Friday, December 10, 2010

Bacon? In my cookies?

Ahh, it seems like only yesterday I was sticking bacon into delicious cupcakes but it was....
September.
SEPTEMBER?!?
Holy smokes.
Where does the time go??

I've been M.I.A. around the blogosphere due to performing in a local theatre company's production of CHICAGO. What a blast! I can't believe it's over already, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. Much like reaching for that very last cookie. Ahhhh cookies.

Allow me to make up for my long absence by sharing this amazing recipe.
I must thank StumbleUpon for leading me to this culinary delight in my hour of need. It was getting dangerously close to the annual cookie exchange we have the first Saturday of December every year with the ladies of my mom's side and I still hadn't settled on a recipe. Of course I found myself in procrastination mode 'stumbling' across the internet aimlessly when I was brought to a certain post on the blog Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy. And the rest my friends, is history.

Behold! Candied Bacon-Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
I'll just let the photos speak for themselves...

Bacon? In my cookies?

Bacon? In my cookies?

Bacon? In my cookies?

Why yes, they were as good as they look. Maybe better actually. The candied bacon really takes it to a whole other level. If I ever venture back into bacon cupcake territory I will definitely try candying up my bacon first! SO GOOD. And everyone at the party LOVED them (thank goodness there were no vegetarians!). I gave some to a friend, who brought them into work and a co-worker told her the next day that she dreamed about these cookies. That's how good they are.

DO NOT DELAY! Try the recipe for yourself!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Bacon? In my cupcakes?

I've been talking about it for a while but tonight I finally did it.
I made bacon cupcakes.

Maple Bacon Cupcake with Bacon Rose

I got the recipe in question from Vanilla Garlic which claims that this was the "original" bacon cupcake recipe on the internet, so I knew I was in good hands.

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly except for one component. As I was frying up my bacon for the batter I had a revelation. A BACON ROSE. The perfect classy addition, and super easy to do. I started by lining a baking sheet with foil and putting a wire baking rack on top. Then I just rolled up strips of bacon and put a toothpick through about 1/3 from the bottom. I took each roll and sort of wedged them in between the wires of the rack so the rose was standing upright with the toothpick perpendicular to the wire. Then I baked those babies for 15 minutes on 350. After I let them cool, I trimmed off the bottoms because the strips were quite wide to begin with, but if your bacon is thinner then you can probably skip that step.

After frosting the cakes I popped a toothpick through the roses and stabbed them to the tops. I skipped topping them with sea salt since the bacon was salty but I did add the turbinado sugar.

Find the recipe HERE and try them out for yourself!

Maple Bacon Cupcake with Bacon Rose

Monday, September 6, 2010

A Very Freddie Cake



SUCCESS!

I used a boxed cake and used an indirect heat method by only having one side of the bbq lit and placing my cake on the opposite side on an upsidedown cake pan to avoid burning the bottom. I just followed the boxes directions for temperature and cooking time! Simple as that!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Happy birthday Freddie

September 5, 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Farrokh Bulsara was born.



If you've read my post from last November on the anniversary of his death, you know that Freddie Mercury is my favourite musical artist of all time, so I won't go over all of that again :P

In honour of what would have been his 64th birthday (and since I am out at the campground and the oven in the trailer is too small for baking) I am going to attempt to bake a cake in the bbq. Crazy I know! But I don't see why it wouldn't work using indirect heat.
Don't worry, I'll document the whole thing whether it is a success or epic failure.

In the meantime I will leave you with a few of my (many MANY) favourite live performances.
It's easy to see why so many see him as being the best rock vocalist of all time.








<3

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Potluck! Shotluck!

What a brilliant idea! A few (okay, more than a few..) weeks ago, my friend Stacie threw a potluck party. But not just any potluck. A potluck shotluck! So everyone not only brought a dish or two to share with the group but a creative shot as well.
Needless to say, we all enjoyed some AMAZING food (and got a *little* silly in the process).

For my dishes I brought one bite Greek Salads and one bite Insalata Caprese. On the day, when I went to make my Greek Salads I realized I forgot to buy Feta cheese! HORROR! Luckily I had some mini bocconcini and they turned out delish.

One Bite Greek Salad

My greek salad's (pictured above) consisted of skewers of english cucumber slices, halved kalamata olives, mini bocconcinis and grape tomatoes all topped off with 3 Gyros Greek salad dressing.

My Insalata Caprese were skewers of slices of buffalo mozzarella, basil leaves and grape tomatoes (that were picked from my backyard!) that were drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. These were definitely my favourite of the two. I can't believe I missed taking their picture!



My shot for the shotluck was a Rootbeer Float shot!

Rootbeer Float Shot

As soon as a friend of mine introduced me to Three Olives' Rootbeer Vodka, I knew I wanted to try making a float out of it and the shotluck was the perfect opportunity to experiment! I added a scoop of vanilla icecream to a shot (and a bit :P ) of Rootbeer Vodka and topped the rest of the small cup with some regular root beer. YUM!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

SLACKER!

I can't even the last time I've done a proper entry!
However, though I have been in a blogging drought, I have been getting crafty.

This card I made way back in JUNE for a friend of mine who had just graduated from teacher's college (and happens to adore cats).

You Are the Hippest of Cats

The base of the card was a folded blue patterned cardstock and I cannot for the life of me remember the company! Also, since I used a piece from my leftover scrap pile, I don't know what company the purple square of paper is either (grr arg!).

The 'ruled paper' patterned paper was from the 6x6 'Boyfriend Collection' paper pack by Cosmo Cricket and I edged it with the 'Bumpy Road' edger punch by EK Success.

The adorable cat is from Stamping Bella and stamped on white cardstock purchased from Staples.

To colour him up, I first created a wonky bubble shaped mask out of scrap cardboard to cover him and sprayed the 'pink sprinkles' Smooch spray over the background. Then I created a mask for the background (with a hole smaller than the original mask) and sprayed some 'spun sugar' Smooch spray. Then, just because, I sprayed the whole thing with 'vanilla shimmer' Smooch spray.

You Are the Hippest of Cats

I cut him out with a square spellbinder die in a Cuttlebug machine, and something interesting happened. He was still a little damp when I put him in, and I was using a "well loved" Cuttlebug plate, so when I embossed the edge of the square the cut marks in the plate embossed this swirly pattern across the image. How's that for a happy accident??

I finished the card up by stamping the inside of the card with a rubber stamp that said "You Are The Hippest of Cats" from Paper Candy.


Thanks for putting up with my lack of posts with substance. I promise you at least two more this week with some more things I have made these past few months, and here's a surprise... NEITHER POST IS ABOUT CARDS!!

Stay tuned to see what I've been making.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Music Monday: Darwin Deez

Calling it now. This is my song of the summer.
Bring on the Popsicle weather!!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Five Faves 05•02•10

Behold my faves of the week!

1. My sister got her wisdom teeth out. And after being inspired by this video, I decided to record the aftermath. Hilarity ensued.


2. STAR WARS WEATHER. Find out what it's like outside by seeing a comparison to a planet from the Star Wars universe.
For example right now it says:
"Ahh. 22°C, Cloudy?
It's like Yavin 4 out there.
Hot, but with some cloud in the sky.
Also bits of the Death Star might fall on your head."
How fun is that??

3. I need this shirt in my life. NEED. NOW.


4. This child singing The Beatles. Hilariousness of the lyrical interpretation aside, he's actually pretty wicked on the ukulele!


5. Tim Gunn critiquing superhero costumes. I cannot even put into words how amazing this is. Tim Gunn, please be my BFF.



Come play Five Faves @ Meet Me At Mikes!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Wish I Was Wearing Wednesday

I am in love with a website.
Very much in love.
LOOKLET.com is a site where you can browse through hundreds of clothing items and accessories and create outfits, put them on models and place them on a set.
I promise it is way more awesome than I am making it sound!

I really could spend hours coming up with that perfect outfit. Searching through pages to find the perfect necklace or headband to finish the look.

This is my first Looklet look:

Glasses by Urban Outfitters
Head band by Evita Peroni
Clutch by Alexander McQueen
Blazer by Vintage
Ring by Blimey
Bracelet by Alexander McQueen
Necklace by Vintage
Mini Dress by Andy Warhol by Pepe Jeans
Boots by Topshop
Tights by Lick My Label



Monday, April 12, 2010

Music Monday: Hot Chip

Directed by Peter Serafinowicz (you may know him as Pete [the prick roommate] in Shaun of the Dead)
This video is bizarre, creepy and I can't stop thinking about it. I kind of love it.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Five Faves 04•04•10

Here's five things I've been digging this week!


1. How neat is this video??

Adobe Photoshop Cook from Lait Noir on Vimeo.



2. I absolutely adore these Sock Garters from SWANclothing! AND they come custom sized! (*cough cough* my birthday is in July...)


3. The Trololo man. So bizarre, yet you can't look away. This song will be stuck in your head for weeks.

4. The new Doctor Who!
I was sad when David Tennant's Doctor died, but I think Matt Smith is going to do such an incredible job! The first episode was phenominal. I can't wait for next week.


5. Egg decorating (with a geeky twist)
Behold, my Easter Ood!
Easter Ood


Come play Five Faves @ Meet Me At Mikes!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Five Faves 03•28•10

1. Live Owl Webcam. I have been absolutely obsessed with this for the past week! When I started watching there was only one baby hatched and now there are 4 little baby owls. I don't know what makes this so addictive, but I just can't stop watching.

2. Sassy Gay Friend: Hamlet.
Hilarious sketch from The Second City. "Hamlet would have ended MUCH differently if Ophelia had a Sassy Gay Friend!!!"


3. I love choose your own adventure books, and I am addicted to Twitter. Imagine my delight when someone forwarded me a link to Choose Your Own Twitter Adventure!

4. I first heard a clip on BBC Radio 1 and now I just can't stop watching this little girl crying about Justin Bieber. Hilarious and adorable. Embedding has been disabled, so head over to the Youtube page and be sure to watch the follow up as well!

5. Oh sadtrombone.com. I have this site bookmarked in order to make my failures a little more bearable and other people's a little more hilarious. (Came in very handy when watching my grandma and dad attempt to use Skype.)



Come play Five Faves @ Meet Me At Mikes!