I don’t know if it’s because of the full moon tomorrow or what, but I’ve been having one of those super productive days in which I actually amaze myself. I had a pan of vegan peppermint brownies (minties, maybe) in the oven before 8:00 am, and a separate pan of vegan non-peppermint brownies baked a few hours later. Why all the brownies, you may ask? It’s parent-teacher interviews tomorrow night, and I am bringing (apparently a lot of) brownies and pasta salad to the teacher potluck. I may have to sample them, though, just to ensure quality control. The house smells amazing; brownies are a nice project on a rainy and cold fall day.
I also went to the grocery store, and much to my delight I made it in and out prior to the arrival of the seniors’ bus. If you do not think that is something of note, then you have never had the back of your legs nudged vigorously by an old lady behind you in the lineup who is sure that she is going to miss the bus back to the lodge, despite the fact that said bus doesn’t leave for another forty-five minutes. You have never had to navigate around carts left randomly in an aisle, three wide, while a gaggle of elderly women talk about the virtues of store brand bran flakes versus All-Bran. You have never had to turn your cart around in the produce section because the lineup at the pharmacy is blocking the aisle where they keep the mixed greens. And none of these things happened to me today because I made it there before the bus even pulled up. It’s a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
While in the baking aisle, I noticed this:
Now, I know that sometimes we all need something quick and easy, but this seems really kind of icky to me. Cans of plain frosting, add your own flavour with the little artificial flavouring packets. People, it’s VERY EASY to flavour your own frosting; you do not need to do this. I IMPLORE YOU. Frosting is one of the easiest things to make in the history of the kitchen arts. The hardest thing about making frosting is ensuring that you remove the beaters from the mixer before licking them, lest you accidentally turn the mixer on and have something terrible happen to your tongue. I just wrote about how to make different kinds of frostings over at Yummy Mummy Club – check it out if you want a quick and easy cupcake recipe.
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| Jake with his birthday cupcake. |
Last night my husband was watching Shark Tank (I KNOW) and there were two ladies on there who had started their own company, called Wicked Good Cupcakes, shipping cupcakes nationwide in little mason jars. It seemed to be the most adorable thing ever, and I briefly considered trying this – cupcakes in mason jars, not shipping nationwide – but then I became puzzled on how one would actually get the cupcakes in the jars without them getting squished or crumbling to pieces. It is one of those Pinterest-y ideas that seems So! Awesome! but ends up with someone crying and/or having a major self-esteem crisis.
Speaking of wicked good things, did you read that Mark Wahlberg has just recently graduated high school, after originally dropping out in ninth grade? Hooray, Marky Mark (and hubba hubba). It’s nice to see celebrities doing good things, instead of making moronic political/ societal/ vaccination-based comments that make me despair for the state of the world. Mark Wahlberg instead wrote that he wanted to be a good example for his kids. What a guy!
I KNOW.
Completely unrelated, I have had Elton John’s Levon stuck in my head all day. At this point I am pretty much begging any other song to take over, since I’ve caught myself singing out loud several times. He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas Day when the New York Times said God is dead and the war’s begun….HE SHALL BE LEEEEEEEEEVON. I desperately need something, anything else to take up this space in my head. I will take any earworm suggestions at all. ANYTHING. He shall be Levon, he shall be a good man…MAKE IT STOP PLEASE.
I’m guessing you’ve posted it before, but can you link to your vegan brownie recipe? Gal Smiley’s birthday is this week and I’d love to make them tomorrow to take in to her class.
Also: I totally am not getting the cupcake-in-a-mason-jar thing. Do you mean they bake it in there? Or they bake it, then pop it in afterwards? I am mystified.
I haven’t posted it! I should remedy that. In the meantime, I will email you!
See, that’s what I didn’t get. Do you bake them in the jar? Do you put them in the jar? HOW DOES THIS WORK?
I am more concerned with how to get the cupcake OUT of the mason jar.
And it kind of looks just like you
Mixed with Zach Galifianakis.
La la la whatever
La la la it doesn’t matter
La la la oh well
La la la
Ack, good one!
They ate the cupcakes with a fork and spoon, out of the jar. Odd, no?
This morning I went for a walk and had Part Time Lover in my head. Do you remember that one? Stevie Wonder? I had to google it when I got home to figure out who it was I had kicking around in my head. Then I went to the drugstore and heard some Cyndi Lauper. In other words, I am NO HELP to your earworm situation.
But I’m with you on the “cheater” frosting. I don’t even use beaters. Butter, sugar, flavouring, stir, eat. The End.
Also, brownies.
PART TIME LOVER. That is a very good suggestion. Except I don’t know the words so I’d just be singing Part time lover over and over.
I will trade you because for reasons that are unfathomable to me, I’ve had that god forsaken Selena Gomez song stuck in my head for days. I don’t even really know the lyrics: if you’re ready come and get it? When you’re ready come and get it? I don’t know and I don’t care. I don’t like that song and yet, brain will not let it go. Why brain? WHY???
That has happened to me with Blurred Lines. You know you want it. You know you want it you’re a GOOD GIRL.
YOU’RE THE HOTTEST BITCH IN THIS PLACE
How about replacing an Elton John name song with another Elton name song?
Daniel, my brother, you are OLDER than me/Do you still feel the pain of the SCARS that won’t heal?….DAAANIEEELLL you’re a STAAAAR in the face of the sky….
You’ve seen more than I….wait, that didn’t help! Eeeeeek.
Goodbye yellow brick roaaaaaaddd
I…. don’t know that Elton John song. Which seems weird. And now I’m scared to look for it on iTunes lest I be hearing it for the rest of my days.
That frosting does look icky. Although I have used more canned frosting over the past few years than I care to admit – there was a time when I wouldn’t touch it. I used to make icing with pudding and I liked it because it wasn’t too sweet, but it’s absolute crap for decorating. I will look at yours. Will you be putting the brownie recipe on Yummy Mummy? I will wait (sort of) patiently. I’m not a huge brownie fan, but peppermint vegan brownies sound interesting.
Well, now I’ll have to send you the link to that song. I bet you do know it but don’t know you know it, you know?
Cupcakes in a Jar:
You bake your cupcakes. Once they cool, remove the liner and slice them in half horizontally. Ice the top side of the bottom half, and put in the jar. Then, you ice the top of the cupcake, put it in the jar as well. Seal the jar, and you’ve got yourself a cupcake in the jar (which you obviously eat with a spoon or fork, not your fingers).
They make great bridal/baby shower favours, because people can grab them and go, and you don’t need to worry about anything getting smushed.
I think they are very cute – but how do you get them in there without crumbling? I guess you need very well fitting jars?
Screw artificially flavoured cupcakes…give me a Walberg on the side.
Icing is kind of tricky though. I find that getting the right consistency is hard. Too much milk…too much butter…no more icing sugar…fuck it’s runny…screw it…I’ll just lick the bowl.
You know that I thought about you when they sent out the parent council forms. I wanted to…but…I hate baking. Kidding. I really hate old people at grocery stores.
I don’t like icing. What ketchup is to a t-bone steak, icing is to my baked goods.
So if I’m going to use icing on something for my kids (the ingrates) I’ll buy that container, dump in my “flavour/dye” packet and mix it w/ a single knife. Then I’ll ice the cupcakes or whatever with the same knife. Next, I will toss the fricking container UNWASHED into the garbage. The knife will go in the dishwasher. That’s the sum total of energy I can commit to icing.
I’m sure everyone reading this thinks I am a snarky, mean-spirited bitch. To seal this impression I will now confess that I am also not a fan of muscles & I have never cared for Marky-Mark. But the fact that he dropped out of JUNIOR high school? That is a huge turn off.