Look at that handsome fella.

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(and in case you’re wondering, he wanted these for his birthday treat.)

Donsuemor & Davidson’s Tea asked me a few months ago to take part in their blogger tea party, so of course I accepted! I love tea. And I love Donsuemor. And that means that this post is all about my little tea party featuring Davidson’s delicious teas and Donsuemor’s delicious madeleines.

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I might have mentioned a few times on this blog how big of a role tea has played in my life. My grandmother was a big tea drinker. If you mention the word “tea” to anyone who knew her, they’d say “Aggie!” Ever since she passed away last July, I’ve especially missed that. Her world renowned crazy tea & cookie obsession! If my nana didn’t have her tea & cookies… someone was going to pay. As long as she had a warm cup of tea & some kind of cookie, all was right with the world. Like that image says above- a cup of tea solves everything. And so on that note, for the tea party I decided to use my grandmother’s vintage fine china tea set (& musical teapot). It’s Yamaka China, made in occupied Japan. It’s trimmed in 14K gold & it is beautiful. It must be a rare pattern too, because after looking up Yamaka tea/snack/luncheon sets, I haven’t found it anywhere. The teapot isn’t Yamaka, I’m actually not sure what it is, but it plays ‘Tea For Two’ when you pick it up to pour it. They were both bought sometime after she got married in 1940. My grandma was scrupulous about keeping things perfect, so the set is in mint condition. Looks like it just came out of the box.

And yes, the teapot still plays.

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I also used her vintage lace tablecloth, which I never even knew she had. I also hadn’t really ever looked at her china before, but when I decided to use it I really noticed how stunning it is. And I love the fact that the plates have a special little sunken-in area off to the side of the plate for the tea cups to sit in! Brilliant! Plenty of room on the plates for those madeleines. I went & bought some pretty flowers (that matched the tea set) and put them in another flowered tea pot for decoration. I’m not 100% sure what kind of flowers they are, but they’re gorgeous. I put out my jadeite bunny sugar bowl and I put out my grandma’s crystal salt & pepper shakers, just ’cause they’re pretty to look at. Then I got out some good silver teaspoons. All that …and I was ready for a party! A tea party, of course.

Thanks to Anna who pointed out the heart shape in the tea bag!

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Donsuemor sent four types of their madeleines: chocolate, chocolate dipped, lemon zest and original. Perfect for a tea party. And of course Davidson’s Tea sent three amazing teas: Bing Cherry with Almond, Tulsi Hibiscus Flower and Vanilla Cream Spice. All of the teas are organic & these happen to all be caffeine free. And did I mention delicious?

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I love the Vanilla Cream Spice tea. It’s very, very delicious. It was my favorite, although honestly I haven’t tried the Bing Cherry yet. The Hibiscus tea would be amazing iced! I think this weekend, since the weather will be warm again, I’ll make a big pitcher of hibiscus iced tea with some German rock sugar. And while I don’t think I could pick a favorite madeleine; if I did it’d be a tie between the chocolate-dipped and lemon zest. I can honestly say they’re all amazing, there’s not a bad one in the bunch. But I’m a tea lover, and I’m a French cookie (& pastry) lover too, so I guess I’m not the best judge. Or maybe I am a good judge for that reason!

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And coincidentally, it may seem as though I color-coordinated everything to match the tea packets, but I didn’t! Haha. I swear. I was planning on using the jadeite bowl and her pink-patterned tea set before I even realized the tea packets matched everything perfectly. But yeah, that’s just the way I do things, you know. I like to be 100% coordinated. *wink*

All in all, it was a sweet little tea party on a beautiful end-of-April afternoon. Even Arwyn requested some tea. I think she liked the Hibiscus flower one.

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Aren’t the flowers lovely, too? Thank you so very much to Donsuemor & Davidson’s Tea for helping me host such a beautiful tea party. Not only that, thank you for helping me rediscover something beautiful of my grandmother’s that I hadn’t given a lot of thought to. I had a wonderful time. I’m just sorry my tea-loving nana wasn’t here to enjoy it with us. But I guess she kind of was.

You can find Donsuemor on the web, on Twitter, and on Facebook. You can also find Davidson’s Tea on Twitter & Facebook, too! So go become a fan, become a follower & buy some of their treats.

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I apologize for this not being a cupcake post, or any kind of edible post. It’s a drinkable recipe. I hope you still enjoy it!

I guarantee most of you have heard of cold brewed coffee by now. It’s the “latest trend” in coffee; a bandwagon I’ve avoided like the plague. But, like The Hunger Games, I caved in. Especially after reading about it’s ultimate deliciousness. The coffee, not The Hunger Games. Here’s a little background from our friend Wikipedia:

Cold brew or cold press refers to the process of steeping coffee grounds in room temperature water for an extended period. It is also sometimes referred to as Toddy coffee which is a trademarked cold brewing system.

The cold-press process requires grinding coffee beans at a relatively coarse setting (typically as fine as possible to still be filtered^[1]) and soaking those grounds in cold water for a prolonged period of time, usually 12 hours or more. The grounds must be filtered out of the cold water after they have been steeped using a paper coffee filter, a fine metal sieve, or a French press. The result is a coffee concentrate that is often diluted with water or milk, and can be served hot, over ice, or blended with ice and other ingredients such as chocolate.

Cold brewed coffee naturally seems sweeter due to its lower acidity. Because the coffee beans in cold-press coffee never come into contact with heated water, the process of leaching flavor from the beans produces a different chemical profile than conventional brewing methods.^[2]

Cold brew coffee is a type of iced coffee, but this latter term also refers to coffee that is brewed hot and then chilled.

Thanks to The Daily Beast & America’s Test Kitchen & some other websites, I learned the 411 on why I should be drinking cold brew. Less bitterness & acidity as well as reduced oil content are two of the pluses, as well as the fact that 90% of the flavor and the exact same amount of caffeine come through. That sold me. See, I love my coffee. And despite the fact that I add sugar & milk, I find a lot of it to have a gross bitterness. I’ve figured out exactly what brands I enjoy and thanks to my Keurig it’s made it way easier to avoid the highly acidic or bitter “bold” roasts. But when I brew my own ground coffee I do find that most of it is too bitter for me- like old diner coffee. Or worse yet: coffee that tastes like burned sludge. Ugh. Again, Keurig helps avoid that issue without resorting to instant coffee. But still. Another plus of a cold brew? It’s apparently way stronger than hot brewed coffee. So strong it has to be diluted. Sign me up! And get this:

[...] the flavor of cold-brewed coffee won’t change over time. Cold-brewed coffee has never been hot, so its chemistry doesn’t change as it cools. As soon as you filter out the grounds, you’ve got a stable solution. With temperature change comes change in taste, but because cold-brewed coffee eliminates most of that temperature change, flavor is locked in. In other words, your day-old cold-brew won’t taste stale like day-old coffee.

- The Daily Beast

Again- sign me the hell up. Another benefit? All of that makes it the perfect type of coffee to use in baking or dessert-making. So the next time you’re making something like chocolate stout cupcakes, or bittersweet chocolate cupcakes, or mochacchino cupcakes… you’ve gotta brew up some of this to use.

After pouring the water into the grounds.

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Cold brewed coffee takes much more time than hot, obviously. The main reason people even use hot brew is because it’s quick. That’s all. However, on the other side of the coin, cold brew takes more than 24 hours from start to finish. It’s a very easy process, but it takes quite a while to “brew.” And of course, it’s not hot. It’s room temperature, and you add ice cubes to it. So it’s more iced coffee than anything.

But I love me some ice coffee.

After waiting 10 minutes, stirring the grounds & waiting again.

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And then… you wait. And while you wait, you write up the recipe. Because yes- they do sell cold brew coffee machines. But why do you have to buy one when you can use things you already own just as easily? And how much crap can we really cram in our kitchens anyway?

EASY COLD BREWED COFFEE

Ingredients:

• 5 teaspoons ground coffee (preferably good quality & freshly ground)
• 4 cups room temperature filtered water (I used Poland Spring because my tap water ain’t all that, even when filtered)
• French Press, large Mason jar or other glass container
• Coffee filters
• Sieve

Directions:

1. Put the grounds in a French Press. If you don’t have a French Press- get one. If you can’t run out and buy one right now, then put them in a large Mason jar or other large container (preferably glass).
2. Pour the room temperature water over them. Wait 10 minutes. Don’t touch it for 10 minutes. Seriously.
3. After 10 minutes, stir. I stirred somewhat vigorously, creating a mini-whirlpool. Then just walk away and leave it alone for another 10 minutes.
4. Once the 10 minutes is up, cover it with plastic wrap (or the jar lid) and keep it at room temperature for 24 hours.
5. Once the time is up, “press” the grounds (if using a French Press). Then place the sieve over a large glass measuring cup or glass bowl & place a coffee filter in it. Pour the coffee slowly into the filter. You might have to help push it through with a rubber spatula every now and then. If you’re not using a French Press, you’ll need to do this process two or more times. When it’s finished, dilute it with water at a 1:1 ratio (trust me on this- cold brewed coffee is STRONG). Remember when choosing your containers that you’ll end up with roughly 8 cups of coffee.
6. Fill a glass with plenty of ice. Pour coffee in and enjoy!

Straining the coffee...

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I’d recommend using a French Press for this. Not only does it make the filtering process easier, it’s just handy to have around. I love my French Press, and I don’t use it much anymore since getting my Keurig last year, only when I run out of K-cups, so I was excited to break it out again. Now it has a new job: making cold brew coffee!

Okay so for all you coffee drinkers that, like me, hate the acidic or bitter taste of most coffee… you’ll adore this method. You barely need sugar, seriously. I added it anyway because I like a little coffee with my sugar. But you really don’t need it. Especially if the only reason you take it isn’t so much for the taste/sweet tooth but just to cover the strength of the coffee. If you like the bitterness, you may not like this at all. Mainly because it really is much milder, tastier and sweeter. You really get a true coffee taste without any extra stuff or without an aftertaste. I kind of feel like this is the way coffee is supposed to be.

Just remember to store your cold brew in the fridge. And if you’re worried about diluting your brew with the melted water from ice cubes, pour some coffee in an ice cube tray and freeze it, then use those. And yeah, I drank mine in a jar. How else?

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Yeah. You’re welcome.

You all know how much I love Nutella, right? Well, I saw this idea on Pinterest (where else??) & decided to do it my way, or at least the way I imagined it being done in my head. I just used my basic muffin recipe as a base, then just swirled in some Nutella before I baked ‘em. Probably one of the easiest muffins ever. Not that muffins are typically difficult. I always say I never understand using a muffin mix when they take literally minutes to make from scratch. No joke. But especially these. There’s practically no mixing required. Just a little stirring. And some swirling.

Seriously. Before you buy another muffin mix, make some from scratch. You’ll see.

NUTELLA SWIRL MUFFINS

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup light-brown sugar
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅔ cup milk
• ½ cup butter — melted and cooled
• 2 eggs – beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• jar of Nutella (don’t worry, you’re not using the whole jar)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. and grease up twelve muffin cups or put liners in them (I prefer liners because it’s less messy that way).
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, stir together milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla until blended. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add milk mixture and stir just to combine. Don’t overmix!
3. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling them almost to the top; top each muffin with 2 teaspoons Nutella. Using a sharp knife, swirl the Nutella into the batter. It doesn’t have to be perfect or go all the way to the bottom. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean.
4. Remove muffin tin to wire rack; cool 5 minutes and remove from tins to finish cooling.

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So that’s it. It’s a short & sweet post today ’cause this couldn’t really get any easier. Oh- I used some unprocessed unbleached paper liners from The Layer Cake Shop for these, in case you’re wondering.

Congrats, Elizabeth!

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Happy Spring! I dunno about where you are but here in NY, it’s 70-something degrees & lovely. And, well, now that St. Patrick’s Day is behind us, we can take a little while to relax before the spring/Easter baking starts. But we can start planning! And isn’t it more fun to plan to bake things when you know they’re going in pretty packaging?

I like to bake. You like to bake. I mean, that’s why you’re here, right?

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They don’t call me the Rosie the Riveter of baking for nothin’, you know?

But I also like shopping. I like to shop for anything; my parents used to say as a kid I’d find something to buy anywhere- even a hardware store (which is especially true now since I’m older & discovered the wonders of home & garden DIY/canning), but one of my favorite things to shop for is cupcake supplies. Cute little liners, vintage-y toppers, sprinkles, etc. It sucks me in & I end up spending all day on websites looking at it. I feel slightly nerdy about that; I could use some comrades in arms. And I want to help you in your cupcake decorating obsessions. So me & Lyns from Sweet Cuppin’ Cakes Bakery & Cupcakery Supplies are pairing up to giveaway a 50.00 gift certificate to her website… for you!

Yup, $50.00 bucks for you to buy whatever you want: liners, toppers, sprinkles, extracts, you name it. Save it for Easter baking, save it for the fall (if you can wait that long) or Christmas, use half now & half later, use it all now to buy pretty spring-themed stuff, whatever! But all I know is there are TONS of things to choose from. Like these… which I personally love.

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And how do you win?

All you have to do is ‘like’ her new Facebook page, then come back here & comment. If you don’t have a Facebook, then follow her on Twitter & come here to comment. If you have both, that means two separate entries & two chances to win. If you have neither, then just comment with the promise that you’ll tell every single person you meet about her website (kidding… ). For bonus entries, become a fan of Cupcake Rehab on Facebook and follow me on Twitter too, and if you already are doing those things, you can still comment & say so. That’s two extra bonus entries! Four chances at winning.

And finally- one more bonus entry for tweeting about the giveaway! Just copy & paste this into a tweet:

I just entered to win a $50 gift certificate to @sweetsupply from @CupcakeRehab! You can too: http://cupcakerehab.com/2012/03/a-sweet-50-00-giveaway/

You could also write up your own tweet, so long as you mention me & Lyns both, as well as a link to this post (duh!). Don’t forget; after you tweet it come back here & tell me for your fifth entry chance. Each of those things I listed are irrelevant without leaving a comment for each! The comments are your entries. I’ll pick a winner on the 25th at midnight EST via random.org. I’ll e-mail the winner ASAP so make sure you leave a valid e-mail address!

Easy peasy. Any questions? Feel free to e-mail me at any time. Otherwise, happy entering!

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I guess that means she really likes it. See what she said about the tea-soaked raisins? It gave me an idea. Now me personally? I’m not into raisins. I did like the California Raisins, though. But anyway, I thought of her tea-soaked raisins which made me think of rum-raisin, and then my brain went straight to Jameson Irish whiskey. And then it went to Jameson-soaked raisins. I wasn’t going to put them in the cake, but on top. And I decided, like Chrisie, to make the cake into little muffins or cupcakes. Then I’d top them with a vanilla-Jameson glaze & some Irish whiskey-soaked golden raisins.

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Shut the front door, right?

And yes, I left some plain with just a nice, sugary crust on top.

IRISH SODA MUFFINCAKES WITH JAMESON-SOAKED RAISINS & JAMESON GLAZE

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsps. melted shortening (or butter)
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. Make wet dough: mix salt, baking powder, baking soda, flour and sugar. Beat eggs lightly and add melted shortening and buttermilk.
2. Mix all together until combined. If too watery, add a bit more flour. If too thick, add a bit more buttermilk.
3. Prepare a muffin tin with liners. Fill each liner with two-three tablespoons of batter.
4. Before putting in the oven, sprinkle sugar on top (if not using the raisins & glaze).
5. Bake at 375 degrees° F for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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JAMESON-SOAKED RAISINS

Ingredients:

• ½ cup golden raisins
• 3-4 tablespoons Jameson Irish Whiskey (enough to cover the raisins)

Directions:

1. Place raisins in a small bowl and pour whiskey over them.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a cool, dry place for about a half hour, 45 minutes.
3. When ready to use, remove raisins using a small strainer to remove excess whiskey. Use the whiskey in a drink or even in the glaze (below).

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JAMESON WHISKEY GLAZE

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons Jameson Irish whiskey (or whatever brand you prefer), you can use whatever is left after the raisins have soaked too
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. For glaze, pour sugar & Jameson into a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat; boil rapidly for 1 full minute. Remove from heat, whisk in butter & vanilla. Let set to thicken slightly for a few minutes. Place raisins on top of the muffins. Using a spoon, drizzle glaze over cooled muffincakes, making sure to cover the raisins.

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Forreals, yo.

I prefer to use golden raisins on these because let’s face it- regular raisins can look like mouse crap. Sorry if that ruined your appetite, haha. And of course, the colors of the golden raisins go better with the color of the cakes and the green liners anyway. Those fancy “ruffled” liners are by Wilton. I baked the muffincakes in regular white liners, then put them in the fancier ones after they’d cooled.

So basically, feedback on these has been “holy balls” & “wow” & statements along those lines. I didn’t have any, ’cause like I said, I don’t like raisins. But.. if you want to be on a super Jameson kick, then pair these with some Irish coffee. Or Irish coffee my way, which is coffee with milk & sugar & Jameson, then topped with whipped cream.

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Sometimes I just need to make a logo, even if it’s for nothing. Sorry. Involuntary graphic-designer twitch.

Anyway I’ve been getting a lot of love from Pinterest, so I want to say hi & thanks! Tons of you have been clicking through from there- so I hope you’re liking what you see, and keep coming back. I’ve also been getting a lot of Christmas goodies via snail mail lately. I guess that means I’ve been a good girl this year? I think I have been, but I guess every naughty person says that, right? Anyway this particular gift (& inspiration) is in the form of a Christmas table runner my amazingly-talented-with-a-needle-&-thread Californian friend Yoyo made for me. A custom made table runner. How friggin’ lucky am I?

Crazy lucky. And look! It has cupcakes on it!

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A Christmas table runner with pink candy stripes & cupcakes… I can’t even deal with the cuteness. It’s just the best, and the color scheme & patterns match almost perfectly with all my grandma’s vintage Christmas stuff. The pinks & greens & lighter than usual Christmas colors just went so amazing with the white plastic trees & retro Christmas ball candle holders. And as usual, it all inspired me to make cupcakes that went with it!

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And yes, they’re little cuppy cake trees. I seem to be all about the trees this year, eh? Now that I look at them, though, they’d be great for a little girl’s birthday too. The pastel colors are so sweet. They almost melt my cold heart.

Whoops, that tree to the right is leaning a bit!

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I took purposely washed-out vintagey kind of photos of them, & used my grandma’s vintage jadeite plates for a more 1950′s-ish presentation. I think it worked, don’t you? Those salt & pepper shakers are from Santa’s Village in Jefferson, NH. If you’ve never been, you should go!

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The cupcakes are just a plain vanilla cake, with vanilla flavored pastel green-tinted buttercream. As far as the frosting on the cakes, I used a large star tip to create that look. If you make 12 cupcakes, make enough frosting for 24 cupcakes; the trees need to be frosted twice as high as normal. The color is Wilton icing color in Leaf Green (only a drop!). Candy pearls are by Wilton, pink liners, larger pink candy ‘baubles’ (candy-coated chocolate) & pink candy pearls from Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery & Cupcakery Supplies. Green sanding sugar was bought at Target ages ago, but you can get it anywhere. And of course- runner by Topstitch! If you’re in the market for awesomesauce handmade items, check out Yoyo’s blog & her store. She’s always updating it with new material. And I’m sure for the right price she’ll do custom items for you, too, so just ask.

Christmas is getting closer & closer. Are you all ready?

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Teavana teas are the best. I am in love with them. My personal favorites (for drinking) are Cacao Mint Black, Samurai Chai Mate/White Ayurvedic Chai blend and JavaVana Mate. However I haven’t found one yet that I’m not into. My mother has a ton of them that her friend Mara (hi, Mara!) sent her in a ‘Tea Lovers’ gift set, so that’s where I go when I want to try a new flavor. Or when I want to experiment. Like, for example, what I wanted to do when I got this particular book.

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A few months ago, I ordered a book that I had been sorta lusting over for a while. It’s called Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry by Liana Krissoff/photographs by Rinne Allen. It arrived on a warm (okay- muggy, hot & slightly stifling), beautiful August day during which I had been out gardening, so I only briefly flipped through it at first. After cleaning up, coming inside & showering, I settled in with a can of ice cold Coke Zero & pored over every page. What a freakin’ gorgeous book! Filled with amazing recipes (not just canning but baking too!) and glorious photos. If you don’t have it, buy it. You won’t regret it.

One of the recipes in this book was a recipe for tea jelly. Just jelly made with tea. Well, tea, sugar, pectin and lemon juice. Sort of like an iced tea jelly, or a sweet tea jelly. I knew I had to make it. So I did. And the tea I used was Teavana’s Frutto Bianco Pearls white tea, which is described as:

Tropical fruits effortlessly complement hand-rolled, delicate white tea pearls. A blend of kiwi, coconut and candied tropical fruit bits tempt you to pull up a hammock and sip your cares away! Ingredients: white tea, apples, rose hips, lemongrass, citrus pieces, kiwi bits, coconut chips, lemon myrtle, candied pineapple & papaya.

-From Teavana.com

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I know, it sounds to die for. It is. And I thought it’d make a fantastic jelly.

The tea in the canister.

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It did indeed make a beautiful looking jelly…

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I have to say, I love all the recipes for tea-infused jellies & jams (as if you couldn’t tell?). It’s such an easy way to really make an average every day item stand out. It turns an ordinary preserve into something different, something that people can’t quite put their finger on. My family has a big history with tea; being Irish, my Nana Agnes’ side of the family drank tea like it was going out of style..I was raised on it, although coffee was a big part of life too, tea seemed to be the main component. It was always around.. black teas, green teas, herbal teas, sweetened with milk & sugar or just honey. When I was sick as a kid, my mom or nana would make me a big mug of tea with milk & sugar, and even now whenever I’m not feeling my best, I find that it’s a great cure. Tea is a huge part of my childhood memories. Now that I’m older, & my tastes have matured slightly, I like fancier stuff; but I always have a soft spot for a hot cup of black tea or English breakfast tea with milk & sugar.

So I made the jelly, labeled it, and put it aside. I sent a jar to Lyns (upon her request & also as payment for all the chutney’s she sent!) and promptly shoved my jars to the back of the line. Then recently, one Sunday morning, I was looking for another jam and found it! And I thought, “I need to make something special to serve this with.” So I took out a jar and I made some scones from the book, Regan’s Oat Scones, just specifically to have with this delicious jelly, for a brunch/lunch kinda thing.

Speaking of, you can use any tea you like, even herbal tea if you can’t tolerate caffeine, to make this jelly. Liana says she’s had excellent results with Oolong & Earl Grey, but I don’t see why you couldn’t use pretty much any kind of tea there is. Even pre-measured tea bags (although you’d typically need about 3 teabags to each tablespoon loose tea required). Trader Joe’s makes a white pomegranate tea that’d probably give lovely results, & my mother drinks a spicy vanilla chai by Bigelow that would also make a great jelly. Peppermint teas, citrus teas, musky teas. EXPERIMENT! Use a wintery blend for winter, a spring-y one for warmer weather… it’d be such a fun way to try new teas in a different way.

TEA JELLY (adapted from Liana Krisstoff’s book, Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry)

Makes 3 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons loose tea leaves
• 2 ¼ cups boiling water
• ¼ cup strained fresh lemon juice
• 3 ¼ cups sugar
• 3 cups of Green Apple Pectin stock (see recipe below) or what I did- 1 package Certo liquid pectin

Directions:

1. Prepare for water bath canning: Sterilize the jars and keep them hot (in water) in the canning pot, put a small plate in the freezer, and put the flat lids in a heatproof bowl.
2. Put the tea leaves in a heatproof bowl and pour in the boiling water. Let steep for 5 minutes*, then pour through a sieve into a 6-to 8-quart saucepan.
3. Stir the pectin/pectin stock, lemon juice and sugar into the tea. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture registers about 220° F on a candy thermometer or a small dab of it passes the freezer test (place some on the frozen plate and put back in the freezer for one minute, then remove; if the mixture wrinkles when you nudge it, it’s ready), about 25-30 minutes.
4. Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids. Using a jar lifter, remove the jars from the canning pot, carefully pouring the water from each one back into the pot, and place them upright on a clean, folded dish towel. Drain the water off the jar lids.
5. Ladle the hot jelly into the jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace at the top. Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid & band on each jar, adjusting the band so it’s fingertip tight.
6. Return the jars to the canning pot in a canning rack, making sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes to process. Remove the jars to the folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours, except to check the seal after one hour by pressing down on the center of each lid; if it can be pushed down it hasn’t sealed, and must be refrigerated immediately. After 12 hours, label sealed jars & store.

Instead of printing labels, I just tied some of the labels that come with the book (YES! Labels come with the book! SO CUTE!) on with some twine.

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How cute are they? Very. How awful is my handwriting? Very.

The deliciously special item I chose to make to eat it with was a scone. Not just any scone- but one made with oats, yogurt and honey (or maple syrup, but I used honey). Add the tea-infused jelly as a topping and it’s a free train ride to dreamy-town. I love scones anyway, but these are totally different than any other scones I’ve made. And with the jelly; seriously just forget it. No words. I halved this recipe because 5 eggs was a bit ridiculous at the time, although I wish I hadn’t! You can never have too many scones… especially these beautiful scones right here.

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REGAN’S OAT SCONES (from Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry)

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oats, plus extra for sprinkling (if desired)
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 cups (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• ½ cup yogurt
• ½ cup honey or maple syrup
• 5 large eggs
• turbinado sugar (optional, for sprinkling)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Using your fingertips, two knives held together, or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, honey or maple syrup, and 4 of the eggs. Pour the mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated; do not overmix.. The dough will be somewhat sticky.
4. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Flour your hands, then pat the dough out to ¾” to 1″ inch thick. Cut into 2 ½” inch rounds and place on the prepared baking sheets. Gather up leftover dough, handling it as little as possible, and pat it out to cut more rounds. If the kitchen is warm, put the baking sheets in the fridge for 30 minutes or so to firm up, so they don’t spread too much in the oven.
5. In a small bowl whisk the remaining egg together with 2 teaspoons cold water and brush the tops of the scones with it. Sprinkle with oats or turbinado sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through, until deep golden brown. Remove to wire racks.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature, preferably split & spread with jam or jelly.

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I got about 19 scones using the above recipe halved & using my 3-inch biscuit cutter to make them. You may think that’s plenty, but not when there are a ton of grabby hands around asking for baked goods all the time! I also used oats & gold crystal sugar (instead of turbinado) on top. They were so amazing, I could barely stop eating them. Thankfully, they’re (slightly) healthier than most scones. Sweet, but not too sweet. They’d work beautifully alongside a savory jelly too, I bet. Like a pepper jelly that’s on the sweeter side?

As I mentioned above in the tea jelly recipe, the author Liana prefers to use a homemade pectin stock for her jellies & jams. I am not so particular, but I’ll include the directions for doing so here just in case you’re far more ambitious than I. I’m lazy, remember? But now is a great time to do this because of the crazy amount of apples available. It’s apple season, after all. Make some & stock up on it if you’re not a lazy bitch. Like me.

GREEN APPLE PECTIN STOCK (also from Canning For a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry)

Makes 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds Granny Smith apples

Directions:

1. Cut the apples into eighths, removing the stems, and put the apples- peels, cores, seeds & all- in a 6-to 8-quart saucepan. Add 6 cups water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the apples are completely broken down and the peels have separated from the pulp, 30-40 minutes.
2. Set a very large, very fine mesh sieve (or jelly bag) over a deep bowl or pot. Pour the apples and their juice into the sieve and let drain for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally but not pressing down too hard on the solids; discard the solids. You should have about 5 ½ cups juice.
3. Rinse the saucepan and pour in the apple juice. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the juice is reduced to about 3 cups (pour into a large heatproof measuring cup to check it), about 20 minutes.
4. Transfer to a clean container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for several months.

Lyns had tried the jar I sent her long before I remembered mine, and she said it was amazing- I have to agree. This tea made a spectacular jelly! It also just goes to show you that you don’t have to make the pectin stock to get a delicious jelly. Of course, I’m sure it feels slightly more rewarding if you do. But lazy bitches unite- we don’t need no stinking apple stock. We have modern convenience at our fingertips.

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And the scones, they are phenomenal. Together, they’d be a great pair on Thanksgiving morning for breakfast. They have a sweet/not sweet borderline flavor that makes them more biscuit-y & perfect for accompanying a hearty bacon & eggs breakfast too. Also would be excellent on a cold winter’s night, right before bed. I had mine warm, and I definitely think they’re best eaten that way. Warm yours up if you’re eating them the next day, etc, or even toast them.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, it’s almost that time! With each post, as I did for Halloween, I’m going to post a vintage or retro postcard, just because I like ‘em.

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In honor of today, I present one of my favorite poems by one of my favorite authors read by one of my favorite actors; a poem I once recited in high school to a packed house, a poem that opened my little 10 year old eyes to the wonderfulness of its author… The Raven, written by Edgar Allan Poe, as done by Christopher Walken. Enjoy, & happy haunting.

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This year for Halloween, when it came to edibles, I was 100% inspired by Martha’s Halloween issue. Literally, 100%. I found the perfect cupcakes for Halloween, not to mention other treats & ideas that I just had to make (see picture on the right). Some of them you’ve already seen (like the pumpkin cupcakes, or the candy apples with witches’ attached!), but these are the pièce de résistance, if you will. Gorgeous green pistachio eye-of-newt & toe-of-frog cupcakes, complete with chocolate frogs! As soon as I saw them I just knew they’d be absolutely amazing, not to mention they’d look perfect on my table for Halloween. I told you I was completely inspired *ahem* by Queen Martha’s Halloween issue this year, didn’t I? I know I must have. Like I said, I haven’t had an original cupcaking thought in my pretty head all season, sadly. I’ve also been nursing a wicked painful back lately, which is actually most inopportune for a lot of reasons- but such is life when you get old like me you’ve got a chronic back problem, and on top of that I’ve been fighting (and losing) a battle with a hardcore cold. Bottom line is I needed some ideas. These cupcakes jumped out at me; regardless of what plans I had for Halloween these babies were going to be on the menu. Ghastly, ghostly, sickly green cupcakes accompanied by my lovely skull (with his friend The Rat & Mr. Tarantula), not to mention some extra (kinda cute) edible ‘croaking’ friends. I usually make cupcakes frosted high with tufts of perfectly piped buttercream… but not this time.

This time I wasn’t going to be frosting the little green-ish cakes, but glazing them in two different shades of green goo. Sounds yummy, right? Haha. At Halloween, anything is acceptable! And honestly, how could I possibly name them anything other than ‘Eye of Newt & Toe of Frog‘ cupcakes? I could not. I would be doing a disservice to my literary education as well as underestimating (or rather under-using) my quick wit.

So like any good witch would do, I took a break from drinking Egyptian Licorice tea, blowing my nose & rubbing Tylenol Precise on my back (sexy, I know), took out my magical mixer, Lola, and started to create some evil, er, delicious cupcakes. Lola may be pink, but she’s pretty diabolical. Together we whipped up some rather eerie yet delicious green-tinted pistachio cakes with green glaze & little frogs. The chocolate frogs are made from frog-shaped candy molds. I used chocolate Candy Melts (and Spooky Green colored melts to make the dots on them) and then brushed them with green pearl dust when they were cooled.

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The irony is, my dad’s birthday is the 29th of October, so every year I try to make a big batch of cupcakes & use half for his birthday, half for Halloween. Some years it doesn’t quite work out, and I end up making two batches anyway. But it just so happens that this year he requested pistachio cupcakes weeks before Halloween, and I never mentioned the fact I had planned on making these. So killing two birds with one stone made everyone a happy camper this year. And who wouldn’t love chocolate frogs!? Even Harry Potter likes chocolate frogs! They’re clearly magical.

What an amazing looking set of cupcakes these turned out to be! And moist. And tasty. Who doesn’t love pistachio? I admittedly amped up the ‘nut’ flavor with some almond extract myself (which I included in the recipe below), but if you’re a purist you can just use a full 2 teaspoons vanilla.

EYE OF NEWT & TOE OF FROG CUPCAKES (adapted very slightly from Martha Stewart’s Halloween magazine ‘pistachio cupcakes’, 2011)

Makes 36

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces unsalted shelled pistachios (about 1 ¾ cups)
• 1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Line 36 cups of standard muffin tins with paper liners. Coarsely chop ¾ cup pistachios, and reserve. In a food processor, grind remaining pistachios to a paste.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, cream cheese, and pistachio paste until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar; beat until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until each is incorporated, and scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla & almond extracts. Reduce speed to low. Add flour & salt, beating until just combined. Fold in chopped pistachios by hand.
3. Divide batter among lined cups, filling each almost ¾ full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. (Cupcakes can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.)
4. Place on wire racks that are over rimmed cookie sheets. Drizzle lighter glaze (see below) over each, let set until no longer tacky, 30 to 60 minutes. Drizzle with darker glaze, allowing the lighter to show around the edges, let set before decorating with chocolate frogs. Serve & enjoy.

GHASTLY GREEN GLAZE

Ingredients:

• 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ⅔ cup milk
• Gel-paste food coloring in Moss Green, Brown, Juniper Green and Royal Blue (all Wilton)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth & combined. Transfer half to another bowl.
2. For lighter green glaze (base color), add 4 drops Moss Green & 2 drops Brown food coloring to one bowl; stir to combine, adding more of each color until desired shade is reached.
3. For the darker glaze (top color), add 4 drops Juniper Green, 2 drops Royal Blue and 1 drop Brown to the second bowl; stir to combine. Adjust by adding more until desired shade is reached. Use immediately (above).

I bought my pistachios at Trader Joe’s because they’re the only place that sells unshelled pistachios (other than perhaps Whole Foods, but Trader Joe’s is closer to me). The frogs Martha uses are from Black Dinah Chocolatiers. I, however, made my own. Like I said above, I bought a frog candy mold (slightly bigger than the Black Dinah “froglets”) and used Candy Melts to create the frogs. Do as you wish in that department. I also used slightly different colors of Wilton gel-paste food coloring (just the greens) for the glazes. I couldn’t find Juniper Green & didn’t want to order it online, so I used two other Wilton greens I already had. It worked just fine.

And also I carved my jack-o-lantern! I screwed up a bit, it’s supposed to be Jack Skellington but I broke two carving saws doing it & so he’s not the best. I had further plans for it, but like I said, I broke the tools & it was around midnight, so here it is. Not perfect. I’m a perfectionist, though, so it’s disappointing. Boo (pun intended). But it came out pretty decent, either way, better than a lot I’ve seen. And I roasted the seeds with Kosher salt & olive oil. Mmm. That makes up for any mistakes, right?

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In case you aren’t aware, the phrase “eye of newt & toe of frog” is Shakespearean. It comes from the same text as “double, double, toil & trouble” and “something wicked this way comes”, also very popular terminology in modern vernacular… all of which just so happens to be from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. I’m 100% certain most people who use these terms haven’t a clue what their origins are. However I do, and it’s one of my absolute favorite literary classics. Anyway, the line about newts & frogs is from the part where the Three Witches (or “Weird Sisters”) are concocting a spell in the final scene. For those of you who slept through high school English class, here’s the full excerpt:

1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin’d.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:—’tis time! ’tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the caldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
3 WITCH. Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
2 WITCH. Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

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Those of you familiar with Shakespeare will align the image of the skull with another of his works, Hamlet. I guess these cupcakes are just totally Shakespearean! And now you know the origin of “double, double, toil and trouble.” Go impress your friends.

that ends our Halloween fare for the year (almost- bwahahahaha). I can’t believe in just 4 short days it’ll be Halloween- where the hell did the time go!? Insane. There might just be one more trick… or treat… before this month ends..

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That photo is from Eleanor & Frank’s wedding in the late 1940′s. As you can see, my grandfather & Mike’s grandmother were siblings, and my grandmother & Mike’s grandfather were also siblings. So Eleanor & Frank are the grandparents of my aforementioned cousin Mike, and in turn are the parents of my mother’s cousin Tom. Agnes & Butch are my grandparents, a.k.a. the parents of my mother. Make sense now? I hope so, because I really don’t want to break out the pie charts & graphs. Either way, our family tree only has one branch on this particular side, haha.

Anyway, Mike & Heather sent a care package to me & my mom a few weeks back from a (seemingly) awesome store down there called Roux Royale. We each got a mug, a pair of adorable salt & pepper shakers and this awesome cake plate!

Can you tell I’m a bit in love with the photography apps on my iPhone?

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Because I’m inspired by everything, this beautiful cake plate gave me the urge to bake something fantastic to put on it. Although I kept looking at it and rethinking what I was going to do. I’ve made King’s Cake cupcakes before, so I didn’t want to do that. Even though that’s where the natural progression of thoughts went, it’s taboo to bake it before Jan. 6th or after Mardi Gras. I’ve also made beignets, and as good as they are, I recently had a gigantic serving of them from the Grand Lux Cafe which satisfied my craving, plus I wasn’t sure they were really appropriate for display on this cake plate.

Mmm… Grand Lux beignets… *sigh* …. anyway back to reality…

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And I could’ve done a Cherries Jubilee-type cupcake, especially since the plate mentions cherries, but I’ve done enough cherry stuff lately. So I kept on thinkin’…

Then I remembered that famous New Orleans dessert, Bananas Foster. Ahh, the lovely Bananas Foster. It originated down there in NOLA at a famous place called Brennan’s, so what better dessert to display on that New Orleans cake plate!?

Bananas Foster is a dessert made from bananas and vanilla ice cream, with the sauce made from butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum, and banana liqueur. The butter, sugar and bananas are cooked, and then the alcohol is added and ignited. The bananas and sauce are then served over the ice cream. Preparation of the dish is often made into a tableside performance as a flambé.

The dish was created in 1951 by Paul Blangé at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana.^[2] It was named for Richard Foster, a friend of Owen Brennan‘s who was then New Orleans Crime Commission chairman. It is still served at a number of fine restaurants in New Orleans as well as in many restaurants around the world.

-Wikipedia

Brennan’s is really, really famous. It’s in the French Quarter. The head chef, Lazone Randolph, has been featured on more TV shows than Rachael Ray. Well not quite, but almost. Along with Cafe Du Monde, it’s seemingly one of those tourist places that screams New Orleans.

So yeah, I figured Bananas Foster was a perfect idea. Besides, my family is a bit bananas, so it’s even more appropriate! I love them, don’t get me wrong. I love them & they’re pretty much wonderful, but they’re mostly insane. Which helps to make them wonderful. If everyone was sane, wouldn’t the world be a boring place? I’m sure this concept has been done to death, but this is my version of Bananas Foster cupcakes. Easy, not a lot of drama, and no tableside fire action… but the end result does look & taste far more complicated. And it doesn’t melt, unlike the ice cream in the traditional, original version. I even had some cupcake liners left over from last year that were very similar to the cake plate’s design. How do you like them apples bananas?

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To avoid the dense, heavy cupcakes that using real bananas cause, I used banana extract. I don’t care if Florian Bellanger would disapprove. They came out amazing, so he can suck an egg. I mean that in the most respectful way, of course. They’re moist, fluffy, but not dense & thick. I’m including a recipe for a gorgeous, thick, creamy caramel made from condensed milk as well. If you’d like to use that (I didn’t) you could spoon it over the frosting, over the caramelized bananas or even on the cupcakes before you frost them. I thought the flavor of the bananas themselves was enough… but if you want a really decadent over the top cupcake… go for it.

BANANAS FOSTER CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• Caramelized bananas (recipe below), cooled
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk caramel (optional, see here for recipe)
• 1 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons milk
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure banana extract
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• few drops yellow food coloring (if desired)

Directions:

1. Set oven to 375° F to preheat. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together, into a deep mixing bowl, the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, ¼ cup of the milk and flavorings. Beat on low until blended, then beat on high for another minute or two.
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the remaining ¼ cup milk, egg, and food coloring (if using) and beat ½ minute longer on high. Scoop into muffin tins to fill them about ¼ or ½ way because they rise a lot. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick/cake tester comes out almost totally clean. Cool completely.
4. Frost with evaporated milk buttercream frosting (recipe below), then drizzle condensed milk caramel on top with the tines of a fork or a small teaspoon. Top each cupcake with one or two caramelized bananas, and if desired, a bit more caramel.

Confession time. Okay, my confession here is this: as you can see below, I did not use pure banana extract like I recommended. I used Watkins‘ imitation banana extract. However, unless you use Watkins, I’d go with pure. The Watkins flavor is really good & not overly fake or sweet, I know sometimes supermarket extracts can be a bit strong at times, in a bad way.

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EVAPORATED MILK FROSTING

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 4 ¼ cups powdered sugar
• 2 ½ ounces evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter, vanilla and 2 cups of the powdered sugar.
2. Once well incorporated, add evaporated milk alternating with a cup of sugar at a time until all ingredients have been added. Beat on high for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Spread or pipe on completely cooled cupcakes.

Gotta have some cafe au lait with them, of course…

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CARAMELIZED BANANAS

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, sliced
• 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Spray a non-stick frying pan and a ceramic plate with cooking spray (or waxed paper or parchment on the plate instead), and heat the pan up over medium heat.
2. Mix sugar & cinnamon together in a shallow dish. Dip each banana slice in the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Make sure they’re completely coated.
3. Using a fork or small tongs, place bananas in pan as they’re ready. Cook until golden-brown, then flip. The first side will take a few minutes, the second side a bit less. Do not let them burn! If you see them getting too dark, sticking to the pan or smell a burning smell- flip them immediately! Keep an eye on them.
4. When finished, place on coated plate (bananas will be sticky). Let cool before topping cupcakes.

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If you choose to use it, you may need to soften the condensed milk caramel a bit before drizzling it, depending how warm your kitchen is, etc. In that case, place the can, open side up (obviously) in a small saucepan of simmering water (only about one inch- don’t get the caramel wet!) for a few minutes, stirring fairly constantly, until it softens enough.  I didn’t feel as if I needed it, but it would make a lovely addition. You could even fill them with it- that would be divine.

Proper “Nu Awlins” cupcakes for a proper “Nu Awlins” cake platter. Thanks again, Mike & Heather, for my newest additions! They’ll be well used around here, as there’s always some kind of baked goods out for display.

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Shabby Apple, in case you aren’t familiar with it, sells the most beautiful clothing & vintage-y retro inspired clothing, (and aprons, which I’ll get to in a minute); dresses & maternity dresses, little girl’s clothes, swimwear, fitness wear and gorgeous jewelry & accessories. I was just talking a few days ago about how “old fashioned” I am, and then bam! I find out about this site. Talk about kismet. My personal favorites: this adorable retro navy blue sailor dress, this super cute striped jersey dress, and of course, this black one (with a great name, Mary Jane Watson!). Lucky for you, this awesome site found me, liked my blog and wanted to share some of the delightful-ness of their merchandise with my readers!

So, I chose, just for you, my lovely readers/fans/followers/stalkers/etc… my favorite of the aprons, the Wildberry Pie empire waist apron, which was featured in USA Today. Yes, the winner of this giveaway will receive this gorgeous apron, retail value: $38.00 US.

Super adorable, right? And oh, oh, what’s that on the wall? Oh yeah. That’s right- a cupcake!

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A bright patch of colorfully printed poplin provides the perfect backdrop for your wildest culinary creations. Detailed with contrasting pattern at the tie-back waist and halter straps, and pleating at the empire waist, this full bib apron will keep your sundresses spotless while you conjure up another kitchen miracle.

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That’s us, right readers? Whipping up kitchen miracles. And the apron. I know. Totally & completely cute. Even cuter? The little story that’s included with the apron on the website:

Clutching the copy of The Joy of Cooking I had pilfered from my great aunt’s bookshelf as if it would somehow protect me, I walked up to the door of the guest house with all the grace and courage I could muster, and opened the door. A fresh breeze blew in off Lake Michigan, filling the airy entryway with the bouquet of scents that make up Door Country limestone beaches, smoking fish, pitch pines and midwest tradition. I breathed it in. This was not a vacation; this was a test.

I had prepped for weeks for this, the first encounter with the future in-laws and their extended family a whole gaggle of gracious ladies and hungry gentlemen from scattered points around flyover country as they descended on Sturgeon Bay for the Fourth of July. It was a longstanding family tradition of lounging, fishing, and eating obscene amounts of the women’s blue ribbon prize-winning home cooking, culminating in the family’s giant Independence Day feast, where the best of the best was on display for everyone’s viewing, and eating, pleasure.

I was assigned the pie. The test to see if the girl from the big city could be a proper wife and keep their loving son fed. (Apparently my vast knowledge of the best and cheapest places to eat out in New York didn’t count) The only small problem was I had never actually made a pie. So for weeks I practiced, watching YouTube videos of Julia Child or Martha Stewart whipping up extraordinary pastries and following along in my tiny galley kitchen, only to turn out crusts that could chip your teeth or filings so sticky you could barley swallow them. None of this was helped by my fiancee’s constant whistling of “Can she bake a cherry pie?”

I made my way down the hallway of my bungalow and into the kitchen, the sense of fear and dread welling up inside of me. But there on the counter was a little bundle tied up with string, my name handwritten on the outside of an envelope. I opened it.

Someone wise once said, “Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.” I think the trick is to look good doing both, thought these would help. Good Luck! Aunt Sue

I undid the bundle. Inside was a sweet, handmade vintage apron, and two index cards stapled together, with “TOP SECRET: 4th of July Boysenberry Pie” written at the top. I put on the apron, tying its rick-rack apron strings behind my back in a big bow, pulled the butter from the fridge, and took a deep breath.

Did that story draw you in? Make you want to know more? Make you want to make a wildberry pie of your own? Especially while wearing this apron?

Thought so.

Me too. But what I bet is that right about now you really want to know how you can win this Shabby Apple apron, dontcha? I bet you’re dying to get your hands on it. I don’t blame you. Here’s one more view, from the back, for you to revel in the cuteness. Polka dot trim!

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Yeah, you want it. Okay, so here’s the deal. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents ONLY (sorry international peeps, I’ll get ya next time). What you eligible U.S. residents are going to do is the following:

1. Leave a comment here stating (briefly) why you relate to the apron’s story above. Short & sweet is good, no novels please! Also, make sure you leave me a valid e-mail address, I’ll need it to contact you if you win!
2. Optional ways of getting additional entries: Follow me on Twitter, follow Shabby Apple on Twitter and become a fan of both Cupcake Rehab & Shabby Apple on Facebook, then come back here & comment again.
3. You have exactly one week from today to do so. Comments will be closed as of midnight EST, July 2nd, 2011.
4. Then, thanks to random.org, I’ll choose a winner. Ta-da!
5. For those of you who do not win, since there will only be one winner… there’s a coupon code for you, so you can buy your own apron, 10% off. The code is “cupcakerehab10off” and it expires in one month.

That’s all. Easy peasy. So go on, get to entering!

I should state before continuing with the post/recipe for salsa that I am indeed a salsa fanatic. Salsa in almost any shape & form- salsa verde, chunky salsa, mild salsa, hot salsa, salsa with lots of cilantro, salsa with corn & black beans- you name it, I will love it. Except for peach or mango salsas. My salsa has to have tomato or tomatillo in it. So when I happened upon my new favorite blog (thanks mom), Food In Jars, I immediately looked for a quick salsa recipe. Salsa means ‘sauce’ in Spanish, and it’s basically a cold version of an Italian tomato sauce with different herbs, and often no cooking required, particularly with ‘salsa fresca’ or ‘fresh sauce.’ Salsa fresca is also sometimes referred to as ‘pico de gallo’ or ‘the rooster’s beak’, referring either to way it was eaten (with the thumb and forefinger, mimicking a rooster pecking) or the shape of the chili peppers used to make it. Although according to the almighty and always correct Wikipedia:

Another suggested etymology is that pico is derived from the verb picar, which has two meanings: 1) to mince or chop, and 2) to bite, sting or peck. The rooster, gallo in Spanish, is a common metaphor for the hyper-masculine (“macho“) male in Mexican culture. One example of such machismo is taking pride in withstanding the spicy burn of chilis.

However, neither theory can be considered definite, as they assume the use of hot chilis. In many regions of Mexico the term “pico de gallo” refers to any of a variety of salads, condiments or fillings made with sweet fruits, tomatoes, tomatillos, avocado or mild chilis — not necessarily with hot chilis, or any chilis at all. Thus, the name could be a simple allusion to the bird feed-like minced texture and appearance of the sauce.^[2]

Although I always considered pico de gallo to be drier, drier as in not as liquidy as regular salsa, and this salsa is liquidy. However I chopped my onion kind of rough, not very fine, so I made it more like a pico. I also added a ton more cilantro because I love it. I also used two pretty small organic “on the vine” tomatoes as opposed to one large one, so it was definitely not as tomato-y. Yes, I know, there isn’t really much to making salsa, and yes, I could’ve figured it out on my own without a recipe (especially since it’s essentially the same as the pico de gallo I’ve made before… but I digress). But it’s easier when you’ve got an idea of exactly how much of what to put in the first time. I plan on experimenting with this, for sure. And next time I make those chicken flautas, I’ll have this on the side & in the filling, thankyouverymuch.

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But for now, here’s the basic Salsa Fresca recipe from Marisa at FIJ. Make it & revel in the mouth-puckeringly acidic deliciousness.

HOMEMADE SALSA FRESCA (from Food In Jars)

Makes approximately one pint

Ingredients:

• 1 large tomato, diced
• ½ white/yellow onion, finely minced (I used about a little over ¼ of an extremely large white onion)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ bunch of cilantro, washed and chopped (I just tore the leaves off, I didn’t chop)
• 1 – 2 jalapeños, seeded and minced (you can leave the seeds in if you want a hotter flavor, I used one & omitted the seeds)
• 1 lime, juiced (about 2 – 2 ½ tablespoons, for you measurement-obsessed freaks)
• 2 big pinches of salt

Directions:

1. Mix everything together in a glass or ceramic mixing bowl. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving, but half an hour is even better.
2. Store leftovers (if there are any) in a glass canning jar.

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I used a washed-out spaghetti sauce jar to save the leftovers in, although the recipe’s author is right: there isn’t much left. Let me just say this is amazingly excellent with some Garden of Eatin’ blue corn tortilla chips. Heavenly, as a matter of fact. Or rather, since I don’t really believe in “heaven”, I’d like to think that my version of heaven would be unlimited fresh salsa & chips. Not sure how long this would last in the fridge, but mine didn’t even make it past the next afternoon. Also, if you’re new to cooking, and you aren’t sure how to dice a tomato, here’s a quick rundown of how it’s done; no judgement here. We all start somewhere! And make sure you roll your lime firmly on the counter before cutting & juicing it, that releases all the juice from the pulp and makes it easier to get every last bit out.

Also, an interesting fact I ran into on Wikipedia that I’d like to share with you all:

In a 2010 press release the Centers for Disease Control reported that during the 1998-to-2008 period, 1 out of 25 foodborne illnesses with identified food sources was traced back to restaurant salsa or guacamole.^[5] According to a 2010 July 13 news item by journalist Elizabeth Weise, a 2008 outbreak of Salmonella was traced back to the peppers used in salsa.^[6] Originally reported to the CDC by the New Mexico Department of Health, over the course of several months, the outbreak sickened a total of 1,442 people in 43 states and resulted in 286 hospitalizations.^[7] Weise reports:

“Refrigeration is the key to safe salsa, says Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety, who published a paper on the topic earlier this year.[8] ‘An unusual finding was if you used fresh garlic and fresh lime juice, it prevented the growth’ of bacteria. ‘You couldn’t use powdered, it had to be fresh,’ he says.”

Crazy, huh? You learn something new everyday. That should ease the fears of some of you germ-phobes, though. Just make sure your salsa’s are made with fresh ingredients and you’re good. Besides, who’s afraid of a little E. Coli or Salmonella?

OH! I almost forgot: I am also now a member at Punk Domestics. So come see me over there & we can discuss canning & pickling & micro-farming. You know, all that hardcore punk rock stuff.

And send one they did! They sent the cutest little collar for Arwyn, and it came a few days ago.

It came all wrapped up so nice, and with a magnet too!

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Super adorable little cupcakes…

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So I opened up the package, and put the magnet on my fridge, and put the collar on. It looks so cute. Of course, here are some requisite photos. Arwyn is a wonderful model, isn’t she? And so gorgeous!

This last one doesn’t show the collar, but it’s just here to emphasize her beauty

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This particular collar style comes in a few other different patterns/colors as well. So a big big BIG thank you to Dog Collar Boutique! If you have pets, you should take a peek at their website. They have tons, and I mean tons, of beautiful collars, and they come in a large variety of sizes. If you have a small dog or a cat, the extra small or small sizes would be perfect, depending on their weight and size. They also have leashes, harnesses, carriers, doggie coats, and more! They also have cat collars and a gorgeous line of sterling silver dog tags.

Of course, my favorites are the ones with cupcakes…

So I made some mini-cupcakes with zebra liners, a light cocoa frosting & pink sprinkles!

Pink sprinkles from sweet estelle’s baking supply, zebra mini liners from Bake It Pretty

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I know. Totally cute. The cutest thing? That cupcake is sitting in the tablespoon measuring spoon! They’re teeny! Vanilla cakes (Magnolia‘s, again!) topped with a vanilla confectioner’s sugar buttercream with just a tad unsweetened cocoa mixed in. They have just a little taste of chocolate without being really chocolate-y. You could also use a little Ovaltine to achieve this same effect. No new recipe today, just my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, again.

MAGNOLIA’S FAMOUS VANILLA CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake papers.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Of course I got about 24 mini-cupcakes from this.

I also got, at Target, a cupcake floor mat for my kitchen, a pink heart shaped mixing bowl and some heart-themed oven mitts & dish towels… all for Valentine’s Day. But around here, those things ain’t just for Valentine’s Day! I did get a big platter-type plate with Valentine’s Day sayings on it, so that’ll be seen later on as it gets closer to V-Day.

On a side note, my hair has been looking super cute lately, if I do say so myself. I keep saying I want to grow it out, and then I see pictures of myself like this one and that goes right out the window. I’m really only posting this because the colors in it are so pinkish they went with the pink theme. Cell phone quality photos aren’t Vogue-worthy, but oh well.