It was my birthday earlier this month and I felt like baking for it (what else is new?!) so we had a small family dinner party which turned into a bit of a potluck/takeout party because the heat was just too much to have the oven on all day. I did, however, manage to make a few things and of course a birthday cake (well, cupcakes)...24-Karat Cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Icing from Flo Braker's
Baking for All Occasions (page 239). These cupcakes were wonderful! They were moist and flavorful and topped with a delicious citrusy cream cheese frosting.
The roasted carrots pictures are actually from a few months ago but I stumbled on them when sorting through some pictures and thought they were so pretty that I wanted to share. I get a vegetable/fruit delivery from
Boston Organics every other week but for a while was doing all vegetables on a weekly basis and was getting a TON of carrots, so roasted carrots and onions became my "thing." I love Boston Organics - a shot of the inside of my 2/3 vegetable, 1/3 fruit box is below. They deliver right to my door and I can even add on items like organic strawberries (fav!), other fruit/veg, fresh bread, coffee beans or chocolate bars. Love!
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| my cats showing their party spirit...I guess it's too hot for them too. |
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| my delivery...oh, yum |
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| carrots and rosemary |
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| chopped and into the pan |
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| salt, pepper, olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar go over the top and get stirred in |
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| I roast them at a pretty high temp to get some good caramelizing action going on |
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| yum! |
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| this is my new favorite rice - 6 different grains! I get it from the Japanese grocery store |
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| all the different grains |
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| I usually mix in some white sushi rice (1/4-1/3 of the total amount) |
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| my wonderful rice cooker - perfect rice every time! |
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rinse, add water to the line corresponding to the number of cups of rice, let soak for several hours...
and then the rice cooker does the rest |
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| now on to my birthday cupcakes! |
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| everything mixed together except the carrots and nuts |
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| fold in the carrots and nuts |
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| into their little paper cups and... |
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| ...voila, cute little carrot cupcakes |
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| the cream cheese frosting has both lemon and orange zest...it was amazing! |
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| frosted and ready to enjoy |
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| moist and delicious! |
Bye for now...
Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteThe grain package is intriguing. The carrot cupcakes look so yummy.
Happy Birthday! Carrots look yummy. I'm going to have to try that one real soon. Maybe when things cool down a bit.
ReplyDeleteOishii sooo (Looks Delicious)!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! Your birthday cupcakes look delicious, and I love that shot of your CSA box.
ReplyDeleteThanks all, for the birthday wishes :)
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday!!!! How nice that you made yourself a birthday (cup) cake? I do that too, ha ha. I haven't had a chance to try Flo's carrot cupcakes but they always sounded good to me (as most recipes in her book hence ABC) :o) I love your CSA box, especially the greens! What do you normally do with the greens? Just salad or you cook them too?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hanaa! I definitely recommend the carrot cupcakes. Aside from shredding all the carrots (a food processor really helps here), the recipe was super easy!
ReplyDeleteThere usually is a head of lettuce and then also some greens - collards or flat or curly kale. For the greens, what I usually do is chiffonade them so they cook quickly. I'll usually saute some onions in olive oil, add the greens, salt and pepper and cook until bright green. I'll also add some sauce - Trader Joe's has a yummy teriyaki sauce (I'll add some fresh ginger if I use that one), or balsamic vinegar is good too.