Once Upon a Time: A Story of Cupcakes

Hello, Lovelies!

Or...Uglies, if you prefer. However, I'm sitting here with a British-flag-covered, steaming pot of tea, and methinks it affects my vocabulary at times. Besides, if you're sparing the time to read of my latest (and *ahem*, long ago) adventures in cupcakery, you are lovely! Shall we begin the tale?

    Once upon a time, when the colors of spring were just beginning to come into focus and warm the landscape, Sarah traveled to the far-off state of Maryland. This land was very merry indeed for the traveler, as it boasted the wonderful attraction of home to her life-long best friend, who had married another life-long friend, the two of whom had an exciting new friend to introduce to Sarah.

  Or, to be more precise, an honorary nephew for Auntie Sarah to meet!!

     Mr. Liam was full of smiles and conversation for Auntie Sarah, and she loved him dearly. Loved him when he napped, when he ate, and when he bounced. They played bump together, read books when Mama and Papa went on a date, and toured the art museum. One day, the adventures of Mr. Liam and Auntie Sarah contained-

What's that you say? You thought you were getting a cupcake recipe? What is this nonsense about cupcakes? Look at the post title. I'm sure I wrote "The Adventures of Mr. Liam and Auntie Sarah"...

Oh.

Cupcakes. Right. I will try again.

     One day, during Auntie Sarah's visit, Mr. Liam regrettably informed her that he had a busy day planned, and advised her to occupy herself as cheerily as she could with Mama while he attended to his duties (he promised to bounce in and out so they wouldn't be too devastated). Mama and Auntie wracked their brains, and finally decided that the best option for keeping happily busy would be the art of cupcakery. But not just any cupcakery. No - it would require a special kind, a kind of multiple colors and dancing flavors, to sufficiently brighten their time in which they could not be playing with Mr. Liam. And so the Sherbet Cupcake was born. Half grapefruit, half blueberry, topped with the fluffiest of So-Fluffy-I'm-Gonna-Die frostings, these cupcakes were masterpieces. Even Mr. Liam, who could not then enjoy their flavor, pronounced the aroma "heavenly" and "oohed" and "ahhed" at the colors. He thought Mama and Auntie were brilliant, and so, today, we share the recipe with the world.

     Because when life gives you no Mr. Liam playtime, you make cupcakes (and Skype him, and save to visit him again, and talk about him, and look at pictures that Mama sends you of him, and...well, you get the idea). So without further ado:

It was so fun to get make cupcakes with Mika as part of our Bloggy Cupcake Party - since we originally conceived the idea the first time Lauren and I got to visit her! For Part One of the recipe (Grapefruit Cupcakes!) and the Delectably Fluffy Frosting (a Mika-Sarah original), hop over to One Bright Corner. Below you'll find the Blueberry Cupcake side of this delicious-duo. Enjoy!

Blueberry Cupcakery
1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup tapioca starch

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 eggs

1/3 cup Berry Blend fruit juice

2 - 3 drops purple food coloring, optional

1/2 cup 2% milk

1 cup blueberries (we used frozen, but fresh would be even more delicious!)

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 12-count muffin tin with adorable cupcake liners.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the rice flour, coconut four, tapioca starch, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.

3. In a larger bowl, beat the sugar and coconut oil together. Add eggs, one at a time, until texture is thick and smooth.

4. Combine the berry juice and food coloring with milk in a small bowl. Alternate adding milk and flour mixture by halves, beating until just combined.

5. Gently fold in blueberries, then fill papers with half Grapefruit half Blueberry batters!

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cupcakes spring back when tops are pressed or until a toothpick comes out clean (but remember gluten-free cupcakes are done at a more moist consistency than wheat flour cupcakes). Remove and cool completely on wire racks.

7. Frost!

(Remember, for frosting and specific details in duo-flavored cupcake assembly, see Mika's blog!)

Review:

This was my favorite cupcake recipe so far and receives two thumbs up!! They were flavorful, moist, and delicious with or without the frosting (but if there were any doubters, I'm highly recommending the frosting)! We all thought they had a slightly gritty taste, so I would experiment with substituting sweet rice flour for the brown rice. Also, I have made them again as lemon cupcakes and found them a bit dry - a problem we did not have with the original Sherbet Cupcakes. My hypothesis is that the juicy blueberries kept them moist - so don't skip the fruit! :)

     And now you know how it came about that there were Sherbet Cupcakes in the adventures of Mr. Liam and Auntie Sarah. And I think I can promise you that everyone lives happily ever after.

     Everyone except the cupcakes.

Scheming Still

Once upon a time, there were three of us. Three, adorable, us's. We played violin together, explored the woods together, told each other scary raccoon stories at bedtime, and investigated the scientific and entrepreneurial potential behind turning fondue back into cheese for resale.  Because 2 or 3 days a week is clearly not enough face time, we were ever consumed with plotting intricate "schemes" to lengthen or multiply visits. Perhaps one week we would try to smuggle each other home in the back of our respective vans. Another week held "run away from home" day. We would be suddenly struck deaf to cries of "It's time to go home!" or our feet would turn to lead when it was time to "load up." Oh, how subtly we schemed. On rare days, our plans would be astounded by the simple, "Ok" our parents must have chuckled to give when approached by "Don't you think we should have a sleepover tonight?"

Then we grew up a little, and with us, our world. When I moved the eternal distance of an hour away, our "schemes" grew more intricate. We would attempt to leave necessary items at each others' houses to require an imminent second get-together. Our ears would perk up whenever there was mention of being in the same vicinity, and we would email, and send letters, and plot until we were blue in the face to make the most of every opportunity. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. But most of all, we enjoyed the thrill and adventure of discussing our "schemes."

{photo credit: Christa Taylor}

Then we grew up a little more, and the world got a little bigger. Mikaela married her bestest-estest friend and moved far enough away to put my one-hour distance to shame. And so the scheming continued, and Lauren and I (with Mama Cash!) boarded a plane and had one delightful smash of a visit last month where, true to form, the three us's hatched another scheme...

But this scheme was different. It didn't involve leaving things behind, or begging for sleepovers. It wasn't concerned with scary carnivore stories or finding a day when we could tramp through the woods to go blackberry surfing. No, no, no - this scheme was so delicious, we want you in on it!

Curious? I'll give you a hint: it's a Cupcake Party!! For details and your very-own, highly-personal invitation, read Lauren's post here, then head over to One Bright Corner's main page today for the first of many festivities. Will you join in our lovely scheme? We have years of plotting practice, and can guarantee you a wild, delectable ride!

Tag Time! {part 1}

Don't we all love tag?? Today, I'm playing the game by the rules of my friend, William. We met last summer during the amazing Reformation Tour (which I just realized I never did a true synopsis of...that will really have to happen at some point)!

Me, Kaytch, & William: first meeting!

 Between him, us three girls, and a few other cool people, we formed the fabulous Back of the Bus Gang.

Back row: Aislinn, Charae, Yours Truly, Kaytch, Lieren
Front row: Stephen, William, Abigail, Noel

I have decided that touring Europe together is one of the absolute best ways to make friends.

Lieren, Charae, Abby & Grace, Aislinn, Moi, William

...here is where I rapidly switch back to the topic of tag to avoid feeling a little homesick for that wonderful month of travels!

SO, the rules of the game are as follows:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog. This feels slightly egotistical toward whomever I tag, but I'm certainly grateful to William for getting to join the fun!!
2. Answer his/her 11 questions.
3. Add to these 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Come up with your own 11 questions.
5. Tag (up to) 11 other blogs (with under 200 followers) to answer your queries and follow the previous 4 steps.

6. Do some mental math and come to the conclusion that, provided all 11 blogs comply, there will be 242 answers/random facts added to the blogosphere, compliments of your solitary blog post.

{confession: I did not do that math mentally}

Shall we begin? Because I love to ramble (apparently), and because I love to play tag (obviously), I'm prolonging the game into two posts. Because I can. :)

Part I: answering William's questions.

{photo credit}

1. What is your favorite type of music?
One of the hardest and favoritest questions! I like to play classical, listen to soundtracks, and sing along to hymns and (some) praise music. Thanks to this question, I now have a theme for this week's Watch-It Wednesday. :D

And...complete honesty requires me to acknowledge that I enjoy some kpop, also.

2. What is your favorite genre of literature?
Historicalfictionfairytalesfantasy(specificallyallegorical)philosophytheologybiographyclassicspoetry.

3. Would you rather read books or write articles?

I know this may come as a shock, considering the 30 Day Book Challenge I did last month, but I'd rather read than write.

{Yes, sarcasm.}

While I really do enjoy writing - when I feel I have something worth saying - I would much rather find an author with a complete mastery of words and read his. :)

4. How many brothers and/or sisters do you have?
4 bros, 5 sisters. For a total of 9 siblings. And yes, I did that math in my head.

5. If you lived 100 years ago, where would you choose to live?
According to HistoryOrb, August 25th held these events:
-German army begins 6 weeks of plundering Leuven, Belgium
-German Zeppelins bomb Antwerp, Belgium
- German troops march into France and pushes the French army to Sedan

Basically, if I was alive 100 years ago, I would be watching the beginning of the first world war. I don't really feel any pull to that difficult and tragic time, so I guess the best answer would be the US, since we hadn't joined the war yet...

6. Which theological subject are you most interested in?
This was a hard one, William, because I've actually never thought of Theology as being divided into different subjects. I had to ask Ben, but his answer was right-on (which is why, you know, he was to be asked). Answer: the personhood of Christ.

7. If you could travel to any one place in the world, where would you go?

Why must you ask a question like this?? Only one place? I can't pick one! I want to go back to Scotland, England, and Switzerland. I want to see Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Korea, Japan, Greece, Australia, Norway, Finland...Victoria B.C! Arches National Park, the Grand Canyon, Chicago, Disney Land, Maine, Prince Edward Island, Gates of Calypso Iguazu Falls (Brazil), Grand Wailea Canyon Activity Pool (Hawaii), the musical road in Lancaster, CA, and, within the next couple weeks, Frederick, Maryland will be added to the list.
Basically, give me a plane ticket and a suitcase, and I'm off.

8. Why did you start a blog?
Oh, self-absorption, mostly. Feeling a driving need to be recognized on the world wide web, I planned my momentous debut for months ahead of time, researching for agonizing hours what exactly was calculated to instantly draw the masses and grant me the platform I never found to be large enough in real life.

It didn't work.

So I went to Plan B for "purpose." Namely, maintaining an easy scrapbook wherein both grandparents and other family/friends could keep somewhat updated on my life.  Part B of Plan B was that it gave me an outlet for writing and a challenge to write consistently.

That's worked a bit better.

9. Where would you prefer to live: the city, or the country?

 

City for a couple years (and I'm talking city city: apartment downtown sorta thing)...because cities hold such an endless realm of adventures and possibilities, I'm drawn to them. Ultimately, however, I prefer to live in the country with s-p-a-c-e and quiet and flower gardens and veggie gardens and fruit trees and animals...and maybe even a house. :p

10. What is the most influential book, other than the Bible, in your life?
I feel like I keep talking about these books. I don't know if I could pinpoint just one. The Narnia series is so fully ingrained into who I am, that I'm sure I don't know all the influence it's had on me. When I think of truly mind-opening books I have read, they are Surprised by Joy, Til We Have Faces, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, and The Book that Made Your World.

Disclaimer: I'm sure there are tons of others I simply can't think of at this moment. ;)

11. What is your favorite movie?
Oh goodness. Really, William?? :p Short answer: Can't answer. Long answer: well, you asked for it....

Master and Commander, Ever After, Les Miserables, Cinderella Man, Wives and Daughters, Patriot, The Man From Snowy River, North and South, Tammy and the Bachelor, Luther, Sense and Sensibility (with Emma Thompson)...

...these are in no particular order. Some of them are "favorites" because I've grown up on them. Almost all of them are favorites for nostalgic reasons, as much as anything else. I like watching movies just fine, but am hard-pressed to say that I really have "favorites." :)

There now, aren't you glad I'm doing this in two parts? 400 brownie points to all of you who waded through my verbosity. To the skimmers: shame on you, on your family, and on your cow.

Tune in next Monday for part 2!! :)

30 Day Book Challenge! Days 14-15: So Many Books

No, I am not planning for this skip-a-day-double-post thing to become a habit. However, I am having heaps of fun with our beautiful SUMMER!! I know it is really and truly here because (1) my friend and I enjoyed 80 degrees and sunshine at the river yesterday...

 ...and (2) last night we had grilled pizza. Grilled. Pizza. Pretty much my favorite summer food evah. I literally (hmmm...this is an embarrassing piece of information to send out into the world wide web) drooled taking my first bite. It was gross. The drool, that is - but the pizza was to die for.

JT, or "Red" in the blogging world, was our pizza-crust-connoisseur, and has documented more pictures of this delectableness on his blog, The Case of the Red-Head JT. Just in case you too wish to drool.

But enough with the excuses of sunshine and food, and on to our book questions!!

Day 14: What is a book you regret not having read sooner?

This is, I have decided, an impossible question. Hasn't every book you've ever read been finished with the feeling of "I should have read that sooner?" Which story have you fallen in love with and thought, "Well, I'm glad I didn't read that last year"? Which thought-provoking page have you turned and thought "I am so glad I read this...but if I'd read it yesterday, I would have regretted it"? Really? Which book do I regret not having read sooner? Every. Single. One of them.

Day 15: What is a book on your "to read" list?

There are so-so-so many. It's no exaggeration to say I have at least my next 50 books planned out...and those are just ones that are top-priority. The next book on my list (after the present one I'm reading) is Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I have tried to read this book so many times...checked it out from the library twice. Had to return it before finishing twice. Bought it once, got half-way through again and then left it in an airport. Bought it again, will read it all the way through this time...although I may have to purpose not to let it leave my room until I finish it!

What's the next book on your reading list?

Life Lately

Gather in closely, dear readers, for I have a profound observation to share with you all:

Three and a half weeks can fly by like there's no tomorrow!!!!

You have quite possibly never noticed how a busy schedule can whirl your life away through days, weeks, and months, leaving no time for blogging, little time for picture-snapping, and copious amounts of material for memory-making. The midst of spinning to and fro - this is where friendships are proved, goals are made and met, and where priorities become defined. My past almost-four-weeks have run according to this theme, and I cherish every moment from the decision I was facing in the previous post onward. Now that I finally have a moment's peace, however (although I cannot help but ruefully observe that it doesn't come until nearly midnight on any given day), I am happy to provide the requested "update".

Since May 12th I have...

1. Celebrated a graduation.

*sniff* my li'l bro is all growed up! On May 10th, Ben graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Doesn't he look spiffy?

yes, I know you're distracted by my adorable sunglasses,

but do look at Ben in his boring black robe & funny-yet-impressive

square hat, too.

2) Celebrated a birthday.

Has anyone seen my cane?? My candles read "49," and I was assured this was entirely logical and intentional - not a result of over-estimating my age or having only "4" and "9" candles. Old lady or not, it was a fab birthday, with friends, cake, "The Princess Bride" (thank you, Mr. & Mrs. J, for putting up with me! :p), and a day-before birthday dinner with my parents at a delicious pizza place!

                       dad an' me :)                                                         wood-fired pizza, baked by...Mario??

stinging nettle pizza - call me crazy, but I liked it!

3. Attended an opera!

Pirates of Penzance, to be exact. It was our annual find-something-to-dress-up-for-and-enjoy-an-evening-in-Ptown night. Great singing, great laughs, a fun tramp to a crepe food cart, and dessert at Pix- we enjoyed ourselves immensely!

 the whole gang!

                             besties                                                                       a piece of Portland at sunset

4. Enjoyed Slimification!!

They say it's not a word, but it is. "The are of being slimed," to be precise. While running three miles. And bouncing through obstacles. And slipping down water slides. Pretty much the best race ever. That's all.

 pristinely pre-race

slimey sequels

5. Hosted the "King's Daughters' Tea"

As a final conclusion to our wee girls' Bible study/handwork class, we hosted a tea! Outside, in the sunshine, it was just lovely...breeze blowing, barefoot girls, and fancy dresses: these things are good for the soul. They recited their memory chapter (Psalm 27) for the mums & grandmas, and had their handwork books/pages set out for admiring!

6. Held my Studio Recital!!
These kids...all I can say is they make me proud. Hard work, cheerful souls, beautiful performances - I feel so blessed by each one of these musicians. From the 5-and-a-half-year-old munchkin who proudly played "Mary Had a Little Wolf" to my advanced students whose music swept me away, the recital left me grinning and amazed at the capacity God has placed in these kids to make music. They are so precious to me...

many pictures = enough time to grab a camera and take them

which I didn't have

so I bummed this picture off of dad's phone

and it's all I've got

but aren't they a fabulous-looking gang of music-makers?

7. Made a Trip to Seattle!
Because we could. And we like each other. And the sun was out, and official responsibilities had ended for the summer. So we did! :) Rode the Ferris Wheel right on the water for the first time ~ it was a beautiful view, but my camera informed me that his "batter was exhausted" before I could take any pictures of it! :)

8. Ran Away to the Beach for a Day!
It was cloudy (it always is) but warm-ish and still bright! We picnic-ed, walked to haystack, bought saltwater taffy, patronized the best coffee shop in the world, drank bubble tea, and still made it home in time for Rachel's orchestra rehearsal! :D

everyone knows you bring flowers on your beach picnics, right?

 

 

Besides these 8 things, getting ready for an upcoming trip, raising sponsorship money for a race to benefit Pathways Pregnancy Center (thank you to everyone who contributed!!!!), getting together with friends who have just returned from trips and friends who are about to leave, taking Rachel's graduation pictures, getting a new bookshelf (hooray!!), and starting work at a tea room, I pretty much have just sat around twiddling my thumbs for the last couple weeks. I'm sure you know how that is. Just the story of my life, lately...

Until Monday, dear readers!