my cupcake extravaganza

this post is long overdue.


long story short:
my parents had an anniversary this summer.
30 years.
we had a party.
i made cupcakes.
the end.

here they are:



(sadly, i don't remember where i got the recipe. i used a recipe for lemon poppyseed cake. once the cupcakes were out of the oven, i squirted each cupcake with a lemon simple syrup, to give it an extra lemony taste. i made a lemon buttercream to go on top. i was a little frosting happy, because i still have some frosting in my freezer, just waiting for me to make cupcakes again. i think i ate enough sugar just making the frosting to keep my glycemic index high for a few months. )

party context:






(not a flattering picture of me, but that's how i look when i bake, so deal with it. i made about 9 dozen cupcakes in total. my boss let me use his bakery to do it. what a great boss.)

rosemary-lemon white bean dip

my obsession with rosemary has taken up again. i made rosemary-lemon white bean dip again, but this time i had time to take pictures. and pictures i took.

i found the recipe while trying to find ways to use up the rosemary i got last time at my local farmer's market. i bought some more fresh rosemary on saturday (along with sage, lemon verbena & fresh garlic). and seriously, the fresh garlic was amazing. i'd never had it before, but it smelled great, and i'm pretty sure tasted more amazing than the regular dried garlic i normally use. (also, the lemon verbena makes fantastic tea)

back to the dip. i'm sure you can follow the link to get the recipe, but i'll copy it here with a few modifications i made. which aren't many.



ingredients:

* 2 cups cooked white beans, like cannelini, drained but moist (i used 1 can of white cannelini beans)
* 1 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
* 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
* Grated rind of 2 lemons (i used only 1 lemon, & i added about half of the juice from 1 lemon)

- Blend the beans & garlic (start with 1 clove & taste to see if you need more) & a pinch of salt. (add some of the oil & lemon juice if your food processor doesn't blend dry stuff very well). process until the mixture is smooth. then taste & see if you want more garlic. if so, add more, blend more.
- Scoop the bean mixture into a bowl & beat in (with a spoon or spatula) the chopped rosemary, lemon zest, & the rest of the olive oil, along with salt & pepper to taste.
- Garnish, & serve with chips (i prefer rice chips)