Jean Grey School cupcakes
In the Marvel Universe late last year Wolverine opened the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. This new mutant school is imaginary of course but that doesn’t stop them from having a pamphlet with faculty, a list of classes and of course: a twitter feed.
My friend Sarah’s fave Marvel character is Phoenix and last year I made her Phoenix/Jean Grey cupcakes. So this year for her birthday, I took the JG school logo and made lolly cupcake toppers. I like to imagine them being laid out for the Jean Grey School homecoming.
ingredients:
white chocolate
black frosting
Make the lollys by melting white chocolate in a double boiler and pouring them into molds. Pop them out and set aside.
I copied the image of the logo off my phone. Using a #2 tip I piped black frosting in two simple parallel lines.
Then added the straight line for the G and the curved edges to finish it off.
Sarah loves Coke about as much as she loves Jean Grey so I made some Coke-float cupcakes and placed the finished lollies in as toppers.
I wish my mutant power was to be able wash dishes using only my mind. School’s in session!
Hello Kitty daifuku
My friend Christy has been gone on vacay in Indonesia for months. It’s sad when people are gone so long, even with social media you still feel the distance. Yesterday she came back with a gift just for me and the box said it all!
She knows my love of Hello Kitty and desserts so I knew this had to be good…
Whohoo! Hello Kitty shaped daifuku! Little tender cakes filled with a sweet chestnut filling. Have you ever seen anything so adorable?! Why don’t we sell this on the regular here in the states? I’d buy them and eat them everyday. This was even cuter than the things I saw at the Sanrio dessert cafe in Hawaii!
Cutest food ever from halfway around the world and man, was it tasty!
Kalua Pig Fried Rice
Have leftover Kalua Pig? Unlikely! But if you do, make fried rice of course!
ingredients:
3 cups white rice, cooked
4 slices of bacon
1 cup kalua pig, cooked (recipe here)
1/2 cup corn
2 eggs
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
pepper to taste
Chop the bacon into small pieces and cook until crispy. Set aside to drain.
In the same pan over medium high heat add the cooked white rice. To the sizzling rice add the eggs, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to combine.
Once the eggs are cooked and the rice starts to cook through, add the bacon, kalua pig and the corn. I had cooked my kalua pig with cabbage which added some nice color to the dish. Season with pepper to taste.
WWVE – mini banana
What Would Vader Eat at recess? Sith Lords like healthy snacks.
See all of Vader’s past lunches, here.
Chick Pea+Sausage Soup
It’s National Soup Month – drink up!
It’s getting colder, so to warm up I’m turning to lots of warm soups and comforting foods. This soup is hearty and full of flavor and texture. A perfect meal for those cold winter nights.
ingredients:
1 (14oz) kielbasa
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup corn
1/2 cup peas
1 diced carrot
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Chop the kielbasa into small pieces. In a large pot over medium high heat cook the kielbasa with the minced garlic for about 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, corn, peas and carrot. Pour in the chicken broth.
Add in the seasonings: basil, oregano, celery seed, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.
National Pie Day
Today is National Pie Day and to celebrate here’s a recap of my faaaave pies both savory and sweet!
Broken Glass Jell-o Pie (recipe here)
Mac ‘n’ Cheese Pie (recipe here)
Captain America Apple Hand-Pies (recipe here)
Nutella Strawberry ‘Pi’ on a stick (recipe here)
Mini Chicken Pot Pies (recipe here)
Ninjago cupcakes
This week the Kid turned 8! Last year he had a party where I made all Lego themed foods. This year was more low key but Legos were still a huge part of his big day!
We took a trip down to Legoland in San Diego (mecca for all brick-loving kids) and got to see Lego art form at its best. Right now the kids are really into Ninjago. Pronouced nin-jah-goh, personally I think it should be pronounced ninja-GO, but what do I know. Of course it’s not only a toy but also a tv show. Mmmhm, figures. The little Lego ninjas sure are cute and perfect inspiration for cupcakes!
I decided to make chocolate lollipop toppers, focusing on just the ninja mask – the eyebrows are what gives them character!
ingredients:
yellow candy melts
red frosting
black frosting
white frosting
cupcakes (I used cookies and cream, recipe here)
I melted candy melts over a double boiler, then poured them into lollipop molds. I’ve become addicted to chocolate molds. I’ve used them for everything from Phoenix-Jean Grey cupcakes to Lego minifigs!
Since Lego heads are yellow, the yellow pop provided a good background for the face.
Using a #5 tip and red buttercream I piped the outline of the ninja mask.
Then I filled in the two outer edges – leaving an opening for the eyes.
Using a #2 tip and black tinted frosting I piped two small round eyes.
Then I added the arched eyebrows. The eyebrows really start to give the ‘face’ some definition.
A white dot for the pupils completed the eyes. I popped them in the freezer to give them a little shine.
I placed the finished lollipops into cupcakes topped with chocolate ganache. They made the perfect birthday treat for my Lego-loving 8 year old!
Cakespy contest finalist!
I’m excited to announce that I’m a finalist in the Cakespy contest!
Please vote for my SmoresTroopers cupcakes by either commenting on the blog post, ‘like’ing on facebook or commenting on flickr! Thanks for your support!
Green Tea Noodle Soup
It’s National Soup Month! Is it because it’s cold or something because it was hovering around 80 here in LA for most of January…Anyway, to celebrate I’m posting soup!
Green tea noodles make this soup special. Then again so do lightsaber chopsticks.
ingredients:
1-1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
1 bundle green tea udon noodles
1/4 cup roasted chicken
2 Tablespoons edamame, shelled
2 Tablespoons sweet corn
3-4 slices kamaboko
fried nori chips
In a large pot of boiling water, cook the green tea noodles until soft, approx 6 mins. Drain (do not rinse) and set aside.
In a saucepan heat the chicken broth, soy sauce and mirin on medium high until hot.
Pour the soup into a bowl, add the noodles and top with the chicken, edamame, sweet corn, kamaboko and nori chips. The beauty of this is you can put in anything you have around. I even added two gyoza for the heck of it.
As many ingredients as this has, this is still a fairly light soup – perfect for a cold day or…an 80 degree winter day at the beach.
Root Beer Tri Tip (crock pot)
On the list of things that I love – old skool rap and root beer is right on up there. I use Root Beer A LOT (check out all my other root beer recipes) in cooking because I love the flavor that it adds. Sweet with a hint of spice, it’s perfect for cooking meat.
Using a crock pot makes this tri tip fall apart beautifully and it is the perfect mid-week meal. Start it up in the morning and by dinner you’re good to go.
ingredients:
2-1/2 lbs tri tip
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
dash of cayenne
1 can root beer
Mix all the dry ingredients together and rub it on the tri tip. Place in the crock pot.
Pour in the root beer. Set the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
Slice or pull apart the trip tip and serve!
