Raspberry-Rhubarb Cupcakes

If you know me, you know I'm always looking for an occasion to bake cupcakes. I try to avoid baking them randomly, since they will just end up in my stomach. My mother-in-law's birthday was last week, and she loves rhubarb. As it so happens, I had recently bought some rhubarb at the Minneapolis Farmers Market in July and froze it, and since Mr. G is not a rhubarb fan, I figured this would be the perfect time to use it.

As you may remember from a previous post, I made a raspberry rhubarb crisp last summer and loved it, so I decided to try raspberry-rhubarb cupcakes and use the same topping from the crisp for my frosting. It's called Devonshire cream, and it's basically a sweeter, thicker whipped cream. My mother-in-law is actually the one who introduced me to it and gave me the recipe, so it seemed fitting.

I was worried the cupcakes would be too tart, but they came out amazing; I think it was because I created a compote with the fruit before adding it to the mix, which seemed to get rid of the tanginess. Also, my Devonshire cream ended up as more of a glaze, but it still tasted great, so I was happy.

Here's the recipe:

Raspberry-Rhubarb Cupcake Recipe (adapted from Betty Crocker's strawberry-rhubarb cupcake recipe; makes 12 cupcakes)

Compote Ingredients:

• 1 cup sliced fresh raspberries
• 1 cup chopped fresh/frozen rhubarb
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp butter/margarine

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Make fruit compote: Add compote ingredients to a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.
3. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
4. Take out 2 tbsp of compote for frosting (I took it out to keep proportions correct but didn't use it in my frosting).
5. In another small bowl, stir remaining compote, milk and vanilla.
6. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add egg and beat until blended.
7. Add half of flour mixture and half of fruit mixture, beating well after each addition. Repeat with the remaining mixtures. Batter should be thick.
8. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes depending on the strength of your oven (mine is extra hot and finished in about 17 minutes). If you insert a toothpick in the cupcake, it should come out mostly clean.
9. Remove cupcakes and let them cool before frosting.

Devonshire Cream "Glaze" Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. softened cream cheese
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup whipped cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whip cream and set aside.
2. Cream sugar and cream cheese with mixer.
3. Add whipped cream and vanilla; mix well.
4. Refrigerate.

Up next is Mr. G's birthday on the 22nd, and I'm already brainstorming ideas for his dessert... His birthday is actually on a Saturday this year, so we'll be going to a football game with a bunch of friends; it should be a really fun day, and the lucky boy gets his fancy new grill soon! :) After that is my mom's birthday, and I wished she lived closer so that I could bake something for her.

As for other September events, Mr. G and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on the 4th. It was the Tuesday after Labor Day (lame), so we stayed at home and recreated our wedding meal (quite successfully, I'll say), drank some wine, baked cookies and watched a movie. It was perfect. Then we celebrated in style the following weekend with a trip to Stillwater: we toured a vineyard (see pic above!), stayed at a charming B&B, ate a delicious dinner at a wine bar (best tenderloin I've ever had) and did some window shopping. All in all, we had an amazing anniversary week. Each year, the bar gets raised... These past 2 years will be hard to beat!

Not gonna lie: I LOVE September, but my wallet and my waistline are looking forward to October. ;)

<3 Mrs. G

Life Update

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the gap between posts; we've had a LOT going on in life as of late, which is part of what I'll be discussing in this post.

Picked up my bib on Saturday :)

To start with me, I've been continuing my training runs and officially signed up for both the half marathon and a St. Patrick's Day 7K, so there's no turning back now! I'm still determined, but unfortunately my legs aren't keeping up quite as well... I have shin splints that refuse to go away, and they are beginning to hinder my progress. It's very frustrating, especially since I've been following all the right steps. You can read more about my training here.

In other news, Mr. G's back pain progressed to the point that he finally went in to find out what's wrong. Turns out he has a herniated disc in his back that is quite large and will take a really long time to heal unless he gets it surgically removed. After prayer and careful thought, Mr. G decided to go through with surgery instead of waiting up to a year for a full recovery, and I fully support his decision. His surgery is on next Tuesday, the 21st. He should be in and out within the same day and starting to feel better immediately, which is wonderful. Still, he'll be facing several weeks of recovery (during which I will be doing pretty much everything), so all prayers are much appreciated.

In the meantime, we have a nice Valentines Day dinner planned for Tuesday and fun birthday plans for me next weekend. :) I promise I'll post my kale recipe soon - as well as my Super Bowl creations!

What are your V-Day plans?

<3 Mrs. G

For those who love cake...

Hello all,

Hope you've had a nice weekend. I went to another bridal shower today, which was a nice end to my relaxing but productive weekend. An example of my productivity: I finally made my cake stand! I actually bought the materials a few months ago but kept forgetting to make it. One of the things holding me back was that I knew I wanted to paint something on the plate I bought (which is plain white), so that requires more thought and work... But a couple weeks ago I went craft shopping and bought a black paint pen (best invention ever), so that got things going.

Cake Stand Tutorial

As it turns out, cake stands are really easy to make - all you need is a plate, a candlestick and some hot glue! Even better - it's cheap. I bought my plate and candlestick from a thrift store for a total of about $5, and I got my glue gun from the Dollar Store. I decided to paint a monogram on my plate (surprised much?), mostly because it's easier than trying to replicate some intricate design. I recommend it for those who aren't painters or those who want to add something but don't have a ton of time. :) And I highly recommend paint pens!

Here are some photos:

To attach the candlestick to the plate, just run a line of hot glue around the top rim of the candlestick and then flip it over and press it into the middle of your overturned plate. Hold firmly in place until attached and then, after a minute or so, flip the stand over (carefully!) so that the plate can weigh it down. I tried using super glue, but all it did was make the candlestick slide around; it never stuck. I'm no glue expert, but if it doesn't stick, it doesn't work, so I moved on. Hot glue wins yet again.

If you paint your plate, I highly recommend buying a glaze to protect the paint since cake stands are meant to be used. :) I bought Delta air-dry PermEnamel satin glaze (from Michael's). Time will tell if it's a good one or not, but if you buy it I do recommend buying a large brush to use with it because it tends to show brush strokes. It supposedly takes 10 days to dry as well, so definitely paint the glaze after attaching the candlestick to avoid messing it up. Side Note: it also smells really bad.

And now for the next cake topic - Mr. G's birthday banana cake recipe!

Banana Cake Recipe

old man ;)

For those of you who followed my previous blog, you'll remember this recipe from when I made it for Mr. G's birthday last year. However, I have added a couple ingredients, so maybe it's worth posting again. Regardless, it's a delicious cake, so that alone makes it worth the repost. So here goes:

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe, mashed bananas
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup shortening or softened, melted butter
• 2/3 cup buttermilk (3 tbsp lemon juice + milk)
• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp (ish) vanilla extract - I added this and didn't measure... 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Grease 9x13 pan.
• Mash bananas while oven preheats. 
• Mix liquid ingredients. 
• Mix dry ingredients then add to liquid mixture and pour in pan.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Frosting:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 tbsp milk
• Pinches of cinnamon - my other addition, and it was a good one!
• Mix together and frost onto cake when cooled.
• Enjoy! This is a really good cake. :)

That's all for now. Inspired to eat some cake yet? ;) I just had some cake batter ice cream, so apparently I was... I never said this blog was for dieters.

Have a good week!

<3 Mrs. G

(Really Belated) Sunday Recipe #5 - Summer Apple Salad

Hello everyone!

Sorry for the late recipe, but to be fair I did only make it last night for Mr. G's grandpa's 80th birthday party. Mr. G and I have been on a salad kick lately, which I think our bodies appreciate. I made one last week with leftover grilled chicken, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers, and cheese topped with a red wine and olive oil vinaigrette. It was delicious, but I wanted to try something a little more challenging for the party. I was inspired by a popular salad at the Italian restaurant where I used to work. It's called Apple Gorgonzola Salad, but I tweaked it a little to make it my own. It's the perfect summer salad, and it's especially great for those who want to indulge in something sweet without the calories of a cupcake. ;)


Summer Apple Salad Recipe:


Ingredients:

• 3 heads romaine lettuce
• 2 green apples
• 8 oz. crumbled goat cheese (the original recipe calls for gorgonzola, but Mr. G and I prefer goat)
• 2 small bags of glazed walnuts and dried cranberries (I bought them together in a bag, but feel free to purchase them separately - I just couldn't find any glazed walnuts by themselves)
• Pinches of cinnamon
• Dressing - I loved Marzetti's white balsamic vinaigrette, but Mr. G enjoyed Litehouse's raspberry walnut vinaigrette. You choose!

Directions:

• Rinse and cut lettuce heads into bite-size portions, excluding the tops.
• Rinse and cut apples into bite-size portions (cut in quarters, slice each quarter in half, then cut into smaller portions).
• Drop a few pinches of cinnamon in each cranberry/walnut bag and shake to mix (or mix in a ziploc bag if you bought the ingredients separately).
• Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. 
• Top with dressing and serve cold.
• I would guess this serves 6 as a main dish and 10-12 as a side salad. Mine fed about 20 in very small portions, and there was plenty leftover.

After a delicious dinner last night of grilled chicken, fruit salad, my salad, and veggies, I went to my very first legit tent circus. It was a family-run circus called Culpepper & Meriweather's, and they set up shop in the middle of a field, in the middle of nowhere. It was straight out of an old movie; I didn't know those types of circuses still existed! I went with Mr. G's youngest siblings, and it was their first circus. I still remember my first circus... It was a Barnum & Bailey's, and I went with my dad when I was really little. I don't remember the acts, but I do remember the cotton candy, which took me all night to finish. They had cotton candy last night, but I didn't partake this time around. I did, however, have some delicious birthday cake when I got back - a flourless chocolate cake made by Mr. G's mom. 

In the midst of everything else going on last night, I also received an amazing belated wedding gift from one of Mr. G's relatives. Apparently she took a lot of photos at the wedding, because she put together an entire album of wedding photos and even made a video slideshow not only of the wedding but also of all the details (invitations, programs, welcome bags), the reception, and my bridal shower in MN. It was such a thoughtful gift, and I was so happy to see some of the photos the photographer was unable to capture (ie: a close-up of our vows and our first kiss!). The funny thing, too, is that Mr. G and I had finally watched our official wedding video in its entirety for the first time a couple nights ago - and now we have two! Plus, this is our first wedding photo album. :) I'm hoping to have one made by our photographer as well, plus I would like to put together a scrapbook. Maybe now I'll get on the ball with those!

I hope you enjoy the salad recipe! Feel free to comment with any of your own - I'd love some more to try.

Stay tuned for my next post on engagement / baby shower cupcakes. ;) Have I mentioned I love summer?

<3 Mrs. G

A Little Cynicism Never Hurt Anybody...

Let me begin this post by saying that I had a bad day today. It was one of those Murphy's Law days - I got stuck working with an annoying coworker, then I came home to find that the flushable sponge I used to clean the toilet today wasn't flushable after all - I might as well have flushed a teddy bear. What's worse is it requires some serious plumbing, and Mr. G and I are going to attempt to do it ourselves tomorrow. I only pray that we don't get nastiness all over ourselves and our bathroom AND realize we still have to pay someone to fix it. Also, we discovered a leak in our laundry room - could be related to the toilet issue, or it could be our water heater going out, which I can't even begin to think about. And on top of everything, my air bag warning light came on in my car; as if I didn't already know my car was having issues when we had to rip off the splash guard...

Needless to say, I'm feeling frustrated and a bit cynical today. Usually I try to suppress negativity (at least on here), but sometimes these feelings lead to interesting thoughts, so I decided to air them since I know I'm not the only one thinking these things. So here goes.

My first random anecdote is about birthdays. Amidst the chaos of today, I had an epiphany about aging - while I am not yet at the age where birthdays are something to dread, I have definitely arrived at the age where they are nothing to look forward to. My friend turned 24 today, which made me think about the fact that I will be turning 24 in February, and I realized that I could care less. The same thing happened when I turned 23 - I felt like I had been 23 for months already and the actual day was just a formality. I haven't even reached what I consider to be the ideal age (25) and I am already at the point of nonchalance about birthdays, which means that before long, my relationship with my birthday will escalate from civil acquaintances to full-on frenemies (yes, frenemies - birthdays still come with parties, after all). This also means that before long I'll be forced into the frighteningly oversaturated market of age-defying beauty products. As if I don't have enough to think about already - shopping for regular moisturizer gives me anxiety. Not to mention I still get acne; if I have to shop for wrinkle-reducing serum that has salicylic acid in it, I'll just quit. Anyway, the moral of this cynical story is: the older you get, the less you have to look forward to! (just kidding...)

My second anecdote is a more serious one about self-worth. I've been thinking a lot about this lately. Even with all the blessings in my life (which there are plenty, I realize), there are also quite a few things that burden me - namely: my lack of a career, my lack of friends out here, and as always, lack of money. I feel like I handle things fairly well for the most part - I don't let them get to me most of the time, and I'm taking all the right steps to make improvements. Nevertheless, all it takes to bring me down is seeing others succeed where I have failed. I feel my self-worth drop with every peer I see getting a job, getting married (I got married!), moving to a new place (I did that twice!), and having children (no thanks, but still). It's disturbing how much we - or at least I - look outward for the measure of our worth.

Have you ever had one person in particular one-up you on everything? I have... Let's say his name is Sam. Sam has been making my gold look like dirt for as long as I can remember. For everything I achieved, he did it ten-fold. My test scores were impressive - his were incredible. When I thought I had found my niche in college, he managed to beat me at my own game. Even at graduation - when I had a medal around my neck and an honors diploma in hand - he got a standing ovation for all his accomplishments. The only thing I had that he didn't was marriage, but now that's about to change, too, and I'm sure his wedding will set the standard for all weddings to come. Maybe it's an older sister, or that annoying friend, but I feel like we all have a Sam... The moral of this story? There will always be a Sam. And if you're as ambitious and competitive as I am, this will be one of life's toughest pills to swallow.

So, now that I've poured out my bitterness, I feel the need to go watch the Wiggles or something. I was hoping this blog would convey a more consistent message of optimism and contentment, but sometimes brutal honesty is refreshing. And who's to say I'm not content? Well, besides the job market and my bank account... But in all seriousness, I know that I am a blessed girl with a patient, loving husband and a God who has a plan even when I don't. And a blog. So I'll be fine. :) Even on days like today...

Feel free to share some of your cynical anecdotes with me - misery loves company, after all. ;)

I promise my next post will be uplifting - there is (literally) nothing bitter about chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes!

<3 Mrs. G