Cupcakes

About a month ago, I was watching FoodTV-a Bobby Flay throwdown. He challenged another baker to a cupcake throwdown, and he made a gingerbread cupcake with caramelized mango buttercream frosting. I thought that it sounded really yummy and different, and I planned to check to see if the recipe was posted on line.

Last week, the Sunday newspaper's magazine section had an article about Iron Chef recipes using ginger. Of course, that meant that I HAD to make the cupcakes, after all, the universe handed me the recipe! So, today I pulled out the measuring cup and the sifter and got to work. The finished cupcakes are sitting in the refrigerator as we speak.

I have learned that mangos will not puree and strain nicely unless they are very ripe. So, the frosting doesn't have quite enough of a mango essence. And that precisely following the recipe, using a 1/3 cup measuring cup to distribute the batter into the cupcake tin - per the instructions - only yielded 10 cupcakes, not the 12 that the recipe called for. ???? How does that happen?

I have to say that they really are tasty and worth the effort. Maybe I will even try them again one day...with more mango for sure.

Putting It Out There

My New Year's goal for 2008 was to improve my language skills by eliminating the "F" word - a word I used on a regular basis. I created an "F Bomb" jar and deposited $1.00 for every time I used the word. This also includes finger gestures, by the way. New Years Day was very challenging. I had invited friends and family for a game of Trivial Pursuit, and it was going very badly for my team. The dollar bills were flowing, until I just gave it up and deposited $20.00 to cover the day.

Almost a year has passed. Yesterday, I opened the jar to count the money, just to keep track of my progress. The jar contains $16.00 plus the original 20 for a total of $36.00. Not bad. However, the charity that will be getting the money will not benefit too greatly from my efforts. I guess I'll have to add a few bucks to the jar for all the times I have THOUGHT the word and just never vocalized it! I am really proud of myself and I believe that by this time next year, I should be "F Bomb" free.

I think the trick to this whole experiment was telling everyone about my goal. People are very quick to point out when I need to add a dollar to the jar. They actually take pleasure in it! And honestly, there are times when it is a deliberate use of the word, and I will even take out the dollar before the word leaves my lips. But sometimes it just slips out.

So, now, when I have a goal, I tell people what it is and have them hold me accountable. It really does help to keep me focused. So,....I wonder if I should have a "Chocolate Jar" where I deposit $1.00 for every piece of chocolate I eat. Nah....I'd go really broke really quickly, and life is too short to deprive yourself of chocolate!