Lemon Raspberry Muffins!

I love my family's lazy Sundays. We hang out at home, play outside, and I bake when the baby naps! Yesterday I decided to make these lemony, zesty, and perfect-for-spring muffins. With fresh, tart raspberries swirled into the muffin batter, these were a big hit at home and at work.

Recipe link here!

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes!

A few weeks ago I baked up some lemon raspberry cupcakes for a pool party with friends. I saw the idea on Pinterest and loved the cute little white cups to bake them in (recipe from Pastry Affair). These were perfect for a hot summer day here in South Florida - light, creamy, and full of fresh fruit flavor.

Blackberry Lemon Cupcakes!

I first saw these cupcakes on Pinterest, courtesy of the lovely blog Tide and Thyme. I loved the idea of a cupcake with fresh lemon and blackberries, perfect for springtime, and pretty pastels too!

Birthday Baking!

Tomorrow is a joint birthday celebration at work, and being the resident birthday queen, I rolled up my sleeves this weekend, ready to bake two very different birthday treats for two very different co-workers!

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes!

Mini Berry Cheesecakes!

More Birthday Cupcakes and Dinner!

Summer is always so full of birthdays! Most recently, I celebrated my dad's birthday and since his favorite cupcake flavor is vanilla, I made raspberry vanilla mini cupcakes. I used raspberry extract to get the flavoring without changing the airy lightness of the cake or the pale yellow color, and topped the whipped cream frosting with a fresh raspberry. I tried a different basic vanilla cupcake recipe, this time from Brown Eyed Baker.

Dinner for daddy's birthday was at J Alexander's, my favorite restaurant in Boca. I ordered grouper in lemon butter sauce and peppery haricot verts ... yum!

For today I kept it simple; fresh shrimp poached in butter, white wine, minced garlic, and lemon juice; sauteed spinach in olive oil mixed with garicky rice pilaf; and balsamic roasted red potatoes, a great recipe I have been meaning to make for some time from the lovely blog, Words of Deliciousness.

Yum!

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes!

It is most definitely summer here in South Florida! Crazy high temperatures, near 100% humidity, glaring sun - also huge thunderstorms that roll through practically on a daily basis. I decided to ignore all of that and make a lovely springy-summery dessert ... lemon blueberry cupcakes! I love the spark of freshness from the lemon zest and freshly squeezed juice (which I always go overboard with) and the shock of color and sweet flavor of the blueberries. My staple recipe for this cupcake mix comes from the ever-lovely Annie's Eats. I made these once before, for my family's New Years Party a few months ago, and they looked great with festive gold sprinkles, but yesterday I opted for the more traditional blueberry garnish atop lemony cream cheese frosting. 

Buona Festa Della Mamma!

Happy Mother's Day! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive, and loving mommy. This pic was taken in Portugal (more specifically, at Bom Jesus do Monte) back in February.

I finalized my mother's day brunch menu a week ago so I was anxious to get to the kitchen bright and early this morning!

First I made peach sangria. I had peach sangria at Carraba's a few weeks ago, and knew I wanted to re-create it at home. I loosely adapted a recipe from Epicurious. I used 3 peaches (sliced into wedges), half an orange (sliced into wedges), peach schnapps, a bottle of Chardonnay (of the Cupcake variety, of course), a split (about 1/4 of a regular bottle) of Martini Asti (Italian champagne), white sugar, and a can of pineapple juice. I mixed it all together and let it chill in the fridge, and then served with peach wedges on the rim of the wine glass.

And my new chalkboard makes it's blog debut :)

Next, I made individual baked french toast (served in ramekins), a recipe I adapted from the lovely Annie's Eats. The only additions I made were to add orange zest and a bit of orange liqueur!

Topped with diced strawberries, blueberries, powdered sugar, and a drizzle of maple syrup!

The final part of brunch were omelets with shredded cheese, cherry tomatoes and avocado! This was my first attempt at omelet making so they didn't turn out perfectly but they did taste delicious!

The complete meal....

For our late lunch I decided to keep it healthy and simple, and made oven-roasted salmon filets with roasted broccoli florets and asparagus spears. The fish, I roasted simply in olive oil, lemon juice, lemon slices, salt, and pepper. I then made a sauce to go along with the salmon, which I got from Test My Recipes. I loved the lemon creaminess of the sauce, it is very rich since it contains mayo, sour cream, and heavy cream (which I substituted for milk). I don't care for dill, so I used fresh parsley instead, which helped cut down on the richness of the sauce.

This was a simple yet refreshing, light yet hearty lunch - perfect for any lazy Sunday afternoon! I highly recommend it. 

I had picked up some delectable French pastries over at Bakery of France and they became our post-lunch time dessert.

Kale, Soup, and Muffins!

This weekend my goal was to cook healthy, using plenty of fruits and veggies. I spent all of yesterday in the kitchen, dancing around to Cheryl Cole and Rihanna, since it was cloudy and raining outside. I was also studiously avoiding thinking about my upcoming Microeconomics final. Oops!

Kale Chips!
Salty, crispy, good-for-you, what's not to love?

Butternut Squash Crab Bisque!
This is a great soup for rainy weather, it's creamy and hearty and goes great with a kale chip and crouton garnish. I used shallots instead of onions for a sweeter taste.

Finally, for Sunday brunch, and using the blackberry jam I made last month, blackberry jam mini muffins (with walnuts)! I adapted a recipe from Cook Bake Nibble

Baby Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownie Cupcakes!

Awhile back, when I first discovered lovely Joy the Baker, I bookmarked a brownie recipe of hers - these heavenly-looking Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies. The combination of sweet n' salty, always a winner in my book, grabbed my attention right away. I'm not a big brownie maker so I decided to convert this recipe to mini cupcakes. I also didn't feel the need to make the peanut butter into a sauce by adding sugar and vanilla extract, so I simply swirled creamy peanut butter onto the brownie cupcakes once cooled, and topped with a pretzel. I had to spray the mini cupcake liners to death with Pam, or else the brownie batter would've stuck like glue (and it still did, a teeny bit). The end effect is lovely, perfectly sized chocolatey, peanuty, pretzely (yes, these are all words) bites!

Note the adorable mini cupcake spatula, courtesy of Crate & Barrel!

My dinner consisted of an alarming amount of the above brownie cupcake minis, half a bottle of Merlot, and a plate of raspberries, cheese rounds, and olive crackers! :)

Breakfast for dinner?

Today I put together a hodge podge of a dinner, making cheesy quesadillas, potato egg cups, and creamy raspberry mousse.

First up: I brushed one side of corn tortillas with olive oil and placed them oil-side down on a hot pan. I filled half of it with a Mexican blend of cheeses and then turned it into a half moon to melt the cheeses through.

Next I made AmyBites Potato Egg Cups. I used tri-color fingerling potatoes (anything baby-sized and colorful immediately wins my favor!), diced them and mixed them with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. I divided them between ramekins and baked until the potatoes were roasted. Then I cracked an egg into each one and cooked until the egg set.

Potatoes and eggs may seem like a classic breakfast combo (and of course it is) but it also pairs wonderfully with some spices for a simple meal made elegant by using some colorful ramekins!

The complete dinner meal (with a generous side of lime juice-infused sour cream to slather onto the quesadilla):

I had two boxes of raspberries languishing in the bottom of my refrigerator's fruit drawer, along with some mascarpone cheese I needed to use up asap. I whipped heavy whipping cream with vanilla paste and white sugar, and added the mascarpone along with some milk. I stirred in the raspberries and used martini glasses to serve (love them!).

Buona Pasqua!

I have a newfound love for Party City - together with Michael's, these two stores have some very cute and creative cupcake toppers, sprinkles, and colorful liners that I can't find anywhere else.

Using the same raspberry white chocolate cupcake batter from yesterday, I made some extra cupcakes and mini loaves to decorate with jelly bean egg nests from Wilton!

Buona Pasqua tutti! :)

And from my favorite local Italian bakery, Cosi Duci, some wonderful traditional Easter treats:

And Easter brunch with my boyfriend's family:

Primrose Bakery Cupcakes!

Two years ago, my best friend from high school gave me a gorgeous cupcake book for Christmas. The book comes from the famous, gorgeous Primrose Bakery in London.

For my friend's bachlorette party tonight, I decided to make Raspberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate buttercream.

The recipe calls for raspberry jam to be swirled into the cake batter after mixing all the ingredients together. I mashed the berries together with some honey and sugar and then swirled it into the batter.

Melted white chocolate mixed in with whipped butter, vanilla extract, confectioner's sugar, and milk to make gorgeous thick pale yellow buttercream.

I topped the bachlorette themed cupcakes (love those pink liners!) with sugared engagement rings from Party City.

I had fun playing with the different frosting tips to make cute star designs on the non-ring-adorned cupcakes.

Chili, Scones, and Blackberry Jam!

I live in a lovely place called Boca Raton, Florida.

 
It is beautiful and land of perpetual sunshine. In true 'Floridian' fashion, I go to the beach about once a year, and today happened to be that day. I spent my morning walking around the beach with my boyfriend, picking up colorful seashells and alternately tanning and sweating in 85 degree weather. Then I went home and made chili. True story.

My favorite chili recipe is made using turkey and comes from lovely Amy from AmyBites. I work it a little differently; I saute an onion and several garlic cloves in olive oil and then brown a pound of turkey. I then add tomato paste, tomato sauce, pureed stewed tomatoes (with chili spices already added), and kidney beans. I stew it all together on low heat for an hour and a half, and add a little paprika and cayenne to top it off.

I like to serve my chili with a side of shredded cheddar cheese and a scoop of sour cream.

Next I made simple cream scones from Joy of Baking! I decided not to roll out the dough, cut out rounds, and bake on silicone sheet-lined baking sheets; instead I rolled the dough into little balls and placed them in Pam-sprayed muffin tins, and brushed the tops with heavy cream. They came out perfect!

Then I made blackberry jam from Yes I Want Cake - I couldn't believe how easy it was! I may make my own berry jams from now on. The list of ingredients was extremely simple, as there were only 3!

Heat the berries, 1 tbsp honey, and juice from half a lemon over medium heat. Smush up with a fork as the berries get softer. Cool after 10 minutes of heating and squishing.

Cute jars from The Container Store make for a professional look :)

Fresh out-of-the-oven scones slathered with homemade blackberry jam translates to a lazy Sunday afternoon, lounging around, and watching old Marilyn Monroe movies (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, anyone?).

Yummy, pretty, messy - it's a good time.

 Hm these scones would be perfect for mini strawberry shortcakes! Add it to the list....

Juice Day One!

My girls at work are interested in Join the Reboot, a nutrition plan by an Australian named Joe Cross, who also directed the documentary "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead", which is about making dramatic changes in diet for a healthier way of living. I am the latest one to jump on the bandwagon, nonetheless the ladies and I have started with plenty of fruits and veggies and our fancy juicers. My first attempt last night included: 1 pint strawberries + 1 pint blueberries + 1 pint raspberries...

Made on 03/28/2012.

+ 4 red apples + 2 pears...

Together with my (daddy's) lovely juicer...

Yay!

And voilà!

Here is what I learned .... berries make beautiful colors for juice ... berries do not make much juice themselves ... berry juice is not very sweet ... adding apples to any juice will make it very sweet and delicious and thus making it unnecessary to add anything other than fruit! I am very much looking forward to adding different types of fruit and slowly incorporating veggies, starting with a citrus-carrot blend.

Cookie and Cake Sandwiches

My lovely blogging friend Ann has a fantastic blog, At The Patisserie and another one discussing her amazing 11 week service trip to Ghana, Serving in Saboba. I decided to make her recipe for Mocha Choc Chip Cookies and turn them into cookie sandwiches with some leftover whipped cream from my Victoria Sandwich-inspired cake (see below).

Made on 03/10/12.

Variations: I halved the recipe (as I tend to do). To make the filling, I whipped 1 cup of heavy cream with 2 tbsp white sugar, 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. Delicious! 

Vanilla Rum Cake Sandwich! From The Pioneer Woman! Made on 03/10/12.

Variations: I made this cake in two pans so as to be able to sandwich them together. The cake halves are vanilla rum flavor, and they are sandwiched with cherry jam. The frosting is whipped cream and topped with blackberries!

One afternoon's worth of baking! Whew!

Triple Berry Cupcakes!

Berry Cupcakes!

Made on 01/28/12

Thanks to Cupcakes Take The Cake :)

What I have made thus far .... Tyler Florence Edition!

Lemon Pudding Cake!
Made on 06/07/11.

Blueberry Lemon Scones!
Made on 05/08/11.

And again....
Made on 09/10/11.

Thanks to Tyler Florence! :)

Strawberry Macarons!

Strawberry Macarons!

Made on 12/17/11.

Thanks to Tartelette! :)

What I have made thus far .... Annie's Eats Edition!

Caramelized Sea Scallops!
Made on 01/22/12.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes!
Made on 12/10/11.

Rum Cupcakes!
Made on 06/28/11.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecakes!
Made on 05/09/11.

And with a twist .... Blueberry swirl cheesecakes!
Made on 09/29/11.

Pumpkin Cupcakes!
Made on 10/30/11.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes!
Made on 12/31/11.

Thanks to Annie's Eats! :)

What I have made thus far .... Giada De Laurentiis Edition!

Chocolate Espresso Cookies!
Made on 12/07/11.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies!
Made on 12/04/11.

Parmesan Frico (Wafers)!
Made on 12/03/11.

Mini Frittatas!
Made on 11/01/11.

Raspberry Ricotta Mousse!
Made on 09/17/11.

Mango Cheesecake with Basil Lemon Syrup!
Made on 06/01/11.

Pea Pesto Crostini!
Made on 12/31/11.

Italian Kebabs!
Made on 12/31/11.

Zucchini Flatbread!
Made on 12/31/11.

Thanks to Giada De Laurentiis! :)