Effervescent Deliciousness.

Effervescent. It's a good word, right? EF-FER-VE-SCENT. It just sounds...sparkly. Light. Airy. Positive. Uplifting. And DELICIOUS. Thirst-quenching. I've been craving effervescent beverages and because you can't drink champagne 24/7 (dammit!), I've been filling it in with other fruity substitutions when I need a serious fix. Izze does the job—I'm partial to the grapefruit and ginger flavors. How could you not be drawn in by the colors and simple, chic design? I've indulged in an Italian soda or two from Target's Archer Farms line or World Market. Blood orange soda? Peach Pear Soda? Yup! But you know what really strikes my fancy?

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ORANGINA. See the bottle in the bottom of the illustration? Isn't it perfect???? That's part of the fun, the Orangina adventure. That short, squatty little bottle that's bulges out like a bulbous orange is inside the bottle giving it its shape. But, as a graphic designer, you know what else I love about the stuff? The ads. They're pretty pleasures. And you can download them from their website (which is where these came from)! They have desktop images, as well as a gallery of their poster campaigns. These are a few of my faves that I pulled for you (and me) to enjoy.

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They make me yearn for warmer weather, sunny skies, and a bulbous little bottle of the good orange stuff right now. *LE SIGH* I guess these will just have to do for now!

i didn't mean to!

I didn't mean for this to happen. It was a total accident.

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See these? These are little shortbread cookies with a jam filling. I started digging out various jam jars in my fridge and got super psyched about using each one. I didn't intend for a color progression, but it's kind of a bonus. :-) Who doesn't love a good rainbow?!?!

Apple Pickin' Perfect.

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I have a lot of blogging to do. I've been behind. Uber behind. I planned to do a big ol' cute post on a trip to Lynd's Fruit Farm out in Pataskala, only that was two weeks ago and I finally sorted through the photos. My boyfriend and I only started going to Lynd's last year but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a yearly tradition...mainly b/c I'll stomp around and whine if I don't get to go. PLUS, going to Lynd's means there's apples with which to make crisp and/or pie. So really, making sure I get to Lynd's is a favor to EVERYONE. (uh huh, yeah, sure) ;-)

See the sun? The pretty blue sky?? (Hang on, wait, let me find a picture...)


Just enough cool air to nip your nose but just enough sun and warmth that as long as you bundle up, you don't need a coat. Early October apple picking is PERRRRFECT. So perfectly fall. I always read blogs by people in fancier cities (LA, NYC, San Francisco, Belgium, blah blah) and they always have such gorgeous posts of their local markets and produce and ingredients. Well, I'm here in the middle of Ohio. We have that stuff, don't get me wrong. But it's not quite in abundance as oh, say, walking around France and picking up some fresh baguettes, cheese, and berries to get you through the day (sad face). Or maybe it is and I just don't have my trusty camera poised and in position ready to snap away (dang it!). But now it's my turn! My turn to post images full of vibrant natural colors, delicious foods, and plain, good old-fashioned seasonal freakin' fun. I could yammer on and on...but why? Heeeerrreeeee we go!

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Close-up of a suncrisp apple, my favorite. The red ones are melrose.



Inside the tent at the farm. If you don't find what you're looking for while you pick, you can find it here.

Silly me, when we walked past these really quickly (my boyfriend thought I was nuts for stopping for photos every two seconds) I didn't really notice what these were. Due to their color my brain just thought "blueberries." But uh, yeah. Isn't blueberry season quite over? Turns out while I was making my way around the tent a second time, I actually read the sign that said they were concord grapes. They're pretty, aren't they?? And I just LOOOOVE the little green baskets. I know, I know. It's the simple, little things, right? You don't get cute little green baskets when you buy your stuff from the big box grocers. Kroger, where is my cute produce packaging, dammit!



Back outside! Time to check out the pumpkin patch.
Um, yeah, the patch is actually...kinda gross. Mudtown. Super mudtown. Lots of bruised and rotting pumpkins. BUT hey, today is nature day, right? WE LOVE NATURE. BRING IT ON, PUMPKINS.


And that's it. I'll be posting these to my flickr account if you're wildly interested so once those are up, I'll let you know. Now don't all these pictures make you want to go bake a pie???? (okay, that might just be me.) :-)

Cupcake Camp Columbus

Stories to come. PROMISE. For now, just dream about these little delicious things. For more pics (that is, until I do a real post), check them out on my Flickr stream.

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Cookie Craving. Peanut butter Ginger Bacons.

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Oh yeah. I went there. And they're even dipped in chocolate.

I can't really take FULL credit. The idea came from Joy the Baker when she made her Peanut Butter Bacon cookies a few days ago. It was super easy. Have you ever made 5-ingredient peanut butter cookies? Peanut butter, sugar, egg, baking soda, vanilla. That's it. No flour, so I guess they can even be called "gluten-free." So it's basically that, plus cooked bacon.

Well. Here's my problem. When it comes to baking and recipes, I can't just leave well enough alone. (That's the saying, right?) I have to doctor it up or do something to give it my own twist. Even before I make the original recipe. People yell at me for this. I say "Screw it. I wanna do it this way." It's so much more exciting! So what I did w/ the cookies...

I candied the bacon first. DELICIOUS. If you haven't heard of candied bacon, it's super easy. You basically coat the bacon in brown sugar and bake or broil it. Some people make a glaze. Some people add a spice. Emeril Lagasse does it with brown sugar & cayenne powder. I made a glaze of 2 tbsp honey, 1/2 c brown sugar, & 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger. Then you schmear it on the bacon—I made 10 pieces. My glaze was too thick and I had a ton left, so next time, I'm going to keep the amount of honey & ginger but only do 1/4 c brown sugar. Then you bake it (or broil it). And then you eat it. And it's AMAZING.

So after the bacon cooled down, I chopped it up into bits and pieces, put it in the cookie mixture, folded it in, et voila. Peanut butter bacon cookies. But that wasn't all. I also added 1 tsp of the bacon grease to add a smokey flavor and 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger to the cookie mixture. I'm obsessed w/ fresh ginger. I can't get enough. Its like I was missing it my whole life and only within recent started integrating it into sweets. There were some doubts, but you know what I say? Y'ALL. TRUST ME. Just trust me on these things. The peanut butter + ginger? It's good. It was a good idea. It's your prerogative not to like it, but just give it a whirl before you go hate on it. Thank you. :)

Alright. After all that, roll it up, dip them in sugar, press some fork criss-cross patterns into them if you like, and pop it in the oven at 350 until they're lovely golden brown & delicious. Probably 8-10 minutes. My oven's a bit psychotic so I can't accurately gauge timing (that story will be another day).

After they've baked and cooled, melt some chocolate w/ some paraffin wax. Dip an edge of the cookies in the chocolate, set them aside and let them cool yet again. I put them in the fridge so the chocolate would set better.

In the end, I think candying the bacon actually toned down the bacon flavor, which made them more versitle. Not everyone loves the idea of bacon in their baked goods but the bacon flavor in these was subtle, even while biting into actual bacon pieces.

So yeah. That's it. I shouldn't say "that's it" b/c it's more involved than I expected, but still easy! What's not to love about a peanut butter cookie dipped in chocolate? AND THEN BACON???? The intrigue level is HIGH. "Say what?? Bacon? For real?" Yes, for real. Plus, you can pass them off as "high-protein cookies" if anyone needs extra convincing. :-)

Adventures in Cake Balls

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What's this, you ask? It's a cake ball! It's cake, frosting, & chocolate all wrapped up into a cute little bon-bon type treat. AND... they're called "cake balls." Let's face it. Saying the word "balls" is funny. (Yeah, you know what I'm talking about!) I'm normally not one to love fifth-grade humor, but even I get a secret chuckle out of saying "cake balls" to people. When they ask "What are these?" and you cheerfully reply "Cake balls!" with a toothy grin, they smile back, giggle like a 10 year old and say "CAKE BALLS?!?" b/c 1) they look super cute--how could you not love them? and 2)...they're laughing b/c you just said "balls." It's fun. Try it. But anyway, I digress. On to the point.

The inside is chocolate cake mixed w/ salted caramel frosting, actual salted caramel, cream cheese, & cinnamon. Then it's dipped in milk chocolate and topped w/ salt & roasted pecans. This was the first cake ball making adventure. I had a batch of chocolate cupcakes that didn't turn out quite right a few evenings ago. They tasted absolutely fine! But I must've been rushing through the motions and not put the right amount of baking powder or something in the mix b/c they just would not hold together. I'd unwrap them, and they'd crumble. Again, they tasted fine! So I really didn't want to toss the 36 bunk cupcakes that I now had sitting around b/c that's some expensive ingredients to just toss, you know? So now what??? How about some cake balls!

Have you heard of cake balls? If not, check out Bakerella. She's got a bunch of ideas. The link will lead you to her "cake ball" section, but she also has some tasty looking cake pops (basically the same thing but in a slightly different form). If you Google a recipe, the basic ones will tell you that it's a sheet cake (baked) crumbled up and mixed w/ a can of frosting, rolled into balls, chilled, and then dipped in chocolate. Since I make all my own goods here at the Sugarlush kitchen, I use my gourmet frostings & other ingredients to enhance the deliciousness of each tasty morsel. It's totally worth it.

Before I leave you, might I recommend a glass of milk to go along with the tasty bites! They're delicious, but SUPER RICH. So maybe even an ideal diet dessert, right?!?! It's by no means low-fat, but you eat just one and you're satisfied! It's a good theory, anyway. ;-)

Sugarlush goes to a wedding.

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I had my first wedding! As a baker, that is. My excellent friend (and former roommate) Stefanie got married yesterday. Being the wonderful person she is (as well as budget-conscious!), she hired me to do the cupcakes for her wedding. The guest list was small—approx 50 people in attendance—which was absolutely fine by me! I baked 6 dozen cupcakes, which means 72 little cute cakes for you non-dozen-converters out there. The wedding turned out beautifully, and everyone dug into the cake and definitely didn't hold back when it came to grabbing a second. :-)

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The flavors she chose were Spice Cake with Vanilla Malt Frosting and Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting, w/ 3 dozen of each. The Spice Cake was appropriately garnished with a cinnamon stick (TRES CUTE!)…

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…while the Chocolate Cake w/ caramel frosting was garnished with the usual piece of fleur de sel caramel candy. The results were positive! They were much loved by all. The chocolate ones were demolished. There was one left towards the end of the evening, which Stef set aside to freeze for the 1-year-anniversary-tradition. There were a few spice cake cupcakes left since most got their fill on the chocolate option. Seriously, the chocolate-cupcake + salted-caramel combo is a crowd pleaser! For some reason, I'm always surprised at how quickly that one cleans up.

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So how 'bout that tiered mappy lookin' display there, eh? That was made by Stef, the bride herself. We found something online awhile ago about about a 3-tier cupcake display. If I remember correctly, some blogger girl (? I think??) was both selling kits, as well as giving instructions on how to do it yourself. I can't remember if Stef bought the kit or not... I'll have to ask her. But anyway, she put it together herself. She and her man, Steve, both majored in Geography-type studies in college. They share a LOOOOVE of maps. So we saw this online and obviously it was the winner. She made it, I just put the cupcakes on it. Cute, right? And quite a great idea. If you could get circular discs, this concept could be used for any number of occasions--all you have to change is the paper! BRILLIANT! The tiers were held with 2 pieces of corrugated cardboard, intersecting in the middle to create the cross-shaped sturdy support.

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So I guess all that's left to say is… Congratulations guys! I'm so happy for you! :-)

Popsicle Explosion!

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I'm obsessed w/ cupcakes on a regular basis, but for summer time, I'm also obsessed w/ popsicles. Not just regular popsicles though. I could care less about those. I'm talking FANCY popsicles. GOURMET popsicles. Unique combinations and glorious flavor explosions in a colorful shell. It's fun, but sophisticated. It's a chance to experiment, but without serious commitment. It's easy enough to do, but an intricate and intriguing recipe process. The possibilities are ENDLESS!

These are the popsicles sitting in my freezer right now. Of course, they're sitting on a lovely tray and I tried my best to create a lovely photoshoot. But the assortment is quite varied. Here's the color chart:

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I might even be so wild as to post some recipes soon. What do you think? Would you be all for it?