My, my, how life has changed!

My husband and I still have a monthly "date night" thanks to a suggestion by my friend Kelly, but our dates are a little different now. Sometimes we dress up and go to dinner at some secret spot that one of us choses or sometimes we have a "day date" where we go for a hike together or visit a town we haven't been to before. Whatever the date, the important thing is that we spend time together without cell phones, computers, or any of the other distractions that life can bring.

During our last date night we had a great time reminiscing about the time before we were married. I told my husband how I would get all giddy before he picked me up to go out and he confessed that would pace his apartment in anticipation for me to knock on the door when I visited after work. A date for us used to mean dinner at 8 p.m. followed by a movie or perhaps a Saturday night cocktail or two at a swanky bar somewhere, with or without friends.

But, on this particular date night, dressed in jeans, sweatshirts, and baseball caps armed with a 15% off coupon, we went to Orchard Supply Hardware for the "Midnight Madness" sale and purchased our first lawn mower - an electric Craftsman complete with mulch bagger. We were both giddy with excitement!

We might not be sipping cocktails every weekend or sampling hamachi and toro but, I love married life and I'm glad that even dinner at home and purchasing a lawn mower together is exciting to us because we've done it together.

Housewife Tip - An electric mower is a great way to cut your home's carbon footprint. Because they have no carburetor, lawn mowers account for 5% of air pollution. Here's an additional tip... check with your county urban planning agency to see if they offer a rebate on electric lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and weed wackers. Some counties also have buy-back programs in which you can exchange your gas mower for 50% off of an electric mower.

My Taste of San Diego

I met my sister, who lives in Denver, this weekend in San Diego to check out the sites and of course the local cupcakes. With the help of a few San Diego food bloggers, we were able to visit Cupcake Squared and Eclipse Chocolate as well as sip flavorful margaritas and dip into some glorious guacamole in Old Town. Although I wanted to eat and drink my way through town, I didn't indulge too hard and for the record, we didn't finish any of the cupcakes entirely. At least that's what we will claim.

Square Cupcakes

After our day at the San Diego Zoo we visited Cupcakes Squared, a shop in the Point Loma neighborhood that comes highly recommended by the ladies at Cupcakes Take the Cake.



The lemon cupcake at C2 is like no other lemon cupcake I have tasted. The cake is dense and sticky, almost like a pound cake. Because of the delicious lemon glaze that they pour over the top of the hot cakes when they come out of the oven, there is a. surprising lemony crust on the cake. Coupled with a dab of lemon butter cream and a few bits of lemon zest, this is the cupcake for any lemon lover. I was sad we didn't buy two. Oh whoops, I guess the lemon cake was the only one we ate in it's entirety.



We also tried Vanilla Chai, No So Red Velvet, and Mocha flavors. We noted that the Vanilla Chai needed just a bit more masala flavor because it borders on a spice cake otherwise. My sister and I both inhaled our bites of the Mocha cupcake - a light crumb chocolate cake with chocolate chunks and espresso garnished mocha butter cream. Not So Red Velvet fell short of that slight cocoa flavor and darn it, I miss the red food coloring... call me crazy.

Lots of Chocolate... they're not kidding

In search of a latte and the now famous Sea Salted Caramel cupcake from Eclipse Chocolate, we visited this swanky shop in the University Hill neighborhood on Memorial Day before heading up to La Jolla and Torrey Pines for some much needed walking. It killed me to tote around the three gorgeous cupcakes all day in the car without taking a bite but, I wanted to really relish the moment. I'm so glad I did.



We sampled Lavender Vanilla Bean, Burnt-Caramel Marshmallow, and Sea Salted Caramel cupcakes. The Lavender Vanilla Bean was a little over the top on the lavender for me but I really loved what it did to raise the cocoa flavor in the cake. The Burnt Caramel Marshmallow was gooey perfection and I couldn't help but dip my finger into the chili burnt caramel filling to taste it on it's own... oooh, I want it and I want it served over ice cream. The Sea Salted Caramel was reminiscent of the fleur de sel caramels that come from posh places like Fauchon ... a perfect balance of milky caramel and just a hint of lavender blossom gray sea salt. Being a fan of salty/sweet and posh French things, this was the cupcake for me.

I enjoyed Eclipse Chocolate very much but the cupcakes are almost too much chocolate for me, personally. There, I said it. Please don't hate me. I enjoy chocolate but I'm not a connoisseur... I think that was my problem here. The cake is unique because made with high quality chocolate and (gulp! genius!) creme fraiche. It's so moist and dense that is sticks to the roof of your mouth. To me the big hit with these cupcakes was the burnt caramel.

I heart Old Town Mexican Cafe

For what I consider some of the best mexican food in California, visit Old Town Mexican Cafe for a house margarita, warm house made chips and guacamole, and a lobster taco. The margaritas are made with fresh squeezed lime juice which is rare in these times of good ol' Cuervo mixes in a bottle. The guacamole bowl was overflowing with generous pieces of whole avocado mixed with squashed avocado, lime, and bits of tomato and onion. Chips were delivered to the table hot and slightly glistening (we'll ignore that part) ready to meet my salt shaker. Because of the delightful appetizers, I opted for a single lobster taco complete with lobster meat chunks slightly grilled with shredded cabbage and lime... it's my new favorite way to eat lobster.

My sister and I actually went to Old Town Mexican Cafe twice on our visit to San Diego - it was that good. The second time we tried a chicken taco, cheese enchilada, and chile relleno which was the best, most generously coated chile I have ever seen! The whole platter was smothered with cheese and served with rice and refried beans. We again had margaritas but this time my sister changed it up a bit and went for the raspberry flavor. Of course, in Old Town Mexican Cafe style, it was made with real raspberry.

Opera Cake - Daring Bakers Challenge

My first Daring Bakers challenge was exciting and a little bit scary.... an Opera Cake? Almond meal? Do I dare? I had visions of Parisian Boulongers screaming "sacre bleu!" and cursing my untrained attempt at this French classic.

Well, I haven't heard any screaming yet but it's still early.

I gathered the ingredients and contemplated the challenge... nothing dark. No chocolate. No espresso. Ok, call me traditional but since I'm a virgin to this opera, my cake should wear white. I'll go with vanilla. After all, I have been saving a lovely bottle of pure vanilla from Papua New Guinea for a rainy day such as this.



Egg whites... no problem. I'm a firm believer (no pun intended) that egg whites should be stiffened the old fashioned way.... with a wisk.



Then came the delicious, spongy, light crumb of the jaconde. The almond meal makes a thicker than normal batter that bakes up into a light, uniform cake that would make an amazing wedding cake. This is the point in the challenge where the possibility of ever making petit fours become a reality to me.



The rest of the challenge was assembly, basting with syrup, trimming, and finally coating my precious creation with white chocolate ganache.

I've looked at some of the others on the blogroll already and my, oh my, there are some talented bakers out there! Kudos to all of you!

I wish I had made more of the recipe so I could have made a much taller cake... I bet it would be beautiful with 6 or 8 layers. I also would have made more vanilla syrup because my jaconde seemed a little drier than it should have been. I would also have put less butter cream in between the layers. I'm looking forward to attempting the recipe again some time but I must say, this all in all, was not a bad first attempt.

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A discovery on Martha Stewart's blog

Anyone who knows me knows that Martha Stewart is one of my idols. I haven't read her blog in a while but was so happy to discover a recent entry where Martha took a ride in a helicopter over her farm. It's absolutely gorgeous! Love her or not, Martha and her staff know how to run a farm property!

Visit Martha's blog entry here.

Manners: A little ditty 'bout RSVP

The question, "Why don't people RSVP" came up in a conversation with a good friend of mine recently. She is hosting a large event for her business this week and 73 of her invitees have not yet RSVP'd. Needless to say, she's a bit frustrated. I got to thinking why people didn't respond when her invitation clearly asks them to and came up with a few reasons why people might not RSVP:

1. They don't know what RSVP means.
2. They think one is only supposed to RSVP when the reply is "no."
3. They think one is only supposed to RSVP when the reply is "yes."
4. They're afraid to decline your invitation.
4. They were raised by wolves and have no manners.

"Répondez s'il vous plaît" or "R.S.V.P" is a French phrase that translates to "Please respond". It doesn't mean, "wait to see if something better comes up" or "I'm not sure if I'll feel up to it that night." And, it certainly doesn't mean "remain silent."
Seriously, did someone que the Crickets?

When a hostess asks for an RSVP it is important to respond for many reasons. In my friend's case, she needs to know how much food and beverage to provide her guests. A simple RSVP takes just a few moments and may save you the agony of seeing empty catering trays and wine bottles.

It's not rude to decline an invitation but it is rude to stay silent and keep your host wondering.

Pecan Pie

I recently made a pecan pie as a thank you gift for a neighbor who came over to remove a tree stump from our yard. I've never made a pecan pie before. To top photo shows the unbaked pies just before I closed the oven door. The bottom photo is the pies after 55 minutes in a 350-degree oven. They made the house smell so wonderful!
The pies ended up being really simple to assemble and really delicious. Yes, I made two pies... one for my gracious neighbor and one to keep, admire, taste, and then ship off to others until it was GONE. Pies are evil.

Here is the naughty little recipe I used. Enjoy!

Classic Pecan Pie

This recipe is for one 9" sugar-laden pie. Mmmm.

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo® Light Corn Syrup (moderation is key, people)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla (please use the real thing)
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) whole pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat eggs slightly with fork in medium bowl. Add sugar, Karo® Corn Syrup, butter and vanilla; stir until blended. Stir in pecans. Place pie dough in pie pan and flute your edges so they rise above the pan. Pour pecan filling into pie crust.

Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

If you are cheating with a frozen pie crust: Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven as directed. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on preheated cookie sheet.

TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F or, you can just give it a little shake to see if it has firmed up nicely. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when it's done. Place a baking pan under your pie to keep any spill over from hitting the bottom of your oven. If you are using a cheater crust it will likely be getting brown before your pie is done. If that's the case, cover the edges with foil.

Pantry re-org

My pantry has never been organized. In the two years we have lived in our house I've just dealt with the clutter but this weekend I reached my limit. I rarely open it in front of dinner guests because it's an embarrassment. It's my dirty little kitchen secret.

Or at least it was...

In what some may describe as an organizational fit of rage, I went to The Container Store Website, planned out my space, and immediately drove to the store to get the pieces I needed. They must have known I was coming because I found parking right away. The online tool is pretty easy to use but you have to tweak it a little to get the info you really want. The tool is designed to have a consultant call you back but there are ways around that if you don't want to be bothered or if you're a control freak like me and are convinced you can do it yourself (tip, just get out a tape measure).

$90 later I can see all of the items in the pantry now because I have raised shelving, can holders, cereal containers, and various wire racks to hold our pantry goods. I can see clearly into the back of the pantry without having to move a bunch of other things out of the way. Best of all, I can grab a can of water chestnuts without dumping over the almond butter and ruining more carpet.

I highly recommend the Container Store if you have a pantry that needs a cheap face lift in a hurry.

New baking gadget alert - Side Swipe Blade

I get a newsletter called Gourmet Weekly specifically so I can get tips from one of my culinary idols, Ruth Reichl. This week Ruth and co. sent a link to the Side Swipe Blade, a helpful tool for those "scrape down the sides of the bowl" baking instructions.

Side Swipe Blade

I placed an order for four of these things to share with a few baking obsessed friends and my Mom. Once we've all had a chance to review it, I'll post our thoughts. If you have one of these already, please post a review.



To sign up for Gourmet Weekly, visit gourmet.com. Sign up is at the lower right of the page.

I once was lost... but now I'm found.

Today I was inspired to pick up my knitting needles and give it another try.



Special thanks to my friends Kelly, Jan, and Katie, who have turned me on to The Yarn Harlot. Ten minutes after coming home from the Maker Faire today I dug out my needles and an old project to see if they would take me back. They were happy to see me. Dammit.