More Than You Want to Know About Cupcakes....

I opted to serve cupcakes instead of sheet cake at Melody's CD release reception for several reasons. One, they are easier for an amateur to bake and decorate. I started baking about a month in advance, popped the unfrosted cakes in the freezer, and frosted them all at once on the week-end of the big event.
Other advantages:

• you don't have to mess with cutting the cake
  
• no need to enlist an extra hand to serve cake
  
• a greater variety of flavors can be offered
• they are just so darned cute!

There are all kinds of cupcake trees available for purchase, but I ended up with this 3-tiered glass set by Anchor Hocking. It was inexpensive and elegant, and since it can be taken apart, it's versatile as well.


The Cake Mix Doctor is my go-to book for cakes, but for economy & ease I decided to skip the premium ingredients and go for the simplicity of cake mixes. (Duncan Hines makes a great red velvet mix!) The crowning glory was the silky buttercream frosting and I piped it on as artfully as possible using an icing bag and a 1 M decorator's tip. Filling the decorating bag with frosting is easier if you place it in an upright drinking glass like this:

Here is the recipe for the Buttercream Frosting. It was one I found on the web, and tweaked slightly by switching out part of the butter for shortening. I would have used 100% butter if the cupcakes hadn't needed to be transported; the shortening gives the frosting a little more stability to endure warmth and transport. This makes a lot of frosting, one batch can probably frost about 75 cupcakes, depending how thick you lay it on.

Silky Buttercream Frosting

1 lb. butter (4 sticks), unsalted
1 c. (or 1 lg. stick) butter flavored shortening
2 tsp. vanilla extract (clear)
2 tsp. salt
1 Tblsp. corn syrup
2 lb. confectioners sugar, sifted

Blend shortening and butter together well. Add vanilla, salt and corn syrup. Blend well.
Add sugar in small batches, until it is all incorporated. Blend until light and fluffy.

To make chocolate frosting, mix about 1 c. of cocoa in with the sugar before adding to the shortening mixture. Almond extract complements the chocolate.

Use-Up-the-Squash! Recipe

by backhomeagainvintage

Does your refrigerator bin overflow with crookneck and/or zucchini squash this time of year?
Mine does. Here is one more way to use it up, a great dish for a church supper.

Cheesy Squash Casserole

6 cups yellow crookneck or zucchini squash, or a combination of both-peeled & sliced into coins
1 green bell pepper, cut into rings
1 vidalia onion, sliced thin
1 small jar of fire-roasted red peppers, drained
1 can evaporated milk
2 c. grated American or cheddar cheese
bacon crumbles to taste
1/2 t. lemon pepper
1/2 t. salt
Ritz cracker crumbs

Boil the squash, bell pepper, and onion slices 2 minutes and then drain. To assemble, layer the cooked vegetables in a greased casserole dish, topping each layer with grated cheese, bacon crumbles, fire-roasted peppers, and the evaporated milk. Sprinkle the seasonings between layers. Top final layer with cheese and Ritz cracker crumbs. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serves 6

An Elegant Pumpkin Soup

I love this velvety soup and often serve it as a first course for a Christmas or Thanksgiving meal. This year I tweaked it a bit and added the peanut butter. I'd like to tweak it again and try curry instead of ginger, just for variety. It can be garnished with toasted pecans, croutons, or pears.

Pumpkin Soup
serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half or light cream
• 12 oz. cups pear nectar
• 2 T. peanut butter
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan combine onion, water, and bouillon granules. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes or until onion is very tender; cool slightly. Do not drain.
2. Transfer mixture to a blender container or food processor bowl. Add pumpkin and peanut butter, and a little of the half & half. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Return pumpkin mixture to saucepan. Stir in remaining half-and-half , pear nectar, ginger, and white pepper. Cook and stir until heated through. Do not boil.
   

Kitchen Culture

I'm a firm believer that culture begins in the kitchen. Last evening, I visited with a young man who was enthusiastically detailing his Grandmother's cooking. He said her food is so good, he sometimes CRIES when he eats it! All the while we conversed he was expressing his gratefulness to her. This is love made tangible, and what wonderful memories this Grandmama has created!

My cooking has never elicited such a dramatic response, but then I'm not a Grandma yet! I aspire to develop such talent.

Here's my humble offering for this week. The grocery store where I shop had big bags of tomatoes, slightly over-ripe, on sale for $1.99. No, they were not contaminated. I've been making a lot of BLTs this week, as well as using them sliced with cottage cheese. Tonight I have made my favorite soup recipe, which I share here. Though I usually make it in the winter, it's also appropriate for a light summer supper. Here it is:

Creamy Tomato Herb Soup

1 T. butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 t. salt
fresh chopped rosemary, or 1/2 t. dried
fresh chopped basil, or 1/2 t. dried
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
2 c. chopped tomatoes
1 T. honey
4 oz. cream cheese (low fat works fine)
1 c. vegetable stock
finely chopped parsley to taste

In soup pot, cook onions and garlic in butter until onions are soft and translucent. Add the herbs and saute a few minutes more. Your kitchen will have an irresistible fragrance at this point!

Whir the cream cheese with tomato sauce and honey in the blender until smooth. Add this to the soup pot.

Next, add the chopped tomatoes and the vegetable stock.

Heat through.

Serve with chopped parsley and fat croûtons as a garnish.

Makes about 6 servings.

Snickerdoodle Cake

Today my oldest daughter, Melody, celebrated her 15th birthday. Two of my children always request a chocolate birthday cake, Joy likes something pink, and my husband prefers spice or banana cake. But Melody always chooses my personal favorite, Snickerdoodle Cake. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans
Flour for dusting the pans
1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) plain white cake mix
1cup whole milk
1 stick butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 t. pure vanilla extract
2 t. cinnamon
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look well combined. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. place the pans in the oven side by side.

3. Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 27-29 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert them again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows).

5. Place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with clean, smooth strokes.

Buttercream Frosting

1 stick butter, softened
33/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 to 4 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 3 T. milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend in up to 1 T. milk if the frosting seems too stiff.

Recipe taken from The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn

Zebra Brownies

Zebra Brownies will certainly be in our picnic basket tomorrow. It's my most requested treat; I could probably whip up a batch in my sleep because I' ve made them so many times. Here is the recipe:

One package of brownie mix (20 oz.)
8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie mix as directed on the package (cake-like option). Pour most of the batter into a greased 13-by-9-inch baking pan, but reserve a little of the batter for the topping.

Next, beat the cream cheese and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Pour the cheese mixture over brownie mixture. Top with dollops of the remaining brownie batter that has been reserved. Cut through the batter with a knife for a marbled effect.

Sprinkle with chips. Bake 35 minutes or until cream cheese mixture is lightly browned.

Makes 18 servings.

***Here is my best brownie tip. Use a plastic knife to cut the brownies. The knife will glide right through without gunking up like a metal knife will.

Enjoy!

Nesting

I've been blessed this last month with 2 short trips; and not-so-blessed that my nearly new iMac has been in the hospital for three weeks. Attempts to use the other 3 computers in the house have left me frustrated--do you know that feeling? It is like being in someone else's kitchen.

So I have been nesting instead of blogging. Springtime inspires home spruce-up activities for me, and it feels good to have accomplished a few things on my list:

*Planted a dozen caladium bulbs around the big tree in the front yard

*Interspersed zinnias in amongst the perennials in the flower garden

*Took out several clumps of day lilies and planted raspberries instead (Heritage and Latham)

*Took the day lilies to church and gave them a new home

*Added a climbing rose to the patio called "Joseph's Coat"

*Polished the wood. I've used lemon oil for years, but this time I tried "Method Wood for Good". It has an almond fragrance that I love.

*Tried to duplicate a wonderful salad I had at the Cheesecake Factory: dark greens (incl. spinach) , roasted asparagus, diced beets, sugared pecans, balsamic dressing, and goat cheese. To roast the asparagus, place the raw tips in a ziploc bag with a Tbsp. of olive oil and a smidge of salt. Shake to coat. Roast on baking sheet in a 450 degree oven for about 20 min, stirring several times. The asparagus is what makes this salad memorable!

*Also have been hooked on roasted cauliflower, made in the same way as the asparagus, but baked for a little longer. Vegetable candy!

*Made tons of chocolate-dipped strawberries.

*Tried my hand at an Asian dish from Gourmet magazine

*Removed the dark burgundy drapes from the family room, and replaced them with wispy sheers that let in a whole lot of light

*Threw away the tired mini blinds in one of the bathrooms and hung a crisp, white lace curtain instead

*Replaced nearly a dozen light bulbs in the house with energy efficient ones, and this time I spent a little more to get the full-spectrum bulbs. If you have never tried them, you will be amazed at the difference. Everything else seems yellow in comparison.

*Created a pretty little nook in the master bedroom by topping my sewing machine with a round piece of plywood, and covering it with a rich fabric tablecloth. I have it beside a floor lamp and my Grandma's antique rocking chair. Now my husband won't have to lug the sewing machine up from the basement every time I need to use it. And the bonus is that the skirt hides underneath a lot of books. I'm always looking for places to hide books!

Whew! It feels good to see the small accomplishments of a day add up to something significant when viewed as a list. I try to do something every day that I DON'T WANT TO DO. It is a good discipline for me.

I think the thing that was most satisfying was bringing more light into the home. Being a "light-keeper" is of significant importance in the home, isn't it? What a responsibility and a privilege homemakers have to influence their loved ones in such a way.

But I still don't do windows.

Cookbook Review: Cheap.Fast.Good! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross

The Desperation Dinner Duo, Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross, earned my respect with their earlier books, Desperation Dinners! and Desperation Entertaining! In fact, I checked them out from the library so many times that I finally purchased them for my very own. Their newest book, Cheap. Fast. Good! is another winner.

A large book of over 475 pages, the title is a pretty accurate representation of its contents.

• Cheap: The authors contend that "saving money in the kitchen is as simple as one four-letter word: Cook." The amount of money slashed from the food bill directly correlates with the willingness to increase time in the kitchen. There is room for personal discretion and variation here, depending on how much time you want to invest and how much convenience you are willing to sacrifice. What is it that keeps you out of the kitchen? Is it fatigue, poor planning, disorganization, or fear of failure? All of these issues are addressed.

• Fast: Obviously, if I am going to skin and bone a chicken, that meal does not qualify as fast food. But every available hint for streamlining the process has been provided.

• Good: No one wants to invest precious time on a meal that is not satisfying. The recipes here are everyday "good" rather than gourmet. Chapters include soups, everyday entrees, skillet meals, pastas, sandwiches, salads, sides, batch cooking, sauces, breakfasts, and desserts.

More than a cookbook, this is a great little home economics course. Is it worthwhile to use coupons? How do you carve a whole roasted chicken? What kitchen gadgets should I invest in? Should I buy a freezer? These questions and many more are addressed with wisdom. These ladies have done their homework (literally!)

I am pretty comfortable in the kitchen, having spent much time there in college (dietetics), in managing a nursing home kitchen, and in serving my own family. But I like to sharpen my skills and learn new things. And I have learned a couple of very useful, new things from this book.

First, baked potatoes. What new thing could be learned about something this basic? Just wash, prick, and bake for an hour at 350 degrees, right? Right, if you want an average potato.

But if you would like a higher quality baked potato, one that has a crispy skin and a moist, fluffy interior, use the high-heat method. Bake the potatoes directly on the oven rack at 475 degrees for an hour. Bake extras to use later for twice baked or chili in spud bowls. Great tip, painlessly executed!

The other new thing I have learned is to roast whole chickens. By standing them upright (I use a bundt pan instead of the beer can the authors suggest), the poultry receives even heat from all sides. I have always used chicken pieces because I disliked the chore of carving the finished product. But I've overcome that little obstacle, too, by following the step-by-step instructions in the book and by using kitchen shears.

The cold winter months are especially suited to the art of cooking. I have enjoyed the spark of inspiration that Cheap. Fast. Good! has provided and recommend it if you are also endeavoring to make your time in the kitchen both economical and satisfying.

Poiema

Pink Smoothies

1 6oz. carton Yoplait Yogurt (We like White chocolate/strawberry, but any berry flavor will do).
4 oz. orange juice, cranberry juice, or sparkling water
3 or 4 large frozen strawberries
half of a large banana, frozen

Whir in the blender until velvety. Top with whipped cream. Makes 3 small smoothies (4 oz size).

The Lady's Loaf

Here is my most-used recipe for the bread machine. It takes 4 minutes to stir together. The only drawback to the bread machine is that the crust is never fully to my satisfaction. But for me, the time savings outweighs this small disadvantage. This is a light wheat bread.

1 cup warm water
11/2 T. non fat dry milk
1/2 T. salt
3 T. sugar
1 T. oil
1 c. Gold Medal Better for Bread wheat flour
2 c. Gold Medal Better for Bread white flour
11/2 T.bread machine yeast

Place everything in bread machine in the order listed. Use the "basic" or "sweet" setting and set for light crust.