Boston Cream Pie. Nuff said.

SATURDAY

Since the purchase of my oh-so-beautiful love of a machine, the KitchenAid mixer, I've been a baking maniac. My latest creation is the Boston cream pie cupcake. These babies are so moist yet dense and so full of flavor that they'll definitely become one of your go-to favorites.



Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
Yields: 12 cupcakes

For Vanilla Cupcakes:

3/4 stick/ 6 tbsn. unsalted butter
3/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 + 1/8 cup milk


For the custard:

1 small boxes of french vanilla pudding
1 cup of whole milk ONLY, no substitutions!
2/3 cup of heavy cream (for a creamier texture add more heavy cream)
3 tsp. vanilla extract


For the whipped ganache frosting:

10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
For stiffer frosting add confectioners' sugar or put in freezer for 5-10 minutes.



DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake tin with liners and set aside. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In the mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, making sure it is well incorporated. Beat in vanilla, add flour in three batches, alternating with milk. DO NOT over beat. Divide batter among cupcake tins up to 3/4 of the way filled and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For the custard, whip everything together until pudding has become thick, it took about 4 minutes with my stand mixer. Once the cupcakes are cool, use the cone method to remove the tops, then fill it in with custard and replace tops. For the coning method please see this page.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a large bowl. Heat the heavy cream on medium high until it comes up to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 2 minutes then stir until completely melted and glossy. To pipe the ganache, allow the ganache to completely cool and set up. When you are able to spoon the ganache and and it can hold its texture it is ready to pipe.

Long time, no see

TUESDAY

Hello Readers! I know I've been missing the past few months but I'm happy to announce that I am will be back soon and the blog will see a change. The original concept for this blog was based on diet and exercise but, frankly, there's more to life than that! I will start blogging about pretty much anything and everything that tickles my fancy: Music, Photography, Fashion, Sports, Vacations, and of course FOOD! I hope that my loyal readers will continue to support this change and follow along as I share a little more of my world with you. Happy reading and blog to you soon!

Here's a preview of the first post to come:

Goin goin goin...

THURSDAY


Where has the week gone?!! Work had been busy lately and we have so much planned for the next few weeks. Sounds hectic but a lot of fun is in store for us. I don't have much time this A.M. so this post has to be a quickie. I promise I will elaborate on our plans in a future post.


On my day off yesterday Madelyn and I payed a visit to the park to check out the splash pad I keep hearing about. While the weather was a little windy, it didn't stop Maddy from suiting up and getting her feet wet. After 20 minutes of play we headed out to do our errands. I had a few stops to make before we had to head home to meet up with Jessie so she can model some clothes for me that I'm planning on selling on ebay. I have a few auctions going currently so if you're interested...please check em out! They're just a few pairs of new shoes and dresses from my closet. The BULK of the load will be posted on ebay this Sunday so remember to check back!!!

Here are a few pics of highlights from yesterday:





CLICK ON PIC TO VIEW THE AUCTION :)

Mother's Day

SUNDAY

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Mother's day. We woke up at the butt crack of dawn and went hiking. This was our second time hiking Picacho Peak. The park will be closing for good due to lack of funds on June 3rd so why not challenge ourselves to hike it's mountains one last time. Distance wise it's not very impressive, only 2.5 miles but it's almost ALL VERTICAL!



Last time we hiked this mountain was about three weeks ago. I, honestly, dont remember it being so challenging. Maybe the lack of sleep and the morning workouts really took a toll on me because I was ready to quit a quarter of the way up.

"Are we done yet?"


With the taunting of my fellow hikers I was pushed to go on and eventually made it to the summit. You know that high you usually get when you've reached a physical accomplishment? Well I didn't feel it one bit. As soon as we got to the top, I was ready to call in search and rescue to get me outta there! The highlight of this trip was the AYCE (All you can eat) Sushi awaiting us at the end. Goes to show you...the power of food!




Approaching the summit

We made it!






I burned 1600 calories on this hike is is down from the 1900 from last time. What gives?! In the end I'm glad we did it and I will certainly miss the option of hiking this mountain in the future. Thanks to my fellow hikers for keeping the pace. Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Back to work...

MONDAY

Hello again bloggies

You may have noticed my missing in action the past month. It was a hectic yet unmotivating month for me. Work started to get busy and frankly...I couldn't get myself to wake up early for my workouts anymore. I'm happy to say that I'm back in the swing of things but to keep blogging as a "fun" activity for me instead of it being a "chore," I am going to keep my blogging to 3-5 times a week instead of daily. In the mean time...let me fill you in on what's new.

There's a lot to tell you about, mostly new fun gadgets and yummy samples that I've bought and received recently but for now I'll just fill you in on my purchases and save the rest for future posts.

On April 8th, after lusting over a DSLR for years now, I was able to purchase an amazing camera with some help from my awesome BF. We got a new (to me) Canon T1i from Craigslist! It came in a kit with the usual 18-55mm lens and as an added bonus the man also sold us a 55-250mm f/5-6.5 lens along with two UV filters and a camera bag for what I think is an awesome deal, love Craigslist. It's been a month and I still get excited thinking about my new toy. I haven't taken any pictures of the actual camera but here's a stock photo of my gear as well as some sample photos taken from my new CAMMY!







Along with the camera I also splurged on a very COOOOL camera backpack. After tons of research, I decided it was worth splurging on the Clik Elite Probody Sport. It has everything that I could want. Here's my review:

I was looking for a backpack to use during hiking and biking as well as to use on our vacations. My biggest requirement was that it was hydration compatible. This bag can hold a full size SLR with a lens attached and three extra lenses, two up to 300mm and one up to 100mm in just the camera bay, not to mention a 100oz hydration bladder.




The main compartment can be used to store an extra lens or two or a lunch and personal items. This bag is LOADED with different compartments including a bottom slot that I use to store memory cards and manuals as well as a top zippered pocket that I use to put my keys in.





Here's the slot that houses the hydration bladder


Here's the back of the bag with the waist belt tucked away.


While it's quite pricy ($175) I find it being well worth it. It's durable, roomy, compact, but best of all...it's sleek! For you photo enthusiasts out there, definitely check out Clik Elite's gear.

Recap

EASTER

Happy Belated Easter Bunnies!

Why is it that the weekends always fly by so fast? I love this time of year, the weather is so beautiful and everyone seems to be in a much happier mood. I guess it's the calm before the storm with the summer heat coming. Newton and I enjoyed each others company but sadly we were sans Maddy. My mom had a friend in town from New Mexico and they wanted to show off their granddaughter.

In the morning we got dressed up in our pretty attire and meet up with some friends for brunch at Tohono Chul for their Easter brunch. The venue was delightful but the food was short from mediocre. Everyone still had a good time and we were able to catch up and share a few laughs.





That late afternoon were able to meet up with our neighbor Charlie and Byung and go a long 19 mile ride on Sunday. I was able to take some photos of the scenery to share with y'all.

The boys during break


Sorry for the poor image quality. Picasa doesn't upload well.


We didn't do so well making time but we did take a few long breaks during the ride. We finished at around 1 hour 45 minutes for our 19 mile ride.

Friday night dinner

DINNER

Ever since I started on my healthy eating regime the beginning of February the only thing that I've seriously craved was a thick juicy steak. So for dinner Friday night I picked us up some handsome looking rib eyes. These babies were thick and marbled perfections. I seasoned (recipe below) the steaks and seared them to get grill marks on our panini press and then finished it off in the oven. I wish that I was able to marinade the steaks the night before because that would have made them sooo much better but these were delicious nonetheless.




served with a wild arugula salad


RECIPE:

Montreal style seasoning:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons black pepper

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon granulated onion

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon dill seeds

Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container. Keep in a cool, dark place.

Friday

TGIF!

I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that it's Friday. We have a fun brunch planned this Easter with our friends and if I'm lucky, maybe my Hunnie and I can go for a nice bike ride with Maddy. The weather has been so beautiful lately, even with it's indecisiveness. This morning I was able to go for an 8 mile ride and take some great pictures to share with y'all. Take a look:

Can you spot the beauty?





After the ride I spent the 15 minutes I had free to prepare our dinner: Marmalade marinate BBQ ribs in the slow cooker. It's a new recipe so I'll let you know it it turns out later on.

After preparing the ribs I only had time left to pack my lunch then get ready for work. On the menu today: Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich with arugula! OOh YUM!




GOTTA RUN! Have a great rest of the day y'all!!!

Thursday

CAKE!

This morning I woke up too late to get in a work out but just early enough to bake an easy blackberry cake. There's nothing better than waking up to the smell of fresh baked goods. Lucky Newt ;) The cake took only 10 minutes to prepare and another 50 to finish baking. It's an easy recipe with a flavor. Give it a try




RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups fresh blackberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 6" cake pan or a loaf pan. Using a stand mixer, beat together butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 mins. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated.In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

With the mixer on low speed, mix in flour mixture.Transfer batter to the greased pan. Arrange berries on top. Sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp sugar over berries. Bake cake for 10 mins. Reduce oven temperature to 325F. Bake until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch, about 50 mins. Cool in the pan for 5 mins. Remove to wire rack and cool completely and enjoy!

Van Morrison + Bike ride = Bliss

RIDING

Happy Monday!

I forgot to tell you guys of my recent purchase. I've been looking to buy a bike for a while and finally found a great deal on Craigslist. It's a 2008 Specialized Crossroads Sport. It's a hybrid bike that is super fun and comfortable to ride. For $85 (STEAL!) the only thing I needed to replace were the tires. Thanks to my handsome handy man, I'm all set and ready to go.

Handy man tuning up my bike




Staying in on a beautiful Sunday afternoon is just sinful. I took advantage of the great weather we've been having by going on a what was suppose to be short bike ride yesterday. I had a 10 mile ride in mind but with the great music, peaceful scenery, and soothing weather I ended up going 19 miles! Basically to the end of the trail. Since getting back into shape it's really helped me appreciate the beauty that nature has to offer. Sadly I forgot my memory card in my laptop after the last post so I wasn't able to take pictures for y'all. Next time. Here are a few pictures of the plants from my ride the morning before, not quite as great as what I saw yesterday but still pretty amazing. Hope you guys are taking the time to reap in the beauty of the outdoors.








Here are the stats from my ride:
Started: Mar 28, 2010 4:56:21 PM
Ride Time: 1:42:29
Stopped Time: 4:40
Distance: 19.26 miles
Average: 11.28 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 19.05 miles/hr
Climb: 427 feet
Calories: 957