Variations on a Theme: 2 Cupcakes

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been experimenting with different cupcake concoctions to come up with some ideas. Now the question remains as to where I would eventually use these recipes. While I have always wanted to open my own Bakery (Fler De Licious would be it's name) the prospect scares the heebie-jeebies out of me! I am sure everyone who has ever thought about opening their own business has felt the same, but I just can't seem to shake it.

Nevertheless, I have been baking and wanted to share two recipes with you. The base for both cupcakes is the same. It is a generic vanilla cupcake recipe that my mom handed me a couple weeks ago from the USA Today magazine.

The base is this:

1 and a half sticks of softened butter (Don't Judge!!!)

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 and a half cups of self-rising flour

if using all purpose just add 1 and a half tsps of baking powder and a fourth tsp of salt

1 Tb. warm water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Set oven at 400 degrees F
2. Line a 12 cup muffin pan
3. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy
4. Starting and ending with an egg, alternate adding flour and eggs, beating each until well incorporated.
5. Beat in water and vanilla until just incorporated.
6. Bake for 15-17 minutes *if you try the variations below, check them at 11 or 12 minutes!

For the first variation, I have b

een making Banana cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream.

For the cupcake, just add in 2 mashed ripe bananas into the batter at the end. Like I said above,make sure to check the cupcakes at 11 or 12 minutes, because they cook up pretty fast.

For the Peanut Butter Buttercream, I enhanced the recipe I usually use for my icing.

1. Beat together 1/2 cup of room temperature water and 3 heaping Tbs. of Meringue Powder with a mixer. (hopefully you have a stand mixer, or you will be here all day. Unless you have a cooking show, because their eggs whites beat up magically in like 3o seconds. Also, depending on the humidity, it may take longer to achieve the desired end!) Beat until the meringue is at a soft peak.
2. Add 1 lb of powdered sugar, and (cringe) 1 and a half cups of shortening (preferably Crisco). Mix until smooth. (Again don't judge me here. I have always used this recipe and have always had rave reviews on my icing. The first time you make it, your arteries may clog a little, but you will be rewarded in the end, I promise!)
3. Add in 1 more lb of powdered sugar and 2 tsp of vanilla extract and 1 tsp of butter extract.
4. Mix well and finish off by adding 3/4 cup of peanut butter. Depending on how peanut buttery you want the icing, you can add more or less, but I am always one for more and more peanut butter!!

Ice the Banana cupcakes after they have had at least 4 hours to cool and garnish with a dried banana wedge! They are fantastic! I meant to add a little peanut butter ganache to the top of these but I didn't have time!

For the second variation, I have been making a Banana Coconut Cupcake.

For this you will also be adding 2 mashed ripe bananas to the batter at the end as well as a couple drops of Coconut Oil. I haven't used Coconut Extract but from what I have read you would have to use more extract because it isn't as strong. Bake for 11-12 minutes and allow to cool.

For the frosting, I use Paula Deen's Cream Cheese Icing recipe. (the link will also take you to her Red Velvet Cake recipe which I have used many times and have never heard any complaints!) I also add a couple drops of Coconut Oil to the icing as well. Ice the cupcakes and then sprinkle Coconut shavings and chopped up dried bananas to the top.

I hope you enjoy both of these recipes. I have definitely had a great time playing around with this base. Have a couple different ideas I want to try, just need the extra time. And since, summer is right around the corner (tomorrow is my last day of school), I will have a lot more time on my hands!!

Our first CSA pickup of this season!

So last year, through a series of fortunate events, Molly and I were introduced to the Community Supported Agriculture idea. I know, we were probably totally behind the learning curve on this lesson, but it has been a valuable lesson. We bit the bullet and found a CSA to join: Facing West Farms. I would say that last year's experience was an interesting one. There were weeks when we had no idea what we were getting from these people. We went through more Beets and Radishes last year than most people see in a lifetime. Molly scrounged for recipes for beets and we turned them into everything from jam to science fair projects. Exposure to new vegetables was also a valuable lesson. Things that I had only heard of on cooking shows or had seen in cooking magazines.

Going into this year, we were hesitant to buy back into the CSA because we felt like we wasted so much last year, but went ahead with it, with the knowledge and dedication to see it through. Today was our first pick up and it was another interesting one!

Now, thats a lot of green!! We had cilantro, collard greens, Swiss chard, green onions, spring mix, 2 types of lettuce that I am unsure of the name and these weird garlic things.

I can't quite remember the name of them, but I am going to have to figure that one out. The guy who owns the farm said that they flavor food much like garlic, but just look different. The cilantro went to our next door neighbors since we have a cilantro plant in the backyard that is one of the few things to which the rabbit that plagues our backyard apparently has an aversion.

Tonight I decided to cook up the Swiss Chard to go along with some White Chili Molly had in the crockpot. Now, I have cooked greens in the past, but for some reason I just couldn't get it right. To be honest, there was a time where the things I cooked probably could have been used in the embalming process. Molly and I laughed it off and I just kind of added it to the list of things I wanted to master at some point. Well this appears to me my time to conquer since the materials were all present. I started with some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), and wilted the greens after stemming them. That was a process all by itself as I had never done that in the past. Needless to say, the internet is a delightful thing! Just google search How to stem Chard and a bunch of items just show up. Voila! After wilting, I threw in some nutmeg, worchestshire sauce, salt (just a little though), cumin and chicken broth...A couple minutes later...YUM!

Admittedly, greens aren't for everyone. Ainsley merely tolerated them, especially since we promised her a pickle if she ate some. But I can geniunely say that I enjoyed them. The earthiness of the green combined with the worchestshire sauce was a good combo. Now I will just have to play with some different spices next time, and might use some hot sauce as opposed to worchestshire. Who knows?

This year we also added the Farm Fresh Egg Share to our CSA. So every week we will be getting a dozen eggs! This should be an interesting experience as I am only used to having white eggs in the house! I know, I live a sheltered life. Well not that only having white eggs signifies a completely sheltered life, but you know what I'm saying. Omelettes this weekend, anyone?

Next it is onto Collard Greens. Just have to get some Ham Hock and I can go from there.

Happy Eating Everyone!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

There are few things in life that are as comforting as sweet potatoes. And not that crazy kind of comforting that Oprah once expressed as her camera man panned in for a shot with her beloved sweet potato. If you watch The Soup, then you probably know what I am talking about. There are few things that one can do to this delightful vegetable to make it bad. Although I take serious issue with people who place marshmallows in their sweet potatoes. I don't really know what my problem with that practice is, but I think my difficulty partaking in this process lies in the fact that I am not really a fan of the gelatinous pieces of frivolity known to the world as Marshmallows. And don't even bring up Peeps unless you are prepared for a diatribe of hatred against those putrescent poultry puffs. (Nice alliteration if I do say so myself!)

Nevertheless, tonight I made Mashed Sweet Potatoes for dinner. I got the inspiration from a Rachael Ray recipe on foodnetwork.com. For those of you that don't go to Food Network constantly, you should add it to your daily surfing rituals because they provide a bevy of opportunities to expand on recipes. I didn't really change the recipe too much, but I feel the need to share it: Mashed Sweet Potatoes

The things I did change was adding about 1/4 of a cup more brown sugar and I added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon along with the nutmeg. Because who makes anything with sweet potatoes and doesn't use cinnamon? As I reached for the nutmeg in m

y spice cabinet, I felt like the cinnamon was giving me that pitiful look of "Why aren't you going to use me?" So, being the obliging cook, I agreed!

SWEET POTATO....

I mean what could be better? Butter and Bananas???

The finished product! Served with some Carribean Jerk Marinated Chicken. Probably the first time I grilled chicken and didn't completely burn it on the stove. Pathetic, right?

Well there you go! Definitely try this recipe! It was so easy and the final product was probably one of the most amazing things ever done to a sweet potato. It was sweet and salty and got the approval of not only me, but Molly and Ainsley!

An Introduction

Ever since the release of Julie/Julia and the subsequent movie production, I think it might have become a little cliche to create a food blog. Being the savvy person that I am, and constantly mindful of the over done cliches that pervade our society, I have resisted the Food Blog phenom for quite a bit of time. Fads are just so...fadish! And cliches are just so...well, cliche-ish. (Is that really a word? And if it isn't I believe that I in fact should be the one made responsible for adding it to the English lexicon. Much like Will Ferrell in the quintessential Holiday Movie Elf made a generation of people really believe that ginormous was a word. But I digress...)

Let's be honest here. I really resisted writing a Food Blog because I didn't know what to write. Read this as I didn't have time, nor did I want to write about food or anything else for that matter. But because I can no longer resist the urge to create a blog, I give you Braun Appetit!!

My hope in doing this blog is to throw around some recipes that I have been playing around with and to banter a little bit about my cooking experiences, etc. Also at some point, I will probably throw in some commentary on very important matters: Celebrity Gossip, TV, Movies, maybe the occasional political aside (GASP), and the ever present spiritual revelation that come to me at all hours of the day.

I hope you enjoy this! I know its a long time coming!