Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This recipe was posted on The Pioneer Woman's site in March of this year and every week since I've thought about making it. So what's taken me so long to finally try it? Well, I was working up the courage - you see, I didn't actually know if I liked red peppers and those are sort of a critical component in the dish. Plus, I'd already built such high expectations for the dish in my head so I was afraid of the potential letdown. I was at the store the other day and saw 3 huge red peppers in the reduced produce section for $1!! It seemed like too good a deal to pass up so I bought them and set out to make this dish.

Roasting the peppers was an adventure. We have a gas stove so I just did it right on the stovetop, rotating the peppers every so often. Peeling the charred skins was a messy job, but simple. Once that is out the way, the dish quickly comes together. I skipped the pine nuts and also cut back by about half on the heavy cream. The final result was delicious! It definitely lived up to my expectations and I'm glad to have another pasta recipe to add to my collection! I've included the recipe below but if you're a visual person, it's probably worth stopping by Ree's site for her step-by-step photo instructions.

Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

3 red bell peppers

2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional - I omitted)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup heavy cream

flat leaf parsley, finely minced (I used basil)

fresh Parmesan, shaved or grated

1/2 to 1 pound pasta: orecchiette, penne, fusilli, etc.

Roast red peppers (on grill, under broiler or on stovetop), then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then remove seeds. Set aside.

If using pine nuts, lightly toast them in a skillet. Set aside.

In a blender or food processor, puree peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add salt to taste. Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, then stir together.

Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of Parmesan.

MSC: Banana-Pecan Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Though we usually only post one cupcake recipe a month for the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club, we had an optional bonus round for September! The cupcake selection was banana-pecan cupcakes and since I had all of the ingredients on hand, I decided to jump in on the fun!

The full recipe makes 28 cupcakes but I decided to make 1/3 (mainly because the eggs divided by 3 nicely) and got 11 cupcakes. I used my hand mixer and the recipe came together quickly. I did burn the pecans the first time I toasted them but that's what I get for not setting my oven timer! The recommended frosting is a caramel buttercream, which sounded amazing (and I do hope to try it soon), but I went with the cream cheese frosting we made earlier this month because it was a bit less complicated to throw together and I already knew it was delicious! I also used my Halloween cupcake liners - it's almost October and I decided that made it ok :)

I am not a big pecan fan, but I did try one of the cupcakes and thought it was delicious! Lots of banana flavor, great texture and quite moist. I gave the rest of the cupcakes away this morning so I'll have to report back when I hear what the recipients thought. This is a terrific book so I definitely recommend picking it up! Though we aren't posting the recipes on our sites, you can find it here if you want to give it a shot; be sure to visit our site to check out the other bakers' cupcakes!

TWD: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart

This week's TWD was chosen by Carla of Chocolate Moosey: chocolate-crunched caramel tart! This dessert consists of a tart shell filled first with a layer of caramel studded with peanuts and then topped with a dark chocolate ganache. I'm not a fan of bittersweet chocolate so I knew I wouldn't eat much of the tart, but it was my step-dad's 60th birthday yesterday so I made plans for my mom to pick up the tart and bring it home for him!

The recipe isn't complicated but since there are several components it is a bit time consuming and it dirtied a TON of dishes. My kitchen wasn't clean to begin with, but after I finished the tart it looked like a tornado had ripped through! The only scary part for me was the caramel - even though I've made it a few times successfully I've had enough failures to intimidate me. Fortunately, Dorie's instructions were fantastic and I didn't have any issues. Dorie's recipe starts with only sugar in the pan and melts it a little at a time before adding corn syrup, butter and cream. Most of the other recipes I've seen to make caramel start with sugar and water in the pan and I have to say I much preferred Dorie's method.

Though I didn't try the tart, I snuck a few tastes of the caramel and it was dangerously good!! I called my mom last night to see what they thought of the tart and it was a hit! They both said it was perhaps a bit sweet but that was their only complaint. Thanks to Carla for hosting this week's recipe! You can find the recipe here and if you'd like to see how the other tarts turned out, check out the TWD site.

Two for One: Twice Baked Potato Cups & Caramelized Butternut Squash

Today's post is a two for one! I've got a few side dishes sitting in my drafts folder waiting to be published and I figured I would share two of them today. The first is twice-baked potato cups. I saw these on Bridget's blog and immediately baked them for lunch the same day. That probably had a lot to do with the fact that they incorporated caramelized shallots, and like I said yesterday, my love for caramelized onions (onions, shallots - same difference to me when they're caramelized!) is immense. Since I made these immediately, I worked with what I had on hand, which did not include Havarti cheese. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever had Havarti cheese. I subbed cheddar instead and they were delicious! I love that they stand on their own - so cute! Next time I make these I'm thinking maybe I'll add some bacon to the topping along with the shallots - yum!

Twice-Baked Potato Cups

from Epicurious.com (as seen on The Way the Cookie Crumbles)

4 12-ounce russet potatoes, scrubbed

vegetable oil

1 cup coarsely grated Havarti cheese (about 4 ounces)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced shallots (about 8 ounces)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 F. Pierce potatoes in several places with fork, then brush lightly with oil. Place potatoes directly on oven rack and bake until tender when pierced with fork, about 55 minutes. Cool potatoes slightly.

Cut off thin slice from both short ends of each potato and discard. Cut each potato crosswise in half; stand each half on its small flat end. Using teaspoon, scoop out cooked potato pulp from each half, leaving 1/3-inch-thick shell and forming potato cup. Place potato cups in 13×9x2-inch glass baking dish. Place potato pulp in medium bowl; add cheese, sour cream, milk, and cayenne. Using potato masher or fork, mash until well blended and almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mound mashed potato mixture in potato cups.

Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until tender and deep brown, about 12 minutes. Top potato cups with shallots. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake potato cups until heated through, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

The second side is Ina Garten's caramelized butternut squash. So simple yet so appropriate for this time of year. I think most vegetables are delicious roasted and this one is no exception. I didn't find that the brown sugar made the squash very sweet - it just seemed to help it caramelize. Butternut squash is a bit of a pain to peel and chop but for me, it's so worth it!

Caramelized Butternut Squash

from Ina Garten (via FoodNetwork.com)

2 medium butternut squash (4 to 5 pounds total)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cut off and discard the ends of each butternut squash. Peel the squash, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch cubes and place them on a baking sheet. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 45 to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize. While roasting, turn the squash a few times with a spatula, to be sure it browns evenly. Serve hot.

SMS: Caramelized Onions, Sage & Cheddar Muffins

This week's SMS was chosen by Hanaa of Hanaa's Kitchen: caramelized onions, sage & cheddar muffins! Though I'm not usually a huge fan of savory breads/muffins, two things about this selection had me excited from the start. First, my love for caramelized onions cannot be overstated: they're definitely up there among my favorite foods ever! Second, I only had a block of cheddar so I got to use my food processor to shred the cheese and I just think it's the coolest thing to watch.

I made a few minor modifications to the recipe. I halved the recipe since I wasn't sure I'd like them. I substituted dry sage because I didn't have fresh. I also used 1% milk in place of the whole milk. The batter seemed fairly thick as I filled the muffin tin and I was a little worried these muffins might be dense. My muffins never really achieved "lightly golden" but the toothpick came out clean so I pulled them from the oven after about 25 minutes. Between the color and the shape, they weren't the most attractive little muffins, but they smelled great! I sampled one and was thrilled to find that it wasn't dense at all. It was moist and fluffy! I think the muffins will be a great accompaniment to a big bowl of soup! The only problem was that my muffins were a bit bland. Next time I'd definitely add more caramelized onions and be a bit more generous with the sage.

Thanks to Hanaa for a fun pick this week! She will post the recipe on her blog today or you can pick up the book. Be sure to visit our site to see how everyone else fared this week!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Today marks one week that I've been back in my own house after housesitting for my in-laws for two weeks. I've been in a bit of a funk all week and I can't quite put my finger on the reason. I've been slacking on my cooking, baking and blog commenting. I think the only things I've made since being back are the required recipes for SMS and TWD. I'm hoping this beautiful weekend, the first of the fall, will be just what I need to get back on track and find my motivation. I've got the giant bag of apples from the orchard still waiting to be used and a few apple recipes bookmarked, so I'm optimistic. I was even thinking it might be fun to do apple week sometime in October and share everything I made!

Yesterday I did pop into my kitchen briefly to make cookies to share with my mom. These cookies combine oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate into one treat so I think they've got great universal appeal. The recipe is quick and easy - the only thing I'll note is that my cookies took a bit longer to bake than the recipe indicates but maybe I just made them a bit larger than was intended. When they cool, the cookies have a great chewy texture. The oatmeal wasn't a prominent flavor for me - if anything, it added more texture than taste. Overall, we definitely enjoyed these! I'm thinking they might be a great addition to my Christmas cookie trays this year.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

from allrecipes.com (via My Baking Addiction)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to the prepared baking sheets leaving about 1 1/2 inches between cookies.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Cornbread

It seems like there are new baking and cooking groups popping up every day. So many of them intrigue me, but realistically there aren't enough hours in the day or days in a week to join all of them. There is a group making their way through Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice; I really enjoy the book and have a few blogging friends who participate in the group so occasionally I'll jump in and make a recipe with them.



This cornbread was one of those recipes. It requires a bit of advance planning as you start by soaking the cornmeal in buttermilk overnight. The next day the bread is mixed up and baked with both whole corn kernels and a bacon topping. I tend to be a bit picky about my cornbread and I don't like corn kernels in it so I omitted them. I wasn't sure how I felt about the bacon topping but most things are better with bacon so I gave it a shot. I had enough batter to make 12 muffins and fill an 8-inch cake pan. As for the verdict? I liked it but it wasn't my favorite. On the plus side, it's very moist, has a tender crumb and, aside from the overnight soaker, comes together quickly. I tend to like my cornbread on the sweet side (I know some people cringe at the idea of sweet cornbread but let's not debate it today), however, and this one wasn't quite sweet enough for me (a bit surprising since the recipe calls for granulated sugar, brown sugar and honey!). I also didn't like the bacon on top so I'll definitely leave that off next time. Apparently I'm a cornbread purist - no corn kernels and no bacon here!

The cornbread recipe can be found on a number of sites, including this one, but I highly recommend picking up the book!

TWD: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

This week's TWD was chosen by Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes: cottage cheese pufflets! Ok - moment of honesty: before I even looked at the recipe my first thought was "ewwww, cottage cheese!" I'm really not a cottage cheese fan so the cottage cheese pufflets didn't exactly excite me. On top of that, there was a lot of discussion over on the P&Q's and on Twitter about the dough for the pufflets being fussy. Since the dough for the turnovers last week gave me fits, I didn't relish the thought of struggling again this week. All that said, the recipe was easy to scale down (I made 1/4) so I figured why not at least give it a shot.



The results reminded me why I wanted to be a part of this group. I've flipped through Dorie's book a million times and never once have I noticed this recipe so it's likely I would never have tried it, but I ended up loving it! I kept the dough well chilled and really didn't find it any more difficult to work with than other pastry dough. Instead of rolling it out between wax paper or plastic wrap, I just went with a really well floured counter. Instead of cutting the dough into squares, I made circles with a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter and I filled half of my pufflets with Nutella and half with blueberry preserves. For reasons that aren't entirely clear to me, some of my pufflets got really puffy in the oven and some stayed fairly flat. They were, however, all really flaky and delicious! The dough isn't too sweet so it worked well with both the Nutella and the blueberry preserves and I really couldn't pick a favorite. I'm planning to use the leftover cottage cheese to make these again with different fillings too!

Many thanks to Jacque for a great pick this week! You can find the recipe on her site and head on over to TWD to check out all of this week's treats.

Buttermilk Baps

Homemade bread. It really is the best. I almost never buy bread at the store anymore, with the exception of hamburger and hot dog rolls, which I'm hoping to get around to trying before too long. A week or so ago, Nancy mentioned this Dan Lepard recipe for buttermilk baps she'd found. I wasn't familiar with the word "bap" so I looked it up and a bap is really just a small bread roll or bun. Nancy, Margaret and I decided to try the recipe that day. It came together easily and though I stressed over my dough not being smooth after kneading, the rolls came out perfectly! They're soft with a nice, light crumb. I made mine plain but you could add herbs or spices during the kneading process for extra flavor.

This is the second Dan Lepard recipe I've made (the wonderful milk loaf was the first) and they've both been hits so it might be time to look into picking up one of his bread baking books. The recipe for the buttermilk baps can be found here.

SMS: Orange Scented Blueberry Scones

This week's SMS was chosen by Robin of Lady Craddock's Bakery: orange scented scones! I don't make scones too often so it was a nice change of pace to try these this week. I really wanted to incorporate blueberries into the scones but I only had frozen. My head was telling me not to do it because I knew the berries would probably bleed (no matter how many tricks I tried to avoid it) and I'd wind up with blue scones. My stomach didn't listen to my head and, well, my blue scones are now on display for you all to see :)



Despite their appearance, the scones were pretty tasty. I really enjoyed the texture - they had a nice, light crumb. I used the zest of an entire orange so the orange flavor was plenty prominent and worked well with the blueberries. My main complaint was that the scones weren't sweet enough. I will definitely add more sugar when I make these again.

Many thanks to Robin for her selection this week! You can find the recipe here; be sure to stop by the SMS site to see how the other bakers fared this week.



Since I feel guilty about my blue scone photos, I'm going to share some additional pics. Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day here and I dragged Shane to an orchard for some apple picking - a quintessential fall activity here in New England.



The smallest bag they sold at the orchard held about 10-12 pounds of apples so expect LOTS of apple recipes over the next few weeks!





We also picked some raspberries while we were there. I'm not sure I've ever picked raspberries before but I really enjoyed it. It forced me to face my fear of bees because they were buzzing all over the bushes!





I'm super excited that fall officially arrives this week and I think this orchard trip was the perfect way to kick it off. We'll no doubt be visiting our local orchard within a few weeks to pick up some pumpkins but this weekend Shane just sat among them :)

NYT Chocolate Chip Cookies

I spend a lot of time reading food blogs. I suppose you could say I'm addicted. It's like Christmas morning every day when I hop on my computer, open my Google Reader and see all of the delicious recipes being shared that day by my fellow bloggers. Inevitably, I wind up bookmarking a ton of them, including this chocolate chip cookie recipe, which I've actually had bookmarked for many, many months. These cookies are rumored to be "the best" chocolate chip cookies so I'm not sure why I put off making them for so long. Fortunately, the other day a few of my Twitter buddies and I decided it was high time we gave these a shot so I was able to check them off the ever-growing list.



At first glance this recipe doesn't look too different from a lot of other chocolate chip cookie recipes but there are a few keys. First, the dough rests for at least 24 hours (though 36 hours is best), which gives the dough time to soak up the eggs creating a drier dough which bakes up to a better consistency. Also, these cookies are huge - about 5 inches across - which allows for several different textures in the cookies: crisp outside edges, a soft center and a chewy ring in between.



I wondered if these cookies could live up to all of the hype and I can confidently say that they did! I preferred them warm from the oven but they were still great at room temperature the next day. The variety of textures was as promised and I especially loved the soft centers. They're buttery and just really delicious! Definitely a go-to chocolate chip recipe. A 5-inch cookie isn't always practical, though, so next time I'm going to make them a bit smaller and see if they're still as good.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Jacques Torres (via the New York Times)

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
sea salt

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (about 1/3 cup) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up (it will make for a more attractive cookie). Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Yields 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies

Lemon Curd Ice Cream

I've been wanting to share this recipe with you all for days but every time I sat down to write the post, I couldn't figure out how to describe the deliciousness of this ice cream. I still don't have the words. Suffice it to say, mint chocolate chip has been my favorite ice cream flavor for as long as I can remember, but this lemon curd ice cream now shares the top spot.

I believe Nancy first shared the link for this recipe (thanks Nancy!!) and she and Mary Ann have both made adaptations of the recipe starring lime instead of lemon. The ice cream is custard based so it starts with egg yolks, sugar and milk. The lemon curd and lemon zest are added to the custard and then it chills overnight in the fridge. The next day heavy cream is whipped and folded into the custard before it is churned. The resulting ice cream is creamy, light and so refreshing. The lemon flavor isn't very strong but you will know you're eating something made with lemons. I think the best thing I can recommend is to give the recipe a shot and see what you think. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did! :)

Lemon Curd Ice Cream

from Murphy's Ice Cream Book of Sweet Things by Sean and Kieran Murphy (as seen here)

130 g sugar

5 egg yolks

240 ml heavy cream

200 ml milk

50 g lemon curd (I used this recipe from Alton Brown)

zest of one lemon

15 ml (1 tablespoon) lemon juice

Bring the milk to a low simmer in a saucepan. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow. Temper the eggs by pouring in the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over low heat. Stir continuously until the custard thickens slightly and just coats the back of a spoon (about 170 F). Immediately remove the pan from the heat.

Add the lemon curd and lemon zest to the warm custard, stirring to incorporate fully. Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the custard from the refrigerator and strain it to remove the lemon zest (unless you like it in there). Whip the heavy cream until it has doubled in volume and you have soft peaks. Fold the cream into the custard and then add the lemon juice.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. The ice cream will still be fairly soft after churning so you'll want to transfer it to a freezer-proof container and stick it in your freezer until solid.

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers

This week's TWD was selected by Julie of Someone's in the Kitchen: flaky apple turnovers! I am a HUGE fan of apple turnovers so I couldn't have been more excited about trying this recipe.

I got to work on making the dough last night. After combining the ingredients as instructed, my dough was super crumbly. I figured maybe the recommended 1 hour rest/chill time would take care of the crumbly issue, but alas, it was not the case. I actually left the dough in the fridge overnight and when I got up this morning discovered it was still a crumbly disaster - as in way too dry, there's no way I'll be able to roll it out. Fortunately, my buddy Nancy came to the rescue and said she'd seen some TWD folks complaining of the same issue on the P&Q's this week and recommended adding a bit of water or vinegar. I added 2 tablespoons of ice water and the dough came together much more successfully.

Dough problems solved, I proceeded with the rest of the recipe. I'd made 1/4 of the recipe and Nancy, who'd also made 1/4 of the recipe, told me she cut 6 squares from her dough and folded them over to form triangles before baking. Following her lead, I went the triangle route and got my turnovers into the oven. The verdict? I was a bit disappointed, honestly. I didn't love the turnovers. The filling didn't have enough flavor for me and my pastry wasn't as flaky as I'd hoped it might be. To be fair, the pastry issue was probably user error as I suspect I overworked the dough. I'll have to give these another shot this fall because Twitter was abuzz yesterday about the deliciousness of this recipe.

Thanks to Julie for hosting this week! You can find the recipe on her blog. Be sure to stop by TWD to check out the other turnovers this week - I heard a ton of raves so I was in the minority this week I think.

MSC: Zucchini Spice Cupcakes

We're back with our second monthly bake-along for the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club and, lucky me, I had the good fortune to select the recipe! The book has a ton of good seasonal and holiday recipes but September was a bit of a tricky month - not quite fall, but definitely heading in that direction. I went with the zucchini spice cupcakes, which seemed like a good compromise to me. They say "summer" because they make use of the abundance of zucchini so many people find themselves dealing with right now (for the record, I'm not one of those lucky people) but they also scream "fall" with their use of warm spices - cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves! Plus, cupcakes with veggies in them are healthy so we can eat more of them, right? Isn't that how it works? :)

I hadn't noticed when I made my selection, but this recipe is super simple. It doesn't require a mixer and there's no butter to bring to room temperature. I didn't have any lemon zest so I threw in orange zest instead. I also skipped the walnuts because I'm not a huge fan. The batter seemed pretty thick when I was filling the tins, so I was a bit worried the cupcakes were going to be dense. Fortunately, that wasn't the case at all. The cupcakes were fluffy and moist and so fragrant from the combination of spices!

The cupcakes are topped with a simple cream cheese frosting and wow, does Martha ever know how to make a delicious cream cheese frosting!! I loved everything about it, especially the texture. It was the perfect consistency for piping! It's definitely my new go-to cream cheese frosting recipe - delicious and easy! I thought the cupcakes were great on their own, but slathered with some of the cream cheese frosting, they were perfection. I'm going to freeze some zucchini now so I can make these cupcakes again and again this fall and winter!

Thank you to our fearless leader, Betty, for all of her hard work to get this group up and running! I tend to be a bit of a cookbook slacker so I'm excited to know I will actually try all of the recipes in this book (so far, I'd say we're 2-for-2!). Another big thanks to everyone who baked along with me this week! I hope you all liked the cupcakes as much as I did. If you did enjoy these cupcakes and have more zucchini you want to incorporate into treats, I highly recommend this chocolate zucchini cake I made a few weeks ago. It's wonderful!

(*Betty has asked that we do not post the recipes from Martha's book on our blogs and I'm happy to comply with her request. If you'd like to try the recipe before picking up the book, it is available on a number of other internet sites.)

(**Today is also a TWD day and I do plan to post about this week's recipe - look for it later this afternoon!)

Tidying Up a Bit Around Here...

Tomorrow will be a two-post day (details tomorrow) so I hadn't planned to post anything today. Then I realized I had a few loose ends I wanted to tidy up so I decided to do a non-food-related post. I'll warn you now - this post is high on photos, low on substance. Proceed at your own risk :)

First up, Karen over at Karen's Cookies Cakes & More tagged me last week and while I normally stink at responding to these types of things, I promised her I wouldn't let her down, so here are my responses!

1. A – Available/Single? Married

2. B – Best friend? My husband, Shane

3. C – Cake or Pie? Pie

4. D – Drink of choice? Mountain dew (so unhealthy, I know)

5. E – Essential item you use every day? Laptop

6. F – Favorite color? Yellow (or blue - I'm indecisive, see below)

7. G – Gummy Bears or Worms? Neither - I don't really like gummy candy

8. H – Hometown? Coventry, RI

9. I – Indulgence? Pedicures

10. J – January or February? February - my birthday month

11. K – Kids & their names? No kids yet

12. L – Life is incomplete without? Love

13. M – Marriage date? March 31, 2007

14. N – Number of siblings? One brother & one step-sister

15. O – Oranges or Apples? Apples

16. P – Phobias/Fears? Snakes, bees, spiders, etc, etc.

17. Q – Quote for the day? "If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done."

18. R – Reason to smile? Sunny weather

19. S – Season? Fall

20. T – Tag 4 People?

• Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen

• Margot of Effort to Deliciousness

• Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen

• Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook

21. U – Unknown fact about me? I was a competitive gymnast for many, many years. Now, I'm addicted to watching all sports on tv - gymnastics, football, baseball, hockey, tennis, golf, basketball - it's all good to me!!

22. V – Vegetable you don't like? Green peppers

23. W – Worst habit? Indecisiveness to a fault

24. X – X-rays you've had? Dental

25. Y – Your favorite food? Pizza

26. Z – Zodiac sign? Pisces

Next up, a recap of what we've been up to the past few weekends. As I've mentioned before, Shane decided to start competing in triathlons this year. He wasn't really into swimming, biking or running before he began training but he worked his butt off this year and made serious progress!! Two weekends ago he competed in his first Olympic-distance triathlon: that's about a 1-mile swim, 25-mile bike and 6-mile run! The triathlon was down in Plymouth, Massachusetts and it was a terrific day. The weather was gorgeous and the race site was lots of fun with the Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock to see. I took a ton of photos but tried to spare you from having to look at all of them.

This past weekend was the last triathlon of the season but it was a gloomy, rainy day so I didn't bother bringing the camera. Conditions were tough - the bike leg was cancelled because of conditions on the road, but it was still fun and amazing to see how far Shane's come in just a few months. I'm already looking forward to next year!

The white structure on the left side of the picture is where Plymouth Rock is located.

The Mayflower II

They exited the swim right next to the Mayflower II where you see the ladders

In the transition area getting ready to head out on the bike

Trying to sprint to the finish and complete the race in under 3 hours....did he make it?

Yes! Under 3 hours. For the record, I'm pretty sure it would've taken me 3 hours to do one leg, not all 3 :)