion style choices. It is one of many factors leading women to a safer place because of their status. I am excited about the #TimesUp movement; true change is long overdue.”

She also added that she was "hurt" by the criticism and that "shaming was part of the problem".

German model (winner of Germany's Next Top Model) also decided to forgo the black dress.



She explained her stance on Instagram.



Caption: A lot of women will wear black tonight to support the time‘s up movement! I think this is a great and extremely important initiative!

Nevertheless I decided to wear a colorful dress tonight. If we want this to be the Golden globes of the strong women who stand up for their rights, I think, it’s the wrong way not to wear any sexy clothes anymore or let people take away our joy of showing our personality through fashion.

We were fighting a long time for the freedom to wear what we want to and that it is also ok, to dress up a little more sexy. If we now restrict this, because some men can’t control themselves, this is a huge step back in my opinion.

We should not have to wear black to be taken serious. US women should shine, be colorful and sparkle. Just like it is our nature. In my opinion this symbolizes our freedom and our new strength.

But to make clear: A lot of bad things happened and should never happen again!!!


source 1, 2, 3, 4
14 Nov 02:20

Say goodbye to that Furiosa sequel: George Miller sues Warner Bros


  • Miller's production company was supposed to get a $7 mil bonus if they came in under budget

  • Miller is suing because his company says they did come in under budget while WB is claiming they went over budget

  • Lots of complicated shady accounting on both sides

  • The lawsuit was filed in Australia in September, WB tried to get it taken over to California for arbitration but were denied

  • With Miller's production company and the WB in legal battle things don't look so good for the Furiosa sequel that Miller said he wanted to make after Fury Road

source

Team Miller, I don't trust studio accountants. I need WB to settle so we can get that Furiosa sequel!

26 Jul 01:45

Stuffed Pancake Puffs

by A Beautiful Mess

Filled Pancake Puffs (via abeautifulmess.com) Puff pancakes Today I am extra, extra excited because we have two pretty awesome things to share with you. First, a recipe for filled puff pancakes. Yes, little pillowy pancakes that get stuffed with all sorts of delicious things. You might recognize these, as they are sometimes called aebleskivers or appleskives, but I don't think my recipe is in any way an authentic Danish recipe since I am not Danish. So I feel like puff pancakes sums it up well. :) 

Stonewall Kitchen jams and saucesBut what's the second thing? Good, you're paying attention and not completely distracted by the PHOTOS OF TINY PANCAKES. :) The second thing is we got to work with Stonewall Kitchen on this post, and they are currently in the midst of celebrating their 25th anniversary. As a fellow business owner (although our business is much smaller, I must admit), I can't imagine how great it must feel to get to 25 years – what a cool milestone! And they are celebrating by giving away lots of fun stuff. I'll tell you more at the end of the post, promise. But first, let's make some puff pancakes with Stonewall Kitchen. 

Pancake puff recipeStuffed Pancake Puffs, makes around 20 to 22 (easily enough for 3-5 people)
Loosely adapted from the recipe found on the back of my Stonewall Kitchen pancake puff pan. 

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
fillings – more on this below

In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Then in the bowl of a stand mixer, or with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until very foamy, soft peaks form. 

Add the dry mixture to the buttermilk mixture and stir until just combined; a few small lumps are OK. Then use a rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter. You want to fold in just until they are combined; don't over mix. 

Jams and saucesHeat your pancake puff pan over low/medium heat. Once warmed gently, spray with nonstick cooking spray (I hold my pan over the sink as I do this so any excess can roll off), and fill each hole with one tablespoon of batter. Then add a teaspoon of filling and cover with just a bit more batter (about 1/2 tablespoon or a little less). Allow to cook for a couple minutes, then use a small wooden chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon to gently flip each pancake puff. If you've never made these before, this is honestly just as easy as flipping a pancake – might take you a time or two to get the hang of it, but it's an imprecise and easy thing to do once you try. :) Do use a wooden chopstick or other small wooden stick to turn these so you don't scrape the coating of the pan in the process. Once flipped, allow each puff to cook for another couple of minutes. After your first batch, check one to make sure they are cooking through all the way and adjust your heat if needed before starting the next batch. 

My pan and fillings are from Stonewall Kitchen. I used raspberry peach champagne jam, blueberry rhubarb, mango peach, strawberry vanilla, lemon curd, dark chocolate toffee sauce, and their creamy peanut butter. They were pretty much all AMAZING; I couldn't even pick a favorite if I tried. :) But you can use any kind of jam, jelly, sauce, or nut butter that you prefer. 

Puff pancakes Easy filled pancake recipeYou can brush these with a little melted butter or dust them with powdered sugar if you're really feeling fancy. 

Two quick notes about this recipe. First, you can swap out 1/4 cup of the flour for cocoa if you want to make chocolate pancake puffs. I did this and especially liked it paired with the peanut butter. Second, yes you really should divide the eggs and whip the egg whites. Don't skip that step. I tried a batch where I did this and just whisked in the eggs all together without dividing and whipping the whites, and although it worked, they were not nearly as puffy as my other batch. The overall texture just wasn't as good. It's worth the extra step, trust me. 

So about that Stonewall Kitchen anniversary giveaway – I promised details, and here they are. Over the next two weeks, they are giving away an adorable picnic tote with all sorts of picnic essentials, created by Maine-based Sea Bags and valued at $350! There will be two winners a week! Check it out here. All you have to do to enter is visit the website and enter your name and email. Good luck! xo. Emma

Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman.