Photo Update
1) Remember the creepy cement horse head from a few days ago? It showed up mysteriously in my mailbox sometime between Saturday afternoon and Monday afternoon.
The nature of this particular piece of unmail had me puzzled. Is it a joke? A threat? I do know people who would put a random decrepit cement horse head in my mailbox as a joke, whether to make me laugh or leave me puzzled (or both), but I wasn't convinced. And though I don't know anyone named Fredo, the symbolism of a severed horse head is not lost on me. [Edit: D'oh! It's a donkey!] The idea that it could be a random accident didn't occur to me until my husband suggested it. Still... however it got here, the disembodied ex-statue was creeping me out.
So I set about making him less creepy. I decided we should spend the day together. He confided in me that he has long harbored Roaming Gnome aspirations, which is fine with me as he's a bit more photogenic than I. So I kept the camera, humming Two of Us as I documented our day.
Standing guard, on alert for intruders.
Playing a game of hide and seek in the garden
Lounging in the pool
Playing Guitar Hero II (He can strum alright, but needs someone else to work the buttons.)
We even went to the grocery store and the post office, but he stayed in the car for those trips. He's shy (or so he claims). Go figure.
Later in the evening, I saw that he'd fallen from his upright (er, 'precariously balanced on the tip of his severed neck') sentry post in the garden. I said to him, "Come on Claude, no sleeping on the job," and then to Greg, "I think maybe I should name him." He replied, "I think maybe you just did."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2) idmmx came over for awhile yesterday. I baked, we talked, and the two of us had a good time catching up. She lives in the same town, but I've barely seen her all summer. ubdu also dropped by for a bit. I hope cupcake indulgence didn't spoil his dinner.
I tried a new recipe, and of course didn't follow the recipe. (I could not find chipotle peppers in adobo. I looked.) So I used Cayenne pepper instead and guessed. At ½tsp, I may have undershot the spice; idmmx and ubdu (who are both spice sensitive) said it was "just right" and "maybe a pinch too much" respectively, whereas my husband couldn't detect the cayenne even after I told him about it. Be advised, ymmv. I'd recommend a test batch before serving these to make sure the spice level is okay.
Chipotle Cayenne Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes (original source)
Makes about 18 cupcakes *[For me, it was more like 20]
What You'll Need...
-1 Box of Dark Chocolate cake mix (I feel actual pain writing those words *[Ditto!], or it's the tendonitis...)
-Whatever the box tells you you'll need. -Probably eggs, water, and oil.
-1-2 tablespoon pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (base on your heat tolerance) *[I substituted 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper]
-1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
-some extra powdered sugar
What You'll Do...
1) Mix the cake mix as the box says. Again. Physical pain. *[Again, ditto.]
2) Place the chipotle peppers in a food processor and puree. Add two tablespoons to the mix. Add the cinnamon.
3) Scoop into cupcake papers. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
4) Let cool. Combine the powdered sugar and some cinnamon to taste in a bowl, then place in a small mesh duster thingy that I'm sure has a name but it escapes me right now. Dust heavily with powdered sugar. Place doily or wire rack on the cupcakes to get a pattern if desired.
* * * * *Next up, tea. I haven't made sweet tea since we moved here, which is a travesty I corrected yesterday. I tried to remember my recipe (which is totally by feel anyway) last weekend and made it too weak. This time I got it right. It's so good to have sweet tea in the house again. Yum!
I also made Jello Jigglers, which is significant as I have not eaten Jello in ...13 years? (I was very, very ill, and all I could consume was jello. Not even straight water in sufficient quantities to keep me hydrated, just Jello. For two weeks. Two Weeks! Talk about overload!) And then I got all goofy with cookie cutter shapes and made a goopy, sticky mess getting them out of the pan. It was a blast!
But oh, such a mess!
And I started a batch of ferol163's out of this world biscotti. Mmm... cranberry almond... I'm going to finish that up shortly. Yum!
The nature of this particular piece of unmail had me puzzled. Is it a joke? A threat? I do know people who would put a random decrepit cement horse head in my mailbox as a joke, whether to make me laugh or leave me puzzled (or both), but I wasn't convinced. And though I don't know anyone named Fredo, the symbolism of a severed horse head is not lost on me. [Edit: D'oh! It's a donkey!] The idea that it could be a random accident didn't occur to me until my husband suggested it. Still... however it got here, the disembodied ex-statue was creeping me out.
So I set about making him less creepy. I decided we should spend the day together. He confided in me that he has long harbored Roaming Gnome aspirations, which is fine with me as he's a bit more photogenic than I. So I kept the camera, humming Two of Us as I documented our day.
Standing guard, on alert for intruders.
Playing a game of hide and seek in the garden
Lounging in the pool
Playing Guitar Hero II (He can strum alright, but needs someone else to work the buttons.)
We even went to the grocery store and the post office, but he stayed in the car for those trips. He's shy (or so he claims). Go figure.
Later in the evening, I saw that he'd fallen from his upright (er, 'precariously balanced on the tip of his severed neck') sentry post in the garden. I said to him, "Come on Claude, no sleeping on the job," and then to Greg, "I think maybe I should name him." He replied, "I think maybe you just did."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2) idmmx came over for awhile yesterday. I baked, we talked, and the two of us had a good time catching up. She lives in the same town, but I've barely seen her all summer. ubdu also dropped by for a bit. I hope cupcake indulgence didn't spoil his dinner.
I tried a new recipe, and of course didn't follow the recipe. (I could not find chipotle peppers in adobo. I looked.) So I used Cayenne pepper instead and guessed. At ½tsp, I may have undershot the spice; idmmx and ubdu (who are both spice sensitive) said it was "just right" and "maybe a pinch too much" respectively, whereas my husband couldn't detect the cayenne even after I told him about it. Be advised, ymmv. I'd recommend a test batch before serving these to make sure the spice level is okay.
Chipotle Cayenne Cinnamon Chocolate Cupcakes (original source)
Makes about 18 cupcakes *[For me, it was more like 20]
What You'll Need...
-1 Box of Dark Chocolate cake mix (I feel actual pain writing those words *[Ditto!], or it's the tendonitis...)
-Whatever the box tells you you'll need. -Probably eggs, water, and oil.
-1-2 tablespoon pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (base on your heat tolerance) *[I substituted 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper]
-1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
-some extra powdered sugar
What You'll Do...
1) Mix the cake mix as the box says. Again. Physical pain. *[Again, ditto.]
2) Place the chipotle peppers in a food processor and puree. Add two tablespoons to the mix. Add the cinnamon.
3) Scoop into cupcake papers. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
4) Let cool. Combine the powdered sugar and some cinnamon to taste in a bowl, then place in a small mesh duster thingy that I'm sure has a name but it escapes me right now. Dust heavily with powdered sugar. Place doily or wire rack on the cupcakes to get a pattern if desired.
* * * * *Next up, tea. I haven't made sweet tea since we moved here, which is a travesty I corrected yesterday. I tried to remember my recipe (which is totally by feel anyway) last weekend and made it too weak. This time I got it right. It's so good to have sweet tea in the house again. Yum!
I also made Jello Jigglers, which is significant as I have not eaten Jello in ...13 years? (I was very, very ill, and all I could consume was jello. Not even straight water in sufficient quantities to keep me hydrated, just Jello. For two weeks. Two Weeks! Talk about overload!) And then I got all goofy with cookie cutter shapes and made a goopy, sticky mess getting them out of the pan. It was a blast!
But oh, such a mess!
And I started a batch of ferol163's out of this world biscotti. Mmm... cranberry almond... I'm going to finish that up shortly. Yum!