It's Christmastime!

I didn't send out cards this year, so here is my poor substitute to make up for my laziness.  Wishing everyone a very happy and safe holiday season.  I hope you're able to find time to spend with friends and family to remind yourself that you are loved and appreciated.

Read More

December Cupcake(s) of the Month - Holiday Fondant Figures

For this month, I wanted to challenge myself a little and try to learn how to decorate cupcakes using fondant embellishments - in a holiday theme, of course!  I had seen a funny cupcake on Pinterest of a Santa Claus that had fallen face-first into the snow, so if course I had to try to make that one.  With a whole bucket of purchased fondant to play with (from Michael's, though I could have made fondant on my own), I also found two videos by Cookies, Cupcakes, and Cardio that walked you through making very cute snowmen and reindeer.

It looked easy, and for the most part it was.  The hardest part was when the fondant got too warm and sticky.  I'm sure there's a way around that, but as a rookie I just set it aside to let it cool down.  I know one thing for sure, I manhandled these fondant characters so much that I don't think anyone should ever attempt to eat a fondant embellishment.  In fact, after I took the photos, I threw them away and then nommed on my yellow/chocolate marbled cupcakes.  Looking back, that was a little hasty because I needed to retake one photo that was slightly out of focus.  Oh well!  Here are my three holiday fondant cupcakes (cake and frosting are from a box and can...tasted great!).

Read More

Popcorn Cupcakes Revisited

My friend's daughter celebrated her 3rd birthday this weekend, so of course I volunteered to help by doing the cupcakes! You may remember that in November, my cupcake of the month was a box of popcorn made from marshmallows.  If you haven't seen that post, check it out HERE.  Anyway, since the party was going to be a carnival theme, I thought the popcorn design was perfect.  Of course, the birthday girl wanted chocolate cupcakes, so I decided to make both chocolate and yellow.  To differentiate between the two, I wanted to keep the yellow cupcakes the original buttered popcorn look, then make the chocolate cupcakes into caramel corn.  To achieve this, I had to just tweak two things.  First, I used a can of Wilton's Color Mist in gold to take the already yellow highlighted marshmallows and add a top layer to "caramelize" the color.  I thought it would be too shiny and metallic, but it actually worked perfectly!!  Second, I had to modify the cupcake wrapper. My photoshop skills are passable and are nothing compared to my mom's, so I sent her a quick email asking if she knew how to change the color of the font and stripes and how to change the wording.  I was blown away when she quickly turned around the golden striped wrappers!

I overfilled the chocolate cupcake wrappers in my haste to get the cupcakes baked the morning of the party, so the tops turned out too large for the wrappers (lesson learned: 2/3 full for chocolate batter!). While not perfect, I'm still really happy with how everything turned out.

By the way, if you want the wrapper template, email me at learnliveandexplore@gmail.com and I will email it to you.

Read More

More Holiday Cookie Ideas

I had some time to make some more cookies from my holiday cookie gift idea list.  Both of these recipes come from the Two Peas and Their Pod blog.  I'm not a huge fan of the combination of chocolate and mint - I know I'm weird - but I am a fan of burying candy into cookies!  And what candy, besides candy canes, screams Christmas more than a York Peppermint Patty? The second recipe, while the flavors are very fresh and tropical, the coconut makes it festive and wintery.  These lime coconut cookies taste so good that I'm going to add them to my favorites list as a go-to cookie for any situation.

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa (I just used Toll House Cocoa, and it turned out fine)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
20-30 peppermint patties, small size
Powdered sugar, for decorating the cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat. 

2. In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. 

3. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla and mix until combined.

4. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until flour disappears. Take a golf ball sized ball of dough, roll into a ball, and flatten it into a disc. Place a peppermint patty in the center and wrap the excess dough up and around the patty. Make sure the entire patty is covered. Repeat with remaining dough and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are set, but still soft in the center. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely. Dust the cookies with powdered sugar.

Lime Coconut Snowballs

Butter Cookie Dough

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 or 2 tsp grated lime zest, depending on your preference 
3/4 cup superfine sugar (buy or use granulated sugar processed in a food processor for 20 seconds - I didn't do this step, and they still turned out amazing)
1/4 tsp table salt
16 tsp unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into sixteen 1/2-inch pieces, at cool room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp cream cheese , at room temperature

Lime Glaze
1 Tbsp cream cheese , at room temperature
3 Tbsp lime juice (about the size of a large lime, add more for taste preference)
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar (6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, pulsed in food processor until finely chopped, about fifteen 1-second
pulses (or mince with a knife)

1. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with flat beater, mix flour, lime zest, sugar, and salt on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. With mixer running on low, add butter 1 piece at a time; continue to mix until mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, about 1 minute longer.

2. Add vanilla and cream cheese and mix on low until dough just begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds.

3. Use hands to roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on parchment-lined or Silpat-lined baking sheets, spacing about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake one batch at a time in 375-degree oven until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

4. For the glaze, whisk cream cheese and 2 tablespoons lime juice in medium bowl until combined and no lumps remain. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar until smooth, adding remaining lime juice as needed

until glaze is thin enough to spread easily.

5. Dip tops of cookies into glaze and scrape away excess, then dip into coconut. Set cookies on parchment-lined baking sheet; let stand until glaze dries and sets, about 20 minutes.

Read More

Cooking Light with Biz Markie

Sometimes you get what you wish for.  And in this case, I had wished for the oddest combination of cooking class and a one hit wonder former rap star from the 80s.  I can totally envision the brainstorming session over at LivingSocial:  "Hey why don't we get a quasi-celebrity who lives in the area to do a cooking class.  Oh, what about Biz Markie?  We can do a cooking light class and have him be the face of the class because he was the winner of Celebrity Fit Club's first season!  Wait, what?  He doesn't really know how to cook?  That's ok, we can use our in-house chefs to put together a recipe and coach him on the spot with what to say.  Then maybe during the breaks, we can play his music so he can sing along."

After the novelty of the unusual combination wore off, fortunately, I was left with an interesting recipe for sugar free cupcakes that actually did not taste bad!  And the light chicken satay, while not as thick of a dipping sauce as I'm used to, still was flavorful - albeit more lime juice than peanut flavor.  Here are the recipes from the night:

Sugar Free Lemon Ginger Cupcakes (10 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup Spenda granular
1/4 cup agave syrup
4 1/2 Tbsp egg whites
1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup sugar free vanilla pudding

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together applesauce, Spenda, and agave syrup.
2. Beat in egg whites, about 1/3 of the amount at a time.
3. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ginger)
5. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture, 1/3 of the amount at a time, alternating with the vanilla pudding.  Mix thoroughly.
6. Spray paper-lined muffin cups liberally with non-stick cooking spray (because the batter is missing the fat to prevent sticking).  Fill 3/4 full with batter.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
8. Once cool, frost cupcakes with Light Cream Cheese Icing and garnish with lemon zest.

Light Cream Cheese Icing (10 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Neufchatel (light) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 Tbsp margarine, softened at room temperature
2/3 cup Spenda
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk (1%)
2 tsp lemon zest, to garnish

1. With an electric mixer and whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and margarine together until creamy.  Be sure to pause and scrape sides and bottom of mixing bowl to ensure cream cheese isn't sticking in big clumps.
2. Add in Splenda - start on low speed, gradually increasing to medium speed, and mix until well combined.
3. Finally, add vanilla and milk.  Mix on medium for 30 seconds.

Low Fat Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce (2 servings)
or as Biz Markie said, "Diabolical Chicken Satay"

Chicken Ingredients:
8 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp low sodium soy or tamari sauce
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 1/2 tsp lime juice

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp low sodium soy or tamari sauce
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp lime juice

1. Cut chicken breasts into eight strips.  Place in a large resealable plastic bag.  Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and lime juice and add to bag.  Marinate chicken strips in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. Presoak 8 bamboo skewers for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat grill or broiler, coated with cooking spray.
4. For the sauce, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, peanut butter, and lime juice, stirring until smooth and creamy.
5. Thread chicken strips onto presoaked skewers.  Grill or broil chicken for 10 minutes, turning once.  Serve with peanut sauce on the side.

Even the vinegar got into the rapping mood! "Vin-a guh!"

Read More

Zoolights at the National Zoo

Every year, the National Zoo decorates the grounds with animal themed lights to celebrate the holiday season.  I don't know why I have never been in the 11 years I've lived in Washington D.C. because it was a fun experience.  They had a few of the animal houses open, including the ape and reptile house, so you were sure to see real animals, in addition to the lit ones.  In addition, there were attractions to make the experience even more fun, including a tubing hill (did it twice!), the newly reopened carousel, a train ride around the big cats exhibit, and an exhibition of Lego buildings and gingerbread house contest winners.  While admission is free, parking and attractions were not.  We were fortunate to have purchased a deal on LivingSocial that covered all but the carousel, so keep your eyes open!

Don't miss the attractions: animal exhibits, carousel, Legos, and more!

Read More

Holiday Cookie Gifts

It's December, so that means it's time to bake cookies!  Ideally, I would have hosted a cookie swap party, but I just couldn't find a convenient time.  So instead, I spent the weekend baking for friends and neighbors.

If you've read other posts, you know that I'm obsessed with my recent discovery of speculoos, otherwise known as the gingerbread/graham cracker cookie spread yumminess called Biscoff.  So when I saw these Biscoff Glazed Soft Oatmeal Cookies from Bake at 350, I knew I had to make them to spread the skeculoos joy!

Growing up, I remember the one time of year my mom made Mexican Wedding Cookies was Christmastime.  I love all the messy powdered sugar and the small "pop in your mouth" size of these pecan flavored balls.

If you want to make a super easy cookie, always consider Coconut Macaroons dipped in chocolate, or as I prefer, not dipped in chocolate.  All you need to make these is sweetened coconut from a bag, an egg, vanilla extract, and a can of Eagle sweetened condensed milk.  And the recipe yields a lot, so it's a very cheap and delicious gift.

I saw these Cinnamon Roll Cookies from Picky Plate when looking for ideas, and they seemed simple enough.  What I discovered, though, was that it was hard to get a good looking rolled cookie slice to bake.  Moreover, the cookies come out really soft, and they fall apart often.  They taste good, though I may have done a blend of white and brown sugar.  One more thing, these are best if you bake and eat them the same day.

And, of course, it isn't Christmas without lots of sugar and gingerbread cookies decorated with Royal Icing.  If you want a fantastic book that gives you tips on how to decorate cookies, consider purchasing Decorating Cookies: 60+ Designs for Holidays, Celebrations & Everyday by the blogger who writes Bake at 350.

Read More

Pentatonix in Concert

If you haven't heard of Pentatonix, you don't know what you're missing.  They are the winners of the most recent season of "The Sing Off" on NBC, a competition show for a capella groups.  Out of all the seasons, I must say they were far and above the best group to perform.

Now they are enjoying their success and gaining more popularity by rearranging popular songs with their trademark style on their YouTube channel.  They scheduled a mini tour in 2012, prior to their larger venue tour in 2013, and I was happy to get a chance to finally see them live at the Howard Theater in Washington D.C. this week.

Here are some videos I took from the concert, including my favorite "Video Killed the Radio Star" and a brand new medley they had to throw together two days ago for an upcoming appearance on the Katie Couric show next week.  She asked them to put together the top five songs of 2012, so they blended:

• You Don't Know You're Beautiful - One Direction
• Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
• Somebody That I Used To Know - Goyte
• Payphone - Maroon 5
• We Are Young - Fun

There was a little harmony issue in the end, but they took it in stride and did a redo.

Read More

Holiday Gift Ideas

Trying to think of some fun gifts for this holiday season?  Here are some of my favorite ideas!

For Family and Friends...

Reclaimed Slate Cheese Board 

A new way of serving cheese to give to that hostess with the most-ess in your life (from Uncommon Goods)

Kate Spade mittens
I saw these at her store in SoHo Thanksgiving weekend and couldn't leave the store without getting a pair.  I opted for the "pow" one because everyone needs superhero gloves.  Hi 5 Mittens, Taxi Mittens, or POW POW Mittens

A bottle of Frog's Leap wine 

I was so happy when I got to tour this winery in October while visiting Napa. The property was gorgeous, and how can you not love a winemaker whose motto is "Time's fun when you're having flies!"?








Scratch-off Map
A perfect gift to give to your world traveling friends as a fun way to keep a visual log of their adventures (from Uncommon Goods)

Vintage Book iPhone Charging Station

For the tech-savvy book lover or home decorating enthusiast... who also hasn't upgraded to an iPhone 5 (from Anthropologie)

Wish Ball Ornament

Every year, have your family or friends write a wish for the next year on a small piece of paper, then place it in the ornament.  Next year, when Christmas comes around again, gather everyone to open and read the wishes to see if they came true. (from Red Envelope)

DSLR Photography Classes for the photography lover

If you know someone who finds the non-point and shoot cameras to be intimidating and won't make the leap, tell them it's not that hard!  They need to go out and buy a camera - new or Craigslist - and start benefiting from living a better life with fabulous photos of great memories.  In order to make sure they get those photos, I highly recommend giving that person a gift certificate for a workshop with an amazing instructor - Okello Dunkley of DSLR Workshops.  He travels all over the country, and even internationally, to teach "Take Your Camera Off Program Mode" Parts 1 and 2, plus workshops on Adobe Lightroom processing software.  His instruction is very easy to follow and as a person he's so genuine and approachable.  I've taken four workshops from him, including his Holiday Manual Mode Cram Session this week, and he has given private instruction to my mom while she's in town.

State Quote Art to remember your state pride

From the Mandipity Etsy store, order prints for your friends of their home states with their state mottos in fancy typography and present it to them in a cute frame.

A Super Awesome Tote Bag

Check out this Pamela Fugate designed tote bag.  If you're going to be a bookworm, you may as well be a hilarious one and let people know it!

Speaking of books, how about one of my favorite books of the year...

For Others

Donate to a Great Cause

For yourself or on behalf of someone else as a gift, it's never a bad time to donate.  One of my favorite organizations is Donor's Choose, where teachers submit projects or classroom needs, and you get to contribute or purchase the entire need outright.  I always try to support local classrooms in Washington D.C. and seek out science and music projects, as these are always the first to get cut when funding is tight.  

Another great cause is an organization that raises funds to support children of deployed servicemen and women by providing funding for their childrens' extra-curricular activities, Our Military Kids.  Gabby Douglas, Olympic gold medalist in the 2012 women's gymnastics all-around and member of the gold-medal women's gymnastics team (the "Fab Five"), was a recipient of a grant from this organization.

If you're interested in having a personal impact on our deployed military, consider adopting a soldier through Adopt a U.S. Soldier.  They have new applicants coming in every day that need to be matched.  I've actually adopted three and was able to successfully send them some goodies from home while they were in combat zones.  

And don't forget....for YOU!

Massage Envy Membership

It may take a few times to find the right massage therapist for you, but it's worth it.  You can't beat the prices at this franchise or the lasting benefits of regular massage!  Besides the prices, it's also great that you can roll over your monthly massage, in case you're busy or if you want to build up a few for a future event (like a half marathon you don't train for...but I, of course, wouldn't know anything about that!)  

Read More

5 Things I'm Loving Right Now (December Edition)

I don't know what it is about this year in particular, but I could not wait to put up holiday decorations.  I may have even started before Thanksgiving with some of the greenery, made more convenient that I wasn't hosting Thanksgiving dinner and didn't need to keep the fall theme going.

This is my first Christmas in historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, so I wanted to learn more about how Christmas was celebrated in the colonial times of George Washington.  I did a little online research and learned that, unlike today with our decked halls with boughs of holly and piles of presents under the trees, colonial residents of Alexandria celebrated with balls, parties and feasts.  In other areas, colonists who were members of the Anglican Church observed the Advent season, which was a period of fasting and repentance ending with large meal on Christmas Day, while other religions banned celebrations all together.  The Colonial Williamsburg website has more entertaining stories of Christmas celebrations.

In case you were wondering, while some greenery may have been used in colonial times, the Christmas tree did not make its appearance in America until the early part of the 19th century, with a wave of German immigration.  Last year, I got a glimpse at the Civil War era holiday decor during the annual candlelight tour that demonstrated the period's more liberal use of greenery and ribbon to enliven the rooms with holiday spirit.

Anyway, with this Christmas theme in mind, here are my 5 things I'm loving right now:

1. Candles in the window

Actually lighting a candle in the window in colonial times was not something associated with Christmas, until Colonial Williamsburg took the liberty to use this tradition that symbolized warmth, family, and special events and made it a part of their Christmas celebration.  Of course, people now see the candles and falsely presume it must be historically accurate, when it really is a simple, beautiful 20th century addition to celebrate the holiday season.

2. Department 56 Snow Villages

Growing up, I always loved setting up my mom's set of Dept. 56 Snow Village houses on the dining room sideboard.  I may have even played with it a little bit as well.  When I got my first home/apartment, my mom made sure that I would be able to continue the tradition with my own set of Dept. 56 houses.  The set she got for me was one from the Dicken's Village collection.  I have since purchased a group of buildings from the Christmas in the City turn of the century collection, and I like to display one or the other every year - complete with the fake snow that never wants to stay in place and requires vacuuming every day!  You may also see in my house, separate on a side table, the Dept. 56 house of the A Christmas Story home, complete with the leg lamp in the window (no Bumpus' dogs next door, though).

3. Grandinroad Holiday Decor
If you've never heard of Grandinroad before, you should check out their website.  They have very tastefully designed holiday decor and accent pieces for your house.  And the prices are pretty reasonable.

4. TNT's annual 24 hours of A Christmas Story

Posting that photo of the Department 56 version of Ralphie's house made me think about how much I look forward to spending the day watching the movie over and over.  OK, not all day, but at least two viewings.

5. Starbucks Chai Tea Latté

It's Christmas in a cup.  Enough said.

Read More