So Martha has been on the back burner for a couple of weeks. Not that I haven't tried to make cupcakes but I've been so busy trying to get things done around this house and we just updated our kitchen (it's amazing what a coat of paint and some hardware will do) so it wasn't fit for baking in anyways. My main problem is that Martha's book doesn't have any apple cupcake recipes in it and we picked 10lbs of apples two weeks ago in the Valley. So I have been making apple pies, apple crisp, apple muffins, etc. I have also been making a lot of soup and tea biscuits. So it's not like I haven't been doing anything, just not cupcakes.
Which brings me to the subject of this entry. I have never made cinnamon rolls. I have only ever made them from the dough boy. So when my friend Emily made them a few weeks ago, I got a major case of baker envy. Last night I finally got her recipe and was all set to tackle that last evening so that my husband could go to work and boast about the hot, fresh cinnamon rolls that he had for breakfast. Well that was until my darling, sweet little boy couldn't sleep. We tried everything! We walked, rocked, paced, swung and bopped him to no avail. So at midnight we packed him into his car seat and drove around Lower Sackville until he fell asleep and then for another 30 minutes just to make sure he was really, truly asleep.
He woke up at 2am and then again at 4am. I rubbed his little back from 4-5:30am and he woke up every time that I stopped. Needless to say today was a two cup of coffee kind of day (those who know me, know that one cup is usually more than enough for me!). He seemed alright this morning so I set out to make the rolls while he ate cherrios and played with his car in his highchair. I have to say that I was very happy with the way they turned out. At 8 points each, they took up most of the points for my day (well they did after I had two of them) but they were worth it!
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Midnight carrides and sweet rolls
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 •
We dropped by to see Sue Siri on Tuesday to pick up some pictures and she decided to take a few shots of our boy! Check out her blog to see how adorable my little man is:
http://suesiri.blogspot.com/2009/09/visit-from-austin.html
http://suesiri.blogspot.com/2009/09/visit-from-austin.html
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 •
What a great Saturday we had! We got up bright and early (thanks to the cutest alarm clock on the planet!) and drove to the Valley where we took Austin to the Zoo for the first time and then on the way home stopped by Hennigar's Market and an apple upick. I picked up some veggies including a 3 foot zucchini. What's a girl to do with all that zucchini you ask...make cupcakes of course!
Saturday evening I made the zucchini spice cupcakes and they turned out perfectly...well mind you I had to start all over because I cracked a bad egg into the oil...I've never had a bad egg and I don't usually follow the rule about cracking eggs into a separate dish so that if you get a bad one it won't spoil your whole batter...lesson learned! At least I only wasted 1 cup of oil and 2 eggs. It could have been worse.
The cupcakes were not too sweet and perfectly moist. I topped them with cream cheese icing and set them off to Stantec with G. As usual the cupcake caddy came back empty.... :) Without the icing they were only 5 WW points so I got to have one and still stayed within my daily limit.
Now to get started on apple dishes...I've got 10lbs of apples to use before we go back for more in October.
On a side note, we decided to do a cosmetic update on our kitchen. We moved appliances around, installed new shelves and just got the paint for the cabinets....let's hope the renovation works wonders! We'll finally get to see if updating it for less than $200 will make it livable for a few more years. I swear the kitchen situation has led to more than one meltdown by yours truly. Let's just hope that this makes it better!
Saturday evening I made the zucchini spice cupcakes and they turned out perfectly...well mind you I had to start all over because I cracked a bad egg into the oil...I've never had a bad egg and I don't usually follow the rule about cracking eggs into a separate dish so that if you get a bad one it won't spoil your whole batter...lesson learned! At least I only wasted 1 cup of oil and 2 eggs. It could have been worse.
The cupcakes were not too sweet and perfectly moist. I topped them with cream cheese icing and set them off to Stantec with G. As usual the cupcake caddy came back empty.... :) Without the icing they were only 5 WW points so I got to have one and still stayed within my daily limit.
Now to get started on apple dishes...I've got 10lbs of apples to use before we go back for more in October.
On a side note, we decided to do a cosmetic update on our kitchen. We moved appliances around, installed new shelves and just got the paint for the cabinets....let's hope the renovation works wonders! We'll finally get to see if updating it for less than $200 will make it livable for a few more years. I swear the kitchen situation has led to more than one meltdown by yours truly. Let's just hope that this makes it better!
Thursday, September 3, 2009 •
So Austin and I have been to NL again. It was so great to see all of Dad's family. Everyone was there except for 3 grandchildren so that made all the brothers and sisters +significant others, 15 of 18 grandchildren + some of the significant others and 3 great grandchildren all celebrating Nan Coleman's 80th birthday. It was so much fun. Austin and my cousin Scott's little guy Ethan got along famously and spent most of their time together playing trucks. One thing I will never understand is how Austin knew what sound to make when he was pushing Ethan's trucks around. I don't play trucks with him but somehow he knew to push the truck along and make a "vroom" noise. It is very cute!
Wednesday I decided to bake some banana bread for Austin. Everything needs to be finger foods these days so I figured that was something he would eat (Everything else get flung to the walls or sprayed back out at me). Well wouldn't you know I managed to over bake the bread. It wasn't burnt but it was close. So I don't know what posses me to get back on the Martha Cupcake train that day...it obviously was a bad baking day but I couldn't heed the warning! Open up the book and decide on Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (p.22) The recipe is really easy to follow, I added an extra egg white (didn't want to waste the last one in the carton) and used mini chocolate chips instead of grown up ones. It says that the batter makes 30 cupcakes but I only got 24. I put them in the oven and brought Austin downstairs to play. I checked at 15 minutes but they weren't done and then checked again at 20 minutes, still not done. Austin picked that moment to "doo" his business so I had to wrestle a new Fuzzy Bum onto his bottom (diaper changing really is an Olympic sport these days) and momentarily forgot about the cupcakes. When I was finished I suddenly remembered and raced down to the kitchen. The cupcakes were done alright! I would say only about half had crispy bottoms but that is too many for my liking. I decided that they were sweet enough and sent them to G's work without the dark chocolate frosting (that and no way was I going to defy the baking gods for a third time that day to melt chocolate). His colleagues aren't too picky because they loved them.
Oh and in case you are wondering, They are 4 weight watcher points each without the frosting...Ironic isn't it? The cake lady is counting points...oh well maybe Martha and her peeps can team up with WW on a baking cookbook...just because you are counting points doesn't mean you should never have a decent baked good. Life is too short people!
Wednesday I decided to bake some banana bread for Austin. Everything needs to be finger foods these days so I figured that was something he would eat (Everything else get flung to the walls or sprayed back out at me). Well wouldn't you know I managed to over bake the bread. It wasn't burnt but it was close. So I don't know what posses me to get back on the Martha Cupcake train that day...it obviously was a bad baking day but I couldn't heed the warning! Open up the book and decide on Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (p.22) The recipe is really easy to follow, I added an extra egg white (didn't want to waste the last one in the carton) and used mini chocolate chips instead of grown up ones. It says that the batter makes 30 cupcakes but I only got 24. I put them in the oven and brought Austin downstairs to play. I checked at 15 minutes but they weren't done and then checked again at 20 minutes, still not done. Austin picked that moment to "doo" his business so I had to wrestle a new Fuzzy Bum onto his bottom (diaper changing really is an Olympic sport these days) and momentarily forgot about the cupcakes. When I was finished I suddenly remembered and raced down to the kitchen. The cupcakes were done alright! I would say only about half had crispy bottoms but that is too many for my liking. I decided that they were sweet enough and sent them to G's work without the dark chocolate frosting (that and no way was I going to defy the baking gods for a third time that day to melt chocolate). His colleagues aren't too picky because they loved them.
Oh and in case you are wondering, They are 4 weight watcher points each without the frosting...Ironic isn't it? The cake lady is counting points...oh well maybe Martha and her peeps can team up with WW on a baking cookbook...just because you are counting points doesn't mean you should never have a decent baked good. Life is too short people!