Mini-Maxi Events In The Kitchen inc Jack Daniels Cupcakes

In my attempts to keep me on the go this afternoon, I decided to bake a batch of scones.  I had bought a bag of dried raisin and apricots some days ago, and thgought this would go well in scones.  I had only got my pinny on when Mary-Jane was hanging on the gate, in our front room, starting to grizzle to be in the kitchen with Mommy.  I asked her if she would like to Help Mommy Bake Scones - Oh Yes Please!  (a standard answer at the moment - which I'm not knocking!).  I knew her interest wouldn't take her to getting the scones in the oven and she would be tempted to go running off to find Granma and Grandad.  Today was The Day when Mary-Jane would take her first steps of Learning To Bake With Mommy.

I put her pinny on (which she was delighted with) and sat her at the chair.  I explained to her what we were going to do.  The first thing (after hand washing) was to weigh the ingredients.  We have digital scales, so I asked Mary-Jane to tell me what the numbers were and to tell me when they got to what ever number we needed.  She managed this, with prompting.  She knows her numbers, up to early teens.  I then made the mistake of putting the Kenwood (food mixer) on.  She became so frightened, upset and crying.  It was pick up loves from Mommy, then Daddy, take her pinny off, then distract her with a walk to see the cows.  Poor little mite.

I finished the scones off and baked them.  Once cooled, we sat to have scones and jam - home made starry plum jam made by Di.  Very Sociable.  I am so proud that Mary-Jane has arrived at her first milestone of starting to bake.  And she does enjoy a scone - like Momma!

Yesterday I baked a batch of cupcakes.  It seems an eternity since I did some.  I found a recipe for Jack Daniels Cupcakes.  My goodness - they come highly recommended!  The sponge is moist, but not overly moist and the topping is dyed black and laced with Jack Daniels Whiskey.

The tops needed just a little something to finish them off.  HK and I thought maybe something Halloweenie.  I didn't have anything like that to hand, so used blue glitter sprinkles.


Jack Daniel's Cupcakes

Makes around 14-24 depending on the size of your cupcake cases

200g/7oz plain flour
250g/8.5oz golden caster sugar
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1 large egg
100ml/3.5 fl oz milk
30g/1oz yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
110g/4oz unsalted butter
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp coca cola

For the icing
110g/4oz icing sugar
1 tbsp coca cola
3 tbsp Jack Daniels
1/2 tsp black food colouring paste
100g/3.5oz dark chocolate

• Preheat oven to 170c/325f/gm3.  Line two muffin tins with cupcake cases.
• Mix the flour, sugar and bicarb soda.
• In another bowl, stir the egg with the milk, yoghurt and vanilla
• Gently melt the butter, cocoa and coca-cola.  Stir all the ingredients until all are blended then pour into the sugar and flour.  Mix with a wooden spoon, then stir in the egg mixture.
• Pour into cupcake cases until 2/3 full
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm and springy to the touch.  Cool on a wire rack
• For the icing - sift the icing sugar, add the coca-cola, Jack Daniels and food colouring and mix.
• Melt the chocolate and stir into the icing.
• Work quickly, spread the icing over the cakes with a spatula.  Add topping decorations if you wish

Mini-Maxi Events

It has been a busy and mini-maxi eventful weekend.  Mini-Maxi becuase we have done things for the first time or for a long time, that are not big things on the face of it, but really mean a great deal.  Mary-Jane's sleep seems to be getting slightly better.  I am hesitant saying this as I listen to her murmer on the monitor.  She is tired when she goes to bed, which is always a bonus.  She awoke early this morning - around five am again.  She did not settle on her own, so we bought her through to our bed and she tried her best not to be over excited and to settle, giving us chanve to rest and cat nap till at 7 I came down stairs with her.  She has been tired most of the day, but I have periodically been keeping her busy and letting her have periods of rest - mainly on Daddy!

One of the new things she has been doing is curling up on the bottom stair.  I think she does this mainly when she is tired.  She pretends to be a mouse - it is a yogu position she has learned from one of her programmes that she watches (Waybuloo).  Bandit thinks it's fun too, so he has started joining in.

I have had MJ out in the garden several times.  She still loves to be outside and is still enamoured with her slide and washing pegs.

She loves her trike.  She is starting to understand what her pedals are for, but hasn't quite put it altogether yet.  I have started taking her on the path in front of the house.  The road is a busy main road.  To say we are rural, there isn't many places by the house that she can have a good run around or walk on that is not close to lots of traffic.  So the path out the front is getting some use and the road out the back, which is quieter is getting alot of use - especially for Walks To See The Cows.

Mary-Jane is getting a growing liking for tractors.  She has begun to be brave enough to wave to tractors when they go past, if she is feeling in the mood to do so.  She waved at one today and the farmer waved back, she clapped her hands and squealed with delight.  Wait till she sees one of her presents for her birthday!

Another Mini-Maxi event happened last evening.  It was about 9pm and I was thinking of settling for an hour or so then go to bed.  HK (who had already had a drink) asked if I wanted to take a walk into the village (Beckermet) and go for a drink, as long as Mum & Dad didn't mind baby sitting MJ.  Ten minutes later I had changed my top, re-tied my hair up and put my shoes on.  This is the first time HK and I have been out together since New Years Eve 2010.  Indeed the first time we have been out together, on our own, since before Mary-Jane was born.

We walked into the village, a mile or so.  It was a warm evening with a gentle breeze.  The pub was small and inviting.  We relaxed.  It felt such a long time since we had been together like this.  We had one drink, me a pint of Magners cider and HK a pint of Jennings Cocker Hoop.  That was enough for me, I was relaxed and flippin tired with it!  I think if I'd had another drink, I would be curled up on the floor fast asleep!  We took our time walking back, all in all half an hour.  It was so dark!  Once out of the village, there are no street lights, only fields and trees and Sellafied in the distance.  Even the glow over Sellafield wasn't as orange as what I thought it would be.  It's not a walk I'd like to do on my own with it being so dark, especially going through the short wooded area.  But it was so lovely.  A tad more breezier as well.  Evening walks should be a must, all things permitting.  It did HK and I a world of good.