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You know, sometimes you know a good thing when you see it. I am not always this decisive or sure about everything but for these 2 things I am. You can always count on a good cupcake and an effective blog hop.
I made these cupcakes for my family over fall break and they were gone in an hour. But as I stood over the kitchen sink I pondered what direction I wanted my blog/site to go I had so many ideas. I mean, I am not trying to be a trailblazer. I am not waiting to be found, I am not the next Julia Child, I am not shiny and fresh.
I am just a woman who does her best to make a nice life for her family. I cook, clean, work, laugh, write, eat, kiss boo boo’s, scrub toilets, do yard work….just like the rest of us. I am not waiting on an epiphany about what I am going to be when I grow up. I am there already. I am not waiting for things to fall in my lap, that is just wasting the life I have been given. I am going to point myself in the direction I want to go, follow my heart and move forward.
Starting Over…
So I go back to how I found so many of you, how we all became intertwined on the Internet through daily posts, chats, emails and phone calls : my first Blog Hop. I had over 148 responses to it and through that I have found SO many new sites as well as interconnected our pages through shared traffic, links and comments. For this I am grateful, for this I am BLESSED!
So in keeping with the Carrot Cupcake and Blog Hop theme Basilmomma is giving herself a face lift. I am going to shrug off thoughts that I need to post something every day to be remembered, I am going to go back to the real reason I started this site to begin with. I wanted to chronicle my life with my family, through food and cooking. I want to get back to writing and stop trying to churn out post after post just to keep my traffic up. Who can keep up with that…?
So after you check out my Carrot Cupcakes I would LOVE for you to link up YOUR site (NOT a post but your SITE for others to find. There is a whole world of new readers out there who want to share in your life as well.
Please leave your link by using the inlinks tool . It is quick and easy. All I ask is for you to share this on your Facebook Wall if you have one for your blog/site so others can come for a visit and/or link up as well. I am leaving this open through the 28th so please be sure to visit more than once to see what new friends come along!
Rules, Rules…
Please link up your ‘clean’ site, be kind to others and visit a few new ones on the list (tell them I sent ya;) and spread the love ! Leave me a comment below to let me know you were here but only links left with the link tool will be in the hop. I know that many of you have told me how effective the last hop was for your site so I hope we ALL benefit from this! Isn’t that what a hop is all about?
We all have different connections and when you stop to break it all down it is very ‘6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon-ish’ and I am a firm believer in networking. If you tell 3 people who tell 3 people…..You get the idea.
Carrot Cupcakes
Adapted from an Ellie Krieger recipe, 2004
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 C canola oil
3/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 C natural applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 shredded carrots (about 2 medium)
1/4 C walnuts , optional plus more for garnish
1 package of low-fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 C of sifted confectioners sugar
1 lemon, zested
optional: squeeze of lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 spot muffin tin with baking cups.
Sift together the first 6 ingredients. IN a large bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar and eggs until combined. Whisk in the applesauce, vanilla and carrots. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the nuts, if desired.
Divide evenly between the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile combine the cream cheese, sugar, zest and juice (optional) with a mixer until smooth and ice the cupcakes when completely cool. By the way, this is my go-to icing for most things. I just love it on about anything!
Store cupcakes in the refrigerator.
