Secret Celeb Weddings: January 2011

Blinded by June

This past summer, I developed a love for gardening. It's so wonderful to put a seed into the ground, watch it grow and see it flower -- it's tangible and fulfilling. As I did my planting, weeding and watering, I noticed June bugs flying around in the warm summer air. They flew around erratically, plowing into every hard surface in the surrounding area. It made me wonder: Are June bugs blind?

June bugs are part of the beetle family (Phyllophaga sp.) and has two sets of wings. The top set is part of the beetle's exoskeleton, which serves to protect its body, the second set of wings are for flight. As the top wings are heavy, they throw the beetle off balance, making them clumsy fliers. The June bug has poor vision and has an attraction to light. Therefore, June bugs are not blind, just visually impaired, with poor coordination.

Source:

Answers.com - Why do June bugs crash into things?

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

Gluten free chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

The best gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipes on GFG.

It's a cool rainy Sunday here in West Hollywood. I am sipping a hot coconut milk chai to the velvet croon of Chet Baker. And I am thinking about cookies. Not just any cookies. Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. The best of the best. Sifting through my variations like a saxophone player in the groove of a beat. How do I like them best? That is the question. Because cookies will be baked today. And I've got a handful of chocolate chip cookie recipes to choose from. I've got choices.

Maybe I'll go with a classic style, bumpy with heavenly chunks of a vegan dark chocolate bar. Or the slightly chewy-crisp favorites made with gluten-free rolled oats from Bob's Red Mill. Wait. But then I remember my buckwheat flour chocolate chip cookies. Slightly sweet and verging on cakey. Perfect with a glass of cold vanilla rice milk. And then, to make matters even more complicated, I suddenly crave my quinoa flake cookie dough seductively studded with dark chocolate chips.

Decisions. Decisions.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. . . . . yeah, you heard me.

Kiddo's birthday was last week and he LOOOOOOOOOOVES cookie dough.
{So does his mother...it's hereditary.}

I knew exactly what to make him for his birthday cake, Cheryl's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.

Let me break these bad boys down for you....

First, there is a chocolate chip cookie cupcake. Then, they are filled with chocolate chip cookie dough filling. And finally, they are topped with a brown sugar cookie dough frosting.

{Yeah, you don't WANT to know the WW points on these puppies.}

For the cupcakes and the filling, I'm going to link you to Cheryl's printable recipe. The only change I made on those was to add just a *pinch* of salt to the filling. You could totally skip that if you wanted.

I changed up the frosting just a bit, so here is that recipe...

Brown Sugar Cookie Dough Frosting

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 lb. box powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
3 TBSP milk
2 and &1/2 tsp vanilla
mini chocolate chips

Cream the butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat on low until incorporated, then increase the speed and beat until smooth and combined. Add the salt, milk and vanilla; blend until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes. (I used a Bakery Crafts 9CS tip.) Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.

Now, it's time for the candles.

And I have NO IDEA how this happened, but the reflection of the flames made ♥'s in the picture. Is that cool, or what?!?!?

{Here's what 12 looks like around here.....sweaty hair, flared nostrils, fruit punch mustache and all. ♥}

One a penny, two a penny...

Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns! One a' penny, two a' penny, hot cross buns! If you have no daughters, give them to your sons. One a' penny, two a' penny, hot cross buns!

Q.
Each Easter, my family celebrates with a traditional Guatemalan Easter feast. It consists of fried salt fish, rice and delicious salad of pickled beetroot, cauliflower and fresh peas; it's a simple meal, but I look forward to it every year. Each year, my family looks to me to bake dessert, so this past Easter, I decided to attempt the traditional hot cross buns. As my home filled with the sweet, yeasty fragrance of the bread rising, I began thinking, why are these little buns seen mainly around Easter? So, today's question is: What is the symbolism of hot cross buns?

Yep. I made these!

Of course the Christians took this one over! According to the Church of England, the hot cross bun has a number of meanings that are tied to Easter, which include the bread symbolizing the communion host, the spices are meant to mirror the spices that Jesus was wrapped in when laid in the tomb, and the cross to show the crucifixion... but how do they explain the fruit?

Upon further exploration, crossed buns can be traced back to pagan times, where the spring festival commemorating the goddess Eostre, included ceremonial cakes marked with a cross. The Egyptians also offered small round cakes marked with a representation of a pair of ox horns to their moon goddess. Additionally, the ancient Greeks produced little buns called "boun"offered to the gods, where the cross is speculated to represent the four quarters of the moon.

Hot cross buns as an Easter tradition began in Elizabethan times. At that time, hot cross buns were made from same dough as communion wafers, the Protestant monarchs viewed this as a Catholic hold on Britons and enforced a law that limited the sale and consumption of them to Christmas, Easter and funerals. In the time of James I, this law seemed nearly impossible to enforce and bakers were allowed to produce spiced bread throughout the year.

In modern times, hot cross buns come in all varieties such as apple and cinnamon, orange and cranberry, and toffee... but give me the traditional ones any day!

Sources:

BBC News - How did hot cross buns become two a penny, April 1, 2010

Food Timeline - Easter foods history & symbolism

The New York Times - Who were the first to cry "hot cross buns?" March 31, 1912

Wikipedia - Hot cross bun

Peggy Loves Vintage - whatever you do...don't forget!!!

Happy Sunday everyone! Sure hope you're enjoying your weekend! We've actually got a little bit of weather here today. It's cloudy and we've had a mix of rain and snow showers. So it's starting to look a little more like winter than spring. Today I've got a card for you featuring another one of the adorable images from Peggy's new Cutie Couples Cutouts over at Peggy Loves Vintage. These images are soooo much fun! This card took me absolutely no time to make! I just cropped out this picture, printed up on cardstock and assembled the card.

I think this image is so funny!! Her whomping him on top of the head with her rolling pin, and him waving his little home sweet home sign. LMBO! The sentiment is one of my own of course that I just printed up using Microsoft Word onto cardstock. The cardstock is Bazzill and the DP are from Nitwit Collections. I added some faux stitching around the panels.

So if you're looking for a way to make some cute Valentine's Day cards in a snap, and you like the vintage look, then hurry on over to Peggy Loves Vintage and grab these Cutie Couple Cutouts! You'll love them! And don't forget to follow Peggy's blog too! She loves to give away free vintage images!!! Thanks so much for stopping by to see me today and hope to see you back again soon! Hugs!

SOUL SUNDAY

TRAILER OF THE THE WEEK

Inilah Misteri Danau Berwarna Biru Neon di Australia

Berenang seharusnya memberikan suasana yang sehat bagi raga kita. Tetapi, belum tentu demikian halnya jika Anda berenang di kolam misterius ini. Kulit Anda bisa seketika berubah menjadi biru neon usai berenang di danau itu.

"Rasanya seperti kami sedang bermain dengan cat radioaktif," kata Phil Hart yang menangkap gambar fenomena aneh ketika teman-temannya muncul dari sebuah danau di suatu malam.

Apa yang membuat air di tepi danau itu menyala dalam kegelapan? Ya, air berwarna terang di saat gelap itu tidak muncul dengan sendirinya. Ia tercipta karena reaksi kimia yang disebut biopendar (bioluminescence), yang muncul saat konsentrasi mikro-organisme di dalam air terganggu secara alamiah.

Phil, 34 tahun, meletakkan kameranya dengan penyanggah kaki tiga dengan kecepatan shutter terlambat. Lalu, dia kemudian melempar butiran pasir dan batu sehingga kamera dapat menangkap gambar bintik-bintik air biru sebanyak mungkin. Hasil gambarnya: sempurna.

begitu memukau adalah kesempatan yang sangat langka," ujar Phil. "Saya di sini sebagai direktur program di sebuah organisasi yang secara rutin mengadakan agenda berkemah di sekitar Danau Gippsland sejak 50 tahun lalu. Dan, belum pernah ada yang dapat melihat biopendar seterang ini."

Seperti yang disebutkan, fenomena ini disebabkan tingginya konsentrasi mikro-organisme yang tinggi. Hal ini diyakini sebagai hasil dari kombinasi kebakaran hutan dan banjir di sekitar danau, di mana secara tidak langsung meningkatkan kadar nutrisi di dalam air yang dapat menghidupkan organisme.

"Ini tidak boleh terjadi lagi dalam hidup saya," tutur Phil. "Saya merasa beruntung karena telah melihatnya dan berhasil merekam gambar tersebut dengan kamera saya."

"Warna biru cerah tidak hanya terlihat dengan mata kepala saya saja, tetapi juga dengan kamera saya. Ketika mengambil fotonya pertama kali, saya hampir tidak percaya melihat orang-orang di air tampak aneh," pungkas pria asal Melbourne itu.

DAY 1

Its Day 1 of the Grand National Roadster Show... This is just a preview of what you have to look forward to if you are coming out this weekend.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Scones

A warm gluten-free scone. Hot tea. Breakfast bliss.

Are you sick of the snow yet? My heart goes out to you. So many of you have been hammered this winter. Spring will arrive this year not a moment too soon. My advice? Bake some scones. Scones are easy to throw together. The oven warms up the kitchen and chases off the chill. And in less than half an hour you have a tender gluten-free morsel to share and savor. Gently spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and studded with sweet bursts of raisins, I predict these cinnamon raisin scones will make you smile.

And speaking of predictions, Punxsutawney Phil better man up and predict an early respite come February 2. My fingers are crossed for all of you shoveling out from under. Not that I'm superstitious, or subscribe to the precognitive powers of double furred rodents, but. I remember the long dreary bouts of cold and gray all too well. I spent almost fifty-five years in the grip of Old Man Winter, praying the illustrious marmot would not see his shadow.

Will we have an early spring?

I hope so, Darlings. I hope so.

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