The Taste of America

pop

fizz

soda

bliss....

Ok I admit I have never been that big a fan of Mountain Dew, my dad would probably say it tastes likes piss, but to me its just another thing that reminds me of beign stateside and tastes of home. I'm sure there are better things out there to remind me of america but right now i'm sitting her with an opened can of the vile yellow liquid and its like nectaer from the gods of consumerism.

I purchased it strangely enough from a little market stall in Derby, a little Thai market stall to be precise, I'm not particularly sure why they had MountainDew, and Mug root beer too, but that only stayed in the fridge for a few hours before it was just an empty can to be recycled. Barq's is the best root beer though I think I might cheerfully maim for a cold can of it. And as M thinks its vile stuff its all mine. Though I find it hard to get my head aroudn the fact that he will drink gallons of dadnelion and burdock, which I think was created as part of an internation food dare, right up there with haggis and snails.

Lemon and Mascarpone Cheesecake

Lemon and Mascarpone Cheesecake

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon zest (3 lemon)
juice of 3 lemons
for the base:
12 biscuits (makes roughly 1½ cups crumbs)2 tablespoons melted butter
Crush the biscuits and add the melted butter. Mix well and press firmly into a 8-inch pie pan. Pat down using the base of a glass. Place in fridge for 30mins to set.
While base is setting. Mix together cream cheese, mascarpone, lemon zest, lemon juice (I normally put the lemon juice in to taste roughly about 2 lemons worth but in this instance i used all three for a very lemony cheesecake) sugar, using a wooden spoon or electric mixer. Pour the cheese mixture over the base and spread evenly. Put cheesecake in the fridge for at least 4 hours to set, preferably overnight.

cooks notes:

as I had a lot of lemons to use up i used three lemons in the recipe which made for a very tangy refreshing cheesecake but if you don't like lemon quite that much you can just use the juice and zest of two unwaxed lemons.

Painted Lady

hello..lo..lo..lo i'm still alive honest, though i'm not sure anyone actually reads this blog besides my dad on a regular basis, i am still here but its been a hectic week or two and i haven't managed to get much writing done on here. THe biggest project had been entertaining H as its summer break and he o nly goes to preschoon for a few hours on monday and friday, so cue me running around the house like a woman possesed trying to clean the house and tidy up whatever messes H, M and the cats have left for me.

Also I have been painting H's room, and I absoloutly hate painting walls, and especially celings its just crap, and i ran out of paint, so there are a few patchy bits that need repainting, and the back wall has fluffy white clouds on it as a quick improv to figure out what to do with one corner of the wall still being bright white when it was supposed to be blue. not just any blue but the dark under-the-sea stuck-at-the-bottom-of-a-trench blue that H picked out all by himself. And now to add to it I have to go back to painting it on friday and add a rocketship to the clouds as per h's request. That i don't mind, I like actual painting, I'm ok at that, I'm no rembrant but I enjoy painting pictures just not walls. Perhaps its a lefthanded thing as i can't really paint a straight line to save mylife. And no matter what i do i just end up completly covered in paint, i have given up using rollers as i'm just so diabolically bad at using them and now just stick to using a little paintpad and away I go.

I hyave been drawing alot lately and may soon be designing a little canvas bag to go along with the two t-shirts I have made in the last few weeks.... so i'm quite happy with that.. oh and there is the possibility of going on a one day writing course in septemeber with frizbe, its a begginers course on novel writing, I would never think to go on one on my own but Frizbe is much more outgoing than me so will let her do the talking to begin with and maybe it will help me to move on with writing a bit more. my poor little teapot blog has been sadly neglected for too long. I must sort out writing some more on it tommrow while h having his nap before swimming lessons.

Cinnamon and Blueberry Pancakes

Cinnamon and Blueberry Pancakes


2 cups Self-raising flour
¼ cup Sugar
¼ cup sour cream
¾ cup Milk
1 Egg
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen Blueberries

.Beat together flour, sugar, sour cream, milk, egg, cinnamon until smooth. Gently fold in blueberries. pour approximately 1/4 cups batter on hot griddle. Though I make small pancakes for my son.
On occasion I have made blueberry syrup as well, when the are going cheap that is

BLUEBERRY SYRUP

2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional it just helps it to keep longer if not used right away)
combine the ingredients and simmer about 10 minutes. Serve as is for rustic treat or sieve for a smoother consistency.

cooks notes: ok to be honest i have only made the syrup once as normally pancakes are a sunday ritual and i'm just not a morning person so whatever is quickest and makes H and M happy works for me, and the quicker i make breakfast the quicker i get the next cup of coffee! The pancakes are lovely and one of my favorite pancake recipes. I'll sort out a picture next time

Key Lime Cheesecake (no bake version)

Key Lime Cheesecake With Biscuit Base

3 pkg. (8 oz. (200 g) each) Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. grated lime zest (2 limes)
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (2 limes)
1 cup whipping cream
pie crust*
Beat cream cheese, sugar, zest, and lime juice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
In a separate bowl whip the cream then add it to the cheese mixture. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the crust.
refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
Top with fresh whipped cream just before serving. Store any leftover cheesecake in the refrigerator.

For the crust
12 biscuits (digestives or coconut or graham crackers makes roughly 1½ cups crumbs) 3 tablespoons melted butter
Crush the biscuits and add the melted butter. Mix well and press firmly into a 8-inch pie pan. refrigerate while preparing the cheesecake filling.

cooks notes:

The cheesecake was much easier to make than the baked version, the addition of the whipped cream made for a much lighter density. I'm quite happy with the result the only drawback is that I used a new zester which was a little bit keen to zest the limes. I think I will definatle use this recipe again in the future. THe origional recipe I found online and adapted it to my way of thinking. Afterall I'm left handed and we do think diffrently! Next time I might experiment with some lemongrass or a bit of ginger, or possibly some cherry topping.

Crafty

Ok don't laugh but the other week I started a new um hobbie I guess, and some cheap organic cotton t-shirts in plain boring old white that I found at Primark. Yes I hand my head in shame I have been to primark and actually bought something. Anyway I wanted to design a t-shirt, and not having a clue what to do with it the shirt sat around for over a week before I did anything with it, then I bought a laundry pen.. that you iron the ink on to make it stay even when washed. The above is what I ended up with. I'm pretty happy with the result, though I'm sure it could have turned out better or possibly worse if I tried to lean how to do silk screening.

I think she is a lovely little flower goddess I must scan or take a picture of the original sketch I did. My only other option would be to have the imaged scanned and either print it on that iron on paper or take the file to one of the printers that prints t-shirts.

Yesterday was Frizbe's birthday and I made a t-shirt for her, its the same style shirt just a different drawing, which i totally forgot to take a picture of I'm such an idiot.. I took a picture of the original sketch which has been lurking about in my sketch book for something like a decade.. ouch.. anyway here she is until i take a picture of Frizbe's shirt anyway.

P.S. Meg if you are reading this I'm still working on your scarf I haven't forgotten about you!

Thai Chicken with Basil Leaves on Sticky Rice

Chicken With Fresh Basil Leaves

3 tablespoons vegtable oil
2-3 tablespoons crushed garlic
3 red chilies chopped
1 lb chicken (ground/minced) or turkey
1 tbl oyster sauce
2 tbl thai fish sauce
1 tbl soy sauce
1 tbl sugar (white/caster)
2 red chilies cut large
1 cup chicken stock or water
1 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1-2 tbl lemongrass ( I used the squeezie kind but you can use fresh stalks and chop it)
2 tbl fresh lime juice optional


Heat the oil in a wok or a large frying pan, add the garlic and chopped chilies and lemongrass. Stirfry until the garlic begins to brown.

add the chicken mince stirring vigorously to break it is. Cook the chicken for two minutes before adding the oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir well before adding the large chilies. Add the cup of chicken broth, or water and bring it to the boil.

add the basil and cook for a further 1 minute. just before serving add a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

cooks notes:
the dish turned out lovely, I served it with some tom yum soup that was from a paste that I bought at the little thai stall at the Eagle Centre Market in Derby. I also cheated with the rice and use some readymade thai sticky rice. Although last week I expiremented with making coconut rice which had mixed results of tasting nice but strangly not very coconutty.

another meme

My roommate and I once: never had a roommate unless my husband counts

Never in my life have I: bungee jumped, freeking stupid sport

High school was : hell, definitely 10th circle territory

When I'm nervous : My stomach twists in knots and I feel sick

My hair : needs a new style, M says he thinks it should be long again

When I was 5 : um we drove across the US of A from New York to California

When I turn my head left : I look out the window at the carnage that is H's toys strewn about the garden. Also there is a strange glowing orb in the sky surrounded by blue

I should be : cleaning right now, but H is asleep and I'm having a break

By this time next year : I have no idea its hard to think ahead to what to make for dinner tomorrow night let alone decide what i want to be doing a year from now.

My favorite aunt is : erm seeing as i don't think i actually exist to my blood relatives I would have to say my favorite aunt of my husband's relatives is June

I have a hard time understanding : politics, baseball, knitting patterns

You know I like you if : I cook/bake for you

My ideal breakfast is : coffee followed by more coffee, possibly followed by pancakes with cinnamon sauce yum

If you visit my home town : Santa Rosa: bring me back some asiago bread and a wolf coffee, and a spinach Parmesan bagel, and a burrito from the mexican place the next road over from where i lived. if you visit Ripley, well there isn't a lot to do here, but Brock's is a nice cafe.

If you spend the night at my house : you will be woken up by H promptly at 6am, but you will get a lovely lavazza coffee, and i might make some nice pancakes with maple bacon

My favorite book is: ohh um well I dunno, that's really difficult to narrow down to just one book.. possibly the Stand by Stephen King unabridged naturally

My favorite day of the week is: Tuesday, as its normally ride out day

The animal I would like to see flying besides birds : penguins, but the are a bird so umm turtles

I shouldn't have been : eating m & m's earlier.

Last night I: watched Garden State for the second time, I forgot how lovely the soundtrack is

A better name for me would be : I've always wanted to be an Alex (Alexandria) or a Morrigan or even a Mara

I've been told I look like : my parents.. other than that I think someone once said i looked like some star from the 40's or 50's, i can't remember, probably Mae West if she was brunette or someone equally curvy (read fat) .. my brain is tired today

If I could have any car, it would be : a flying car so no more paying out tons of money to fly out to visit my parents.

favourite movie from childhood: a toss up between The Last Unicorn, Labyrinth, The Flight of Dragons, The Lost Boys, The Princess Bride, many many more

Apple Upside Down Cake II

Upside-Down Apple Cake with Cream Filling


The recipe for this is essentally the same as that of the original Apple Upside Down cake but this time I took pictures and instead of using my large cake tin, I seperated the batter into two smaller tins, then when the cake was cooled I whipped some double cream that was lurking in the back of the fridge trying to hide until it turned into sour cream. I slatered the whipped cream over the bottom layer of cake and the carefully manuvered the top (upside down layer) carefully over the cream.

A closer view of the cake

Apple Upside Down Cake


½ cup butter
½ cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups self-raising flour
½ cup milk
2 to 4 firm-fleshed apples (granny smiths are best but this time a used small royal gala apples that were perishing in the fruit bowl)
1/2 cup butter (melted)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ cup light brown sugar (I used dark brown this time as thats all I had it just gives a much richer taste)

Cream the butter and the sugar together, add the eggs one at a time. Add half of the self-raising flour, then half of the milk and the vanilla.Add the remainder of the flour followed by the remaining milk and beat till well blended.

Melt butter in baking pan in the oven while pre-heating, remove and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Pare, quarter, and slice the apples thin. Spread in an over-lapping layer on the bottom of the baking dish . Pour the cake mixture over the apples. I'n this instance i used two small 8" cake tins and seperated the batter. The batter will be thick and may need to be smoothed on top with a knife.

Bake at 300° to 325° F. for 45 minutes. Until the cake is golden brown on top and springy to the touch. Leave on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Loosen the sides of the cake with a knife , Cover the cake with a large serving dish or baking tray and turn it out carefully, upside down.

original post

http://meridianariel.blogspot.com/2007/06/apple-upside-down-cake.html

Wilted Green Tomatoes

My poort tomatoes have been woefully neglected this past week with everyone having been sick in some way. Poor Starbuck the cat was attacked and his face was punctured in to places, it got infected and was oozing some not very pleasant green pus. Whe had to take him the the vets to get him patched up, the poor thing looked like a monster.

Starbuck as Frankenstien

Starbuck is much better now his wounds are healing nice and cleanly and he seems quite happy again... Well as happy as Starbuck ever gets, he has never really been the life and soul of the party, but he choose us and we choose him so there we are. He is a good cat despite his grumpy disposition, I often wonder why we didn't call him Oscar, as in Oscar the grouch... I will tell the tale of how starbuck got his name in another post, and its a bit more complicated than the coffee place!

Anyway I took care of a poorly cat, a poorly son, and a poorly husband, and just when i thought i was going to be ok I got the virus as well, and am still recovering now, as the cold left me with yet another throat infection which i have had to go to the doctors for and get some penicillin, which is making me feel rather neaseaus, and throw up a few times, but M says I have a weak stomach after all so I shoulden't be suprised.

Anyway my poor tomatoes have been brought back from the brink of withering away several times this past week and seem to keep going on strong, which is good that i haven't killed them, and bad becuse if all those tomatoes do survive its going to be one hell of a crop, I don't know what i'm going to do with them all.

meme

Everyone here has been battling flu including me so have gotten nothing at all done this week and should have been asleep two hours ago but my throat kiss and I can't stop coughing so here is a meme. I promise new posts soon.

Time for SCATTERGORIES,

Here are the rules:+ Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following.+ They MUST be real places, names, things…NOTHING made up.+ If you can’t think of anything, skip it.+ Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same first initial.+ You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.+ Have fun!

My name: Ariel
1. Famous singer/band: All About Eve
2. Four letter word: Arse
3. Street name: Ash
4. Color: Aubergine
5. Gifts/Presents: album
6. Vehicle: airplane
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: err ashtray?
8. Boy Name: Alexander
9. Girl Name: Alys
10. Movie Title: Amalie
11. Drink: americano
12. Occupation: Accountant
13. Celebrity: Al Pacino
14. Magazine: Arena
15. US City: Alameda
16. Pro Sports Team: A’s (do they even exist anymore?) erm Angels ?
17. Reason for Being Late for Work: accident
18. Something You Throw Away: ashes
19. Things You Shout: AAAAAAAhhhhhh
20. Cartoon Character: Alvin (and the Chipmunks little bastards)
21. Fruit or vegetable: Apple, artichoke

Show Me The Bunny!

Yeah so.. Its my bunny and my box!

Its very much a love hate relationship between Alys and Mr. Bunny, a bit like Calvin and Hobbs with claws, and if Hobbs were a purple bunny with green ears. H won the bunny at Critch Toy Library and said he was bringing it home for Alys that she would like it. Since then she has beat the crap out of that purple bunny pretty much every day.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients
1 ½ cups self-raising flour
½ cup porridge oats
¼ cup caster sugar
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

pre heat oven to 400F.

Place paper baking cups into a muffin tin, or grease and flour the muffin cups. In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients except for the blueberries until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Carefully fold in the blueberries.

Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups filling them about two thirds full. Sprinkle the cups with a small amount of sugar or oats.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Immediately remove from the pan. Enjoy while still warm or wait for them to cool.

notes: Picture forthcoming. I made these muffins this morning using the ingredients I had in stock, there are many different ways to make blueberry muffins and I was quite happy with the way these turned out. Not too sweet, otherwise they would be more of a blueberry cupcake than a muffin. They have been quickly devoured by husband and son so I must have done something right. ;o)

Medieval Fayre

Been to ye olde Litchfield Medieval Market today and had a great day out, knights on horseback, jewelry stalls, ice-cream, pretty things, did I mention the jewelry? Because there were some absoloutly lovely stalls there with lots of pretties. I think I must be part magpie or something becuse I do have a profound weakness for silver jewelry, especial of the square cut gemstone variety. I tried to be stong but i couldn't and ended up buying a teardrop shaped lavender amethyst cabachon pendant, its lovely, will wear it tommorow, not that I'm doing anything tommrow as M has a wedding to shoot but thats ok I have a new precious to wear. I'm happy.

The market was fun we sat and watched our first ever punch and judy show, H thought it was hysterical for about 5 or ten minutes and then he had had enough and we wander around a little bit more, looked at the bird man collection of owls and hawks, which h though very good but informed me that he liked the zoo better when we went on thursday. The jousting was great though H got very worried at the start because the knights were walking around and didn't have their horses right away. It was very exciting and M has said we will go to Warwick castle sometime soon as its all very commercial and camp there and H will love it.

Independence Day

Happy Fourth of July!

Its that time of year again the great BBQ holiday, or in the case of my house growing up the great barbecue Holy Day! We will hopefully be having a little bit of a BBQ here later I have made a lovely citrus cake that is cooling on the counter as i type this, to be topped in whipped cream with blueberries and strawberries, red with and blue of course.

Today is the day we celebrate America's Independence from British rule. Doesn't really say a lot about an ex-pat American living smack dab in the middle of England, but it is an excuse to bake a cake, not that I really need an excuse for anything other than skipping the gym.

H has a bit of a cold today so he hasn't gone to his swimming lesson in fear that things will turn into the Exorcist and he will cough and puke up his lunch in the pool. again. Hopefully he will feel better after having a bit of a nap but right now all i can hear from him is singing and random chatter from his darkened room. So much for trying to be quite and not disturb him, I guess I'll get the vaccuume out then no more putting it off.

Also on the menu for today is Macaroni cheese, as I haven't got and Kraft mac and cheese, I will have to make do with normal chedder and some relatively orangeish red leichester that is as close as you can get to the love shade of orange that mac and cheese normally comes in.

Alys Through The Cat Flap

And here we find Alys having shot through the back door and out into this brave new world called outside. Now Starbuck, are great black lump of a cat he only uses the cat flap if he really really has to. In point of fact he will sit and wait till you do his bidding and open the door for him. Even when he goes through the flap on his own its quite a scene with a lot of pawing and nudging the flap with his nose before he squeezes his girth through the hole somewhat eel like, or perhaps like The Blob.

Alys in the other hand if we so happen to have forgotten to lock the cat flap will take a running leap and dive to freedom! So far she hasn't gone very far up the garden, its pretty safe in our yard the only place that could get a bit hairy is the neighbors with the dogs. Two Staffordshire pit bulls, I believe, is there technical name, nasty ass bastards that would shut up is what we call them.

Now growing up my parents house has always been a zoo, I love animals, have grown up on a farm, have lived on a ranch, and had innumerable cats, and dogs in my life. And never have I disliked animals more than the ones in my neighbors yard. They are just not nice looking dogs, they bark constantly, and I really don't think they are taken well care of at all. THey are kept in a shed with some hideous blue fencing to keep them to a little concrete square and they are always fighting.

I love dogs, and would have one in a heartbeat if I didn't think it would be cruel to leave it twice a year to visit my parents stateside. But these just aren't nice, I have been told that they are lovely dogs and are not the illegal sort of pit bull, but they are still pit bulls, when i would never trust. I really don's see the point in having a pet that is not part of the family. Animals have always been part of my family, and took the place of the extended family I never had growing up. It was me, my parents and various cats, dogs, ponies, and horses, the animals took the place of the grandparents and other relatives that I didn't really have.

My parents have a kennels worth of dogs, lets start with the biggest dog, Hunter (very big some sort of water dog/hunting dog but gentle as a lamb) they found him at a pet fair for an animal shelter and brought him home. Holly, (blue heeler) she was found on the side of the road near to where they live, skinny and half starved my dad took her in and she has found a place in their home. Bear the collie mix, who is quite ancient by dog standards and though he cant walk very well is still very tolerant of H. Now for the pugs, which I think are some of the nicest dogs around. First there is Stormie, the queen bee, she is half pug and half Chihuahua, so she has a temper but is a good dog, and apparently a good mouser. She came from L.A. from an adoption fair for Little Angels Pug Rescue http://www.lapr.org/welcome.html .

Then there is Ricki, he came from the flea market aptly enough, he had a tag saying he liked to wander and my dad took him back to the house near the market. On a return trip to the flea market my parents found him wandering around again and very thin, they tried to take him back to his owners but no one was there so they took him home and fed him and were never able to get ahold of his former people. His tag said he liked to wander which is so untrue, he follows my dad around everywhere, and if my dad goes out he will wait by the door pining for his return. Up next we have Sherman, found on Sherman Avenue of course, he was wandering around lost in the street and nearly hit by a car, he was filthy and limping, my dad stopped and asked a group of school kids if it was their dog, they said no that he had been wandering round for a few days in the area. My dad took him home and fed him and placed and add in the paper saying male pug dog found. Nobody called so Sherman became another member of the family, he adores H and follows him around when we visit.

Since last we visit my parents in Early spring they have got two more pugs, a mother and son Nico, from someone who could no longer keep them. They are all happy and healthy and well loved, and all great with H, I'm sure the new ones will be too, H can't wait to see them. They are are surrogate dogs, we only get to be with them a few weeks a year but its fun and good for H. For now we have Starbuck and Alys, and crotchety old thing that Starbuck is he would probably defect if we were to bring a puppy home Alys is more than enough trouble for him.

Key Lime Cheesecake With Coconut Biscuit Base

Key Lime Cheesecake With Coconut Biscuit Base

2 packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. grated lime zest (2 limes)
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (2 limes)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
pie crust*
whipped cream for topping


Preheat the oven to 350°F (180 C).

Beat cream cheese, sugar, zest, lime juice and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
Add the eggs and mix just until blended. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the crust.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the centre is almost set. Remove from the oven and let cool. refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
Top with fresh whipped cream just before serving. Store any leftover cheesecake in the refrigerator.

For the crust
12 coconut biscuits (makes roughly 1½ cups crumbs)2 tablespoons melted butter
Crush the coconut biscuits and add the melted butter. Mix well and press firmly into a lightly greased 8-inch pie pan.



I have found a new recipe for a key lime cheese cake. I have made several versions of Key lime pie before, as it is one of M's absolute favorite deserts. This one is a very simple recipe with out much fuss, and without condensed milk. M would quite happily sit with a can of the stuff but I have never been a fan. Probably something to do with having it in my tea while camping with my dad as a kid. I wouldn't recommend it. One of the other recipes I have used quite often in the past is one that is very heavy on effort, time, and gelatin, its totally gorgeous but very hard work to make. SO I'm going to attempt this cheesecake recipe, and see how things turn out in a bit, once the rain abates and I can scurry up to the co-op and get some cream cheese and biscuits to make the biscuit base. How I do miss graham crackers, but plain digestives or nice biscuits will suffice.

more to come in a bit but need to flick the coffee maker on as frizbe is here.

its still in the oven as I type this so i have no idea how it will turn out. I'll let you know as this is the first time I have ever made a baked cheesecake. The recipe I found and adapted to my own liking making it my own as it were.

THe Cheesecake turned out great very nice and dense and refreshing, and all in all it was really very quick to make, so lets hope the offer is still on for half price cream cheese. Next time I will try a No Bake Recipe perhaps something with fresh raspberries or peaches.

Strawberry Vanilla Cupcakes

I have been in the icing sugar again as you can clearly see from the above image of a very yummy vanilla cupcake with a strawberry on top. I have been baking because I singned up for a cupcake competition on www.mumsnet.com the teme is summer and songs the picture I entered into the contest is the one below of a ice-cream shaped cupcake. Basically a cupcake shoved into a cone with lots of butter cream icing.

Update on the mumsnet contest.

tigi on Mon 25-Jun-07 19:31:54
Overall Winner – Daemara This prize is awarded for the perfection of the solitary cake seen at the end of Daemars’s photographic album. It is seen with a swirl of icing with a succulent strawberry dropped on top. The symmetry of the image is a marvel to behold. The judge was bowled over with delight and ecstasy to see the absolute perfection of Daemara’s cake. Completely perfect and 100% round, sat in the case proudly, with no excess dollops or slops of icing sugar or sweeties to be seen. A marvellous specimen that makes me very proud indeed to be a member of the WI. Daemara will receive automatic entry to the ‘All England Cupcake Championships’ to be held in the Blackpool Ballroom on 1 April 2008. All spectators welcome (subject to £20 entry fee and smart dress code to be adhered to – no flipflops accepted into the the pimms and champagne reception tent). To summarise, the cake is a perfect shape in perfect proportion, with a simple effective swirl of creamy icing, with a perfect strawberry. A perfect cake, and it tasted delicious too.

Thats me I won I won... I know its only online but I won and I am totally stoked. Big thanks to Tigi for her Judging, and everone else from http://www.mumsnet.com/ that participated. The pictures for all the cakes can be located here: http://www.picturetrail.com/mncupcakes . Daemara = Meridian Ariel.

Cupcakes for Everyone!

Dream a Little Meme of Me

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
no not really, but I suppose you could say I was named after a month
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
A few tears the other moning when I bunt myself on the pan while making pancakes
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I'm left handed so thats pretty much a no, a whenever I write I tend to smudge it and make a big mess, my typing skills aren't much better.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
either pepperoni or roast beef
DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yes, just the one two if you count my husband
IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I don't think I quite hate myself enough to actually not be friends with myself.
DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
I wouldn't say alot but its always lurking around somewhere
DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes, thank you very much, and I get some lovely throat infections every year.
WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
f*** no, thats just stupid, I really don't see the need to jump head first at the ground. We all have to die sometime but I prefer not to go splat willingly.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Cheerios, though Captain Crunch was my favorite as a kid
DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Don't actually have any shoes with laces at the moment my trainers (sneakers) died an agonising death and all the rest of my shoes are girly without laces
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
I can be very storng at times, usually when I need to be strong for other people
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Coffee or Black Cherry
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
As I'm a bit crap on the old eye contact thing my gaze tends to be a bit shifty and notice everything, hair, shoes, eyebrows,
RED OR PINK?
Purple
WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Body wise, my stomach and stretch marks, internally my lack of self-confidence
WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Meg my best friend from High School, we chat but I haven't seen her in person for five long years. Get your ass to England Meg!
WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black trousers and bare toes
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
toast with black cherry jam and a latte made by my loving husband
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The Joker and the Thief by Wolfmother
IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Mauve
FAVORITE SMELLS?
roses in the garden, lilac blossoms, tomato plants, lime, cake batter, the smell of antiques
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
M my husband
FAVORITE SPORTS?
yeah I never really got the whole watching sports thing, boring.
HAIR COLOR?
dark brown
EYE COLOR?
dark brown.
DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
no coke bottles.
FAVORITE FOOD?
Vietnamese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Greek,
SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Probably scary movies, none of that Grudge crap, I hate that, but happy ending fluff movies get on my nerves I prefer sci-fi
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
The Black Dhalia, pretty good but a bit convalouted
WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
a purple tank top and a black sweater
SUMMER OR WINTER?
Autumn, Otober is my favorite month, and Halloween my favorite holiday, crisp autumn
HUGS OR KISSES?
both
FAVORITE DESSERT?
Whipped cream and raspberries, or coffee ice-cream orreally good very dark dark chocolate
MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Meg
LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Gin
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Several actually For a few Deamons More by Kim Harrison
WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
don't have one, if I did the kitten would just sit on it
WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Criminal Minds and House on sky+
FAVORITE SOUND?
M's laugh, he sounds just like mutly from the great race cartoon thingy.
ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
I guess the Stones as the beatles tend to get on my nearves
WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Rome, Italy
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
erm besides the vast amounts of useless information stored in my brain
WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
New York State
WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
anyones, I think there are onyl about 3 people who actually visit here.

Feel free to copy and play along.

Huntress (a Drabble)

Drabble From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction exactly one hundred words in length, although the term is often misused to indicate a short story of less than 1000 words. The purpose of the drabble is brevity and to test the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in an extremely confined space. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drabble


The moon and stars glimmer in the pool of night blackened water. Leaves dance in a caress of foul wind carrying the scent of fire, cloying smoke, burnt flesh, the bitter tang of metal, the taint and filth of humanity. The smell of death. Twigs snap and branches break, echoing in the forest, and the pool is invaded by men, bloodstained warriors all. They drink of the water, muddying it with the blood and gore of battle. Filling the night with raucous laughter, course words and the clinking of coins. Green eyes blaze fire in the dark. The Huntress awakens.