carrot cupcakes

Should they be carrot cake cup cakes or carrot cup cakes? I had a hard time with that.

I also had the most delicious dream last night. This really nice French pastry chef was going to show me how to make Creme Brulee ice cream cones. And, he said I can come into his kitchen anytime and help myself to his caster sugar.  Then, I was sitting in a cafe.. talking about food photography to a guy holding a blue plate of brownies…and the waitress was trying to get us to try the leek and fennel quiche.  I ate one of these before bed. I love food dreams… so inspiring.

I remember another dream where I was back with my old boyfriend, and he had a white dog and sawdust on his shirt. What would that mean? Where’s Freud when you need him?

These were fun to make…and great little models. Do you guys remember when I first started this site? I would actually post blurry pictures. gasp!

Now, I make my creations model for me. LOL. Not all the time, though. Seriously, I don’t always have the time to do the whole food styling thing. I am a regular person…and I have laundry to do and toes to paint.

For these, you will need to do a little prep work:

Soak your raisins in warm water for 20 minutes to plump them up…or, you can soak them in rum. Shred 2 carrots and chop up 1/2 c of walnuts.

For the batter:

beat 1/2 c dark brown sugar with

1 stick softened butter

add:

2 large eggs and

1 teaspoon vanilla

In another bowl, combine:

1 3/4 cps flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix in with the butter mixture and fold in :

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 c walnuts,chopped

1/2 c raisins

Pour into prepared muffin tins and bake at 350 for 12-16 minutes

allow to cool and frost with:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c powdered sugar

* recipe from March 2009 Everyday Food,

originally published as Carrot Tea Cake

The shredded carrots are a nice touch if you have the time…

I found a new spot to take pictures, too. The bedroom. I like how the wall looks. That’s my very own faux finish. I guess that’s the one thing I did learn from my ex husband.

Speaking of art…

Look at the resemblance! She asked me to draw a picture of her. She happened to be running around in her under-roos, so that’s what I drew. She calls herself “Re-Rah” so that’s what I called the doodle. Then, she wanted more…

There’s dad…the squiggles are tattoos.

That’s me…yes, I have tattoos, also.

Then I was asked to draw some”Aim” toothpaste. That’s her new favorite, she just learned how to really brush her teeth and spit out the “yuck”. So, “Aim toothpaste” is a very big deal in my little house.

I don’t have doodles of my step-daughter yet…she’s still with Grandma, and I do much better at doodles when I have models. Kinda like the food pictures, I guess.