Cupcake Wars Birthday Bash

We all know a thirteenth birthday is special. As of the 16th of September, we're about to be the parents of our first official teenager. To celebrate, we decided on an all day party of mad baking before school started. The girls had so much fun, and it won't be something any of them forgets. Before I get into the party, here's a picture of Anne taken just a few, short weeks ago at horse camp. Eeeeeekk... She's so grown up. Those are my boots, by the way. The sands slipping through the hour glass never felt more real than when she started borrowing my clothes.

Okay, before I start bawling all over my keyboard, I'll get right to her celebration. I planned this party well ahead and ordered many items on Amazon. I have quite a trigger finger when it comes to Amazon, but in my defense, I don't get out to the stores much.

Cupcake Wars (the show) is an anxiety inducing race to bake and frost cupcakes in a short amount of time. Competitors have their own ovens, mixers-- you name it! This presents a small problem for the home kitchen. I have a large kitchen but not large enough for eleven girls to be running frantically through all at once. When planning the party, I tried to adhere as closely as I could to the true premise of the show while tweaking some of the practical and logistical stuff. There were multiple team members, only one oven, one mixer and each team had just one pan. I decided on buying cake mixes at that point-- it would reduce mess and eliminate the necessity of a mixer. I also decided to split the baking and decorating times. I made a large batch of simple vanilla frosting that I divided among them during the decorating portion. 

The first thing I did when people arrived was choose a captain for each of the three teams. I did this based on experience I knew the girls had. Since most of the girls were 11-12 years old, I wanted at least one person on each team to really know what they were doing. It minimized help from me as I was hosting this crazy party while keeping my two year old out of all the goodies. I also wanted to encourage as much independence as possible. If all the girls had been experienced, we would have simply drawn names from a hat, which brings me to what we did next. I happily procured 5 aprons in 3 colors from Amazon (15 aprons < $50!). Each captain received either a blue, pink or purple apron and the rest were placed in a large bag that the remaining girls grabbed out of without looking. At this point, I gave them their guidelines, and asked them to spend five (I did time everything so it "felt" competative) minutes looking around the room at what was available and to start brainstorming. Then, for ten minutes, they came up with a plan for cupcakes and jobs. I wanted to encourage teamwork so one of their guidelines was that every person on the team contributed or they would be disqualified. Another guideline was that no one was to use the oven except me. This meant that when their cupcakes were ready to be baked, they had to wait until all the other team's cakes were also ready to go in (remember that minor detail of one oven?). That way no one gets burned or falls onto the open oven door rushing to get their cupcakes in or out and also keeps cupcakes from "falling" if the door is continuously opened. There were also no elimination rounds. Yes, it was a competition, but it was also a birthday party. One in which I still wanted all the girls to like each other at the end of. Finally, the clock officially started for their forty-five minutes of baking time.

Cupcake Wars always has a theme, and ours was SUMMER. There were two stations with ingredients I chose which made me think of summertime. This is the baking station which included white, vanilla and chocolate cake mixes, fresh fruit, extracts, liquid food coloring, and tons of mix-ins/ fillings along with whatever "tool" they would need to use them-- zesters, can openers, dry measuring cups, etc. Each team was required to create two entirely different cupcakes in forty-five minutes.These stations were shared by the teams and they were given strict instructions to return any unused items as soon as they were finished with them.  

Eleven girls is a large number for an endeavor like this so I decided, since we have the space in our kitchen, to split the girls into three teams. Our dining table and two banquet tables were prepared with the same items; a muffin tin, cooling rack, eggs, liquid measuring cup, large bowl, muffin cups (aren't they cute?), whisk, rubber spatula, and scoop. As the competition carried on, I added a washcloth, kitchen towel, two loaf pans (for baking extra batter) and a smaller glass bowl (for melting chocolate).  I happen to own a lot of loaf pans because I bake my own bread but if you don't, simply plan ahead and purchase extra disposable muffin pans. Offset spatulas and large solo cups were added to the tables during the decorating time so they could transform my simple vanilla frosting into their own brave creations. 

Here is the display table. At the end of Cupcake Wars, the teams are to present their cupcakes on a special display. During the cupcake decorating time, each team used the items available here to make a stand unique to their take on the theme. Unfortunately, I took this picture before I finished filling the table-- their resources also included tape, construction paper, stickers and some natural elements I had hanging around from a past wedding cake I did.

These were some of the simple decorations.

Regular paper plates from the grocery store fit our color theme, napkins from Amazon, and the straws are from Marshalls. I bought a package of  large solo cups in assorted colors for making root beer floats and mixing frosting that aren't pictured but were quite perfect.

 This. THIS. Was the decorating table. It was filled with so many treats that even I felt overwhelmed. I think if I were to do this again, it would be pared down just a little. The girls stayed with fairly basic flavors, so this is definitely an area I could have cut corners on. Of course, we are still reaping the benefits of this table two weeks later ;) ...Aside from the obvious sugar, it included icing tips, sea shell candy molds, gel food coloring (I decorate cakes so I have a lot of this on hand), and a few inedible decorations.

 

Don't let the expressions in the following pictures fool you. These girls had a ton of fun, but they took the task at hand very seriously indeed.

The pink team; Elinor (my 8yr old daughter), Emily, and Hannah. This team, ironically, contained the oldest and youngest bakers.

The blue team; Anna, Chloe, Natalie and Anne

The purple team; Elise, Rebekah, Jillian and Sarah.

One of the guidelines was keeping a clean work station and being good stewards of the ingredients. The girls impressed me greatly with this and there was minimal clean-up afterward. 

Enjoying some root beer floats, veggie sticks and bakery pizza.

These are the unfrosted, winning cupcakes; chocolate chip with graham cracker crust and blueberry cakes. 

The teams were given points for taste, theme adherence, and presentation. 

Two of the cutest judges ever to critique cupcakes. It's a tough job but someone had to do it.

The whole judging panel which also included my husband, Geoff, and our son, Andrew... heck, they're all pretty cute. My hubby told me every cupcake was delicious and deciding a winner was very difficult.

  The blue team's Chocolate Hazelnut and Lemon Lime Cupcakes

The pink team's Chocolate Peanut Butter and Strawberry Shortcake cupcakes

The purple team was the overall winner for their nature inspired stand and beautifully decorated and tasty summertime treats ; Smore's and Blueberry Pie cupcakes

I apologize for the quality of the photos. Our Nikon digital camera broke so I took these with my ancient android camera phone... keeping it real, folks.

Each girl received one of these fantastic Cupcake Swag Bags; apron with a personalized cupcake iron on transfer, wooden spoon, cupcake lip gloss, 2 cupcake rings, cupcake pencils and erasers, salt water taffy, and gourmet lollipop.

 This party is surely going down in the history books as being one of the most fun. It's also going down as one that was the most work. And, the most money. Considering thirteen is special, I would totally do it again. If you're curious about how the day went... We started at 10 and needed every minute until 4pm. Here is the breakdown...

10:00 Arrival/ Teams chosen.

10:30-10:35 Look around at ingredients

10:35-10:45 Make a plan

10:45-11:30 Baking

11:30-12:30 Lunch

12:30-2:00 Gift opening and Games (ping pong/ foosball in basement)

2:00-3:00 Decorating/ Disply building

3:15 Official Judging

3:30-4:00 Cupcake tasting by all!

Black Bean Brownies

I found this peculiar gem while searching Pinterest for clean eating ideas. I didn't set out for a dessert recipe, but I'm not going to argue when one pops up on a search like that. In fact, I'm all ears, and eyes of course, and these looked and sounded amazing; you know, outside of the black bean ingredient. Don't get me wrong, I like black beans. I just didn't think they belonged in a brownie... until now.

These are rich and fudgy, full of fiber and protein, and they're gluten free (a bonus for some!); so they taste great AND they're healthy! It took all the self control I had not to eat the whole pan. Again, it sounded good in theory, except for that black bean ingredient again. I don't think I'm willing to risk what would become of me if I consumed an entire can of black beans in one sitting, or in one day for that matter.
I tweaked the recipe slightly and was happy with the results.

Black Bean Brownies

1 (15.5oz) can of black beans, rinsed and drained

3 eggs

2 Tbs oil

4 Tbs cocoa powder

1 pinch salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar

1/4-1/3 cup mini chocolate chips 

Puree beans and eggs together in a food processor. Transfer mixture to a bowl and whisk in remaining ingredients until fully incorporated. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.

Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes

It's fall. If you know me, you know this is my absolute favorite time of year. This morning I woke my family up to that familiar, yummy, fall smell of pumpkin. Most pumpkin pancakes call for the laborious task of separating the whites from the eggs and whipping them to get that essential fluffiness of a pancake because pumpkin is very dense. Somehow, these work without that. They are thick, spongy and so tasty. I'm all for making things easier. Be warned however; this recipe makes a lot. Because I developed it myself, it's never been tested in smaller quantities. If you make a smaller batch, let me know how it turns out.

Perfect Pumpkin Pancakes

4 c. whole wheat flour 

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp sugar

2 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 c pumpkin puree

4 eggs

2 c kefir (I make it so it's always on hand but you could substitute buttermilk)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 Tbs mini chocolate chips (optional; There is something magical about pumpkin and chocolate. But, in my opinion, chocolate can make pretty much anything magical)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients including the chocolate chips. Set aside. In another bowl (I use my glass Pampered Chef 8 cup batter bowl because it has all the convenient amounts listed on the side and I don't have to dirty other measuring cups-- remember that I'm all for "easy") Add your pumpkin puree, pour in your kefir or buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Whisk together well. Dump your liquid into your flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Never, ever, ever, ever, over mix pancake batter. You'll end up with a rubbery pancake instead of a fluffy one, your kids will have trouble cutting through it, and you'll end up with 3-4 simultaneous meltdowns at the breakfast table. It's not pretty; or so I've heard... Heat a griddle to 350 degrees and drop by 1/4 to 1/2 cupfuls. When bubbles start to form on the top of the pancakes, they are ready to flip. Only flip a pancake once or you'll end up with less-than-stellar results in the fluff department as well. They are done when the bottoms are golden brown. Serve immediately with real maple syrup, whipped cream, nuts, more chocolate.... 

 Want to know my secret to the (almost) perfect rounds? My large Pampered Chef scoop. No, I do not sell Pampered Chef products but maybe I should...

These go splended with a big ole cup of French roast coffee. I purchase mine through Amazon's subscribe and save program. Did you know you can get a case of 36 cups of ORGANIC French Roast biodegradable K-cups for less than $15? Bonus; they auto ship it every month. Bonus, bonus; if you order through Amazon Smile, you can choose a charity to get a percentage of everything you buy on Amazon. No, I don't work for them either... Enjoy!

Making Healthy Affordable

Before I begin, let me preface this post with this:
Few things irk me more than the statement, "I can't afford that." The reason is that it's often less about the person's income and more about their priorities in how they choose to spend it.

Now, I'm not making judgments here; not at all. You have a right to spend your hard earned cash however you wish. But, please don't turn around and say you can't afford how I eat. Especially if you just bought yourself the latest iPhone complete with a $100 monthly contract, which I may very well be able to "afford", but instead carry an old, flip top, track phone so I can "afford" to pay for the food I choose to buy. Personally, if I didn't have little ones dependent on me for their well being and health, I'd have a hard time choosing food over books; I love books... again it's choices, but I digress.
Okay, on with it then...

Main meals like this one, are ideal dishes to serve a small or large family for a negligible difference in price. It's healthy, mostly organic, affordable and delicious. I fed eight people tonight for less than $15. Ease of preparation is also a priority for me often times, and this meal is no exception.

Enchilada Casserole

Enchilada Sauce

     1 minced medium onion, minced

     3 minced garlic cloves, minced

     1.5 qt organic tomato puree (I'm guessing from frozen puree that I had on hand)

     2 Tbs chili powder (add more if you prefer it spicy)
     2 tsp cumin
     1 tsp sugar

2- 8 ct pkgs gmo free corn tortillas

1 organic bnls chicken breast 

1 can organic veg. refried beans

2 cups shredded organic sharp cheddar cheese

2 cups cooked organic brown rice

1 12-16 oz bag of organic frozen corn

In a large pot, stir together the puree, onion and seasonings. Add the chicken and simmer for about 30 minutes. Set aside about 2 cups of the sauce in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients except cheese and tortillas and heat through, about 5 minutes. Turn the burner off and set pot aside. Cover the bottom of a greased, deep rectangular baking pan with 1 cup of sauce. Arrange 6 tortillas, overlapping each other and the sides of the pan. Spread 3 cups of the mixture onto tortillas, and sprinkle with 1/3 cheese. Repeat with 6 more tortillas, filling, and cheese. Place the last 4 tortillas on top and cover with reserved sauce and the last of the cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

     

Note: If you wish to have "Enchiladas" instead of a casserole; it's totally doable. I find no shame in admitting I don't often like wrapping individual tortillas for 8 people.

If you can't go without a 10 oz. steak at dinner, than eating organic may not be affordable for you. However, if you can get accustomed to a minimal meat diet, organic is doable on most modest incomes. 

Other examples of how I feed my family are, adding lentils or beans to a 1/2 lb of organic/ grass fed ground beef for sloppy joes, tacos, etc. Chopping chicken breasts and thighs into pasta and rice dishes, If you really want an individual piece of meat, organic chicken legs are about $2.99 lb. Again, you can't eat 6 of them at that price but you can have 1 or 2. I put broiled and thinly sliced organic chicken or grass fed rib eye steaks over a salad. I also make completely vegetarian dishes 1-2 times per week. A dozen organic eggs cost less than $5 so I can feed my entire family a spinach and onion frittata for under $10. If you can live with these changes most of the time, you'll find you can afford that $14 splurge on organic ground beef for 8 quarter pounders. Yes, I said splurge for $14. I'd be willing to bet you've paid more for a sub-par, antibiotic and toxin filled burger just for the joy of eating out. Again, that's okay. It's your choice... but if you can pay for that, well, then you get my point.
Now, if you are among the 5% or so who truly can't purchase organic, there are some simple steps you can take to ensure you're eating better. First, reduce your consumption of processed foods. Don't try to tell me it takes longer to make oatmeal than eat cereal from a box because I know better. And, as a bonus; organic oats bought in bulk are waaaaayyyy cheaper. They store well in a 5 gallon pail that I keep right in my kitchen. There are actually lots of bonuses to having a pail of oats around... granola/ granola bars, crisp toppings, coffee cakes, NO BAKE COOKIES (yes, I love them!)...  Processed foods often cost more, are loaded with allergens and GMO's, and contain more sodium and added sugar than we should be eating anyway. Second, toxins are stored in fats. If you can afford to only buy a few organic items, always let fatty foods take precedence. Another words, buy butter, fatty meats, cheeses, whole milk and cream organic, and stick to the cheaper conventional produce. Lastly, and most important, know what's in your food and how it affects your body. There's no excuse for ignorance with the amount of information available to us.

Fall

My favorite time of year! Perfectly warm days mean lots of outdoor play and cool nights denote comfortable sleeping. Verdant lawns still grace the landscape though they need less mowing. Beautiful colors wrap nearly every tree. I feel invigorated;  eager to organize, itching to bake, hopeful for teaching. The air is crisp and fresh, skies still blue, mosquitos have packed up for the winter and scents of cinnamon fill our home. It is, in my humble opinion, the most wonderful time of year. Here are some highlights from this fall.

Brother love; I can't tell you how thrilled Drew is to have a brother. 

We went to VA with Geoff on a business trip in October. We stayed with friends and had a lot of fun trekking around their town. This was taken at a phenomenal local playground. I'm holding a couple of Monarch butterflies. It was a cool day so they were quite docile.

Here we are at the National Zoo in DC. I saw a Panda Bear for the first time-- certainly a highlight for me this year.

Our annual hayride at Stamp Farms in Exeter. We also get our pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn here.

We enjoyed apple picking again at Sunset Orchards, played and picnicked at the playground, and did lots of baking.
My wonderful hubby Geoff also celebrated his life of 40 years this October with some special friends. It was a full and fun fall for the Short family.

Summer Highlights

Enjoying the pool Gram bought them last year

Anne turned 11 in September; she loves soccer and plays plenty of it year round

William Thomas July 18

My high school friend Elaina and her husband Dan stayed with us one weekend when she
 was down from NH for a wedding

The twins turned 4-- this year's theme; Hello Kitty

Bronx Zoo; I wish I had more pics of the kids there-- they had a lot of fun-- a bit too
much walking for this pregnant Mama. I think we stopped at EVERY restroom.

New Era Orchestra Recital; Anne, 2nd strings

We even made it to the beach a few times though I don't any pictures-- life was a bit crazy with a newborn!