Mother’s Day is today, but we had an early celebration chez moi with my mom and grandmother yesterday. I had them both over for Brunch – it was far from a healthy brunch, but boy was it delish!

Gluten Free Chai Tea Cupcakes

Both my mom and my sister are gluten intolrant, and lately I’ve been suspecting I am as well. I’m going gluten free for a month (currently on day 5!) to see if that helps how I’ve been feeling – but more on that another time. Needless to say, brunch had to be gluten-free for my mom’s sake (and I guess, possibly mine!) – so I decided to go balls to the wall and work on making this awesome Chai Tea breakfast cupcake recipe I’ve been meaning to make gluten free… and do cake balls. I don’t half ass when it comes to baking – I love baking (and eating the results, which is how I ended up falling in love with fitness… haha ;)

Gluten Free Cake Balls

So, after some research and a ridiculous overload on GF flour and cake mix at Bulk Barn (I will be baking GF yellow cake for the rest of my life), I was ready to get down to business. The morning’s menu?

Chai Tea breakfast cupcakes, chocolate covered vanilla cake balls, non-alcoholic sangria (my mom also can’t have alcohol – the poor thing! luckily I didn’t inherit THAT terrible allergy), and banana split bites.

Banana Split Bites

Yum.

Tea time! Only we'll be eating it.

Gluten-Free Chai Tea Cupcakes Bake @ 375° for 18-20 minutes | makes 24 cupcakes

• 2 c all purpose gluten free flour
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 4 chai tea bags
• 1 1/4 c milk, heated
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 (ish) a cup Nature’s Path Crunchy Maple Sunrise

Put the milk in a saucepan and heat until it’s JUST simmering on the stove. Once it’s ready, take it off and add your 4 chai tea bags – let it steep for 5-7 minutes while the milk cools a bit. While its steeping, mix the gluten-free flour, baking soda, ginger, and salt in a bowl, and set aside. Next, cream the butter using a beater, and then add the sugar and vanilla, mixing until it’s combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Fill your cupcake liners, and then sprinkle the Crunchy Maple Sunrise on to. Pop them in the oven and bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes. Chai Cream Cheese Drizzle (to top the cupcakes with!)

• 85 grams (about 1/3 a 250 gram brick) low fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp butter (softened) or margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/4 c icing sugar
• strongly brewed chai tea, cooled

The spread! Om nom.

Combine the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add the icing sugar (I recommend doing this a little bit at a time as it’s easier and doesn’t make a gigantic mess, especially if you’re using a hand mixer like I do!), and continue to mix it in. Finally, add your chai tea in bit by bit until the consistency is thin enough to drizzle, but not so thin it’s totally liquidy. Using a spoon, drizzle it over the top of your cupcakes. If you had tons leftover (I did), you can use the Wilton #230 to fill the centers with more icing. Oh, yum. I only wish I had thought of this before serving them! I ended up filling them the day after as I found the cake dried out quite quickly (a side effect of the GF flour, maybe?), and this gives it extra moisture. Finally, eat them and love them. Or, if you’re serving them up for a brunch like I did – pair them with this wicked non-alcoholic sangria (or, just flip the cranberry juice out for a bottle of red wine and make it alcoholic!)

Psssst! Looking for the Chai Tea Breakfast Cupcake nutritional information? You’ll find it here!

Delicious non alcoholic Sangria

Non-Alcoholic Sangria

• 4 cups of cranberry juice
• 1 c orange juice
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1 pear
• 1 apple (I used a granny smith green one – they’re my favourite! :)
• 3 c carbonated lemon lime beverage (ie. 7UP or Sprite)

Combine the cranberry juice, orange juice, and lemon juice in a pitcher. Slice up your fruit, and add it it. Allow it to sit for a few hours before you’re planning on serving it (I prepped this the night before, so the fruit was good and infused by the morning). JUST before serving it, add in the pop – you don’t want to do this too early, or it goes flat. Toss in some ice and volia! Tastiness in a pitcher. Happy mother’s day to all you fabulous moms out there.

And for those of us who may not be mom’s, always remember this key piece of wisdom when dealing with your mom:

“When your mother asks, “Do you want a piece of advice?” it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no: you’re going to get it anyway.” – Erma Bombeck

As seen on: Sweets for a Saturday #69, The Sundae Scoop #28, Makin’ You Crave Monday, Weekend Wrap Up Party, Made By You Monday #98,
Featured on: Cupcakes Take the Cake, FoodGawker

Or more accurately, by my father.

We got our first computer when I was 6 or 7 (yup, also raised a computer nerd with a webpage – some things never change!), and, my dad, ever the giant nerd himself, installed a slew of awesome games on it.

Picking an early-age favourite is hard – Cross Country Canada, Maniac Mansion, Lemmings, Myst, Carmen San Diego – there’s so many good ones that come to mind. But, there’s three specific games that have stuck with me to this day.

The Mystery Text-Based Adventure Game I’ll Probably Never Find

My “favourite game ever” to this day, I still can’t recall the name of this oneb – and oh GOD have I searched, and searched, and… ugh. It was a text-based adventure fantasy. You woke up in (or got stranded at during a storm – can’t quite remember which) an enchanted castle. Inside, you had to navigate your way through and try not to get eaten/killed/maimed by all the things inside. I remember a werewolf, who attacked and killed you if you hadn’t yet found the silver bullet, and an attic with a bat/owl/creature that I could NEVER seem to get past. If you have any idea what I’m talking about, please comment and help me find this game! It’s killing me, and has been killing me for YEARS. My parents don’t remember either.

Ben the Badass Biker

Full Throttle

What’s not to love about bad-ass bikers, futuristic hovercrafts, fields filled with landmines, and mini-games where tou stab a knife between your fingers when you’re 10? Full Throttle had all that (and more). I was such an expert at the knife-stabbing-through-the-fingers game (seriously!) I used to practice on my real hand with a crayon and vowed to become an expert at doing it with a REAL knife when I was older (don’t worry mom, I never followed through).

Best. Game. Ever.

Wolfenstein 3D

Blood, guts, ammo, machine guns, killing Nazi’s – totally appropriate for an eight-year-old to be playing, right? I loved this game. I still love this game. So when I heard today that Wolfenstein 3D is being released for free online in celebration of the game’s 20th anniversary, I was stoked.

BREAKING NEWS, fellow iPhone lovers: you can totally download Wolfenstein 3D for free in the App store, as well. Score.

Not only because I love the game, but because I never beat it. It was really my dad’s game, which I just watched him play and played attempted to play myself, but I really, really sucked at it. Especially as the levels progressed and the enemies got harder.

Eventually I just loved watching him play all the hard levels I’d never make it too, and as time went on he was nearing completion of the game. It was really exciting times in the Souch household. Until one morning, when I was scarred for life (no, I’m not being dramatic!): I woke up just to have my dad tell me, all excited, that he beat Wolfenstein and got to see the little man run out of the castle jumping.

At two a.m.

While my nine-year-old self was fast asleep in bed.

I mean, WTF, dad!? You couldn’t have waited so your blood-and-guts loving, Nazi-killing, nine-year-old daughter could reach the pinnacle of her tiny gamer life and witness the ending with you?

He promised he’d beat it again so I could see. But try as he might, he couldn’t.

Yeah, I’m still bitter – and still haven’t seen the game finished.

So, this weekend I’m going to hole myself up in a vortex of nerdiness and play this damn game until I beat the thing, even if it means not eating, sleeping, or socializing (sorry, friends who have birthday celebrations ;).

And Dad?

You’re not allowed to come watch.

But between 2009 and 2010, I had probably put on roughly 30 pounds. I was feeling cranky and lethargic, exhausted, unhealthy and, worst of all – I hated what I saw when I looked in the mirror. Finally fed up with feeling bad and unhappy, I decided to make a change and started looking into boot camps and ended up joining Booty Camp Fitness and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself in a very long time.

My one year anniversary is fast approaching, and my lifestyle has changed in so many positive ways in the last year – largely, if not completely, thanks to my Booty Camp experience – and I wanted to share and reflect on those changes and the new, improved “me” that’s here today.

I was drawn to Booty Camp for a number of reasons: the sense of community the website exuded, the fact it was outdoors, and the all-women nature of the classes (honestly, does ANYONE enjoy big, sweaty, bulking men grunting as they lift weights and oogle you, or worse, themselves in the mirror? Ew.).

At the time, I thought joining Booty Camp would be a way to “kick start” my workout regime, or, at the very least, a month of exercise before I gave up and stopped going, which was typical for me when it came to joining your traditional big box gyms. What I wasn’t expecting was the family, the community, and the lifestyle changes that came along with joining. I joined my first four-week Booty Camp session in June of 2011, and at that point in time I had been paying for a gym membership, and, I’m ashamed to admit, not going to that gym for almost 10 months.

I was terrified of the thought of doing a fitness boot camp, but went anyway. And, truth be told, I was horrified with my results. I was not expecting the measurement numbers to be as high as they were (Almost 160 lbs and 225 inches overall), and, as a former lifeguard and swim instructor, I was most certainly not expecting to be SO out of shape. I couldn’t even do 10 girly pushups (aka on my knees), and I got dizzy and nearly was sick just from running one lap in the heat.

Although by October 2011 I was seeing results, they still weren’t the kind I wanted – and so mid-October I totally overhauled my eating habits and lifestyle, and that’s when I saw big results. The pounds started to melt off in mid-November and one session after those changes I lost 13” in just four weeks.

Pre-Booty Camp - circa 2010

Currently - late 2011 to now

I’m proud to say at my last fitness assessment (which was in February, before I moved to Toronto and switched camp locations), I did 32 consecutive pushups on my toes, and just yesterday at Booty Camp I did an intense workout that involved 10 reps of a move, running two laps, ten reps of another, running for the hour – and I felt tired, but fine, while doing all that running. Oh, and just a few weeks ago? I held my plank for a personal best of 5 minutes!

I now weigh 133 lbs (that’s ~25 lbs lost!) and measure 202 inches overall (23” overall difference). Most noticeably, I’ve lost 3.5” on my waist, 5” on my hips, and 3” on my bum. I bought new work-appropriate shorts last summer, and I went to put them on recently and when I did them up and let go, they fell to the ground. I’m fitting – comfortably – into old clothes I haven’t worn since 2008.

Most importantly, I’ve come to learn that fitness, working out, eating well, and being truly healthy is so much more than a diet, a fad, or something you “have” to do. It’s a lifestyle, and in order to see positive changes you need to really embrace fitness as such. I never enjoyed working out before Booty Camp – I dreaded the gym, and the words “run” and “sweat” were just not in my vocabulary. But going to Booty Camp is different – it’s fun, it’s engaging, and the constant changes in routine ensure we don’t get bored and don’t plateau, and we have the enthusiastic instructors, supportive peers, and energizing music to get us going. I actually look forward to my twice-weekly butt kickings, and I can’t say enough how happy I am to suddenly have a method of working out I enjoy (because lets face it, running on a treadmill for 45 minutes totally sucks). And as time went on, I found myself doing more than just going to Booty Camp twice a week – trying hot yoga, aerial yoga, Jukari, trampoline classes, swimming again, hiking, and doing all sorts of fitness related activities for fun. Not because I have to, or because I need to, but because I actually enjoy what I’m doing, and that’s really a change that has occurred thanks to my positive experiences over the last year.

I’m proud and excited (okay, and a little nervous!) to announce that I recently registered to take my Fitness Instructor Specialist (FIS) certification course with CanFitPro, which I’ll be doing over the last two weekends in May before writing the exam in late June. I dream of helping other women my age recognize the importance of health, fitness, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle… and one day, I’d LOVE to run my own Booty Camp location and, I hope, inspire other women as much as my instructor obviously inspired me.

If you’re interested in joining Booty Camp Fitness (and I can’t recommend it enough!), you can check for a location near you, or if there isn’t one, check out the amazing at-home DVD now available for public purchase – I use it at home sometimes and it’s just as awesome as the classes. 

**note: this is NOT a paid,  endorsed, or otherwise commissioned post. while I have included an affiliate link above, this is the 100% truth about my experiences and the opinions, views, and results I’ve expressed are entirely my own. If you know me, you know I’ve been raving about how awesome Booty Camp is for MONTHS… this blog post is no exception :)

So when I caught wind of these uber cute dress designs by Victor Faretina, which he posted to his Deviant Art account as a part of his Web in Vogue series, I instantly fell in love.

Google in Fashion by Victor Faretina

Or, more accurately, I fell in love with the one I saw – the Google Dress – and went to his page to see if he had more. Lo and behold, he has TONS.

The only downside? They’re simply designs, and not available to purchase – yet. According to Farentina’s page, he has plans to eventually make and sell these dresses.

Though I’m not sure I’d ever wear one of these, mainly because I have nowhere to wear a fancy dress TO, I still love them – especially the Google one! I’m a sucker for rainbow accents.

Would you ever wear something like this? And which one is your favourite?

Hit snooze

Hit snooze again

Hit snooze AGAIN

[continue snoozing for the next 45 minutes or so]

Finally get up, panic, rush around like crazy trying to get ready.

Make coffee in panic, spill on counter, don’t bother cleaning, slam toast in toaster, slap peanut butter and/or jam on it, rush out door and shove toast in mouth on the way out the door.

However, I’ve discovered the recipe of ALL recipes that, with a little night-before prep work and an extra 5 minutes in the morning, can be made to-go and is healthy, delicious, and contains so many good-for-you things you’ll be feeling amazing all morning.

Mmmm... so good in the morning.

And, even better, this recipe makes enough for four smaller, or two giant pancakes – so I use half the batter one morning, and it keeps an extra day in the fridge for the next morning. Score.

Pre-making the batter the night before means less work in the morning!

I know, this sounds too-good-to-be-true, but I swear it’s not.

Four Ingredient Chocolate Protein Pancake

• 2 scoops Bodylogix chocolate protein powder
• ~1/2 cup egg whites (I use 2 large eggs, which is usually a little shy of a half cup)
• 1 heaping tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 medium banana, mashed

Protein Pancake Ingredients & Extras

The night before, mash your banana in a medium to large bowl, and set it aside. Measure out your egg whites, then add to the banana bowl. Add your protein powder, and ground flax seed. Mix it up well, transfer to tupperware (or cover the bowl with saran wrap) and stick it in the fridge.

Morning Extras

• Coconut oil (or your oil of choice) – for the frying pan
• Syrup (I use E.D. Smith’s No-Sugar-Added Syrup) or Agave
• Chocolate chipits, berries, or chocolate chia goodness as a topping

Cooking the pancake

The next morning, heat up your frying pan while you mix your coffee, add 1-2 tsp coconut oil, and scoop half the batter (for a large pancake) or 1/4 (for two small) into the heated pan.

I find when I make one big one it’s harder to flip and becomes less pancake-like, but still tastes great, so I usually do this when I’m more rushed. If I have a few extra minutes I’ll do two smaller ones, one at a time. Cook until brown on one side, then flip it and cook on the other.

If you’re like me, and usually in a rush, I toss it it tupperware, put the syrup on, and bring it with me. A quick 20-second zap in the microwave at the office usually warms it up nicely.

And, if you’re so inclined – top with syrup, berries, a few chocolate chips, or whatever else you’d like and enjoy!

Yum!

Looking for the nutritional info per pancake? Click here!

{{ More Travel Stories || About Postcards || Travel Bucket List }}

To those who know me, it’s no secret I like love my wine. Going to university in Niagara Region was largely responsible for this – I’d never even opened a bottle of wine before heading to Brock, let alone been able to discern my pinots from each other, but going to university in Ontario’s wine country had a really big impact on me. I mean, when you have an annual grape stomp, an oenology and viticulture program, and an entire festival (or two or three) dedicated to vino every year it’s hard NOT to get caught up in it.

I long have dubbed the Cave Springs Gewürztraminer as my “all time, favourite wine” (next to, uh, every variety of ice wine I can find and consume in a 50 mile radius), but after this weekend I think it’s safe to say I found a few new (and smaller/local) options (even though to get the CS Gewürz you have to go to the winery in Jordan – I usually buy it by the case to, you know, stock up).

Thanks to one of those group buying deals, The Boy and I went on a four-winery “winter” ice wine tour (I use the term “winter” lightly since it was a balmy 22°C in Southern Ontario over the weekend!) and to a chocolate factory (hotel stay included) for a really great price. And, surprise – we (along with the others who bought the deal) were separated out onto the short tour bus, so there were simply 18 of us (instead of the usual 30 or so) who traveled around together.

Much wine was consumed.

Did you know…

• Icewine has to be picked at night, when it’s -10°C
• Icewine must be naturally produced – no artificial freezing
• Icewine was accidentally created in Germany in 1794 due to an exceptionally cold winter German icewine doesn’t meet the sweetness standard to sell in Canada today (must be a sweetness rating of 18+)
• Ice wine is made when frozen grapes are pressed and the sugar water is extracted.
• One vine might make a bottle of wine, but one vine only makes a glass of icewine – hence the expensive price tag!

Chocolate F/X - sooo amazingly tasty!

First, we stopped at Chocolate FX and learned about how the chocolate was made – I wish I could tell you more about this, but I was a bad tourist and stopped paying attention, as was evident when Mike was schooling me on chocolate knowledge while we were eating the AMAZINGLY delish raspberry chocolate covered coffee beans we bought (on sale! two for one! omg! and you can order online!) last night. Stopped paying attention largely because a) there was no one there working so the “tour” was staring at machines and b) because I was day dreaming about all the chocolate sampling we were about to do (which made up for the lame tour – my poor, poor stomach!).

Joseph's Estate Wineries

Joesph’s Estate Wineries

Our first winery was somewhat of a disappointment. The wines were not exceptional, the experience was blah, and I’m so glad this didn’t set the tone for the rest of the trip. Once we entered the winery, we were seated in a dimly lit, aesthetically unpleasing room. We had to move once seated, and then at the end I tried to look at one of the bottle for information and we were hurriedly ushered out of the room for “the next group”. The sales pitch at the end of the tasting was quite over-the-top and long as well.

• ‘06 Chenin Blanc (sweetness 1) — just okay. Hints of pineapple, which was nice.
• Vintage Country Red (3) — Loved it. Ended up coming home with a bottle. It was well-rounded, with a number of flavours and sweet (the way I like my red’s!)
• Cabernet Merlot (0) — ick. I’m not a red fan, and REALLY dislike dry red’s (unless in Sangria), so this was an expected miss.
• ‘02 Vidal Icewine (18) — delicious – how can ice wine NOT be? – but nothing special.
• Gewürztraminer-Reisling (1) — meh.
• Pinot Grigio — also meh. I actually struggled to remember which one we tasted, that’s how unmemorable this one was!

Caroline Cellars

Caroline Cellars

By far my favourite winery of the day – Caroline Cellars looked exactly how I imagine wineries should look, and we sidled up to the bar in-store for the tastings. Instead of being presented three to four preselected wines, we were given an entire double-sided wine menu and got to choose the four wines we wanted to try, working down the menu from white, to rose, to red, and finally, to the dessert and icewines. Mike and I paired up and picked different wines each time, so we essentially each got to taste eight.

• Gewürztraminer (0) — If you haven’t figured it out, this is my favoruite kind of wine, so I have to try it everywhere. Rather good here, with notes of honey and lychee (yum, yum).
• Enchantment (2) — A Gewürz-Riesling blend, quite similar to the Gewürz, but sweeter and quite tasty.
• Pinot-Cherry (2) — the only sweet red on the list, I was sold by the “cherry” part of the blend, but it was a little disappointing. I can see how it would make an amazing Sangria though.
• Merlot (0) — I of course didn’t like this one (the Boy chose it), and neither did he, deciding he also prefers sweet reds, and the Pinot-Cherry was only okay, though I can see how it would make an amazing Sangria!
• ’08 Late Harvest Riesling (8) — I picked this one out for Mike, and we both loved it. It promised, and delivered, orange flavours.
• ’07 Late Harvest Videl Momentum (6) — This won a double gold medal for “Best in Category” in 2009. It was quite similar to an icewine, but had strong grapefruit notes which I really liked… though, to be honest, both Mike and I preferred his Riesling!
• ’07 Videl Icewine (25) — I chose this one, which is an award-winner, as I typically prefer a Videl Icewine, and this one was no exception. Buyer’s remorse at NOT taking a bottle home.
• ‘08 Riesling Icewine (25) — Mike choose this one, because “it’s more expensive!”. Hehe. Boys. Also an award winner, it was okay though I preferred the Video. Mike preferred this one, so it worked out.

On a non-tasting related note, Caroline Cellars had all sorts of nifty gift items, including some really awesome wine racks, and wire “wine bottles” and barrels for holding corks. My favourite was a tiny wine bottle ornament that holds just one cork, I thought it would make a great wedding/engagement gift — the couple could put the cork from their celebratory bottle into it as a keepsake. Totally had to refrain from coming home with a wire barrel to put all my corks in. Next time.

Reif Estate Winery

Reif Estate Wineries

I really enjoyed visiting Reif Estate as well – they have a very interesting sensory garden, which unfortunately it was the off-season for. Typically, it offers visitors a chance to explore the sights, smells, etc of the characteristics used when tasting and describing various wines. I also liked that the grape vines were easily accessible/viewed from the winery store, and were clearly labeled with which vine was designated for which wine. I definitely want to go back and visit during growing season.

• Videl — it was quite grapefruity, which I really liked, and overall was a very nice white.
• Cabernet Merlot (0) — of course, I didn’t like it (see “not a Merlot fan” above). It was quite strong and dry, very earthy… just not my cup of tea.
• Videl Icewine — We tried this one twice, thanks to a FourSquare check in that got us a each a free tasting of icewine at the Reif bar, and I instantly fell in love (though not with the price tag – $25 for just 200ml!). It’s easy to see why this is an award-winning ice wine. It was sweet and crisp at the same time, with a delicious flavour – unlike, and better than, any other icewine I’ve ever tried… and I do like my icewines. I took home a tiny sample bottle, as I just couldn’t justify the hefty price tag on a “full” bottle at the moment, but I will be ordering and/or going back for one at a later date.

Caroline Cellars, again - missing a photo from Riverview

Riverview Cellars

Our final stop of the day was Riverview Cellars, a fairly new winery that has only been in operation since 2000. Again, this winery pre-chose our wines, but we did hit up the tasting bar to try a few more (okay, almost all of them! ;) after.

Just two to note (mainly because I can’t remember most of the names of the others, and it’s not online to look up!) While I can’t remember specifics about a lot of them, I do remember their rose was quite delicious.

• Gewürztraminer (1) — this white was amazing, possibly even rivaling my Cave Springs favourite, though I didn’t take a bottle home.
• Cabernet Franc (0) — this red is an award-winning wine and… well, I didn’t like it. Surprise, surprise. I actually liked this one the least out of all the reds we tried today, but I finished my sample anyway (even though this particular winery was the only one to offer a “dumping bucket” if you didn’t like the wine… psh.)

Additionally, I ended up buying maple ice wine tea from here – I hate to say it, but even though I was SO excited to try it… I still haven’t! It’s just been so warm I haven’t really been in a “tea” mood, though it’s cooled down considerably in the last week so I have a feeling this tea is in my immediate future.

:)

Have you ever done a winery tour? What’s your favourite kind (or bottle) of wine? I love trying new ones, so feel free to leave your recommendations :)

{{ Read more She Bakes! || About She Bakes! || She Bakes! Photos }}

Ah, Easter – the time for chocolate, bunnies, coloured eggs, and zombies. Now, every year for Easter – on Sunday – my whole family gets together (cousins, aunts, and uncles included) for a big ol’ fashioned dinner party. Usually there’s ham or lamb (this year it was lamb), lots of veggies, wine, and an array of dessert. One year, I brought really cute Easter cupcakes- and, well, ever since my affinity for cupcakes has grown, and with it, my family’s expectations that Lauren+Cupcakes are a package deal. This year, I decided to go “back to basics” and make a traditional carrot (cup)cake to bring instead of my usual cheat-with-a-box-mix-and-make-look-pretty strategy, but of course there had to be a Lauren twist… so I baked the traditional cream cheese icing on the inside (thanks for the idea, Pinterest) and threw a coconut buttercream icing on top.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Filling and Coconut Buttercream Icing

Super delish.

Carrot Cupcakes [Adapted from “Sam’s Famous Carrot Cake” on allrecipes.com]
Bake @ 350° for 20 minutes | makes 30 cupcakes

• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk**
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup crushed pineapple (with juice)
• 1 cup raisins

**If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (I never do, nor do I buy it especially for recipes!) use this substitute: 1 tbsp lemon juice + 1 cup skim milk. Add the lemon juice to a measuring cup, and fill with milk to the 1 cup mark. Let sit for 5 minutes – volia! Buttermilk substitute. Use the amount the recipe calls for.

Shredded carrots

Peel 2-3 large carrots, and shred them until you have two cups (medium to tightly packed). Set aside. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon using a fork. If you’re using bulk items, be sure to sift them first. Set aside.

Mixing the dry ingredients

In another bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, applesauce, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Using a mixer, mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl, and mix well. Measure out your add-ins (in this case, coconut flakes, pineapple, raisins, and walnuts). If you have whole or half walnuts like I did, you’ll need to crush them down to a smaller size – I put them in a ziplock bag and used a hammer to crush them into smaller pieces. Totally therapeutic, I might add.

The hammer is my secret weapon in the kitchen. Seriously, I use it so often!

Add the extras into the batter, one at a time, folding them in using a large wooden spoon or spatula as you go. Set the batter aside, and prepare your filling.

Cream Cheese Filling

• 1 (8-ounce package) light cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1/4 cup white (granulated) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl, and using your hand mixer or KitchenAid, thoroughly mix the ingredients (until creamy). Line your cupcake pan, and fill 1/3 of the way with carrot cake batter. I used an icecream scoop, and put one small-ish scoop into each cup. Next, put a small scoop (about 1/2 a tbsp) of the filling into each cup.

Yup, the cream cheese is baked right into the middle

Finally, fill the cup the rest of the way to 2/3 full (about 1/2-3/4 an ice cream scoop) by dropping the cake batter on top of the filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the batter clean. If you stick it through the filling part, it will come out with gooey filling on it – that’s totally OK as long as the cake batter is baked. While they’re baking, prepare your icing!

Coconut Buttercream Icing [Adapted from my favourite Wilton Buttercream Icing Recipe]

• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1.5 cups shortening
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp coconut flakes

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool. Once they’re cooled, take them out and ice them anyway you want. I used a Wilton #12 Round Tip for the white – gently pressing down while swirling the icing across the cupcake to give it a flatter look. Next, I sprinkled coconut flakes on the icing. I then used the #103 Petal Tip for the carrot, starting with the thick end of the tip to make the thick end of the carrot and pulling across the cupcake while reducing pressure. Once the icing had sat for about 5 minutes, I used a knife to mark lines into the carrots. Finally, I used the #3 Round Tip to make the green tops of the carrots.

Surprise!

I have to say, these turned out amazing and were a huge hit at Easter (as were the leftovers at work on Monday!). The recipe does make a TON of cupcakes – even after taking them to Easter dinner with my family of 11 and pawning a bunch off on them post-meal, I had a number leftover (14!) so I kept a few for The Boy and I, then took the rest to my coworkers. Office favourite this week, right here. ;)

Curious about the nutritional info per cupcake? Click here!

{{ Read more She Bakes! || About She Bakes! || She Bakes! Photos }}

For last year’s Superbowl, I made these cute maple bacon cupcakes. So, when the boy suggested an impromptu Superbowl gathering at his place on Saturday night; I immediately promised our friends Superbowl cupcakes – specifically, those aforementioned maple bacon cupcakes. But, then I got excited daydreaming  about all the possibilities out there for an epic Mancake 2.0 – and hence, the Chocolate Beer Cupcake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting and Bacon “Sprinkles” was born.

The Mancake 2.0

And no, my friends did not complain that they weren’t the promised maple bacon cupcakes of last year – and for the record, both the boy and I thought the Mancake 2.0 was far tastier than the Mancake.

2012 Superbowl cupcakes = huge success.

One of my complaints when I made my Irish Car Bomb cupcakes last year was that the cupcake lacked the beer flavour I’d been hoping for, so I went on the hunt for a) a better recipe for the beer cake and b) a better stout to make it with.

Chocolate Beer Cupcakes
Bake 16-18 minutes at 350° || Makes 24

• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 350 ml stout beer (this is one bottle or ~3/4 of a tall boy) – I used Faxe 10% Extra Strong
• 1 stick butter (melted)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup light sour cream

- DRY MIX: Combine the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda (set aside)
- WET MIX: Combine the beer, butter, and vanilla extract – mix well.
- Add the eggs to the wet mix one at a time (mix after each)
- Add the sour cream to the wet mix
- Pour the dry mix into the wet mix slowly, mixing as you pour

Om nom.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 12 ounces softened light cream cheese
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup

- Cream the shortening and cream cheese together
- Add the icing sugar gradually, mixing as you go
- Add 2 tablespoons maple syrup, try it, and add up to 2 more if you’d like (I used 4)

Bacon Sprinkles

• Bacon – and lots of it.

- Fry the bacon up so it’s nice and crispy (or not-so-crispy if you’re like my boyfriend and like it less charred than I do ;)
- Set aside to cool
- Finely dice/crumble the bacon so you have tiny sprinkle-like shards
- Or, just buy bacon bits if you’re feeling a bit lazy or pressed for time ;)

Once baked, set the cupcakes aside to cool, and then pipe the icing on the cupcakes any way you want – I went with the standard 1M swirls. And, for the (deliciously awesome) finishing touch – sprinkle the bacon bits (and LOTS of them) on top. Serve to your guests, and, if they’re a bunch of football-and-beer-loving men (or women!) keep extra bacon on hand. My boyfriend routinely topped his mancakes with “M’OOOORE BACON! *insert manly grumble here*”

Curious about the nutritional info? Click here!

{{ More Travel Stories || About Postcards || Travel Bucket List }}

Over the (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend, The Boy and I took a road trip to Boston, Massachusetts. I’ll be completely honest: 50% of the reason I pleaded to go to Boston until he caved (which wasn’t actually hard at all once I reminded him New England is like, the chowder capital of America) was so I could visit nearby Salem, the site of the 1692 Witchcraft Hysteria.

The path leading to the Witch Trials Memorial in Salem.

It’s no secret that, growing up, I had a fascination with the trials – I loved Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, and even directed it in my grade 12 high school Drama class; and in my Grade 11 American History class I wrote a comparison/contrast essay (by choice – I’ll admit I was a total nerd who LOVED compare/contrast essays, haha) for my ISU comparing the 1692 Witchcraft Trials to the McCarthyism era (Senator Joe McCarthy’s “witch hunt” of communists during the Cold War).

Thanks to our late arrival in Boston, and my inability to read a map correctly (yup) we didn’t quite get to do everything on my list – though I will also admit my “Salem To Do” list could have easily filled our entire 3 day trip.

Once we arrived, we walked the main street – which was filled with little ghouls and goblins and princesses trick or treating for, what we later discovered, was the “Mayor’s Trick or Treat” where businesses hand out candy to cute kids.

Fun items like this were everywhere in Salem - and not just because it was October!

We wandered some of the very unique shops on the street –  a lot of Witch-related paraphernalia, fortune tellers, spirit healers, and other paranormal-related shops. I found Remember Salem Gifts, a (largely) Harry Potter themed store (while I’m not even remotely interested in Harry Potter, the store seemed pretty awesome for anyone who is – they even MAKE their own wands they sell that look authentically awesome). This discovery led to one of the most interesting parts of our Salem visit (to me, at least – The Boy mostly yawned and eye rolled through it): an actual Ghost Hunt conducted after-hours in the store.

The store, way back in the day, used to be a hair and makeup salon – but in the basement there was a quasi morgue/funeral home, where dead bodies would go and the salon staff would do their hair and makeup for the funeral. The owner of Remember Salem used to have his office in the basement, and some strange things happened – moved furniture, the door slamming shut, etc – until one day it was TRASHED overnight. He has always felt a bad vibe down there, but after this incident moved his office upstairs and now “the bad room” (as staff call it) is largely unused. Professional investigators have visited the shop, and the consensus is there’s a few presences down there – a sick or helpless man; a young girl who plays hide and seek (and there’s a picture of her – literally, it’s really spooky – you can see in-shop); and a “bad” presence. Anyway, we conducted our own “ghost hunt” in the basement – which was my first experience playing with EMF readers, EVP recorders, and the like. A few spikes, but nothing too interesting occurred - besides seeing a mysterious hand-print that had appeared weeks earlier and weird claw marks on the ceiling of “the bad room” – but it was still really enjoyable to spend time with an “expert” at the paranormal and other people interested in this stuff.

John Willard's memorial stones at the Salem Witch Trial Memorial

Me with Giles Corey's memorial stone. He turned in his own wife, and was later accused of witchcraft himself. He was pressed to death under stones, refusing to confess. His dying words were "more weight".

Hits:

• If you’re a Harry Potter Fanatic… Remember Salem Gifts
• If you want a truly creepy Ghost Hunt experience… Salem’s Paranormal Tour (at Remember Salem Gifts)
• For a tasty pub meal… The Old Spot, which had (according to The Boy) delicious chowder (I tried it, but I just can’t get into chowder); can’t remember what he had for dinner but my Beer Battered Haddock Sandwich was delish!
• If you’re even remotely interested in the Witchcraft Trials... The Salem Witch Trials Memorial, which was both somber and interesting; and the graveyard next to it was also interesting (albeit dark when we were there and therefore hard to find certain tombstones)

Misses:

• Unless you really, really want to learn the history of the Witchcraft Hysteria from somewhere other than Wikipedia… The Salem Witch Museum – A complete and utter waste of time, IMO. I should mention my boyfriend found it mildly interesting (historically), but you can learn that info elsewhere. You sit in a room, listen to statues “talk” about the trials as a light illuminates different “scenes” (they don’t move).  Next, you go into a room where you learn about the history of witches – and how they’ve changed – until present day. Again, plastic statues “talk” to you – yawn. There were some interesting timelines, photos, etc on the wall; but our guide glossed over the information on them and ushered us through rather quickly (without much time to read them). The one interesting thing here was a beam from the original jail where the prisoners were kept, and that you can touch. But… $9 a person to touch a beam? No thanks.

Mike said I was a witch ;) Shackles for me.

• For fans of Bewitched… The Bewitched Statue, which you’ll probably walk by while there anyways, is kind of neat to look at – the nearby street lights give it a cool glow.
• If you’re looking for a fun, family-orientated ‘supernatureal’ show… The “Supernatural Show” at The Witches Cottage, was a fun, informative, and eye-catching two man performance. Why’s it a meh? Well, it would have been MUCH better (likely a hit) if we had not been sitting in the first row… honestly, the first three rows should probably not exist, sitting there RUINS the fun, unexpected, and “scary” parts of the show. Cheap way to get more people in, but for those who sit there… ugh. It was a silly, fun, ‘scary’ show… but yeah, don’t sit up front. They say it’s not for the faint of heart, etc – but I think younger kids could easily handle this show.

Next Time:

• If you want a historical, haunted walking tour… Salem Ghost Tours – we thought there was a 9pm tour, but it was only at 8 and we would not have made it to the start of the tour in time as we inquired about tickets at 7:55. Sad face.
• For an interactive, theatrical Witchcraft Trial experience… ‘Legacy of the Hanging Judge’ re-enacting the hysteria of the trials at The House of Seven Gables – looks like an amazing time, and I’m bummed we didn’t get over there… but we were only in Salem for an evening.
• For a building with direct ties to the hysteria… The Witch House, which was the home of the trial’s Judge Jonathan Corwin (the only structure in Salem with direct ties) – be warned, it closes early – at 5 p.m.
• For a quick, live reinactment and historical lesson… The Witch Dungeon Museum. This one features a 10-minute re-enactment of part of the trials (from historical records), and the “dungeon” (a re-creation of where the accused we held, since the real one is long gone)
• For delicious dinner… Rockafella’s. We almost went here, but a band was about to go on (loud and we were tired) and there was a cover charge since it was late – I’ve been told by more than one person we should have gone anyway as the food is apparently awesome.

I’m quickly learning being a “grown up” with a big girl job and looking for a real apartment (aka not a student house or random apartment-above-landlords-5-minutes-from-campus) is an entirely different ball game (and frustrating as hell).

Finding an affordable apartment that isn’t a shoebox and isn’t in a location that will likely get me shot (Hi Jane&Finch!) seems next to impossible.

Pretty much, it goes like this:

Affordable. Decent size for two people. Not a basement. Good location. No bugs. Pick three.

And yes, before you ask – we’re still looking. Hopefully not for too much longer, but, you know.

Here’s ten nifty things I’ve learned so far.

"for rent abstract" by jerebu on Flickr.

1. Location is more important that you might think.

Part of the reason I’m moving out (and justifying it) is to be closer to downtown, making it MUCH easier for me to continue my freelance side projects, spend less time commuting to work, etc – but as I quickly discovered, location IS important. My boyfriend was all about location – he wanted to be close to a subway line, somewhat central, etc; but I was all like “whatever, I have a car! wheeee!”. Until I realized one of the areas I considered “awesome” in the west end would be an hour and a half TTC commute to work or, with traffic, STILL a 45 minute drive. Kind of defeats the purpose of “less time spent commuting”. Midtown and east end, here we come.

2. Balconies are expensive.

The Boy’s a smoker, and that’s something I’ve just come to accept. We have our ground rules about it (aka he can’t do it inside, or in his car when I’m in it, and never in my car); but as a smoker he wants a balcony – and I get that. I really do. But a place with a balcony seems to jump $150, if not more, a month in rent – and when you have other “needs” in a place (like, uh, affordable parking for two cars – more on that below) things like a balcony take a back seat. And a dishwasher, which he also wanted. Ha! Dishwasher. The compromise is if we don’t have a balcony, we’re hoping to be on a low floor of a high-rise or in a low-rise, so it’s easy for him to go downstairs and outside to smoke.

3. Finding “affordable” parking in Toronto is like finding a magic lamp.

Sometimes, you get lucky and find a building with parking for $50-$60 a month. It’s usually outdoors, and the buildings usually suck. Usually, outdoor parking averages around $60-70 a month, and indoors is even worse (I’m talking $85/mth and up). There go my dreams of never again scraping my windshield. I recognize many people are probably thinking “but you don’t need a car in Toronto!” and well, no, I don’t NEED one; but I already own one and a monthly metro pass is only a little less than my monthly insurance, so it just makes sense to keep it. I like being able to get groceries without hauling them down the street, or visiting out-of-town friends at my leisure. One building I’m in love with wants $125/mth for parking. Yeah, that knocked that building out of the running pretty quickly (tear).

4. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. That’s ok.

Because sometimes, the place disappears before you even get your viewing, and sometimes they rent it to that blasted 35-year-old single lawyer who makes 8 times your salary who was also at the open house – you can’t get discouraged, even though apartment hunting may be the bane of your existance.

5. It’s a lot of work.

I used to think actually MOVING was bad – the packing, unpacking, carrying couches – well, after moving 17 times in 6 years (I kid you not), I’m a pro at that part. I’ve got bubble wrapping dishes down to a science. But this looking for available places? It’s exhausting. We’ve only looked at a handful or two of places, and I scour the listings daily – but it feels like an eternity. And all the calling (on my lunch, because of course rental offices aren’t open after 5 and I work until 6) sucks. Not to mention all the landlords/supers who only want to show the apartment Monday-Friday between 9-5… uh… don’t you want someone who, I don’t know, works for a living to rent from you? This weekend we’re going to do a drive-by of the area we want to live in (first choice: Yonge & Eglinton) and look for availabilities, on recommendation of my co-worker. I do need to give a shout-out to my two new fav sites for listings though – PadMapper and MapItAt, both which let you search multiple listing sites by a number of parameters, and show results on a handy dandy map. Because really? Who knew that Fsdsoakdooewap Rd. was near Avenue and St. Clair?

6. Check your credit rating.

I didn’t do this right away – after our first “sorry, thanks but no thanks” I panicked and thought it must be my credit. It wasn’t. But checking my credit rating (which, according to Equifax is “excellent”) first would have saved me an afternoon of hyperventilating and overreacting. Yeah, I can be an “assume-the-worst-first” person sometimes. And if it ends up being “worst case” and you have less-than-stellar credit, you’ll know in advance and can approach the landlords about it in advance of an application, work to raise your credit, and avoid unnecessary panic attacks later on down the line.

7. Decide early on what’s most important (your “must-haves”) and what “would-be-nice”.

Affordable parking for one car (preferably two) nearby (street parking is fine) is a must-have for us, as is being a reasonable distance from my work (and from the downtown core). A balcony is a would-be-nice, as is an eat-in-kitchen. Good closet space is a must-have (or enough space for extra wardrobes/dressers comfortably) is a must-have, as is an actual bathtub in the bathroom. A dishwasher and L-shaped living/dining room is a “would be nice”. A non-basement apartment is a must-have (1. because of my need, literally, for lots of natural light and windows, and 2. because of my allergies and crappy immune system). No reports of bedbugs or cockroaches is a must have (uh, obviously). You get the idea. It’s really helped us narrow things down when we’re looking at apartments and keep a level head. When in doubt, refer to checklist.

8. Make and set a budget. Stick to it.

When we first started looking, I set a willy-nilly budget based on a random guess at my spending habits. When I actually sat down and made a REAL budget, I realized I had over shot by a few hundred a month… and forgotten to account for extra expenses like hydro, parking, and a landline if it’s an intercom system. Even still, I see apartments and think “oh, but it’s only xyz amount more a month…” and that’s bad, because when I add in the hydro being extra (if it is), the parking, etc; it ends up being way out of budget. So now I make sure every time I see a place I like, I divide the rent by two and add in all my extra expenses (parking, utilities, laundry, cable, etc) and make sure it’s still within my price range BEFORE even picking up the phone or emailing about the place.

9. Don’t settle, and don’t rush it.

We applied for the third apartment we saw (it got rented to someone else). At first, I was really disappointed – but then I started to remember the negative things about it. The hallways were icky (though the apartment was pristine). The on-site parking was tight and involved parallel parking (yeah, I suck at that) and for a second spot we’d have to rent from a building across the street and down. The bathroom was tiny. There was only one sink in the kitchen (not a double one). Sure, none of these things are major or deal-breakers - but we panicked (surprise, surprise) due to our bad luck of getting “sorry, we just rented it” calls before a scheduled viewing and applied right away. I was actually second guessing the decision before we were told it was rented to someone else, so in the end, I was a bit relieved. I’m not happy to have to keep looking, but hey – maybe the next awesome one will let us rent two parking spaces on-site AND have a double sink.

10. Don’t be too picky.

I know that sounds like a total contradiction of the previous one – but it’s true, especially if you’re trying to stick to a (fairly) tight budget. You have to accept that you might have to give up certain things (like an L-shaped living room) for other things (like two closets in the bedroom). Or you might have to trade a balcony for your perfect location. Even our deal breakers and “must-haves” are, to some extent, flexible if “otherwise” the place is PERFECT or we just have an amazing vibe about it. The only thing I CAN’T bend about, really, is my budget – so I have to be willing to be a little flexible. Where I’m not willing to be flexible? If the place has bed bug reports or really bad reviews by tenants online. Or if it’s owned by CapReit.

And if all else fails? Quit your job and move out west.

(Kidding, mom!)

If you have any advice, comments, or experience with the apartment hunt in Toronto – I’d love to hear it!