Eating humble cupcake

     I admit I thought the whole cupcake craze was ridiculous. I rolled my eyes at the excitement fellow facebookers had as they posted link after link of their cupcake creations. I have watched one episode of DC Cupcakes and I thought a reality show was not just a bit over the top, it was WAY over the top. After all, moms that made cupcakes were just compensating for lack of skill in the art of cake decorating (a skill that my mother was able to use quite frequently in our home with 8 children!).
     Now serving: one large serving of humble cupcake-chocolate of course!
     My son had a birthday party for his 10th birthday on Saturday and I decided to make cupcakes. Then, as I was thinking about the ice cream to go with those cupcakes, I thought "Hey--what if the ice cream was INSIDE the cupcake-like a cold, creamy surprise???" Thus began the journey.
     Yes, I believe that inspiration can come from God. So, since the streets of Heaven are paved with chocolate, as the great chocolate philosopher Alan Okelberry claims (see Welcome blog post), then why would he not inspire me in all things chocolate??  I also turned to the other source of inspiration (although not necessarily good) that great Google on the screen. The delicate balance between cake and ice cream must be honored. But I could not find anything to match the picture in my mind's eye.
     So I made it up! Seriously, it's chocolate-impossible to mess up:)
     First, I had to make the cupcakes to ensure they had time to cool. I used the big cupcake tins. Sorry, no special recipe. Just Duncan Hines for these ones.

     I first had to create a chocolate shell.  I tried some chocolate bark, but it was like eating those wax lips and wax coke bottles when I was a kid. There were semi-sweet chocolate chips lurking in my pantry (of course) so I tried those. They stuck to the paper and crumbled. I combined the two and it didn't set well. Here are my failed attempts:

     So I got some candy melts from Michaels, dark cocoa of course, and tried those. Using a microwave and plastic decorating tubes, I melted and squirted them into the cupcake papers. Just cut a small hole and pipe it onto the sides of the cupcake paper first and then the bottom. Using a knife, I spread the chocolate around to make it even. Putting them in the freezer for about 10 minutes well help them to set up fast. 

     After they were set up, I pulled out some vanilla ice cream (seriously, Kirtland brand is SOOOO creamy!) and let it thaw get a little bit soft. Using the big cupcake tins (6 cupcakes per tin), I was able to put a scoop in each and kind of smushed it around to make it flat.

     To make a good balance, cut the cupcakes in half horizontal y and put one half on top of the ice cream. Kind of push it down a little bit to get the ice cream and cake to mesh. (I had help from the birthday boy and friend for this step.)

     With some great chocolate buttercream frosting and sprinkles on the top, they go back in the freezer until serving time. You will want to serve these on plates with a fork or spoon cause they will get messy.

     And that is my journey to the dark side of cupcakes!! Although the result was quite tasty, that was not the pay off for my cupcake delight. It was just really fun to be creative and see what I could do! The joy was really in the journey.
     Now then, I think I saw something about graham cracker crumbs, chocolate, and toasted marshmallow frosting. . . .

How deep are your roots?

root (roo't)  a part of the body of a plant that develops, typically, from the radicle and grows downward into the soil, anchoring the plant and absorbing nutriment and moisture.


I love words. Can you tell?? Not just cool words, like "fantasmagorical" or sophisticated words such as, well, sophisticated. But I like to know the definitions and where the words came from. I find deeper meaning in them. Such was the case with the word "roots". You may or may not have felt the wind or rain from the recent Hurricane Irene which ravaged the East Coast. I did not. But I was impacted by her as I viewed the wake and talked with those who felt her wrath. One friend, from North Carolina (or maybe Virginia, I can't keep track. Her husband is in the military;), posted pictures of her neighborhood after Irene left. Predictable, there were tree branches and limbs all over and ponds of water here and there. I was surprised by the amount of trees that were uprooted. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the roots of these trees were quite widespread but obviously not very deep. As you know or can imagine (those from the West can only imagine;) the East Coast states are quite green and plentiful with foliage due to the moisture they receive on a regular basis. Just a quick science lesson--Roots are somewhat lazy and will take the first bit of moisture they come to. The drier the climate, the deeper the roots have to do to receive moisture and nourishment, down to the supply Mother Earth keeps well hidden. Because the trees in the East receive regular rain,  their roots don't have to dig as deep to receive moisture.They get it from the surface and do not have extend to a well established table deep within the bowels of the earth. Those here in the West receive sporadic rain and must dig deeper into that life-sustaining water table. 
Lest you believe this blog is about trees, it's time to "dig deeper" and analogize (you know, the verb word for analogy.)
The storms of life are ever present. Sometimes they ravage like Irene. Other times they are breezy. And then, once in a while, all is calm for short periods of time. We can complain and grumble and cry when Irene-like conditions uproot us, or we can take time to examine our roots and determine how we can extend our roots deeper to withstand the storms of life.
Although it was only the East coast that experienced Irene, I believe we have a stronger disturbance over our whole nation. As a whole, we are experiencing economic and political upheaval. Our towns are ravaged by emotional disturbances as people from all walks of life strike violently. It has been 10 years since the terror attacks of 9/11 and the scars run deep. All of these winds of life leave our roots exposed and we can ask ourselves,
"How deep do my roots go?"
Just as the trees and plants that surround us, how deep they run depends upon where we receive our nourishment from. Do we depend on a moisture we receive from the surface, or do we dig deep into the water table that is well established?
I have not had to hunker down and withstand hurricanes or earthquakes. I have managed to hide from a few tornadoes in my Midwest days. But I have had my share of storms in my life. And my roots have been exposed. I know that when I plant those roots DEEP into God and the gospel of Jesus Christ, I can stand firm. Deep roots do not keep you from feeling the storms. They simply keep you upright. Yes, some of my branches are ripped off, some scars are deep, and at times I have felt my bark stripped.
But I am still standing.
How deep do your roots go?