Nontraditional Me

Parties I have never had either

I found a site the other night while trying my best to avoid doing my homework (yes, at the ripe old age of thirty I am still doing homework) and read a post the so eloquently put many thoughts I have had into writing. Click here for the site which is Lattes and Life. Her post basically discusses how many accomplishments she has achieved and the parties that she didn't receive and how they are unnecessary. I agree I guess because I was never given these things either. It is hard to be the one always behind the scenes. I think back to all the times that I wanted someone to do something for me and it didn't happen and how it hurt my feelings but I must say these things ARE unnecessary. The focus in life is what is important. Whatever you find to be your focus... whether that be work, family, hobbies, whatever you find to give you the most happiness. I know for me my kids and my husband give me great joy (and tremendous laughter) and I love baking and working out. I have put a lot of focus into myself this past year and I have seen how many people in my life characterize this as selfish but it isn't. I am so proud of who I have become. I have lost over 100 lbs and have put a lot of time into working out and it has made me happy. In turn, my degree of focus and obsession with this has made others look at me more negatively. I don't care though. I came from a house consumed with food....always focused on eating and every celebration was filled with food. I know this is true for many people and families but I don't want to have my children growing up to have this as a central focus of a happy time. The way I was raised turned me into an emotional eater and anytime I feel bad I look to food. I am learning and trying to turn this around to eating healthier foods instead of the sweets that I desire. I guess I am just rambling here but it was nice to know that I am not the only one who didn't get the "traditional" celebrations. But I have always been proud of the fact that I am not a traditional girl!

Baby Buttermilk Pie

Baby Buttermilk Pies

Lexi was over at the neighbors this week and discovered she likes buttermilk pie. What a shocker! I wouldn't have thought she would like something as tart as buttermilk pie but she did so I made ones with the premade graham cracker crusts and small enough for one sitting. She seemed to like them but I think the cute mini size and of course added whip cream was what caught her attention. They were pretty good and made with Splenda so can't be too horrible (I think)

Baby Buttermilk Pies

6 premade mini graham cracker crusts

3/4 cup Splenda

1/8 cup flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp melted butter

Mix splenda and flour together. Add buttermilk, beaten egg, and vanilla. Mix well. Add melted butter; mix well. Pour into crusts and bake in preheated 350 oven for 20-22 min or until set. Add whipped cream and enjoy!

Voting is Open

January Iron Cupcake Earth Challenge Wine!

Voting is open for this months Cupcake Challenge; please go to No One Puts Cupcake In a Corner and go to the right side.

I am under Sweet Cupcake Torture I for the Lemon Pound Cake with Peach Sabayon 

Sweet Cupcake Torture II for the Chocolate Cabernet Delight

You can look at all the entries for this month. I appreciate all votes! 

Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes

Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes

This week the recipe of choice was Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread picked by Sherry Trifle. The recipe can be found at her link here. 

I was excited to make this one because I have never made gingerbread cake from scratch. I have made it from a box and made gingerbread cookies with Elmer's Glue for ornaments but this was my first shot at the real deal. I was pleasantly surprised that this was a very easy recipe to make. I choose to make cupcakes because my family has pretty much stopped eating my desserts and Chris was finishing up a class and cupcakes are of course the easiest way to transport sweets. 

They smelled wonderfully delicious baking and kept the house smelling great for a couple of hours after taking them out of the oven. I omitted the fresh ginger because I didn't have it but I did use candied ginger and it worked out great. 

The pictures aren't what I wanted, sorry, things have been crazy busy around here so I didn't get the time I wanted. I will work on it for next week! Next week is world peace cookies. I have been wanting to bake cookies so this will be nice....plus I could use just some "local" peace if I could catch a break ha ha! 

Lemon Pound Cupcake with Peach Sabayon

Lemon Pound Cake with Peach Sabayon

My second submission for Iron Cupcake Wine Challenge is a Lemon Pound Cupcake with Peach Sabayon. I was first introduced to Sabayon at the MGM Grand Buffet in Vegas... and Oh My Gosh... I fell in love. I thought that would be a great base for this Challenge. The cupcake is from Cooking Light and has the typical dense pound cake consistency. My husband requested the Lemon flavor, which surprised me, and he ended up saying he didn't like it but I thought it tasted how a typical lemon pound cake does. The Sabayon I made with Splenda and was nervous it wouldn't turn out but it did and it is wonderful. I also made it with Peach Champagne for an extra layer of flavor. It was really good. Almost MGM quality. ha ha! 

Here are the wonderful prizes I am competing for this month.  

DOGBONE ART - here

LOTS OF SPRINKLES at etsy

CAKESPY at etsy

SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY here

and our corporate prize providers here:

HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS here

HELLO CUPCAKE here

JESSIE STEELE APRONS here

CUPCAKE COURIER here

TASTE OF HOME BOOKS here

UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM here

1-800-FLOWERS here

Voting begins Thursday Jan 29th at 8 pm at No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner. Please take time to vote before Feb 4th at 12pm. Check out the Iron Cupcake Earth site to join or enjoy. Thank you all for your votes.

Lemon Pound Cupcakes

12 cupcake liners

• 2  teaspoons  all-purpose flour
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1/4  teaspoon  baking powder
• 2/3  cup  sugar
• 1/3  cup  butter, softened
• 2  large egg whites
• 1  large egg
• 1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind
• 1  teaspoon  lemon extract
• 1/4  cup  vanilla low-fat yogurt

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

Lightly spoon 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 1 cup flour and baking powder, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add egg whites and egg, beating well after each addition. Beat in rind and extract. Add flour mixture and 1/4 cup yogurt alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix well after each addition. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 18 - 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Adapted from www.myrecipes.com

Peach Sabayon Sauce

6 egg yolks

• 1 cup Peach Champagne
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus more to taste ( I used Splenda)
• Drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)

Whipping the sabayon:
If you want to serve the sabayon warm, make it at the last minute. If you want to glaze the sabayon under the broiler, or make it ahead of time to serve chilled, have ready a large bowl (larger than the one in which you whip the sauce) partly filled with ice cubes.

Whisk to blend the yolks, Champagne, and sugar in the stainless-steel bowl. Rest the bowl in the saucepan over hot water. Whisk constantly for 4 to 5 minutes or more to cook the sauce, until it has the consistency of lightly whipped cream. Clear the bottom of the bowl constantly with the whisk so that the eggs do not scramble, and adjust the heat as needed. Taste the sauce — the sabayon should never get so hot that you can't stick your very clean finger in it — and whisk drops of lemon juice or more sugar if you want. When thick, foamy, and tripled in volume, remove from heat. It can be served hot as is, tepid, or cool.

Serving:
Spoon a portion of grilled peaches — 1/2 cup or more — into each goblet or glass, and top with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of warm or cool sabayon. Or put the sauce in the glass first, then the peaches.

Variation: 
Cool the sabayon to room temperature. Whip the cream and sugar until soft peaks form, and fold the cream into the sabayon with a rubber spatula.

Turn on the broiler. Spread the peaches in the baking dish in one layer (or in individual dishes). Spoon the sauce over the peaches so they are completely covered and set the dish under the broiler, 5 to 6 inches from the heat. With the door open — so you can watch carefully — broil for a minute or two, turning the dish as needed to glaze evenly, until the top of the sabayon is nicely browned and slightly crusted. Serve right away.

Adapted from www.epicurious.com

My Anniversary

My Anniversary

Today is my anniversary and although I am not a big romantic I am blessed to be married to one. He is the coolest man alive. I have never doubted our feelings for each other since the day we met. I know that the idea of love at first sight isn't really believed in by most people but I can say that I have experienced it with Chris. And I love him more every single day. We have been through lots just like every married couple but he has never made me feel less loved than the day we met. We were married at 3 am in Las Vegas at the Little White Wedding Chapel and I can't think of a more appropriate way for us to marry as we are both very solitary and didn't want a big hoopla. I was doing research on love definitions for him and I found on wikipedia that the definition according to a Dr. Hawkins is "unconditional love is the level of true happiness, but although the world is fascinated with the subject of love, it's interesting to note that only 0.04% of the world's population ever reaches this level of evolution of consciousness"

Guess I am the lucky 0.04% of the world huh!

Chocolate Cabernet Delight

Chocolate Cabernet Delight

The secret ingredient for this months Iron Cupcake: Earth Challenge was wine. I must admit; I don't care for regular wine. I am one of those fruity girly drinks type. I like Bellini's but that is for my other submission.  

The first thing that came to mind for me was chocolate and red wine. I decided to not go too crazy and stuck with an old fashioned chocolate cupcake from good old Martha and dolled it up with the frosting and topping. I did a Cabernet infused buttercream and topped it with a dark chocolate brownie heart. 

I must say that everyone agreed the icing was amazing and even my son loved it. And the brownie of course gave it the little extra it needed. I made the brownies thin so they would be stiff enough to stand on the top of the cupcake without folding over. The cupcake received "OK" reviews but I didn't wow it up either. The other components were a hit.

I really liked photoing this one. It is fun to get into it and explore different techniques. I had my trusty photo assistant (whining) at my side but he did it for a cupcake bribe so when all was said and done he got to eat the big one. Payment enough! 

Here are the wonderful prizes I am competing for this month.  

DOGBONE ART - here

LOTS OF SPRINKLES at etsy

CAKESPY at etsy

SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY here

and our corporate prize providers here:

HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS here

HELLO CUPCAKE here

JESSIE STEELE APRONS here

CUPCAKE COURIER here

TASTE OF HOME BOOKS here

UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM here

1-800-FLOWERS here

Voting begins Thursday Jan 29th at 8 pm at No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner. Please take time to vote before Feb 4th at 12pm. Check out the Iron Cupcake Earth site to join or enjoy. Thank you all for your votes. 

Chocolate Cupcakes (12)

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 lg eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. Line tin with 12 paper liners. 

In med bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 

In mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla. Turn mixer to low and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream. Begin and end with flour. 

Fill each cup 3/4 full.

Bake 20 min or until done. 

Cool 5 min in tin and then to rack to cool completely. 

Adapted from www.marthastewart.com

Cabernet Icing

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

3 to 4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon

Place butter in mixer, Add 2 cups powdered sugar, milk, and Cabernet. Beat on medium until smooth, about 3-5 min. Add additional cup of powdered sugar slowly and continue to mix until creamy. Keep adding sugar until icing is to the consistency you need. Add food coloring if desired. Keep remaining in fridge for couple of days.

Dark Chocolate Brownies

Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Pack..follow directions on back of pouch. I used a 9 x 12 pan instead of the instructed 8 x 8 to get them thinner. Add additional dark chocolate chunks if desired. (ya, I cheated on this one but Betty makes an easy mean brownie!)