THE CUPCAKE

I have been preparing to work on a Chrysallis for Young Men next week. This is part of the Walk to Emmaus www.ctcemmaus.org only for young men 18-25. Unfortunately we only have 5 young men sign up so it has tenatively been rescheduled for December right after Christmas.

I decided the other night to make cupcakes as a test to make them for the weekend. You all know how much I like Julia Childs and my first sponge cake was pretty much a disaster. I went to www.cupcakesrecipes.com. They have a ton of cupcake recipes. I found one for "sponge cake cupcakes". The egg whites with the addition of cream of tartar were lovely and tall and stiff, but the egg yoke mixture was dry and yuk. I attempted to "fold" it in but it was lumpy and dry. I baked the cupcakes anyway and they turned out ok, but not the light and fluffy that I want to accomplish. I got a recipe for butter cream frosting from "North Creek Cooking" by Olive Rumage. Olive was Anna's next door neighbor when she was in high school in Jacksboro, Texas. The recipe called for cream and I had none so I substituted skimmed milk. Well, the frosting was tasty but never really set up. I took the cupcakes to the office www.winstonproperties.net and we ate at our Parrish Team meeting www.granburyhomes.net. The rest were consumed by the office during the day. People said they liked them, but I want to make something that they love.

Before I made the cupcakes, as Anna was in Arlington staying with Penny Ellerd who just had double knee replacement, I made my famous Bobby Dean goulash. It always turns out a little different because I put in different seasonings. It makes a lot and it freezes well. Now the freezer is filled with containers of goulash.

That night the goulash wasn't ready and I went to show a house so I made grilled cheese toast in the oven made from whole wheat bread from Niester's German Restaurant in Granbury. It contains no preservatives and lasts a long time in the frig. Try some. They serve a great breakfast with thick bacon cooked just right and grilled toast made with their own bread.

It's a great day to try something new. I don't know what I will make next but I will let you know. God Bless and Bon Apetite