Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cupcakes:

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

8 large eggs

2 cups granulated white sugar

2 cups canola or vegetable oil

4 cups finely grated raw carrots

1 cup grated apple(approximately 2 large)

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 cup raisins or currants(optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another, fold gently together until just combined.  Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, bake for 20 minutes.

Adapted from Joy of Baking.  Theirs was sadly lacking pineapple.

For frosting:

Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp maple flavoring

In a mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy.

Note: If you don't have maple syrup you could use milk instead and just add extra maple flavoring.

What I've Been Up To This Past Week

I'm trying to wrap up my big sewing projects before it gets to be too warm around here.  I'd also like to move along to the 2 skirts and 3 dresses that I already have all the supplies for.

So without further introduction, here are the three quilts I've been working on.

The Bean's Quilt, made from Freebird by Moda, bordered with some brown swirl fabric from Joann's and backed with blue flannel.  This was (rather obviously) taken before I'd finished it, it was just pinned together at this point.  This one is all the completed and winging its way to the sunny Midwest!

This is for a friend who is due right around Easter.  It's made from Fandango by Moda, with a swirly teal border and a teal flannel backing.  I have the top completed and the backing together, now all I have to do is make a nice quilt sandwich and it will be all set!

Lastly there's this lovely latte colored lap quilt that I made for my MIL as a birthday present last week.  From start to finish I only spent 2.5 days on it; it helps that it was just simple squares and no difficult piecing.

Clam Chowder

This is the non-lenten variety.  I'm sure you could Friday-ize it by sautéing the veggies in a little bit of butter and leaving out the bacon.

1/2 lb bacon, minced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 onion, diced

2 lg. potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tsp. thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken broth and clam juice, combined to make 2 cups

1 cup milk

1 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

2(6 1/2 oz) cans chopped clams, juice reserved

Fry Bacon until crisp, remove and set aside.  Cook the celery, onions and potato in bacon fat until the onions soften.  Add seasonings, milk, half-and-half, and broth.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.  Make a roux by melting 1/2 cup butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, stir in flour.  Cook, stirring continuously for 2 to 3 minutes.  Slowly add 1 to 2 cups hot liquid to the roux, stirring to incorporate and remove lumps.  Immediately add roux mixture to chowder, stir to blend. Add clams and bacon.

Makes 4 servings.

Cream Biscuits

Obviously yours won't be green, these were for St. Patrick's Day

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. table salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. sugar
1 to 1 ½ cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a mixing bowl, and stir with a fork to blend. Slowly add 1 cup of the cream, stirring. Gather the dough together gently: when it holds together and feels tender, it’s ready to knead. If it feels shaggy and pieces are dry, slowly add enough cream to make the dough hold together.

Place the dough on a lightly floured counter and knead for 1 minute. Pat the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch thick. Cut into 12 squares. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve hot.

Yield: 12 biscuits


Note:  These were also still good reheated two days later.
Source: The Breakfast Book

What to Grow, What to Grow. . .

The Farmer's City Wife has gotten me thinking about what to plant in my garden this year.  Now I'm not feeling as ambitious as she is (47 vegetables and 12 herbs!!!), but I would like to grow something this year now that I've learned the limitations of our yard.  Our nice little city lot is only sunny in the front of the house and the whole backyard is so shady that the only thing that really grows well back there is moss.

So in the front yard, in planters we're going to have broccoli and lettuce, also possibly cauliflower because I find the grocery store prices appalling.  In the backyard we're going to be putting trellises up in a couple of places to cover gaps in between the fences.  They'll be in partially sunny spots so we're going to get peas and pole beans to grow up them.  I'd rather have morning glories but there's no way they're going to grow back there.

Photo Credit

Next summer, once we've finished working on the house, we're going to be working on landscaping the yard.  Once that happens I'll have plenty of space in the front yard to plant more vegetables.  We'll be building a retaining wall along the sidewalk and filling the space behind it with soil; I'm hoping to have flowers along the front edge and lots of different greens and herbs on the house side of the garden, possibly a cute white picket fence in between the two rows.  Something like the above but with gardens instead of grass.  I'm hoping that the dozens of hostas that previous owners planted and the lilies from my MIL have survived and will continue to fill in all around the foundations of the house.  We may also try to culture some more moss in the backyard since we've long since given up on grass.

And then there's all of the landscaping to be done in the backyard as well, which is a whole other post.

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Okay, so it's not a cute or well composed picture.

1 - 8oz brick cream cheese, softened
1 can refried beans(or 1 can of black or pinto beans blended)
1 can enchilada sauce
1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese(approx. 4 cups)
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne
12 fajita sized tortillas


Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 and a 9x9 pan.  Place cream cheese and beans in a bowl and blend together; add 1/2 of the enchilada sauce, spices and almost all of the cheddar cheese(reserve some for the top).  Scoop ~1/3 cup of filling into each tortilla and roll tightly placing side-by-side in a glass cake pan, spread enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Serve with a side of rice.

7 Takes That Are Quick

1.  I've finally figured out the best way to quilt on my sewing machine.  As it turns out it works best to just use the regular foot and not the special quilting foot.

2.  A Series of Unfortunate Events is my new favorite series of audio books to listen to while knitting.  I've already read them before, but what takes the audio books to a whole new level is the narration provided by Tim Curry, he is just the perfect voice for the series!

3.  It's finally warm enough around here that the sidewalks have all melted back and are safe enough to traverse in the tow of an ill mannered dog, the fresh air is good for the both of us.

4.  And speaking of the warm weather, as soon as it's less muddy around here we should be able to start back in on the work on the outside of the house.  Even before the snow's gone we should be able to get the windows and doors set into the dining room.

5.  Still knit, knit, knitting on the lace wrap, it's slow going but the pattern is certainly easy enough.  Plus the yarn is wonderful to work with and if this one turns out, scarves for everyone next Christmas!

6.  It's a wonderfully rainy day around here, just right for lots of coffee and knitting.

7.  I should probably start thinking about what to make for dinner tonight, I'm pretty sure it's going to be cheese enchiladas but the tilapia I bought yesterday is calling to me as well.

Carbomb Cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 cup Guinness
1 cup unsalted butter
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache

8oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup heavy cream
2-3 oz whiskey

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4-8 tbsp. Bailey’s Irish cream

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  Combine the stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and sour cream to blend.  Add the stout-butter mixture and beat just to combine.  Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 to ¾ full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the ganache filling, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.  Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate.  Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth.  If the chocolate is not completely melted, place the bowl over a double boiler or give it a very short burst in the microwave.  Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

Set aside to let the ganache cool until it is thick enough to be piped.  (You can use the refrigerator to speed the cooling process, but be sure to stir every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooling.)  Meanwhile, cut out a portion from the center of the cupcake using the cone method (or, if they sink a bit like mine sometimes do, don't bother cutting out).  Once the ganache has reached the correct consistency, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe it into the cupcakes.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Gradually add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated.  Mix in the Bailey’s until smooth.  Add more if necessary until the frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading.  Frost the cupcakes as desired.

Seven Quick Takes vol. 1(for me)

1.  The MIL's birthday present is coming along nicely.  It's my first time knitting lace and it's really much easier than I expected, though it probably helps that it's a cobwebby pattern and isn't supposed to look like leaves or anything else identifiable.


2.  I have one quilt completely sandwiched together and am going to be putting the border on and assembling the backing for the other one this afternoon.  I attempted to quilt Bean's quilt yesterday and the sewing machine freaked, so I'm going to have to work on figuring out what went wrong so I can quilt them both tomorrow.


3.  The shower window has been frosted and the seams have all been resealed, so hopefully that's all the work I'll have to do on that shower for awhile.  The fixtures could use replacing, but I'm hoping they'll hold out until we're ready to replace the surround and do the major overhaul of that room.


4.  I have a few dozen Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes to make for The Husband to take to work for his birthday next week.  I could go all the way and make them into Car Bomb Cupcakes, but he decided that really isn't necessary, he's just happy that his birthday isn't during Lent for once.


5.  I get to go clothes shopping this weekend!  It's been at least two months since I last bought myself something and I certainly could have waited longer, but I have a job interview next week and The MIL thinks I could use new clothes for it and offered to buy them!


6.  I just have a short shift at work this evening, only 3 hours and then on to my weekend!


7.  Which means I should probably go play with Helvetica before I leave.

Oh What a Difference a Day Makes!

From the gloom and gray of February to glorious sunshine and the promise of spring that is March!  Overnight we've gone from sleet and exceptionally treacherous roads to not a cloud in the sky and the wonderful sound of ice melting and dripping off of the roof.

Helvetica basking in the lone sunny spot on the living room floor

It never ceases to amaze me how much more productive I am when I wake up to a bright day.  I'm pretty sure I did next to nothing of great use yesterday, not that reading and writing letters isn't a good use of a day, I just don't count it as a particularly productive one.


Today, however, I've painted half the bathroom, made ricotta cheese, turned it into lasagna, done some laundry, and spent a quantifiable amount of time playing with the dog.  Once the husband is home there's much more to be accomplished.  A visit to the library(having a scheduled library date on Tuesday evening makes it so much easier to avoid fines!), possibly buying a second color of paint for the bathroom since we'll be out and about, the shower window to frost(finally I can get rid of the plastic bag taped over it), and recaulking around the shower(I don't actually need him for this, it's just that I want to do it as late as possible so that the shower is as dry as possible).


The current spurt of work in the bathroom is because we can't continue work on the outside of the house just yet, also I can't do much work on the upstairs because it's only about 40 degrees up there right now and I don't want to risk issues with the paint.  Plus the bathroom is the only room downstairs that needs any real work right now, and it's small enough that projects are accomplished quickly.


Anyway, I've spent enough time writing this, I have lots to do!