Vegetable Curry

"I'm in the mood for curry." Well, I wasn't, really. But then i saw an amazing picture of a Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry dish on the Tastespotting website and I was sold. There were 3 reasons I really wanted to make this:

1. I do like curry. Although I don't really think about it all the time, whenever I do have curry, I really enjoy it.

2. I think this would be a great dish for all those vegetarians out there. At the same time, I think the result is also flavorful enough to satisfy any meat-lover.

3. It's so simple! I love simply, tasty recipes!

As I was perusing the produce section of our neighborhood ShopRite, I ran into some gorgeous green beans. I love green beans, but I hardly ever buy them since they can spoil before I return home from my travels. I figured since I was using chickpeas and cauliflower already, why not throw in green beans as well? This recipe is so flexible that you can feel free to add vegetables at will. However, keep in mind that the more vegetables you add, the thicker the entire dish will be.

Vegetable Curry
(slightly adapted from Carmen Cooks' Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry recipe)

• 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 4 cups)
• ~ 20 medium-sized green beans, halved
  
• 1 15 1/2-ounce can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 1 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1) Heat oil in large skillet over high heat.

2) Add onions and sauté until golden brown, about 6 minutes.

3) Add curry powder and stir 20 seconds.

4) Add cauliflower and garbanzo beans. Stir 1 minute.

5) Add the diced tomatoes with chiles and the coconut milk. Bring to boil.

6) Reduce heat to medium-low and cover.

7) Add green beans.

8) Simmer gently until cauliflower is tender and liquid thickens slightly, stirring occasionally for about 16 minutes.

9) Season to taste with salt and pepper.


This dish can be served as a meal or as a side dish. I love the taste of the tender cauliflower and the soft crunch of the green beans. The coconut milk provided just a touch of creaminess that slightly offset the heat of the chiles.

I found that this dish is great served by itself, over white rice, or (gasp!) over ramen noodles! I think it could have been a little bit spicier, but that's just in my humble opinion. I would probably add a touch of cumin and turmeric to the recipe. The next time I make this, I'll have to figure out how to incorporate these. Mmmmmm...definitely can't wait to make this again!

Shrimp Enchiladas

It's my roommate Kimmy's birthday! Well, it was Kimmy's birthday. On June 7th. Since I was basking in the sun in the Bahamas at that time (or rather, waiting in line at the U.S. Embassy and begging to get my visa approval), I figured there was no time like this weekend to pull together Kimmy's belated birthday meal.

Kimmy is a shrimp lover. As is, she can eat shrimp all day for at least a week and be OK with that. Although I tend to favor other meat and seafood options, this was not a dish being created entirely for my personal enjoyment.

However, Kimmy and I do share a common bond over salsa verde. I obtained a recipe from my friend Matt and it is the most amazing sauce ever. I put it on everything when I make it, so of course I have to put it on/in these enchiladas.

That being said, I began the requisite search for salsa verde enchilada recipes through my favorite blog website, Tastespotting. The Boastful Baker's Chicken Enchiladas recipe seemed like a good base with which to start experimenting. So here we go, the final product of my labors:

Shrimp Enchiladas with Corn, Green Chiles & Sweet Onions

Yields 8-10 enchiladas (12 enchiladas if you don't overstuff like I do!)

• 8-10 medium flour tortillas
• 25 frozen, chopped cooked shrimps (you can also use fresh cooked shrimp if desired)
• 1 sweet onion, diced and cooked until soft
• 1 can corn (fresh or frozen), drained
• 2 4.25 oz cans diced green chiles
• 2-3 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese (use more or less cheese depending on personal taste)
• 5 1/2 cups tomatillo sauce

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking pan. Depending on the size of your enchiladas, you may need to oil another baking pan.

3) Pour 1/3 of the tomatillo sauce into bottom of pan and spread evenly.

4) Mix another 1/3 of the tomatillo sauce with shrimp, corn, green chiles, and onions. Stir until well combined.

5) Using a skillet, lightly heat a corn tortilla. They’re not very flexible when they're cold or at room temperature. If they are not heated, they will break during enchilada assembly.

6) Spoon 3-4 tablespoons chicken mixture down the middle of tortilla shell.

7) Sprinkle with a small amount of shredded cheese. Roll one side of tortilla towards the middle. Roll the other side and then carefully transfer the enchilada to baking pan with the seam side down.

8) Repeat steps 5 - 7 until the pan is full.

9) Evenly pour the last 1/3 of the tomatillo sauce over the enchiladas in the pan. Top with remaining shredded cheese.

10) Bake for approximately 30 minutes until sauce is bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

The result? A sweet, tangy and savory combination of shrimp, vegetables, tomatillo sauce, and of course, cheese! I enjoyed the entire dish first of all because I love enchiladas suizas (basically, enchiladas with a green sauce). Second of all, I love melted cheese and this dish can pack as big a wollop of melted cheese as you desire.

You can also customize your enchiladas. Below are a few examples, but feel free to go hog wild:
- Serve the enchiladas with rice on the side and a big dollop of sour cream on top.
- Substitute other meats and vegetables as fillers in the enchiladas. I made these before using shredded grilled chicken instead of shrimp.
- Add black beans or pinto beans to the mix. I personally dislike beans, so I kept them out of my recipe, but don't let this stop you if you actually like beans.

I could eat Mexican food at any time. These enchiladas would definitely satisfy my cravings for a spicy and cheesy meal, which is what I tend to associate Mexican food with. That could also be because I typically only order Mexican food containing cheese, but that's another story. Pair this dish with a Corona or two (substitute margaritas here, if necessary) and I think you'll have a stellar dinner meal at hand.

Bahamian Conch Fritters

Ahhh, island food. One of the greatest things about returning home for a visit is that I get to eat the amazing food that I grew up with. As my mom and I were debating our next meal, the subject of conch fritters came up.

Conch fritters are savory, fried balls of dough that contain chopped conch, some chopped veggies and spices. Yessss. Conch fritters. That settled it. Conch fritters were being made.

Some of you may not know what a conch is. Everyone's seen a conch shell, right? Well, the conch is the mollusk that lives in that shell. Check out some pics below:

- 2 Conchs, au natural (I never said they were pretty.)

- 2 Conchs, skinned

- 2 Conchs, sinned and bruised

Conch Fritters

• 2 med. sized conchs (skinned, bruised and diced)
• ½ onion (diced)
• 1 stick celery (diced)
• 1 ½ tomatoes (diced)
• 3 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• 1 bird pepper (or half a habanero, if bird pepper is not available)
• 2 tsp. hot sauce
• ½ - ¾ cup ketchup or tomato paste
• ¼ cup thyme
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 ¼ cup water

1) In a large bowl, mix everything together except the flour, baking powder, and water.

2) In a smaller bowl, mix together the flour and the baking powder.
3) Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl, then add the water slowly.
4) Pre-heat a pot of oil (vegetable or canola). You will need a few inches of oil.
5) Scoop tablespoons of the batter into the oil. Only fry a few fritters at a time. Fry until golden brown on one side. Turn the dough until the other side of the fritter is also golden brown.

6) Serve hot with sauce below.

Sauce

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup ketchup
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1 tsp. hot sauce

1) Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
Last (but certainly not least!), I know that conch is not always readily available. Never fear, though. You can substitute a 15-oz can of corn for the conch. (The can of corn can be somewhere in the 15-oz range, so don't fret if you can't find this exact size of canned corn.) The recipe stays exactly the same, but now you'll end up with some amazing Corn Fritters. Give it a try and I think you'll be deliciously surprised!

Guava Cupcakes

There are three reasons I decided to make guava cupcakes this week:

1) I love guavas. I realize that I am not a fresh fruit fan, but this fruit is an elite member of my "nice" list.

2) I found a can of guava shells in my cupboard.

3) I was channeling "vacation mode" in preparation for my trip to the Bahamas!

After what seemed to be a very long week at work, I have finally made it back home to Nassau, Bahamas, which is where I am currently writing this post.

Now it's time to drop some knowledge. For those of you who don't know what a guava is, here are some Cliff's Notes from Wikipedia:
"Guava fruit are round or oval depending on the species. The outer skin may be rough, often with a bitter taste, or soft and sweet. Varying between species, the skin can be any thickness, is usually green before maturity, but becomes yellow, maroon, or green when ripe. Guava fruit generally have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less sharp. Guava pulp may be sweet or sour, off-white to deep pink, with the seeds in the central pulp of variable number and hardness, again depending on species."

I grew up with a guava tree in my backyard, so I always got a fresh taste of the fruit when it was in season. There's also a very popular Bahamian dessert called "Guava Duff", which would always provide a taste of guavas even when they weren't in season. Whenever my mom comes to visit me in the US, I attempt to coerce her into making some sort of Bahamian treat. The creation of a Guava Duff was actually the reason for having guava shells in the cupboard.

Since I had these little treats at my disposal and I was also not going to be making a Guava Duff anytime soon, I decided to make the next best thing: Cupcakes! After a little bit of thinking, I determined it would be best to convert a Guava Cake recipe into cupcake form, complete with chopped guava shells.

Guava Cupcakes
(makes ~30 cupcakes)

• 2 sticks (16 tbsp) butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cup baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• dash cinnamon
• 1 can guava shells, chopped

1) Cream the butter and sugar together.
2) Add the eggs, one by one.
3) Add the vanilla and milk.
4) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
5) Slowly, combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
6) Fold in the chopped guava shells.
7) Pour batter into cupcake liners. Fill cups 1/2 full with batter. (I discovered that if I filled the cupcake liners 2/3 full, they would "overflow" in the oven.)
8) Bake ~25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below).

Guava desserts (duff/cake/cupcakes) pair well with a sweet icing, so I made a cream cheese icing to spread on top of the cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 1 cup confectioners (icing) sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 tbsp guava syrup (from the canned Guava Shells)

1) Beat cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth.

2) Add the guava syrup and beat again until it is thoroughly mixed. Add more guava syrup if you want a thinner icing.

3) Spread onto cooled cupcakes.

You can also use 2tbsp whipping cream instead of the guava syrup if you like. I was trying to incorporate additional guava flavor into the cupcakes, so I used the syrup instead of the traditional whipping cream. I don't think it came out half bad. You can detect just the tiniest hint of guava flavor in the icing. If you want a little extra kick, you can also add a few tablespoons of rum, but keep in mind that the icing will become pretty runny with each additional liquid that is added.

I liked the guava cupcakes. It reminded me of a spice cake, but there was the definite guava flavor. In addition, the guava shells provided a sweet compliment to the savory cake. Alas, the chopped guava shells sank to the bottom of the cake again. I think I needed a thicker batter in which to suspend the guava shells. One of these days, I swear I'll figure out how to do this consistently...

Zoo thought they were yummy, especially because they were cold (aka, not warm). My roommate Kimmy liked the cake, but thought the icing was a bit too sweet.

Kimmy also bravely took some of the cupcakes to work for her coworkers. Fran said she loved the cake in the cupcake but wasn't crazy about the frosting. Mike, who didn't even know what a guava was, ate a whole cupcake and allegedly said, "Wow that's really good! Delicious!"

I believe these tropical cupcakes were a success overall. Although I wouldn't claim that the success was on par with other cupcakes I've made, I like to think I at least brought a taste of the islands to the Northeast. You know, for a minute or two.

Basil & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo

It seemed impossible. But it has happened. I cooked something.

Yes, this phenomenon has occurred many times before, but I have never blogged about it. I'm not just a baker, you know. I'm multi-faceted. So here we go...

Last week, I got the urge to make some sort of food dish that would be tasty, quick, and easy to freeze. I happen to live in a hotel during the week, so if I make a large dish, I usually need to establish freezing capabilities.

Approximately one year ago, I stumbled across Adventures In Shaw's Fast Food blog post for Basil & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo. The recipe has been sitting in the Bookmarks section of my Internet browser until I re-discovered it about 3 weeks ago. There were several reasons I chose to make this dish:

1. I love the combination of basil and tomato, so why not?
2. I have never cooked orzo before, so I decided to live on the wild side.
3. Adventures in Shaw promised that this would be a "fast food". Since I'm always pressed for time, I couldn't resist.


I wasn't too sure what to expect from this dish. I knew that orzo is a type of pasta, but that was pretty much the extent of it. One of the things I really like about this recipe is the ability to modify the ingredients and proportions at any stage. One of my "dislikes" about baking is that I have to stick to certain guidelines regarding what I can and cannot add to the recipe. Don't ask me about these guidelines. I'm still figuring them out, one cupcake at a time. But in the meantime, I cook.


Basil & Sun-Dried Tomato Orzo
(slightly adapted from Adventures In Shaw)

• 2 cups basil leaves
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 container sun-dried tomatoes, packed in herbed olive oil
• Parmesan cheese, to taste
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups cooked orzo

1) Cook the orzo according to the package, drain and set aside.

2) Chop the onion, basil and sun dried tomatoes, reserving some of the olive oil for the pan. (Note: Because I was lazy, I threw the sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor for chopping.)

3) Place the pan on the stove at medium heat, pour in the reserved olive oil. I used several teaspoons of the olive oil. Add the onion first.

4) Saute for a minute or two (until the onions start to go soft) and then toss in the tomatoes.

5) Continue to saute for another minute, adding the basil before tossing in the cooked orzo.

6) Reduce the heat to low and continue tossing the ingredients together until everything is evenly coated.

7) Stir in most of the Parmesan cheese.

8) Top orzo with the remaining Parmesan cheese.


The tomatoes turned the orzo a very faint, but pretty, orange color. The orzo itself tasted just like pasta! (I know that orzo is pasta, but since it looks like rice, I keep forgetting that fact. I'm a visual eater.) The basil/tomato/Parmesan combination was quite savory. Each time I took a bite, I smelled the basil, felt a little tang from the sun-dried tomato, and then experienced the creaminess of the melted Parmesan.

Overall, I love the recipe, but my original proportions would have been more accurate if I was cooking 1 cup of orzo. Since I actually made 2 cups of orzo, I would have adjusted the key ingredients. Still, the final recipe was great. It also freezes and thaws really well. You may need to add a teaspoon or two of olive oil when reheating the orzo, as it may be a bit dry.

A few detailed observations:

• I typically don't like chunks of of sun-dried tomatoes, which was why I resorted to food processor power. Next time, though, I'll plan on using the entire container. Although I could still taste the sun-dried tomatoes, I could have used more.
• The smell of fresh basil has to be one of the greatest pleasures on Earth. (Kimmy and I just purchased a potted basil plant today. His name is Frankie. He's Italian.) If I added more tomatoes, I would also suggest adding another cup or so of chopped basil, so that the scent/taste is still present. I julienned my basil, which means that I cut the leaves into long strips. However, I would suggest actually chopping them, as it will help the basil to spread more evenly throughout the dish.
• The final step calls for shredded Parmesan cheese. Of course, I would have also added more cheese to the dish. I love cheese and can't ever have enough of it. Especially when it's melted.
  

If you are a remotely busy person, you should try this recipe. It lived up to it's promise to be quick and easy. It would probably be even faster for someone more adept at knife skills than myself. So here's my invisible toast to many more cooking blog posts in the future. You may have to wait a bit though. My next adventure is going to be cupcake-related again! Stay tuned...

Chocolate Fluffernutter Cupcakes

Hellooooo blog-followers! I have been super busy lately. But...I return with a bang! Let me tell you, I believe Chocolate Fluffernutter Cupcakes could be my most awesome-est cupcakes yet!

It all started with a potluck dinner last week hosted by amazing friends and cupcake tasters, Cindy and Chris. Marcia, Cindy's sister, organized this event for several friends in the NY area. When the invite was sent out, it appeared that my name was already conveniently marked under the Dessert category. Thus, I started to brainstorm about brownies, cupcakes, some sort of candy bar thing, etc. When the next reminder was sent out, I then saw that my name was marked next to "Cupcakes". Well, that took care of the "What kind of dessert do I bring?" question. I quickly accepted my fate and tried to determine the theme of the cupcakes. Nutella is always a winner in my book, so I asked Marcia if she was also a fan. The response: "Not really. I'm not really into 'nutty' things other than peanut butter. How about something PB or marshmallows?"

OK. The window of creativity is getting narrower and narrower. But I persevere...I began searching for peanut butter and marshmallow cupcake recipes. Eventually, I made it to the BakeSpace website. There, I hit the jackpot. I found both Peanut Butter Frosting and Marshmallow Frosting recipes. Talk about a one-stop shop! Since I know that Marcia also likes chocolate, the total package finally came together: Chocolate Fluffernutter Cupcakes.

While thinking about a chocolate cupcake recipe, I remembered that my sister makes a pretty good chocolate cake using the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box. I decided that this recipe would be perfect. After the last cupcake disaster, I kind of wanted to play it safe on this one. I actually followed this recipe to the letter! I know. Shocking!

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake
(Makes ~30 cupcakes)

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1) Heat oven to 350°F. Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups.

2) Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

3) Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.

4) Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes.

5) Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).

6) Pour batter into cupcake liners. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter.

7) Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost with Peanut Butter Frosting and Marshmallow Frosting (recipes below).


Peanut Butter Frosting

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

1) In large bowl of a mixer, cream the powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

2) Add whipping cream. (Note: This is listed as optional in the BakeSpace recipe, but I found that I really needed it to make the frosting spreadable.)

Marshmallow Frosting

• 1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 lb. powdered sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 jar Marshmallow Fluff (about 2 cups)

1) In large bowl of a mixer, cream the butter until soft.

2) Add powdered sugar and vanilla and whip until smooth.

3) Add marshmallow fluff and continue to mix until the frosting is fluffy, about 1 minute.


Chocolate Fluffernutter Cupcake Assembly:

1) On top of a cooled chocolate cupcake, pipe a thin layer of Peanut Butter Frosting.

2) Pipe Marshmallow Frosting on top of the Peanut Butter Frosting.

3) Top with crumbled roca. (This step is optional. I used Mocha Rocha and Cashew Roca from Starbucks because I had some lying around.)


My roommate Kimmy and I tried the final cupcakes first. Kimmy was a fan, which I thought was especially impressive because she doesn't really like the peanut butter/marshmallow combination. I enjoy the fluffernutter flavors, so the cupcake worked exceedingly well for me. The chocolate cake was pretty light and sweet and it had a very nice, even consistency. The saltiness of the Peanut Butter Frosting was nicely paired with the sweet of the Marshmallow Frosting. (Did I mention my obsession with just about any salty/sweet combination?) I ended up piping about twice as much Marshmallow Frosting on the cupcakes as Peanut Butter Frosting. However, since marshmallow is mostly air, the final flavors were balanced really well. I also enjoyed the roca, which provided a sporadic, yet satisfying, crunch throughout the cupcake-eating process.

I took some of the Chocolate Fluffernutter cupcakes to the pot luck dinner and everyone seemed to really enjoy it! They were even compared to Magnolia and Buttercup cupcakes! (Yes, I was really happy to hear this! My ego needed a boost...please refer to previous cupcake blog post to determine why.)

After this success, I figured I could take a chance and bring these cupcakes to my client site. Since I hadn't injured anybody at the potluck with my baking, and these cupcakes seemed to be kind of stellar, I figured I could take the chance. The cupcakes fared really well at the client site too! Maybe this can be factored into my annual review somehow. I will mark this as a massive win for these cuppies.

Take THAT, Iron Cupcake: Summer Berries. Who needs summer berries to have a great cupcake? Now that my project is no longer in high gear, I think it's time to begin the brainstorming sessions for next week's cupcakes. Hopefully they will have at least half the success that these cupcakes had!

Vanilla Strawberry Pomegranate Cupcakes - My Beautiful Disaster

I should have known this particular Iron Cupcake project was doomed the moment I saw June's theme: Summer Berries.

For those of you who don't know me, there are few fresh fruits that I will gladly eat. Of these, summer berries are not even within the vicinity. It's not that I don't like berry flavors. I actually love them, but we're talking about two different things. Berry flavors? Yes, please. Berry fruits? Next! At the very least the berries would need to be cooked/baked/fried/boiled/whatever...

But in the spirit of competition, I decided to let my creative juices flow and embrace the berries. I started thinking. What other fruits do I like? Well, I like pomegranates. That's a fresh fruit on my "nice" list. And I remembered my friend Katrin was grilling me about vanilla cupcakes last week, so it might be interesting to incorporate a vanilla flavor into the cupcake. Le voila! Witness the birth of the Vanilla Strawberry Pomegranate cupcakes!

I began to get super-excited. I found a Strawberry Banana recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Cupcake Project. Then I went out and bought the prettiest strawberries I could find, a container of real vanilla beans, and a super sweet bottle of pomegranate juice. Who knew it would be difficult to find real pomegranates in June? Nonetheless, I was armed and ready to go! (Disclaimer: My cooking adventure was not doomed due to the CP recipe. The reason(s) will become apparent in time. Keep reading.)

The recipe called for macerated strawberries, which I had absolutely no idea how to do. But with a few minutes of research on the web, Alton Brown quickly set me straight. Macerating fruit is pretty much the equivalent of marinating meat. And red wine was involved so how could I say no?

After a few hours of macerating the strawberries, I was ready to attack the cupcakes. I whipped up the batter according to the instructions, stopping short of adding the fruit. Then I went to work on personalizing the cupcakes. Sadly, it is at this point that things take a turn for the worse...

I added the strawberries, half of the leftover macerating liquid, 2 cups of pomegranate juice and the vanilla beans to the batter. I know, I know...you must all be cringing at that sentence. I kept trying to taste more pomegranate flavor in the batter, and somewhere along the line I just went hog wild with the pom juice. Again, my cupcakes sank when they came out of the oven. And to add insult to injury, they were also a little gooey :(

Another attempt to save the cupcakes came in the form of Buttercream Icing. Even pumped up with the remainder of the macerating liquid and a few teaspoons of pomegranate juice, let's just say I still somehow missed the mark on this. The icing was too sweet and not stiff enough.

My friends were really nice and ate the test cupcakes without (much) complaint. KL agreed that the icing was very runny and too sweet, but she will still remain my roommate. Zoo attempted to eat the cupcake on Day 2, which she says was much better cold. SRJ took a cuppie for the road, as his high school band teacher duties required him to turn in earlier than most. We will place that review on hold.

As you have probably figured out by now, I am not going to post this customized recipe. Why? Because so much seemed to go wrong that I wouldn't wish this particular cupcake on anyone else.

So now you're most likely asking yourself why I'm posting this massive failure for the general population to read at all. Well, friends, let's just say that we all learn from our mistakes. I know there is someone out there reading this who has thought or will think about pouring 2 extra cups of liquid into cake or cupcake batter. I am here to tell you that this is probably not a good idea. Also, I did take what I believe to be some really pretty pictures (loved the macerated strawberries!) and I wanted to show them off. I'm still planning on making interesting creations in the near future, but maybe I'll try to stick a little closer to the actual recipe next time.