chocolate chip disaster

This weekend I had a FAIL of epic proportions. I managed to screw up not 1, but 2 chocolate chip cookie batches. It killed my spirit a little. Not much, but a little. I have never in my life thrown out cookie batter. And to do it twice was death to my ego. I'm not sure how I can face heading into prime holiday baking season with this hanging over my head now.

My roommates, Ginger and Mary Anne, said they wanted to taste it to see if it was as bad as I thought it was...but, I was so frustrated I dumped the batter in the trash. I may, or may not, get a little feisty and irrational when I'm upset about something when it comes to culinary creations. Regardless, I know something was wrong. A baker just knows. It was off. It was not even satisfactory....in my opinion. And since I was the one baking, I'm the one that says, Yay or Nay!!! And NAY it was folks, Nay it was.

I'm hoping that this looming cloud of depression of failing so bionically when it comes to baking won't hover long. But, I've decided the best thing to do is bake something this week to overcome the tragedy of the chocolate chip cookies. Then I'll be back in the game. Right? Right!!

Bake-ity, Baking!!

It's that time of year again. I have the baking bug. The need to be a domestic goddess like my friends Halen and Becca. I think its the cooler temperatures that tempt me to find my inner domesticity. As well as, there's something about baking and cooler weather that is comforting to me. To those of you who don't know the inner workings of Raelynn, I like to bake in my high heels and yoga pants. I may, or may not, also speak in a variety of voices. Voice of choice for yesterday, Julia Child. Also, yesterday, I decided that just maybe I need an apron to complete my random, but oh so sexy {NOT} look. Plus I had flour ALL over me. I spent the day baking until I had other obligations that beckoned my name. Namely, work. Boo to the hoo.

Baking experience for Sunday November 7th:
Homemade, from scratch--spent a good hour peeling and slicing up apples--apple pie
Not from a box or freezer, thank you very much, lasagna!!

It was all scrumdiddlyumpcious!!!!

Here's the filling that made the house smell like cinnamony, grandma's house on a Saturday morning, better than a yankee candle GOODNESS.....




And here's the pie all nicely put together....



My intention was to take a pic after the fact, BUT...as my life is, craziness distracted me. And as soon as the lasagna was scarfed down, the family was ready for some yummy pie. I can't show you a picture, but I can promise you that it was fan-flippin'-tastic!!! I was impressed with myself. Actually I think I pulled a muscle giving myself a pat on the back.

Matteo and Tiramisu

My first Colorado bestie turned 30 recently. Of course there was a little shindig for him because he should be celebrated. I was asked to make a cake or cupcakes for the dessert portion of his party. I obviously said yes, because, Uh hello....it's for Matteo!! I wanted to make him something special and came up with quite a few ideas. Then it came to me...Matteo's Italian and he loves his Italian roots. So it had to be none other than tiramisu cupcakes. I thought that would be a great way to honor him for his special day.

Now I like baking. I like cupcakes. I like tiramisu. However, I have never made tiramisu in full cake form; yet, I decide to embark on 3 dozen mini ones. Yeppers. Why do I do this to myself? I know not. I look up recipes and try to find one that will be delectable and not overly hard to make. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I was hoping to find something I could make on my first try. Let me tell you that Tiramisu is a daunting and a time stealing baking endeavor. But in short, and via photo, it went a little something like this....

First you have about a million ingredients. Yes, I'm prone to the dramatic. Below is just a few of those ingredients.



Then you start the cake portion....



Again...mixing with the hand mixer. That Kitchenaid is so elusive in my life. So sad!!



Plus you need to have a handy dandy assistant. Love you Jenn! Look at her separate those yolks and whites.



Once all the mixing is done you get this yummyness. I could have eaten the batter on its own. Yeah, I said it. Deal.



Then you put your batter in the pans and bake.



While the cupcakes are baking, you begin the decadence. The icing. Which the primary ingredients are marcapone cheese and heavy whipping cream.



On to the mixing of the icing....again, using that hand mixer. When all is said and done, you come up with this sweet, delectable, oh my gosh I'm going to eat this whole bowl icing. Just look at that photo. I was proud of myself. And mind you, I used a hand mixer. It was a hard task, but I managed. It was so yummy you would have to pause and ponder the goodness of it all.



Once the cupcakes have cooled and while your amazing, i'm going to eat the whole bowl and not feel guilty, icing is chilling you layer on the kahlua, rum and espresso mix onto the tops of cupcakes.



After that you pipe on the to die for icing and then garnish to your liking. I chose chocolate shavings and a chocolate covered espresso bean to top it all off.

Ta da....!!




These cupcakes, I can confidently stay, were fan-flippin-tastic. Everyone loved them and I felt accomplished and proud of myself--and Jenn, my patient helper. But apparently, I'm much more relaxed than I used to be. At least Jenn noted that from my easy response from when we had a few mishaps. I believe with the first problem, instead of freaking out, I said..."Uh, Houston, we have a problem!" And when Jenn appeared, she saw that the ease of how I stated my sentence was not in accordance with the disaster brewing in the oven. Note to you and to self: when you are getting a recipe from a random stranger, sometimes they leave out very important facts about how much tiramisu can rise. Yeah!! (insert the roll of my eyes right here!) But I handled it with gusto and calm, then we began again with baking..this time modifying to what we knew would happen. Overall it was a great experience. Most importantly, Matteo loved them.

That's all that matters, right?! Right.

for the love of biscotti

Ever since Christmas, thanks to Halen and Sharon, I have been craving, eating, enjoying all kinds of biscotti. I want some with my coffee and/or tea every day. As I've been enjoying this scrumptious goodness, it occurred to me that maybe I should learn to make my own biscotti as it cost anywhere from $1.85 to $2.00 to purchase for one slice. Now that seems small, but doing this everyday starts to add up. I've taken to perusing biscotti recipes to find one I think I can make. Each recipe I've found to suit my fancy seems to have one little problem. What is that problem you ask? the elusive, (to me), stand up mixer. Every recipe I have found that I like is sort of snobby with there instruction of, "In a stand up mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter...." Um, not all of us have a stand up mixer. I can't afford a Kitchenaid mixer. I want one. Who doesn't? All girls dream of being a domestic diva with all the fancy appliances to make their baking/cooking dreams come true. But sadly, not all of us have or can afford one. So, I was irritated for a moment, yet only a wee moment because then I realized..."hey, my G-ma Charlotte didn't have a fancy stand up mixer with all the attachments." My great-grandmother, who by the way, was an amazing chef and baker was like Caroline Ingalls from the pioneer days and made things from scratch with just a bowl and a spoon. So, in my head I'm thinking, "I got this!!" Because she has imparted most of her teachings to me; so of course, I got the baking thing down without all the fancy equipment, right? Wrong. Now I see why there is need for a stand up mixer. Unless I'm an octopus with 8 arms, I could barely keep it all going with the flow and ease I imagined in my head. But, that's okay. I'll keep trying until I get it right. I'm like the Little Engine That Could. I just keep saying, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!" So for now, I'll keep telling myself "I think I can" until I can with my batter bowl, hand mixer and spoon.



Quick fun fact: did you know that originally Italians made biscotti to dunk in their coffee and WINE?? Gosh, I love the Italians!

Nostalgia: Ba de ya - say that you remember

Tonight, after Glee, I spent this evening baking cookies and listening to Earth, Wind and Fire, the Temptations and many other of my Motown favorites. Music has always been my stress relief. I love ALL types of music. Coming from a large family as mine, we all have different tastes in music. Which, fortunately for me, has given me an incredible eclectic mix of music to enjoy 24/7. Ever since I was an adorable wee child....I remember my dad and I would put on his records and then I would sing and dance around the house. I normally would have him in hysterics as I would do the Motown steps as if I were a Pip, Temptation or Four Top. I've always been quite the entertainer.

Tonight I'm wishing my dad was with me here in Colorado because I would put on a show for him for old time's sake just to see him smile like he used to. I loved my dad's laugh. It brings me joy just thinking about it. So...The last few days I've had "September" in my head by Earth, Wind and Fire. What's a girl to do? Well, I'll tell you. Tonight I put the music on, baked cookies and danced around my house. Obviously, Tasia is not home tonight. I have to introduce this side of me to her in baby steps. I'm not sure she's ready to dance around the house with me yet. Kate was a pro at it. Kate gets me and my ways. Of course, Kate is a lot like me. After all, we did devise a song about a wacky religion we created, with Jamie McGowan's help, called the Norma's. As well as, songs about Spam and other randomness. (Man, I miss Jamie & Kate!) And with Matthew B we expressed our love for green beans in many a facebook video. Plus, Matthew would dance with me around the house or wherever we felt the need to express ourself in such a manner. So, see, I'm not sure Tasia is ready for this quite yet.

BUT, I digress....Basically, I'm left home alone tonight to my own devices and I've decided to take a walk down memory lane and bake comfort food. It's so healing for the soul. It's been a rough week emotionally for me and I needed to escape and unwind. I believe I accomplished what I was aiming for this evening.



"SEPTEMBER" by Earth, Wind and Fire




And a more creative version that has been circulating around by Pomplamoose




I'll admit that I was dancing as free as the Grandma was in the latter video!! That's right.

Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu
Ba duda, badu, baduba

Blog Catch Up!!

Wow...I've been MIA in the bloggy blog world. It has been awhile, my friends. I'm sure you've been eagerly awaiting for my wit, wisdom and Raelynn-ness.

Hmmm...where to begin? I'll start from newest and go to should have told you many moons ago....

First: I have incredible hair. Yes, vanity is running amuck with me right now. But I just love it. My hair has grown so much and then my favorite hairstylist, Judy Dillon, put these fun layers in my hair that makes my hair tossle and flow ever so fantastically. Sorry people, I'm really lovin' my hair right now. I waited it out and haven't cut it in so long. Normally, my hair gets to a certain length and i'll say, "forget it, let's cut it short!" But over the last year and a half, I've been patiently waiting it out. And trust me, that urge to cut it has been strong. My Native grandma would be so proud of me. She always liked my hair long. (insert tear here)

Second: For thanksgiving I made my first ever from scratch chocolate cake. I rocked it!! I was so nervous and felt so accomplished when all was said and done. It was absolutely fantastic. I can stand true to my FB comment when I said, I'm a baking goddess. Everyone loved it at Thanksgiving dinner.



Third: Went to Utah, again, to hang with friends and to get a little face time with Tiffany B. as I am planning to travel to Italy, Greece and Turkey with her this upcoming summer with the group, "Burn 24/7". I was a little nervous, but after meeting her I can tell that we will get along fabulously and the trip is going to be A-mazing!!! Utah was fabulous. I was able to go to the zoo with Jamie, Jaime, Shannon, Sharon and some fun wee kiddos to see all the cute baby animals. My favorite was the baby giraffe. Of course while in Utah I try to learn some new knitting; this time I learned how to knit a washcloth. But most importantly, I was able to spend time with GREAT friends, bask in Seevinck love and have morning latte's. It doesn't get much better than that.

Fourth: I've been working with a personal trainer the last 5 weeks. Her name is Peggy and I absolutely love her. She is pushing me to do things I never thought I could accomplish. I'm improving every day and each training session gets harder, so I guess that means something. Right?! Well, at least that's what Peggy says. And I must say I am noticing that I am getting stronger, getting more fit, and like I tell the Building Sup. boys at the Y, "I'm a machine!" Of course, these said boys also like to come up to Peggy during my session with her and tell her that I called her a "pushover" or that my workouts were "too easy"!! Which of course, I didn't say. But, I get worked harder nonetheless. I'm lovin' it though. And I'm completely determined. Peggy said that I'm the most determined client she's ever had and that my focus is amazing--she wishes she could teach it to her clients she's had for years. She asked me where I get it and I honestly told her that God had been working in me and revealed to me why discipline was so hard for me. Once I understood, I just started soaring. That lesson I will share with you on the other blog. I'm in the process of articulating my thoughts on that and will be posting it SOON!!

Fifth: Kate moved out. Sad! But Tasia, a friend and co-worker at the Y, moved in. Fun. We painted every inch of the house and it's so super duper cute. I'm lovin' it. But, I'm missing all my Kate surprises. And especially hearing her sing and play her piano in the mornings. I have no one to serenade me anymore.


I guess that's it for now. Other than, I really have "expectation" rising of what's to come. I believe the Lord has a few surprises up His sleeve and has been hinting at them for the last few weeks. Can't wait to see what they are!! I guess you'll have to wait along with me.

NEW mission-o-fun!!

I've been mulling something over in my head for awhile. And I have finally come to the conclusion that I want to be....the Cupcake Master!!!

I've been wanting to bake more and I thought it would be fun to try all sorts of cupcake baking recipes. Watch out Tee & Cakes, you have nothing on me. I've got mad skills. I feel it.

Let the art of mastering the cupcake begin.