Showing posts with label iphone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iphone. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2012
30th Birthday Cupcakes
As you may know, our baby was due on Saturday. Based on my last appointment I had a feeling she wasn't going to be making a move any time soon. For as long as I can remember, we had always planned on spending the weekend of May 12th in the hospital. It hadn't even crossed our minds that we might be home - without a new baby in tow.
As you also may know, this last weekend was Mothers Day. It was also my 30th birthday. When the prospect of having a free weekend suddenly came up I realized that - Hey! It's my birthday! Suddenly it wasn't all about the baby (well, OK - it was still 99% about the baby). As much as I wanted to usher in the next decade of my life with a new baby, I settled for a weekend at home with my husband and a batch of these delicious cupcakes.
It worked out pretty well if you ask me.
I knew I wanted to make something fabulous to celebrate the big 3-0. Funfetti cupcakes with tons of sprinkles (inside and out) screamed CELEBRATE to me. I knew right where to go for the perfect recipe - Sweetapolita. I absolutely adore her blog and have been a fan of hers for quite some time. She makes the yummiest looking treats and her little baking helpers are super adorable. Rosie, the genius behind Sweetapolita, is obsessed with sprinkles and isn't afraid to use them. When I read about this cake a couple months ago it instantly went on my "to-make" list.
As you can see, I decided to forgo the layer cake in favor of making cupcakes. Since it was just the two of us around to celebrate I decided it was a bad idea to have a full layer cake hanging around the house. At least with cupcakes we can give them away to friends and coworkers (keeping a few for us, of course!)
These cupcakes turned out to be everything they were promised to be. The cake was light and fluffy, filled with a rainbow of colors. And the frosting - ooohhh the frosting. It was sweet and sugary but light and airy at the same time. It was the perfect combination. I am filing this as my go-to white cake and vanilla frosting from now on, I don't see how it can get any better!
You can find the recipe for Sweetapolita's Funfetti Layer Cake with Whipped Vanilla Frosting here. She also has a similar recipe (though slightly modified) for Super Duper Vanilla (or Funfetti) Cupcakes here. While you're there be sure to check out the rest of her site - you won't be disappointed!
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Sunday's with Joy - Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins
Earlier this week I was wondering around the internets and happened to find a Facebook group that is cooking and baking their way through all 100 recipes from Joy the Bakers Cookbook (remember those amazing Trail Mix cookies I posted about last week??) called Sundays with Joy. I'm always on the hunt for a new project so I signed right up. I joined a week late so I jumped right to the second recipe - Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins.
I have only used browned butter once before, and I was pretty nervous to use it again. The first time I ever used it I browned it a little too much and it tasted more like burnt butter...I still used it in the cake I was making and overall the cake still tasted wonderful, but I was convinced that browned butter was something too complex and fancy for me to use again.
Incase you have never made browned butter all you have to do is melt some butter in a pan, wait for it to bubble and froth, and then finally it will start to cook and turn a lovely brown color with a nutty aroma. The hard part is catching it before it turns from browned to burnt. Joy does a lovely job of explaining the whole process in her recipe, so I gave it another go.
And then I realized that something was wrong with my stove top. The pilot wasn't lighting and I was not about to hold a match to an open gas line while I am 9 months pregnant. So, I did the next best thing. I browned the butter in the oven.
It took a little longer than I would have liked, and I probably could have left it in there to brown a bit more, but in the end it was a success! There were lots of lovely browned bits that gave the muffins a nutty depth without making them over the top.
The blueberries that I picked up at the store were absolutely heavenly - super juicy and extra large, there were almost too many of them! No, just kidding, that's not possible. But I definitely didn't feel as guilty eating a dozen couple of these muffins since they were so packed with fruit. I should have added the whole amount of the crumble topping to them as they could have used a little more (you can always use a little more crumble) but I didn't want the muffins to spill over too much while baking. At least I know for next time...and there will be a next time!
Interested in joining our Sunday's with Joy? Check out the Facebook page! And check out Bakeaholic Mamas blog to see everyone else's take on these muffins - some people even made theirs gluten free! I'm going to try and keep up with the group as much as possible but since the little lady is due to make her appearance sometime in the next two weeks I'm not sure how often I'll be able to contribute for the next couple of weeks - but I sure am looking forward to trying!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sugar Cookie Christmas Tree
To be honest, I haven't really don't that much baking this year for Christmas. Usually I do loads of baking to give away as gifts, to bring to work and to serve at our holiday party. But this year I haven't really had the chance to do any of that. Things have been so crazy around here with my new job, my weekend "job" taking children's photos, being pregnant (oh yeah, that little thing) and a slew of other things going on that I'm not quite ready to tell you about (check back after the New Year though!).
We are leaving this weekend for an extended Christmas vacation (more on that later this week), so my holiday baking time is being cut even shorter. A few weeks ago I ordered a few things from Lakeland.com - including a brand new cupcake carrying case (SO excited!! Seriously, what a huge nerd I am). I was getting ready to check out when what to my wandering eyes should appear?
THIS
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| photo from Wilton.com |
Well, something similar to this, just not Wilton brand (Lakeland must have sold out of their version because I can't find a photo on their website!)
A Christmas tree made out of stacked star cookies?!?! SOLD! In my basket it went.
Over the weekend I finally had a chance to try this puppy out. I have my moms sugar cookie recipe that I usually use for the holidays, but since I didn't know exactly how much dough I would need I decided to go with the recipe on the box. It made just the perfect amount of dough to make two of each stars. I made an extra one for me to snack on and it tasted great!
After all of the stars were baked I took a day off (well, not really, I was taking more children's photos, but more on that later!) and spent all afternoon on Sunday frosting these guys up. It was my first time using Royal Icing and I have to say, I was a little intimidated. I didn't have any quick access to meringue powder, so I found a recipe that used powdered egg whites (can't use raw egg whites now that I'm prego!) and it worked like a charm! I even had a bunch left over thanks to the majority of my frosting being one solid color.
Even though the royal icing process was relatively painless, it did take a while! First you have to outline each cookie with slightly thicker royal icing to create a border. Once that dries (I found that by the time I was done with the last cookie the first few were already dry) you have to thin down the rest of your icing and flood the cookies. And then you have to wait for them to dry before you can stack them. And then...ok never mind, that was the last step.
I put a circle of icing in the middle of each cookie before stacking the next smallest one on top. The only thing that I would change is that next time I will add the lights on after all the layers are stacked. Some of the lights got in the way, especially on the smaller ones towards the top, and the cookies didn't want to lay quite flat. But all in all it was a success! I can't wait to make a gingerbread version with all white icing, how pretty will that look?! Brian took the cookie tree to work today, fingers crossed his coworkers liked my tree as much as I did!
Monday, December 05, 2011
Winter Warming Drink - Irish Coffee
I don't know about you, but around these parts winter has landed. Sure, we will have the odd day here and there where it gets up to 50*F (for ten minutes at 2pm in the afternoon, if the sun is out). But mostly the temperatures are hovering in the single digits (Celsius that is) during the morning and evening commutes, and the wind has reared its ugly head knocking those temps even further down.
What better way to warm up from the cold than a classic winter warmer. Some of my favorites include hot cider, mulled wine and even classic hot chocolate (with as many marshmallows as I can fit in that glass). But for today, I thought I would kick it up a notch and share a boozy winter warmer - Irish Coffee.
I have had my fair share of Irish Coffees (some better than others), but the best one that I have ever had was in the mother land herself - Ireland - at the Jameson Distillery. Last February when we went to Dublin for Brians birthday the girls ordered hot chocolate with Jameson and the boys ordered Irish Coffees. Lets just say the boys won big time.
The taste of Jameson is front and center but manages not to be overpowering. And this is coming from a girl who does NOT like Jameson at all. Like, not even a little bit. But this, this was pure heaven. The rich, bitter coffee was perfectly balanced by the spicy Jameson and topped with thick layer of cream.
We were recently back in Dublin and made another trip to the distillery to share the joy of Jameson Irish Coffee with our friends who were in town. Although I had to sit this round out (that's twice now that I haven't had my own mug of this amazing drink!) I managed to steal a drink from Brians mug. I'm sure this baby will have a taste for Irish Coffee when he/she grows up ;)
Jameson Distillery Irish Coffee
This drinks works best if you have a glass Irish Coffee mug, but if you don't have those hanging about then feel free to use another favorite mug or heat proof glass (for the best results use a glass so you can see the pretty layers). These measurements are straight from the distillery but can be adjusted to suit your taste!
2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
2 tsp brown sugar
Fresh brewed strong black coffee
Heavy whipping cream
- In a warm mug add 2 tsp brown sugar (one heaping teaspoon will be fine, no need to measure exactly). Add a measure (2 ounces) of Jameson Irish Whisky and stir briefly to melt the sugar. Fill the mug 3/4 of the way full with hot, black coffee.
- Carefully pour a thick layer of heavy whipping cream on top of the coffee. You will have to pour this slowly to make sure that the coffee and the cream don't mix together. To get the best tasting Irish Coffee the coffee and whisky mixture should pass through the cream layer on the way into your belly - so don't even think about taking a spoon and mixing everything together!
Drink and watch the cold melt away!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Around the World Christmas Tree
The first "big" trip that Brian and I took together while dating was to St. Croix in the Caribbean for a little winter sun. We had been dating for six or seven months and although it wasn't our first weekend away with each other, it was the first trip that required a plane ride. It was exciting and a little nerve-wracking. Happily, the trip went off without a hitch (apart from that one time when we were driving down the wrong side of the road - who knew they drove on the left hand side in St. Croix??).
While we were there we bought the funniest Christmas ornament to commemorate the trip, somehow we knew we would be spending lots of Christmas' together.
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| St. Croix, 2007 |
Monday, November 21, 2011
Why I have been MIA...and some big news!
Last week I sent out a tweet apologizing for being such a bad blogger lately. I'm sure you've noticed that my posts have been somewhat lacking lately. I went from posting 2-3 times a week to barely once a week, if I was lucky. Hopefully you'll forgive me though, now that I can finally share my exciting news!
I'm pregnant!
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| 15 weeks! |
I am just about 15 weeks now and into my second trimester. Wondering why my food posts went from 100 to 0 in no time flat? Blame that on the nausea which has finally (and thankfully!) subsided. Curious as to where my Friday Favorites and travel posts went (apart from the couple that I managed to squeeze out from our weekend in Italy)? Blame that on the lack of energy and constant need for sleep that I had for about eight weeks straight. I could barely stay awake long enough to eat dinner let alone troll the internet for hours like I normally do. I can now make it through (most of) a full day without needing to sleep under my desk from 2pm-4pm, though just barely.
Baby is growing big and strong and all of our appointments have gone smoothly so far. We have our 16 week appointment next week and we can't wait to see our little one again! Baby is about the size of a medium apple this week and is growing bigger every day.
If you're interested in keeping up with our babys progress and other exciting (well, at least for me as a first time mom!) updates please visit my NEW blog - the mini traveling cupcake! If you would rather not know all the details (I totally get it, it's not everyones bag of chips) then stay right where you are - now that I have my energy back I will be posting as regularly as possible.
Apart from being pregnant and adjusting to that huge awesome news, I have also started a new day job and my weekends have been booked up with children's photo shoots - so I have lots of exciting recaps from those to share with you. We also have some awesome trips coming up (including the ultimate Christmas Market trip) and I can't wait to fill you in once we are back! And now that am back in the kitchen making something other than a bowl of cereal (seriously, I have consumed so.much.freakin.cereal in the last nine weeks) I'll be sharing what I've been busy baking - just in time for the holidays!
Thanks for staying with me while I was so MIA. Here's to a great winter, fantastic holiday season and a healthy mini cupcake!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Pinterest Chocolate Covered Peanut Brittle
In case you didn't know, I have a slight obsession with Pinterest.
And by slight I mean I *might* check my pinterest account before I check my emails in the morning.
I *might* have used up an entire months worth of internet on my mobile in two weeks because I was pinning during my morning and evening bus commute...which is 45 minutes in each direction.
(click on my Pinterest button on the right to see what I have been so busy pinning!)
However, as much as I pin away to my little hearts content, it is very rare that I actually do something with the items I pin.
Gorgeous white and grey kitchen with all of my dream appliances? Sure, throw that on my "Someday forever Home" board for that one day when I finally own a home, not to mention a home that is big enough to fit said kitchen and I have enough money to outfit it with all of those fancy appliances. ie - in my dreams
The amazing ivory Dolce and Gabanna ballroom skirt chic-ly paired with a fitted denim shirt? Get up on my "so pretty for my closet" board and stay there! Its highly unlikely I will ever find you in my real closet, oh beautiful skirt...so stay in my imaginary one!
But, I digress...you probably came here for a post about Peanut Brittle. I'm getting there, don't worry.
Perhaps my favorite board is my "Nom Nom" board - otherwise known as the-place-where-I-put-all-of-my-food-inspirations-that-I-cannot-look-at-on-an-empty-stomach. Got that? The Nom Nom board.
Last week I pinned something that looked SO amazing, I couldn't get it out of my brain.
It was homemade peanut brittle. Covered in dark chocolate. Dusted in sea salt.
*cue angels singing*
Now, my extent to working with a candy thermometer includes the few times I have made homemade caramels and a couple of times I made marshmallows. I wasn't too nervous about making the peanut brittle (or toffee as its known to some people) until I started reading the comments below the original posted recipe. People were having problems with the mixture seizing and separating, throwing away batch after batch. Apparently, molten hot boiling sugar butter is tricky to work with.
I jumped right in, and by some grace of the big man upstairs, my toffee came out perfect! It was crunchy and crisp, it didn't have a slick of buttery oil on the top, the crunch of the peanuts and the smooth dark chocolate complimented each other perfectly. And the sea salt...
How did I live before I had sea salt in my life?
The recipe makes a full cookie sheet worth of candy. Perfect for sharing with others (or not, I won't tell). And when all the candy is gone...?
I have can think of one way to use up those crumbs, and it rhymes with ice cream.
Check out the original recipe here on www.culinate.com. I reduced the amount of butter to 3/4 lb of butter but otherwise kept all of the other measurements the same. I followed the cooking instructions pretty much to a T as well...I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Canoeing in the Orb Valley
On our second day in southern France we decided to get our exercise on. And by exercise I mean half-heartedly dip my paddle into the water while basking in the sunshine and taking in the views.
I know...I know...I really shouldn't strain myself too hard, I'm bound to get an injury.
There were a couple of canoeing spots located close to where we were staying. We decided to drive to Roquebrun, a medieval town on the banks of the river Orb, about 40 minutes northwest of Neffies, where Canoe Roquebrun Grandeur Nature has several canoe trips mapped out along the Orb valley.
We decided to do a 5km canoe trip as we wanted to take our time and not be so "serious" about canoeing our little butts off. And, we were on vacation - you're lucky I even dragged myself away from the pool. The 5km trip that we were about to embark on was appropriately named "Ceps". It was fate.
Once we got 3943895380 pictures of B and I in front of the Ceps sign we were off on our little adventure! The weather was perfect - it was hot but not scorching, clear blue skies and a gentle breeze passed through the valley. Pretty much it was heaven on earth. The water was crystal clear and the river ranged from less than an inch deep (as proved by the numerous times we ran aground, the ten pounds of cheese and foie gras I had the night before dinner probably didn't help) to several meters (thats actually a guess, I'm not sure exactly how deep it got, but deep enough for me not to be able to see the bottom).
After a little while of paddling and taking in the incredible scenery we decided to stop for lunch.
What?? It had been, like, TWO HOURS since I had breakfast!
We pulled our canoes over on an embankment and spread out our feast. We had made a quick trip to the boulangerie and town store to pick up provisions - a baguette, goats cheese, sliced meats and the best little donut peaches I have ever had. These little guys were so ripe and juicy they actually tasted like candy to me. Which is good, because we forgot to bring dessert (and the bottle of wine we bought specially for the canoe trip - party FAIL).
After our bellies were full and I mustered the energy to go on, we continued down the river. If you were to take one of the longer trips you would encounter some pretty decent rapids for being in a plastic canoe. We, on the other hand, got the baby ones. No matter, they were a delight all the same! Just because they were mini doesn't mean that I didn't squeal my little head off! After all, they were the first rapids I had ever been on!
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| Sean and Adrienne braving the rapids! |
After all that excitement were were happy to mosey on down the last part of the river quietly and calmly. We didn't want it to be over. I wanted to stay on that river forever. But alas, the end was near. The only thing that made it even bearable to get off our plastic boat of dreams was the allure of the pool and a bottle of rose waiting for us back at Maison Dix.
Check out Canoe Roquebrun Grandeur Nature and all the canoeing options they offer in the Languedoc region - it's a definite "must do" if you are ever in the area!
Apologies for the photo qualities in this post. I had to take most of them on my iphone as I didn't want to risk my dSLR ending up in the drink!
Friday, August 05, 2011
Friday Favorites
In case you were not aware, I spend way too much time on the internet. Like, way too much time. Often times everything that I read and watch and listen to leaves me so inspired and excited and...exhausted! My poor MacBook and iPhone really have their work cut out for them. So, I've decided to start a new series - Friday Favorites. It'll be a collections of my (favorite) things from the week - mostly from the internet, some from real life.
So, let's begin, shall we?
*Move by Rick Mereki
I found this video on Twitter via Conde Nast Traveler. If this doesn't inspire you to get off the couch and travel, I don't know what will! Every time I think that I have seen enough - I have traveled enough, I have been to enough places, I am tired and I just want to go home, things like this make me take it all back. Actually, it makes me want to pack a backpack and run as fast as I can to Heathrow and catch the next flight out to anywhere (ok, we are we kidding, I wouldn't run I would take the train), and start another adventure.
MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo
**This wedding video by Paperback Weddings
Ok, so the first two items of the very first Friday Favorites just happen to both be videos, what can I say? But seriously, you need to watch this video too. I bet you can't just watch the first 60 seconds. I found this video from Erin over at Apartment 34 (check out her blog too, its seriously kick-ass). As you know I am a big time lover of all things wedding. And I have inherited my mothers tendency to cry at tissue commercials (thanks a lot, mom!). But seriously, bring tissues for this one. Actually, the part about this video and this wedding that pulls at my heart strings isn't even so much the actual wedding...it's the story of this amazing couple that I don't even know one tiny little bit, and how you can see their love in every frame of this video.
nick+maria • england wedding from Paperback Weddings on Vimeo
***This amazing sweater-scarf-wrap-thing from Hermes.
My office is located in Mayfair, which is full of corporate offices (like mine), hedge funds, glamorous hotels (like Claridges), high end restaurants, flashy cars and luxury retailers galore. The most expensive street of them all is Bond Street, which I recently heard is the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe (even beating out the Champs-Elysees in Paris - Wiki heard it too!). Fortunately (and unfortunately) for me that means LOTS of eye candy staring me right in the face every day (except for when it rains, then I don't venture outside, I might melt). I have passed the Hermes store quite a few times this week and stop and stare at this window every time. It's like some sort of a bathrobe/scarf/wrap/blanket thing that I am pretty sure must be made of bear hugs and fairy kisses and it makes me want to crawl up inside of it and never get out.
How about you? Have you found something wickedly awesome on the internets this week? Share with me!
(Because, clearly, I need more distractions!)
Happy Friday everyone!
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Glasgow, Scotland
Last week we took a long weekend trip up to Scotland. This was another Brian planned trip, so as usual, I didn't know any of the details. All I knew was that we were flying to Glasgow where we would spend the day, and then our friends would meet us in the afternoon and we would drive a couple of hours to our final destination. More on that bit of the trip to come, but first I wanted to share with you the time we spent in Glasgow.
I have to admit, I had absolutely no expectations for Glasgow. It's not that I thought ill of the small city, I just didn't know anything about it. I can happily say that I was pleasantly surprised by this charming city on the river. There are numerous ways to spend your time - shopping, museums, exhibits, churches...the list goes on and on.
We arrived very unprepared. I hadn't done any research or read any books before landing. We grabbed a map from the rent-a-car desk and made our way in to the center of town. After a quick caffeine boost we decided that we would wander over to the Necropolis. Actually, we thought we were headed someplace else, but when we finally rolled up to the Glasgow Cathedral and wandered over the bridge, I realized that we were not in Kansas anymore.
Err. Right, you know what I mean.
The Necropolis is one of the oldest burial grounds in the UK, and one of the most significant in all of Europe. It attracts tens of thousands of visitors a year, who come to visit the 50,000 tombs and wander the hilly grounds. The cemetery opened in 1833 as a non-denominational burial ground and contains the tombs and graves of some of the most important Glaswegian (yeah I had to look that up) members of society during the Victorian era.
The path from the bridge meanders and wanders over the hills up to the highest point which over looks the Glasgow Cathedral. There are some amazing tombs, gravestones and sculptures and you could spend hours researching and learning about the people who rest here.
After a quick peek inside the Cathedral we were feeling the effects of waking up at 4am and our tummys were rumbling. A quick twitter Q&A with Traveller magazine and we were on our way to one of Glasgow's favorite restaurants - Cafe Gandolfi.
Cafe Gandolfi has been around for decades and continues to be one of the most recommended, well known restaurants in Glasgow. And for good reason! The traditional Scottish dishes, laid back vibe and friendly staff make it hard not to like this place. Even though we steered clear of traditional Scottish dishes for lunch (haggis and black pudding are not really our thing...shocking, right?) we both devoured our meals. A pint of local, Scottish brew and a kick-butt lemon tart later and we were feelin' the love for this charming local favorite. Not to mention that the tables and chairs were some of the coolest I've seen in a long while. Made of thick, heavy wood and polished to give it a healthy, worn look (which might have occurred naturally after 30+ years on the scene!) we couldn't stop staring at them and commenting on how rad they were.
Before we knew it our day in Glasgow was over. We had to head back to the airport to pick up our friends. Then we were heading Northwest into the Scottish Highlands!
Cafe Gandolfi has been around for decades and continues to be one of the most recommended, well known restaurants in Glasgow. And for good reason! The traditional Scottish dishes, laid back vibe and friendly staff make it hard not to like this place. Even though we steered clear of traditional Scottish dishes for lunch (haggis and black pudding are not really our thing...shocking, right?) we both devoured our meals. A pint of local, Scottish brew and a kick-butt lemon tart later and we were feelin' the love for this charming local favorite. Not to mention that the tables and chairs were some of the coolest I've seen in a long while. Made of thick, heavy wood and polished to give it a healthy, worn look (which might have occurred naturally after 30+ years on the scene!) we couldn't stop staring at them and commenting on how rad they were.
Before we knew it our day in Glasgow was over. We had to head back to the airport to pick up our friends. Then we were heading Northwest into the Scottish Highlands!
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Labels:
cathedral,
go here - now,
iphone,
photography,
restaurants,
scotland,
travel,
twitter
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A nice surprise
Freezing fog?
Yuck.
And then I went outside and found such a nice surprise...
That doesn't look like fog to me!
My fingers are still freezing as I type this, but I'll take what I can get!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Insta-scone-matic
I made some scones last night
They had grapefruit in them...
and honey...
and yogurt...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Project 52 - week 2
As promised here is this weeks Project 52 assignment! The theme for Week 2 was "Illustrate a Song"
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| These Boots are Made for Walkin' |
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