Feeling Springy

     The weather has finally gotten less "abominable snowman" and more "typical spring." We have had so much rain...thank goodness the temperature warmed up or we'd be in school until August! Living in a place where there is no plan for snow days and no good way to make roads safe when it does snow has been frustrating. I'm used to living in a place where it's not a state of emergency when you get a couple inches of snow, and I do love a good snow day. However, the last two years of "HOLYCOWTHERE'SSNOWLETSALLFREAKOUT" has been a little tiring.

I think that this image defines "Meh."
This is my beautiful curtain that looks
so blah in the low light. 

     Meh. I'm feeling meh. It's just that time of the school year where we teachers start wondering if we've really done all we needed to do, and figuring out our priorities for the last 9 weeks of the year. I've felt a little inadequate in the teacher realm lately due to being completely overwhelmed with paperwork. So I tried to do something this week that would make me feel like I made a positive impact. Which, of course, meant heading to the kitchen. My baking challenge this week was "fillings." Fillings? Fillings. The suggestions were all sweets, which I LOVE and I had so many ideas for all kinds of delicious, provocative, and sinful looking treats that I could make (most involved chocolate), but I challenged myself to go a different direction.

"One day, all of this will be yours." "What, the curtains?"

      See, I am not a breakfast fan. Don't get me wrong, I love breakfast foods. Brunch foods as well! There's so many delicious options! But in the morning, my body would rather be asleep than getting up, and for some reason my stomach wakes up dead last. It takes a while before I really want to eat something! I have learned in the last 2 years that going in to work before 8 and having to be professional while interacting with middle-schoolers takes two things: COFFEE, and breakfast. I usually stick with something like a half a bagel, or a banana, or granola bar...something small and really not that great for breakfast.

     So I made what I will call "biscuitmuffins," because they look like a muffin and taste like a biscuit. And I stuffed them with scrambled eggs, bacon, and some cheddar cheese. It's a sneaky way to add protein (and CHEESE omg) to an otherwise carb-based breakfast. I thought it might be a way to start changing my breakfast habits. Plus, it's just the size of a muffin (some were smaller than this one, even) so they were perfectly sized for my lacking morning appetite. Not only that, but they taste great. Like, really really great. Like the kind of great that makes your same sex coworkers ask how your marriage is, because they want you to get divorced and then they can marry you and you can cook for them all the time.

Cheesy bacon biscuitmuffin deliciousness.
Also, next up...photo editing software. 

     I followed the dough recipe from this site, and the process, and it made exactly 8 biscuitmuffins.  Looking back I could have made a few of these a little smaller and made 10, but that's really just me being picky. Happy eating!!

St Patty's Day Tradition! aka MOAR CUPCAKES

NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMmmmmmmmm...

     That is what it sounds like at work when I make cupcakes for a baking challenge. And for the St Patrick's day themed challenge, cupcakes were a must. I know they go around Pinterest like crazy, but I love making these. I've been told they should not be called "Carbomb cupcakes" as the internet calls them. Instead they should be called "Guinness Cupcakes with Whiskey fudge filling and Baileys frosting." I have been told via Reddit that the former title is offensive to Irish and that posting these on St. Patricks day is apparently ignorant.  I figured they were named after the drink which contains all of those elements, but then I learned that is also offensive.  Regardless of the name origin, unintentionally connected history, or lack of Irish-ness in general, these cupcakes taste phenomenal. And to me, they embody all the fun bits of the American version of St Patrick's Day shenanigans and incorporate some out of the ordinary baking ingredients. Guinness! Whiskey! Bailey's! Hooray!


     I followed a conglomerate of recipes because I've completely forgotten my "go-to" website for these babies. The cupcake and frosting recipes came from Liquor.com. The process was easy enough to follow, although I made a mess of it the first go around (of course). They turned out tasting light, fluffy, and chocolatey, but they were so light, actually, that when I put them in my cake holder to keep for the week, they starting melting- and not the frosting...the cupcakes! They were maybe a bit too light, but taste was not a factor. Also, I'm really not a fan of using mascarpone cheese in frosting, as it makes the frosting turn out a bit too soft for my liking. I had a lot of leftover frosting (hubs is not complaining) because I had to add more butter to stiffen it up! Again, however, it tasted delicious. It's hard to say if I'll keep using this recipe in the future.

The filling recipe came from Country Cleaver and OH MY WORD was it easy, delicious, perfect, and marvelous. Mmmmmmmmm.

Fudgy, whiskey-y goodness.

For me, baking is relaxing. Except for the whole "stressing out that I want it to turn out perfect, look perfect, and taste perfect" thing. Typically whatever I make looks like a hot mess, but tastes great! Curb appeal? Eh who needs it. I enjoy the process of making something and having it turn out to be pleasing, either to me or someone else. The feeling of accomplishment is very satisfying, especially when it tastes great as well!

So adorable!

This weekend was the jackpot, though. THESE cupcakes are absolutely sinful and somehow I hit the trifecta of not falling apart, tasting amazing, and looking pretty good too.
                                                       
                                    
                                    Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just a Blue Moon and I

     Today at work was a "catch up on meetings/paperwork/getting things done" day for me, and therefore my students. While I was leading IEP meetings, working on paperwork, and getting caught up from all our snow days, my students were also catching up on finishing work they hadn't finished from this past week! Woo woooo productivity!

     Seeing as how that's the theme of the day, I thought I'd catch up and write a megaton of posts tonight. Or just 2. Also my husband is busy with work stuff this evening so it's just me. Correction: me and a blue moon. We are here, trying to keep ourselves occupied after dinner. So blog posts are just rolling in.

     I've got more food to show you!

Please enjoy these camouflage cupcake liners

Notice the crumb trail. I'm a mess.

     These are some of the best cupcakes I have ever made. And while you're scrolling through this post, looking for pictures of the rest of the dozen that I made....well they're gone. I ate them. Or shared a few. But mostly I ate them. I just ate this one, actually, immediately after I uploaded the pictures.

     Red Wine and Chocolate Cupcakes, with a "Red Wine" buttercream. These were my submission for last week's baking challenge.They are heavenly. Decadent but not too heavy, rich but not too dry, and the frosting is just sweet enough to balance out the robust red wine, chocolate, and cinnamon combination in the cupcake. I mixed these up with a hand mixer, since that's all I have, although the recipe says to cream with a stand mixer (Psh). Also, I think I'd want these to taste a little more chocolatey, so I might add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon next time, instead of 1/4 tsp. But that's just me! I still thought these were wholly scrumptious, though, so maybe I'll chicken out and keep the recipe the same the next time I make them...




     Here is a cupcake with my "Blue Moon" towel. I am an avid Manchester City Football (Futbol) fan. I figured I'd put the towel in the picture since I'm drinking a Blue Moon, and because I'm just weird when I'm at home alone on a Friday night.

You can find the recipe over at Tide and Thyme! I'll copy it below as well. Eat up!!

Chocolate and Red Wine Cupcakes

Recipe makes and frosts a dozen cupcakes

8 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
3/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the frosting:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Then add in the egg and egg yolk, as well as the vanilla, beat well until combined.

Add in 1/2 of the dry ingredients, followed by the wine, then the remainder of the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl if necessary.

Divide batter evenly into lined muffin pan. Bake for 18 minutes then remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

In the meantime, to make the frosting, whip the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar, as well as the wine and vanilla. Beat until no lumps remain. Frost cupcakes as desired.

But seriously...

Time for a little inspiration!!

     Sometimes, I get crafty. And sometimes when I get crafty I think, "This craft needs to be meaningful and worth my time, and not just frivolous." Trying not to be wasteful, I decided I'd make something inspiring and do a little recycling at the same time.

     I have several blank canvases laying around but the one I wanted to use most was actually a misprinted photo canvas I got in the mail last year. After contacting the company about the canvas, they of course sent a new one, but I was left with the crappy looking one! So, I brought it to my table and sat to work covering up the previous photo with white acrylic paint. Then, added a background color.

This is actually upside down from my viewpoint
whilst taking the picture. Huh. 

     Now, when I saw this color I was very pleased because this is my favorite color. A sort of cobalt, cerulean blue. Always has been and always will be! And then I started planning the rest of the canvas and realized that there are few colors that show up really well on top of this color. Oops.

     Inspiration for this canvas actually came to me several months ago. When Maya Angelou passed away, everrryyyone was posting their favorite Angelou quote on every social media outlet possible. I had absolutely no problem with this; I really enjoyed having a day where scrolling through media meant that I was enlightened by her wisdom, inspired by her triumph, and smiling at her happiness. However, a friend of mine posted one that made me give a resounding "Amen" aloud to myself as I read it. "You may not control all of the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them"

     To me, this is a excellent hard truth with which I feel everyone must come to terms. Our choices define us and we are all prone to those unfortunate choices. As a special education teacher, to me this quote also inspires the thought that decisions have different weight for each individual. Choosing what to eat for dinner is a difficult decision to someone dedicated to losing weight, but an easy one for others; deciding what to do with your life can be an easy choice for those passionate about a particular profession,

                             Dat glare, tho                                     but an excruciating one for those whose talents                                                                                         may not be easily quantified. 

     This is a conversation I hoped to inspire in my 6th grade classroom with this canvas. The finished product is sitting on my dry erase marker tray at the moment, directly underneath each day's agenda. I have to admit I haven't had that conversation I've been awaiting, but there's a lot of time left this school year for that. 

Finished product! Off center image. A little pixillated. 

I was right.

Here's a bonus snow day picture to make up for my absence: