Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Yes, you read that right.

No, it wasn’t my birthday… but it should have been.

I freakin’ LOVE mint chocolate chip ice cream. And it’s got to be the green kind, not the cop out white minty variety (you can tell I’ve had a lot of experience eating mint chip ice cream before). In fact, if it weren’t for the holiday peppermint candy cane ice cream, mint chip would be the very top of my list. Thank God that stuff can only be found two-to-three months out of the year.

But I digress… let’s get back to my obsession with mint chocolate chip!

For the past week or so, I searched and searched for a decent cupcake recipe. After the success I had tweaking base recipes with peanut butter and lemon cakes, the mint thing couldn’t be that hard, could it?

Yes it could. The major problem I encountered with every recipe was that they were all chocolate-based cakes with mint flavoring and green mint frosting.

What I really wanted was green cupcakes that looked exactly like little scoops of ice cream. So I took matters into my own hands:

You’re lying to yourself if you don’t think those look like ice cream cups :)

Eventually I found a base for mint cupcakes (from the Sprinkles cupcake bakery!) and added my own touch.

I present to you:

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting

(yields 14 cupcakes)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour, sifted

1 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/2 c skim milk

1 1/2 t peppermint extract

1/2 t vanilla extract

1/2 c (1 stick) butter

1 c sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 mini chocolate chips

green food coloring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture and food coloring; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended. Finally, by hand, fold in chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

For the frosting:

• 3 c powdered sugar
• 2/3 c cocoa
• 1/2 c butter
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/3 c milk

Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa. Melt butter. Add butter and vanilla to sifted mixture. Stir. Add milk to get desired spreading consistency. If more milk is required, add by tablespoon at a time. Can store up to 3 months in the freezer.

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There you have it! Mint chocolate chip cupcakes that taste EXACTLY like the ice cream – only better because they didn’t melt. Not like I’d let them sit around long enough to melt, please!

Other than that, I really can’t tell you how freakin’ good these were. You’re just going to have to make them yourselves :)

Just send me some in the mail… I “gave some of mine to friends and coworkers” and ate the other half of the batch myself in less than a week.

(P.S., I didn’t realize at the time, but I accidentally bought gluten free graham flour instead of whole wheat flour. So, there, these just so happen to be gluten free cupcakes too. And they still came out exactly like I’d hoped!)

Sedona Day Trip, Part 2

Alright, where did I leave off from my earlier post about our day trip to Sedona…?

Oh that’s right, the caves!

At this point in the day, it was getting so hot and we were so sweaty, that it was time for a clothing and scenery change! Luckily the caves had restrooms and potable water, despite being out in the middle of nowhere.

Originally I wanted to get in some wine tasting, since Page Springs is one of the largest wine grape-growing regions in Arizona. I mean, the lead singer of Tool/A Perfect Circle even has a winery out here called Caduces Cellars! How rad is that?!

But alas, it would have been a 25-mile drive in the opposite direction and we only had a few hours of daylight left to enjoy downtown Sedona.

So we went to the shopping district and enjoyed frozen treats!

It was at this point we heard talk about this famous “Snoopy Rock” which you can kind of see in the background. I’ll get to that later.

By this point, I was pretty full. I couldn’t even finish mint Heath bar ice cream. But did that stop me from wanting to go into the wine tasting room?

Heck no. I’m the daughter of a wine-maker, I take it upon myself to try wines of various different regions!

We split a $15, 6-wine flight tasting of regional chilled wines. The guy who worked there was really nice and he had a cute dog. It didn’t get awkward until he told me he was my dad’s age and then started hitting on me. At least the wines were good… whatever helps sell your product.

Despite never having heard of it before, I really enjoyed the white merlot but we ended up leaving with a bottle of the house-made Page Springs Peach. Weird, huh? It was tasty and refreshing. I was also sorta bummed they were out of the sparkling wine! It was the only one I really wanted to try.

Once the wine was nestled safely into the car, it was time to explore the shopping area.

It was cute and picturesque – and also sort of weird. You see, Sedona claims to be a mix of hippies and artists. To me, it seemed like the hub of New Age activity. Or maybe that’s Santa Cruz. But the local merchants were all trying to sell “healing crystals” and everyone was trying to make a profit off the local energy “vortexes” vortices? I took geometry and I still don’t remember what the plural is. That’s why I have a Bachelor of Arts, my friends. Who only took one science class (astronomy) in college?! This chick. Anyways, if you want to read about the energy vortexes (I never saw one, so I won’t waste space here), check out this link.

If I had any money and more time though, I’d totally eat it up.

PINK JEEP TOURS!!!

What’s so special about a pink jeep tour, you ask?

I have no clue. But everyone and their mom was taking them. I totally want to do it next time!

Playing tourists, we walked around from shop to shop and got a good look at Snoopy Rock (whoa, was that in some kind of rhyming meter?!).

See the resemblance?! I had to buy a magnet, you know, for Woodstock’s sake. Next time I want to get a picture of Woody in front of it!

After the sightseeing and playing tourist, I wanted to check out a local Arts & Crafts village, but it had closed down for the evening. Only restaurants and coffee shops were still open past 5 p.m. on a Tuesday on the first day of summer.

Instead, we explored the village and got some neat pictures. It seriously reminded me of Europe (Spain in particular), or I imagine nicer parts of Mexico?

Before leaving the area, we had one final stop to make: Javelina Cantina! Someone recommended their margaritas as the best in town. I was sold.

The seating area was really cute and quite busy for a weekday night. But the staff was efficient and tables were turning over quickly. We didn’t even have to wait to sit, despite a party of 30 on the balcony. The bar was also jam-packed. Perhaps everyone heard the same thing about margaritas that I did.

With views like this, no wonder it was so busy.

Before long, chips and salsa came to our table and I found myself easily talked into the prickly pear margarita (one of my favorite drinks since moving here to Arizona). This one probably takes the cake. It was the biggest, most flavorful and still very salty/tequila-y margarita I’ve had in Arizona.

Quite refreshing – and necessary – in the near 100 degree evening. When the food arrived, I settled on a salmon tostada and J.D. ordered sizzling shrimp fajitas.

The food was beautiful, fresh (for having an ocean four hours west, it was impressive!) and actually included a lot of produce. The portions were huge, too, and we each boxed up our dinners for lunch the following day.

If you come to Arizona, definitely take the time to see Sedona, go to Javelina and get a margarita! Oh yeah, and don’t forget to see these javelinas either ;)

(I’ve yet to see one in my life. They’re hideous creatures. But not too bad in pink, don’t you agree?)

Next time I want to go back to Page Springs and do the winery circuit! And maybe make stops in Flagstaff or Prescott. Since, this is technically my summer “vacation.”

Vegetarian Challenge Completed (and still going)

My Week 11 challenge was to go vegetarian and I passed it with flying colors!! And guess what, seven full days are behind me and I'm still eating vegetarian today. Who would have guessed?! Even with some friends in town visiting during Spring Break, I still was able to go out and eat according to a vegetarian diet.

Things like this didn't make it too difficult, either:

That, my friends, would be home made Eggplant Parmesan!

Ingredients:
1 eggplant, sliced lengthwise
1 egg, beaten
1 T olive oil
3 c bread crumbs
4 c tomato sauce
1 c mozzarella
1/2 c grated Parmesan
fresh basil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º. Dip eggplant slices in mixed egg and olive oil, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side. In a baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

We had ours with seasoned grilled polenta and garlic asparagus.

And although the meal was already on my agenda, it was prepared specially with a new purchase in mind.

...That would be garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil! I sampled olive oils and vinegars in a boutique shop in Scottsdale and literally wanted to buy everything in the building! From blood orange EVOO to dark chocolate balsamic vinegar, I loved it. Although I wanted to buy at least three bottles of the stuff, I could only think of enough practical uses for the garlic oil. But seriously, if you ever stumble across blood orange or lemon oil, try it. You can thank me later.

So how about some thoughts on being a week-long (plus) vegetarian. I didn't mind it at all. Sure, in the back of my head I really wanted some meat, but I really didn't miss it once I started exploring with recipes. Groceries for the week cost me a whopping $71 (mostly covering canned products and grains, which I still have in my pantry), and keep in mind that's the amount eaten by TWO people in this house.

The one thing that got to me was dining out. With friends in town, we went to a few restaurants for lunch and dinner in between baseball outings. I really felt trapped in a menu that only offered at most two vegetarian options. Luckily, grilled vegetable fajitas were some of the best things I've ever tried. The cucumber margarita wasn't too bad either ;) And while we went to a Greek restaurant that had a lot of vegetarian/vegan options (Pita Jungle if you're curious and in the area), I reallllllly wanted to order one of their beautiful fish dishes.

But like I said, it was a breeze. Being the animal person I am, it made me happy to know that I wasn't detracting from the animal population... for a week. So in summary from this week: going vegetarian has been very wallet-friendly. And it's been delicious. I am going to try to cook as many vegetarian dishes as I can at home, but when it comes to dining out, I'm not going to limit my options. I mean, I like my burgers, pulled pork and sushi :)

And speaking of hanging out with friends on Spring Break, my week looked a lot like this:

Don't be too jealous ;) I had to do a little bit of work in there, too haha. It was the first "Spring Break" I got to semi celebrate in about four years.

Oh yeah, my friend Michelle and I also got to experience a special kind of ice cream (and you all know how much I love me some ice cream/frozen yogurt)! There is a place in the A's stadium called Sub-Zero in which you get to pick your own flavor of ice cream with two "toppings" mixed in. The catch is, however, your ice cream begins as a liquid then undergoes a quick freeze right before your eyes.

We opted for mint ice cream with double chocolate chips inside. It tasted deliciously creamy and light and melted a little bit slower than regular ice cream!

And my last loose end to tie up before I go is another exciting discovery in my life! This past week I found my eReader, which was lost in the scuffle of moving over seven months ago. You have no idea how upset I was about "misplacing it" and then how ecstatic I was to find it. I've already read a Lewis Carroll book and am pretty far into an Émile Zola novel. I even read it at Whole Foods yesterday while enjoying a guava Kombucha and the salad bar.

I felt so trendy. In reality, I was honestly just trying to kill time in between working a baseball game in the morning and a volleyball match several hours later, in the same area.

As you've seen, it's been a pretty eventful week, but it's only going to get crazier. My parents fly in this week for a few more baseball games, I'm tutoring, subbing and working baseball all week long and then when my parents leave, one of my other best friends from high school will be making a visit!

That's my excuse, in advance, for a lack of posting to come :)

ADD Christmas Recap: Snow, California & Secret Santa

Before I dive into my AWESOME trip back home, let me introduce tonight's post with the CRAZY news that it's been snowing in Arizona today... I'm not talking about Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon. I mean the PHOENIX VALLEY (link to a news segment on today's weather)!!!! For the first time in the near six months I've lived here, I turned on the heater this afternoon. Currently it's under 40° -- much colder than Iowa, Northern California, Washington D.C., you name it! With that, I'm enjoying my first mug of coffee and Baileys of the season :)

Now about the presents....

Going into the holiday, I was most excited for the blogger Secret Santa exchange put on by Tina! How awesome that idea was. Needless to say I was pretty stoked about what I got for Jamie. I'm such a French nerd and love reliving my time abroad, I knew she must feel the same about studying in Italy! So you know what's ironic about this gift exchange that I'm pretty sure included 50+ members? I was Jamie's Secret Santa and Jamie was Poppy's Secret Santa, and you guessed it, Poppy was MY Secret Santa! Our circle is complete :)

Anyways, I ended up driving back to California on Dec. 20. It was a long drive, was supposed to snow on the Grapevine (pretty much the only way out of LA), and I knew I couldn't make a 13+ hour drive solo. Well, I had Woodstock, so I had to stop even more frequently than normal to ensure he didn't ruin my seats! :) I made two days out of the trip there and back, stopping at friends' houses in Los Angeles/Orange County both ways. That meant my Secret Santa gift was going to arrive without me! Luckily J.D. was home to receive it and send me some pictures of all the lovely goodies Poppy sent me!

The card was adorable!

And I love everything in the gift! Chocolate, puppy treats, a notebook (she must know I LOVE to write), pomegranate fruit strips (my fav flavor), Pop Chips and a dog costume....

...Which Woody hated, but I LOOOOOOVED haha. He's so darn presh. In other news, we celebrated acknowledged his first birthday on Tuesday! Of course I didn't throw a party or get him any presents, he's a dog hahaha!!! But I do plan on baking some dog treats someday soon for the little guy.

I don't know if you noticed from the picture above, but I also went a little crazy and dyed my hair black! I think I love it. It's such a big change for me. My hair is usually light brown, I've streaked it blonde and have darkened it to a reddish brown color in the past. That's about it.

Not gonna lie, the black was inspired by my current celebrity crush:

(Source)

I downloaded Katy Perry's new album and have been playing it nonstop. I freakin' love her!!!! She had a Christmas special on last week and it's waiting to be watched on my DVR and you know I recorded her biography special on E! last night. And then watched it as soon as I drove in from California at about 9 p.m. And I've been watching her videos on YouTube. So obsessed... I think everyone knows about my infatuation, I keep getting texts from friends and family whenever she's on TV ha, thanks guys. You get me :)

Speaking of California, Woodstock and I really did make the Tour de Cali. I stayed in Santa Monica and ate at the most amazing restaurants. It's been my dream for years to live in LA, I'm going to see that it happens sooner rather than later. Then I stayed at my parents' house in the Bay Area for eight days, seeing old friends from high school and college, and enjoying amazing French food made with my mom and sister! We had a soufflé on Christmas Eve, Aimée made peppermint ice cream and candy cane-dipped waffle cones and I attempted to make pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants), but something was off because they basically turned into chocolate bagels ha. Oh well. Then I went to Sacramento, Stockton and Huntington Beach where my friend and I took his boat out around Huntington Harbour (in the rain) and ate sushi at a restaurant off the boat dock!

It really has been amazing and I can't wait to go back again! I don't know when my next trip home will be, but I am heading out to Washington D.C. next week!!!! I'm milking my unemployment for all I can get, because my job begins in February!

Finally, the presents! I made off with some amazing gifts. I love my friends and family! The past 11 days were a total blast -- I miss them already.

Work clothes from Macy*s

My dream recently has been to become a pastry chef (it's so expensive, I'm going to become self-taught haha)... I also received an array of cookbooks!

Jeopardy on Wii and Beauty and the Beast on Blu-Ray/DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soon it'll be time to take down the tree J.D. and I have here... but before that, a celebration to end 2010 and kick off a new decade is in order! Happy New Year everyone :)

A day in Scottsdale

We live kind of far from Scottsdale, but it's an area I absolutely loooove down here!! I had to go down there on Saturday, so J.D. tagged along with me and waited patiently so we could shop, play and eat in Scottsdale.

After I finished getting things done, we wandered around the Fashion Square mall and delved into what it's like to live a high-end lifestyle. However, I left having only spent about $35. Truly, I was a fish out of water. We did wind up in a puppy store (shocking) and found some toy ideas for Woody that might have to be purchased at a smaller, cheaper, pet store.

Like this toy, it's a blue kitty called iSqueak Monique! What the heck?!? Really?? I might have to find this soon.

Overwhelmed by all the Bebes, Bloomingdales and Coach stores, we concluded our shopping trip (since I was in heels all afternoon long) at H&M. Man, do we know how to luxury shop or what??? While J.D. ventured downstairs to the men's floor, I waited in the 20-minute line for the dressing room, yikes. I found quite a few outfits I loooved but since I'm on a budget and no income, I promised myself I'd only leave with one thing. I'm really digging dresses right now, for when I finally do land a job. I don't really ever see myself wearing pants down here in the Southwest!

The lighting was kind of blah... but this dress sure wasn't!! I bought it immediately and then we went back into the maze that was the parking lot to find my car. Sidenote, if it was that packed during the summer, I can't even begin to imagine the winter when all the retired snowbirds come down.

Next up, we headed a few miles down the road to the adult playground. Crackerjax is a large complex of mini golf, batting cages, driving range, bungee jump and go carts. We were set on hitting some balls in the batting cages. First of all, it was super hot. And the price wasn't bad either! After seeing a few and getting a feel for the speed, I roped a few out of the complex :) I think the last three I hit in my round were definitely homers. Awesome.

Could this batting stance BE anymore awkward?!?! I blame it on the purse. And also messing around. Obviously that's not for real since I didn't have my helmet on. Oh yeah, and I am a PRO at discreetly changing in cars. Notice I'm no longer in dress and heels?

Unable to stand the heat any longer, sweating out of our minds we were working up an appetite. I remembered loving Old Town Scottsdale from my Spring Training trips I'd taken to Phoenix in college so we set on out in that direction for some dinner and more window shopping.

Following the walking tour, we made our way into some super touristy shops. And let me tell you, I was thiiiiis close to buying and rocking a cowboy hat haha. Maybe next time.

Anyways after the second round of shopping (sans actually purchasing anything) we passed a neat looking Mexican bar with an adjoining dive bar featuring cheap beer pong. The restaurant, called Cien Agaves, featured what else but 100 tequilas on the menu!! I've had a fair amount of Mexican-inspired food at home, but was telling J.D. that morning how unfortunate it was we hadn't had authentic Mexican food in the Southwest quite yet.

Neither of us bit at the menu, however. I mean, it was happy hour after all, so we indulged in some margaritas! A Cadillac for J.D. and a prickly pear blended margarita for moi. I seriously considered that $200 shot at the bottom of the picture though, because that's how I roll (NOT).

Oooh, they were good! Outside on the chalk board, the restaurant touted its very large taco bar. So I had to go with what was good. I opted for the two taco menu with black beans and rice. My tacos included blackened mahi mahi and pork al pastor with a pineapple salsa.

Yummy!!! Saving room for dessert, I had a surprise left for J.D. So we walked off dinner and dropped the leftovers off in the car just in time to check out something that's becoming a favorite of mine: desert sunset! A large storm was about to roll through, so the clouds were beautifully illuminated in the twilight sky. And then I noticed that strings of light were run across all the streets, beginning to light up and really adding to the ambiance!

And now for the surprise. Last time I was in Old Scottsdale with my parents, we found an old-fashioned soda jerk run by the original owners who established the place in the 1950s.

After much debate, we decided to split something called an "Orange Raft." It was in the section that featured the likes of root beer floats. The orange raft was a refreshingly light glass of Sprite with two scoops of orange sherbet plopped right in!

Um and we even got to channel our inner 50's selves and sipped it out of two straws, while sitting at the soda counter. SO FUN!!!

After dessert, we wandered around the night-lit streets a bit longer before coming home to the puppy.

Such a fun night!!

And now, I'm exercising all the self-restraint in the world as the smell of chocolate wafts around the kitchen. Expect a post tomorrow of my brownies with peanut butter frosting! :)