Peanut Butter Yum Yum

Well, it's official, I am back at Clark. (Jumps up and down with girlish glee)
I cannot describe how much I have missed this place. Did you know, I haven't been on campus since May 11th? Talk about a long time. And if it hadn't been for my girl pal Irene, I wouldn't have been back on campus until today. Like most people, my family was hunkering down for Irene's onslaught and decided that it would be better to get me up to campus on Saturday, rather then wait until Monday. Why? Because we anticipated that the Long Island Expressway would be chaotic and didn't want to chance the idea that we'd be stuck in traffic for hours. So, dad and I hoped in the car and drove up to Worcester, Mass. With a hug and kiss goodbye, my dad literally dumped me and my stuff inside my dorm and left the remainder of the moving process up to me. Oh yeah, I did a one-woman move in. Impressed?

After the hour and half I spent running up and down the staircase with boxes and black plastic bags, I glanced out the window and saw that the rain had ceased for the moment. Until then, the rain had been coming down in sheets. Dad and I got lucky; there was a break in the storm during the forty-minutes it took us to move in. Taking the opportunity while I had it, I grabbed my wallet and made a quick dash to the local super market. In case you hadn't noticed, which I wouldn't be surprised since most people hadn't either, I had posted a survey in order to figure out what kind of cupcake I should make next. To my delight, something with peanut butter won. So, I sought out a cupcake recipe, one that wouldn't be too complicated or expensive. In the end, I decided to stick to my 500 Cupcakes. The recipe was easy, yet sounded mouth-wateringly delicious. The only thing I really needed at the store was butter, eggs, and granulated sugar. I did attempt to buy plain yogurt to act as a moistening ingredient, but the store was out. How can a store be out of plain yogurt? Well, in Worcester, anything is possible.

Though I had planned to bake on Saturday, I got carried away and thought it would be better to just bake on Sunday, crossing my fingers that my school didn't lose power. Well, guess what? Hurricane Irene apparently lost her steam somewhere over New Jersey and by the time she hit Worcester, it was just rain and some strong bursts of wind. This time around, I had a cooking companion with me, one of suite-mates, Ginny.

The recipe was as easy as it sounded. Just some butter, eggs, sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, and flour. I only did one variation this time around, since I really didn't want to break the bank buying ingredients. My dorm's kitchen, by the way, is gorgeous. It has everything a cook or baker would need (with in reason). There is even a cabinet dedicated to spices and things. And what a collection of spices! Now I don't have buy turmeric and cardamon. Every now and then, other people in my dorm came into the kitchen and all complimented me on the delicious smell of the cupcakes. And these cupcakes didn't just smell delicious, the same could be said of the batter. Had I not intended to bake them, I would have been totally content with just eating the batter. Then of course, there was the matter with the chocolate chips. Once again, another ingredient that was at risk of being eaten before putting it to proper use.

The only snag I hit throughout the process was that the dorm's ovens were really slow to heat up. I mean, really, really slow. But once they did, I slid the pans in and set my piggy timer for twenty minutes. Yes, you read that right, my piggy timer. Ain't that cool? Remember when I said how good the batter tasted? Well, the peanut butter frosting I got to make afterwords was infinitely better. Peanut butter creamy goodness!  I just could not stop myself from licking the bowl. It took some time, but eventually I pulled it together; I wasn't done, I needed to ice my beloved cupcakes and find a taste tester.

This guy here is my good pal Jordan. He was lucky individual who I selected to take that first bite. The result? Peanut butter heaven. Within two hours, my batch of eighteen had dwindled down to five. And I must agree with everyone, they were good. A tad bit dry, but I had expected that. Next time, I'll find yogurt, I promise. But seriously, these were really good. The frosting had the right balance of peanut butter and sugar, while cupcake managed to retain it's peanut butter flavors without being too strong.

So, with those two recipes completed, that leaves me with 492 recipes to go. I wonder what I should do next. Hmmm. I like fruit, especially pineapple. Maybe there's a recipe out there that combines cupcakes and pineapple. Wouldn't that be something.

Until next time,
Jill



Yea, I know that the recipe is supposed to be here, but it's late right now and I have class in the morning, so, I'll post it tomorrow. You'll just have to wait until then, haha!

Twas the Night Before Move in Day

And all through the house, boxes and bins were everywhere, and I...? Ok, I'm not even gonna try and rhythm that. Any-who, if you haven't been paying attention to the news or weather forecasts, a little lady named Irene is coming up the east-coast fast and has disrupted my plans to return to school. Originally you see, I was supposed to move in on Sunday, the only moving day my school has allowed this year. Now with Irene threatening to cause mayhem and chaos, my travel plans have been thrown through a loop. Yesterday, my school kindly sent out an email requesting that any students who planned on returning to school on Sunday should only do so when safe. Additionally, they have canceled the first day of classes. Typically, I would insert a little hooray after that, but since I only had one fifty minute class on Monday, there really isn't much to rejoice over. Also, by canceling classes Monday, that means the first day of school will now be Tuesday, also known as my day of hell. Why? Because I have four classes in a row on that day. Talk about one crazy day. However, there is more fun to be had at Clark other then just a small little thing like a hurricane. They are officially shutting down all sources of food on campus after brunch time on Sunday. Whoa, talk about a twist. So now, not only am I getting up to school early, I get to ride out a hurricane without any hope of having a nice warm meal. Gee, now I'm starting to forget why I wanted to go back so badly.

Well, look at it this way; if the hurricane knocks out all the electricity and running water, at least I'll have time to sit down and finish crocheting my scarf. That's definitely one way to turn a negative into a positive. Originally I had hoped to get some baking in, however, all the ovens at school are electric. Hence another reason why I don't want the university to have a black out. Though I wouldn't be baking cupcakes, instead I'd be trying my hand at cookies. Why? Well, the other day I bought a three piece cookie pan set. Yea, I didn't actually need them, but I just couldn't resist. The same can be said for the bright orange pot that I picked up at Marshall's. In fact, when I look back on it now, I have purchased a lot of things this summer that I didn't actually need. Whoops. Thinking back on it now, I probably spend more money on cooking and baking supplies then I did on textbooks. But as my friend would say, think about the opportunity cost. In the long run, when I have my own apartment at least I'll already have this stuff. 

The cupcake challenge will resume probably next week and yes, I have already purchased the peanut butter. This past week, I have searched the internet and bunch of different cupcakes books and have written down three potential recipes. Now, one is more challenging then the other two, which means that I'll probably attempt that one. I have always been a sucker for challenges. I think this blog is living proof of that :P

I'll be blogging more this weekend, so stay tuned for my overview, and photos of the hurricane Irene and what she does to my beloved Clark university. And don't forget, COOKIES. Anyone who's on campus and reads this, please feel free to drop by Maywood for a free cookie.

So until next time,

Jill

A Very Special Post

Today is a special day for a multiple of reasons. No, in case you are wondering, I have not figured out how to perfect my icing skills or master the art of getting that ideal sized cupcake. In fact, this has nothing to do with cupcakes at all, now isn't that weird? Well, seeing that this is my blog, I feel liking bending the rules today and have decided that today's post will act as an outlet for my egotism. 

Today, after three failures, I have passed my road test! (Applause echos throughout the room). In addition to that bomb of joy, my sister and I visited the dying horse that is known as Border's and I purchased another baking book. This one is special though. Want to know why? It's 'cause it focuses on cookies. (Hooray!) You know what that means? More delicious goodies to fill my tum tum. I must take a moment though and acknowledge the sadness that I feel knowing that Border's is going out of business. More of a Barnes & Noble girl myself, walking inside the store today was like passing through the remains of a hurricane. Things were all over the place -since I'm a student librarian this really struck a nerve. Books were in wrong sections, posters and knick-nacks littered the floor; it seemed to me that the workers didn't even care about helping the customers and anymore. I asked one a question about where I might find the W section in the DVD area and the guy just shrugged his shoulders. He clearly didn't know, let alone care. All in all, I will miss Border's when the last place closes up shop, but for now, their bankruptcy means more bargain books for me. hehe

So why else is today special? Well, my little survey closes up in three hours but it seems like there's already a winner. Peanut butter. Oh how I love anything peanut butter. The salty taste, the creamy texture; it's like heaven in a jar. Unless someone suddenly throws in a last minute vote, it looks like I'm going to be shopping around for a peanut butter based cupcake recipe. Now that is something I'm looking forward too.

Oh and before I forget again, 494 recipes to go! Phew, I used to think that I would never get past that five recipe mark, now things don't seem as impossible as they did before.

And since you have all endured my self-centeredness this far, I'll reward everyone with a recipe from my vegan cookbook, The Happy Herbivore, by Lindsay Nixon. Known as Hippie Loaf, this vegan answer to meatloaf is, in my opinion, delicious and extremely healthy for you. With less then 200 calories per serving, this entree has carrots, celery, beans (my favorite), and quinoa all mashed together. Give it a try, I know that I'm happy that I did.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp tamari
• 15 ounces black beans, drained and rinse
• 1 whole onion, diced
• 2 whole garlic cloves, minced
• 1 whole carrot, minced
• 2 whole celery stalks, minced
• 1 cup mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1 tbsp italian seasoning
• 3 tbsp brown rice flour
• 2 tbsp ketchup

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a standard bread pan and set aside. Mash black beans in a large bowl and combine all ingredients until evenly combined. Transfer to pan and pat down firmly and tightly using a spatula. Bake 45 minutes to one hour, until firm and browned on the outside. Allow the loaf to cool and firm up before serving, about 15 to 20 minutes.