Daniel's Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Frosting

Our friend's son, Daniel, just turned 8.  For his birthday party he wanted blueberry cupcakes with blueberry frosting.  I welcome a challenge but, I have to admit, I was not quite sure how this endeavor would turn out.  After a brief Google search I found this recipe, which seemed like a good start.  The cupcakes turned out light and fluffy (I used all-purpose flour as opposed to my default whole wheat).

For the frosting I decided to get a little fancy and took some inspiration from Martha.  She called for blueberry jam, which I didn't have so the night before I cooked down 2 cups of blueberries and 1/2 cup of sugar then strained it to get out the seeds and skins.  After whipping up a simple cream cheese frosting, I spooned a bit of the strained blueberries on the frosting in the bowl and, without stirring, scooped it into a piping bag.  As I piped, the frosting and blueberries swirled themselves together.  It was messy but delicious and, if I do say so myself, beautiful.  I hope the birthday boy agrees!

For future reference: cupcakes 133 calories each, frosting 39 calories per cupcakes; 172 calories per frosted cupcake

Canning Notes: Grapes 2011

Last year we produced 23 cups of grape jelly and 13 quarts of juice.  We used Pomona's Universal Pectin, which is activated by calcium (comes in the packet) rather than sugar so we are able to use a small amount of honey rather than large amounts of sugar.  We made 3 recipes which was 12 cups juice and 1.75 cups honey.

We opened and began to use the jelly this year.  It all was jellied, the texture is different than traditional jam and there is a slight honey smell with the grape smell.  Flavor is great!  Spreads well, enjoyed by all.

Good Chili Variation

We had this soup last night and it was delicious. I omitted the turkey and doubled the black beans (about 5 cups cooked, rinsed, and drained total). We also omitted the jalapeno because I didn't have one on hand. For the cheese we used cheddar but I think the Pepper-jack would be better although I don't think the soup really needs cheese so it could easily be made vegan and still taste good. The spinach was straight from our garden; so good!

Choir Snacks

We are in the choir in our church. To make it more fun and enticing to be in choir (especially after already being at church for 3 hours) we can volunteer to bring choir snacks. This past Sunday was our week and it was all such a big hit, especially the spinach-artichoke dip. Here is what we had (it was all homemade):

Crackers

Thin slices of French bread

Hummus

Spinach-artichoke dip (I doubled the recipe and kept it in a crockpot on low until we served it; for the artichokes I used canned marinated artichoke hearts and I added no salt to the dip)

Caramel corn

Meringues (my husband's specialty)

Apple slices

Ham and Bean Soup

We had this last night and it was delicious. For the beans I used about 3/4 cup large lima beans, 1 cup white beans, 1 cup black beans, and 1 cup pinto beans. My husband said the limas were what made the soup stand out.

Ham and Bean Soup

1-2 pounds (3-4 cups) dry beans

2 cups stock

4 cups water (plus more for soaking beans)

2 bay leaves

1-2 tsp paprika

1-2 tsp dried parsley

4 cups cooked ham, chopped

pepper to taste

1. Soak beans (using either quick soak or overnight soak).

2. Drain and rinse beans; place in crock pot. Add all other ingredients. Cook on high for about 4-6 hours.

I Grew This

October's Bounty

too bad it was a cold, wet spring...

short tomato season...

few tomatoes...

no canning tomatoes...

but I saved seeds for next year!

Breakfast Burritos

Looking for a new breakfast idea? Try this! I don't really have a recipe but it is so easy to just toss things together. First, I sauteed about 1/4 cup of sliced onions (I used the little spring onions so they made very small slices) in about 2 Tbsp butter. When they were soft, I added 1/2 bunch of chopped chard (stems and all). Put the lid on the pan and allow the chard to wilt and the stems to soften. Then, add the eggs. I used 4 eggs and the same amount of milk as I would have to make scrambled eggs (about 1/4 cup), mixed them well in a bowl then poured the contents into the pan with the greens. Add salt and pepper. Cook as if you were making scrambled egg. Spoon the eggs onto four tortilla shells, sprinkle with cheese, wrap and eat. It was so good. The kids ate it for the most part. My step-daughter (who is generally not a fan of my anti-fast food cooking) ate it all but had a sour look on her face the whole time. My oldest son left a little pile of chard on his plate. And, my youngest devoured it as he does everything else.