Cupcakes Everywhere!!!

So this weekend was DEFINITELY all about cupcakes!!!  I started on Friday at lunch time and finished Sunday around 3pm.  Of COURSE i took some breaks, but these few days were full of busy cupcake making.  First up?  K's Birthday Party

I made Devil's Food Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting and just tinted the purple ones (obviously).  The giant one was SO much fun (because it turned out pretty well I think) and the baby ones filled my heart with joy.  :)

The were for L's Mother's Day Gathering.  I made Red Velvet with frosting that I intended to look a little like snowballs/flowers.  Then I made purple frosting (buttercream of course) for the Vanilla Sour Cream Cupcakes and topped them with green and yellow fondant flowers.  

These were for my bff Mel.  She, too, wanted these for a Mother's Day gathering at her house.  These were devil's food chocolate topped with purple tinted buttercream and vanilla cupcakes with tinted green frosting and purple and yellow fondant flowers.  GORGEOUS DISPLAY Mel!

Thanks to you all for giving me the opportunity to bake and create for you.  It was a BLAST!!!  

Kupcakes for Claire

I got this inspiration from my friend Kat who is an AMAZING baker and did the cupcakes for my wedding a month ago.  They were gorgeous!!

So, I had a colleague's daughter's birthday coming up and decided to TRY and recreate as best i could for her special first birthday.

This was my first experience with fondant.  All in all, it didn't go so terribly wrong.  I just hope she enjoys them as must as i enjoyed making them. :)  Happy Friday all!

Meatless Monday

Hello all!  It's that time again, the one day that we don't have to eat meat!!  That's right, it's Meatless Monday!! woohooo!  hehe.


Here is what's on the menu for this week, from my Food Network Magazine:


Roasted Cauliflower Risotto


1 head of califlower, florets cut into small pieces, stems chopped
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Onion or Onion Powder (I don't like onions, so i go for the powder)
1 1/2c of rice
1 clove of garlic
1/2 c of white wine 
3 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 ounces Fontina cheese, grated (1 1/2c)


1.  Prehead oven to 475.  Toss cauliflower florets with 1 tbsp of olive oil on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet (this just helps with clean-up) and arrange in a single layer.  Bake for 20 minutes.
2.  Heat remaining olive oil over high heat in an oven safe pot.  Add the cauliflower stems and onion or onion powder and cook, stirring, for about 3 min.  Add the garlic and rice, stirring, 2 minutes.  Add the broth and 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt, cover and bring to a boil.  Cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat.
3.  Add butter and fontina cheese stirring until risotto is creamy, 1-2 minutes.  To serve, scoop into bowl and top with roasted cauliflower.  


I am making this tonight so i will post pics tomorrow!!!  Enjoy!!!

Wedding Weekend

Well, the wedding day has come and gone and guess what?  I SURVIVED.  Nothing earth shattering happened.    That's right.  Everything was beautiful.  The sunset and weather could NOT have been more beautiful had I ordered it straight from heaven, absolutely phenomenal. The love that I felt just by having all of our friends to take time out of their lives to join us in our special day....quite overwhelming.  


I have to say, that I could have done NONE of this without my best friend Melissa.  We had biscuits and gravy and grits for my wedding day breakfast and wine just before walking down the aisle.  The perfect start to a perfect day.  Now, I KNOW that I was not the easiest person to get along with those last few days of singledom, but she stood by my side and simple always said "OK" with a smile.  For this, I will always be grateful.  


And while there were a few "kinks",(my boss's phone rang during the ceremony, my bouquet was ugly and my son Bosco (the pug) barked at the photographer) in the end, it didn't matter. Yes, in the end, I was the bride and I had my groom and we were to be married.  And marry we did.  


Sincerely, 


Mrs. Rowland

Meatless Mondays

I would like to talk about a little thing I participate in called Meatless Monday.  This is probably not a new concept to most of you, but I will talk about it nonetheless.  You see, I have my own issues with meat; sometimes it's texture, well, most times it's about texture.  Some people I have talked with can live on meat alone, no carbs, no veggies, nothing else, I however am the exact opposite.  I eat meat only because I know i need the protein, not because I love it.  Anyway, I think I will dub Mondays (going forward) on this blog to this fantastic no meat day.  I realize that today is Tuesday, but I will tell you today, what I prepared for dinner last night and you can either use this recipe for next week's meatless day, or get CRAZY and have a meatless Tuesday, whatever you choose, the world is your oyster.


Veggie Tacos 
Serves 4


1 Squash or Zucchini roughly chopped (OR  any vegetable that you have around the fridge)
1 clove of garlic
2 c frozen white or yellow corn
1 c canned black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 package of taco seasoning
1`c of chopped tomatoes
1/2 c feta cheese
hard or soft taco shells
any additional toppings that you dig on your normal tacos, i used sour cream and hot sauce.


In a large saucepan, saute first 5 ingredients in the pan until vegetables are tender, around 10 minutes.  Add tomatoes for 2 more minutes, just until heated through.  Fill taco shells with feta cheese and additional toppings if you so desire.  Below is all the veggies you can use.  With all these choices, WHO NEEDS MEAT??  :)

Wedding Week - YIKES!!

This is my first post, and what better for it to be about than the beginning of a new phase in my life.  I have been married before, but we don't have to count that I don't think.  I like to refer to it as my starter marriage.    Anyway, I am so excited about beginning my new life....just one thing:  I am so very annoyed this week.  I'm not sure if it's nerves (which i don't think so), or if it's stupid people.  I think it's the latter.  I am SO in no mood to deal with DUMB family members who wouldn't know an ounce of couth if it bit them in the rear.  I just can't seem to deal with ANY of it.  I actually played the "I'm the bride" card and told them to "handle it".  I'm not even THAT girl.  But oh well.   I'm sure that everything is going to turn out beautifully and be a magical day and in the end NONE of this will matter and we will live happily ever after.    BUT it still annoys me.  So i started thinking, we should all have a place to vent....so i ask  WHAT ANNOYS YOU????  


The only thing getting me through this week (i mean, other than my upcoming nuptials) is that i get to relax and actually HAVE a "bride" spa day with my best friend on Friday.  Aren't we cute??  






























That's Melissa (http://sixonedesigns.blogspot.com/) and Me, Erika.  


Well, until next time, may you all have a fantastic day and remember, don't sweat the small stuff.  Repeat it until you believe it and God will take care of the rest.