5.1.13. sugar day.

So... due to my boredom and amount of free time i have when i'm traveling and sitting in an airport i tend to google things and therefore i started reading different blogs on sugar... i found one in particular that i loved about a woman who had gone without refined sugar for 4 years (myyearwithout.blogspot.com). She posted the video below from a 60 minutes segment on sugar. I highly suggest you watch even a minute of it and listen to the reaction from the Sugar Association (embarrassing)

some facts:

Americans on average consume 1/3 of a pound of sugar a day.  However, if i said that Americans on average consume 1/3 of a pound of fat a day you would've puked. Sad, because ya know, its pretty much the same darn thing. In the words of Alisha Meek, my make up artist last week, 'white bread is recognized by the body as sugar which turns into fat which just gives you a fat a$$'; she is so wise.

So as of today, for one year, i'm saying goodbye to refined sugars and saying hello to...

Milwaukee... cookies, baseball, shopping horray

After SF i went back to LA for the morning just to cry to R about how i did not want to get on another plane, take some polas (joy), and see one of my favorite bookers ever (shh)! 2 hours later i was on the plane and 6 hours later i was in Milwaukee and off to Emily's to collect the raisins, bagels, and cream cheese she so thoughtfully got for me.

The next day i purchased just ONE pillow from pottery barn; it serves no purpose other than looks so one is enough.

I adore the view from our condo this year. 

I also got some lovely Alice & Olivia Shoes and 2 Fossil Purses which Liz is impartial too since she prefers designer but they will suffice. Then, i made myself proud and found... scroll below.

That's. Me. Cool

(make.yourself.proud)

 I've started juicing again; R (the doll) helps me sometimes. Has anyone heard of the "DASH" brand? I went with it given that it was cheap and looked cool (great qualities for anything) but I really hope this isn't a 'get what you pay for', situation.

Sunday was R's MVP ceremony in Milwaukee soooo they had a quick little video put together before the game and I made Cowboy Cookies with with whole wheat flour and agave... luckily they were so yummy and i didn't have angry baseball playing husbands telling me i made their wives and daughters sick.

 Then we went to dinner at capital grill and tried to set up a 'space ship' -that heals you. mmhmm that's what i said.

San Fran-TART

This week was consisted of a LOT of traveling... which i have come to despise. Luckily, Tart employs some of my favorite people and i traveled to San Francisco to shoot their Holiday Collection. For the second day we shot in a beautiful Clubhouse from the 1800's and i met the cutest little girl i've ever been around... 

 

She claims she learned this from a target commercial... Great job target! If you haven't had enough; here's another.

 

So... besides hanging out with cute little girls we shot beautifullllll stuff... TART has AMAZING clothes... here's a sneak peak from the shoot. 

I lovedddd my make up artist, Alisha Meek... we went to dinner and we each devoured this large bento box full of goodies.

 Jamie Finegold-one of the owners and Photogs of Tart

 Lovely Work week :)

Girls Night.

  This was the first weekend i haven't traveled in so long... thus... girls night was formed. It had been so long since i'd let my love of T Swift out in public so i called the 2 other girls that LOVE Taylor!

I really wish i was better at party planning but i tried... i printed dumb questions off the internet, made Tuscan Bean Soup for Dinner, set the table, made each of them super healthy- yummy carrot muffins with honey butter, made facial 'mix', got some beers for Rochelle (she didn't have any), made a wonderfully girly playlist (for Rebecca to prance around to, and got the best chick flick of all time 'She's just not that into you' which we all ended up falling asleep to.

It was a wonderful night and a better morning with omelets and an insane hike behind the house.

Cupcakes!

By far my favorite thing i've done in LA... a 3 Hour baking class on Cupcakes at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica.

I originally wanted a cupcake shop in a 'Cold Stone' format... where people would be the owner of their creations with fillings, cakes, icings, and garnishes; i figured this would be a good place to start. I left with 4 dozen cupcakes and knowing that i do NOT want a cupcake shop-way too much butter goes into these things.  I would feel bad feeding people this every day so i'll stick to the 80% 'healthy living' with 20% indulgence idea that i prefer.

We made an AWESOME Carrot Cake and you're encourage to make it your own and do things the way you would at home so i added coconut, ginger, and raisins to the batter. We garnished with Candied Pecans.

NEXT, we made the best chocolate cake i've ever tasted... it was rich and super moist. We made a chocolate ganache to go with it that i added coffee extract because coffee and chocolate go together deliciously... then we whipped it in a kitchen aid so it turned into an 'icing'.

We flavored the buttercreams with freeze dried fruit ... i made an apricot, vanilla bean, and raspberry buttercream for different takes on the plain chocolate-cream cheese cupcake.

Carrot Cake  

Ingredients

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cups vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans or pistachios

1 2/3 cups of sugar

1 2/3 cups bread flour

1 tsp baking soda

3 large eggs

2 cups grated carrots

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2) Sift the sugar and salt into a bowl and set aside.

3) In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder and set

aside.

4) In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip the eggs on medium speed, scraping down

the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, until thick, about 3 minutes.

5) Increase speed to high and continue whipping until the eggs fall in thick ribbons from the

whisk, about 4 minutes.

6) Gradually add the oil while continuing to whip until evenly blended.

7) Add the sifted sugar mixture slowly to the whipped egg mixture while continuing to whip at

medium speed until blended.

8) Add the sifted flour mixture to the batter, mixing on low speed until just incorporated.

9) Fold in the carrots and walnuts by hand using a rubber spatula.

10)Pour the batter into prepared cupcakes pans. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Decadence

2 sticks butter

2 cups water

pinch of salt

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup crème fraiche or sour cream

1 3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsps baking soda

2 eggs (3 eggs for taller, cakier cupcakes)

1) Place butter, water and salt in a microwave-safe dish and heat on high for 1 minute or melt in a

saucepot. Remove and stir until all the butter is melted in the water. Whisk in the cocoa powder

and set aside.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and baking soda.

3) Using a wooden spoon, add the butter mixture to the flour and stir until just incorporated.

4) Whisk in the eggs and stir until well incorporated. Add the crème fraiche and mix until no

streaks remain.

5) Pour into parchment-paper lined pans. This recipe makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

6) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Egg White Meringue Buttercream

5 egg whites

pinch of salt

1 lb. butter, cut into pieces

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla or ½ vanilla bean

1) Place a medium saucepot filled 1/3 of the way with water and bring to a simmer.

2) Place the sugar, salt and egg whites in the bowl of stand mixer. Holding the bowl over the

saucepot, whisk the mixture until it feels warm to the touch.

3) Place the bowl on the stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.

4) Once the bowl is cool to the touch, add the butter, small pieces at a time.

5) Add the vanilla. Switch to paddle attachment to smooth out the buttercream.

Variation: Cream cheese Buttercream: After you have added the butter add 4 oz cream cheese.