poptarts.

so it's been awhile since i've last baked. due the recent acquisition of a kitchen aid stand mixer, my new favorite website, and just my all-out desire to bake and try new recipes, i've been going a little crazy in the kitchen. ok, not crazy per-say, but baking much more than i have the past few months. sunday morning i decided to test the waters with some homemade poptarts.

one of the first recipes i saw on this site was the homemade strawberry poptarts. as soon as i saw it, i knew i was going to make it this weekend. they tasted great. i think for an icing i would just mix up some confectioners sugar with a little bit of milk. the dough was easy to make, but i found it very difficult to roll out and maneuver onto the pan. the heat may have had something to do with it. next time i might just make them more like biscuits and add the filling after the pastries have baked. or before i refrigerate the dough, section it off so i don't have to roll and cut so much at one time. despite all the minor mishaps they were delish. the recipe can be found here. i didn't actually take pictures of mine/they didn't turn out as pretty as deb's.

enjoy!

book club.

seeing as my life is fairly uneventful, i have taken full advantage of this by immersing myself into books. i am currently reading by 6th book already this year. i most recently finished the help by kathryn stockett. i think it might be the best book i've read this year. it takes place in jackson, mississippi during the heat of the civil rights movement. the book centers around skeeter phelan, a rich white girl, who is secretly involved with several black women, the help of many of her married friends. skeeter and the help are writing a book chronicling the good, the bad, and the ugly throughout years of raising young white children on top of doing all the cooking and cleaning for wealthy southern families. i found myself laughing throughout much of the book and crying towards the end. i definitely recommend this book to anyone out there. i finished never let me go last week. i'm not sure whether i liked or disliked the book. overall, it was a good read and i wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it. however, upon finishing the book i wanted more out of it. mostly, i think i just felt sorry for the characters and the book ended much as i expected or what i could anticipate while reading it. not that that was a bad thing, i was just hoping for something better for kathy.

currently i'm reading the bell jar by sylvia plath. i spent much of my high school english classes reading her poetry, and have been wanting to pick up this book for several years. finally i am. from what i've read, it reads much faster than i thought it would, considering it contains such a dense and morose subject matter.

in case you're interested in other books i've read or talked about the list is as follows:

the brief, wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz

the glass castle by jeannette walls

her perfect symmetry by audrey niffenger

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro

my favorite things.

one of my favorite things is the hours between 6 and 8 monday through friday. why, you ask. it's because of the world cafe broadcast. although i don't listen to it nearly enough, i do stalk david dye's website and music selections. the guests are always great, and much of my new music discoveries, i must attribute to dye's ear. plus, it's npr. how could you go wrong?

growing up, my parents constantly listened to npr. we (my 3 siblings and i) used to moan and grow tired of the constant talking and world updates. to this day my mom still cooks listening to all things considered. my parents have even seen michael feldman's whad'ya know? live. although, i can't get totally into some of these shows i think they're happy that npr has rubbed off on me.

maps.

i found this cool website the other day and thought i would share to any of you who may or may not be out there. if you haven't figured it out, it's a link about maps. strange maps.

yummy cupcakes.

i've somewhat turned to baking as an outlet for my boring life. well, i suppose i've always been a baker and also enjoy cooking. lately, i've been trying to concoct slash perfect my cupcakes. i'm a big fan of chocolate. (if you hear or believe otherwise then you obviously haven't met me.) when i was last in nyc, i stopped by crumbs bakery. i was tempted by all of their delicious flavors, but went with the ever simple squiggle cupcake. ever since, i've been trying to figure out how to actually insert a frosting filling into a cupcake. i've also been curious about making my own frosting and have become quite adept at making some dark chocolate frosting. below are some pictures of my very own creation.

looks pretty good, if i do say so myself.

first, i make a box of chocolate cupcakes. i don't get too inventive when it comes to the cakes.

while the cupcakes are baking i suggest making the chocolate frosting first.

1 c. sugar (i usually use about half the sugar)

1/4 c. cocoa (i used hershey's special dark)

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

melt all ingredients and let bubble for 1 min. set aside and cool. after the mixture is cool mix with mixer for approximately 5 minutes or until it looks like frosting consistency. it should look something like this:

while the chocolate icing is cooling, mix the white frosting for the filling.

1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. milk

2/3 c. crisco (i suggest using less, i think the frosting tastes too much like crisco on its own)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. water

1/2 c. powdered sugar

beat all ingredients, except powdered sugar for 7 minutes. then add powdered sugar and beat for 5 min.

then comes the fun part...

i tried both a turkey baster and a syringe to insert the frosting. the turkey baster is much, much more frustrating, but inserts more icing. with that being said, i would probably stick with the syringe though. (i was too sticky and slightly frustrated to take any pictures of this process.) after inserting the filling, ice the cupcakes with the chocolate frosting. to top them off, i put the remaining filling into a plastic bag, and cut the tip off. then add the squiggle or your own design on top. overall, the process itself is frustrating, but worth it, if you like the people you are making them for. the first go round i did all the making and baking and my sister inserted the filling. so doing all of it this time proved to be a little less fun. but look how pretty! the taste is worth bragging about as well.

enjoy!

better late than never.

because nothing exciting has happened the past few days, i thought i would review 2009. although it doesn't feel like it, all in all, i had a pretty good year. i had some big things happen to me. (how big, depends on how you define it, but it's all relative.)

-received my bachelors of architecture

-returned to europe, after 2 years of longing

-flew thousands of miles to discover that i don't like doing other people's laundry

-featured in the greenville news 3 times (yes, i am quite the local celeb)

-suffered and survived the worst stomach bug of my life

-saw ozzy osborne in person

-managed not to get the swine flu (knock on wood)

-had a jack-o-lantern that burned for 36 hours straight

-realized the real world isn't all it's cracked up to be

...ok this list keeps getting worse. so for your sake, and mine, i will leave you with my 2009 in review.

catch-up.

i've been meaning to blog all week, but it seems i'm just too busy. ok, you called it, that may be a lie. although, for not having a full-time job somehow the days seem to go pretty quickly. i've inquired about several jobs, and had 5 interviews, and have only managed to score a 2 day a week babysitting job. i started this past week. i pick the kids up from school and hangout until 5-ish. it's decent money. also, i have been working out everyday--hold all applause until the end please. since i have nothing better to do, i might as well be getting into shape. i actually quite enjoy it. i've been getting back into running, do lots of yoga, and i have even tested the waters with zumba.

when i last wrote, i was currently reading the glass castle and her perfect symmetry. i finished both this past week. bringing my book count for 2010 to 3! her perfect symmetry was no time traveler's wife, but a good read. the story did not unfold as i was expecting and had a morbid undertone. that's to be expected as the book centers around the highgate cemetery, in highgate (northern london). the glass castle, a memoir, depicts the rough childhood of jeanette walls and her unusual and difficult upbringing. while, her childhood has a number of dark patches, she and 2 of her 3 siblings, managed to break away from their past and begin new lives in new york city. now i am reading never let me go by kazuo ishiguro.

on an entirely different note, i am obsessed with

i am so glad they took the golden globe for best tv series. last night they snagged the sag award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series. the entire cast is amazing. i have a special spot in my heart for all of them, especially cory monteith. jane lynch and matthew morrison are close seconds.

i think that's all i will be leaving you with for now. until next time...

new year, new you.

as for above, that's what i keep hearing, and i'm sure you do too. so my new year's resolution is to blog more...just kidding. if you thought leaving you hanging for two weeks was bad, how did you feel about the two months?

the past two months in review...living back at home has taken some adjustments. it does have it's advantages though. mainly, free food, no rent, free gym membership, free cable...you get the drift. thanksgiving was wonderful as always. definitely lots of turkey, mashed potatoes, pies, etc. involved there. christmas came and went as it always does. some surprises on christmas morning, but mostly just the formality of opening the gifts i've already picked out. don't get me wrong, i like picking out my gifts and genuinely love christmas and everything that comes along with the holiday season. but, ever since i cracked the case on old mr. claus, christmas isn't as magical as it used to be. the fam took the annual trek up to cincinnati for brief holiday merriment with all the relatives.

as for the job search, not so much. the economy is just as terrible as i left it. i will most likely be devoting the next few months to babysitting as nothing else seems a terribly viable option. it took me about, oh a week, to figure out that this job thing isn't all it's cracked up to be. as an effort to defy the economy and unemployment i decided to apply to grad schools because taking out thousands of dollars in school loans sure beats unemployment. i'll reveal the details all in good time.

on a lighter note, i slightly enjoy being unemployed, minus the whole lack of money thing. i have time to work out everyday, catch up on tv shows, and watch lots of movies. i'm slowing working through both entourage and arrested development. i've also been watching far too much glee (which i am obsessed with, btw). i've also got a nice stack of books just waiting to be read. i recently finished the brief wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz. currently i am reading the glass castle by jeannette walls and her fearful symmetry by audrey niffenger (author of the time traveler's wife--one of my top 10 favorites).

obviously this isn't a full account of the past two months, but let's be honest, not much has been happening these days. i promise not to neglect the blog for two months again, regardless of how boring things may seem.

happy 2010!