A few moments of quiet.

Shhhh…listen.  Hear that?

It’s the sound of children. In school.  For another five minutes.

Any second now, the bus will pull up. The door will slam. My son will demand a snack. My daughter will come in and ask if she can go skating tonight. My son will demand to know why he can’t go skating if she can…and so on.

Nine days.  February vacation lasts for nine days.  I have nothing planned to do, primarily because everything costs money that we don’t have. We might be able to go to the zoo, since our membership hasn’t expired. It’ s possible we could take the little guy to the Children’s Museum, where we also have a membership–though it tends to cater to the 6 and under set, and is pure torture for the 11-year-old. The 9-year-old is still young enough to enjoy building something with the blocks for a few minutes.  But mostly…zzzzz.

And typically, we come home with a viral souvenir of our visit.  About a week after we go, we come down with a cold, stomach bug  or other illness. So it’s not my favorite place.

I might take them to Slater Mill, where I work. It would be free and I could tour them around and let them touch and see things that regular school children can’t.

What are you planning to do during vacation?

 

I heart Valentine’s Day. Sweets.

I stole this entire recipe and the yummy-looking photo from The Providence Journal at:  http://www.projo.com/food/content/fd-red_velvet_02-11-09_29D7M3K_v24.2792560.html

Lazy? Perhaps.  Hungry? Definitely.

Red Velvet is the color and texture of love

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, February 11, 2009

By Gail Ciampa
Journal Food Editor

I heart cupcakes…
The Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

The mystery and myths surrounding Red Velvet Cakes are seemingly endless. Do its beginnings trace back to Southern kitchens or does the credit go to The Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City which made it a popular dessert serving in the ’20s? Is it nothing more than chocolate cake colored red? Do you really need an entire bottle of red food coloring to create the proper shade? Is buttermilk the secret ingredient? Why does it have vinegar? Is the frosting always made of cream cheese?

Does any of it really matter more than just how crazy good they can taste with a texture that’s neither too dense nor too airy? With a flavor that is pleasantly sweet yet not chocolate-y and really doesn’t taste like anything else?

Nah.

Red Velvet Cakes are enjoying a resurgence of popularity these days appearing on dessert menus at restaurants that range from Gregg’s (who served one at Christmas time) to Local 121 (for a wine dinner). La Salle Bakeries in Providence offer one for Valentine’s Day. Perhaps the answer is found in the comfort of something old fashioned that feeds the soul in uncertain times.

Also high on the trendy meter are cupcakes. For several years now, bakeries have been loading up their cases with them, publishers can’t put out enough cookbooks on how to make them, and some cafes even offer specials on them during designated “happy hours” (The Edge in Providence’s Wayland Square for one).

Leave it to the clever and talented Gary Welling, who cochairs The International Baking and Pastry Institute at Johnson & Wales, to put the two together for us for a Valentine’s Day treat. His credits include not only competing in international cooking competitions but also preparing an edible “Wally the Green Monster” to celebrate Rhode Island Day at Fenway Park last summer when he made cakes in the shape of the Red Sox mascot, Wally.

With him, we re-explored the subject of red velvet.

“For me, the most common answer is in the roots of the South,” he said. “It’s a traditional Southern thing, and the recipe is very Southern with buttermilk.”

He offered two good reasons to make Red Velvet Cupcakes rather than the cake.

“Cupcakes are not as intimidating as cakes,” he said. “They are nice and easy.”

Also, as a baker and an educator, he likes to find something seasonally that becomes a signature dish.

“I wanted to get away from the standard chocolate,” he said, “and with their beautiful color, nothing says Valentine’s Day more than something red.”

There’s also the opportunity to decorate each cupcake differently, some with conversation hearts, others with chocolate candy.

“Cupcakes are so creative when you get into the decorating side,” he added.

“They are fun to work with, fun to decorate and fun to give,” Welling said.

His recipe, like all Red Velvet recipes, includes a little bit of cocoa for the mild chocolate taste.

He’s never found an answer to why there is chocolate in it but said “it really helps with the color to tone down the brightness and makes it look nicer.”

Welling used no butter but rather oil.

“It gives it its moistness and texture,” he said.

The recipe also includes white vinegar for a leavening agent and buttermilk, the traditionally Southern ingredient.

He didn’t use the cream-cheese icing that is the norm, preferring a buttercream frosting for ease of decorating. But he’s included a Royal Icing recipe as well.

Welling’s cupcake formula does take quite a bit of red food color, two tablespoons in contrast to some recipes that call for two drops. But the rich hue it imparts is elegant. And he doesn’t find there to be any taste difference from a little to a lot and most recipes have lots. Here’s another bone of contention — some recipes actually use puréed beets to create the color.

Before we go bake some cupcakes, let me share my favorite urban myth about the Red Velvet Cake. The story goes that a guest at the Waldorf asked for the recipe and was given it. But after she was billed $100 she passed the recipe on to every one she knew to get her money’s worth.

VALENTINE’S DAY RED VELVET CUPCAKES1

VALENTINE’S DAY RED VELVET CUPCAKES

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons red food color

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with baking papers.

Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and then set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, vinegar and food color. With a hand or electric whisk, mix until thoroughly combined.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. With an electric mixer, mix to combine the ingredients and then continue to mix until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes.

Portion the batter into the paper lined cupcake pans. Bake until the cake centers are firm to the touch — approximately 20 minutes.

Remove for the oven and cool. When cool, decorate with icing and your favorite decorations.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

From the kitchen of Johnson & Wales University College of Culinary Arts and Gary Welling

ROYAL ICING1

ROYAL ICING

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

In a mixing bowl mix the egg whites with the lemon juice.

Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed with an electric mixer until combined and smooth.

Color as desired.

Note: The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with a damp paper towel and plastic wrap when not in use.

BUTTERCREAM ICING

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 stick butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

4 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla.

Gradually add the sugar, one cup at a time, mixing on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.

Add milk and mix at medium speed until light and airy.

 

Toddler Time

I was standing at the sink doing dishes. The toddler runs up, grabs my leg and shouts, “Mom! Ideedit gug!”
“Oh,” I said, using my amazing Mom/Toddler translation skills, “You need a hug?” I bent down and put my arms around that warm little body, with a “mmm” and a squish. Then I stood up.
“‘Tank you, Mommy!” he said, “Mmwah!”. Then he ran away.

Can’t beat it.

 

Tagged.

My cousin, Jenny (aka “Jenna”), tagged me today.

Rules: Once you are tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 25 people to tag, including the person that tagged you. (No pressure. Do this only if it’s fun for you.)

25. I don’t think I know 25 people to tag.

24. I love to sit on stormy days and listen to the wind and rain against the house.

23. I often wonder why the people around me feel they know more about me than I do about myself.

22. My favorite scent in the whole world is warm barn and contented horse. If I could get it in a candle, I’d burn it all the time.

21. A psychic once told me my guardian angels get frustrated with me because I don’t listen.

20. I’m trying to learn to listen to my guardian angels.

19. I believe in ghosts, but have never seen one.

18. I love the power of a newly-sharpened pencil.

17. My favorite color is green.

16. My favorite sound is the boom-hiss of the ocean meeting the shore.

15. If I didn’t write to get the voices out of my head, I’d go insane.

14. If I could go anywhere in the world, I’d go to the Ireland and Scotland.

13. I love the ocean but hate the beach.

12.  Autumn is my favorite time of  year.

11. I think adversity is best handled with humor.  Black humor is better than no humor.

10. I’ve finally decided to accept my path in this life; even if it means I won’t ever have an office or a desk of my own and have to rely on my husband to survive.

9.  I often dream about moving to a house with secret rooms and extra spaces.

8. I honestly believe ’50’s women were content with being housewives because there was an established happy hour in place. Highballs, anyone?

7. The historical figure I’d most like to meet is Jesus Christ.

6. The historical person I’d most like to have a drink with is Mark Twain.

5. The historical figure I’d most like to take to a concert is Henry David Thoreau.

4.  If I could go back to any one time of history, I think I’d like to visit the Regency period of England for a few days.

3. I’d love to learn to sail.

2. If I won a million dollars, I’d give most of it away; we are already blessed in so many ways.

1. If I died tomorrow, I’d want people to remember me for my smile, my desire to laugh and my sense of humor.

 

Reviewed

It’s one of those moments you never forget.

I’d just finished writing the blurb for Dog-Gone But Not Forgotten, and I got my first review!

My toddler ran over, coughed, looked surprised– and threw up on my laptop.

I hope it’s not an omen.