Summer BBQ

I went to my first BBQ of the summer last night with some old co-workers. The weather was perfect as the sun was out, but there was a nice breeze to keep everyone cool. We sat outside and ate BBQ'd burger, hot dogs, and all the other usual BBQ fixings. It was great to see my old co-workers and catch up on life. We also made time to play some games, which is always entertaining, especially when you have competitive team mates.

Two of us were tasked with bringing something sweet. I decided to make some Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (see below for pics and recipe), but the best dessert there was the Plum Cobbler. I'm not usually a fan of cobblers, as I often find them too tart or acidic, but this one was delicious. Be sure to click on the link above to get the recipe.

While I was making the cupcakes, I wondered why they were called Red Velvet (other than the obvious fact that it's red) since it's colored with food coloring anyways, why not Blue Velvet or Green Velvet. Based on some information I found on Wikipedia, I found out that while foods were rationed during World War II, bakers used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes. I actually attempted to make a Red Velvet Cake using beet juice instead of food coloring earlier this year for my co-workers birthday, but it turned out to be more of a dusty rose color than red.

It was a great night of friends, fun, and plenty of food!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Cake Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

1 pound cream cheese, softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar*

Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

*My icing was runny which made it difficult to pipe onto the cupcakes. I'll probably remove 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar from the frosting the next time I make it.

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy

Recipe from FoodNetwork.com

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Weekend Adventure

I had big plans this weekend, some of which worked out perfectly and some that didn't. On Saturday morning I headed down to Carmel-by-the-Sea (75 miles south of San Jose) for the Annual Dachshund Beach Party where hundreds of Dachshunds arrive and run wild on an enclosed beach. As I arrived, I realized there wasn't a Dachsund in sight. I decided to check the invitation on my phone and found two issues. 1) It wasn't on Saturday, it was on Sunday, and 2) It wasn't this weekend, it's next weekend. Luckily, Carmel is a beautiful town so we walked the beach and streets before heading home. Now all I have to decide is whether I'll head back to Carmel for the event on the right day, during the right weekend. Below are some pics of me and my boy enjoying the salty air.

Saturday night I headed out for some dancing with girl friends. The bar we went to had a band playing named Joey Jam's Love Stoned. It was only their third gig, so they were still working some things out, but overall they were a good show and provided the necessary music for some good ol' dancing with wonderful friends. While playing, they mentioned that they'd be playing at Music in the Park in San Jose, and opening for a Micheal Jackson tribute band called Foreverland. When I heard this I got super excited because this is the band that played at my work conference in May, and they were GREAT!! Since Music in the Park is only 2 miles away from my house, I know what I'll be doing the night of August 5th.

Sunday was relaxation day. The lavender is in full bloom around my house, and with the warm weather, the bees are out too (click on the below pic to enlarge and you can see the bees). I headed back to the Farmer's Market, but didn't have time to investigate a new fruit or veggie since I got there late, and had to get back to watch the final game of The World Cup. (Yeah Spain!). I ended the evening with dinner in the city (SF) which is always a fun adventure.

All in all, a very enjoyable weekend as planned....or not.

Farmer's Market - Bitter Melon

I started my July 4th off at the Mountain View Farmers Market (see reviews on Yelp). My first visit to this Farmers Market was in June, with my Mom, when I had a Lemon Blueberry scone that I've been craving ever since. So, I woke up on the 4th, thinking about that scone, knowing I was headed there that day. I had the usually free fresh fruit samples that the seller's hand out as you walk around (it's the perfect breakfast) but as I finished the loop I realized my scone vendor never appeared. My hope is that some of the usual vendors took the day off, since it was the 4th, but are back next week. My final purchases for this visit were corn, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

I'm not much of a cook, outside of the easy-make items (spaghetti, fajitas, tacos, etc.), so I decided my goal of this trip would be to find and learn about a new fruit and/or vegetable. My hope is that as I learn more about different fruits and veggies, I'll feel comfortable using them in a meal some day :)

The fruit (even though it looks like a veggie) that caught my eye this week was the Bitter Melon. You can see just from the look of it why I was intrigued. When asking the vendor what it was, it took a couple of tries before I understood what he was saying. Luckily, there was a lady close by who repeated that it was Bitter Melon. When I asked how you cook it, she said it was true to its name and could be quite bitter. She said you cut them in half, take out the seeds, chop it up, and suggested sauteing it along with bacon or a some kind of pork product. She also mentioned that it's good for the liver and stimulating digestion. Like I said, I'm not quite ready to hit the kitchen yet, but it was nice to learn something new on such a beautiful day.

To view more pics from my visit to the Mountain View Farmer's Market, click here.

Living Room Decor Update

I'm happy to say that my new couch arrived. With a new couch, I took the opportunity to update some of the other items in my living room. I'm happy to share with you my new living room decor.

The Elliott couch, and ottoman, is from Macy's and is a pale green. I found the coffee table and end tables online at Cost Plus but after some online searching, I found them at Cymax.com on sale, in addition to a 15% coupon I found online. The painting was a 30th bday gift from my mom. It's a custom painting done by Eli Halpin. I love her stuff and have my eye on one of her giraffe paintings for my office. The lamps I found yesterday at TJ Maxx/Homegoods on my way home from work yesterday. All in all, I'm REALLY happy with everything I purchased, and I'm looking forward to enjoying it over the 4th of July weekend!