I am still crazy about cupcakes and found out the following stores are selling cupcake home decor items:
Kohl’s
Jo-Ann‘s (check the bargain bins)
Target‘s Dollar spot

It seems that the trend of dessert design is continuing on this year with candy bon bons, which are not as cute as cupcakes. hmph.

blog! Yes, it has been a very, very, very long time since my last entry. I have a few good reasons:

1. We got married!
2. I am bit directionless with this site.
3. I have been busy making meals for my hubby & baking cakes/cupcakes for friends!

Until I figure out what to do with this poorly ignored site I shall part you with one of our favorite photos from our blessed day.

le lapin

I will admit, I am a terrible sewer! After many years of wanting to learn how to sew, learning, and forgetting again…I thought, this is it! It’s now or never since I will be moving out of a home with a sewing machine. The biggest hurdle was trying to remember how to do the thread thing on the sewing machine. Luckily, my mom can’t see as well so she has been making me do it for her. Now, I am capable of putting the thread through the sewing machine’s holes ‘n stuff with no trouble! We had a few scraps laying around from gifts I had my mom make, I decided to put the scraps to good use. Unfortunately, I can’t show you the completed pieces because they are gifts!

Here are a few snippets:

My 2nd project EVER! Sewing it all by myself with NO help!

Three more projects, two will be gifts, one I gave to my mom to use!

The biggest struggle was being “one” with the sewing machine. It sure is finicky! I almost gave up! The next step is to learn how to put thread on the bobbin bottom thing. Baby steps, yup, baby steps!

Since it was blueberry season + 4th of July, I thought…why not infuse a bit o’ berry with green tea?

I pushed a few blueberries (circled in yellow) into green tea cupcakes and let a few rest on top:

This is the result of bberries being squished in (yellow arrows) and some left on top (green arrows).

After baking a few of the bberries that were pushed in left a bit of a crevice and a few of the ones resting on top “exploded” or shrunk. Here is my version of a scientific explanation to it: depending on how full of juiciness the bberries were prior to baking, it will take on different forms after heating.

Here’s a little 4th of July magic:

I love making hairy-ish cupcakes!

Side note: I found these items at the grocery store…

Apparently they are new flavors. I’ll just tell you don’t buy it unless you want a sugar rush with a tiny, tiny, invisible taste of green tea!

What’s a pool party without cupcakes? I made these for my niece and nephew’s birthdays:

Warning: Excessive sun exposure can turn you into a chocolate teddy graham.

Poor teddy, he lost his arm when he got stuck in quicksand surrounded by water.

The whole beach theme together!

The details:
Vegan chocolate cupcakes
Vanilla frosting
Peach gummy rings (do NOT buy the ones from the Dollar store, they’re made in China!)
Teddy grahams varying in tan color
Coconut tinted with blue coloring (I didn’t want to tint the frosting b/c I like the texture of the coconut flakes as “waves”)
Graham cracker sand (Put a few graham crackers in a blender)
Cocktail umbrellas
Fruit strips (These were a mess to handle! They kept melting because they are partially made with yogurt. Use the artificial HFCS Fruit Roll-ups instead!)

*If I had time and $ I’d buy food writers and candy writers to add faces and cover the nakedness on the teddy grahams!

**No, this wasn’t an original idea, I saw the teddy + peach ring ideas from multiple cupcake bloggers.

Meet my new friend CC, short for Cupcake. He loves being HOT pink (I call it magenta;)) and spending time in the sun + water! He was made with a lot of love and crafty goodness amigurumi style by a lovely friend.

Thanks S.L.!

Yep, folks that’s 99% cacao you see there made by lovely Japanese brand Meiji. I had the (dis)pleasure of trying a piece of it.

Here’s my detailed account:
1 second in: I gagged.
2 seconds in: I gagged, bitterness entering mouth, and swallowed.
3 seconds in: Sick bitterness! Give me something to wash it out of my mouth!

Whoever can stand eating this stuff, I applaud you.

One more detailed account (warning):
10 minutes later: It works great as a *cough* laxative *cough*.

There you have it folks, never again will I go through a flavor taste test like that, unless I need some help with my stomach.

[Later that evening]
Drea: Here, try this!
Drew: Oh, the 99% Cacao? I read about this on your blog. Haha.. that’s crazy how it messed up your stomach.
Drea: (points to a small speck) Just try this little piece.
Drew: Whatever. I can take it. (breaks off a chunk and crams it in his mouth)
Drew: Hmm…

(15 seconds later)
Drew: Oh man, that’s NASTY!! I have to spit it out.

(5 minutes later)
Drew: Urgh, I have to go to the bathroom X_X
Drea: (points and laughs) Bwuhahahha!

Yup, that’s the reaction I got when I told people I am thinking about making something vegan. That plus, is it going to taste good?! With those reactions, I had to test out this recipe. Soy milk + apple vinegar to curdle? No eggs? Yup, that’s right folks, this was one challenge I was up to!

Here are the results:

A moist chocolately cake, just right! Score!

I tested how far a truffle would sink if it was placed on top before baking plus fresh banana and walnuts.

It sunk to the perfect place, the middle! The bananas turned out great too! I had a bit of an adventure with baking bananas…that will come later.

I LOVE this recipe and would surely use it again. The cake is most definitely moist and fluffy but a bit delicate when frosting. Maybe I won’t tell people it is vegan so I won’t get unappreciated questioning. Sniff.

Note: Having a good cocoa powder is key as well, another lesson learned to be soon told as well.

Whew, June is blowing by fast, eh? I can’t believe next month I will be hitting the big…;P In August, our wedded event will take place! 2008, what a year! To toast to making it to the middle of the year, I thought I would make one of my rarely-eaten faves, pan-seared Ahi Tuna! You too, can cook it too!

What to do:
1. Buy ahi tuna steaks at Costco (sushi grade) or wherever else. Make sure they are fresh!
2. Cut the steaks down to how big you can handle cooking them (without breakage) and rinse in cold water.
3. Pat a little bit with paper towels. You want to make sure the coating will stick but not get too soggy.
4. Use bread crumbs and add whatever seasoning you want to the bread crumbs. I usually add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and lemon pepper powder.
5. Coat the ahi tuna with bread crumb mixture.
6. Warm up that pan with oil, approx. 2-3 tbsps.
7. Add the ahi tuna piece and make sure the stove is about medium.
8. Cook to how rare you would like it and rotate on each side.

Wah lah, you’re done! You can eat with wasabi ‘n soy sauce. YummAY!

The finished product:

It has been really inspiring to see what a lot of plush makers have been creating. I have a list of crafty (plush maker) bloggers I follow and wowee, they are so imaginative and have mad sewing skills! I am a bit ashamed at my sewing skills and try to make do with what I can. This is what happens when I make non-edible cupcakes….

Um, yeah, my thoughts exactly. They were supposed to be pin cushions but gradually got bigger. My dad said the biggest one looked like a woman in a cap! Cry…

I said “screw it!” to myself and went with what I know best…

the handy dandy glue gun! Note the much better looking cupcakes on the right. Heh heh.

—
Here’s sneak peak of a lil’ something something for our special helpers.

I realized that I can sew 2-D better than 3-D objects. Sculpt 3-D objects well but not as strong at drawing but I can paint decently. Weird, huh?