Animal Housewife

I took this recipe from Love and Olive Oil, a great cooking/baking website. For the caramel filling, I used caramel that is packaged and sold for the purpose of dipping apple slices. The caramel, being pretty dense, slipped right into the holes that I cut into the cupcakes. Its density, however, did tend to make the cake crumble a little bit, so I kept the finished product in the refrigerator, which solved the problem. They tasted great cold anyway. The dark chocolate buttercream frosting is one of the best frostings I’ve ever made.

I made sugar cookies this weekend. I stole this recipe from my husband’s grandma, Gram. I use it every holiday. These cookies smell and taste like butter and sugar and a hint of vanilla and almond. They are delicate and sweet. I made icing for them out of powdered sugar and vanilla and milk. They didn’t turn out quite as pretty as I wanted them to, but I guess they’ll do for now.

This is a great recipe. They’re easy to make and were extremely popular. They’re richer than most of the other cupcakes I’ve made so far, but honestly - what chocolate peanut butter recipe isn’t rich? I’d recommend pouring yourself a tall, cold glass of milk to go with these.

I have been trying out different cupcake recipes lately.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

These are vanilla bean cupcakes.  It’s the first recipe I’ve ever used that calls for real vanilla bean seeds.  It was a fun recipe to make and they tasted delicious - like sugar and vanilla and butter.  They were sweet and simple and really very lovely.  Pretty, too!

Weeks ago, I tried a recipe for chocolate mint cupcakes.  The frosting was  a bit of a challenge because you have to put two different colored/flavored frostings side by side in the piping bag for the swirled affect.  My handiwork wasn’t perfect, but they still looked pretty cool.  These were VERY tasty.  The cake part was vegan, which I was very skeptical about, but it was moist and chocolatey and I honestly don’t think I would have known that they were vegan had I not made them myself.

I love Woody because he’s leggy and beautiful and wolf-like.  I love him because he’s loyal and gentle and kind.  Because he came to a house that already had two dogs and even though he’s bigger and stronger, he never challenged them.  Because he sat at the Animal Humane Society at an old age, because he sat there for a long time.  Because he needed someone to love him.  I love Woody because he’s handsome and sweet.  I love him because he tries to curl all of his horsy 70 pounds up in my lap when I sit on the couch.  Because he gets his purple ball when I ask him to, because he gets it all the time to show me now, without my even asking, because he knows it pleases me.  I love Woody because he speaks on command and howls when he wants my attention.  I love him because he tattles on the other dogs when they wrestle in the bedroom, because he lies on the kitchen floor and waits for hours for his dinner, because food is his favorite thing in the world, other than me. 

Last Name:  Meister

AKA:  Woodman, Big Guy, Woodster

Breed:  Husky?, Shepherd?, Wolf?, Pan’s Labyrinth

I was watching The Real Housewives of NYC a couple of weeks ago and the women were volunteering their time by cooking a dinner at the American Cancer Society.  Apparently, the idea behind that evening was to feed cancer patients a nice meal.  The place appeared to be a store front of some sort with several card tables set up and the kind of kitchen one finds at cooking schools.  One especially noticeable prop was a bald, sick-thin woman who appeared once in awhile in the background, as the Housewives futzed about with the salad and argued over whether or not the Countess’ husband was considered “old” or not.

It really pissed me off.

Why would anyone assume that, because I have cancer, I would want to go to something like this?  It’s not just that these women are despicable.  Any stranger could be behind the meal, and it would still be a meal made by strangers, served at a card table, in a store front.   Honestly, I’d much rather be given a gift card or taken out to a nice restaurant, thank you very much.  Or I’d rather have friends and family come over and make me something nice.  Why would I want to sit at a card table, in a store front, and have strangers serve me some meal?

Now, if I were homeless, I’d be all over this kind of thing.  However, I’m NOT homeless.   I have cancer.  Last I checked, these two situations were quite different.

Ladies?  Thanks anyway.  I’ll eat at home.

Here are the results from the first scan I’ve had since I started chemo.  Basically, my lymph node system looks normal.

Leona is my Godmother.  She has been a part of my life ever since I can remember until when, over 10 years ago, we lost touch.

Leona came to see me on my birthday this year, and it meant more to me than I can ever tell anyone.  I love her.  She is a beautiful woman, a free spirit, and may she never ever ever let anyone hold her down.  Just being with her made me smile.  Her stories will always make me smile.  Her SMILE makes me smile.  I Love Leona.  Dear Godmother Leona, please stay in my life.

a co-worker:  So, has the cancer given you a new outlook on life?

me:  I don’t know.  Do I get to stick around for it?

Lola is a golden retriever mix, found at the Animal Humane Society when she was approximately 10 months old.  She had been transferred there from another shelter in WI.  She was at least 10 pounds underweight and was suffering from kennel cough.   After we brought her home, she wouldn’t play Tug with us with her new rope toy.  She would just drop her end and look up at us with her big brown eyes.

She’s four now, and she completely chews her toys to pieces the minute she gets them.  She’s at least five pounds overweight and she runs the household.  She is a terror at the dog park because she’s afraid other dogs are a threat to her pack.  Unless the other dog is a frightened puppy, then she will immediately curl up with it in a protective manner.

Last Name:  Kinz

AKA:  Punkin, Pretty Golden Retriever, The Prettiest Girl in the Whole World, Love of My Life

Breed:   Golden Retriever, Pretty, Pouty

Frankie, a Chow Chow/Shiba Inu mix, was also found at the Animal Humane Society, when she was three months old.   We had decided that Lola needed a puppy for company.   The day that we brought Frankie home, she pulled my pants down in a public park and bit me on the face.   She used to stare me down.  She’ll still do it once in awhile when I ask her to do something, but the twinkle in her eye gives her away, and she eventually obeys.  She gives great hugs and has a soft, purple tongue and a ready smile.  She’s two years old now.

Last Name:  Doodle

AKA:  Munchkin, Doodle Monster, Frankie Doodle Dandy, Weirdo

Breed:  Chow Chow, Shiba Inu, Woodland Creature, Knucklehead, Vicious Beast