around the kitchen

We've spent many hours in the kitchen this week......and I love it. 

I am so happy when my hands are busy and messy with end of summer goodness.



My sweet baby girl is leaving me for school next week, and so we have been making the most of our quiet hours at home while brother has been gone. 

We spent yesterday morning baking in our pajamas.....it was perfect.



Zucchini. Everywhere. Still.

My Cupcake Mansion!

I have an announcement to make.

This lady here.. She calls herself my fairy godmother.

Her real name is Jane Mulroy.

And she's holding up a sign telling me something she thinks I need to remember (I'm a cupcake workaholic, what can I say. I love what I do).

 

I met her here, at the WDUX Home Show of Waupaca in all my cupcake tutu glory:

 

 

 

♥

 

She lives in a log cabin, and also owns a circa 1848 farmhouse on her bio-dynamic farm in New London, Wisconsin ♥  Only generations of her family have lived in the farmhouse.  Jane tells me that she had this vision of filling up the farmhouse with warm life & "meaning." Her vision was to teach classes on her farmland, make it warm and inviting to the community.  Maybe host events like wedding showers, teach floral design classes, wreath making courses, cooking classes perhaps.

 

But there was one thing missing, until she found what she'd been praying for standing in a glittery tutu behind cadbury egg filled cupcakes at the Waupaca WDUX Home Show ♥.

 

Me. ♥

She was so delighted with the whole presentation of my cupcakes, she knew that the farmhouse would come alive in the way that she always envisioned if I glitterized a cupcake shop there.

 

I call the 1848 farmhouse my "cupcake mansion."

 

At first, I was hesitant.

My vision has always been this busy shoppe in the middle of a city with lots of foot traffic...♥  Maybe this was life telling me that dreams come true, but not everything happens the way you think it might.

 

Jane offered to build me a brand new commercial kitchen here.

Just as long as I paid a set amount of rent every month, and as long as we could both host really fun classes for the public in the farmhouse.

 

You see..I've been baking hundreds and hundreds of cupcakes out of a one rack oven in a kitchen that I rent out of Cronie's in Waupaca while everyone else is asleep. I leave the kitchen around 7am most of the time.   The Cronie's early morning kitchen staff usually giggles at me because I am full of glitter, frosting, half asleep..sometimes to wake up an hour later to make a delivery or meet a client (and yes..with frosting still in my hair!)

 

Proof right here..this was me after an all nighter. What a mess I make ♥

 

I've outgrown my space at Cronie's and it's time to take a second step.  I need more space to grow as Amanda Cupcake, to be able to provide the continuous love and creativity I put into my work.

 

 I'm moving in....to my cupcake mansion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I visited the cupcake mansion today and this tiffany blue room will soon be glitterized, stocked with cupcakes for sale, coffee and tea.

 

This is the classroom where I will teach cupcake classes and host events.  Another one of my dreams is to host ahmazingly fun and fabulous themed dinner parties here too ♥

 

I call this mixer my trophy, and I really want someone to "bling" it out.

 

This "cupcake mansion" in New London is allowing me to expand.

I will still be selling my cupcakes in Waupaca at select stores (Cronies Coffee House & Lucky Tree - both located on Main Street).  But I also plan on expanding to Appleton & Green Bay! Maybe even Oshkosh. ♥ 

 

I'd love to host some Cupcake TV Segments in my new cupcake mansion too!

 

And maybe even start a cupcake mail-order system!

Cupcakes in a Jar, I call them Cupcake Kaleidoscopes ♥

(because they look so pretty & yummy with never ending deliciousness from the outside of the jar)!

 

 

 

I have even bigger dreams after this that I've got planned..

This is only my second step. :)

Yes, huge dreams in a crazy world.

but I believe that your thoughts become you ♥

So why not believe in the power of your dreams?

 

 

Fall Themed Open House /Grand Opening Celebration for Amanda Cupcake's Cupcake Mansion:

Saturday October 20th

Address: N2841 US Hwy 45

South of New London ♥

1:00pm-4:00pm

More details to come ♥

just because

just because I really,

love,

bees. 

I do. 

they fascinate me. 

if I have the space someday, you will find me out in my field in a bee suit. 

count on that.

just because we were driving through beautiful montana country last month and came upon these beehives. 

RAINBOW BEEHIVES!

just because these are montana bees (the best bees)

just because the sky is so blue and big and wonderful.

My Summer of Love......

I never would have guessed that this would be my "Summer of Love".

In the beginning of the summer, I was facing a pretty harsh breakup. One of my status updates on my personal Facebook back in May said something like, "I need someone to glitterize my heart." Sadface.

Red Velvet Cupcake Hug for me?! :(

(I made this for a friend, but I totally could have used one myself!)

 

Well ladies and gents, you better be careful what you wish for.

My heart was glitterized this summer.

Maybe not by my own summer fling or a rebound romance..

Instead my cupcake heart was invited to attend a wedding as a cupcake caterer almost every weekend this summer!

(I was even in my friend's wedding. I'm one of these ladies here and it's pretty easy to tell which one I am. Look for the glittery heart).

(awesome California photographer btw: Stark Love Photography)

♥

Gradually..with each sweet wedding tale... my heart began to patch itself up.  It's almost September now, and I feel vibrant, alive, and glittery again.  Like my heart never lost it's sparkle. (hmm just in time for some Hologram Gold Fall sparkly-ness, perhaps)?

Thank you to each unique wedding I attended. I have witnessed how much love is out there in the world. It seems there is quite possibly enough love out there left for me ♥.

This blog entry and my next few blogs are going to be dedicated to the couples of my summer that glitterized my heart again.

So I want to say a thank you to...

Sarah and Joey
for sprinkling my heart with their sparkles.

(photos of Joey/Sarah courtesy of DanWoolf photographer extraordinaire)

 

 

My description of these two: Fun, Young, Insanely Sweet. When I had my first consult with them I thought.."Wow, these two are so lucky that they have found a best friend in each other."  It's just the vibe that I got from them, and I don't think my instincts were wrong ♥.

  

Joey and Sarah were married at *the* Lambeau Field in June.♥

 

This was my entrance to Lambeau Field. I had to load the wedding cake and cupcakes here to cart it up into a top secret elevator.  I felt like a cupcake spy. ♥ The security guard guy even gave me a tour of the stadium VIP status!

 

The Lime Green, Pink and Navy Blue Three Tier Wedding Cake made it safely. Phew. 

 

I love that the bride & groom requested Funfetti as the flavor of their wedding cake.  I thought adding giant, oversized tissue paper flowers would be way more "fun" and celebratory than the typical fondant perfection wedding flowers ♥.

 

 

 

Cupcakes to match the cake ♥

(Americolor Gel Colors: Electric Blue, Electric Pink, Electric Green)

 

Flavor: Cocktail Cupcakes (Lime Margarita).

 

Wedded Bliss In a Cupcake ♥.

A quote from my instagram, "Reminds me of the cosmos."

 

Sarah's request: Multi-colored swirls of Frosting that make the cupcakes look like they jumped out of a Dr. Seuss book!

 

Sparkly Blueberry Velvet Cake Pops.  The flavor even matches their wedding colors!

 

Joey's fave:  Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter ♥

 

What bride doesn't love a pink sparkly cake pop?  I wonder if Sarah and Joey exchanged sparkles in their kisses ♥

 

I bet some of the cupcake sparkles and/or crumbs I delivered for Joey & Sarah are still lingering in the Lambeau Field breeze. :)  Hooray for touchdowns. ♥

 

Joey and Sarah..this is the glitter you left lingering on my heart---a quote by Julia Child:

 

 

 

Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Whipped Cream and Raspberries

There is a lot of pressure in life for everything to be NEW.
Bright and Shiny.
The latest and the greatest.
IN. Of the Moment. Trendy.
Out with the old......over and over and over.
new new new.
It's hard not to get wrapped up in it sometimes......don't you think?

But do we really need everything to be new?

Well let me tell you....I picked up this tube pan a few years ago at a garage sale.
It

second.

second grade......

.........what?

how?.............

IT HAPPENS.

beware.



I've been taking almost the exact same pictures on the first day of school since his very first day of preschool. 

I absolutely love seeing how much he's grown. And I love that when he is 80 years old he will remember that he ALWAYS requested waffles for his big day.

first grade

kindergarten



the end. 

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie

Det verkar som aom jag har bloggat en gång i månaden den senaste tiden. Något jag såklart inte är glad över. Jag har så många recept och idéer som jag skulle vilja dela med mig av, men det kommer alltid upp något som man måste ta tag i först. Ni vet, såna där tråkiga saker som man helst skjuter upp. Ni undrar säkert vad jag egentligen sysslar med hela dagarna eftersom jag knappt har tid att blogga, och det lär ni nog få veta så småningom!

Igår gick jag upp extra tidigt för att kunna baka den här kakan. Jag öppnade kylen, ett ägg kvar. Tusan. Jag åkte till affären och köpte ägg. Kom hem och började blanda ihop ingredienserna. Bara 1 dl kakao kvar och jag ville använda 2 dl. Affären ligger lite för långt bort för att åka tillbaka och köpa kakao (njaaa, egentligen inte, jag orkade helt enkelt inte) så jag använde 1 dl mjölkpulver som jag hade i skafferiet istället. Det gick alldeles utmärkt! Dock är väl chansen att man har kakao hemma relativt mycket större än att man har mjölkpulver, så då går det precis lika bra att använda 2 dl kakao.

In English:
Seems like I've been blogging once a month lately. That is not something I am very happy about. I have so many ideas that I want to share with you, but you know, time is limited (it's not really though, 24 hours each and every day surprisingly enough). But I can feel that there is a change coming this fall and hopefully I will be able to blog more regularly. I bet you guys are wondering what the heck I am doing that is taking so much time, but you'll see soon enough.

I started my morning early yesterday as I was planning to bake this cheesecake brownie. I opened the fridge. One egg left. Darn. I went to the store, bought some eggs, got home and started mixing all ingredients together. Only 1 dl cocoa powder left and I needed 2 dl. I did NOT want to go back just for some cocoa powder. Instead I used malted milk. Feel free to use whichever you like! 2 dl cocoa powder or 1 dl maleed milk and 1 dl cocoa powder that is.







Cheesecake layer adapted from Bakers Royale.

Brownie med cheesecake och hallon

Browniebotten
225 g smör
4 stora ägg
4 dl socker
1,5 dl mjöl
1/4 tsk salt
1 dl kakao
1 dl mjölkpulver (kan ersättas med 1 dl kakao för starkare chokladsmak)
 2 tsp vanilla extract

Cheesecakelager
225 g cream cheese
1/2 dl socker
1 stort ägg
3 msk mjöl

100 g färska hallon  

Brownie
Värm ugnen till 175C. Smörj en 23x33 cm ugnsform.Smält smöret och låt det svalna något. Vispa socker och ägg ljust och fluffigt, cirka 4-5 minuter. I en annan skål, blanda mjöl, salt, kakao och mjölkpulver. Tillsätt smöret till ägg blandningen och vispa till en jämn smet. Tillsätt de torra ingredienserna samt vaniljextrakt och vispa tills smeten precis går ihop.

Cheesecakelager
Vispa allt till en slät smet.

Sätta ihop kakan
Häll 3/4 av browniesmeten i den förberedda ugnsformen. Häll cheesecakelagret över browniesmeten. Ringla resterande browniesmet ovanpå och använd sedan en gaffel eller en sked att dra igenom smeten för en "swirlad" effekt. Lägg ut hallon ovanpå smeten. Grädda 45 minuter eller tills en provsticka kommer ut torr ut kakan. Låt svalna helt innan du skär upp kakan.

out with a bang

Well we did it. 

Officially capped off our summer with all of our favorite things. 

The cherry on top.



a few phone snaps



We fit as many of our favorite things into one tiny weekend as we could. 

mountains.

lakes. 

trees. 

forests. 

hail. rain. hail. wind. thunder. 

(ok those aren't exactly our favorites, but they did add to the adventure....especially the hail. 

"this rain hurts

Tortellini Salad

 

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

 

~ Albert Einstein

 

O.K. so it's August 25th. August to me means summer. We have one whole week left of it. Everywhere around me I see pumpkins, and apple pies and Halloween. But hey, it's not really fall yet. I want to say, "take it easy, fall will come soon enough." I'm working on being present, so here now in the moment, it's summer and I want to enjoy it till I can't anymore.

 

I purchased this fresh cheese tortellini at Trader Joe's for about the same price as dried. I liked it.

So, you know, since it is summer, I bring you a great summer salad. Easy to make and full of awesome stuff most people love.

I bought my salami at Trader Joe's too, then cut it in chunks.

I used salami but you can easily leave it out if you have any vegetarians. This salad also has fresh spinach cut into slivers so it sort of disappears when it's tossed with the other ingredients and the dressing. The fresh basil and tomatoes add a burst of freshness.

It's so easy to make too! Just throw it all together. The most difficult thing to do is cook the tortellini and chop a little veg.

May you enjoy these last days of summer, whatever you do. Weather it's eating a cold salad, or enjoying a warm pumpkin pie.

Tortellini Salad


This is an original recipe by me, Melissa, The Alchemist


Ingredients

2 -  9 or 10 oz packages of fresh or dried cheese tortellini - Cooked according to package directions, rinsed and cooled slightly.

A bunch of fresh spinach - about a bag of it. I used some from Paradise Organics fresh picked from the farm, so I didn't measure it.

2/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese - or a little more to taste -sorry I didn't weigh this! About a handful.

A dry pint (2 cups) (170 g.) of cherry tomatoes - washed and halved

2 - 2 oz. (a total of 117 g.) cans sliced black olives, drained

8 oz. (227 g.) salami or pepperoni, diced in bite sized chunks

Fresh basil - washed and cut into slivers - to taste, about a small handful of leaves

Italian Salad Dressing to taste - Use something good. I used Paul Newman's Olive oil and Vinegar dressing since it's my husbands favorite - about a cup, maybe a little more, I didn't measure.

Optional -artichoke hearts would not be amiss here, but sadly, I was about to add some, from a can, I opened them and wow, they had no taste at all, so I didn't add them. Next time I might add the type that are marinated in a jar.


Directions

Wash and dry the spinach and cut it into about 1 or 2 inch slices. Add the cooked tortellini to a large bowl and all the rest of the ingredients except the salad dressing. Start with a smaller amount of spinach if you think you may have a lot. Toss it all together. Add salad dressing to coat lightly. Taste it and add salt and pepper to taste. Add more spinach if you think it needs it. If you are going to put it in the fridge for later, I'd do it now with a light coat of dressing so the flavors can marry. If you are going to eat it now, go ahead and more dressing if you think it needs it.

every last drop

With school and routines and schedules just around the corner,
our summer sun is quickly setting.

But we will not go out without a good fight.



oh. no. 



No bike trail will go unridden. 

No popsicle left uneaten. 

No burger ungrilled. 



We will explore every 

mountain

lake

valley

rock

trail

tree

and stream. 

(well.....at least we will try.....)



We will ignore bed time. 

We

looking for ghosts

When we were in Montana last month, we ventured up a steep and windy mountain road to Granite Ghost Town. Silver was discovered, and the town boomed in the late 1800s--quickly topping out around 3000 people. There was a library, a school, a hospital, churches, saloons, and houses--all atop the mountain. 

And now.....well, now....it's ruins. Piles of brick, lumber, and scraps of metal. Broken

a summer pizza

We LOVE pizza around here. 

It too often gets thrown into the "not healthy" food group, and I say NONSENSE! You can load it up with all the best of ingredients--really anything goes when it comes to a good pizza. 

We like ours on a thin whole wheat crust and thrown on the grill.

I'm always playing around with different crusts, and this time I used this recipe from 101 Cookbooks, but replaced

guess what?

it's true. I caved. 

find me on instagram @_sheenarae

see you there.

worth 1000

Isn't that what they say? 

A picture is worth 1000 words. 

words.
feelings. senses. memories.



I love that one simple shot can tell me so much. 

little girl

all mine.

pajamas

morning light

messy braids

my helper

stirring

mixing

measuring 

birds out the window

late summer

music playing-iron and wine

she's growing

growing

growing 

too fast.

 




If you took ONE picture today

Frozen Hot Chocolate

"You will find as you look back on your life, that the moments when you really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love."

-Henry Drummond

I've seen versions of this drink around lately, but I saw one that required cooking then cooling, and I thought, "If I make something called, Frozen Hot Chocolate, I need to drink it now." So I created one that didn't need cooking, so you can indulge without patience. Recipe below.

 First an update of the garden. Summer won't be here for much longer, so I wanted to celebrate the abundance of nature with some photos.

Every time I see this Hydrangea in the front yard I smile because I love the color so much.

Welcome to my rose garden

This is my favorite rose, it survived the move from Los Angeles, 5 years ago where it lived on our balcony. The name is Blue Girl and it's super fragrant, which of course, I love. I've even used the rose petals in the past to make Rose Petal Jelly.

I love the color of this one.

The front porch where we have a ships bell. My husband loves to sail so it's my nod to his nautical ways.

Our green apple tree - I am so grateful! This year our apple trees have lots of fruit! I this this our best year yet for apples.

Our red apple tree

These cast iron birds live on our porch.

Pigeons that also live on our porch. (I have a thing for birds I think.)


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Frozen Hot Chocolate

I based this recipe on Hershey's Chocolate Hot Chocolate Recipe only since I was adding ice, some of the milk portion would be water. So I added some heavy cream for, what else? Creaminess. If you make the entire thing with half and half or heavy cream, it will be even richer and creamier. Sort of like a milk shake. If you don't like using cream, just use all milk and know it won't be as creamy or rich.

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

1/2 cup (118 ml) milk

1/4 cup (59 ml) heavy cream - or double cream, or half and half

3-4 teaspoons Unsweetened Cocoa powder - I used Hershey's - depending on your taste

2-3 or 4 Tablespoons sugar, depending on your taste
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract - If you don't have this, just omit it.

1 cup ice cubes (about a handful)

Whipped cream and sprinkles for topping - optional

Directions

Add the milk, heavy cream, unsweetened cocoa, sugar, vanilla and ice to a blender. Let it blend on high for about 2 minutes until the ice cubes have blended well. Taste it and see if it needs more sugar or cocoa for your taste. Top with whipped cream and sprinkles if desired. Drink immediately.