For The birds...

...yet we've got none yet?! Its been out there hanging for at least a month now.

Just sharing a pretty photo I just took from the back porch.

No Winter Visitors

Maybe the Reason is...

In the Kitchen Baking: Chocolate Orange Mini Cupcakes

So today the whims of a 3 year old were met by her mother...

No matter how much I fought she would not leave me be until I made CUPCAKES!!!

So what did I come up with?

Orange and Chocolate Mini Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting.

             Cupcakes: 

             
              1/2 cup milk 

              3 large egg whites(do not discard yolks, you'll need them for frosting) 

             
              1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

• Zest of ` fresh orange (or 1 Tbsp dried zest)
  
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 
  
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
  
• 
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 6 tbsp softened butter
• 
  Butter Cream Frosting:
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (or orange extract for more citrus flavor)
• 1 egg yolk
  
• a few drops of food color, whatever you want
• 
  
• Preheat oven 350
• 
  
• Mix milk, egg whites, zest and extract set aside 
• Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add butter while mixing on low one tbsp at a time. Mixture should be crumbly looking.
• Add milk mixture slowly and mix on low for a minute and a half until mousse like.
• Pour into cupcake/muffin tins with liners. Bake 18-22 minutes. (Until toothpick comes out clean.)
• While cupcakes cool mix together all frosting ingredients until whipped nicely. Put on cupcakes when completely cool and serve.
  

Current Bakespace Newsletter/Blog installment

My very first article! Enjoy, and I hope you follow bakespace's blog as well as mine!

"The Garden Plan

Gardening — By Shannon on January 2, 2009 at 7:52 pm 



Now that it’s January, gardening may be the last thing on your mind. Of course it depends on where you live — while our friends south of the equator enjoy long days and warm temperatures, I can tell you it’s cold here North Carolina...."
http://bakespace.com/news/2009/01/planning-a-garden/ 

2 Days to Expected Delivery Date!

Yep, its 2010 and with a new year comes new little fuzzy butts! Our chicken eggs we've been following are coming up on their hatch date. Due Jan 4th, I started with 12 eggs, 6 lavender/split silkie eggs and 6 unknown standard mix chickens. We are down to 8 eggs total, 5 silkies 3 mixed. The other eggs never developed... either they got mixed in shipment or weren't fertile. Which ever, they were not meant to be....

But I wait anxiously on the rest!

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

I wanted to share this wonderful concept. I ran across this while deciding on my garden seed order for 2010. Its from earlier in the year, but I don't think any of you have heard of it before. They are trying to save rare seed varieties from plants by freezing them to save so we know they never will go extinct! Love the idea, and fully back it!

"'Doomsday Vault' Celebrates Anniversary"

4/15/2009

"The first anniversary of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway -- dubbed the "Doomsday Vault" by the press and hailed by Time as one of 2008's greatest inventions--was celebrated on February 26, 2009, with dignitaries in attendance from around the world, including Seed Savers Exchange Board members Cary Fowler and Chair Amy P. Goldman. The anniversary celebration included a talk and tour of the Seed Vault by Fowler, who is also the Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, one of the Seed Vault managers...."

The rest of the article is found here: Seedsavers.org Blog

Come Follow Me At My New Job!

Starting this January I will be the official Organic Garden Guru for www.Bakespace.com on their official Daily Newsletter! I will be writing about gardening, organic methods, heirloom varieties of different fruits/veggies, as well as simple ideas to make gardening easier and more productive. My article will only be every other Thursday... so what about the rest of the week?!

We'll, it will be filled with everything else I love about their website! Recipes, food, baking, new kitchen equipment reviews, tip and tricks for the kitchen and soooooooooooooooo much more!!!

So, you should first visit their site and probably join the community and then sign up for the newsletter! If you don't sign up, that's ok too, each article I write for the newsletter will also be published on my blog the day it is released by email. (But NOT before.)

Thanks so much everyone for following my blog, you're got me where I am now!

Come visit BAKESPACE

Here's the link to SIGN UP JUST FOR THE NEWSLETTER

After Christmas GIVEAWAY! Green Beans!!!

Now that the new year is coming on, I am so looking forward to my new improved garden! I want to tackle so many things head on knowing what I failed with last year.Even though I failed, I did have great successes...

So I feel everyone should try something new, even if it doesn't work out, you tried... so as a way to make you give something new a try, I'm going to give away more seed! This way there is no monetary lose to share you off.

What is she giving away now you ask?

I'm giving away some Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans!

What do you have to do for them?

Just leave a comment here that you want then and a way for me to contact you (Through your own BlogSpot Account/Blog or by email.) I will draw the winner and contact them on January 1st!