VOTING IS OPEN!

Okay Everyone, just a reminder...

Voting is now open for the Iron Cupcake Competition! Click in the Iron cupcake logo on the right (under my literachick) and cast your vote for the best! Spread the word!!

Iron Cupcake Mania

Well, all the entries are in and there are some FANTASTIC ones. I feel pretty honored to be put into the favorites of fellow cupcake competitor Rachel over at One Pretty Thing. Here blog is amazing, go check it out.

Here are my top 8 favorites:





Left to Right and Top to Bottom:


1. Grilled corn cupcake by xcountry baking
2. "Hot" Chocolate cupcake by I Heart Cuppycakes

3. Chocolate Chipotle del Muertos by Cupcake Atlanta
4. The Twisted Thai Cupcake by My Sweet Cupcakes

5. Peaches and Steam by Lisa Michele
6. Cincinnati Chili Cupcake by Dog Hill Kitchen

7. Lemon Ginger Chili Pepper Cupcakes with Honey Lemon Frosting by Tofu and Cupcakes
8. Black Sesame Chili Cupcake by Delightful Delicacies

Go check them out and don't forget the voting opens on Sunday--so go vote for me--and for Vivie, she REALLY worked hard on these and wants to win (that's right, I'm shamelessly using my utterly adorable kitchen assistant to win your vote!)

Iron Cupcake: Chili

A few weeks ago, my friend Amy emailed me to let me know about a new cupcake competition she came across in blogland. She figured it was right up my alley and she couldn't have been more right. I entered the group immediately and went to work on the first round. The way the competition works is each month we'll receive a key ingredient and have a month to create a cupcake recipe using it (much like the Iron Chef competition.) So far there are over 100 competitors from all over the world and there are all kinds of great prizes up for grabs including the following:

This absolutely adorable apron from Jessica Steele -- so cute!

The awesome cupcake caddy from the Cupcake Courier (I need one of these really bad)

Jewelry from Cakespy art (check her Etsy Store and her blog -- one of my very favorites out there)

A Taste of Home Books cookbook (who doesn't love their books)

A copy of the bestseller book, Hello Cupcake by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. This book is great, it has the best ideas for decorating.

Fiesta Products Head Chefs line of funny silly kitchen utensils. I love these things!

Lastly, I just want to give a shout to the Milwaukee Cupcake Queen who started this all. What a fun idea and a great way to get to know some fellow cupcake lovers! Thanks so much for all your hard work on this, it's going to be great!

Now, the way this works is we will have a deadline for each entry and starting a few days after, the voting will open. YOU get to vote for the winner! I'm hoping, of course, that you'll vote for me (and tell all of your friends and family members to vote for me too.) The voting will begin this round on August 31st at noon (central time) and will be open for 5 days. You can get to the voting by clicking on the iron cupcake badge to the right. I'll post on Sunday to remind you!

I might be completely out of my league here, but I figure it's worth the shot and it'll be fun to get a bit creative with my cupcakes and push the envelope a bit. This first month's ingredient is chili. I started brainstorming several different ways, but in the end finally went with my favorite combination of dark chocolate and spicy chili together. (For a yummy brownie treat inspired by the same flavors check out my Spicy Maya Brownie)

I was pretty bummed earlier in the week when my daughter Vivie broke my camera (don't ask it's too painful to talk about) so please excuse the poor photos. Next month I promise great shots. For this month's consideration I present:
The Triple Chili Chocolate Truffle Cupcake with Cinnamon and Pasilla Chili Buttercream

I'm not even going to lie, this turned out better than I thought. It's a cinnamon and chocolate cupcake with a rich truffle center that's a combination of dark chocolate, thai chilies, pasilla chili, and red chili pepper. It's topped off with a sweet and spicy cinnamon and pasilla chili buttercream and garnished with a thai chili pepper (I don't really recommend eating this one) and a dark chocolate whirlygig thingy (totally eat this one, though.)

Here's how I did it:


I started with a basic devil's food cake recipe. For this one I used the good ol' Betty Crocker
but I made some changes. I omitted the brown sugar and used only regular sugar. Instead of buttermilk and shortening, I used regular milk and butter. I also used 1/2 cup of high quality powdered cocoa instead of melted bakers chocolate. I also made the addition of 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. My recipe turned out as follows:

Cake

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat all ingredients together for 2-3 minutes. Fill cupcake liner about 1/2 full and bake for 22-25 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

Next came the filling. Here's what I did for that, I made a basic truffle filling using the following:

8 oz of semi sweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 TBS pasilla chili powder
1 TBS of ground red pepper (or cayenne)
1 Thai chili--left whole

On the stove top, combine heavy cream and the chili powder, cayenne and thai pepper in small saucepan. Heat until almost boiling. Remove thai pepper and pour heated cream over broken up chocolate in another bowl. Stir until chocolate is melted and all ingredients are completely incorporated. Allow to cool, stirring once in a while, until right consistency is reached. You want it to be pipe-able, but not runny.

Once the cupcakes were cool, I filled each one using a fill tip with a bit of the truffle filling.

Next came the buttercream. For this I used:

1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pasilla chili powder
2 cups powdered sugar
2 TBS. sour cream

Whip butter. combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, and chili powder and sift. Add to butter, alternating with sour cream until right consistency is reached. Add vanilla and whip for 3-4 minutes.

I frosted the cupcakes generously and then garnished with dark chocolate decoration I made by melting dark chocolate and then spreading it onto my silicone mat with a knife and letting it cool and harden.

The final product turned out GREAT! I loved the taste. Rich and spicy, but not overwhelming. I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to vote!

Even if you don't like my cupcake combo, you can't help but fall in love with my kitchen assistant...she's a VERY big helper, especially in the tasting arena...

Blue Skirts and White Shirts

Sydney started kindergarten today. I pretty much kept myself together (unless of course you count the blubbering at midnight the night before.) I must say, I was very proud of her. She didn't know a single person in her class, all of her little playmates were in another class and she rose to the occasion! She was on a first name basis with all the little girls by the time I picked her up and over dinner told me everything she could remember about them (which turned out to be a lot!) She's excited to be a big girl and I'm excited for her.
I think I'm like most moms when their first goes to kindergarten. A few days ago I was pretty overwhelmed. I remember last week sometime looking at the neat little rows of crisp white shirts and navy blue skirts for her uniforms hanging up in her closet and having a bit of a panic attack. It's not so much that I didn't want her to grow up or that I didn't think she was ready, it's more like wondering if I have done enough. I wonder if I've taught her enough to keep up or stay ahead of the game. I wonder if I've done enough to make sure she knows how special she is and to not let anyone tell her otherwise. I try to remember if I've taught her enough about being respectful and how to make new friends.
Late last night when I was tossing and turning and trying to shut my brain down from thinking all of these thoughts, it finally occurred to me that I've only hit the tip of the iceberg. Her first day of kindergarten was not an ending to our time, but a new one. A time where I will get to see her grow and learn even more than before and I will have new opportunities to help her realize her amazing potential. Sure, I know it's not going to be all sunshine and roses. I'm sure we'll deal with school yard woes and bullies and bad test grades and hard subjects, but I'm excited for it. Bring it on, Elementary Ed! I (think) I'm ready for ya!!

DIY Vanilla

So for my birthday this year my mom surprised me with the most amazing gift basket filled with all sorts of yummy and gourmet kitchen gadgets and delights. Among them were some nice measuring cups and spoons, a few specialty cupcake mixes, a square cupcake pan (LOVE IT), a few sweet treats and hard to find ingredients, and lastly a package of CHOCOLATE pasta and a do-it-yourself Vanilla Extract kit.

I had never seen anything like the last two listed, so for an adventure I thought I'd share what I make of them. I figured I'd tackle the vanilla first and then do something with the pasta next week.

This little bottle threw me for a loop. I don't know why it never occurred to me before to make my own vanilla extract, but it just didn't. I'm a little surprised I was so slow on the uptake on this one because I am a major vanilla snot. It needs to be good and it needs to be pure and it better be fresh and not sitting around in the cupboard since 1980 or just forget it. After I got over being completely ashamed of my own vanilla ignorance I turned to google. There are lots of great instructions on how to make your own homemade vanilla out there, but for now, I'm going to try out this gift.

The instructions on the bottle are as follows: Split beans lengthwise. Fill bottle with premium vodka. Seal tightly and store in a cool, dark place for 4-6 months. Use as you would any premium vanilla extract. Replenish extract with premium vodka as used for up to seven years.

I did do one thing different. I added a 1/2 a teaspoon of corn syrup since it seems online most people have success doing that. Also, most online recipes don't call for such a long "brewing" time. It seems the general consensus is 30 days and make sure to shake it vigorously once a day.

The most exciting part of the process so far was obtaining the vodka. First off, I was terrified to just pop down to my neighborhood grocery store because just my luck the Relief Society President would show up in line behind me as I'm plunking down my giant bottle of Absolut. I was planning many a trip out of the area until I finally just bit the bullet this morning and went into the store at 8:00 a.m. I'm pretty sure the checker thought I was startin' out the day a wee bit early, but I looked past that considering she quelled another one of my small fears-- and that was to NOT be carded for the stuff. (Hey, I may be silly but a girl has to keep some small hope!) I figured at that point I was home free and quite proud of my clandestine errand, but unfortunately when I got home my visiting teachers were at my house--I had completely forgotten they were coming over early. Grrr... I'm sure it's karma. So instead of having to explain the bottle of hooch in my hot little hand, I left it in the car to retrieve after their visit.

Second, do you have any idea how many vodkas there are? I didn't know if I really needed to use premium or not, but I certainly knew I wasn't going to be shelling out 25 bucks for a bottle of Grey Goose when I didn't even know if this was going to work. In the end I called Jon and made him hop online for me to get some suggestions. I left the store with small bottle of Smirnoff-- just the right size to fill up my Vanilla bottle exactly.

After that it was a piece of cake. Now all I have to do is sit around and wait for the final product. I'm already planning my next batch and what I'll do different, but first I'll wait to see if I did at least this one right. If it does turn out, I warn all my friends in the immediate area now, Vanilla bottles are comin' your way for Christmas-- I'm on a personal quest to rid all kitchens in San Diego of chemical knockoff vanilla.

Somebody Likes Me!!

I can't believe it. Apparently people actually read this blog--and enjoy it once in a while! My sweet friend Amy--check out her blog here-- (who, ironically, I have gotten to know better since she move ACROSS the country) has nominated me for a fantabulous award! Here it is!



I have to say, I'm pretty humbled. I checked out all the other blogs that she nominated and I don't even come near them, but it's so nice to think that someone out there can laugh at my life, and that's pretty much why I started the whole thing. So here is my acceptance speech (ahem:)

I'd like to thank the 10 people who actually come here and a regular basis and I'd like to thank all my friends who know I started this to help me control all my randomness and still love me anyway.

Now, onto my nominations:


The Daily Cool -- I've mentioned this one before. My friend from college is one of the hippest people I know and her blog is no exception. There is always something cool there, especially from the Utah Valley area.

Overlooked -- By far one of the coolest blogs I've seen. It's a online photo/scrapping assignment group that makes you look at the little things in your life you might often miss. Very cool concept. The whole project is on hold right now, but still check it out. I hope she restarts.

JPH3-- This is my brother in law's blog. By far one of the funniest guys I know and his commentary on the things going on are hilarious.

Bakerella -- You might have seen this blog already. It's a pretty famous one out there. I LOVE IT!! Such good ideas and such amazing projects. It makes my mouth water. Awesome!

LDS Blogs -- Okay, so this one might be a bit of a cop out, but its a bloglist of a bunch of LDS women blogs. It's fun to go see what others are doing.

Twilight Guy -- The online blog of a guy reading the Twilight series (come on-- you knew there was going to be a Twilght one in here somewhere!) He comments chapter by chapter and is currently half way through New Moon. It's SO funny and very entertaining.

The Flickr Blog -- Once again, already pretty well known, but I love it. It's an online blog of the flickr website (and online photo sharing community.) Everyday you get a new awesome image or two and a story. Great. I never get tired of looking at photographs and I hope I never do.


Now, I do have to say that I actually feel kinda awkward getting this nod. Go check out Amy's blog and see the people she linked to-- it's making me feel a little inadequate. However, I have decided to rise to challenge and not shrink away! Expect some new fun things here in the next couple months (and I actually might try my hand a a giveaway!)

Enjoy!

Evil Genius

I haven't posted in a while. I'd like to say it was because I was waiting for all the Breaking Dawn craze to be over and so I wanted to keep that up for a while longer, but no. The truth is I couldn't because my computer had to take a trip to the Apple store for a week because of the work of an Evil Genius.
Here she is...


Don't let this face fool you, check out the sinister eyes and the You-know-I'm-up-to-no-good grin. This is my evil genius. I have come to realize she is an evil genius because she fills all of the following requirements.

1. She has an evil sinister belly laugh (I will try to record this for you and put it up, but trust me, it strikes fear in the hearts of grown men)

2. She is constantly searching the house for any and all kinds of "secret" lairs. I often find her hidden in the pantry, trying to squeeze under her crib, sitting in a dry tub for no apparent reason. She hides behind doors and jumps out at you squealing and "evil-genius" laughing as she runs away.

3. (and this one tips me off the most) She answers to no man, leaving a wake of catastrophic destruction in her path.

4. She tends to monologue. We have no idea what she's saying, but it's a monologue nonetheless. Trust me, it's scarier to NOT know what she's plotting...

I can already tell you are thinking I'm crazy. I'm not. Beware of the hypnotizing effect of that crooked smile and uneven dimples for those are her greatest weapons!

Two weeks ago Vivie decided to "help" me clean the house. Unfortunately she thought cleaning meant taking a bottle of resolve carpet cleaner and a steel wool sponge to my leather sofa. Not the best of combinations. I'm trying to figure out how to fix it, but I think I might just let her go crazy on the whole thing just to even up the damage.

Now, for all of you who are about to send me and email about the dangers of babies handling chemicals and how I'm the worst mom ever and should be reported to the department of blah-blah-blah, let me explain something. First, she is almost two. I know she doesn't look it, but she is--and she's hitting those terrible two's a bit early. Second, she is the most curious ankle-biter ever born and is very physically advanced in what she can do. Third, she is crazy small, like doesn't even hit the charts small. So, here I have this ridiculously curious almost two year old who has already figured out a way to open all cupboard latches because HER ENTIRE ARM fits into the small space that opens and she also has the dexterity to then use her arm and hand to open them. Child proof locks are useless. Of course I still use them, but in the meantime, we have duct taped the cupboards shut, bungee chorded, you name it--she's figured it out. I did not know she had the resolve spray, I had given her a benign spray bottle filled with water, she decided it wasn't good enough, went back to the cupboard, and exactly five minutes later my leather couch was ruined.

About a week after that, she decided to move onto her next venture, and that was thwarting Mom's computer time. It's no secret her biggest competition for attention in the house (aside from her sister) is this computer. I work here, I play here-- it's a time sucker. Last Saturday, I came downstairs only to find my purse (which had been shut away in a cabinet) completely emptied out and the entire contents of my wallet strewn about. Not surprised, since it's happened numerous times before, I gathered everything up and realized I was missing all my credit cards. I scoured the house for an hour and then finally concluded that they must have been stolen the night before when my purse had been left unattended for a little while. I went to the computer to look up the card numbers to report them lost only to notice something strange sticking out of the DVD drive. A pair of min tweezers helped me remove two bank cards and a grocery member card from the slot, but it was obvious there was some thing still in there.

At this point I had to leave the house in a rage in order just to calm down and I left Jon to the task of trying to retrieve whatever else was stuck. No success. Two days later I took a trip to the Apple store and was told the repair and replacement would be costing me $500. The evil genius strikes again!

Little did I know, she was more genius then evil. The next day I received a call from Apple repair. When they took apart my DVD drive, despite being completely munched up from the cards, they could tell there was a manufacturer's default in it and my repair and replacement was done completely for free. Here's the kicker; in another week the warranty would have been expired and would have never been covered after that. See folks, she was doing me a favor! Maybe an evil genius in the house isn't so bad. Now if she'd only stop drawing her world domination plans all over my walls with a permanent Sharpie...