Cuppycakes!

So I just knew the cake decor would come out sooner or later. The post title is a reference to Christmas Eve on Sesame Street- an unimaginable masterpiece really. Just ask my sister who experienced it for several years. Anyways, Rachel Judd baked the cupcakes and asked me if I would like to decorate them. They were for the RAs who just moved up into the hood, otherwise known as the buildings next door. I went a tinsy bit over board in sheer anticipation and planning.

Cupcakes #1: Pictured on the left. Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and a semi-sweet garnish. Super duper easy peanut butter recipe, which will follow, from frostingrecipes.net. For the garnish I melted semi-sweet chocolate chips in a plastic bag. When it was nice and melted I snipped a little bit of the corner off and made the swirly designs on wax paper covered cookie sheet. They went in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Peel, place, and tada!

Peanut Butter Frosting Recipe:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
3 tbs. milk
2 cup confectioner's sugar

1. Add butter and peanut botter in a bowl.
2. Beat them well, with an electric mixer.
3. Slowly mix the sugar and add the milk when it gets thick.
4. Beat for 3-5 minutes or until ready.

Cupcake #2: Pictured on the right. Funfetti cupcake with store bought white frosting and topped with toasted coconut. I just colored the frosting to make it more festive. And toasted the coconut in broiler for about 7-10 minutes. Kind of cheating, but it was what I had time for.

*Note: Frosting is usually easiest to work with (i.e. piping) when it is chilled.

Your very own Soup and Salad Bar!

Alright...the long awaited first REAL post. It's real because it's about food and it actually has pictures of food, which by the way is my most frequent picture subject, not people. I can't eat people because that would be unethical and disgusting. Anyways, I made this for a friend of mine, Taylor Telford, and myself. The soup is Campbell's vegetable beef-I didn't have THAT much time.

Bagel: So yes, that is a bagel, a wheat bagel. I put cheese, Italian seasonings, and garlic powder on it before I shoved it in the broiler in the oven. Sounds interesting, but surprisingly good. (Side note: a few good spices are essential to cooking in general, but required in college. Italian seasoning and garlic powder are some of those. A little bit of flavor goes a llllllloooonnnnnngggg way.)

Salad: Pretty easy: baby spinach, carrots, ham lunch meat, and apples. All cut up and served with poppy seed dressing. Once again, surprisingly good. Poppy seed dressing is not essential, but delicious if you want to make a food investment. Next time instead of buying that bag of Twix for cramming, which doesn't really help you anyways, get some poppy seed dressing. Your body will thank you for it someday.

Cooking 101

Hello worldwide web! I just decided about twenty minutes ago I needed to start a blog for college cooking. It seemed like a good idea...time will tell if it REALLY was a good idea. My grades will also be a good indicator. I was inspired by a simple recipe my sister-in-law Lauri shared with me. College is challenging enough without eating unhealthy. I have always loved cooking and this gives me a chance to share it with the people I love and some I also don't know. Random posts about flowers, another love, and the chef herself may also make an occasional appearance. Well...here I go! Bon appetit!