Happy Valentines Day

A Hallmark "holiday"? Maybe, go out and get me a card anyway...

Banana Kisses and Guilt

So...clearly this isn't posting more. I've been baking more, but have also hit a snag in my eating extravaganza. I watched "Fast Food Nation" and then another horrid thing on the treatment of cows at a ranch! I'm not an idiot and am rightly aware of where and how (though once you see it happening...whew...) our meat gets to the market, but my heart really hurt to see these cows being kicked and tossed around on fork lifts (Yeah, you read that right- fork lifts!). Anyhhooo... I've been off the beef for awhile now, had chicken the other night and was ok with it. I'll get back, once I find Farmer Brown who hugs his cows every night before bed and fluffs their hay piles before they lay down... far fetched I know, but sometimes I like to live in a fantasy land.

Bad, Bad Carnivore

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Go to butcher, get a lot, rub them with whatever you want- may I suggest just salt and pepper? Throw around many sprigs of fresh thyme and sage. Sit atop a bed of as many sliced onions you can stand to cut. Have oven set to 300. Put pan in uncovered. Sit and watch tv for 4-5 hours. Little dog has gone to kitchen at this point and sniffed the air a thousand times...

After 5 hours (for me this was 11pm)... do one of two things. A: turn heat down to 200, cover the pan and leave those bitches in there until the morning when you get up or B: put the ribs at the bottom of a crock pot (slow cooker- whatever you call it at your home) and pour everything on top. Which is what I did. I set it on low and turned it off when I got up. Yeah, I nibbled some while waiting for my coffee to brew. And it was so delicious. The onions had completely caramelized and the rib "juice" was good enough to substitute for my morning coffee- but I didn't do that! I packaged a couple of "servings" (for Andre the Giant...) and headed off to work where at 10am... I ate lunch.

You will not be disappointed. I can't believe I don't make more.

Marshmallow- A Visual Journey

One Bite Delight

Petite (I just like the flow of the word) brownies. So cute, so easy, so chocolatey, so easy to forget you've eaten 14 of them in an hour... le sigh....

Make them yourself, eat them all- alone. Know one will ever know and who cares if they find out.

Preheat oven to 350 or whatever your oven thinks is 350. Here's what ya need...

1 Cup of Butter

1 Cup of Cocoa

2 Cups of White Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1/4 Cup of Coffee (mmm...coffee)

4 Eggs (out of the fridge for about an hour prior- if you remember if not oh well...)

1 1/3 Cups of Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

dash o' salt

In a bowl (not your mixing bowl!) add 1 1/3 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and a dash of salt.

Melt one cup (yup, one cup...) of butter (I use salted), IN YOUR MIXING BOWL (not to be confused with your flour blend bowl!) blend in one cup of good quality cocoa (mmhmmm...another cup), add two cups (oh yeah, we're doubling...) of sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 1/4 cup of coffee (I really do use whatever is left over in the pot). Mix well. I use a KitchenAid stand mixer, but if you are really strong and want to do it by hand have at it. Add 4 eggs. ONE AT A TIME!!

Scrape the bowl down, get your flour mixture and now slowly add it in- otherwise... POOF! Flour everywhere...

Spray your mini muffin tins (You will regret it if you don't, oh- mine have a non stick coating too but you will be sorry if you don't spray. Humour me... just do it). With a tiny ice cream scoop (I'm anal and measure...) plop one scoop into each spot. This recipe will make 4 1/2 dozen cupcakes. Fit as many tins in your oven as you can. Bake for only 9-11 minutes. 9 if you life them gooey, 11 if you like them more dry.

I'm sure that's the whole of it... :)

I promise to bake more, update more!

I admit, I've been a tad slack a roni on the updating. The holidays wore me out, which is surprising since I really didn't do much but lounge, cook, eat, sleep...

Truffles on top of the classic vanilla cupcake

Chocolate Cherry Delights!

Hallowe'en Cupcakes

As much as you think you can make a cupcake look "scary"... Still cute! Maybe next year?

More Cafe Mela

For Cafe Mela's Thursday Late Opening

True Love- Vanilla Cupcake with Pink Buttercream

A Lot of Cocoa- Espresso Brownie with Chocolate Mousse Buttercream

Saidie- Espresso Brownie with Buttercream and Mini Chips

MG- Coconut Cupcake with Buttercream and Coconut Fluff

True Love and MG




A Box of Goodness

More Cupcakes