I'm Back!

Yes it's true, I am officially back in action! *insert fireworks and marching band*

After two hard weeks, I finally am beginning to feel like my old self again. Probably the fact that I am baking again also has a hand in that. I will say that since taking a break,  I have realized just how much I love my blog, baking, and in general, being around delicious baked goods. Not baking these past two weeks felt almost unnatural to me; my cupcake adventure has slowly made a home for itself within my life. I also want to say thank you to every one who supported me these two weeks. I'm not that I would be back to my zippy old self if it weren't for all of you. You know who you are, please pat yourselves on the back.


So now down to business. As I sit here in my dorm room, my suite mates are all grumbling about the predicted snow storm that may hit Worcester tomorrow night. I love snow, so I'm jumping up and down at the idea that it might snow. I mean, come on, how often does it snow in October? Had I known about the snow, I would have baked something this week with a winter theme in mind. Instead, I decided to bake a tribute to fall using that old fall favorite, pumpkin. And what better way to make pumpkin cupcakes then by taking a recipe from a classic, "Vegan Cupcake Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Not only is this a suite favorite, we actually have TWO copies of the book sitting side by side on our cookbook shelf. Yes, we have a cookbook shelf; deal with it. In addition to the delicious recipes that can be found in this cookbook, I had the perfect can of pumpkin to use with it.

Starting last fall, my mom handed my a recipe for pumpkin pie that used organic pumpkin rather than the alternative. The results were beyond amazing. So when I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes, I didn't even have to think about the can of pumpkin I would use. Did I mention that there was chocolate chips involved with this recipe? Well, there are! Ironically, one would think that I would have a stash of left over chocolate chips lying around somewhere in my room from past baking endeavors. I don't. I kinda eat them all. Fortunately for me, there is a wonderful brand of products called Value Time that sells all sorts of things at reduced prices. Two bags of chocolate flavored chips= $2.00. What a bargain!

Originally I was going to try and make apple pumpkin cupcakes since I had gone apple picking for the first time this past Sunday. Well, I didn't want to waste any of the apples in case I screwed up so I decided to leave the apples out of it. I did, however, make an improved cookie recipe. Sure, they ended up tasting like muffin tops (how did I manage that?) but they were sooo good. Going back to cupcakes, I was fortunate enough to have been given an adorable packet of fall themed cupcake liners. I think they are the cutest thing ever! They also came with cute little flags with owls and cats on them. I didn't use them this time around, but will definitely next time.


 The recipe itself was really simple, which means that I still found a way to mess it up. Instead of only using 8 ounces of the pumpkin, I poured in all 15 ounces! Talk about a mistake. I tried to correct the mistake, but in the end, I just poured it all back into the bowl. What did I have to lose? At least I didn't pour too much cinnamon in. Now that would have been bad. I do not have a photo of it, but I also made cinnamon icing. Yea, I had to remelt the margarine in my Pyrex measuring cup after everything was combined, but I don't think it messed anything up.


Don't they look scrumptious! Ok, never using that word again. But you can't deny that they look good. This was a really easy recipe and in fact, this is the third recipe that I have baked from this cookbook. In past I have made their chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. I also discovered that tofu chocolate mousse is perhaps the best thing ever! Just ignore that there is tofu in it and you'll think that this was the real deal!

I'm getting ready for a Halloween dance at the moment so I'll post more later. But here's a fun little photo from apple picking that I think fits really well with todays post.


Until next time,

Jill

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners

2. In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, soy milk, and vanilla. Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together with a for -don't use a hand-held mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips

3. Fill liners two-thirds full. Bake for 22-24 minutes, Transfer ti a wire rack and let fully cool before icing

Cinnamon Icing

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons margarine, melted

1 tablespoon soy milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place sugar and cinnamon a small bowl. Add the margarine, soy milk, and vanilla and stir with a fork until smooth. Keep at room temperature until ready to use. The mixture should look opaque and honey brown. It it's glistening a lot or looks too liquid, add a little extra confectioners' sugar.

Its Been a While

Sorry for not having posted in while, however, I have been having a pretty stressful time. One week ago, my grandmother on my mother's side health took a turn for the worse. 

 

Yesterday, she passed away. Though I could not be there when she passed, I was able to spend time with my sister in which we reminisced about our grandma and all the good memories that we had of her. I will truly miss her and would like to dedicate this post to her. While initally I was in shock, a friend of mine went for a long walk yesterday and ended up in a cemetery. While this might seem like a strange place to go on such a sad day, it was actually calming for me to be there. I felt at peace with my grandmother's passing and was reminded that life goes on but people will always remember their loved ones.

This is quite a blow for me, and at the this time I am seeking comfort from friends here at school, and family members. Originally, when I started this post a few days ago, I was going to talk about a cake I had baked and the vegan cupcakes I made two weeks ago. This means that my recipe count is actually 483. Right now, I am taking another break from baking but I will return to it next week.

I will post again later this week with photos that I took while I was with my sister; some of the photos, I think, are quite beautiful.

Until then,
Jill 

Another Important Post

These past few months with my blog have been a blast. I have come so far from when I started and everyone who knows me, can tell that I am at my happiest when I am typing a new post. However, reality can be a little demon and at this time, I have to face it.

Oh, wait.

Are all thinking what I think you're thinking? That I am announcing the end of my blog? Wouldn't that be a silly thing to do! Of course I'm not shutting down my blog; I still have so much more to do, so many different recipes to try, and yes, I still have to set off the smoke alarm. However, there is a matter at hand that I definitely need to discuss. If you haven't already guessed it, what I am referring to is $$$; those little green pieces of paper/fabric that hold so much significance in today's society. As I have mentioned countless times before, I am a college student who has to manage my baking along with academics, clubs, and my attempts to not go insane. But lets face it, how am I supposed to continuing baking if each trip to the supermarket includes at $50+ bill? Its not viable and to be honest, its starting to affect my bank account. With that said, lets face another truth: I will not be able to bake 500 different recipes over the course of 500 days. If I want to keep my dreams of spending my spring break hiking in Utah and studying abroad for the summer, I need to take a step back and asses what I need to do. But here is the good news: I am not one to readily throw in the towel. I will continue baking and blogging, that is certainly not going to change. I will still bake one recipe, maybe two a week, but those days of four recipes in one go are over. My poor bank account cannot withstand something like that again. Considering all the support I have at school and at home, I think it would be silly of me to just walk away. True, I wasn't very competitive when I ran cross country in high school, but now I am determined to not admit defeat. Besides, clearly yesterday when I asked my mom what the difference was between slicing and dicing is enough of a justification to prove that I still have a lot to learn. 

With that said, I have decided to ask you, my dear readers, what recipes you would like to see me take on next. With the exception of vegan mint chocolate cupcakes (I am saving that one for a very special occasion), I am pretty much up to trying anything. However, please keep in mind the costs of the ingredients. Other then that, I look forward to seeing that you all suggest; even if only one person actually posts a suggestion :P

Sorry I don't have pictures for this post, but I have been pretty busy.

Until next time,

Jill