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Culinary Delight #10: Pancake Cupcake with Maple Buttercream & Bacon

This is the first cupcake I’ve made from scratch that wasn’t overly heavy or dense, but boy was it sweet. I was skeptical of the whole concept but it’s actually pretty good – and Chuck downed a whole plate of them and made me keep the excess frosting. It’s straight up brown sugar and maple syrup though, so they’re a bit sticky. Easier to eat with a spoon almost!

Pancake Cupcake Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 stick or 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger together. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed in a large bowl until they are fluffy. (Your butter must be soft!) Add in eggs, syrup and vanilla. Mix until blended. Then mix in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk. Do about one-third of the flour and then one-third of the buttermilk, and so on. Add the nuts if using.

Fill muffin or cupcake tins, either lined or buttered, according to your preference. Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until your tester comes out clean. Cool totally and then ice with Maple-Butter Frosting.

Maple-Butter Frosting Ingredients

1 cup of softened, unsalted butter

3 ounces of cream cheese, also softened

2/3 cup of dark-brown sugar (I use golden)

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup of maple syrup

3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup of confectioners’ (icing) sugar

Instructions: 

Beat the softened butter, cream cheese, brown sugar and salt in a medium-sized bowl until fluffy. Once again, it is critical that your ingredients be softened. While you keep beating, add both the maple syrup and the vanilla. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and gradually increase the speed to high. Continue beating until the icing is fluffy.

Chill the maple-butter frosting for one hour before using.

Breakfast for dessert!!

I found life’s answers in my room. The fan said be cool. The roof said aim high. The window said see the world. The clock said every minute is precious. The mirror said reflect before you act. The calender said be up to date. The door said push hard for your goals & the carpet said kneel down and pray.

Anonymous

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Remembering September 11th

On this day 11 years ago, I stood on my high school lawn in the heart of Washington, DC and watched the smoke rise from the Pentagon mere miles away. Despite the constant wail of sirens, cries of worried students and teachers, televised images of collapsing buildings and desperate jumpers, and clogged phone lines that prevented me from contacting anyone I loved, I was remarkably free of panic. It was almost too other-worldly to even be real. “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen here,” I thought…”Is this really happening?”

Of course, it does happen here. It did happen here. And the world has never been the same since. It would be easy to say it’s changed for the worst. But actually, there has been so much good, too. Since that very morning to this very day, we have seen the best in people right along side the worst of them. From the selflessness of our first responders, to the efforts of our government, to the sacrifices of our military, we have given our all to keep the loss of life that happened on 9/11 from ever happening again. It’s not an easy, fool-proof, or black-and-white battle, but with every day that goes by without a 9/11, we achieve victory. 

Politics aside, we must never forget.

     

This was the night President Obama announced that Seal Team 6 took out Osama Bin Laden and thousands rushed to the White House in support.

               

                     

            

        

         

                              

          

Moment of silence on the White House lawn, 9/11/2012

     

One World Trade Center Memorial, 9/11/2012

It’s a gorgeous 75 degrees and sunny right now in jolly Holly Ridge. The windows are open and there is a light breeze. There are lovely golden and berry hues on my table, keeping me company while I catch up on some job apps and clean the house. I’m heading to work for a few hours, but maybe I can catch an early evening walk afterwards. Love this kind of weather!

(Taken with Instagram)

watercol0urs:

Tomorrow is Suicide Awareness Day – write “love”on your wrist or wear something yellow to how your support for those who have self-harmed, thought of suicide or attempted suicide. Or succeeded in taking their own life. R.I.P to all the beautiful lost souls

If you any of you ever feel suicidal or even just sad feel free to message me because people care, I care and you matter<3

Maybe I will…the tragedy of suicide touches so many.

My sweetest obsession since my college days…. Forget Hostess – Mrs. Freshleys is where it’s at! I get so excited when a grocery store carries them – they’re hard to find! Major props to the Commissary 🙂

(Taken with Instagram)

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The Human Condition

      

Election years always bring out the very worst in people, I think. The finger pointing, the accusations, the lying, the marginalizing, the hypocrisy, the selling out – I could go on. I saw this verse today and it is really speaking to me. It’s not relevant only to Christians, but to humanity in general, regardless of your background. We are all so quick to judge, that we forget to love. And really, that’s our biggest, toughest job. Maybe that’s why we tend to focus on the “multitude of sins” that are so much easier to put in a box and check off a list.

That’s how I’m reading it, anyway.

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Two Things are Irking Me Today…

…My hair, and my speeding ticket.

Chuck and I left Monday morning after a whirlwind 24-hour visit to the Outer Banks to visit friends. Moments after driving on a 70 MPH road, I was pulled over for going 74 in a 55 MPH. Grrr. Honestly, I didn’t even notice the change. Now I have to drive two hours away for my mandatory court date in November. I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket before (though I can’t deny that I deserve one almost daily…)

Anyway, I’ve been planning my schpiel so I can get the ticket reduced, though I can’t escape those court fees. Let’s hope for a male judge who appreciates a blonde with a twinkle in her eye. JUST KIDDING. Sort of…

Speaking of blonde, that brings me to annoyance #2. I’ve gone to 4 different stylists down here in NC and no one can seem to achieve the blonde hues I had back home. I’m not sure why it’s so difficult (is the dye/bleach different here?) but it seriously turns various shades of yellow or orange after 1 wash, if not sooner. This past time, I asked for partial highlights to touch up my roots – and somehow she ended up painting the top of my head with straight up bleach, resulting in an all-over yellow look.

The last time she did my hair, she used some gloss that turned it orange, so I think she was using the bleach to pull the orange out… but I just want foil highlights people!!! They’ve always worked for me. If I had wanted my hair bleached, I would have asked for that. Colors, dyes, glosses, etc. always make me brassy, so I have learned to stick to the basics. But, no one ever listens to me. “Just let me try this, I think it will work.” Sure. I really need to start saying no more aggressively while in that chair…

The situation is seriously just going to make me go dark(er) sooner than planned. I really don’t like yellow hair :-

On a more positive note – OBX was beautiful on Sunday 🙂