surprise cupcakes

i found the BEST!!! cupcake recipe ever.

meatloaf and mashed potatoes with green onion sprinkles! best dinner ever!

today, i have found a bacon treasure chest. first, bacon vodka. made by infusing bacon bits into vodka for a really long time, draining, and then drinking... mmmmm..... second is bacon ice-cream, which is part of a cook book by David Lebovitz. he has some of the most amazing recipes that are super different. 

the other thing i want to learn how to do, not like your creepy aunt used to make them, but updated candied fruit. not so much for eating, but for decoration. if i can candy bacon, i can candy apples, right?

CUPCAKE CARS!

so who wouldn't want to drive around in something like this? i know i would~ i would drive it to work everyday, park it on the sidewalk, and be the coolest person on the planet. 

so far, without knowing how to make one of these, i figure i should start with 1) a rascal. 2) plenty of chicken wire to sculpt. 3) silver siding stuff. 4) tons of frosting (cause mine would also be edible!). 

ok its a start. 

Muffin morning!

so i woke up this morning with muffins on the brain. i have a really easy generic muffin recipe that i use, and then just add in other things. this morning... cheese breakfast muffins and cranberry orange muffins. 
the basics: (oven at 400 degrees)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour.

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking POWDER

1/4 tsp. salt

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup milk (you can also sub with buttermilk, adding 1/4 tsp. baking SODA to dry mixture.)

1/4 cup cooking oil

1) grease muffin tin, or line with baking cups

mix together flour, sugar, baking POWDER, salt.

make a well in dry mixture.

2) in another bowl mix egg, milk, and oil. add all at once to the dry mixture. stir just until moistened ( over mixing the batter can cause peaks, tunnels, and a tough texture) 

3) spoon batter into muffin cups, bake for 15-20 min. or until golden. cool for 5 min. serve warm....

1)to make cheese muffins, just add 1/2 cup shredded cheese to your dry mixture. i like cheddar or jack. 

2) to make cranberry/orange muffins, combine 1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries, 2 tblspn. sugar, 1/4 cup orange zest. mix and fold into muffin mixture. 

YEAH! MUFFIN MORNING MANIA!

Strawberry shortcake:

2 cups all-purpose flour.

1/2 cup finely ground pecans

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 beaten egg

2/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. for shortcake. in a large bowl, combine flour, ground pecans, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. in small bowl combine egg, milk, 2 teaspoons of the peel, and 1 teaspoon vanilla: add all at once to dry ingredients. stir just until moistened. 

2. drop dough into 8 or 10 mounds on an ungreased baking sheet; flatten each mound with the back of a spoon until about 3/4 inch thick. bake in a 450 degree oven about 10 minutes or until golden. cool shortcakes on wire rack about 10 minutes.

3. meanwhile, in a bowl stir together strawberries, the second 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon orange peel; let stand about 20 minutes. 

4. in a chilled medium bowl combine cream, the 2 tablespoons sugar, and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. 

5. using a sharp serrated knife cut shortcakes in half horizontally. lift off top layers. spoon half of the strawberry mixture and half of the whipped cream over bottom layers. replace shortcake tops. top with remaining strawberry mixture; spoon remaining cream onto berries. if desired. 

meet... the snarkhorse...

so why snark horse? well, he's an imaginary animal used to refer to someone or something that is difficult to track down. Lewis Carroll coined the term in the hunting of the snark, but i doubt any one ever had my snark horse in mind. 

Think of a seahorse, tired of being beat up by other animals in the sea. Smaller than the others, kind of slow, peaceful and just wanting to blend in. Finally a rogue thinker thought of a way to get everyone off his back. He created a disguise, a camouflage outfit of sorts... a pole with a shark fin on it. Now wherever he goes, people don't see him as cowardly seahorse, they see him for what he really is... life threatening SNARKHORSE! He's kind of like the superman of the sea, mild manored by day, mysterious and unexplainable by night. Some try to find such a creature. Others just live on by his legend. I try and create such characters with my desserts. Welcome to my snarkhorse site, filled with goodies and all things amazing to set your seahorse desserts soaring!