Saturday, March 5, 2011

Better late than never - Our family Valentine post

Hi!  I have been writing and editing and writing and editing this Valentine post.  I am suffering from a severe writers block.  Please understand, I am inferring I am a writer at all or that I can even write.  But usually I know where I want to go with my post.  I don't post often so I have time to think, edit and deliver what I want.  But not now, I am all out of desire and/or drive.  Work stress has gotten to me, terrible threes have gotten to me and just the general economic state of affairs of our country have gotten to me.  So I will just say what I have to say and post my pictures.
Chip and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day the Saturday night before.  We rented Julia & Julie (or is it Julie & Julia?) and had this delicious treat!


Trust me and follow the link, it's a cute idea and their chocolate is spectacular.

My hubby bought me perfume and I got him Netflix streaming (his dream come true).  We had a quiet and romantic night.  Little man didn't wake up in the middle of the night, also that was a plus.

That same Saturday, but in the morning hours, Carr and I enjoyed some craft and sit down time together.  For those that have three year old boy toddlers, you know how difficult that can be.

We worked with glue glitter.


 Carr decided that he didn't want to cut anything heart shaped.  Another great surprise is that he loves water colors and paint.  Thank you Melanie!  Your birthday gift has given us hours of joy for Carr and quiet for Mommy.


Ripping tissue paper was also an experiment we liked.


Mommy decided to make Valentine cupcakes for home and for work.
 Yes, if you thought they were cherries, you guessed correctly.  More pictures to follow what I call now "cupcake madness".

Stickers from Mimi and Papa!

Love that face!

Such a handsome little man!


I baked for the first time ever Red Velvet Cupcakes.  I added my own personal twist to them...cherries!

Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) 
  2. Mix all ingredients
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
This was my first try at red velvet.  It turn out great!  Here is where I got the recipe from:
Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCake.html#ixzz1FjEKr1ls

 I made yellow cake cupcakes for Chip...they're his favorite.  Yellow cake and butter cream frosting.


Yellow cake ingredients
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix all ingrediants together the pour batter into prepared pans.
  2. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
I have always done this recipe even in Argentina.  I got this recipe from a high school friend and translated to English.



We also prepared little boxes with treats.
Well, that is all the post.  Hope you enjoyed this even though I posted it so late. I am hoping I get  my mojo back to post some more soon.  Have a great weekend!

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