Happy Nurses Week

I recently accepted a Nursing position at Pullman Regional Hospital as a Medical Surgical nurse and next week is National Nursing week and our dept. is suppose to come up with a poster to display for the celebration. Wellll . . . I volunteered and since cupcakes are a medium of expression (and consumption :) that I enjoy this is what I've been brainstorming. The cupcake are psudo-representations of the nursing staff - no one really has blue hair only cupcake personalities with blue hair ;)

Mother's Day is just around the corner . . . .

Are you brainstorming a sweet treat, T-shirt, or personalized mug for your mother? I can't give away any surprises about what our family is doing for the special matrons in our lives, but if both of them didn't live in Alaska (where we are originally from) I'd love to take over some homemade goodness like these homemade Chocolate Granola Dip bars. It's a homemade granola bar dipped in chocolate, LUV 'um! They are healthy, chewy, and chocolaty - can't beat that! Super easy too!

Chocolate Granola Dip Bars
1 cup pitted dates
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats, finely ground
1 cup pecans or walnuts, finely ground
1/2 cup macadamia nuts - 1/4 cup finely ground and the other 1/4 cup coarsely chopped
1/3 cup papaya, chopped
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/3 cup dried blueberries
2 tablespoons oat bran
3 tablespoons ground flax seed
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 350. Place dates in sml sauce pan with just enough water to cover the dates and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, drain out water and puree in a food processor until smooth. This is the "glue," that holds our granola bars together. Set your "glue," aside. Now measure, chop and finely grind each ingredient that calls for it - when you are doing this think of what kind of chunks you or your mom like to see in granola bars ;) Now that each ingredient is ready mix them up in a deep bowl. Then add the pureed dates and honey and mix it up. Spray your pan with vegetable oil and press granola mixture into the pan. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes, bars will be light golden brown. Cut your bars while they are still warm in the pan then let it cool till you can touch the pan without a hot pad. Now remove your bars and let them cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.

Once your bars are cooled completely, this is important otherwise your bars will break off in the chocolate while you are trying to dip them . . .Yikes! Choose whatever kind of chocolate makes your mom happy and start dippin! Lay them out on a piece of wax paper to set up, then drizzle with your choice of accent chocolate, sprinkles, coconut, or nuts.

Young People's Arts Festival April 2010

I had a great time at the Young People's Arts Festival last Saturday! The kids were creative, well behaved, and energetic! There were all sorts of classes; crazy hats, paper bead making, a drawing class, wooden airplane-making, etc . . . My son, Gunner was was able to come to the second half and he decorated cupcakes, with me, then he went to wooden airplane-making class. I wish I could have followed him around and took some pictures, but I'm glad he got to come participate in all the fun! Kathleen and Keely from Moscow's Arts Dept. did an AMAZING JOB getting it organized! I only wish I could have gone when I was a kid ;)

Happy Spring!

It is so nice out today! It feels so Spring! It makes me happy! Another thing that makes me happy is Moscow's Young People's Arts Festival that the city's department of Arts puts on for the kiddos! It's this Saturday amd here's a peak at one of the cupcake creations I'll be teaching in "Cupcake decorating with The Cupcake Co." You can still sign up just contact Keely Garrity at 208-883-7036 or stop by Moscow Jr. High Saturday morning at 8:30am. Hope to see you there!

Wedding F.A.Q.

Q: Does The Cupcake Company cater cupcakes for Weddings?
A: Yes, we do!

Q: How do I reserve The Cupcake Company's FANTABULOUS cupcakes for my special day?
A: Send us an email with the date, approx number of guests, a list of flavors you are mulling over, and a check for $75.

Q: What is the $75 for?
A: It is a non-refundable deposit that we require for orders over 4 doz cupcakes, it will be applied toward the total amount due.

Q: How many cupcakes do I order?
A: A good rule of thumb, if you want make sure there is a little extra, is the approx number of guests plus 1/3. SO . . . let's say there are approx. 90 guests coming, 1/3 of 90 is 30, and 30 + 90 = 120 - place your order for 10 doz cupcakes. Otherwise, take your 'guests attending number,' and divide by 12
90 divided by 12 = 7.5 - The Cupcake Company's cupcakes come in sets of 1 doz, so you can choose to round up to 8 doz cupcakes or round down to 7 doz cupcakes.

Q: How many flavors can I choose?
A: Every 4 doz cupcakes can be one flavor.

Q:Can there be variation within each flavor?
A:Possibly . . .

Q:Like 2 doz Lemon Resolution with white chocolate chips and 2 doz without white chocolate chips?
A:That sounds very reasonable.

Q: What if I would like to sample a few flavors?
A: You can purchase a sample box of 4 different flavors. The Cupcake Company will announce Sample box dates and which flavors are available on our blog.

Q: Will you travel to cater cupcakes at my wedding?
A: That depends on the location, our schedule, and your date. We have a few suggestions for couples who need our cupcakes to fly, etc . .

I hope this is enough information to get you started, Congratulations! And Good Luck!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter my friends! Might I suggest coloring cupcakes instead of eggs this year, all you need is your favorite vanilla cupcake recipe and Betty Crockers Classic Gel Food Colors - you end up with brighter colors, I get mine at Winco - whip your batter up, divide it into separated bowls and add different gel colors to each bowl of batter. Then you can layer the different colored batters in each cupcake liner however you like. This is the cupcake version of the rainbow cake I'm sure you've found in your blog stocking rounds. My kids love it and I don't feel any pressure to consume hard boiled eggs for days. However pretty and pastel decorated Easter eggs may be, they are still hard boiled eggs - let's just say I'm not a big fan, so I'll take the cupcakes.

April Fools!

Don't you feel like a hot plate of spaghetti and meatballs . . . on cupcakes! April fools! What may seem like a beautiful plate of marinara with meatballs is actually a plate of my vanilla brown sugar cupcakes, fabulous cream cheese frosting (piped on helter skelter with a very small tip), strawberry jam, and Ferrero Rocher chocolates. This is my tribute to some fun cupcakes you can find in Hello Cupcake, an amazing cupcake cookbook full of decorating ideas for cupcakes - a must have for you cookbook collectors out there. Here's another view from the side with grated white chocolate simulating Parmesan cheese.



It's the strawberry jam, it makes such a nice fake marinara sauce I am totally psyching myself out! My tummy is growling for some paste goodness, but what are you gonna do? What are some of your April Fools day gags?