Today, I finally got the chance to decorate the house for Halloween. It was time to put away the beach decor and begin the pumpkin primping. I have a collection of decorations that have been passed down to me and those that I have bought myself. The eclectic mix makes for a good start. Over the years, I intend to add a decoration or two more to trim the house. My favorite decorations so far are the ceramic witch and haunted house that light up. They were made by my mom when she was younger at a ceramic studio. They are irreplaceable and it is something that is a timeless piece that I will be able to pass down to my children. I also like the Bethlehem lighting pieces from QVC. The wreath and the garland are from this company and they are not only beautiful on their own but when they are lit at night it provides a great ambience for any occasion. Happy October everyone!
This fall in business school I’m working on a marketing project all about bacon. This is admittedly not my wheel house because I don’t actually eat bacon, but it has proven to be a great experience. And yes, I realize I am a weirdo for not eating bacon.
Once we were given the assignment, we were strongly encouraged to test the product ourselves to get better insight into the consumer. Initially I was not too enthusiastic about the idea, but then I realized I could parle this suggestion into a reason to attempt a baking project with bacon.
For my first try at baking with bacon I decided to stay relatively conservative. I picked a few different recipes and flavor ideas to settle on a buttermilk cupcake with maple frosting and bacon garnish. Initially I was going to go in the direction of a spice or pumpkin cupcake, but since the bacon is rich and fatty and maple frosting is pretty sweet, I thought the buttermilk cake would be a nice light compliment to the other components. Plus I figure it’s a play on breakfast in a cupcake: buttermilk like pancakes, maple like syrup, and bacon like bacon.
These were definitely a crowd pleaser and I even doctored them up to play on the whole pig theme.
Buttermilk Cupcakes with Maple Frosting and Bacon Garnish
Yields 36 cupcakes from Martha, frosting from somewhere I forget
Cake Ingredients
3 cups cake flour, (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbs (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temp
2 cups buttermilk, room temp
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients
350g unsalted butter room temp
500g powdered sugar
5 Tbs Maple Syrup
2 Tbs Vanilla
2 tsp ground ginger
1 lb bacon for garnish
Method
Preheat oven to 400.
Place bacon on cooling rack, then place cooling rack on top of a baking sheet.
Sprinkle brown sugar on the bacon and bake for 25 minutes.
Once baked, transfer bacon to a layer of paper towels or paper bags to allow the grease to drain. Once cool, chop the bacon for garnish later.
Turn oven down to 350.
Combine cake flour, AP flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter. Add sugar, beat until fluffy. Add whole eggs one at a time, then yolks one at a time along with vanilla.
Alternate adding parts of the dry mixture with the buttermilk. Once everything is in the same bowl make sure to scrape the sides and try not to over mix the batter.
Pour batter three quarters of the way full in prepared muffin tin. Bake 20 minutes until tester comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting (or else the frosting will just melt).
For the frosting cream the butter with the sugar and add in the syrup, vanilla, and ground ginger. Beat until light and fluffy.
Frost the cupcake in desired fashion and sprinkle with bacon pieces for garnish.
I turned the cupcakes upside down and added some food coloring to the frosting to make the cupcakes look like pig snouts to go with the theme!
I’ve officially signed up to run a half marathon in November in Richmond so I’ve been getting a little more serious about running lately. I chose a half marathon because I wanted a significant challenge, but I didn’t want to limit myself to running for months. A typical half marathon training plan incorporates a significant amount of cross training, which is perfect for me. Plus I don’t think I really have the time to commit to the three and four hour runs that happen towards the end of a marathon training plan.
Since I’m being a little more methodical about my running lately I decided it was time to get a Garmin to help track my runs.
I saw a post on Skinny Runner, a really hilarious running blog, about a new lesser priced Garmin that was recently released. I figured it was the perfect option for me because a. Garmins can be pretty expensive and I don’t need that many bells and whistles, and b. it’s pink.
Now that I have it, I can go running outside and track my pace, distance, time, and calories. It’s awesome! I used to just guess how far I ran based on the time it took. Plus I think it makes me run faster. I know I usually run slower outside than on the treadmill but now that I know my pace outside, it motivates me to go faster.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to run and wants to track their progress. Not only does it eliminate the guessing game, but it makes me excited to get a new PR in my training runs!
Sadie Dishes 