Buttercream, Butterscotch, and...Broccoli?

  Here's what my Saturday consisted of:

 

I started off going grocery shopping with one of my Besties.  We're polar opposites, because she hates to grocery shop and I love it.  I can spend all day in a grocery store, and longer than that if it's a specialty store.  Anyone know where I can find cake yeast in Lafayette, Indiana?  I know, I know it's a culinary hotbed.  Actually, we're getting better, there are a few restaurants that are trying really hard, but I would kill for a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's.  I'm addicted to TJ's cheap wine and Himalayan Pink Salt. 

Anywho, I came home and whipped up another batch of Butterbeer Cupcakes.  See the corridor of buttercream and ganache above.  I will admit, they're pretty labor intensive, but so very worth it.  I'm not even going to tell you what some of my male friends said about those cupcakes.  I'll give you a moment to let your imagination run wild.  Right, moving on...Here's another shot of these incredibly rich cupcakes.  Seriously, more than one of these may kill you.  I'm afraid to eat two because I am just convinced that it's going to end up like Pop Rocks and soda.  Hey, just because that was an urban legend...  And by the way, Pop Rocks aren't just for kids, you can make cocktails out of them. 

Then I made the Sesame Ginger Dip from the Power Foods cookbook.  It's supposed to go with baked tofu, which I'll make at a later date, but I was off to a party, and wanted something tasty and transportable.  So I just made the dip and cut up broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper, green pepper, and cherry tomatoes.  The dip looked like thin peanut butter but it was delicious!  There was just enough ginger in it that it was slightly sinus-clearing, but not burn-your-face-off hot.  It was also stupid easy to make.  It took me about 7 minutes to make. Because of it's consistency I can see this as something to toss stir fry veggies in, or mix a bit into some noodles for a Pad Thai-ish tasting dish.  It's definitely something I'm going to experiment with.  I just had to take a pic of the broccoli in my colander though, it looked so tasty and pretty.

There was a huge project yesterday as well, but I think it needs its own blog post tomorrow.  I know, you're all drooling in anticipation aren't you?  All two of you.  Until next time!