April showers bring May flowers

I hope this saying is true!  While we have not had as crazy spring weather as some, I am still excited for warm weather and blooming flowers.  These yummy lemon cupcakes seemed just the thing to usher in May :)

I found the recipe on one of my new favorite cooking blogs.  I decided to go for them because a. I had a lot of lemons, b. I had a lot of limoncello (a lemon liqueur from Italy - thanks Jeannie & Allison!) and c. I had some tasty dyed blue frosting.  I took a lil bit of an artistic license with the decorating because hey, what else would you do for May Day?  Enjoy!

And also this weekend I learned how to bake with yeast - pizza dough and bread!  It's easy!  So look for more recipes coming up...

The family that runs together, stays together

(team Big Kahunas plus supporters)

So there is a relay race called Ragnar (named for a Nordic god.)  There are different Ragnar relays in various parts of the country but for all the concept is the same - with a team of 12 you run 36 legs (so 3 legs per person) that total about 200 miles.  This is the third Ragnar I have done with my family.  This time we ran the So Cal relay from Huntington Beach to Coronado.  It was beautiful, tough, an intense workout but most of all fun!  I ran a total of about 20 miles sometime during the 35 hours it took us to complete the race.  Yes we maybe crazy but that how our fam rolls...

PB & J

Happy National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day!  (are you noticing a trend on my blog?  I really like to celebrate random food holidays!)  How can you not love a day like this?  The PB & J sandwich is a classic.  I think I had one of these every school day for lunch from probably 1st grade until 8th grade.  I got a little tired of it but after a brief hiatus I enjoy this sandwich more than ever.  It's still a great lunch when you're pressed for time and still works for all ages.  I now enjoy my sandwich on yummy whole grain bread, with walnut butter and sometimes I even mix it up and swap out jelly for honey!

Enjoy a yummy PB and J today!  You all know what I'll be having for lunch ;)

p.s. this also can open up the debate between crunchy and creamy peanut butter.  I'm Switzerland and am neutral and like 'em both.  Ok, if I haaad to pick then it would be crunchy!

Just Call Me Popeye

Tomorrow is National Spinach Day and I LOVE spinach!  Seriously, I put it in everything.  I make spinach salads, sauté it up and put it in my quesadillas or pasta sauce, add it to my Top Ramen soup, anything!  And sometime I would like to attempt to puree it and add it to chocolate cupcakes as natural green dye to make green velvet cupcakes.  You won’t even be able to tell that it’s there, promise.  And that’s the beauty of spinach – it packs so much healthiness yet you hardly know it’s there.  That Popeye was onto something…

So I would like to share one of my favorite salad dressing recipes.  This is a recipe of my grandma’s and my mom makes it all the time.  It is a poppy seed vinaigrette that I happen to adore on a bed of spinach greens with feta crumbles and craisins or sliced strawberries!  Yummmm.  And so pretty too!

Spinach Salad Dressing:

1 cup salad oil (canola, vegetable, etc)

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon grated onion

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Use either a blender or emulsifier (hand blender) and blend all of the ingredients, except the poppy seeds.  Blend until sugar is dissolved.  Then stir in the poppy seeds.  Refrigerate. 

Enjoy!  (and don't forget to check your teeth for poppy seeds stuck in them after you eat this!)

Remember the Ladies!

March is Women's History Month and as someone who graduated with a history degree (with a concentration in U.S. women's history no less) I would be remiss if I didn't mention something about this fantastic month.  There are inspirational, strong, remarkable women everywhere.  These women are all over our lives - in our families, in Congress, teaching our children, making a difference in their neighborhood or around the world.

I have many female role models, but one of the most fantastic women ever (in my humble opinion) is Abigail Adams.  I identify myself as a feminist and consider Abigail as one of the first feminists.  While many people consider early America a man's world, they all had women in their lives.  John Adams may have written the Declaration of Independence but he sought out and listed to to sound advice of his wife, Abigail.  She famously told John to "remember the ladies" when he and the other Founding Fathers started to set up the new American government after the Revolutionary War.  She knew that women had something to contribute to the new country and that they should have a voice.  After all, these women were the ones that raised patriots, were married to them, dealt with food shortages and attacks by the British army, held down homes and farms while the men were off fighting for independence.  And even some women fought themselves, were spies or nursed the soldiers.  They had wanted and fought for this revolution just like the men.

Abigail was lucky to be educated by her father and find a husband who truly thought of her as his partner and counselor.  The letters that they exchanged their entire married life are a tribute to how highly John valued the opinion of his wife.  And rightly so.

So while he and the other men who established the government didn't exactly remember the ladies the women still continued to make an impact by doing what they do best: carrying on with everyday life.  And Abigail Adams is just one example of the many women who helped the American Revolution succeed.

So take time to reflect on other women, both contemporary and in past generations, who have made on impact on our world or just you.

St. Patrick's Day!

I love this holiday!  And I believe that is a full-fledged, everyone should celebrate it with gusto holiday.  I was shocked to find that stores do not carry packages of St. Patty's Day cards.  Some people mail out Christmas cards, I wanted to mail out St. Patrick's Day cards.  Oh well, next year I will make my own!

But I of course baked somethings to celebrate this year.  There were many, many ideas but I went with these two ideas:

Dessert #1: Mini Brownie Bites with Mint Frosting
I decided these would probably be the best to take to work (probably because they don't contain alcohol like the other recipe.)  I always bring in treats to the office so I couldn't not bring in something on such a remarkable holiday!  Simple recipe here folks: Ghirardelli Triple Choco Brownie mix (found at Costco) just baked in mini muffin tins (one of my new fav kitchen toys!) with some standard frosting - mixed with a lil peppermint extract - on top.  Now you maybe thinking that the camera did something funny to the frosting color but no, it really is that vibrant color of green!  What?  It's St. Patrick's Day!

Dessert #2: Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting
I have my roomie to thank for this recipe.  She mentioned that she had eaten these before and they were to die for.  Well I love Guinness.  And I love chocolate.  So why wouldn't I love a cupcake (which we all know I love too) that combines those two?  I wouldn't.  These are tasty!  And then throw in Bailey's and cream cheese frosting (which I could just eat by the spoonful and did but shhh!) and whoa, we've got a tasty cupcake!  I found the recipe from this lovely food blog.  I think they will make for a yummy Irish treat year round.

I hope you enjoy this festive and green holiday!  I know I will.  I will be decked out in all my Irish finery - green sweater, Guinness t-shirt and shamrock vans.  C'mon I have to, with this red hair I look super Irish. And hey, on March 17th everyone is Irish! :)

Cupcakes!

It's no secret I love cupcakes.  I mean how can you not love those little cakes of goodness?  Simply put you can't.  I don't believe they are going out of fashion either.  A cute bite sized treat will always be en vogue with me.

I bet you would never believe that I also like to bake cupcakes a lot.  Here are two tasty treats I have baked recently:

To me nothing says Valentine's Day quite like red velvet cake.  Especially in heart cupcake form!  This recipe was adapted from one of my new favorite blogs: Sprinkle Bakes.  I think these cupcakes are de-lish!  A little note about buttermilk: if you have it on hand then great but if you don't you can make and use "sour milk" (don't freak out, just put 1 Tbsp. of vinegar or lemon juice in a one cup measuring cup and fill the rest of the one cup up with milk.)  At some point I would love to make this into a cake like she does but cupcakes are easier to share.  I must make sure things are shareable because I looooove to bake but cannot (well I could but I know I shouldn't) eat an entire pan of brownies or two dozen cupcakes, so I share.  Plus it makes a fatty recipe less so because you're only having a lil bit...or at least this is what I tell myself and others ;)  Baking for others is my way of showing love and appreciation.

I also had some extra cream cheese frosting on hand the other day from another baking project.  So what's a girl to do with extra frosting?  Bake up some cupcakes to to put that frosting on, of course!  Now this comes from another favorite blog of mine: The Pioneer Woman.  This was my first time making something of her's but I have adored her site forever!  (side note: I look at A LOT of cooking blogs!  It's an addiction that is fed by my lovely and just as obsessed friend, Ali.  Thanks.)  I did forget one main ingredient from her recipe: a Hershey Kiss in the cupcake.  I can't believe I forgot this because what would make a chocloate cupcake even better?  A lil bit o melty chocolate in the middle!  But have no fear, I'll make these again the correct way real soon :)  Oh, but they still turned out super tasty!  So check out the recipe; note that I didn't do the chocolate ganache but will at some point and you should probably add the Hershey Kisses!

Oh and a third recipe as a bonus!  I know it's not Halloween but I made these little cuties last year and can't wait to make them again!  Candy Corn Cupcakes!