Drink Your Cocktails, Cupcake

Did you know it is very easy to add booze to your cupcakes?  It is as simple as brushing on some rum or tequila, or whatever on to cupcakes when they come out of the oven, again before icing, and heck, put some in the frosting as well!

Strawberry rhubarb daiquiri

Remember those amazing strawberry rhubarb cupcakes?? Well, I brushed a batch of these little beauties with rum, twice...then I added rum to the the strawberry meringue butter cream....Yum!! You heard me correctly....just add some liquor to a Swiss meringue butter cream after it is finished and you are set!!

Mango lime margarita

Then there was the wonderful mango lime cupcakes?  Those were brushed with tequila, twice then were topped with a tequila lime icing!!  Tequila lime icing is as easy as switching out the water or other liquid for lime juice and tequila.  A little lime zest never hurts either!!

I took these little gems over to a friend's house to help celebrate her birthday.  I must admit I enjoyed hearing the rave reviews!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!

Stories From the Road and Beyond and Yes, a Little More Baseball

So sorry I have neglected my blog and all of my lovely readers.  We got so incredibly busy with baseball and baseball activities in St. Louis, then the long drive home, then the unpacking, then the going back to work....it all just piled up sooooo quickly!  We were getting back to the hotel so late, I didn't feel to much like taking food photos or typing for that matter. Here is the low down on the rest of the trip to fabulous St. Louis:

St Louis is in bloom!

1) The Canadian Rookies won their tournament!! Unfortunately I missed the game (bad parent!) as Hubby and I had to start the long drive home so we could meet the bus and pick up the Boy!  For those who understand baseball jibber jabber.....the Boy hit a 2 run double to bring the Rookies ahead by one, the other team scored a run, the Rookies had the bases loaded, 1 out, and went with a suicide squeeze bunt....and it worked!!!! Woot Woot!!

2) We attended Opening day festivities in downtown St Louis.  It was a fun time, with lots of music and some food...I especially enjoyed the free ribs from O'Charleys!!

3) We went the the Saturday game at Busch Stadium with the Padres playing the Cardinals....the Cards lost big time!!!  We had lovely seats in left field right behind the bull pen!! (Yes, we were out in left field! ha ha ha) The Boy and I each had a ball park bratwurst and shared some nachos. Hubby went for the pulled pork BBQ with baked beans.  We don't get to see MLB games too often so we don't feel guilty about eating the food! The Boy also managed to scarf down a pretzel!

Hello pitchers.....

4) The 12 hour drive to Fargo, North Dakota was long. We took food with us and stopped only for gas and restroom breaks. The Dinner we had at Ruby Tuesday's was lovely. We raided the all you can eat salad bar and called it a night!

5) We actually caught up to the bus Monday afternoon at 1pm, about 2km from the drop off point!

6)  I have officially lost count of how many loads of laundry we have done since arriving at home.

7)  After unloading the car we went grocery shopping.

8) I made chicken pot pies for supper Monday...the freezer needs to be restocked and I have to find a day to do a big freezer filling cooking day.

9) Returning to work means getting into full swing for out school production...I am the stage manager and may be away from blogging during the show and rehearsal times.

10) Life is slowly returning to normal, but I am still catching up on sleep.  I became quite accustomed to naps while on vacation!

What a great looking team!  That's the Boy, the tall one in the middle of the back row

 Now that the winter program is almost over, it is time for regular season baseball....and that means more games, more food, and more fun!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Rendez-Vous des Chefs - A Pea Soup Challenge

This afternoon Hubby and I went back to the Festival du Voyageur for the Reunion des Chefs.  This is a pea soup contest which is currently in its third year.  Restaurants set up shop and offer a small taste of their own recipe of pea soup.  There was only 4 restaurants hawking their soup today, which made me kind of sad as I was looking forward to testing out more (and leaving with a full stomach!).

As you walk in the door, you pick up your spoon and a ballot.

Then you work your way around the room (in which ever order you can work out through the crowds!) and taste each soup.

The first soup we tried was made by Le Garage Cafe.  It was so very tasty.  Had a great consistency with bits of ham throughout.  These guys were also very helpful when my paper cup blew a hole in it and soup got all over my camera.  One of these fine fellows even got me a damp cloth from the back room so I could clean up!!

The second soup we tried was mad by Provence Bistro.  This soup was light in colour and thick.  Too thick to enjoy.  It wasn't really a soup consistency.  They proclaimed to have spent three days cooking this soup.  I did however enjoy the bacon brittle they served on the top of the soup.

The third soup was made by La Petite France.  This one was another thick soup with a smoky flavour to it. It was nice, but too thick for my liking.

The last soup we tried was made by Resto Gare.  This particular soup also had a nice consistency with some veggies still visible in it.  It was served with some pork on the top. 

Now for my verdict....drum roll please.......My favourite soup of the day was the soup made by the fine fellows from Le Garage Cafe!!

The boys at Le Garage Cafe knew what they were doing!

One of the other neat things we got to see today was a battle re enactment between the French and the English.  The French won today's battle but apparently the English won a battle last week.

First the French gathered for inspection and fired off a round.

Then the British got themselves ready....they look a bit out numbered...

Down to the river bank to fight! We watched from the top of the Fort so I had to shoot through the trees.
  Here we see the British laying the smack down.

The French retaliate and advance...

My picture of the British running away down the river bank looks just like a photo of a bunch of tree branches so I left it out.

For the very brave, there is an ice tower...Brave people can wander over and give ice climbing a try...I didn't do it.

  Well, that is all for the Festival du Voyageur this year.  Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

My Evening with David Adjey (And a Bunch of Other People)

This  morning I was browsing the local newspaper online and discovered that Food Network's David Adjey was in town! Anytime I can get out to meet a celebrity chef that I enjoy watching I like to go.  This was a fundraiser for the Children's Make A Wish Foundation, which is a fabulous cause so the 35$ ticket was not a problem.  David spoke to the group about all things food.  From restaurant industry secrets, to local food, to the use of technology, he covered it all.  Such an energetic speaker and still so animated about food, David was so refreshing to see and listen to.

Some of the things I learned tonight (some I already thought but David just re affirmed for me):

1. Local food is a gift and we should embrace it
2. Despite #1, the 100 mile diet is a load of crap....how can 100 square miles nourish that many people?
3. Cook for yourself...do it because you love it.
4. Share your cooking with your loved ones.
5. Technology is our friend and we should all use it.
6. Generation 'Y'....apparently they are smart and they know how to shamelessly promote themselves.
7. Speak up for what you want....if you stand there being polite, you won't get a photo with him.
8. Yelling sometimes helps
9. It is possible that David has some sort of attention deficit....but it works.
10. Never order the 'special' at a restaurant....ever.
11. Fish in a cream sauces means don't order the fish....ever.

Of course the evening did include some food...local food of course and boy oh boy was it fabulous!!  It was a bit of a finger food extravaganza...Wings, chicken strips, pork tenderloin, pulled pork....mmmmm boy!

There were also some lovely locally made crackers and snacks, and chocolates available to munch on as well. Locally bottled water from Canadian Gold was offered, and even given away for free!
All in all it was a great evening... I will have to keep an eye out for events such as this!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!