Experiment #1: Mint Lemonade Cupcakes

So we have mint growing in our herb garden and one of our favorite summer drinks is Mint Lemonade. To make it, all you do is crush up some fresh mint in the syrup mixture as you boil it. It's sweet, refreshing and just seems cooler than regular lemonade.

When I was looking for a recipe to try out today, mint lemonade just kept coming to mind so I decided to give it a shot. The end result was a little weak, but good so I'll be looking for ways to intensify the flavor later.

Mint Lemonade Cupcake:

Ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

Pinch salt

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 powdered egg whites reconstituted w lemonade

1/3 c. lemonade

1/4 c. buttermilk

First you want to reconstitute the powdered egg whites using lemonade. Whip them until they start thickening and then slowly add the sugar as you continue whipping. Then add the oil and lemonade. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add half the flour mixture to the whites, then add the buttermilk, followed by the rest of the flour.

Now pour the batter into a prepared muffin pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Once they're done, let them cool, poke holes in the tops with a fork and brush them with the mint lemonade.

Mint Lemonade Italian Meringue Buttercream:

3/4 cups sugar

3 large egg whites (I used powdered and reconstituted w/ Mint Lemonade)

Pinch of cream of tartar

2 sticks unsalted butter, chilled

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar and 1/3 cup mint lemonade to a boil. Continue boiling until syrup reaches 238 degrees.on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage).

Meanwhile, place reconstituted egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff but not dry; do not overbeat.

With mixer running, add syrup to whites in a stream, beating on high speed until no longer steaming, about 3 minutes. Add butter bit by bit, beating until spreadable, 3 to 5 minutes. If icing curdles, keep beating until smooth. If it doesn't taste strongly enough of the mint lemonade, you can add a little more at the end.

Anyway, like I said they still weren't quite strong enough for me so I'll probably fiddle with the recipe a bit more. But they were awfully good though.

Big Yawn

So I realized yesterday that every morning I sit here and try to make a game plan for the day... try to map out exactly what I wanna get done... and then completely change my mind. And yesterday is a great example. I started out with a list of things and then I did some housework, washed some dishes, and then it got all stormy so I spent the rest of the day cooking a big meal.

Today is supposed to be a baking day. I have two flavors I wanna play with and see what kind of cupcakes I can get. But first I have to conquer the kitchen, which is pretty daunting right now since there's a mess from yesterday's big meal. But I'm sure I'll get to it eventually (eventually is the key word there). But, even if I don't bake today, there will be a pretty good amount of baking the beginning of next week so I'll get my fix.

A grassy morning

I was woken up this morning by two doggers freaking out cause they were mowing our grass. And that's never the best way to get going.

I'm not sure what all today will hold. I have some baking I may do. Some mopping to do on our newly uncovered stairs. Some sanding to do on furniture I'm gonna refinish. And some more sanding to do just about everywhere in my house. Ooh, and there's still some trim work to do in the dining room.

But anyway, that's what I have ahead of me in my boring little corner of the world!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...

So yesterday was quite a day. In one day I found out my movie will be opening in town (which was greeted with incredible support on facebook) and that Not-So-Ex would be going back to work.

While I mentioned my response to the first part yesterday, my response to the work situation even surprised me. When he got the call, he told me and the only thing I could think was NOOOOOOOOOOO. I seriously didn't want him to go back yet, despite my panic. I was really enjoying us all being here. I blamed it on the house situation (we've pulled up carpet in the dining room, refinished the floors and repainted and we just started on the stairs so we still have the living room to do), but really I just liked him being here.

But, of course, it could never be a permanent thing and we all knew that. But I am really glad that we enjoyed the time we had. I'm glad that there were just moments of panic rather than total panic mode.

But here I am talking like it's a done deal. But it's not. The job he got called out for is short term. They think another big job will be starting soon after, but there are no definites. So maybe we'll get some more time later.

What I do know is how incredibly blessed I am to be exactly where I am at this exact moment. Right now, my kids still like me and want me near. With a daughter that is 13, we may not be in the same position next year. And I can be here 100%. I also have a husband who loves me, first of all, tolerates me, second of all (hey...I know I can be tough), and loves our family too. He gives his 100% every day.

Sorry. Just realized I'm all gushy and crap. If it helps, my dogs totally need to step up their game! They're not giving their 100%. (OK...so maybe I'm just really just looking at you Lucy the Asthmatic Demon Dog who really likes pretzel M&Ms and decided last night was the best time to indulge) I guess every family has their weak links though. LOL

I can barely believe it!!!!!

Starting 8/13, you can catch The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia at Park Place Cinema here in Charleston, WV. I don't know times or anything, but it will be playing for about a week.

Words are kinda failing me at this point. When it debuted at Tribeca, I was stunned but it was so far away that it wasn't real. When I saw it with an audience in Kentucky, it was awesome, but they were industry and film folks, so it didn't seem quite real. When it was showing in Morgantown, I began to feel it. When it started showing in Huntington, it became a bit more real. Now that it's showing at the theater I used to walk to after hanging at the mall as a teen, it's real.

I was a producer on a real film. I was part of something special. I have a real, good, solid film credit to my name. And, while I may have cut some portions cause I'm a weenie, I'm very proud of what ended up on film. And I'm proud to have it show in my home town.

I almost forgot what deadlines were like!

So I just finished revising my thesis proposal for my masters. I had put it off over and over again thinking it was going to be a simpler process since it was just a revision.

But it wasn't. It was tougher in some ways.

But it's done now. And emailed to my director. We'll see how many changes need made and then hopefully get it submitted before the semester starts, as requested.

I'm heading to an early movie tomorrow with my kids and cousin so it'll be an early and busy morning. But it should be fun too!

So much to do...

...and so little interest in actually doing it. LOL

We've basically finished the dining room. There's still a little bit of trim work and touch ups to do, but it's basically done. We need to move on to the living room, but that's such a big project that it is overwhelming us all right now.

So we procrastinate.

On the plus side, we now have access to the kitchen again. And that's a huge, huge plus! It's tough to save money when you can't do any cooking so we're in much better shape now. We hit the credit union this morning so our bills for the month will basically be paid today, which is a wonderful feeling.

But anyway, here's hoping I can stumble across some motivation somewhere.