These little fellas are bunnies. I feel I need to tell you that because upon first blush they look like non descript somethings.

For these cupcakes, I used a peach cupcake recipe from Cupcake Project (link provided below).  The original recipe sites 12 cupcakes from one batch. I actually got closer to 18. In hind sight , I would I filled the cups a bit more as these didn’t bake up as much. I think rounder domes would have made a prettier decorating surface.

I got nice reviews on the peach flavor. I used a cup of peach spread from a local farm. Delicious!

For the frosting, I made a standard cream cheese, used candy buttons for the eyes and cut marshmallows for the ears then dipped them in sprinkles.

Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 C flour

* 1/2 t baking powder

* 1/4 t baking soda

* 1/4 t salt

* 2 large eggs

* 1 C sugar

* 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature

* 1 1/2 t vanilla extract

* 1/2 C sour cream

* 2 C peaches and cream blended into a mush (see this peaches and cream recipe) or 1 C peach jam (try to find high quality jam with lots of real peach pieces or, if the season is right, make your own peach jam)

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes, or until light and creamy.

3. Add the butter and vanilla and beat on low speed for about 1 minute, or until well blended.

4. Beat in the dry ingredients on low speed until blended.

5. Add the sour cream and beat until smooth and well blended.

6. Mix in peaches and cream or peach jam.

7. Divide batter evenly among 12 cupcake liners.

8. Bake at 350 F for about 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean and the tops are firm.

via Peaches and Cream Cupcakes ~ Cupcake Project.

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Since then I’ve tackled a few more batches, but more so I’ve been reading a lot, trying to absorb some tricks of the trade and get an idea of basic methods. Some bloggers I’m most intrigued with lately are: Food in Jars, Tigress in a Jam and Modern Beet.

This year citrus has rained upon me. One gift was a dozen blood oranges. Inspired by the Can Jam going on over at Tigress, I started researching recipes and flavor combinations. Orange and rosemary stood out the most to me. It was a flavor combination that appeared to have variety and depth without going into the sweet savory category.

I am new to canning so many things are new to me. Newly learned:

• Pectin isn’t a necessary ingredient
• Using the cold plate method to determine if jam has set
• Observing the boiling bubbles to determine if the jam has set

I loosely followed Modern Beet’s listed below:

Blood Orange Marmalade with Rosemary

Adapted from The Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld

2.5 lbs blood oranges

2 large meyer lemons

6 cups cold water

8 cups sugar

6 6-in sprigs rosemary, wrapped in a single layer of cheesecloth and tied with twine

Special Equipment:

6 pints worth of canning jars (I used three pint jars plus 6 half-pint jars), and corresponding two piece lids

2 large pots

Thoroughly wash oranges and lemons. Slice in half vertically, place cut side down, then slice into thin (1/16th inch) half moons. Remove seeds as you come across them. Place slices in a large pot and cover with the water. Let soak at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. (This releases the pectin and softens the rind)

The next day, bring the pot to a boil and boil steadily for 30 minutes. Stir in the sugar and rosemary bundle and cook at a steady boil until the mixture has softly gelled (To check this, put a small plate in the freezer to chill. Once the plate is cold, drop about 1/2 t of the jelly onto the plate and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 minutes. Remove the plate from the refrigerator and push the top of the jelly with your finger; if it wrinkles, it is ready; if it stays smooth, then continue to boil). Note: keep an eye on the pot so that it does not boil over

Meanwhile, sterilize the jars by placing them in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Sterilize the lids and bands by dropping them into the boiling water for the last two minutes of the boiling. Remove from heat, but leave jars and lids in water until ready to use. Then, remove from water and drain.

Remove rosemary bundle from marmalade. Ladle the hot marmalade into the canning jars, filling about 1/4 inch from the top. Place lids on top of jars and screw bands on until finger tight. Flip jars over onto a clean towel and allow to cool undisturbed. When the jars have cooled, check that each has sealed properly (there should be no give in the center portion of the lid). If any jars did not seal, place in the refrigerator. The sealed jars will keep for many months.

(Note: you may need to sterilize the jars in batches unless you have a very large pot. To do this, boil as many jars as will fit in the pot. Remove, and place in a sink full of very hot water until ready to use. Repeat until you’ve sterilized all of the jars and lids)

via Blood Orange Marmalade with a Hint of Rosemary | Modern Beet.

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The past few batches of cupcakes in the “citrus series” from the Martha Stewart Cupcake book I had quite a few lid busters. Meaning most of them baked over the top of the rim of the cupcake pan. I still haven’t determined the root cause. Theories I’m working on include over filling the cups or I may need to refresh my baking powder. One friend suggested that Martha writes her recipes in such a way that they cannot be duplicated exactly as a way for Martha to make you, the home cook, feel inferior. That made me laugh just a little.

More than once in a frustrated baking moment I have muttered some not so nice things about our beloved Martha.

This recipe didn’t call for any active agents like baking soda or baking powder. Immediately I knew I wouldn’t have a baking over situation, but I then worried about not filling the cups with enough batter.

As you can see I under estimated just a bit. I took advantage of the bowl effect of the cupcake wrapper to be a bit lazy with my citrus glaze.

Here is a little behind the scenes footage. I’m typically up early and start prepping for my baking in my PJs.  Once my coffee it I realized I looked like Rainbow Bright’s long lost sister and it cracked me up.

Triple Citrus Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 36

* 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

* 2 teaspoons coarse salt

* 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

* 2 cups sugar

* 3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 3 lemons)

* 3 tablespoons finely grated orange zest (from 2 oranges)

* 3 tablespoons finely grated lime zest, plus more for garnish (from 3 limes)

* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* 9 large eggs, room temperature

* Citrus Glaze

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl every few minutes. Add citrus zests. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla. Add eggs, three at a time, beating until until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in four batches, beating until completely incorporated after each.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full; tap pans on countertop once to distribute batter. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. To finish, dip tops of cupcakes in glaze, then turn over quickly and garnish with zest. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are glazed; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

From Martha Stewart Cupcakes, May 2009

via Triple-Citrus Cupcakes and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com.

Citrus Glaze

Ingredients

Makes 1/3 cup

* 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

* 1/4 teaspoon finely grated citrus zest, such as orange, lemon, or lime

* 3 tablespoons fresh citrus juice, such as orange, lemon, or lime

Directions

1. Whisk all ingredients until smooth and combined. Use immediately.

From Martha Stewart Cupcakes, May 2009

via Citrus Glaze and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com.

Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge 21/175

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It like milky jello.

Panna Cotta

Eight servings

Adapted from Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen by Judy Witts (Prissy adaptations in red)

I love this dessert and the great thing about Panna Cotta is that it demands to be made in advance. You can make them up to two days ahead and keep them well-covered and chilled.

For gelatin-related questions, read my Tips for Using Gelatin. You can find instructions for using sheet gelatin at the end of the recipe.

4 cups (1l) heavy cream (or half-and-half)

2 T Orange Zest

2 T Orange Juice

1/2 cup (100g) sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)

6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water

1. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. (infused the heavy cream with the orange zest for 20 minutes before I started the cooking process)

(If using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the bean into the cream and add the bean pod. Cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the bean then rewarm the mixture before continuing.)

2. Lightly oil eight custard cups with a neutral-tasting oil.

3. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

5. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least two hours but I let them stand at least four hours. (Judy told me American refrigerators are colder than European ones. )

If you’re pressed for time, pour the Panna Cotta mixture into wine goblets so you can serve them in the glasses, without unmolding.

6. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each Panna Cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate, and garnish as desired.

via Perfect Panna Cotta Recipe – David Lebovitz.

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The lemon curd:

Hands down homemade curds are richer and fuller in their flavor over the store purchased varieties. It’s simple to make and best of all you don’t dirty a lot of dishes making it. WIN!

Ingredients

Makes 1 1/2 cups

* 3 large egg yolks

* Zest of 1/2 lemon

* 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, (2 lemons)

* 6 tablespoons sugar

* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

Directions

1. Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir sides and bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Remove saucepan from heat. Add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth.

3. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to avoid a skin from forming; wrap tightly. Let cool; refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

via Lemon Curd and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com.

The meringues:

Ingredients

* 4 extra – large egg whites, at room temperature

* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

* Pinch kosher salt

* 1 cup granulated sugar, divided

* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* Roasted Berries, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a small glass and a pencil, draw 4 (3 1/2-inch) circles on each piece of paper. Turn the paper face down on the baking sheets.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed until frothy. Add 2/3 cup of the sugar and continue beating on high speed until the egg whites form very stiff peaks. Whisk in the vanilla. Carefully fold the remaining 1/3 cup sugar into the meringue. With a large star – shaped pastry tip, pipe a disk of meringue inside each circle. Pipe another layer around the edge to form the sides of the shells.

Bake for 2 hours, or until the meringues are dry and crisp but not browned. Turn off the heat and allow the meringues to sit in the oven for 4 hours or overnight.

For serving, place each meringue on a separate plate and top the shell with berries.

via Meringues Chantilly with Roasted Berries Recipe : Ina Garten : Food Network.

All together:

Lemon Cupcakes

Ingredients

Makes 24

* 3 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 tablespoon baking powder

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

* 2 cups sugar

* 4 large eggs, room temperature

* Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* 1 cup buttermilk

* Lemon Curd

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. To finish, spread 1 tablespoon lemon curd onto middle of each cupcake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Ateco #828 or Wilton #8B) with frosting. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip slightly and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.

From Martha Stewart Cupcakes, May 2009

via Lemon Meringue Cupcakes and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com.

Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge 20/175

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A whole box of oranges that had been hand picked by the tree’s owner were given to me the other day. One one hand I was delighted on the other I was little sad that my alternative methods of fruit acquisition would be curbed for a bit.

Don’t get me wrong, absolutely did bike by THE citrus tree the other day to make sure it was healthy and bountiful (more on that later).

The citrus cake recipe found in Martha Stewart’s Cupcake book is good. I still need to work on my baking times as I think the tops get a bit more brown than they should. Adding the candied orange on top however took this cupcake to a different taste level. It tasted more juicy and robust than the cupcakes without the fruit on the top. PLUS, they look so beautiful with the piped frosting edge and bright orange in the center.

For all my friends who live East of lets say Phoenix, who are dealing with ice cold winter temperatures. I hear home prices in Arizona are quite affordable and it’s 70 degrees in January.

Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge 19/175

Candied Citrus

Place orange slices on top of frosted cupcakes, and pipe buttercream dots around each slice to decorate. Other citrus, such as lemons or blood oranges, can be substituted.

Ingredients

Makes about 1 dozen slices

* 1 cup sugar

* 1 cup water

* 2 small navel oranges, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices, seeded (or other citrus)

Directions

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until clear, about 5 minutes. Add enough orange slices to fit in 1 layer. Simmer, flipping occasionally, until translucent, 20 to 40 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer slices to a heatproof container. Repeat. Pour syrup over top. Let cool. Citrus in syrup will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

via Candied Citrus and more delicious recipes, smart cooking tips, and video demonstrations on marthastewart.com.

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Christmas was pretty eventful, so staying close to home for this NYE was a nice change of pace. Plus, it was nice to spend some time with this guy.

For dinner we swung by Van Hanson’s Meat Market to pick up steak. There was a Good Eats steak technique we wanted to check out.

For dessert we had Blue Bell vanilla ice cream with Swiss chocolate sauce from Michigan in some cool customized Blue Bell ice cream bowls.

The evening was just perfect and at just the right speed.

Alton Brown Steak Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak, 1 to 1 1/4-inches thick

* 2 teaspoons olive oil

* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven on broiler setting. Make foil ‘roll’ out of aluminum foil to use to keep oven door slightly ajar so that broiler won’t turn off if it gets too hot. Brush steak with oil and salt and pepper, to taste. Place a piece of foil on the bottom rack as a drip pan. Place another rack in the position above this and put the steak directly on this rack. Cook steak in this position for 5 minutes. Flip steak and cook for another 5 minutes. Move rack with steak to top position in oven, moving rack with foil and drippings just underneath, and cook for 3 minutes. Flip 1 last time and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer steak to wire rack and rest for 3 to 5 minutes. The above times are for medium doneness. Adjust cooking times up or down as desired.

via Sirloin Steak Recipe : Alton Brown : Food Network.

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It was a footnote I wish I would have noticed before I peeled three pumpkins with a potato peeler. One I wish I would have read before I pan roasted the pumpkin and before I cooked and pureed it for four hours to turn it into pumpkin butter.

For anyone who has canned, the sound of a POP is the best sound in the world. The pop is an indacator that the jar sealed. I waited in suspense to hear the pop and when I heard eight little pops I was elated!  Then I heard more pops which was odd considering I only had eight jars made.

Then I realized that was the jars unsealing. Yes, apparently you don’t can pumpkin because it’s high Ph levels and pumpkin gas expands once it’s in a jar. So they all very quickly unsealed and I had to toss all of them.

These jars were handmade with love, but washed out with a lesson learned.

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I’m trying to control it, but it is prickly pear season, and I feel like I need to get while the gettins good.

There are several methods you can use to juice prickly pears and I don’t suggest hand picking them as I attempted last year. Gloves, tongs and protective body wrap are necessary (maybe the last suggestion is a little extreme, but seriously, wear gloves and use tongs).

I learned how to juice the fruit with a pillow case. You can learn more about it in an article on AZCentral.com.

Simply, you take a batch of 12-15 prickly pears, rinse, put them in a pillow case, place the pillow case in your pot and put enough water to cover the fruit, about 1″ and simmer until the fruit is soft. With a masher, mash the fruit. You’ll see the water quickly turn a brilliant pink. With your tongs, squeeze out the excess moisture. That’s all it takes to get the juice from a prickly pear.

I put my gloves back on to dump the excess skin and seeds out of the pillow case into my composter. One interesting note is that the prickly pear will not stain your pillow case! Seriously, it’ll turn hot pink, but it won’t stain. Wash it and you’d never know the difference.

I keep a stash of extra salsa and pickle jars. I filled several jars with the prickly pear juice to use later in the year to mix in jams, syrups and sauces.

Here’s a jam recipe shared by African Kelli:

To every 2 1/2 cups of juice
Add 1 (1 3/4 oz.) package powdered pectin
Boil for a couple minutes
Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 3 1/2 cups sugar.
Stir often and boil hard for 5 minutes.
Pour in jelly glass and seal with paraffin.

I followed the preserving method from Ball for high acid fruits when I was ready to seal the jars.

Here are some other Prickly Pear recipes:

Prickly Pear Lemon Green Tea
Prickly Pear Margarita
Prickly Pear Lemon Cupcakes
Prickly Pear Arnold Palmer

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You can hopefully imagine my shock when someone said to me that you can make all sorts of fruit butters using a crock pot! At first I was shocked and challenged them that perhaps I wasn’t explaining Apple Butter correctly. Because if they had ever had it they would understand that you couldn’t make something that delicious in a (I’m sorry) low rent crock pot!

But they insisted, that yes, you can apple, peach, pear butter all in a crock.

A short Google search later, I had proof and a recipe.

I used yellow peaches I picked at Schneph Farms in Queen Creek, Arizona.

The peach taste held its own, even with the cinnamon, all spice and cloves. Next, I’m going to can!

How to make Peach Butter from Pick Your Own:

It takes about 5 good sized peaches or nectarines (or about 10 plums) to make one quart of prepared peaches.  And each quart of prepared peaches cooks down to about 1 pint of peach butter.

You’ll need about 5 large peaches per pint of peach butter that you want to make!

For one batch in a 5 to 6 quart crock pot you’ll need about 30 medium to large peaches!  The rest of the measurements assume you’re making one full batch!

Peel the peaches.

Set the crock pot on low or medium heat.

To the crock pot gently stir in:

2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon of allspice
4 cups sugar

Peaches

Cover it loosely or use a large pot splatter-guard. It will spatter as it boils slowly, so I also cover nearby surfaces with towels.  You don’t want to seal it tightly because you want the steam to escape so it can reduce in volume and thicken.

Leave it to cook for 6 – 12 hours.  How long depends on the size and power of your crock pot, and how thick you like it, If you want to stir it occasionally, that’s fine but not necessary.

It will reduce in volume by about half overnight.

I used an imersion blender to smooth out the peach bits in the crock pot.

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