Pretty Damn Amazing Carrot Cake Cupcakes

J loves carrot cake, and believe me, her standard is high. Last year I probably made 4 different recipes, and there was something that could have been improved on every one of them. Saturday, I decided to give it one more try. But because I am supposed to be loosing some weight, I made cup cakes. I thought it might be easier to control portion size with these.

I started with a recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I wanted to be sure I had the chemistry part (baking soda, eggs, flour) right. Then I made my own edits. I cut the recipe in half (there are only 2 of us, after all!). I substituted a zuccini for some of the carrots. I think zuccini is the answer to almost everything. You can't taste it, but it makes food a lot juicier, and I mean that in a good way! I also used coconut oil for the fat. I like the Living Foods brand - it has a nice flavor and texture. You can order it here. I'm doing an experiment to see if using coconut oil has a positive effect on my bad cholesterol. More about that later. I reduced the sugar. I swapped out some of the flour and substituted almond meal. (By the way, the reviews I read of almond meal on Amazon.com steered me AWAY from Bob's Red Mill brand for almond flour.)

Next time I make these, I'll add more veggies and I think I'll grate an apple and reduce the sugar further. I'll use more almond flour and less wheat.


Beauteous Carrot Cupcakes - makes 12 cupcakes

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup melted coconut oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated vegtables - I used 3 peeled carrots and one peeled zuccini
1/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup raisins

1. In a medium size bowl, mix the flour, almond meal, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, ginger.
2. In a large microwavable bowl, melt the coconut oil. Mix in the sugar, and then one at a time, the eggs.
3. Grate the vegetables.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the oil/egg/sugar mixture and stir until well mixed. Stir in the veggies, walnuts, coconut, and raisins.
5. Scoop the mixture into baking cups in a cupcake pan. You can fill them up quite a bit because they don't rise a lot.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Shot this on my cell phone and it's a little dark.

I just returned from Concord, CA where I spent a lovely long weekend with my dad, who was celebrating his 84th birthday. We had a lot of fun, going to see Cirque Du Soliel's Totem, eating numerous yummy meals out, playing scrabble. Mostly we just enjoyed one another's company!

Benicia Park

It was especially sweet for me to see my dad and daughter together. Life throws unexpected things at us, and it is important to enjoy the good times when they occur, isn't it? The cool fall day we all went to Benicia Park for a picnic of shrimp salad sandwiches, lovingly made by JD, will forever remain in my memory as one of the happiest of times. Happy Birthday, Daddy! Here's to many more!

Laurie Anderson's 49 Days in the Bardo

Recently I visited Philadelphia for the first time. I went there for a conference (Educause -- a conference about technology and higher education), and while I was there I had the opportunity to see a exhibit. It was Laurie Anderson's 49 Days in the Bardo.

The work was a series of very large panels, maybe 10 feet by 20 feet, I don't know. They just looked huge. They depicted the artists dog who had died as it made its way through the 49 days in the bardo. The bardo is the gap between lives, and 49 days is the customary number that beings are expected to be in the bardo.
I really loved the exhibit. The picture here is pretty representative of the style and also the color. I thought the work was done in pastels or chalk but the explanation said that it was a number of things, including ash.

The exhibit was at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1222 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA. It is scheduled to be there through November 19. I encourage you to try to see it. It was stunning.

Offering Bowls

Yesterday I had a enjoyable phone chat with a man who is thinking about Buddhism and how it may or may not fit into his spiritual path. I'm not sure our conversation was useful to him, but I enjoyed it. It made me think of this small essay that I wrote a long time ago. It is a meditation on the offerings typically found on a Buddhist shrine, but with my own particular slant, of course!

Offering Bowls

The first offering is drinking water. I think about how dry my throat felt when I worked on a limestone parking lot when I was 17 in Central Texas and then Mr. Teague brought me a drink of water. Water coming out of a cold well. The water pitcher in my mother's refridge. The sound of the ice cubes when the are half melted and the condensation is dribbling down the side of the glass. My daughter taking the cup for the first time. Ice chips on my tongue when I was in the hospital. Holding my grandmother in my arms and offering her a cool drink on the hot July day when she died. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The second offering is washing water. I think about my shower this morning. Bathing my daughter the first time. The wonderful feeling of a shower after a long camping trip. The cold shower on our retreat land, the feel of the pine boards under my feet, the shivering cold wet plastic that brushes against me as I go out. The different feelings of ocean water and lake water. The amniotic fluid rushing out of me as they ruptured my membranes. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The third offering is flowers. I think about the strong smell of lilies in my lily garden. The flowers in my bridal bouquet. The thousands of small bunches of iris my ex husband gave me. The flowers in the wreath for my daughter's First Holy Communion. The wreath of wild flowers Eva wove for Garchen Rinpoche and how delighted he was and how wonderfully silly he looked. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The fourth offering is incense. I think about the incense in my childhood church, which was a wonderful maple syrup smell. I think about the sensor clanging against the metal chain, the smoke rising. I think about the smoke of hundreds of campfires, as a child and as an adult. I think about fireplace fires. I think about the strange smells of the incense that the monks used on retreat last summer. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The fifth offering is light. I think about the light of my kitchen window when I drive home on a snowy night. I think about my bathroom night-light, the flashlight I dropped down the "unflushable" at camp, of lying on the ground and watching the zillion stars in a summer Texas sky, not being able to sleep because of the unbearable beauty of it, total eclipses and sunburns, the meteor shower. I think about the Advent wreath, Christmas tree, and a romantic candlelit table. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The sixth offering is perfumed water. I think about my mother's perfume (Channel #5), I think about the smell of my daughter when she was a baby, the smells of cinnamon rolls, sauteed onions, fresh mown grass, the smell of rain, the smell of gin and tonic and lime. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The seventh offering is food. I think about what I had for breakfast. I think of the tastes of Altoids, of thanksgiving turkey and dressing, of chocolate cake, of Popsicle. I remember my favorite meal and offer that. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The eight and last offering is sound. I think of the chirping of crickets, of the sound of birds at dawn, my daughter's first words, of church bells, the no sound when Grandma died, the sound of my Vajra brothers and sisters singing long life prayers, the rattle of my gau, the sounds of lovemaking, the sound of the Chod trumpet. The sound of my own voice. I offer all these to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

By the merit of these offerings, by the merit of samsara and nirvana, may all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

Vancouver: VanDusen Garden

Miss J contemplates what lucky girls are we!

 J an I share two passions: gardening and photography. I think I'm a better gardener than photographer, but whatever. Nothing is as relaxing to me as looking through the viewfinder of a camera. So our trip to the Northwest was going to include a lot of camera time, and if we could be in a in a garden at the same time, well, that was about perfect.

J with an Umbrella Leaf plant

So our first stop was to the VanDusen Botanical Garden. And what a spectacular garden it is! After fortifying ourselves at their lovely cafe, we chose one of the suggested hikes around the garden. The garden is 55 acres, and having once owned 55 acres of land, I know exactly big and small 55 acres is. The designers of the garden (it was opened in 1975, by the way) have laid it out in such a cunning and artful way that every turn in the path revealed something new and unexpected and totally beautiful.  The stroll we chose wandered through the reflecting pond, with beautiful water lilies, a perennial flower gardens, rock gardens, statuary, Himalayan gardens, and roses. The climate in Vancouver is such that even plants like Yucca and Umbrella Leaf plants from Costa Rica can be represented, as well as what you would expect to find in North America.  Every thing in the garden was in perfect condition. Staffed largely by volunteers and managed by the Vancouver Park Board, nothing looked unkempt. Frequently when we visit large public gardens, even beautiful ones, we wish we could just help out a little bit. Just a bit of deadheading and clean up. That wasn't the case at the VanDusen.

The Felgerts Conquer the Canadian Rockies!

Someone wants to go with us!

J and I have just returned from what has to be our most adventuresome adventure yet: an eight day conquest of the Canadian Rockies. Although we originally had hoped that some of our friends would be able to join us, we traveled alone this time. Here's the itinerary:

• Sunday, July 24:  Fly to Seattle. Shuttle to Vancouver, BC and check into the Holiday Inn on Howe Street.
• Monday, July 25: Tour Vancouver
• Tuesday, July 26: More Vancouver, then Via Rail to Jasper
• Wednesday, July 27: Arrive in Jasper, rent the car and overnight at the Tonquin Inn
• Thursday, July 28: Drive to Banff, check into the High Country Inn
• Friday, July 29: Tour Banff
• Saturday, July 30: more Banff
• Sunday, July 31: Drive to Calgary and return the car. Check into the Airport Hilton
• Monday, August 1: Fly home to Rochester.

The hardest part of the planning -- other than the fact that there were a lot of changes of location -- was trying to figure out what to pack. (Other than the cat, that is!) Usually summers in Rochester run in the balmy high 80's -- but we were experiencing a true heat wave. When we read the forecast for Vancouver and Banff, 70 degrees sounded like winter. "Pack the long johns" advised Miss J. As it turned out, we should have gone with fewer fleeces and more shorts. As a result we found ourselves washing out the few short sleeve shirts we had and wishing for cooler weather.

But finally we were packed, the cat's care instructions explained to a neighbor, and on our way to the airport, thanks to our friend Liz. It was then that the first moral crisis occurred. While we were waiting for our flight, I heard: "Ms Dygert, please approach the podium." When I approached, the Delta representative smiled broadly at me and announced the news that all air travelers hope to hear: I had been upgraded to first class! However, J had not. This was not good. There was no way I was going to be able to enjoy first class while my better half was back in coach. Not if I wanted to *have* a better half when I arrived in Seattle! I gallantly offered the upgrade to her, and she gallantly refused. The Delta representative then had to do some fancy footwork to get me my original seat -- I guess no one has ever refused an upgrade before. I hope the person who got it enjoyed it!

We had originally planned to take a 5:30 shuttle to Vancouver using Quick Shuttle service. That would get us to Vancouver about 9:30. Our flight was supposed to get in to Seattle about 2:30 and I thought it would be just a tad too tight to try to make the 3:30 shuttle. But with the plane arriving a little early, some luck, and quick decision making, we were able to get our luggage, grab some dinner and make the earlier shuttle. Before we knew it, we were across the boarder and checked into our Holiday Inn in downtown Vancouver, one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. And I have been to some beautiful cities! More about Vancouver in the next post!

Fourth of July Cherry Pie

This year, we were invited down to Keuka Lake where friends have a cottage. The cottage is a charming little house, right on the lake. Even though we were having a scorching hot day (at least what passes for that in Rochester), the breeze off the lake was wonderful. We were all invited to bring a dish to pass, and our hosts provided roast turkey and veg enchiladas. Those might seem like rather odd Fourth of July foods, but since both are native to this continent, I think they were actually spot on! The enchiladas weren't like any I have ever eaten, but they were good just the same.

We also took a bouquet

J and I chose to make pies -- which are kind of our specialty. We have made a lot of apple pies together, and it is soothing to work side by side at something we have done so many times. We decided to make cherry this time, because cherries are in season now, and you can get good local ones. I got up early on Saturday and went down to the city market and scored us 4 pounds of nice local sweet cherries. At noon, yesterday, we set to pitting them. J had done some internet research, to try to determine the easiest way to go about it. But we ended up both working with our little paring knives, cutting the cherries in half and then prying the stone out with the knife. Kind of brute force, but it got the job done. Thirty minutes later we had 8 cups of cherries ready to be employed.

Cherry Pie, strusel topping!

I make the shopping list every week, and J does the shopping, so it was my fault that we only had half as much pie crust as we needed yesterday. Yes, me, the queen of all things homemade, uses roll out pie crust. Well, I'll tell you: I'm no good at making a pie crust, so I take the easy way out. So I found myself short of a 2 crusts. We decided to go with a struesel topping this time, and it was a great choice. Easy to make, too -- I just dumped flour, sugar and a stick of butter in the food processor and pulsed a few times. Pour it on top of the pie, and there you go - pie done. The strusel topping got good reviews, too. I usually make a latice top, and although they look nice and impress some people, they aren't as tasty as that struesel topping.

Cherry Pie with Struesel Topping

Cherry Filling

4 cups of fresh pitted cherries. I used sweet because that's what we had. But sour would be ok. just be sure to taste and adjust the sugar as needed.
1/3 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour. I know most recipes online call for tapioca, but I didn't have any and this is what my Betty Crocker cookbook calls for. So there.

1 bottom pie crust, rolled out and place in a pie plate

Strusel Topping

Brown sugar
Flour
1 stick butter. Yes, butter.

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix the cherries, white sugar, vanila and 1/2 cup of flour. Pour it into the prepared pie shell.
3. Put the ingredients for the strusel topping into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse a half dozen times until the mixture looks like course meal. Pour the topping on the pie, making sure it is fairly evenly distributed.
4. Bake for 45 minutes,  until the filling is bubbling. Enjoy!