My Bit of Earth

Daring Bakers: Caramel Cupcakes with Browned Butter Frosting

I was a little disappointed when I saw the Daring Bakers recipe this month.  "Ugh, another cake!" I thought, and considered skipping it.  Then I read through the rules and discovered we could do cupcakes.  Then I got an email from our local humane society asking for donations of goodies for a bake sale.  I took it as a sign.  The universe clearly wanted me to make this recipe.

And for good reason, as it turns out--these cupcakes were incredible!

First of all, other than some extra butter that I had to pick up, I already had all of the necessary ingredients.  (I hate having to go out and buy a ton of special stuff, because then, if the recipe doesn't work, not only have I wasted my afternoon, I've wasted a bunch o' cash as well!)  Second, the procedure--making caramel syrup--was just enough to be interesting without being overwhelming.  Third, the cupcakes were very unique.  They ended up quite a bit denser than my cakes ordinarily turn out, but in a good way.  They were so moist--almost a creamy texture.

And then there was the frosting.  It looks so simple, right?  Butter, powdered sugar, whatever.  But if you are a lover of the sweet-and-salty combo, you need this frosting.  (I have no words...like a pretzel dipped in chocolate, but about a billion times better maybe?) 

I think this is my new go-to cupcake.  Props to Shuna Fish Lydon for the recipe, and to Dolores, Alex, Jenny, and Natalie for hosting the challenge.  For the recipe, read on.

If you can stand to discuss food yet...

...I have a few more foods to cross off the Omnivore's Hundred.

1. Baklava, which I ordered as dessert one night at Ingredient.  It was sticky, sticky, sticky, but good if you love honey.
2. Apple wine (i.e. fruit wine made from something other than grapes) from our trip to Davenport Winery.  It tastes a lot like apple cider, but without the sickly-sweet taste that some ciders have.  The owner of the winery suggested heating it up with a cinnamon stick, which was a very nice.

To see how I'm progressing on the Omnivore's Hundred, click here.

Thanks-full

While I am grateful for many things today...time to hang out with the fam...Brussels sprouts...puppies...a few days off of work...the thing that makes my heart overflow with thanks is my wonderful Sweet Husband.  (Pictured here testing Christmas lights for me last weekend.) 

In the words of the fabulous Ingrid Michaelson (whose new CD I'm also thankful for):

"Baby how we spoon like no one else...."

Happy Thanksgiving kids!

Barefoot Bloggers: Mexican Chicken Soup

This month's second Barefoot Bloggers recipe--chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats--was Mexican Chicken Soup.

We made this the first weekend that it was really cold out, and it warmed us through and through.  Because, basically, it's chicken soup (which is always good for the soul), but add in the Mexican spices and a dried scotch bonnet (which I subbed in for the jalapenos) and this soup would have cleared up the stubbornest of head colds!

I halved the recipe straight down the middle, which made it perfect for two with a little leftover for someone's lunch the next day.  For the recipe, read on.

Because You Really Aren't Working Today Anyway, Right?

So you can help me shop instead!

For those of you who have dogs/kids/other messy stuff:

What kind of bedding do you have?  We're about due for new, and I'm trying to scout out something fun.  I keep seeing all these pictures of pretty-pretty white beds, and I love how crisp and modern they look.  But then I think about how dirty they would get after even one run-in with the Wee Welshman's paws, and reach the inevitable conclusion that we are not white bed people. 

I don't want to do a bed-in-a-bag per se (because it sucks when one piece gets shabby and then you have to replace the whole thing because nothing else matches it)--more like something that matches, but isn't match-y?  Maybe a solid color comforter and some fun pillows?  A printed comforter and plainer pillows?

Clearly, I'm befuzzled.  If you've seen something cute or have a good suggestion, leave me a comment pretty-please! 

(Here are a few others that I like:  luxurious fabrics, leslie's blue room, minor details.) 

My Annual Paperwhite Pep Talk

OK, I know I post about this every year, but really, they're so easy--if you enjoy fresh flowers there's really no reason not to plant a few paperwhites.

For those who haven't heard my schpeel, just get a few bulbs (your local garden center will have them, or you can get little kits at a big box store), a small pot, and some rocks.  Add the rocks to your pot, nestle in the paperwhite bulbs, and put in just enough water to barely touch the bottom of the bulbs.  Place in a sunny spot, keep the water topped up, and *wahlah* in 4-6 weeks you'll have beautiful, sweet smelling flowers.

(Cross-posted at BlogHer.)

It's My Birthday....

I've never really been conflicted about my birthday before.  People send you cards and presents, take you to dinner, participate in your choice of activity--what's not to love?

But this year I'm a little....ambivalent. 

In general lately I'm kind of on a see-saw.  There are days (and they are most days) that I really love my life just-as-it-is, right-in-this-moment.  After all, I've got the guy, I've got the job, I've got the puppies.  And then there are days where it's like, "How the hell am I only here?"  Days where I wonder, "When am I going to really become the person I'm supposed to grow-up to be?" 

It's like, when I was Sweet Sister's age, I thought that by the time I was thirty I'd basically be where I was going to be for the whole mid-life portion of my life.  But now that I'm getting close to that, I've realized that my picture of that person is not all that much clearer to me now than it was when I was ten.  Sure, a few more of the big details have been filled in,  but there's still so much to be worked out.

And the part of me that's loving every moment as it comes is very excited about that--all those new things to discover and learn.  But the part of me that's impatiently waiting for the next moment is exhausted and whining, "Why aren't we there yet?"

Eh, I think everyone has those thoughts at one time or another.  Fortunately, wine helps.  So do friends.  And this weekend my lovely friends (acceding to my birthday prerogative to chose the activity) accompanied me on a very nice little Northeast Kansas wine tasting tour.

Perhaps surprisingly, there are roughly six small wineries in my area.  We hit three--Holyfield, Bluejacket Crossing, and Davenport--which fit well into the space of a few hours.  We've been to Holyfield before, so I knew they had a few nice wines, but I also enjoyed Davenport.  They have some fruit wines (apple, watermelon, and rhubarb) that were fun.  Bluejacket's wines were a little too sweet for me, but they had one that was really grapefruity, which my pals all loved.

I didn't take many pictures, but there are a few here.

Autumn Log Picture in the Paper

I'm in the "Behind the Lens" column in our local paper today.  (Link.)

O Christmas Tree

Guess what we did tonight?  I know, it's early.  But Thanksgiving is late this year, right?

More pictures here.  (Including some of Sweet Husband tormenting Moe with our Jayhawk tree topper!)

Oh Wonderful Font of Noodle-y-ness! (And Mittens!)

While Nigella's Soup for Needy People still makes its regular dinner rotation at our house, a recent discovery might introduce some new variations.  If, like me, you are also inclined to nosh on noodles, check out The Noodle Soup Oracle.  (Via Angry Chicken.)

(And the mittens?  Yeah, I just finished them, and I'm so excited because--not only did they turn out super cute--I've been doing this stubborn thing where I was waiting until I finished them to wear mittens at all, and it's starting to get frickin' cold out!)

Barefoot Bloggers: Mini Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake

This month's third Barefoot Bloggers recipe--courtesy of Lisa of Lime In The Coconut--is Ina's Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake.

Orange and chocolate are just good together--that's all there is to it!  I used dark chocolate chips and a two oranges worth of zest and juice.  I also did cupcakes instead of a proper cake.  (The recipe makes about 14.)  I considered skipping the ganache, as the cake was pretty darned good on its own.  But, once again in the words of the Barefoot Contessa herself, I figured, "How bad could it be?"  (For the record, it was the right choice!)

For the recipe, read on. 

Five Things I Wanna Do Very Soon and One Request for Good Vibes for a Certain Welsh Terrier

1. Take some pictures inspired by these.  Just need to find some bits of flowers, and perhaps some skinny vases.
2. Make this Christmas tree.  Isn't it so bright and cheery?  I have a spare table top tree, and I think I have enough spare yarn around for the ornaments.  I also stole six toothpicks from an Indian restaurant the other day to make the star, so now I have to make the tree because otherwise the bad karma will be all for naught.
3. Work on my gingerbread house design for the local contest.  I think I'm going to do something like this, as I have a spare globe-y thing and it looks fairly easy?  (I hope?)
4. Knit like a madwoman.  It's addictive, this making things from string and sticks.  In addition to working on a pair o' mittens for myself, I want to get a wee toboggan hat (like this--scroll down) and some slippers (anyone have an easy pattern?) done before Christmas.  Then maybe a blanket.  *Sigh*  So much to knit, so little time!
5. Catch up on my library books.  I have thirteen sitting on my night stand that are overdue!  But I want to finish them before I send them back.  I'm so lucky my wonderful library doesn't charge late fees!

In other news, we're trying out a new doggie daycare for Moe tomorrow.  Nice Owner (who is Moe's groomer also) said he would be willing to work with Moe on playing nice with others.  Any good vibes, nice thoughts, prayers, or whatever it is you do, would be most welcome.  I'm really hoping this will help at least a little....

Lit Flicks: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

For my fifth book for the Lit Flicks Challenge (see my post here) I read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne.  (I ended up deciding to sub this out for The Constant Gardener.)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas tells the story of Auschwitz from the perspective of a nine year old German officer's child (Bruno) living near the camp, who befriends a Jewish child (Shmuel) of the same age.  The decision to use Bruno as the narrator was absolutely brilliant.  Because, although you as the reader understand perfectly all the ways that being near the concentration camp is tearing his family apart, Bruno is completely innocent, brushing off his mother's many "medicinal sherries" and asking Shmuel questions like why he's so skinny.

I had read enough spoilers to know what happened in the end, and as I noticed I was running out of pages I started to brace for it.  But when it came, true to the perspective the author had chosen, it was still without complete understanding of the real horror of it all.  Only after the climax, through the characters remaining, did I really feel it.

When I read the book it was with the expectation that I'd be able to see the movie (which came out last weekend).  Unfortunately, it seems the nearest place I could go see it is Denver, Dallas, or Chicago (not sure which one is closer, but they're all several hundred miles away), so I think I'm going to have to wait for the DVD.  :(

If anyone else gets to see it, please come tell me how it was.  I can't recommend it as an uplifting holiday flick, but from the previews I've seen it looks like it will be well done.

Ingrid Michaelson Dish Towels

I know this is going to sound really basic to anyone who's been sewing or crafting for more than two seconds, but, did you know you can just write or draw free-hand on dishtowels and embroider over it? 

While you could go buy a disappearing-fabric-pen-thingy, a light colored sharpie works just about as well.  And your handwriting doesn't have to be perfect either--I used a fairly uneven scrolly-scrawl to good effect.  Then just doodle your heart out, and stitch over it 'till you can't see the ink anymore.

I decided I needed towels with Ingrid Michaelson lyrics--domestic-y, but hip, right?  For example, the one in the picture (from "Giving Up") says, "What if I never let you win...and chase you with a rolling pin?"

Barefoot Bloggers: Chive Risotto Cakes and Herb Roasted Onions

There are four Barefoot Bloggers recipes this month!  I'm in a little heaven of Ina-Garten-goodness!

Although the Chive Risotto Cakes aren't supposed to be posted until next week, they made such a perfect meal with this week's recipe--the Herb Roasted Onions--that I just can't separate the two.  (Thanks to Kelly and Deb for the great picks!)

The risotto cakes recipe is from Ina Garten's newest cookbook Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.  As an intro to the recipe, Ina says,

"I used to have to wait until I made risotto in order to make risotto cakes from the leftovers. So I decided to do a recipe for risotto cakes that I make from scratch." 

To which my first thought was, "Leftover risotto?  What's that?"  My second thought was, "Fried risotto...isn't that kind of like frying a Twinkie?" 

Yeah...it is.  But, as I suspect is the case with the fried Twinkie, while the risotto cakes were very, very bad (for the waistline), they were also very, very good!  One tip--try to get as much moisture out of the risotto as possible when you drain it, so that your cakes stick together better later.

The onions were also delicious.  I've only recently discovered onions as a side dish--rather than a condiment--and I love them!  They're sweet and crunchy and full of flavor, which the vinaigrette this recipe uses enhances nicely.  I recommend plating up the risotto cakes and onions and pouring the leftover vinaigrette over all of it together--in the words of the BC, how bad could it be?

For this week's recipes, read on.

A No-Plastic Holiday

You want to know what really scares me these days, environment-wise?  The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating island of trash anywhere from the size of Texas to double the size of Texas, sitting in the middle of the Northern Pacific ocean.  A major problem with this particular trash, is that it is largely made up of plastic.

"Unlike debris which biodegrades...plastic disintegrates into ever smaller pieces while remaining polymers, even down to the molecular level.

"As the plastic [degrades] into smaller and smaller pieces, it concentrates in the upper water column. As it disintegrates, the plastic ultimately becomes small enough to be ingested by aquatic organisms which reside near the ocean's surface. Plastic waste thus enters the food chain through its intense concentration in the neuston [little aquatic organisms]."

Yep, that's right, the food chain.  That means it's not just killing sea birds and fish (which is bad enough), but you might be eating it as well.  Yuck!

While, of course, there are lots of things you can do to reduce your plastic consumption throughout the year (e.g. skip the plastic bags at the grocery store), the always wonderful Crunchy Domestic Goddess has issued a holiday specific challenge.

Can you have a no-plastic holiday?  I'm going to try.  That means both looking for alternatives to plastic gift items and buying things with minimal packaging.  Some thoughts on how I plan to make this work: 

Alabama Scarves

A couple more projects from the Alabama Stitch Book. 

(If you will remember from my dishtowels, the Alabama Stitch Book focuses on using cotton jersey--mostly recycled from old t-shirts--to make new things.)

The scarf on the right is the rag boa, straight from the book.  It's made by sewing together several long rectangles of fabric, and then cutting little slits up the sides.  (Mine was a little wild after I first finished it, but a little trimming made it wearable.)

The second scarf is just a long rectangular piece of cotton jersery.  (I used another scarf I love as a pattern.)  The leaf stencil on the bottom came from the Alabama Stitch Book, and was applied with white fabric paint.  I just left the edges raw, but you could hem them if you wanted.

For more ideas, check out the Alabama Stitch Book flickr pool.

Hats for Wee Haitians

My very most favoritest blog these days is Soule Mama written by Amanda Blake Soule.  It's nothing groundbreaking--just a creative mom, her kiddos, and their adventures--but it's just so darn peaceful there.  (Maybe that's what makes it groundbreaking, ya think?)

Last week Mama Soule started a new project called Mama to Mama.  It's mission:

"[W]e craft, sometimes, to bring a little peace to our lives, to our hearts, and to our everyday moments. Taking that just a step further, we can - and do, like so many crafters before us - turn our crafting into peace for the world beyond our homes. The simple act of creating something with intention and heart - for someone in need, can have a beautiful effect on the lives of others. We can, indeed, do something to create a more just and peaceful world...all with the simple, mindful and crafty work of our hands."

In other words, help others by being crafty--excellent!

Her first project is called Caps to Cap Haitien.  There's more info at the site, but basically, we're making baby caps to be distributed as part of safe birthing kits to birth attendants in Northern Haiti.  The hats are made from old t-shirts and there is a pattern here. 

(Aside:  This made the greatest excuse to go through Sweet Husband's old holey shirts.  And when he protested, I said, "But think of the little hatless babies."  And when he questioned if babies in Haiti--where it is awfully warm, after all--really need hats, I read him this.)

If you're itching for a quick something good to do--the holidays always put me in that mood--these little caps were so fun to make.  They look like little gnome hats, and they're super easy.  I made a dozen in about an hour and a half, and I am far from an accomplished seamstress.

The project is going until at least December 10th, so you have plenty of time to join in if you're interested!

Ditch the Disposables Challenge Ends

With all the excitement this past week, I haven't had a chance to post about the end of the "Ditch the Disposables" challenge (posed by the Crunchy Domestic Goddess).

If you will recall, I decided to give up paper tissues.  Although I did have to resort to grabbing a Kleenex in a few emergencies, for the most part it went really well.  (Having a box of cute hankies to choose from did help!) 

The challenge got me thinking about other things we could reduce our usage of around the house, and my focus ended up falling on our laundry room.  I started by making some reusable dryer sheets.  (I can't report on their performance yet because I'm still using up the last of a box of disposable ones.)  Then I started thinking about how we could get rid of those big plastic jugs of bleach and laundry soap that we throw away each month.  After some research, I decided to give soap nuts a try. 

Soap nuts are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree.  When the nuts get wet they release saponin, which is a natural cleanser.  For laundry purposes, you put three or four in a little muslin bag, and just toss them in with your clothes--easy peasy!  The nuts last for several washes.  (We've been doing about a week's worth of laundry with one bag of four nuts.)  They really do work just as well as detergent, and when the nuts are used up they can be composted (or in my case, just thrown out into garden to decompose).  It's pretty cool, really.

(I'm still working on a solution to the bleach jug, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.) 

A big thanks, as always, to the wonderful CDG for another great eco-challenge!   

24/7

For Shutter Sisters' Love Thursday....

On a bathroom wall at a bar.