You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2008.
So, I think it is safe to say: I won’t be winning any cake decorating contests anytime soon.
Yes folks, the very same hands that are too stiff to properly reach an octave on a piano, and too clumsy to accurately draw a stick figure, are apparently too undexterous to elegantly and daintily make what promised to be a simple and easy-to-decorate recipe for the Barefoot Contessa’s Coconut Cupcakes.
I blame it on my freakishly small hands. Like, so small that I have to buy little girl’s gloves. So small, that they’ve been referred to as “Elf Hands”. So small, that if you met me, you would want to compare hands palm to palm, and you’d instantly feel like a superhuman because of your ability to crush my tiny hand within yours.
But I digress…
Let’s talk about everything I did wrong when making these cupcakes. I overfilled the muffin cups, resulting in cake overflowing down one side of each (yes, there are still cups on the cupcakes in these pictures.) I globbed the icing on in a way that tore up bits of cake as I frosted (even though I had waited for the cake to cool.) I made them using two different sized muffin tins, resulting in half the batch having odd mushroom tops, and the other half staying flat.
But you know what? They were still freakishly delicious.
OK, I know.
It’s been like, six months since I shared my Seriously Ridiculously Good Guacamole with you, and that means it has also been six months since I promised you an alternate, lower fat version of a delicious guacamole.
I didn’t forget. I promise. I just got caught up in the whole, well, eating way too much fattening food thing, that I forgot that I owed you (and my waistline) this simple, healthy and delicious recipe that can be used as a dip, a sandwich spread, a healthy base for coleslaw or salad dressing, or maybe even a topping for a leftover slice of Tortilla Pie. Oh, and did I mention that it will even help your body to burn fat?
So without further adieu…
Back in my single days, I was a Manhattan gal.
Oh, those wild and carefree days of living in my deluxe high-rise apartment! Enjoying my Cosmos and wearing my Manolo Blahniks and waltzing past velvet ropes into Bungalow 8….
No. Not really.
I was always more of a beer at the dive bar over a game of pool kind of girl, and I lived in a walk up railroad style apartment that totaled about 450 square feet. For a two bedroom. My kitchen was about the size of my current closet, and trust me, my closet isn’t all that big. I ate out a lot more often.
Living in Hell’s Kitchen, there was no shortage of amazing places to grab a bite to eat, and I was fortunate enough to live right near a little gem of a place called The Little Pie Company. You may have heard of it…its one of those places that seems to always be featured on a Food Network or PBS special. My old roomie and I used to run in after working out at our gym, with the quest of replenishing every calorie we had just burned. It wasn’t hard. Being more of a savory-fanatic, I usually eschewed the signature fruit pies for something from their prepared food case, and 9 times out of 10, my choice was Tortilla Pie.
