i may never frost a cupcake with a knife again as long as i live.

a few years ago i received a fantastic birthday present from some of the most excellent (and craftiest) friends i have. it was a bunch of baking supplies—a frosting knife that is vaguely reminiscent of a magic wand, a set of silicone baking cups with legs, a cupcake display stand that reminds me of a chandelier...and a frosting applicator that definitely resembles a caulk gun.

i've used the frosting knife a lot, and the cupcake tree too, but not the baking cups or the frosting applicator. i'm kind of afraid of putting anything as plasticky as silicone into the oven, to be honest, and the frosting applicator seemed like a lot of effort.

the other day, though, i was making cupcakes for my gardensitters (who kept things alive and happy while i was in ecuador, yay!) and i had some time, so i decided to try the frosting applicator. and this is what happened:



(i'm pretty sure the blurriness is due to waves of deliciousness emanating from this cupcake.)




as these photographs clearly indicate, these cupcakes are approximately 1000% more delicious than they would have been if they had simply been frosted with a knife, even my perfect funny shaped frosting knife or the magic wand-looking one.

frosting applicators are totally worth the trouble.

thank you, garden!

the year's first zucchini.

lots of lettuce.

a juicy lemon.

two amazing sugar snap peas (i ate the other one directly after cutting it.)

an artichoke from the most delicious artichoke plant on earth.

more to come.

can we all just agree that it's never too late for valentine cookie blogging? (volume 1)

¡felíz

día

de amor

y amistád!

les amo, amores y amigos.

can we all just agree that it's never too late for valentine cookie blogging? (volume 2)

happyday

of love

and friendship

i love you, loved ones and friends.

can we all just agree that sometimes mysterious things are happening underground?

this is what i saw when i decided it was time to pick several carrots that had been growing close together in my garden. i wish i had been able to include the stalks, which were really long. i thought, though, that it might be more interesting to show a closer view of the carrot situation. check it out! i'm not sure what this most closely resembles to me. is it a heartwarming display of carroty affection? or is this one of those times when the phrase "food porn" comes closer to really meaning it? anyway, no matter what it looks like, it's exciting to think that i grew this myself, and now i can eat it. hooray for urban gardening!

can we all just agree that plum tarts are beautiful?

this is what a plum tart looks like. sweet, buttery crust, homegrown, just-picked, organic plums sliced and sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg. and nothing else. totally gorgeous.

can we all just agree that photos of food are great enough to deserve their own tag?

i know, i know, i'm trying not to get too tag-happy...but i've been taking some pretty hott food shots lately, so i present to you: food porn.

can we all just agree that having your own plum tree is pretty awesome?

but that the awesome just continues when the plums are both ripe and delicious?

and when you might have baking adventure plum time with housemate? (stay tuned for photos of this!)

yes! happy friday!