Birth Day Celebrations

We have celebrated several birthday's this year already...and one brand new birth day!

In January we celebrated the 30th birthday of Adam's best friend. If you know him, you know this fits him pretty well...never without budweiser ;) It's hard to tell from the picture, but it was supposed to be the cap to the bottle.  

The next day we celebrated my father in law's birthday. He's a nascar fanatic, therefore we felt this would be fitting...

In feb we celebrated the birth of the newest family member...Miss Olivia Ann Stott. Of course I couldn't resist making cupcakes for mommy and daddy to enjoy while I got my snuggle time.

Since then we have celebrated Adam's Birthday and my own...I am proud to say that Adam even took it upon himself to bake a cake for my birthday all by himself. Needless to say it impressed me with the effort he put in, and impressed me again when it actually came out well!

"Animal-less"

I always wondered what a vegan cupcake would taste like. No eggs, no milk (soy milk instead). Well, for one they do not rise the same way as a regular cupcake and in turn are much more dense and compact...But, not too bad. My first ever vegan cupcake.



Ready to try? ;)

They're no NY Bagel...

BUT they are a bagel! As I was making them I wondered what is so appealing about bagels anyways. As they were being prepared, they reminded me of doughnuts (without the frying) and when I tasted them they reminded me of just a simple piece of bread. Interesting...

Anyways, I found a reciepe and decided I wanted to try it out. Actually, I found 2. SO, I made wheat and plain. Clearly, they need a little work, but Adam is happy...I guess that's all that matters. ;)
AND here are the results.......

Wheat

Plain

The dough was made from scratch, shaped, boiled, and baked. It was surprisingly simple. Now, who wants to try one?

A little Color for Your Fancy

I don't think I ever realized how many different frostings you can make and how creative you can get in order to find just the right and fun ingredients to top your cupcake. It's always fun to have a new flavored cupcake, but sometimes the most fun comes from what's on top.

Adding a little color can add just the right pizzaz the cupcake may be missing...

Back to Basics

Who doesn't love the basic cupcake? Vanilla on vanilla, chocolate on chocolate, vanilla on chocolate, or chocolate on vanilla? Sure we can get as fancy as we want with cupcakes and thats fun... but sometimes it's nice to have a simple, homemade, cupcake...that's when it's the simpler the better ;)

Homemade chocolate cupcake with homemade vanilla frosting. It's just goodness

Cupcake Mishap

WELL, in an attempt to make a batch of cupcakes this evening I realized a little too late I missed a key ingredient. As I was filling the cupcake cups the batter felt heavier and less willing to just easily slide into the cup itself. I thought it was weird, but did I question it? Not so much. Silly me. As they began to bake it finally hit me...I forgot the milk! Whoops. SO, here we are with a cupcake formed sugar cookie. Not exactly the result I was looking for :)

SO, now the question remains...do I frost this with cookie or cupcake frosting?

How do you eat YOUR oreo?

Psychologists have discovered that the manner in which people eat 
Oreo cookies provides great insight into their personalities. Choose 
which method best describes your favorite method of eating Oreos:
 
 1. The whole thing all at once.
 2. One bite at a time
 3. Slow and methodical nibbles examining the results of each bite     
     afterwards.
 4. In little feverous nibbles.
 5. Dunked in some liquid (milk, coffee...).
 6. Twisted apart, the inside, then the cookie.
 7. Twisted apart, the inside, and toss the cookie. 
 8. Just the cookie, not the inside.
 9. I just like to lick them, not eat them.
 10. I don't have a favorite way because I don't like Oreo.

  Your Personality:
1. The whole thing This means you consume life with abandon, you are fun to be with, exciting, carefree with some hint of recklessness. You are totally irresponsible. No one should trust you with their children.
2. One bite at a time. You are lucky to be one of the 5.4 billion other people who eat their Oreos this very same way. Just like them, you lack imagination, but that's okay, not to worry, you're normal.
3. Slow and Methodical. You follow the rules. You're very tidy and orderly. You're very meticulous in every detail with every thing you do to the point of being anal retentive and irritating to others. Stay out of the fast lane if you're only going to go the speed limit.
4. Feverous Nibbles. Your boss likes you because you get your work done quickly. You always have a million things to do and never enough time to do them. Mental breakdowns and suicides run in your family. Valium and Ritalin would do you good.
5. Dunked. Every one likes you because you are always up beat. You like to sugar coat unpleasant experiences and rationalize bad situations into good ones. You are in total denial about the shambles you call a life. You have a propensity towards narcotic addiction.
6. Twisted apart, the inside, and then the cookie. You have a highly curious nature. You take pleasure in breaking things apart to find out how they work, though not always able to put them back together, so you destroy all the evidence of your activities. You deny your involvement when things go wrong. You are a compulsive liar and exhibit deviant, if not criminal, behavior.
7. Twisted apart, the inside, and then toss the cookie. You are good at business and take risk that pay off. You take what you want and throw the rest away. You are greedy, selfish, mean, and lack feelings for others. You should be ashamed of yourself. But that's ok, you don't care, you got yours.
8. Just the cookie, not the inside. You enjoy pain.
9. I just like to lick them, not eat them Stay away from small furry animals and seek professional medical help - immediately.
10. I don't have a favorite way, I don't like Oreo cookies. You probably come from a rich family, and like to wear nice things, and go to up-scale restaurants. You are particular and fussy about the things you buy, own, and wear. Things have to be just right. You like to be pampered. You are a prima donna. There's just no pleasing you.

SO, with that said...how do you eat your oreo cookie cupcake?