Topper Swapper
I just started a handmade cupcake topper swap, you can read all the details here: http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/16015
Sign up ends on June 1st and packages must be mailed by June 25th. This is another international swap so I’m looking forward to getting a fun package in the mail!
I’m also looking for ideas for a Father’s Day Gift Guide! If you’re a cool dad, know a cool dad, or have ideas about what a cool dad might what for F-Day hit me up at cisforcupcake@gmail.com Links to sites where the items can be purchased and a little back story on why it’s a great gift are much appreciated, entries that make it into my post will receive special packages of joy and wonderfulness in the mail! (Oh, so include your name and address, too.)
I’m going to go eat a whole package of Smart Bacon now.
Thank you, Youth of Today. And this concludes my persuasive paper on why Youth of Today is the best music to bake- or practice yoga to- ever. Reading it on a screen might not convey the energy, but download it on iTunes and I promise you will have muffins in the oven and a near-perfect down dog in no time.
She said one of the things we do when practicing Yama is Ahimsa, which means to not harm living things. I tend to make vegan, or animal-free, which is a way of practicing Ahimsa. For this class in particular I made vegan carrot raisin and vegan mocha chip muffins.
I won’t bore you with the recipe since most of you won’t use it, but if there seems to be a demand for ice cream recipes I’ll start posting them as they become more original. I figured I’d give my honest opinion to anyone considering what amounts to a amounts to a $70 purchase.
The Ben and Jerry’s book says you can basically use any milk, but the higher the fat content the creamier the ice cream. For our first two batches we used heavy cream, but I think we’ll cut back to whipping cream or maybe half and half for what we eat on a regular basis. You can even use skim milk, but the texture is really different, according to the book.
The bowl has to be hand washed but the other stuff is all OK in the dishwasher- a major plus as I hate touching wet dish sponge. I am full of hate for someone who just got a new ice cream maker.
Alright, so maybe I’m the broad who made homemade ketchup this week end because I’m freaked out about giving Teno high fructose corn syrup, but I’m really not a crazy person. I own a bike, I do not think I’m cool for owning said bike. (Um hi, everyone in Chicago… did you read that part?) I eat dairy, I shop at Target, I own a car. (It’s a station wagon too, word up.) I only really eat organic when I buy it at The Bleeding Heart Bakery because I’m a glutton. What I’m saying is I’m a normal person, I do a lot of bad things, but the one good thing I try to do all the time- bring my own fucking bag to the fucking grocery store- gets me shit every time!
I appreciate your store’s efforts in reducing consumer waste by offering reusable cloth bags for sale at the check out. Undoubtedly this action alone has prevented tens of thousands of plastic bags from ending up in landfills already. I’m writing today to ask that you inform your employees, specifically baggers, about these efforts as in my experience, they seem to be unaware of the existence or purpose of cloth grocery bags. I make an effort to bring as many cloth bags with me as I can when I shop your stores and the baggers are consistently confused by my actions. Sometimes they ignore my bags and bag my items in plastic anyway, other times they roll their eyes and act like I’m making some kind of outlandish request. I’ve noticed that other stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s ask customers if they’ve brought their own bags, or if they notice that you have they simply ask you for the bag and pack up your items. I don’t recall ever leaving one of those stores frustrated because I had to unpack my items and then repack them into my own bags, or because the bagger gave me attitude about my request. I ask that you inform your employees about the growing trend of customers bringing their own bags to your stores and try to make the whole experience less intimidating for those of us who are making an effort. Thank you.
I’m really concerned with Mother’s Day this year, not because I’ve had a bad one yet. In fact, Tony is almost a professional present-buyer, he always does a really good job. But I’ve noticed since I’ve been back in school and forced to read all the terrible magazines and newspapers I will very likely one day be working for, that no one who writes Mother’s Day gift guides actually has any clue about what a modern mom might want. Yesterday the suggestions in the Red Eye launched me into a full-blown ranting session. I was supposed to be fact checking a story on cancer patients who finish their college degrees, too, so it was really inappropriate. In a nutshell, according to this column a “sporty mom” would love to receive a hideous tennis dress and a “foodie mom” would love a boxy, horrible personalized apron from William Sonoma. I have one word for you, Red Eye: whatevs. This advice comes from the fashion columnist who chose to wear dinosaur print thermal underwear in her head shot. Follow it if you will, but don’t be suprised when you get an ugly apron thrown at your face.
While spying in my mom’s Etsy feedback to generate ideas about what to get the woman who has everything, I found she’d purchased some 
I’ve been a fan of 
Finally, I’m offering a special deal on my own 
Pre-heat your waffle iron. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (that’s everything in the list above until soy milk, got it?) In a smaller bowl, whisk together everything from the soymilk to the vanilla. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and using your whisk, mix the wet into the dry. Before it’s completely mixed, add the chocolate chips and pecans, the mix completely. It’ll be lumpy bumpy, no worries.
