mommy loves gouda! ...and baby brie ♥

The red velvet cake from yesterday was mixed with leftover cream cheese frosting in my freezer to make cake bonbons. I should have dipped them in the colored chocolate twice for more even coating, but I got lazy. I just read online that the cracking is caused by dipping frozen cake bonbons directly into melted chocolate...a helpful tip for 30 minutes ago. Some projects just don't go as planned.

I am probably doing something wrong, since my red velvet cupcakes always ends up looking a bit peculiar*. I love my recipe otherwise: it's very moist with a light crumb, and a slighty crackly, sugared crust. I think it's great straight from the oven, but the traditionalist(and heifer) in me always whips up a batch of cream cheese frosting to trim. I made about 40% of the recipe into a 10" round cake, which will be pulverized into red crumbs for more treat-making fun next week. Looks department-wise, the cake is fine; it's that the rest of the recipe turned out 24 wrinkly, tiny cupcakes with an almost concave top. Still acceptable for a late-night tea party with friends, but I wonder what makes the cupcakes contract in every direction.  Any tips on how to keep my red velvet cupcakes from deflating? And if it's inevitable, should I feel guilty about using extra frosting to hide the sad two-dimensionality of it all?

*peculiar = hideous

I'm staying at home with the bunnies tomorrow, which always results in a 3 hour group nap on the sofa. This time, I will also be baking up a storm for Lauren's baby shower. As she is also a baker and a great dessert critic, the pressure is on to make the cutest, tastiest treats ever. Fingers crossed!

Cakey with toasted slivered almonds, these cookies are great for tea with the girls.

The butt of old french bread needed some help being eaten, namely from chopped garlic and butter.

I woke up this morning and saw it looked like rain, so I decided to plant some seeds quickly before it came down: lettuce, beans, and cucumbers. I'll have to keep a close eye on the bunnies to make sure they don't nibble the shoots down to nubs.

1. Rain! I can hear it coming down outside my window.
2. Ginghers. For all you sewers, think about how hard it is on a scale of 1-10 to find a fantastic pair of scissors, and multiply it by 40 because you're left-handed. Then divide by four because all the old biddies in Joann's recommends Ginghers for life, then minus 52 for having a 40% off coupon, then divide by how old you were when you lost your first tooth. The remaining number should be your age in the year 2012! ...Just kidding. But my Gingher left-handed scissors seriously do everything short of keeping me warm at night.
3. Fresh flowers, that make my office smell so much like a funeral parlor. I mean that in the fondest way possible.
4. Gouda and Baby Brie, of course. My sweet fluffs!

As if I didn't have enough rabbits hopping around my place, my first project on the ole sewing machine was a stuffed bunny. I'm not pleased with the results because I love extra-decorative details, like embroidery, appliqued lace, and beading, of which this bun has none. For my first foray into sewing machinedom, not too shabby. Do you know anyone who would appreciate a lopsided but soft bunny?

I must be the only Californian who doesn't like avocados. As a child, I remember spooning out salted halves of avocados with my mom and sister as a summertime snack, but I don't remember what they tasted like. A friend kindly reminded me of an avocado's creamy greenness when she taught me how to make guacamole, as a snack while watching L'illusionniste. To any other resident of California, it would be yummy; for me, after a 20 year hiatus from avocados, it was amazing! My extra-chunky version includes onion powder instead of raw onions, and very finely diced cilantro that I snipped from the bunnies' stash of greens.

On a side note, I didn't know what to expect from L'illusionniste but it was beautiful. An adorable surprise was the naughty and carnivorous rabbit character! Having two of my own, I can definitely relate to the magician's plight.

I remember when I had over-achieving thoughts of decorating each cake bonbon with tiny candy hearts, or sanding sugar. Then i finally got my sewing machine to work and I'm obsessed with cutting felt pieces, so I just dusted with powdered sugar and distributed in Minnie Mouse-esque paper liners. Note to self: next time, use the Teaspoon measure instead of Tablespoon; these are more generously sized than some sushi places in Santa Monica! Thanks to sweet lovers for flowers that brightened my day.