To Cupcake or not to Cupcake

To Cupcake or not to Cupcake, that is the question....I was incredible in mood to cook dessert and decorate with something on the top. While I was cooking dinner and I had extra zucchini. I was not sure what I really want to do with it. I remember that I bought blackberry. I was wondering if I could make zucchini and blackberry bread. But I was like, it is too simple for that.

I decided to research  and surf on Internet to get some idea. I came across to this Pinterest.com and explore. I know that people always like to post and share with people with the new ideas of everything. I found some interesting that I want to try. Then it started to come in my mind with many different thing. The first thing that I found was called Zucchini Raspberry cupcakes. Here is the website if you want to make: Zucchini Raspberry Cupcakes .

I found that few things that I don't have. So I decided to change it up and make it my own by what I have in the kitchen. Then I changed it to make it into my own. I called it CZB cupcake. It stand for Chocolate Zucchini Blackberry cupcake. I made it and in result it came out really great. I had this great idea is to put a single blackberry and put in the middle. So it came out really good. Here is my recipe that I want to share with you.

CZB cupcake

Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups flour (any will be fine)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cups blackberry (I suggest you to cut it half to make it easier)
- keep 24 blackberry

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F degree. Grease 24 muffin cups or use the muffin tin.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda in medium bowl, set aside. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in low speed in large bowl until lightly-colored and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, allowing each eggs to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat into the vanilla with the last egg.
3. Add half of the flour mixture in the butter mixture. Beat in low speed to mix it evenly. Then add all of the flour mixture and add milk. Beat in low speed for two minutes. Then take spoon and mix it, until it is all blend.
4. Add the zucchini and blackberry, fold it and mixing just enough to evenly combine. Spoon the butter into muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Then put the single whole blackberry in the middle and put in but not all the while, just the top of it.
5. Put in oven and cook for 20 minutes, use toothpick to make sure it came out clean. Then cool off for half hour.





You can see those cupcake have blackberry in the middle, it is cool idea to do that.

While, it is cool off. I found out that I do not have any frosting so I decided to do homemade frosting. It is not quite easy as it does. There is many different website that you could find. It is quite challenge for me to do because I did not want to use one ingredient too much so I just want to limit it. But at least it came out really good. I also add lemon juice in it and it taste really good. You can add anything in the frosting as flavor or food color. So I made lemon frosting to add on CZB cupcake. I did homemade frosting but it turned into icing because of the lemon juice that could cause it into glaze but it taste amazing.

Even you can put inside and it will make it even more amazing taste. I did taste it for myself. You can taste the blackberry mixed with lemon. It is so good. See the inside of cupcake, you could see little bit of blackberry. I guess I put the inside of icing in different place but it does not matter anyway. Just be creative!

Part Twelve of Cross-stitch

It came again with the cross-stitch part 12, it was only short part to add on the end of it. It took me a week to finish it up. I started on May 10 and finished today. So it was easy and also I finally found the color that I need and I quickly grab one. Because it was the last one. I don't know why that specific color is always run out. I just need that color for my cross-stitch project. So I was glad to get it.

Here is the part 12, just short version.

Also the whole thing from part 1 to part 12, it came out really good. But there is still more to go. I have the last bottom part to get it done. So it look like it will take me a while to get it done. So it look like it will take another three to four months to get the bottom part done. But the overall, it looked really good.

Here is the whole thing from part 1 to part 12...

It is amazing how far I have come. I started the cross-stitch part one and got it done on October 11, 2011. Then I finished all of part 1 to 6 on January 15, 2012. It is really amazing by how much patience that I took to get it perfect and look beautiful. Then later one, I start on part 7 and got it done on February 12, 2012. Then I finished all of part 7 to 12 from the beginning of February to May. So the the last part will be start on part 13 to 18. It look like it will take me three to four months to finish the bottom part. It look like the whole thing will be done in August or September.

Don't worry, I will keep you update with the part of cross-stitch and maybe the last three that I will might not post on it. But we will see about it.

Enjoy!

The Result of Cross-stitch Part 11

It came to the result of cross-stitch part 11...I am sure you are surprised how quick I was able to finish it. Well, this part was easy to do because it does not require a lot of details on it. I know that I start on April 23 and finished on May 9th. I only had four days off with this cross-stitch when I went on vacation.

But in the result that it look really great. While I was doing this cross-stitch, I did not have one color that I really need. But it came in luck that I found in my bag with other colors. But at first, I was not sure if it was this right color. I decided to go to the store today and hope to get that color. However, it was sold out. But I noticed the color on the image and I knew it was the right color. So I sew it up with that color and it does look just right.

So the part 12 will be coming very soon because it is only short side on it. You will see on the next image of it. Here is two image of it. Enjoy!

This part that I sew it before I had it put it together. The reason I sew it separately because it was not enough room so I had to sew it.

This image, it was not easy thing to do by sew it together so I did it my best, but it came out look good.

Summer is coming soon...

Summer is coming soon...I hardly can't wait for it...I was mood for summer food from those long winter time...

I went to the store yesterday and get supplies for the week and dinner on Wednesday night. I saw the poppy seed in spice aisle. I never thought how much I really love poppy seed. I just don't know why but I cannot explain the taste of it. I do not know what to cook with poppy seed. I was really mood for summer dessert or breakfast. Whatever you wish for. I came across to this pinterest.com and one image came up in my sight. It was the poppy seed bread, but later I saw the lemon poppy seed bread. I click to one of their image to get the recipe and I saw that it was kind of complication to do those things. However, I remember that I made Lemon bread two year ago. I decided to give a try with my own recipe. I made it and baked it. It did came out really good. I really love it a lot.

The lemon poppy seed bread is very simple and easy to do. Here is the recipe:

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 TBS lemon juice (fresh or not)
- 1 TBS grated lemon peel
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk

Glaze:
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat at 350 F degree
2. In big bowl, add butter (softened) and sugar, mix together until cream. Then add the eggs, lemon juice, and grated lemon peel and beat all together.
3. In small bowl, add flour, baking powder, and salt; stir together and then add into cream mixture with milk
4. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
5. While waiting for bread to be baked, mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together.
6. Take the bread out when it is done and quickly add glaze on top of bread soon as the bread came out of oven.
7. Let it set to cool it off and Enjoy!