looking forward to grinning myself to death tomorrow morning!

so jealous!

while i'm stuck dreaming in toronto, wondering when i'll have time to finish my frock (because yes, i intend to dress up to watch this from the comfort of my living room) and dreading the heinous hour of the royal wedding here in eastern daylight time, my friend meredith is off in london - blogging it for work no less! catch up with her here: LondonCalling

meanwhile the kiddo and i watched fred's version on the weekend. gorgeous frocks, swank suits, and some of his most spectacular (if gimmicky) dance numbers. h especially enjoyed astaire's duet with jane powell on the ship (when waves caused havoc and much falling down), the hat rack in the gym, and of course the dancing on the ceiling trick. i told him he could do it too, if he really really practised.

whee!

finally finished my vest (again) in a new improved length, and finished putting the lining in my tweed jacket (someone asked if the harris tweed had ever got back to my enquiry - they haven't), and made some nice soup and bread and dinner for six last night, which always feels pleasantly sophisticated compared to the usual domestic business. the kiddo let us sleep in this morning because he was busy looking for chocolate (which he kindly offered to share), thank goodness. i was so tired last night i barely made it to doctor who, but after seeing the latest batch of creepy beasties i'm amazed i slept at all! there are things i should be doing now, but i am feeling so very unmotivated (read: tired). and the week ahead will be brutal. sigh.

long weekend, well deserved!

funny for a short week, it seemed awfully long - getting this new show done feels endless, and we were only told on wednesday that the first show goes to air 4 may! yikes!!

so i am very glad to have a long weekend, and grateful to the kiddo for letting me sleep in and making me heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast (well, his dad did most of the work, but he helped). on the menu for this weekend: i've ripped out the ribbing on my vest so i can re-knit it a bit longer, now that i've got more of the lovely alpaca-with-a-twist highlander from the lovely laura (aka simbabee), who still has loads of yarn to get rid of at great prices (for some reason people assume it must be all gone by now, but there is a lot there!). also got more of the yellow briggs & little regal i'm using for the kiddo's vest, maybe i'll get that done too? and a new summer dress (please, let summer come soon), and dinner for six tomorrow night, and a bunch of work on our parent's group, the usual housework, cooking ahead lunches for the week, and... and... and...

maybe i should just go back to bed.

two things on the list which will not get edited out: watching royal wedding on sunday with the kiddo, to get in the spirit for next week. and watching doctor who on saturday night!

squee!

my eggs-in-a-nest cupcakes are featured on baking is hot today!

get cracking

i've begun the kiddo's religious education by making him watch easter parade with me (which resulted in him donning his polka-dot bow tie and doing dance routines that involved a lot of falling down) and baking cupcakes with a springtime theme: eggs in a nest! the nests i made last week, and a good thing too, and this weekend was crazy (surprise party, charity event, 4th birthday party, etc.) and i never would have got done if i hadn't started early.

first off: meringues! seems the perfectly appropriate recipe for making eggs. i piped wee egg-shaped dollops on the cookie sheet, trying to stop them from getting too peak-y:




while those were in the oven, i worked on the batter for the cupcakes - here's a shot of the butterscotch being poured in:



the meringues look ready to hatch!



few things look or smell so lovely as cupcakes in the oven.




or fresh out of it! this recipe is another from the family circle cake & cooky cookbook.



i realized that my bittersweet chocolate wouldn't do for the icing - it had an allergy warning, and the kiddo's school is strictly "no nuts." so, i adapted my vanilla frosting recipe with a quarter-cup of cocoa. then, it was assembly line time: a healthy dollop of icing on each cuppy, a nest, another wee dollop of icing, and two meringue eggs.



here they are - my very own battery farm!




meringues

2 egg whites (at room temperature)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
1 cup white sugar

combine first four ingredients. whisk like mad, gradually adding sugar, till it holds stiff peaks. spoon or pipe onto an un-greased cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. bake 1 hour at 275F.

n.b.: you can use the same recipe to make a shell to fill with fruit and whip cream - heavenly!

frosting

1 cup milk
3 tbs flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, soft
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (optional)

whisk flour into milk and cook over low heat till thickened. stir in vanilla, and allow to cool.

cream together butter and sugar. if using cocoa, blend it in too.

beat cooled milk mixture into butter mixture. an electric whisk is great for this!

chill in the fridge till a little set before using to frost your cupcakes.

oh i'm bad

i said i'd get a review up yesterday and i didn't. but i'm so busy and tired! speaking at a charity event tuesday morning (at seven-thirty! yuck!), parent-teacher meeting last night, and then a conference call for our parents' group - we're having a benefit concert with king cobb steelie this saturday! so, too tired to write coherently.

but, not too tired to knit on the subway...