baking is therapeutic!

Just made some psychedelic Alice-In-Wonderland-looking swirly cupcakes with food coloring for a friend's birthday... will post photos! I think it was just what I needed... it feels good to create something and get such immediate gratification and... create something. Just some thoughts!

CUPCAKES

image courtesy of NYTimes

I want to bake cupcakes. I love this article about how cupcakes have become popular in Paris; does that somehow legitimize them as being "chic"? Is the cupcake the new petit four?

I think the savory one with the tomatoes looks cool...I wonder what the "cake" part is. A biscuit? Corn muffin? Here's the link to the article.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I  love Christmas. This is our Christmas tree this year...

It's our tallest tree yet!

With gold disco ball ornaments,

glass ball ornaments, red velvet ribbons and gold silk ribbons,

clear Christmas lights, and white flowers.

 These are glass ornaments are cool, they look like bubbles.

On this Christmas afternoon, we did some baking and I experimented with making Whole Wheat Oatmeal Applesauce Raisin Craisin Muffins.

 

Some are 'plain' and some have peanut butter or raspberry preserves centers.

labeled by color, duh

pre-baking

post-baking

To be honest, I'm not very good at baking, but I try and I'm learning.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Cake and Wreath

Recently, several of my best friends (Fay included) and I made a cake for my birthday. They are all very gifted in the kitchen and here is what we made:

It's

triple layer white cake

with

layers of raspberry preserves

and

vanilla frosting

garnished with

strawberries.

Today, my family and I went to purchase a Christmas tree... and I made a wreath with the tree trimmings:

Isn't it darling!!!

Ginger crinkles grace a LCV's friend and Homesick Texan

So delicious!

Thanks to Fay and Georgina's friend (you know who you are) for making this recipe this weekend and making my life sweeter. I'm baking them right now and they smell absolutely amazing!

We also discussed how oftentimes, recipes don't call for enough salt, especially in cookies. You need something to balance out the sweetness--these cookies are perfect if you agree.

And why wouldn't you? Maybe my palate is more salt-sensitive? Or I just like salt more than other people? Don't most recipes need more salt (save for Ina Garten?)