mini double chocolate truffle cupcake bombs

Remember Calvin and his Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs? That's how I feel making up a name for these cupcakes.

I mean, the recipe says 'chocolate cupcakes' but they are so much more than boring ol' cupcakes. There is a double chocolate thing happening (I'm a fan of this choco-layering apparently.) They're a little fudgy, but not too sweet. I know I'm at risk of overselling these cupcakes right now. Okay fine, they aren't that good. Just make 'em and try 'em and see if I care.

mini double chocolate truffle cupcake bombs

makes 36-40

Sorry, I never wrote down the source for this recipe. I copied it from the internet way back in October 2005 for a Halloween party (death by chocolate, anyone?). All I remember is that it was from one of those scary and overwhelming sites like allrecipes.com with a bazillion recipes for everything.

1 1/3 C flour

1/3 C Dutch-process cocoa

3/4 teas baking soda

1/4 teas salt

1/2 C unsalted butter, softened

1 C sugar

1 Tbs instant coffee granules dissolved in 1 Tbs warm water

3/4 teas vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 C whole milk

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (even better if you have the mini ones)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare mini muffin tins by lining with paper liners or spraying with cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter until soft. Gradually pour in sugar and beat together for about a minute. Beat in coffee mixture and vanilla. Then add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. On very low speed, add dry ingredients in 3 equal additions, alternating with the milk in 2 equal additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Stop mixer as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Fill prepared pans with batter, filling each muffin tin almost full. Bake cupcakes on center rack until a cake tester comes out clean, about 15 mins. Remove from oven and gently lift cupcakes fro the pan. Cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy at room temperature or cover and refrigerate cupcakes for up to 2 days. If you want, dust with powdered sugar before serving.

bathing with animals

Ever since my friend gave us a little washcloth bunny, I have been meaning to add to our bathtime zoo with repurposed towels. After cleaning out the linen closet over the weekend, I had the old towels I needed -- including a striped one just destined to be a zebra!

The zebra, which admittedly looks a little piggish, and the puppy dog are puppets -- a simple zigzag stitch around the embellished pieces. The bunny is a sew-right-sides-together constructed washcloth.

Isn't it crazy how a little embroidery thread and some felt can turn a simple blank body into a recognizable animal? I mean, that one little patch under the eye is kind of an ingeniously simple way to indicate 'puppy,' don't you think? (Thanks to Martha Stewart -- the puppy puppet washcloth is in her fabric & sewing crafts encyclopedia.)

Rub-a-dub-dub. Arf, arf.

routine

play with toys

Honk if you love Lego!

knit a doorstop

buy some recycled crayons -- men or bricks

make your own crayons or soaps (or ice, I suppose) with these ice cube trays

make some cookies

cuddle a knit lego man

buy a tee

pick a print from this art collection (I think this one's my favourite, or maybe this one)

papier-mache surprise eggs

Looking for a solution to silly plastic eggs? How about these beautiful papier-mache eggs!

Catch up with me next year and I'll have some photos to share. It's a little late (and my kid is a little young) to worry about making papier-mache surprise eggs in the next 24 hours -- but I love that we have a solution.

paper pinecone eggs

I don't like styrofoam. But I like this little project.

I need to find some substitute styrofoam eggs before Sunday.

Any ideas?

scarlet letter chicken with quinoa

I had a mason jar full of quinoa in the fridge for... I don't know, a year. But after making this dish a couple of times, and then trying variations of it a few times, all my quinoa is gone. Must buy more.

scarlet letter chicken with quinoa

from my friend's cookbook that I can't quite remember the name of -- I think it was called The New Grains

serves 4

1 chicken (3 1/2 - 4lb), cut into pieces

1 garlic clove, bruised

salt and pepper

2 Tbs unsalted butter

1 1/2 teas vegetable oil

1 large shallot, finely chopped

2 Tbs red wine vinegar

2 ripe medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/2 C home-made or low-sodium chicken stock

1/2 C quinoa

1 teas chopped fresh tarragon

1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

Rub chicken with garlic and season with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the chicken pieces until well browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the skillet. Add the shallot and saute, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as it cooks (so much flavour in those browned bits!) Return chicken pieces back to skillet and sprinkle with vinegar, cooking until the juices have almost evaporated. Add tomatoes to the pan. Pour the stock over the chicken and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 30 minutes.

Rinse quinoa under cold water. Drain. Add the quinoa to the juices around the chicken. Continue to cook, covered, until the quinoa is tender (10-15 mins). Sprinkle with fresh tarragon and parsley. Serve.

hand sewing

Finally stitched up some bunny finger puppets. So easy, you could make a bunny army -- a very non-menacing bunny army.

And I've been whipstitching some magnet letters à la this plush alphabet set. I doubt this will ever be a complete alphabet though -- hand sewing may be relaxing, but it takes time.

spring fling

Feeling bright blue? Or perhaps orange?

That's the choice with this sweet little reversible top. (free pattern from Prudent Baby)

Funny story. One exactly like it -- or rather exactly like it except for the size of the neck hole -- is sitting in the whatamIgoingtodowithyou pile. Yep, I made the whole thing, was just about to put on the bias tape, thought to try it on for size... and I couldn't get it over my kid's head! (Anyone else have scenes of So I Married an Axe Murderer in their head right now?)

In my kid's defense, it's not as if I measured anything when I 'followed' the pattern.

But my second attempt fits great. I'm thinkin' of making a third, but with oilcloth on one side for a wee artist's smock.

* mosiac maker c/o bighugelabs

sausage and mushroom papardelle

I have a big bag of dried Oregon portobello mushrooms in the freezer and let me tell you, a handful of those babies improves the flavour of almost anything. It doesn't necessarily make it taste mushroomy either -- there's something in mushrooms that actually enhances the flavour of whatever they're with. I use them more like a seasoning in my dishes, rather than another vegetable.

Anyway, we recently received a package of beautiful, dried mixed wild mushrooms along with this Jaime Oliver recipe. With so many different kinds of mushrooms, there was a ton of flavour. So, so good. Note to self: specialty dried mushrooms make a great gift.

In the tradition of the country store that has everything, Jack's Country Store on the Washington coast is a very cool place. You can order dried Oregon mushrooms from them, along with everything else under the sun. Seriously, they sell an amazing variety of fun stuff -- everything from cast iron pans to old fashioned candy, vintage toys to lug nuts for your car.

sausage and mushroom papardelle

adapted from Jaime Oliver's The Naked Chef Takes Off

serves 4

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

9 oz pork sausage; remove casings (not sure of the conversion -- I used 3 links)

olive oil

2 handfuls fresh thyme leaves

1/4 teas dried red pepper flakes

14 oz mixed wild mushrooms* roughly chopped

pappardelle, enough for 4 people

pepper

2-3 Tbs unsalted butter

handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

freshly grated parmesan cheese

*If using dried mushrooms, you obviously don't need 14oz worth. Just use a couple of handfuls, enough for 4 people. Try chanterelle, shiitake, portobello, morel, etc. Reconstitute in warm water, drain, and then roughly chop. (Save the soaking liquid to add to your next soup!)

Fry onion, garlic, and sausage till cooked and golden brown. Add thyme, chili pepper and mushrooms. Continue to fry until mushrooms give off their juice. Scrape up any browned bits from pan.

Meanwhile, cook pasta, reserving a little cooking water.

Remove mushrooms from heat, season with a little pepper and stir in butter until melted. Toss with drained pasta and stir in a little cooking water if too dry. Serve, sprinkled with parsley and grated parmesan.