"Bananutella" shortbread cupcake with caramel frosting [Wenatchee food photography]

You could call it a Frankenstein cupcake, because I kind of pieced it together with whatever sounded good at the time. I started with a white cake base, added bananas that needed to be used (didn't feel like making banana bread), Nutella (that I needed to use because I fell for the hype and bought a Costco sized bottle and hated it. Well, hated it on toast. It's basically chocolate frosting, so why would that be good anywhere except where frosting should go? Like the center of a cupcake.) A Lorna Doone shortbread cookie as a "crust"/base for the cake. I put one in the bottom of the liner before adding the Nutella then cake batter. Then I made a most delicious caramel frosting and topped it with a sidecar of its own little mini cupcake and a salty roasted almond. All that to say I had no idea if they would be good, but, man, was it GOOD. The frosting alone is insanely delicious. Kind of a salty-sweet bananas foster kind of vibe with a hit of smooth chocolate and sweet crunchy bite at the finish. The milk was an absolute must after one of these monster cakes.

"Bananutella" shortbread cupcake with caramel frosting

To your standard white cake batter (you can use either a mix or make from scratch), add 3 mashed, ripe bananas. Blend until mixed. In bottom of cupcake liner, place one Lorna Doone shortbread cookie. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon Nutella onto cookie. Fill liner with cake batter and bake as directed. Frost with caramel frosting and top with a roasted almond or other salty nut.

Caramel frosting

Melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Add 1 packed cup of brown sugar, stirring constantly until reaches boil. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup cream (whole milk will do too). Stir for 2 minutes, return to heat and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm temperature, about 30 minutes. Add 2 cups powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments while mixing. If frosting gets too thick, add cream/milk 1 teaspoon at a time until right consistency.

Zavala peek, session 2 [Wenatchee family photography]

A sneak peek of the second shoot (of 8 total) that I'll get to do as I cover the amazing whole first year of baby Asher. (Here is his newborn session.) He is such a handsome little man and getting so big, it makes me realize how quickly you forget those rapid-fire changes. My own "babies" are long past being babies and quick changes (except their mercurial mood swings, since they ARE girls, after all.) Having a front row seat to see Asher and big brother, Alex, navigate the next year is such a cool thing for me. We found a wonderful, wild but private, outdoor location that let Alex be 3 in the best sort of way: by running and exploring and digging and rock-hunting. Throw in the beautiful, soft light and always relaxed mom and dad and how could we not have a good session? Thanks Sandy and Juan, I'll have the rest of your images soon!

Soup and bread. It's what's for dinner [wenatchee food photography]

Hubby made a delicious chunky yukon gold potato soup with (you had me at) bacon. Hands down the smoothest, creamiest, best tasting potato soup ever. It was so good, in fact, it deserved it's own loaf of crusty, dense, slathered-with-butter, warm from the oven beer bread. So I made that to go along and for two nights now, we have eaten like kings. Simple, satisfied, well-fed kings. Recipe below image.

Yukon Gold Potato Soup

6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
32 oz. chicken stock
1 tablespoon bacon grease
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 pinch thyme
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
6 tablespoons butter
16 oz. half and half
2-1/2 tablespoons flour
4-5 slices cooked, crisp bacon

1. Dice potatoes into bite-sized pieces, put into stock/soup pot and add chicken stock. Add enough water to cover potatoes (you can add some chicken bouillon if you had to add a lot of water.)
2. Bring to boil then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. In medium saute pan, add bacon grease, diced onions, diced celery, thyme, black pepper, sea salt and bacon.
4. Saute onion mixture until onions are soft, then add to pot with potatoes and broth.
5. Add butter and flour to empty saute pan on medium heat and make roux. Slowly add half and half, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
6. Once roux has thickened, add to potato mixture and simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes.

Super smooth [Wenatchee food photography]

A little tip: When you're done making a smoothie, pour whatever is left into an ice cube tray and freeze. You'll quickly have enough to blend together with a little juice or milk and make another one, super thick, because of the frozen starter. This one below was a use-what-you-have flavor. I had on hand coconut milk that needed to be used, frozen blueberries, a container of greek honey-banana yogurt that was too tart for me to eat and canned peaches (which I drained.) So good. You really can't go wrong with a smoothie.

Friday Miscellaney [Wenatchee graphic design]

A few new things in the shop. The sign on the left is going to hang proudly where it can be seen coming into our home. I just wrote from the heart about what is important to me, that home is wherever my family is and our enjoyment of just being together is what is really the most important. I have it available as is, or, if you wanted a different color way and/or number of people in the last line ("...Five people do."), just let me know and I can do that for you. The background shot is of the "supermoon" we had recently. Nothing fancy, but I liked being out there in the dark capturing a little bit of the magic. The "Note to self" is just something I realized: cheap shoes are just that. Not too well made, not very comfortable, don't last too long, kinda' smelly, LOL. The few pairs of GOOD shoes (Dansko, Jambu, Keen) I've bought, at higher prices, feel so much better on. Last longer, look better, totally worth the price. Shoes just might be one of those things where you get what you pay for.

Oh and I finally have  a Pinterest account! Yay, no more saving things to my computer, now I can "pin" and view them in a handy little format and from anywhere I have internet access. Follow me if you like! http://pinterest.com/tonyadoughty/

Now if I could just get over this cold/flu/blech I have, Spring could officially start for me!