Tag Archives: cupcakes

The Sweet Tooth

Before the doctors opened up my skull, I never had a sweet tooth. I’d enjoy the occasional fruit dessert (strawberry shortcake) and slice of carrot cake, but I never needed it. Certainly never went Cathy-crazy and threatened anyone with bodily harm if they stood between me and chocolate.

Also, I used to LOVE red wine.

Both of these things have changed significantly post-op. It hurts me to even type that. (Do you know how long my red-wine love affair lasted? Oh the plans we made!)

I can’t get enough chocolate. Seriously. I’ll eat something sweet every night. When I lost my appetite completely and would struggle to eat at all, you could be sure I’d fall face first in a piece or three of cake. And these days, even the finest Pinot Noir tastes of vinegar once it passes my lips.

(“It’s like that sometimes, I mean ridiculous.”)

It’s a crime. A shame. It’s heartbreaking.

And worse than all that, it’s costing me a visit to the dentist on Monday to revisit this pain that turning my top left molar into a torture machine on my skull. (Heat/cold/pressure all = OW FUCK STOP!*) Antibiotics and pain relievers have both been prescribed.

*My skull has a foul mouth.

This newly discovered sweet tooth may be in for some serious work.

In the meantime, I will drink my Sauvignon Blanc and white Bordeaux and desperately try and retrain my brain to recall my Malbec love.

This photo is of the strawberry topped Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes I talked about in a previous post. I made these for the community potluck a month or so back where we got to meet sweet Madeline, Jorge and Mel’s new little girl. I did them up with some cream cheese icing instead of chocolate for a change. They were YUM, but all melty what with the heat and cream cheese. All the more reason to eat them up fast!*

My excuse, anyway!

Food Porn

I’ve really, really got to stop cruising food blogs like a lusty old perv wearing a trench, hanging out by the back racks in a XXX store. I mean, really. Last night I ordered this gem by Kim Boyce, all about baking with whole-grain flours simply because I LIKED THE WAY THE WEDNESDAY CHEF TALKED ABOUT A CAKE.

A couple of days ago I salivated on several food magazines at Book People the other day before bringing home America’s Test Kitchen 10-Year Special Issue, because the pictures were pretty. The pictures. I’ve flipped through this magazine several times since then, furtively getting a thrill, but not actually cooking anything.

And about an hour ago I bought two tickets to see Anthony Bourdain talk about his new book, Medium Raw. Just, you know, because. I seriously need to step away from the computer and put my check card back into my purse before someone gets hurt.

To be fair, this probably has a lot to do with that teeny, tiny little side effect of the brain medication that has completely taken away my appetite. I mean, in context, if I didn’t have nails I would probably pine for nail polish. So it goes, I want food — gorgeous, stunning, fabulous, amazing food — because my body doesn’t want food.

Am I cooking through all this? Not really. I baked one thing. Okay, I baked it a couple of times. I have come close to perfecting this fabulous recipe for Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes. They are seriously the most amazing cupcakes I’ve made, and I’m not even a fan of chocolate.

I need to branch out from cupcakes though. I’m turning into a one-act play. Wait, that’s not the analogy. It’s something else. A one-tune Tony? A one-trick playa? Oh that’s going to drive me mad.

What food blogs are making your stomachs rumble with gastronomical glee?