Chocolate cupcakes with Blue icing

For some reason on Saturday I woke up at 8am and could NOT go back to sleep. So I got up and saw that it was snowing nicely (some of the only snow we've had this year in Toronto) and thought it felt like a good time to bake up something warm. I pulled out my mom's favourite chocolate cake recipe and thought cupcakes sounded like a good idea. My mom has been making this recipe for ages and knows it by heart I think.

1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda

You mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then take the 1 cup measure and beat 1 egg in the measuring cup. Then fill the cup with milk. Mix with the dry ingredients. Add in a pinch of salt and 1/4 tsp of vanilla.

Melt 1 1/2 squares of bakers chocolate (I like to do 2 squares) and 1 tbsp butter over low heat in a sauce pan. Once melted, add to the mix slowly.

Once mixed bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes. All I did for the icing was use a few drops of blue food colouring and some coarse sugar to decorate :)

Creating the space you need

I have a smallish apartment. 1 bedroom with a killer view. I really struggled in 2011 with SPACE and creating the right space to feel creative in and shoot my images. Sometimes you need that catylist to puch you back into the groove and give you lots and lots of ideas and get those creative juices flowing. Well I think I might have found that catylist.... an IKEA kitchen island. :)




This puppy would be perfect for food photography... problem is space in my apartment for it. When I already have a ton of crap (and my boyfriends crap) in this place. We're both photographers on different systems (Canon vs Nikon) which means double the gear. Something has to give and I'm not sure what!! Do I move? Do I become kitchen table less? Couch less? This might take some thought... or an impulse buy!! :D I miss the days of my big old house(Ok just my office) where I had a room just for ME! One day I'll get it back with a vengeance... but for now.. something has to be axed! Any ideas on saving space? I'm stumped on this one.

French Macaron's

Last week was my co-worker Jackie's birthday and as a treat my boss brought in a selection of macaron's from Pusateri's down the street. I love these little pieces of heaven. I'm partial to the vanilla ones but can't help but love the sight of the more vibrant raspberry and caramel ones we had as well. So January's mission....MAKE FRENCH MACARON'S! The recipe looks easy, I've got the chopper and mixer ready to go...but I know these can be tricky. Here is a little inspiration to get going.

Warning...Do not watch if you are hungry...