Monday, June 28, 2010

The Cupcake Corner, Garden City, NY

On Friday on the way home from work I stopped by a little cupcake shop that I had noticed on my way to work one morning, called The Cupcake Corner in Garden City, NY.

The staff is friendly and even at almost 6pm there were plenty of fresh cupcakes in the display case. I ordered a Tiramisu cupcake and The Kid ordered a rainbow cookie cupcake (which actually is a gigantic rainbow cookie). I was excited to get home and try it out after dinner (remember, I’m trying to be good and a cupcake for dinner is not good) At least my cupcake made it home, as soon as the kid was buckled in, his was gone. Lol, although he did say it was very good.

My cupcake looked good and I couldn’t wait to try it...


The first taste was incredibly disappointing though..

See that little fluff of icing there? It had the consistency of a Styrofoam peanut and tasted like a stale peep. To be honest with you I wasn’t very optimistic about the rest of the cupcake and I was ready to call it quits.. But being the trooper I am I continued on to taste the rest of this cupcake..

And I was NOT disappointed in the rest of the cupcake.

The top layer was creamy and full of flavor

the inside was moist without being soggy, it had great flavor and really stood up without crumbling or falling apart.

All in all it was a good experience. There is a great variety of cupcakes that range from standard size cupcakes to mini and the prices are $1.25 for a mini, $2,50 for a standard & $3.25 for a specialty. The cupcake corner also has an impressive selection of pastries, cakes, Ice cream, coffee and other beverages to choose from.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Ice cream is surprisingly easy to make

With the right tools, I’m really amazed at how easy it is to make quality ice cream at home. I had ordered a Cuisinart ice cream maker from Cookware.com last week... and it arrived within 2 days! I was in Bliss! I couldn’t wait to get out and buy ingredients to make my first batch of ice cream. I looked through the little book that came with the ice cream maker and decided to go with the basic vanilla recipe and dress it up as mint chip for the kid.

2 cups whole milk
1 cup cream
3/4 cup sugar
½ tsp peppermint extract
½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Really, that’s all it took.

With the maker that I have you have to freeze the freezer bowl (for at least a few hours, but I do it overnight)
in a separate bowl mix together the milk, cream and peppermint extract and pour into the freezer bowl, attach the lid, flip the switch, add the chocolate chips in the last few minutes and then in 30 minutes you’ve got a mixture that clearly resembles ice cream but is in no way ready to be consumed by the masses.. So I took it out of the ice cream maker, poured it into a freezer safe covered bowl and into the freezer it went for another 2 hours or so and then I was ready to eat it.. The kid on the other hand will eat ice cream soup.. So he tried it straight out of the mixer and said to me “OMG, mom, it tastes JUST LIKE Breyers” so.. I call that a total WIN!

I have a feeling there will be many different ice cream creations coming out of my kitchen this summer and I'm really, really excited!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

I have some exciting news

OK, so this might be a little more exciting to me than you.. but still..

I'm getting an ice cream maker!

Oh to think of all the great things I'm gonna make (And blog about!) this summer.. W00t!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

You have to draw the line somewhere

I've been away from blogging for a few days, I haven't blogged much because typing hurts, turning my head hurts.. my right arm in general.. hurts. Turns out I have a pinched nerve in my right shoulder. I woke up in pain last Tuesday and I thought it was just a direct result of not being able to get comfortable and the 2 fans I have going in my room at night (it's HOT in my apartment and I don't have a/c, the windows are too small and the portable ones are not only expensive, but noisy). The pain isn't excruciating, but it's an annoying burning, tingling pain and it doesn't help that I'm right handed. I'm told the pain can take around 2 weeks to subside, sometimes longer. So I might not be blogging much until this goes away, but I'm trying.

But I digress.

I was shopping yesterday with my friend looking for Bathroom vanities and there were various food vendors out in the parking lot and my kid asked if he could get a hot dog.. my answer? a resounding Noooooooooo. I don't eat "dirty water dogs" and after an incident with said child when he was about 3 I won't let him eat them either. I briefly had to remind him of that episode (I was tying his shoe and he didn't even get out "mommy, I'm going to be sick" before puking on my head) *shudder*.

I'm very cautious of outside food vendors, while some can be pretty good... some can be very very bad.

If your food is out and not covered or protected I'm not buying.

If you're touching food with bare hands, see ya.

I once walked into a pizzeria and the guy who was tossing the dough had a raging case of pink eye... I walked right out, eww.

I won't eat anything with cilantro in it because the smell makes me sick.

Miracle whip? Eww.

I can not stand Nutella, I think it's awful.

My mom loved smoked eel... blech!

Lox and cream cheese? Nope, I won't eat that either.

Anchovies on pizza? nope.. they're fine as long as I don't know they're in something, lol.

I absolutely draw the line at eating foods that are unnatural colors.. like, bright blue or neon green.. ack!

One funny food disaster: I once made mint chocolate chip ice cream and used spearmint extract instead of peppermint.. it tasted like toothpaste.. it was disgusting!

I will be trying ice cream making again soon, so stay tuned for that one.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Chef's mats by Gel-Pro

Working in the kitchen can be tedious, standing for hours at a time (and if you’re anything like me, you’re standing there barefoot). I love to find products that make the time standing there, chopping, mixing, prepping and cooking just a little more comfortable, so when I saw the Chef's Mats by Gel Pro, Basket Weave Design was one of the items listed in this weeks Foodbuzz Daily Special I had to share. I have a big cushy roll of carpet remnant that I got for $5 from a local carpet place that I use in my kitchen (and cut off more and replace as necessary) not only to protect my feet from the cold ceramic tile, but also for the extra cushioning under my feet while I’m working away in my tiny kitchen. It comes in 5 great colors that match with any kitchen decor and even though the price may be a little hefty @ $99.95 for a 20x36 mat, I’m sure that it pays off in the long run just on the general wear and tear on your joints from standing there in the kitchen and it also states that it Massages your feet while you're standing in the kitchen.. YOWZA! That’s got me right there, and as soon as I move I’m gonna get myself one of these =o)