Camp Cupcake: Banana Pecan Cupcakes

As I made these, among other things, I kept thinking about that Jack Johnson song, "Banana Pancakes." It was raining outside.

While I feel that I have become skilled at various cooking techniques over the course of this experiment, the one thing that continues to elude me is caramel. This recipe goes wonderfully with caramel buttercream, which I attempted to make using homemade caramel, but once again, had to resort to subbing it for this:

I loathe you, Smuckers Ice Cream Topping. You are a reminder of my failings, and I hate that I continue to return to you like a crutch. And yet, I am so grateful for that crutch.

Here is the link on Martha's website. The cupcakes themselves were wonderful, very much like the banana bread my dad loves to make. They would be a perfect way to get rid of the overripe bananas hanging from that weird little banana tree in your kitchen.

Also, if anyone has any tips on how to make good caramel, I would love to hear it. The first batch I made was undercooked, and the sugar was not caramelized. The second batch cooked too long. I need help.

Tonganterror: Week 9 What We've Learned So Far

Week 9

I don't have much to say about the day to day of P90X anymore, so I decided to diverge from the usual format. Instead I wanted to blog about some of the things I noticed about being a P90Xer over the last 64 days....

1. People Don't Buy It

I was surprised when I began the program how many people looked at me like I had embarked in some new multi-level marketing company (or pyramid scheme). There are a lot of fears and frustrations associated with a daily workout schedule. Furthermore, there seems to be a lot of negative perceptions towards workout videos in general. So as we talked about the program and what we were doing, it seemed that many were unbelieving and generally bracing for our failure. The key to these communications seemed to be an undying ridiculous optimism. I lied to myself and them and basically did everything I could to stay excited about this program for the first week.

2. You Will Never Feel Good About "Pressing Play"

The most important thing about the program is to keep doing it. It is difficult, it takes forever, and it is everyday. The first few days of this workout, I felt like I was going to die. I wasn't happy about how bad I felt. I wondered if it was healthy for me to work so hard. I questioned whether I would even be able to do this, or if I was fit enough for the program. But I kept pressing that play button, and here I am. There were days when I felt like I didn't have time, or that I was sick or whatever number of reasons that seemed logical at the time. I just put in the disc for the day and started moving. I don't believe that I always "brought it", but those days were just to keep the habit going.

I believe today marks day 64 of the 90 day journey. I have committed to maintaining the workout schedule indefinitely at this point. I am excited to continue working and see the changes that will come. Thanks to everyone who has been supportive and helpful.

Camp Cupcake: Rhubarb Cupcakes

Confession: Rhubarb kind of freaks me out.

I have always enjoyed it in strawberry-rhubarb pie, but there is something creepy about the way you buy it in the store, with its pink stalk and its disturbing, finlike leaves.

However, these cupcakes called for it, and I am nothing if not a conformist.

In the process of slicing the rhubarb, I again cut myself with my Miracle Blades. Fortunately, I assessed the wound and determined it was not deep or long enough to require stitches, as it stopped bleeding fairly quickly and only required one Band-Aid. Plus, it was almost midnight, and I knew I would have to make a trip to the ER if it was bad enough to need stitches, so that also factored into how severe I assessed the cut to be.

The recipe is fairly easy, and yields what could be classified as a muffin. However, you then top it with whipped cream and a rhubarb syrup, which makes it more dessert-like.

Unfortunately, on my way to work that morning, the syrup spilled out of its container and into the plastic bag surrounding it (that was lucky), so no one had the cupcakes with their syrup. But they were still good with the whipped cream.

More unfortunately, I apparently got no pictures of these cupcakes, so you'll just have to trust me that they looked and tasted very good. The whipped cream made a good topping, even without the syrup, and the rhubarb, once baked, was not too sour, just a little tart.

Martha used to have a link to this recipe on her site. I don't know where it went, but it is gone now.

So here it is:

Rhubarb Cupcakes with Whipped Cream

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 c. sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. sour cream, room temperature

3/4 pound rhubarb, stalks trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch dice (3 cups)

1 vanilla bean, halved length-wise

1 c. water

Whipped cream (unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard muffin tins with liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Cream butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Scrape sides as needed. Beat in vanilla extract. Add in flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream, and beating until combined after each. Stir in 2 c. diced rhubarb.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake about 25 minutes, rotating halfway through. Cool completely.

To make rhubarb topping, use tip of paring knife to scrape vanilla-bean seeds into a saucepan. Add water and remaining sugar (1 c.) and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. and stir in remaining 1 c. rhubarb. Let cool completely. Remove rhubarb with a slotted spoon, and reserve. Return liquid to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool slightly, then return rhubarb to syrup.

To finish, dollop a generous amount of whipped cream onto each cupcake, and top with rhubarb and some cooled syrup. Serve immediately.

Camp Cupcake: Coconut Chick Cupcakes

This was another one of those recipes where style could have replaced substance. However, the cupcake is a lemon-vanilla bean base, which, by itself, was pretty darn good. I had some leftover mini-cupcakes which I glazed with Martha's citrus glaze, and I got lots of compliments.

Here's a link to the recipe.

A word of advice: Martha advocates using candy that may be difficult for some people (like me) to find.

For the combs, I used Hot Tamales, instead of red Good 'N Plenty. For the eyes, I used blackberry jellybeans instead of black licorice whips. Also, because mine went to Relief Society, I made them more portable by leaving them in the liners, rather than putting them on plates. For this reason, my chicks do not have feet.

I was satisfied with the results and would highly recommend them for a spring party, an Easter function, or a baby shower.

Tonganterror: Week 8: Still Bringing It

Week 8

Days 50-56

I didn’t record my day to day this week. I guess the P90X has just become a part of my life. The 2^nd recovery week was another hard week. The recovery weeks are easier on the joints, but much more painful in the stretching arena. My back was sore for most of the week, which might be a good thing because I am starting to realize I have quite a bit of tension stored up there.

The Yoga is much more fulfilling than in previous weeks. I find a lot of stress relief in the workout. By the time it is over, I am ready for bed. This is a dramatic change from the first week where I was crying in pain for the 15 minutes I was able to stay in it. Now, I am staying in for most of the workout, only missing the shoulder stands (I’m still not flexible enough) and crane (my arms still aren’t strong enough. I’m just doing my best at this point.

Overall, I am feeling better than I have felt in a long time. I was looking at old pictures of myself from 2 years ago well before I ever started on the P90X journey, and I have come a long way from that guy. I feel like I have really begun a workout program that will take me the rest of the way. I have not up to this point worked on the diet, but I think I am about ready. I haven’t experienced the weight loss that I wanted from the program, and it is definitely because of my diet. So for this last phase I’m going to hit it hard and see what we can do. BRING IT!

Camp Cupcake: Blackberry Cornmeal Cupcakes

I made this recipe at the same time I made the flourless chocolate cupcakes.

Both are perfect with ice cream.

I recommend vanilla-bean.

I'm really starting to get into vanilla beans.

They go on the list of things only Martha thinks are necessities, like Dutch-process cocoa, Meyer lemons, and unsweetened coconut.

These toe the line between cupcake and muffin. However, they are almost like a cobbler, which is why I recommend the ice cream. And they are pretty easy to make. And I got many compliments on them from the Relief Society sisters.

Blackberry Cornmeal Cupcakes

Makes 16

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. fine-ground yellow cornmeal

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. buttermilk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 to 2 containers (6 oz) fresh blackberries (I used 2 containers, but I probably could have gotten by with one).

Preheat oven to 375F. Line muffin tins. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar (you will use the rest later).

In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter; pour over flour mixture, whisking to combine.

Fill each lined cup with a scant 1/4 c. batter (this is important. I filled mine too full and it overflowed a little). Top batter with blackberries (3 to 4 per cup), then sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool before removing from pan. They are best served warm.

Pie Are Squared: Miss Bradley's Cottage Cheese Pie

I was kind of unmotivated to get a good picture of this pie, since it was not a pretty pie. The top browned very quickly, and I don't think it was supposed to.
Some people may think a cottage cheese pie sounds disgusting, but I assure you it was not. It had this part cheesecake, part custard texture to it that my husband and I rather enjoyed. The flavor was rather egg noggy, which might deter some people. I think next time, I'll omit the nutmeg (to get rid of nogginess) and maybe add something else. Chocolate? Fruit? Cinnamon? I think this is a good base for fun experimentation.

Ratings:

Flavor: 8-I wasn't the biggest fan of the egg noggity, but it was still a tasty pie.

Execution: 7-I think I'll have to watch more carefully next time to avoid too much brown.

Difficulty: Easy. Required egg separating and egg white whipping and cottage cheese draining.

Overall rating: **** 4 out of 5 stars.

Mother Bird: Apple Fritters

I had had the Pioneer Woman's apple fritters (I really do use other people's recipes, too, I swear!) in the back of my mind for a long time, but I usually try to save my very fattiest, deep-fried desserts for when other people are going to be sharing them so that I don't end up eating them all by myself. Even though he was once into baking cakes, my husband really isn't much of a dessert eater. So when I found out that we were getting together with a former mission companion, I was thrilled for an opportunity to try them.

I have to say, they did not disappoint. They were warm, crispy nuggets of apple cinnamon-y goodness and even though we had friends to share them, I still had a hard time keeping myself from eating the entire batch. And they were easy, too! If you want to make them, you can head on over to The Pioneer Woman Cooks for a full how-to and pictures that don't make them look like sweet and sour chicken doughnut holes like mine do. Here are some hints that I learned by making them myself:

1. When you think you have enough apples, add more. They're the star and they really make these things good. Ree tries to emphasize that you should not skimp on the apples and even though I didn't think I was, I wish I had added more. The recipe calls for 2 Granny Smith apples and I used three, but if I were going to make them again (which I may when I can fit into my pants again) I would keep adding apples until there is barely enough dough to hold them together. I imagine if I did this, they wouldn't be quite so round as the ones that I made.

2. Go with the glaze instead of the powdered sugar. It's a little more work, but not much and was totally worth it.

3. Ree mentions that you can reheat them the next day in the oven. If you're going to do this, make sure you don't glaze the ones that you plan on reheating. I did, and there was no way to reheat them without them getting soggy. (I ate most of them anyway before good judgment and self-control showed up. Not my best moment.)

4. If you have one, I recommend frying them in a fondue pot. They are awesome for keeping the oil temperature steady, which is always tough for me on the stove top. And you likely won't need as much oil to fill it.


Make them. Eat them. Love them.

Camp Cupcake: Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes

This recipe is gluten-free. And unlike the other gluten-free recipe I made, this one turned out really well.

I took it to the first dinner my doctoral cohort has had in two years. They were well-received, but, like desserts at most cohort dinners, it was not the only one.

I took it to Relief Society on Sunday, and it was also well-received. Thank goodness for 2:30 church and men who don't bake.

Camp Cupcake: Ice Cream Cones

This week, I opted to make ice cream instead of cupcakes for the weekly meeting.

I figured people at work would be sick of cake.

And it was starting to get warm outside.

I called upon my Baskin-Robbins training to help me.

And I made mint chocolate chip.

And raspberry sorbet with sprinkles.

Then I got really ambitious and made some soft serve cones. Because not everyone likes hard scoop.

I did some with sprinkles...

Twists...

And even a sundae cone, which, as a Baskin-Robbins employee, I loathed making.

But I liked the way they turned out.

If you agree and want to try them, here's the link.

It's quite the head fake.

Particularly when they don't melt like regular ice cream cones.

Tonganterror: Week 7

Week 7

It really has been 7 weeks now. It's amazing how the time has flown by, and that I am still doing this workout. I am feeling great overall, even though the workouts, are well...a workout. It has been a very fulfilling journey and I'm excited to see what the last half of the program will do for me. Thanks to all who have followed and supported.

Day43—Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps—C an’t feel my arms…tired…great workout.

Day44—Plyometrics—Completely recovered and felt much more spritely during this workout than ever. I’m pretty happy with all the gains in strength and endurance here. I’m still no maniac by any means, but running up and down stairs in the library when copiers are out of paper is much much easier now.

Day45— Back&Biceps—Half way already. It really feels like we just started this program and now it’s already half over. My poor arms and back. I was already sore in my arms when I started this today. The worksheet showed some significant gains in reps today. The exercises are getting much easier, even though we missed last week.

Day46—Yoga X—I was tired and sore when I started Yoga last night. I was glad I went through with it though. My body really needed the stretch and the cardio workout that comes with it.

Day47—Legs&Back—This workout gets harder every week I think. It would seem that the more I am able to do, the more the workout kills me. It is really interesting to me that I feel worse every week, yet experience gains in the amount of reps I am able to do.

Day48—Kenpo X—For the first time, I found this workout extremely difficult. I suppose the extra work on the other workouts this week really wore me down. Whatever the reason, I was exhausted by the time this workout was over.

Day49—Rest—This rest day was long desired and now I am gearing up for the 2^nd recovery week I remember the last recovery week being a trail of tears, so I am not optimistic about getting a whole lot of rest this week. Now that we are more than halfway done, there’s no turning back. We will continue on. BRING IT!

Camp Cupcake: Cupcake Caterpillar

Believe it or not, this one had its own recipe. Lots of times, when Martha has a good decorating idea, she pairs it with a recipe she's used earlier in the book. Not so with this one.

I made the cake part for my dissertation proposal, which happened the first week of March. One of my committee members has followed my blog since I started it, and he often comments to me about the cupcakes. It seemed cruel not to bring some to my proposal meeting. Because I was more preoccupied with the actual meeting, I did not make a frosting for them at that time. Instead, I dusted them with powdered sugar and froze the remaining cupcakes for a different day. A day when I had enough time to do this:



It doesn't look as much like a caterpillar as it should, mostly because the cupcakes are crammed on the tray pretty tightly. Also, I added antennae later (strawberry Pocky for anyone who cares or knows what that is).

This was the first recipe that called for fondant. Fondant is somewhat similar to marzipan, in that it has some of the same properties as Play-Doh, but is made of sugar and can be eaten, if you are so inclined.


Martha and Bakerella use biscuit cutters to cut their fondant into circles to put over cupcakes. I could not find biscuit cutters at the store, so I improvised:


I do not claim to have any amount of expertise on using fondant to decorate cupcakes, so I have added this helpful link to the Pioneer Woman's site, and a tutorial that Bakerella gave there.


Cupcakes:


2 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I use Special Dark)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. packed dark-brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. buttermilk


For decorating:

15 oz. fondant
Gel-paste food colors (I used red and purple)
Cornstarch (for dusting. Don't use flour)
Swiss Meringue Buttercream-this is mostly to attach the fondant to the cupcakes, and considering it is quite a process, I did not make it
2 candy canes or other stick-like candy for antennae


Preheat oven to 350F. Line 28 standard muffin cups and 1 jumbo muffin cup. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.


Cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well-incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in sour cream. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and mixing until just combined after each.


I filled the jumbo cup first, and then filled the rest, all about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 25-30 minutes.


To get good results, follow Bakerella's instructions.

Tonganterror: Week 6

Week 6

Day36—Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps—Worked my arms until they were jelly.  It felt great though.  I allowed myself to really feel the pain for this workout.  Feeling great. 

Day37—Plyometrics—It was my first real test on my injured knee to see if I had recovered.  Fortunately I was able to sink in and do the whole workout, and better than before.  My knee still felt a little shaky, but I am just happy to be able to do the workout.

Day38— Back&Biceps—I missed the workout today due to a sinus infection.  I’m filling my body with vitamin C and will do Yoga regardless of how I feel (no fever, so I should be fine), but tonight, I feel like I should rest.  Sidenote—today I weighed myself for the first time since starting the workout, and I still weigh 365 pounds.  For those of you paying attention, that means I haven’t lost a single pound!  I am not discouraged however.  I can see the results in my body and the four inches off the belly keep me grounded.  I’m still going to bring it.

Day39—Yoga X—Still Sick, and this workout almost killed me, I did what I coud and managed to come up with a good work out.

Day40—Legs&Back—Still sick.  I fought even harder to do the workout even though I was severely weakened by the cold.  My arms were dead, my legs were dead, but I finished the workout.

Day41—Kenpo X—We finally got this workout in late and when we did, it was great.  I am still a little sick, but I was able to do more of this workout than ever.  Feeling great.

Day42—Rest—Another week down .  Another inch off the waist.   I feel much more energetic and flexible than at any time in my life.  Loving the P90X

Mother Bird: The Best Pot Roast I've Ever Made

Don't let that title fool you; it really doesn't say much about this recipe. In the time that I've been married, I've made countless attempts at cooking a good roast, most of them in the crock pot. They always look like they're going to be good--moist, flavorful, tender--but I've always felt like all of the juices seem to just seem to run out into the cooking liquid so that when it's not totally immersed, it seems a little dry. So when I came across the Pioneer Woman's pot roast, I thought I'd give her method a try and see if it yielded better results. I followed her directions pretty closely, except that I don't have fresh herbs in the winter, so I used dried. It was delicious! She recommends that you serve it with the pan juices poured over individual servings, which makes it more moist and flavorful, but I felt like even without the pan juices, it was still juicier than other roasts I've made. I served it with Ree's mashed potatoes which are the only mashed potatoes I make now, although I do cut out some of the fat and leave them unpeeled for a more rustic texture. They're still awesome.

So there you have it. If you want a good pot roast method/recipe, this is the one that's going into our regular rotation. Two thumbs up!

Camp Cupcake: Chocolate Walnut Cupcakes

I have tried to save some recipes for specific holidays. The trouble is, some of these holidays are packed in very tightly together. So, with apologies to my Jewish friends, I made these for Passover a week early. The recipe is actually called Chocolate-Walnut Cupcakes for Passover, lest you think I arrived at the conclusion on my own.

You see, these cupcakes have no leavening, yet they remained very light and airy due to the whipped egg whites the recipe called for.

Once again, I did not get a picture of the finished product, but I feel like it's okay since it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. It happens sometimes, even to me. I will now proceed to go through this recipe to point out the things I should have done.

Chocolate-Walnut Cupcakes

6 large eggs, separated

1/4 c. plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 3/4 c. finely ground toasted walnuts. Okay, here was mistake number one. I forgot to toast the walnuts before I ground them. This turned out to be kind of important, as the untoasted walnuts ended up being a little bit moist and sticking together in my food processor, which did not give them the consistency of flour like they were supposed to have. Also, I think toasting walnuts makes the flavor a bit milder.

3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, kosher if desired. Amazingly, in my grocery store here in West Texas, they did not have kosher chocolate. But that wasn't the mistake. Finely chopped or grated. That was my mistake. I chopped the chocolate, but it wasn't necessarily "fine." In fact, when I mixed it in later, it looked more like chocolate chunks. I should have frozen it first, and then put it in the food processor to get it really fine.

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

1/4 tsp. salt If this is supposed to be kosher, Martha doesn't mention it.

Confectioner's sugar, for dusting.

Preheat oven to 300F. Line muffin cups with papers. Whisk egg yolks and 1/4 c. granulated sugar until pale and thick.

In another bowl, toss together ground walnuts, chocolate, zest, and salt. Sprinkle over yolk mixture. Do not mix in.

Place egg whites in a heatproof bowl (I used my KitchenAid bowl) set over a pan of simmering water, and whisk until eggs are warm to the touch. Remove from heat. With an electric mixer on high speed, whisk until soft peaks form. Add remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and whisk until stiff and glossy, but not dry, peaks form.

Fold in 1/3 of the egg-white mixture into egg-yolk mixture to lighten. Gently fold in remaining egg whites.

See, the batter is supposed to look like chocolate, not chocolate chip. Fail.

Divide among lined cups. Bake until springy to touch. About 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving. If yours turn out funky like mine did, set them down in the common area of a building and run away before anyone knows you brought them. Don't hang around to find out if people liked them. Leave town the next day.