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...
