today's post is brought to you by the letter b. (note the labels. it just happened this way.)

i had a very unfortunate baking experience on friday. i attempted to make this peach upside down cake because everywhere had fantastic looking peaches. sadly, something didn't go right and the cake didn't cook well. it looked pretty (at least from the bottom), but it was all mushy and gross when i flipped it over. we're going to try just making the cake part without the fruit and then just put the fruit topping on later. i think that'll work, since the cake that actually cooked was really good.

and then on saturday, i really wanted almond biscotti, but didn't feel like dragging out the recipe from my mom and spending all day baking. i used a package of cherrybrook kitchen sugar cookie mix and added a dash of almond extract. advice: both times i've used these mixes i've had to bake the cookies longer than the recipe calls for. the chocolate chip ones seriously like never baked, which was okay because i like my cookies basically raw (and these are egg-free, so no salmonella scare!), but that may have been because i used tub margarine instead of the stick kind.

anyway. i baked them for about 15 minutes and let them cool on a rack. i drizzled on some chocolate ganache (2 tbls soy milk/lactaid and 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, melted and cooled) and toasted almonds.



yum, yum.

i'm pretty much obsessed with anything associated with clif bars. giant had them ALL on sale today, so i went crazy. i decided to try out the z-bars, which are supposedly energy bars for kids (which is so counterintuitive it hurts). chocolate brownie = 120 perfectly nutty, brownie, chocolatey calories. i have been having killer chocolate cravings (kind of like a pregnant woman) and this was amazing. much better than the nectar bars of which i'm not so much a fan.

clif bar and co, if you're out there, i love you.

mommy bought me some books at borders on saturday: vegan cupcakes take over the world, the united states of arugula, and mrs. goose goes to washington. i plan on trying out some cupcakes tomorow. i took the 2nd book to the beach yesterday and proceeded to bake myself in the sun (ironic, i burned) while reading. sidenote: i want to live at the beach. the 3rd book is for vp, but i couldn't help reading all of the hilarious poems to my parents in the car on the way home. i vote yes for that book.

haircut at technicolor for the first time today. i need to do something about this dried-out mess on my head. it is nicely sun-bleached, though. again, high five for the beach. then getting coffee with A. rather pumped.

more later. must run to the salon.

as the name of this blog would suggest, i have a current obsession with cupcakes. the infatuation is more aesthetic than taste-based. i just love how they look and i want to make one thousand different kinds without allowing my stomach acid (or lack thereof, because i'm convinced i can't digest food) to hurt them.

it's also difficult to make just one cupcake, so the whole batch of my trials just sits there, since no one really wants to eat fifty cupcakes.

i think i'll plan a bakesale for north halls so i can make my cupcakes and college kids can eat them.

anyway.

the boyfriend gets his wisdom teeth out tomorrow. i sent him microwave molten chocolate cake, lots of snack packs, instant cinnamon roll oatmeal, and blue jell-o (bacardi optional). it's a mushy-food extravaganza. i hope he likes the package, especially because snack packs are heavy and dc is far and postage is expensive. <3.

so for brunch this morning i decided to make a "margherita omelet." egg yolks freak me out, and apparently buffalo mozzarella has more lactose than cow's, so i used rice dream cream "cheese" instead. i am the omelet master; just want to put that out there. i attribute this to an episode of 'good eats' i caught at midnight in may. alton brown taught me well.



this one was 3 egg whites, a small diced tomato, some fresh chopped basil, and melted rice dream on top. if you want to duplicate, make your omelet (i am way too lazy to write out the alton brown omelet mastery method. i've provided a handy link so you can look it up.) and garnish with tomato slice and sprig of basil. tada.

omelets are fantastic because you can put in ANYTHING. i love basil, and tomatoes are in season. K brought us some from her brother's garden, so i had to use them up.

there's also a crumpet on that plate with apple butter. i LOVE apple butter. i also love those crumpets (pop in the toaster for a minute or so or microwave with a damp paper towel). and they are at wegmans, not just whole foods. this made my day.

E and i went to old navy today and each spent fifty dollars, despite the fact that everything was on sale. sales just make me spend more. had they not been on sale, i would have bought one shirt and left. instead i bought four, a headband, and a dog-collar anchor charm that i made into a keychain. we then hit borders (moleskine, thank you note cards, and coffee) and chatted for like two hours. we have some really intelligent conversations in borders. it's our thing.

and then i went to the mall with my mom and dropped like a kagillion dollars (some of which were my mom's). i got shoes, a bra, a necklace, jeans, leggings, khakis, and a shirt. (the khakis are a size 16 slim from abercrombie kids. weird gastric problems have reduced me to prepubescent clothing stores. i love my life [eye roll].)

my mom and i have suddenly become like, super close. it's nice. i'll really miss her when i leave again in a week and a half :(.

i have to leave for my my gross radioactive scrambled eggs xray at 7 tomorrow. sleep is now necessary.

that's my afternoon. 'it's soy delicious' ice cream and grey's season dos. not nearly as much fun as watching all of season uno in one sitting with L. oh, lovely sober psu nights.

i had to go to walmart today, against all of my better moral judgement and personal safety (scariest parking lot ever), to get notebooks for school. five-stars are a tight commodity and no one carries them right now. in order to balance out my patronization of corporate america's dirty by product, i ventured into the health foods store.

what a pleasant surprise. i picked up the aforementioned ice cream, some dairy-free mini chocolate chips (for the ice cream, duh), and this crazy peanut butter that has half the calories of regular. i tried to melt it to pour over my ice cream and it kind of exploded into this weird, chewy substance. a few drops of water made it pourable. weirdest thing ever. but when i stirred it into the ice cream, it kind of flavored the whole thing so that was cool.

tonight i'm seeing my best friends for the first time since i left in june. reunion! last time we were all together, mayhem ensued in the form of the beach, a blender, margaritas, and blackberry wine. suntanned hangovers were fun. i missed the girls :).

i'm not allowed to go to the gym and it's making me bitchy. not that i'm stressed, but it was such a good energy burner. my mom said i can jog, but it's way too hot outside. maybe tonight it'll be cooler. i would love to get some endorphins pumping.

i'm going to border's tomorrow with E. i plan to pick up some new cookbook, vegan or microwave, preferrably both.

time to actually pay attention to the dvds i paid for. peeeeeeace out.

anesthesia is kind of fun. bob the anesthetist was hilarious this morning. he also facilitated my inoculation and unconsciousness. i applaud his skills and witty banter at seven am.

so the lovely upper gi endoscopy showed nothing except some pretty sweet pictures of the inside of my stomach. normally i'd throw up from the thought of that, but i think some of my childhood squeamishness has dissipated. the gastric emptying test (complete with gross scrambled eggs) on friday is our last resort. i really hope that's the problem. dr. L seems to think it will be, and medicine can fix it. i just want to be able to eat without dying. ninety pounds isn't very much fun.

last night's asian extravaganza was a success. cilantro-soy seared ahi tuna, sesame chilled asparagus, and a cold cucumber salad. i also nuked some uncle ben's ninety-second brown rice.

i will include the recipe for the interesting and ridiculously easy asian dessert.




kiwi-papaya wantons with fruit cream:

1 medium-sized kiwi, sliced
1/2 papaya, cubed or diced
juice from 1 lime
1 tsp sugar
10 wonton wrappers (i only made 10. you could make 90.)
3 scoops cool whip (or regular whipped cream)
small bowl of water
cooking spray

preheat oven to 350. spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

mix sugar and 1 tsp lime juice with small cup of water. brush mixture onto one side of wonton wrapper.

place 1 slice of kiwi and a few pieces of papaya (use discretion. this is free form.) in the middle of the wrapper. fold in half and smush edges together. you can get crafty and make little purses or fortune-cookie shaped pouches. mine looked like pierogies.

place wrappers on baking sheet and spray tops with cooking spray. brush lightly with more water mixture.

bake for 5-8 minutes, until sugars start to caramelize and bubble. cook longer if you want them to be crispy. you could also fry them in cooking oil, but we're being healthy here.

for cream dip:
mash 1 kiwi slice and few pieces of papaya through a small strainer into a bowl. mix in remaining lime juice. scoop (ice cream scoop works really well if cool whip is frozen, like mine was.) a few scoops of whipped topping into bowl and beat with a small wire whisk until completely blended. you could add food coloring or colored sugar if you want. the dip is awesome on any kind of fruit. i got the idea from my mom, who's known for her yogurt-cool whip fruit dip. it's amazing with grapes and pineapple, but my dairy-allergy demanded something new. i don't really like soy yogurt very much, but i guess you could use that. chocolate with the whip cream would make a good dip for strawberries and pineapple.

i covered the wontons with foil and put them back in the oven to keep them warm during dinner. we got some dried mango, papaya, and pineapple from freshmarkets on sunday, so i served them up on the plate as a delicious garnish.

i was pretty much impressed with myself. :)

i realize i'm only living up to half of this blog -- i haven't mentioned politics yet. washington update later tonight. i need to pass out for a few hours. i also have to make hummus today.

get excited.

so last night i had my first made-from-scratch baking experience.

i've been craving carrot cake since april when lactose tolerance was maliciously taken from my skill set. after eight long, LONG weeks 'inside the beltway' (oh, charles peters), i've finally returned to the comforts of home and can bake.

and because i have probably the best boyfriend ever, i got a sweet recipe for dairy-free carrot cake (from "more great good dairy-free desserts").

i altered the recipe a little, substituting in a quarter cup of chopped walnuts for half of the raisins. i also didn't have orange extract, so i put in the zest of half an orange.

i read a different alteration that only used two tablespoons of oil, so i only used one and omitted some of the maple syrup because i'm not a huge fan. i put in roughly one cup of cinnamon applesauce instead, which added a good flavor. i also threw in a packet of splenda, just because.



twenty-four karrot muffins:
1/4 cup chopped or crushed walnuts
1/3 cup orange juice
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 cup (about) applesauce (judge on good consistency)
1/2 cup soy or rice milk (i used lactaid)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract (or zest from 1/2 medium orange)
2 cups peeled & grated carrots

preheat oven to 350 degrees. line the muffin tins with paper liners. don't forget to spray them with cooking spray (the lack of oil/butter makes them sticky).

soak the raisins in the orange juice for about 10 minutes. drain the raisins and reserve the orange juice.

sift the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. in another larger mixing bowl measure out the oil, maple syrup, milk, vinegar, vanilla, and the reserved orange juice from soaking the raisins.

pour dry ingredients into wet and whisk until blended. fold in the carrots, raisins, walnuts, and orange zest. pour into cake or cupcake tins and bake for 15-20 minutes (i checked with a toothpick after 15; 18 minutes probably would have been sufficient).

while the muffins are cooling, make the cream cheese glaze:
1 8oz. container of cream cheese (i used tofutti better-than-cream-cheese)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon agave nectar (a co-worker recommended this. its kind of like honey -- awesome and really sweet so you only need a little bit. it would be great in oatmeal.)
2 drops yellow food coloring; 1 drop red.

beat the ingredients in a mixer until smooth. you can add more sugar and some butter if you want fluffier frosting. i just wanted a little glaze, so mine was really thin. i put it in the fridge for about ten minutes, and it thickened nicely.

once the muffins are completely cooled, ice them and garnish with some shredded carrots and raisins or walnuts. toasted coconut or almonds would be good as well.

on the note of the shredded carrots: definitely do this beforehand. i used a square grater over a bowl and it made a HUGE mess. regardless of the sticking to the tins (i forgot to spray them), i think they turned out really well. the added walnuts helped. i also liked the hint of apple from the applesauce.

tonight i'm making dinner for my parents. check for an update of my asian extravaganza.