Finally Friday

this has been a long week. Although I woke up to the sound of rain this morning, ( and I have a leak in the new section of roof ) it should be a nice day to finish projects and get ready for the weekend. I don't seem to have enough hours anymore, with trying to get the diner funding and all the work done, the shop and keeping it filled, 3 teenagers, a hubby, 3 dogs and 4 days a week the little guys stay over. I am ususally too tired to even enjoy all the planting I did and to just RELAX. But, rain helps downtown, It is funny how many people come out in the rain to visit the shops. With memorial Day behind us each weekend gets a little busier. I am picking up six more windows tomorrow and will hopefully have some time to work on them, if I can get one of the teenagers in my house to come and help watch the shop. There used to be no problem but now they all work at the resort near us and have STUFF of their own to do. They are great kids, just very busy! LOL I need to make sure we get all our plywood cows cut out so the local businesses can get them decorated for Dairy Daze , June 12th. It should be alot of fun , with visitors voting on their favorite COW and with the cupcake sale, we hope to be very busy. The money from our sales goes to help premote the downtown area and pay for advertising and such. This months theme is ice cream named cupcakes like rootbeer float, hot fudge sundae etc. I can't wait not only to bake them but to samle a couple. I am making some mini ones for tasting! I started the South Beach diet and this is killing it, how can you bake and not taste these cupcakes, oh well I can start again after the bake sale.

I am going to try and take start to finish photos on my next garden window I paint, many people are afraid to try things like this and I hope they realize YOU CAN do it. Then maybe one of the rock painting. I do classes for kids and adults during the summer. Kids are so much easier because they are not afraid to try and adults are fearful they will make a mistake. No mistake is so bad, if you don't like it ...paint it black and start again. I have more than a few times. I think more people need to know there is no right or wrong way to paint, paint because you enjoy it. If you like it , it is GOOD. I paint not just to make money at the shop or on Etsy but it is my main stress reliever.......teen, hubby =stress and painting makes it all better!

I hope you have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend I am hoping to but as with all families anything can happen and things change in a flash so ROLL with the changes and don't sweat the small stuff ( the wisest thing a friend ever told me ) and it is all small stuff!

cupcakes...cupcakes...cupcakes

Here I am again, looking for yet another great cupcake recipe, The I came across this one and thought this could be it!

Cookies and cream make anything taste great! These cupcakes go so fast after they're baked, be sure to hide a few for yourself."



Supplies:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
18-24 whole chocolate sandwich cookies, crumbles
1 recipe vanilla buttercream frosting

Mix together cake mix, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Place a spoonful of batter on the bottom of each paper liner. Place a whole cookie on the bottom lying flat. Cove with remaining batter until 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.

Add crumbled cookies to buttercream frosting. Be generous and frost cupcakes nice and high.

Frosting:
8 Tbsp. (1 Stick) butter, room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3-4 Tbsp. milk or cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Place butter in large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop beating before adding sugar to avoid a large mess.

Add sugar, 3 tablespoons milk or cream, and vanilla extract. Beat frosting starting on slow, increasing your speed until frosting is nice and creamy. Add up to 1 more tablespoon milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

This recipe was taken directly from "101 Cupcakes in 10 minutes". I have got to buy this book, Walmart does carry it and I am off to order one for myself. I should be off painting and I find myself on the computer drooling over cupcakes.

Sunny Saturday

It is just beautiful outside today. The sun is shining and the wind has finally died down a bit. I am determined today to paint outfits for the Dress-Me Friends, finish a coupl orders and then if their time, work on a few slab wood pieces. I am never quite sure how those will turn out. The wood does it's own thing. With all the black bear sightings in the area, maybe I should do a couple more pieces with bears on......maybe the Don't feed the bears !

I am still looking for cupcake recipes for Dairy Days, so many choices. My grandson J.J. is my baking buddy he comes running when he hears the mixer to help lick the beaters. He makes even the grey rainy days bright.

Dairy Days is fast approaching and with that come another Bake Sale. This time I thought why not find Icecream themed cupcakes and desserts. Here is one I am going to make for sure. Another easy and fun idea is cupcakes bakes right in the icecream cones. So many more that I am off to find them. We have 4 or 5 bakers in the group so I can share my finds with them.


Root Beer Cupcake Recipe from http://www.cupcakeproject.com

The cake part of the recipe was a root beer cake. I found the recipe at the Bittersweet Blog. The cake was moist and had a strong root beer smell and flavor. Definitely a winner.

makes 12 cupcakes


•1 C rootbeer soda
•1 t apple cider vinegar
•3/4 C sugar
•1/3 C canola oil
•1/2 t vanilla extract
•2 t rootbeer extract
•1 1/3 C flour
•3/4 t baking soda
•1/2 t baking powder
•Pinch of Salt
1.Combine the soda and vinegar and let stand for a few minutes.
2.Add in the sugar and oil, whisking vigorously until slightly frothy.

3.Integrate your extracts, and gently introduce the flour, along with the baking powder / soda, and salt, being careful not to over mix.

4.Fill cupcake liners approximately 3/4 of the way to the top.

5.Bake at 350 F for about 18 - 22 minutes.
The Cream Soda Frosting Recipe


The frosting that was used on Bittersweet might be great, but it just didn't seem like it would be what I was looking for. I wanted a rich vanilla and creamy frosting and the taste of vanilla soy just didn't seem like it would do. Instead, I opted for a cream soda frosting. I used the cream cheese frosting recipe from my maple frosting as base, but made some changes.


•1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
•1/4 C butter
•4 C powdered sugar
•1.5 t cream soda extract (Cream soda extract isn't exactly a common household item. However, I was able to order some at a soda home brewing company, HopTec. This is also where I ordered my root beer extract from. The service at HopTec was fantastic! They shipped my stuff the same day and even called me to let me know they had found a cheaper shipping rate for me. I'd definitely recommend them, if you want to try making some cream soda frosting. I'd also highly recommend the frosting. It was a perfect match for the root beer cupcake.)

1.Beat cream cheese and butter.
2.Add powdered sugar until the consistency is right.
3.Add extract.

The Topping


I topped the whole thing with a chocolate malt ball just to complete the soda fountain experience.