trip to red rocks this past thanksgiving......
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| The first day...yes...that's snow... |
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| Ed on an 11a |
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| Dave on a 12 something |
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| Trying to get gear..... |
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| All roads lead to the strip.... |
Cara Berhenti berkeringat Malam
10 years ago
with the holidays.....comes food...food coma...and flat out laziness....
trip to red rocks this past thanksgiving......
trip to red rocks this past thanksgiving......
using the base recipe, i've made a loaf of raisin bread.....
Awesome!!!
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| The raisin bread... |
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| ...and the whole wheat bread.... |
Awesome!!!
So, after extensive research on the web, i came across an article written by a fella that live in santa fe, about 2000ft higher than i do. his bread seems to come out looking (and tasting) great. (the link....http://sceneinsantafe.com/High-Altitude_Whole_Wheat_Bread_Recipe) after a couple of email exchanges, i tried his recipe out. got me an in-between loaf. i’m wondering if it’s truly the first rise time. the difference between Drew’s and mine is about twenty minutes for the first rise. there could be a difference. my “soft” bread setting has a 49 min rise. i’ll try his recipe again with that setting and check out the difference.
here's there's the recipe (modified by me...):
| Older: Version 1 | ||||
| Ingredient | How Much (for 2lb) | Zo's recipe (for 1 lb) | My Modified Version | What It Does |
| Water | 1 3/4 cups | 3/4 cups | 1 1/8 cups | Provide moisture. |
| Butter | 3 tablespoons | 1 tablespoon | 1.5 tablespoons | Helps brown crust. |
| Whole Wheat Flour | 5 cups | 2.25 cups | 2.5 cups | Bulk. Nutrition. |
| Sugar /honey | 1/4 cup | 2 tablespoons | 1/8 cup | Food for the yeast. |
| Salt | 2 1/2 teaspoons | 1/2 teaspoons | 1.25 teaspoons | Influence rising. |
| Dry Milk | 1.5 tablespoon | 1.5 tablespoon | ||
| Gluten | 8 teaspoons | 4 teaspoon | Traps gases released by the growing yeast; adds protein. | |
| Yeast | 1 tablespoon, 2 teaspoons | 1 tsp. | 2.5 teaspoons | Eats the sugar, creates gas, causes the bread to become more airy, less dense. |
used the "soft" setting....and Presto! got me a nice looking 1 lb loaf of whole wheat bread. Success at last!!!
i think we may have ate the half the thing this morning. :D
sorry no photos, but it's was a good lookin' and tastin' loaf....
sorry no photos, but it's was a good lookin' and tastin' loaf....
Ok...so, i've always said that wanted to bake bread. or at least i wanted to learn how to bake bread. frankly, i'm sort of afraid of working with yeast. i'm not exactly sure how to work with something that 've only seen in petri dishes and test tubes. so....when my parents aksed what gift i would like (there was three choice....and this was the least "domestic" choice) i said a bread maker. we went on amazon.com and got us a Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf Programmable Mini Breadmaker. Cute little thing. punches out a one pounder....okay it had to be said. In theory, it's not that hard, right? that's what a bread maker is for....to make fresh bread without a whole lot of effort.
Well, with that said, it's becoming more like a science experiment....unlike our other wedding gift, a stand mixer. with the stand mixer, i punched out some pumpkin cupcakes and maple syrup creamed cheese frosting in short order. that was the easy part. now, back to the bread.....
living at over 5000t, i knew baking would be different. my first two attempts at using the bread maker came out to be almost disasters like. Ed called them softballs. am i not understanding the different functions? or does this have something to do with rising time, moisture, and pooped out yeast? we'll see.
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| the softball and the machine.... |
After a little reading....
http://www.highaltitudelife.com/baking.htm
and some others, i think that i may need to try another setting and/or add more gluten. thank goodness we're not allergic to gluten. goodness!. well, we're almost done with this current softball. i'm going to try again, but this time use a different setting..... we'll see if we get another softball or not!
and some others, i think that i may need to try another setting and/or add more gluten. thank goodness we're not allergic to gluten. goodness!. well, we're almost done with this current softball. i'm going to try again, but this time use a different setting..... we'll see if we get another softball or not!
You can call me "Mrs."
:D Photos and Links to photos to come!
:D Photos and Links to photos to come!
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| Photo by Sara Jenkins |
yes, only ten days left before the shackle is on. i mean, before our big day. :D
cake.....check.
cater...check.
flowers....check.
hair appointment...check.
place settings and other stuff.....check.
party favors....check...
Photo ideas for sara......crap, gotta work on that.
man, i feel like i’m forgetting something....really. ed’s parents are coming in this saturday. my spa day is this saturday. can’t wait!
here's a teaser of the event.....but not the same colors.....
aack! i just remembered.....i need to write my vows.....
cake.....check.
cater...check.
flowers....check.
hair appointment...check.
place settings and other stuff.....check.
party favors....check...
Photo ideas for sara......crap, gotta work on that.
man, i feel like i’m forgetting something....really. ed’s parents are coming in this saturday. my spa day is this saturday. can’t wait!
here's a teaser of the event.....but not the same colors.....
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| beautiful tree cake topper by apryl...she's rad! |
aack! i just remembered.....i need to write my vows.....
Well, the end of the growing season is ending soon. we’ll see how the rest of the CSA does in the fall boxes. the CSA we tried out this year was Rise and Shine Farms in Fallon, NV. how to put this diplomatically. They are by far worse than the self righteous hippies that populate Berkeley. I haven’t even gotten to their “produce” yet. I believe that they treat thier subscribers like crap. Why? Because we were the second causality of ”sharing”. When we gave feedback to Great Basin Basket, we never got the treatment we got from Rise and Shine. We’ve been members of various CSAs from California to Nevada for the PAST TEN YEARS. I’d like to say that we have an idea of the concept of CSAs.
This started with a water issue that they had at the beginning of the season. They had a visit from the water district authority. the water authority found that they were in violation of home water use regulations and was ready to shut them down. Rise and Shine put out a call to their subscribers to “rise up and fight the man”. i never “rise up and fight the man”, unless i have proof that they are screwing the little guy over WITHIN the confines of regulation. i had a suspicion that the farm did not have the proper water permits so i did a little digging....the farm had NO PERMITS to water farmland beyond sustenance farming. so, in other words, one can use the water from one’s home well to water crops that one uses to feed oneself and family. but Rise and Shine is a CSA, there is money exchange. One non-subscriber asked the question of refund in the event of not being able to water the crops and got some run around. they posted a negative review of the farm on the google place page for their poor treatment by the farm. the farm responded by “sharing” this information with its members. the response from the most vocal of the members were those poo-pooing the reviewer and calling them “lame-os” for not supporting the farm.
does this sound familiar? does this sound like the political rhetoric that is going around right now? does this sound like tea baggers? i’ll leave that up in the air for now.
now the it’s our turn.
We sent an email letting them know that even though this was a hard year for a lot of farmers, we were disappointed at their baskets. we would get a dozen eggs and five sad looking produce. now for the produce/egg share alone, it’s roughly 25$/week. 5$ per item is just way too much. i can go to whole paycheck and get a bunch of produce for 25$. we didn’t even get into the fact that their produce suck! safeway does a better job at the quality of the produce they truck in. This was their email to the subscribers....
really? i’ve used public humiliation as a teaching tool when i taught martial arts. but come on....nobody can have an opinion other than “You’re doing great!”?
here’s what the sheep said....on FB...really? how blind are you people?
I may not agree with the farm’s philosophy on food, but i will never treat people like this. spray their honest opinion as a humiliation tactic and then solicit the followers for sympathy. Bad business skills.
But then again, i guess that if one has never known food, other than the local safeway, then they’ll never know what real food is. we are not “naysayers”, we just present the truth.
Rise and Shine....you want respect? you have to earn it. you are not entitled to it. so, don't frack with me. i will spray and i will spray more......
i will support a nevada farmer, just not this one.
This started with a water issue that they had at the beginning of the season. They had a visit from the water district authority. the water authority found that they were in violation of home water use regulations and was ready to shut them down. Rise and Shine put out a call to their subscribers to “rise up and fight the man”. i never “rise up and fight the man”, unless i have proof that they are screwing the little guy over WITHIN the confines of regulation. i had a suspicion that the farm did not have the proper water permits so i did a little digging....the farm had NO PERMITS to water farmland beyond sustenance farming. so, in other words, one can use the water from one’s home well to water crops that one uses to feed oneself and family. but Rise and Shine is a CSA, there is money exchange. One non-subscriber asked the question of refund in the event of not being able to water the crops and got some run around. they posted a negative review of the farm on the google place page for their poor treatment by the farm. the farm responded by “sharing” this information with its members. the response from the most vocal of the members were those poo-pooing the reviewer and calling them “lame-os” for not supporting the farm.
does this sound familiar? does this sound like the political rhetoric that is going around right now? does this sound like tea baggers? i’ll leave that up in the air for now.
now the it’s our turn.
We sent an email letting them know that even though this was a hard year for a lot of farmers, we were disappointed at their baskets. we would get a dozen eggs and five sad looking produce. now for the produce/egg share alone, it’s roughly 25$/week. 5$ per item is just way too much. i can go to whole paycheck and get a bunch of produce for 25$. we didn’t even get into the fact that their produce suck! safeway does a better job at the quality of the produce they truck in. This was their email to the subscribers....
really? i’ve used public humiliation as a teaching tool when i taught martial arts. but come on....nobody can have an opinion other than “You’re doing great!”?
here’s what the sheep said....on FB...really? how blind are you people?
I may not agree with the farm’s philosophy on food, but i will never treat people like this. spray their honest opinion as a humiliation tactic and then solicit the followers for sympathy. Bad business skills.
But then again, i guess that if one has never known food, other than the local safeway, then they’ll never know what real food is. we are not “naysayers”, we just present the truth.
Rise and Shine....you want respect? you have to earn it. you are not entitled to it. so, don't frack with me. i will spray and i will spray more......
i will support a nevada farmer, just not this one.
Well, here it is....the first of a slew of (hopefully) posting that will culminate with my big day. yes, all mine. ed is just an accessory. kidding.
it was a saturday. one of those nice days we have left in summer. well, it was one of the few nice days we had this summer. yes it was a strange summer. anyway, i digress. sara and i had talked about making salsa and canning the said salsa. we did a trial run with some of the “bargain produce” that we brought back from berkeley bowl on one of my errand trips to the bay. it was tasty. so we decided to go whole hog...i mean whole tomaters...and raid the reno farmers market. our booty, i mean bounty, was lots of tomatoes, onions, peppers, and some beater peaches.the recipe we loosely followed (from epicurious.com) was as follows:
Roasted Jalapeño-Tomato Salsa With Fresh Cilantro
Yield: Makes 2 1/2 cups
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (about 10 medium), preferably plum
2 to 3 fresh jalapeño chiles (1 to 1 1/2 ounces), stemmed
Half of a small white onion (2 ounces), sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed
1 generous teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar (we used lime juice instead)
1. Heat the broiler. Lay the whole tomatoes and jalapeños out on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Set the pan 4 inches below the broiler and broil for about 6 minutes, until darkly roasted — even blackened in
spots — on one side (the tomato skins will split and curl in places). With a pair of tongs, flip over the
tomatoes and chiles and roast the other side for another 6 minutes or so. The goal is not simply to
char the tomatoes and chiles, but to cook them through while developing nice, roasty flavors. Set aside
to cool.
2. Turn the oven down to 425 degrees. Separate the onions into rings. On a similar pan or baking
sheet, combine the onion and garlic. Roast in the oven, stirring carefully every couple of minutes, until
the onions are beautifully browned and wilted (even have a touch of char on some of the edges) and
the garlic is soft and browned in spots, about 15 minutes total. Cool to room temperature.
3. For a little less rustic texture or if you're canning the salsa, pull off the peels from the cooled
tomatoes and cut out the "cores" where the stems were attached, working over your baking sheet so as
not to waste any juices.
4. put everything in a big bowl. with a hand blend, BLEND!!!! Blend to desired consistency. Stir in the cilantro.
5. Taste and season with salt and lime juice, remembering that this condiment should be a little fiesty in
its seasoning. If you're planning to use your salsa right away, simply pour it into a bowl and it's ready,
or refrigerate it covered and use within 5 days. or CAN IT!
the site of the deed.....
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| yup... |
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| pine cone |
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| same |
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| big arse tree |
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| manzanita! |
yup.....
edandvivian.com.....mwahh ha ha haha!
Ed and I and two others (aaron and amy) took a little road trip. the destination....Squamish, BC, Canada. the goal....some climbing...some hanging out..some photography...and a whole lot of vacationing...
it took us roughly 16hrs to get to Squamish. That did not include the horrific friday afternoon traffic between Tacoma and Seattle, or the long holiday traffic in Vancouver. Seriously, maybe I've been away from highly populated urban areas too long, but the traffic really sucked! Not only did the traffic suck, it seemed to me that most of Vancouver was in the Sea-to-Sky corridor. hmmm.... note to self....remember the long weekend for the Canada.
we did have fun though. i think my pitch count was roughly the same as last year....49 pitches in 6-ish days. the weather was perfect until the last day. now it wasn't perfect like sunshine all the time, it was perfect for the reason that it was threatening to drizzle and kept the sun covered.
we climbed for five days before we took our first rest day in Vancouver. Then it rained (or really, the threat of rain increased from 30% to 60%). we left Squamish and headed south to Index, WA. There the rain really hit.
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| log |
it took us roughly 16hrs to get to Squamish. That did not include the horrific friday afternoon traffic between Tacoma and Seattle, or the long holiday traffic in Vancouver. Seriously, maybe I've been away from highly populated urban areas too long, but the traffic really sucked! Not only did the traffic suck, it seemed to me that most of Vancouver was in the Sea-to-Sky corridor. hmmm.... note to self....remember the long weekend for the Canada.
we did have fun though. i think my pitch count was roughly the same as last year....49 pitches in 6-ish days. the weather was perfect until the last day. now it wasn't perfect like sunshine all the time, it was perfect for the reason that it was threatening to drizzle and kept the sun covered.
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| Aaron on Poster Boy, 10b |
we climbed for five days before we took our first rest day in Vancouver. Then it rained (or really, the threat of rain increased from 30% to 60%). we left Squamish and headed south to Index, WA. There the rain really hit.
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| Ed |
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| Ed and I on top of Angel's Crest 10c |
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| Aaron and Amy |
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| Barbs |
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| Kale!! |
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| Ed on The Zip 10a |
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| Howe Sound in the waning light |
Of course, we had to console ourselves for not being able to climb in the rain and ended up at the Red Hook Brewery....
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| consolation prize....the porter |
We spent the night at Seattle and headed out early in the morning. Dinner at an awesome Oaxacan restaurant in Seattle and breakfast at and awesome diner in Portland. Then the long road home..... it was awesome!
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| had to take the photo..... |
link to the photos...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cragbetty/sets/72157624698405034/with/4880168603/
a little update.....
a little update.....
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| Ed, looking like the rugged mountain man he would love to be, on Angel's Crest...photo by amy jordan |
yes, i'm bored, so i'll reminisce on the bay area weekend a couple of weekends ago....
starting by this....
then there were the gardens at the Ferrari-Curano Vineyard (which in my opinion was the best part of the place.
then ....Preston Vineyard and Organic Farm.....by far i think my favorite place in the all of Dry Creek Valley....too bad i didn't take more photos....blah!
Then Sunday...a rare beautiful weekend in SF....
I miss the bay area.....
starting by this....
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| Dry creek Vinyeard |
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| Sara and Kaichi at Ferrari-Curano |
then there were the gardens at the Ferrari-Curano Vineyard (which in my opinion was the best part of the place.
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| the nez of a bronzed pig on the grounds |
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| bridges in the garden |
then ....Preston Vineyard and Organic Farm.....by far i think my favorite place in the all of Dry Creek Valley....too bad i didn't take more photos....blah!
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| preston vineyards |
Then Sunday...a rare beautiful weekend in SF....
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| along the embarcadero on a beautiful sunday morning.... |
I miss the bay area.....
Stepping on the Soapbox.......
really? i sometimes wonder if folks think that they can run a business without going through the proper channels, like it’s their god given right to do so. Makes me really annoyed and feel a little duped. our CSA had a major problem with water use. the governmental water agency shut them down for not having the proper use permit. they told them to cease and desist the improper use of their water, even if they are well within their allocated amount. the issue wasn’t that the big gov agency was trying to “make us [CSA] criminals for providing you our customers and supporters with fresh wholesome food.” the issue was of permitted use. the immediate response of, “we’re not wrong. the government is wrong and trying to crush us” mentality is disturbing. the immediate response of defense is also not productive. so what happened? it was a permit issue. without the offenders actually divulging of what happened, i was able to figure out that they did not apply for a farm use permit. the water allocated was only for household use.
seriously people, when one goes into a small business situation, whether it’s selling knick-knacks to tourist, building a house, or growing food for sale, you have to go through the proper channels of permission. these things should be taken care of BEFORE money is exchanged between the seller and the buyer. never, should it effect your clients/customers (unless by some act of god, the farm becomes a dust bowl). if the regulating agency decides to screw the CSA when they are properly permitted, then i would be up in arms about it (i have no problems sticking it to the man). if the CSA brought this situation upon themselves by deciding that permits aren’t important and wants the subscribers to “fight the good fight”, then i have a problem with that.
so, do i feel a little bit duped? yes. would i be a repeat customer? i don’t know. as of now, i’m not sure.
in the end, enough of their customers “fought the good fight” and got them a waiver to keep watering until the permit process is started and complete. they still have to go through the proper channels. they still have to spend the money to do so.
water use and right will always be an ongoing fight out in the west, especially in the high desert plains. but this fight could of been avoided.....
said my peace..
signing off the soapbox.....
I can see why people hire other people as event planners. i can also see why event planners is an actual full time job. so many little details, so many things to think about....all to throw a nice party.
we got the caterer! or shall i say...retained! Mountain Magic Catering will be working the event. They were highly recommended and after talking to the owner/head chef, we discovered that we shared similar philosophies on sustainability, good food, recycle-reuse, and the fondness of composting.
We got a Photographer!!! Sara (her blog is linked from mine) has a really cool and unique take on photographing people, places, and things. I like her style (and does she have style.....you should see her collection of crazy retro shirts).
We got the invitations made and emailed out. in this day and age of the interweb and design programs that make designing things easy for the non-design savvy, it's really easy to go tasteful and paperless. no need to waste paper on something that will just get recycled (hopefully). this feeds into the philosophy of having minimal impact, treading lightly on the planet and being as sustainable as possible. it's also something we want to make a point of in the whole event. use and reuse.
we got the attire, now we just have to start working on the other details. lots of other details....like...centerpieces, place settings, location setup, time line, etc. yeah, that much more.....what the heck!
little steps....
we got the caterer! or shall i say...retained! Mountain Magic Catering will be working the event. They were highly recommended and after talking to the owner/head chef, we discovered that we shared similar philosophies on sustainability, good food, recycle-reuse, and the fondness of composting.
We got a Photographer!!! Sara (her blog is linked from mine) has a really cool and unique take on photographing people, places, and things. I like her style (and does she have style.....you should see her collection of crazy retro shirts).
We got the invitations made and emailed out. in this day and age of the interweb and design programs that make designing things easy for the non-design savvy, it's really easy to go tasteful and paperless. no need to waste paper on something that will just get recycled (hopefully). this feeds into the philosophy of having minimal impact, treading lightly on the planet and being as sustainable as possible. it's also something we want to make a point of in the whole event. use and reuse.
we got the attire, now we just have to start working on the other details. lots of other details....like...centerpieces, place settings, location setup, time line, etc. yeah, that much more.....what the heck!
little steps....
a little something, sumting from their wedding....
i was in the wedding party so the opportunity of taking photographs was left to the wedding photographers and other folks with camera. may 8, 2010.....i wish i had the time and energy to take more....
but i did get a little something during the prep time....
i was in the wedding party so the opportunity of taking photographs was left to the wedding photographers and other folks with camera. may 8, 2010.....i wish i had the time and energy to take more....
but i did get a little something during the prep time....
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| Rose's hair.... |
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| same |
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| spring! |
The Book: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
No...it’s not an manual on how to get a reliable wife nor is it a manual on how to be a reliable wife. It’s a book about a woman who answers an ad to go from chicago to BFE Wisconsin. it’s about a lonely man who puts out an ad for a reliable wife. he doesn’t ask for love, just a partner for companionship and life. but there is a twist.....there is always a twist......
it’s a good read. quick. i read it on my trip to the Kokanee Glacier Cabin. it was a rest day and i pretty much powered through this book. i did get some flak for the title of the book.
the food: Midwestern Fare
Bets and Rog are hosting....it’ll be midwesterner’s fare of meat and potatoes. of course, the rest os us will be bring things that are relates to the book. the occasional blue bottle, the oysters and champagne, beets....
i however will be bringing...Drum Roll!!! Pumpkin Cupcakes, made from a recipe that i scoured off the web. Since monday was Bets’ 29th birthday, i asked Rog what her favorite cake flavor is. Pumpkin was the reply. hopefully these will turn out okay.
i always love testing recipes on my friends. ha! i did learn one thing after this recipe, i really like the stand mixer. :D i used sara's 70s chic stand mixer and it was rad. i made the batter and frosting in almost no time. i really wished i had photos to post....but one will have to wait....
Yield: 17 to 18 cupcakes
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5
minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,
cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in
the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to
get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake
the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25
minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.
Make the frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. To assemble the cake,
frost the top of one cake, place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top, swirling
decoratively. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting.
No...it’s not an manual on how to get a reliable wife nor is it a manual on how to be a reliable wife. It’s a book about a woman who answers an ad to go from chicago to BFE Wisconsin. it’s about a lonely man who puts out an ad for a reliable wife. he doesn’t ask for love, just a partner for companionship and life. but there is a twist.....there is always a twist......
it’s a good read. quick. i read it on my trip to the Kokanee Glacier Cabin. it was a rest day and i pretty much powered through this book. i did get some flak for the title of the book.
the food: Midwestern Fare
Bets and Rog are hosting....it’ll be midwesterner’s fare of meat and potatoes. of course, the rest os us will be bring things that are relates to the book. the occasional blue bottle, the oysters and champagne, beets....
i however will be bringing...Drum Roll!!! Pumpkin Cupcakes, made from a recipe that i scoured off the web. Since monday was Bets’ 29th birthday, i asked Rog what her favorite cake flavor is. Pumpkin was the reply. hopefully these will turn out okay.
i always love testing recipes on my friends. ha! i did learn one thing after this recipe, i really like the stand mixer. :D i used sara's 70s chic stand mixer and it was rad. i made the batter and frosting in almost no time. i really wished i had photos to post....but one will have to wait....
Pumpkin Cupcakes from Smitten Kitchen
[http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/pumpkin-cupcakes]
[http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/pumpkin-cupcakes]
Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple–Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from David Leite (http://leitesculinaria.com/)
Adapted from David Leite (http://leitesculinaria.com/)
Yield: 17 to 18 cupcakes
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5
minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,
cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in
the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to
get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake
the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25
minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.
Make the frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. To assemble the cake,
frost the top of one cake, place the other cake on top. Frost the sides and top, swirling
decoratively. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes to set up frosting.
Really? There is an art to idleness? Well, i'm not so sure about that. This weekend was filled with planned activities. Well, actually only for Saturday. We had planned to go climbing on sunday, but.....didn't really happen. What did happen was a whole lot of lounging in the sunny patch of our living room.
The day before was filled with activity. We did a lot of garden work around the house. I cleaned (which really means wiping the crumbs of the countertop and then vacuuming) and did laundry while ed was outside digging holes. I figured out that yard work is really just moving piles of dirt around. We are in the process of putting in the ground four varieties of grapes, three varieties of raspberries, and two mulberry trees. the holes were for the mulberry trees. The grapes and the raspberries are going in the terrace we built last summer. we finished this year with a six foot tall deer fence. hopefully the thing will work and keep the deer out.
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| our terrace and deer fence |
We'll see if it actually work. i wanted to put a mesh roof on it, but ed said it may not be necessary. like i said...we'll see.
And then there's Sunday......we had planned to go climbing. Ed said that his back was jacked. I suggested having a morning soak. that may have been the death of activity. After ed had his morning soak, he was not motivated to do anything beyond lounging in the sunny spots of our living room. for me, the most i did all day was learn how to layer "through the viewfinder" layers onto my photos to fake a TTY photo. super fun. that, of course, required me to get some shots from around the yard. *gasp* activity!
here's a few to gander at.....i'm not by far good at this, so i borrowed ideas from others. the TTY layers came from flickr members OceanT, yarnattacks, and Cosi!.
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| the last one standing |
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| Don't trip.... |
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| What you lookin' at, foo? |
What an awesome sunday. I don't know if i'll do that again. i can see why cats get all pissy when they've been idle for too long.
on another note....just for fun......this is why i heart dogs....especially Rainman.
Entries in a dog's journal:
8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE!
10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE!
11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
1:00 PM - OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE!
1:30 PM - ooooooo. bath. bummer.
4:00 PM - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE!
5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE!
5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE!
Entries in a cat's journal:
DAY 752 - My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another house plant.DAY 761 - Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded, must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair...must try this on their bed.
DAY 765 - Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was...Hmmm. Not working according to plan.
DAY 768 - I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time, however, it included a burning foamy chemical called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent such a liquid? My only consolation is the piece of thumb still stuck between my teeth.
DAY 771 - There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise. More importantly I overheard that my confinement was due to MY power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.
DAY 774 - I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The bird, on the other hand, has got to be an informant, and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room his safety is assured. But I can wait; it is only a matter of time......
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