Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I’ve been craving peanut butter lately, and was really excited to make these cupcakes. I’m pleased to say they did not disappoint. They are peanut buttery and very light. Still, I felt they were missing something. Instead of drizzling chocolate on top, I would like to try adding chocolate and/or peanut butter chips to the cupcakes. Also, some chopped peanuts would be good to add a bit of crunch; I love crunchy foods. I might even consider adding a bit of cinnamon. And I think buttermilk could be used instead of the curdled milk and vinegar. I will definitely make these again trying out these various variations.

7 More Facts

I got tagged for a 7 facts award by Meg over at Cooking.In.College. I have previously shared 7 facts about myself so here are some more:


1) I used to be a fastpitch softball pitcher. I started working out with a pitching coach in 6th grade and pitched through high school. I turned down college scholarship offers because I injured my rotator cuff and had to quit throwing a softball all together.

2) My favorite, everyday dresses are by susana monaco. They are comfortable, cute, flattering dresses. I adore them, the fabric, the fit, the colors, the styles. I enjoy adding each spring to my growing collection.

3) I'm an obsessive list maker. I have lists of food I want to make, things I need to buy from the store, movies I want to watch, books I want to read, things I need to clean, errands I need to run, etc. I even have a packing list on my computer I print out for vacations. I love the sense of accomplishment I get each time I check an item off my list.

4) I heart Target; I go there every Tuesday whether I need anything or not (with a list, of course, of things I need or want to look for).

5) I'm jumpy and startle easily. Growing up my sister and brother took full advantage of this and were merciless in hiding and jumping out at me. Even Mr. Surly enjoys giving me a good rush of adrenaline from time to time.

6) One of the reasons I started this blog was to tap into my creative side. Being a science major in college sucked all the creativity out of me.

7) Some of the movies I watch over and over and never tire of are:
To Catch a Thief
Gone With the Wind
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
The Godfather and Godfather Part II (is there anyone who even likes part III?)
The Seven Year Itch
Dumb and Dumber
Scoop
The Usual Suspects


Here are the rules:
Link to the person who awarded you
-List 7 random facts about yourself
-Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers

Here are my choices:
Claire Cooks
Greens and Chocolate
Indulge
Sitting Pretty
The Girly Girly Cooks
The Scene From Me
Wanna Be a Country Cleaver


**Carmi, you better do this! No procrastinating.**

Espresso Crème Brûlée

I love crème brûlée . My first attempt to make it last year was a disaster. The custard wasn't smooth and we couldn't get a nice, crusty topping. I was so happy when I saw a recipe for it in my Cook’s Illustrated cookbook. There instructions are clear and easy to follow. I made these for Valentine’s Day and they turned out absolutely perfect. The custard was so creamy and smooth, I was sad that I had only made two. Usually, I’m unable to finish desserts and Mr. Surly eats the last couple bites. But I had no problem polishing off this dessert.

I was going to use the other half of my vanilla bean to make vanilla sugar, but now I think I’ll just make two more of these.

If I left out the espresso powder, this dessert would be approved to eat on my low oxalate diet. But since I haven't started that yet, I left it in; gotta get in all the "bad" high oxalate foods before I have to go low oxalate.

Spring Fashion Favorites

Sorry, no food post today. Due to all the medical tests and doctor visits I've had recently, I have had little to no time to cook. So instead of posting about food, I'd like to talk about a new designer I just discovered, Joie, specifically the soft collection.

For some reason, this spring, I decided I wanted some cruise, nautical-themed shirts. I need the horizontal stripes to help me not look so skinny. Awhile ago, I purchased a Groupon for my favorite local boutique. Have you ever used Groupon? I didn't think I would until I saw this coupon for 50% off at my favorite boutique, I just couldn't pass that up, so I signed up then and there.

Recently, I went in to use it. Joie is a new line they just starting carrying and I immediately fell in love with how soft the fabric was; I'm all about comfort. I ended up getting a couple shirts, this one:


and this one, but in black.


I cannot even describe how comfortable these shirts are. The fit is incredible, too. Even though they are loose, they don't look baggy. Since i'm still trying to gain weight, I figured I'd got with some shirts that will accommodate some weight gain.

I am so glad I discovered them. They had dresses, too, but for some reason they didn't fit me well.

I tried this one in navy, but even the XS looked shapeless. Even the sales associate agreed it wasn't very flattering.


I really fell in love with this shirt, but they didn't have my size, and the bigger size just didn't look right on me, not even with a wide belt.


While browsing the collection online I came across a few other pieces that I love. This romper is adorable, and I was never a fan of them. But I would actually rock this one:


And if anyone is feeling generous and would like to purchase this adorable top for me, I would be eternally grateful.



What are your favorites for spring?



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Note: Not a paid advertisement for Joie. I bought and love their clothes

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I love chocolate and peanut butter, separately, together, it doesn’t really matter. So I was devastated this week when I found out that soon, probably this week, I would need to go on a low oxalate diet; chocolate and peanut butter are two of the foods not allowed.

This is the story of how it all went down. If you aren’t interested in my medical issues, just scroll on down to the delicious truffle recipe.

It all started this week when my nephrologist was analyzing a urine sample I had dropped off at his request that morning. Around noon he asks me to immediately come to the hospital to get a CT scan; my urine had tiny crystals of oxalate suggesting I had a kidney stone. Half an hour later, the doctor is giving me literature on kidney stones, a fun funnel to strain my urine, a prescription and a low oxalate diet guide. Then he sends me down to radiology for my scan and I’m sent home. A few hours later the doctor calls to tell me I definitely have a small kidney stone. He tells me there is some underlying GI issue/syndrome that has caused my kidney stone, and quite possibly my gall stones back in 2009. As to what this undiagnosed issue is, he is unsure, but he will be discussing it with my GI doctor. Also, this stone is not causing my daily chronic pain, but it probably accounts for the severe night pain attacks I suffer where my body temp drops, I break out into a cold sweat, and it feels like someone is squeezing all the air out of me. I admit I’m extremely nervous about passing this stone; I hear it can be quite painful. I’m drinking all kinds of fluids, juice, water, tea, Gatorade, even adding lemon to help breakup the stone and hurry along the process. I’ve got a bottle of painkillers within arm’s reach for when the pain starts. I just had the waiting and not knowing when it will be over.

Once I pass the stone, they will analyze it while I start on the low oxalate diet. Basically, all the foods I eat and love are going to be forbidden to me: green leafy veggies, sweet potatoes, whole wheat, berries, eggplant, chocolate, peanut butter, walnuts (any nuts), chai tea, etc. How could healthy eating cause a kidney stone? I don't understand. I have no idea what I’m going to eat. I’d just go back to being vegan, except soy and soy products are on the list of foods to avoid. But I’m used to rearranging my diet due to my GI issues, so I will just have to sit down and plan my meals more carefully. Until then I’m stuffing myself with all my food favorites, including these truffles.

I Wanna Dip My (Cake) Balls In It!

Unless you watched The State you probably don’t get the title of my post.

Does anyone else remember the sketch comedy show “The State” that was on Mtv in the early 90’s? I think it came on after 120minutes. OMG, my sister and I loved that show. Barry and Levon were probably our favorite characters. $240 worth of chocolate pudding, anyone? We waited and waited for years for it to be released on dvd. It finally was back in may/jun of 2009. My sister pre-ordered copies for each of us on amazon and sent me mine while I was in the hospital recovering from my cholecystectomy (gall bladder surgery).

Louie was a recurring character on The State who carried around ping pong balls exclaiming, “I wanna dip my balls in it!” to everything. If you want to check a sketch with Louie, and get a good laugh click here. Each time I dipped my cake balls, I kept chuckling to myself thinking of that skit.

Anyway, back to the cake balls. I went straight to the authority, Bakerella, for instructions. It didn't look too difficult, sounded like something I could handle.

It took me three days to make these, but not because they were difficult, but because I was sick. I baked the cake one day. Then the next day I broke it up. I started trying to crumble it with my fingers, but that wasn’t very effective. So I used my hand mixer--not such a good idea. I had pieces of cake flying out everywhere. Once I added the frosting that helped out a bit with flying cake crumbs.

When it came time to roll the balls, I used various sizes of heart shaped cookie cutters to make cute hearts. I also left some round balls as well for variety.


By the time I had all the balls rolled and the cleaned cake off the walls and floor of the kitchen I had no more energy to dip the balls. So I covered the cake balls with waxed paper and left them in the fridge overnight.

Finally, on the third day I was ready to dip and decorate. Having never made cake balls before, I tweeted out asking for any tips/tricks. Haley, from The Girly Girl Cooks advised me to put a bit of shortening in the chocolate to help thin it out. It worked great, thanks Haley, for the tip!

I used dark chocolate and red vanilla wafers to dip. Once the balls were dry I added detail. I put a couple Tbls of chocolate and vanilla chips in snack sized Ziploc bags, and cut of the tiniest portion of the corner to pipe on designs and words. I added a bit of red food coloring to the white chocolate chips to make some pink for piping.

Since it made so many I put some in the freezer so that I can pull more out as needed. I'm definitely hooked on the cake ball craze.


If anyone has any more tips/tricks/hints, please, leave them in the comments.

Homemade Granola Bars

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for awhile. I really like the idea of making my own granola bars. I’ve been on a muesli kick for awhile now, and decided it was time to make some granola. I usually keep granola bars in my purse when I have to go to the hospital for doctor appointments and tests, since I’m usually sitting around forever, waiting. I’m in love with the white chocolate macadamia Luna bars. These homemade bars are a much healthier option. I suppose I could have added some melted chocolate to these, but they are so good on their own. They remind me of the Two Moms in the Raw bars they sell at Starbucks and Nordstrom’s snack bar, I love the gojiberry one. Have you ever had one of these bars? They are delicious, and I'm so glad my granola bars taste very similar to them.

I'm glad to have another product that I can now make myself so I don't have to buy a prepacked version. Can you tell I'm obsessed about controlling what goes in my food? When you have abdominal issues, this becomes a must.

Another plus is how easy these are to make. I haven't had much energy the past couple weeks, but these came together rather quickly. These bars were plenty sweet for me, since I don't eat much sugar, but if you like things sweet I'd stir in more (up to 1/4 c brown sugar). I sprinkled brown sugar on top to give the tops of the bars a bit of a sweet, sugar crunch.