Let there be cake!

After my first bite I was hooked!  There was just something about that rich velvety chocolaty deliciousness that they call Red Velvet that sends my taste buds into another dimension of flavour.  Why was this cake so different???  I had no clue.....all I knew was that I had to figure out how it was done!  So I began my search on the internet....only to find only about a gazillion recipes out there.....all with slight variations.  So I tried out a few recipes....some were terrible others amazing.  But I've found the recipe that works best for me.  I like my Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing over the white icing....but that's just me.

I've made them for my daughter's 2nd birthday - she hated them but the adults LOVED em!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

And I made a Red Velvet cake for my classmates to celebrate the year we spent together....(it was my first time writing on a cake!) 

Red Velvet Cake for my PR Class of 2011

 Here's the 'winning' recipe!  Feel free to give it a go!

Red Velvet Cake:

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbp (heaping) cocoa

1/4 cup red food colouring

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/4 cup cake flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbp white vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

preheat oven at 350 degrees

1. Cream butter and sugar together til 'fluffy'

2. Add eggs

3. Make a paste with the food colouring and cocoa and add to the creamed mixture

4. Add vanilla

5. Add buttermilk and sifted flour and salt alternating between the two

6. In a separate bowl add baking soda to the vinegar (as you will remember from grade school science -- IT FOAMS! so choose a not so small bowl)

7. Blend (rather than beat) the soda/vinegar mixture to the batter

for cupcakes --> bake for about 20 mins or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean or when you touch the top...they 'bounce' back

for cakes --> bake for 25-30 mins or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean or when you touch the top...it 'bounces' back

I used a homemade cream cheese icing on the cupcakes and a store bought (I was feeling a tad lazy) icing for the grad cake......mind you I regret using the store bought stuff.......the homemade version tastes WAAAAYYYYYYYY better! 

For the cream cheese icing I used on the cupcakes....the trick to making pipe-able cream cheese icing is to start with COLD cream cheese and no over mixing!

Cream Cheese Icing

250g cream cheese (COLD)

1/2 cup unsalted butter (Room temperature)
1-2 tsp vanilla (use less if you're not a huge vanilla fan)
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar


1. Start with COLD cream cheese and combine with room temperature butter

2. Add vanila 

3. Sift in powdered sugar gradually 

4. Mix until smooth (DO NOT OVER MIX!)

Then feel free to pipe your lil heart out! :)

Good luck and happy baking!

Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are

This journey called life is not easy but I couldn’t have taken a step without you by my side.

The journey of a thousand miles begins but with one step or so they say....but I say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a thousand voices of encouragement.

You just don’t realize how much the youtube videos or funny memories or clever status’ literally dry the tears from my eyes and shift my day into one of amazing energy.

To those of you who encourage me, love me, take a few seconds out of your day to say and find out how I am....I appreciate you.

Whether I’ve known you for weeks, months or years the impact you’ve made on my life will never be forgotten.

They say you can’t pick your family so pick your friends wisely....and I am beyond blessed to have some of the best friends a girl could ever ask for.

If someone had sat me down and showed me my life now, then, I wouldn’t have believed them....there are so many of you that I admire and aspire to be like...

Sometimes I like dwelling in the shadows of my friends to look up to them in awe of the amazing person they are secretly wishing to emulate their greatness...then there are times when I would rather walk side by side conquering the world together.

You have laughed with me, cried with me, smiled with me and supported me.  I truly appreciate your friendship and I couldn't have asked for better friends!

Someone told me recently how impressed they are with the circle of positivity I’ve enclosed myself with and after taking stock I have to agree....never before have I had such an amazing group of people that I am able to truly call friends.

Well I’ve showed you who my friends are so this who I am..strength, courageous, beautiful, wonderful, supportive, creative, comical, amazing, a blessing, truth, love, life, giving, humility, teacher, student, gentle, bold, special, incredible and irreplaceable.

At least that’s the way I would describe each and every one of you!

So to my friends...I LOVE YOU....til we talk, text, facebook, tweet or see eachother again! XO

By any means necessary....I have a dream...

****re-post, I deleted it by accident...Original post date: January 18, 2011****

I don't think we get it!

Somewhere along the lines we missed the point of it all.  We missed the point of the struggle.  The sting of the pain.  The way the sweat burned our eyes.  The many tears that flowed, and the blood that spewed senselessly from the veins of our predecessors.   We seem to have forgotten the burnt crosses in our yards, the lynching of our babies, and the killing for no reason other than hatred of the beauty of our skin.   We seem to have forgotten the struggle, that really isn't completely over, it's just disguised in various forms.

I watched Malcolm X today.  I movie that I know many people blow off because it's 3 and a half hours long. It's amazing that some of us won't even sit through 3 hours of history. *foodforthought*

It brought tears to my eyes to have a visual representation of what our mothers, fathers, grand mothers, grand fathers, etc went through.  It pulls on that spot in my heart that aches and groans when I think about the past.  When I think about how lucky I am that I was born into a time where blatant racism is somewhat a thing of the past.  But strangely enough I wish I was there to experience the struggle first hand.  A part of me identifies with that time in history more than the age I'm in. 

It's hard to think that the greats like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks etc walked among us only 45 years ago.  Just 45 years ago we were still fighting for our rights and freedoms. Being told to use the back doors and being chased by dogs on the way to get an education.

Now looking around we have forgotten what it means to be Black, African American, African Canadian, Afro American, Negro, and dare I say it...Nigger.  Not to discredit anything that US President Barack Obama has done...because he has and is accomplishing great things in the position that he's on right now.  But seems like we treat him like an exception; as though the only reason that he got where he did was because of his lineage, not his merit. He has definitely continued the dream we all dream about and has in many ways renewed the faith and hope for a better future.  (Keep in mind this has nothing to do with whether you think he's doing a good job in office....that is not the point of this reference...that's for another blog another day!)

To me it seems as though somewhere along the line the memory of all the hurt, pain, tears, fear, sweat, and blood got shoved to the backs of our minds and we don't even think about how much our past effects our future.  It seems like we somehow treat our roots like they didn't exist....kinda how we straighten our hair(I admit I'm guilty of that one BUT once again....another post for another time) if we can't see it, it doesn't exist. 

In a few days will be Martin Luther King Day and a few weeks we'll celebrate Black History Month.  We'll all wear the T-shirts and shout the slogans and sing it loud 'I'm Black and I'm proud!' but so what???  Come March 1st we go back to disrespecting each other.  Not caring for our brothers and sisters.  We go back to killing each other and the vicious cycle continues!

"It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual." -- Martin Luther King Jr.


.....as always .....comment.....discuss.....let's start a dialog.....peace n blessings.....

Snooki paid more than Toni Morrison?!?!?!?

I hopped on Twitter today only to find that Toni Morrison was trending and naturally I wondered why (hoping that she wasn’t the latest celebrity that people were trying to ‘kill’.)  Then, I saw a tweet that stated that Rutgers University paid Snooki a $32,000 speaker’s fee.  MORE than Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning Toni Morrison was paid to speak at commencement.  

HMMM!

I am terribly disturbed by this article; however, I'm not entirely surprised by this ridiculous news.  It's no wonder society is falling apart at the seams  if more value is placed on a speech from a reality 'star' whose celebrity has no merit than words of wisdom from one of the best writers of the modern era. 

It baffles my mind that a UNIVERSITY would want to provide students with advice from Snooki on "hairstyle, fist pumps, as well as the GTL — gym, tanning, laundry — lifestyle," instead of furthering academia and knowledge.   It just goes to show what society finds appropriate....and it certainly isn't intelligence.

“Gregory Kassee, vice president of the association's comedy and movies committee, said the group was looking for a speaker who would appeal to Rutgers students.”  SERIOUSLY?!  What is the appeal?  She hasn’t done anything spectacular.  She didn’t speak on anything that would challenge their intellect and make them think a little harder....she spoke about hair, fist pumps and tanning. 

I feel like I’m an old person living in some kind of time warp....what is the appeal?  I just don’t get it, nor do I want to!

I'm reminded of the phrase "knowledge is power" and so I wonder....if that statement rings true, has this generation lost its power???  Has it given up and succumb to a norm of foolishness and mediocrity? 

I feel like this generation isn't being challenged anymore....and that the proverbial bar keeps getting lowered to accommodate those who refuse to try.  I remember at time (not so long ago) when such outrageous injudiciousness was rejected by society.  Where did we go wrong?  I’m reminded every time I turn on the TV, the radio, or watch a movie that societal norms have shifted in a terrible direction and I yearn to return to a time where things had meaning.  Things made you think about love and life and the purpose of it all.  Things made you feel real emotions you had to deal with not run from and things made you want to go out and make a difference in the world. 

I guess these things are dying....and what we’re left with is a hand full of people who get it; and the masses who don’t and conform to the latest trend whatever that may be.  And if you have to ask what ‘it’ is.....I can’t help you!

So instead of Snooki's ridiculous advice of "Study hard, but party harder."  I'll leave you with some words of wisdom from one of the greatest authors to have graced this planet we call earth...

“A dead language is not only one no longer spoken or written, it is unyielding language content to admire its own paralysis. Like statist language, censored and censoring. Ruthless in its policing duties, it has no desire or purpose other than maintaining the free range of its own narcotic narcissism, its own exclusivity and dominance. However moribund, it is not without effect for it actively thwarts the intellect, stalls conscience, suppresses human potential. Unreceptive to interrogation, it cannot form or tolerate new ideas, shape other thoughts, tell another story, fill baffling silences.”  -- Toni Morrison

Link to the article:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/04/rutgers-pays-snooki-more-than-toni-morrison-/1

*****CALLING ALL ACTORS*****

Looking for actors for It's Thursday - a stage play.  It's a traumatic exploration of what comfort has come to mean for those who think they seek independence. Onyx is a woman who wants space to grow and be free, yet demands a place to be safe and comforted. She is a dissimulator, a paradox, a phenomonal expression of stasis and agency. It's Thursday, marries dramatic and poetic forms, crosses styles and genre, to explore where the bonds of the flesh, comfort and pride, are the tropes that trips, women and men alike, toward forward progression.

ROLES:

Tyson (Male, 25-30)

-          A strong yet completely insecure man who dominates his woman.  He needs to be menacing, have a thunderous presence but has a slight tender side.

Eco (Male, 25-30)

-          A sly poetic intelligent gypsy soul who tantalizes women with his words.  He needs to be bold, mysterious, clever but attainable.

Valmont (Female, 28-35)

-          Over confident artsy type who is sexually ambiguous.   She needs to be a lil bougie, poised, and is a “tell it like it is” kinda girl.

     Auditions: TBA

     CONTACT:  Novelette - noveltyproductions1@gmail.com or Zakiya z.a.toby@gmail.com 

What’s your idea? Innovation Night seeks new ‘Idea Sharers’

When is the last time you had a great idea.  I mean that one great idea that you are sure will change the world. I’m sure some of you reading this right now have ideas for some of the best things yet to be invented, created, or even simply thought about.  But instead of sharing your idea with someone you keep it bottle up in the closets of your mind; or on your computer; or in a scrap notebook somewhere.  Or even on that napkin from Starbucks where countless caramel macchiatos inspire you. You obviously thought the idea had some merit or you wouldn't still be thinking about it.  It surfaces every now and again, but you insist on stifling it. Suffocating it and storing it in the back of your mind never to be seen again.

So, what’s the real reason you haven’t shared it with anyone?  Are you so wrapped up with the creation of it all that “it’s too hard to explain to anyone else” or do you fear that your idea isn’t “good enough?”  Or are you afraid that someone will take it?  Whatever the reason, we all have those ideas in the back of our heads waiting for the right moment to let them out.  The problem is those perfect moments where the stars align and the angels sing never seem to occur at that perfect time. 

What if I said that the stars will align on Tuesday, January 25^th and the angels start singing at about 7pm. The location is The Ron Joyce Centre in Burlington where Trivaris will host its fourth annual Innovation Night.  Here, idea sharing is the name of the game.

Idea sharers are welcome to come out and share their ideas in a public forum buzzing with positivity and constructive feedback from people who can help direct you in the right path to starting to see your dreams take flight.  The first step is to share.  Be Bold! Dare to Dream!

Signing up is easy.  All you need to do is contact Elaine Holding at 905-633-6354, eholding@sbpartners.ca or Cindy Porter 905-332-5433 ext. 205, cindy.porter@trivaris.com , to be put on the list.  Space is limited and it’s first come first serve.  What are you waiting for?  It’s just a click or a phone call away!

Not sure if you want to share?  Then come out and support those who do.  See what the evening is all about and who knows...next year might be your year.

Dare to have a voice. Be Bold. Dare to dream.

Remember that the Wright brothers who changed the way we travel today started off with just an idea.  Microsoft, FedEx, Google and Facebook, some of the most successful companies to date started off with just an idea.  An idea is the spring board that sets in motion the sequence for success. Sharing that idea and getting the right constructive feedback is even more important in the realization of the goal. 

visit www.innovationnight.ca for more info

Things I’ve learned from my daughter: Always be your biggest cheerleader!!!

Today I watched as my daughter tried to throw.  She would pick up her ball and attempt to throw it at me. Sometimes it went forward, most times it went backwards....other times it just fell out of her hand...but no matter what direction it went in....as soon as that ball left her hand she would clap excitedly and say ‘YAY’.  She didn’t wait for me to say “good job honey!” or “go baby girl” she was her own cheerleader.  She didn’t care if the ball made its ultimate goal...in my direction.  She was just happy that she did her best and she was proud.   Just made me think....always be proud of your attempts in life....even if they fail!  Cheer yourself on to the next try and eventually you’ll get it!

Ah, the wisdom of babies....I love it! 

Hyperconnectivity

Do you think we're hyperconnected????  Think about how many ways we are all connected.....most of us have each other on IM, text, home phone, cell phone, facebook, twitter, blogs, bbm, email, gaming devices, and maybe even face time too!  That's INSANE!!!!!  And most of these things are on our cell phones.....do we really need to be all up in each others faces like that??? I don't like having everyone on everything...it's too much!  I need some space sometimes.  Remember back in the day when you had to wait to see the person, in person....or just call them and hope they were home (if you were lucky they had an answering machine where you could leave a message in one try....no reviewing and editing your messages then!)

Then we had pagers (with no cell phones lol) so we had to stop at a pay phone to check the voice message or return a call.  Then we moved to those HUGE Zach Morris cell phones LOL!  Oh how much times have changed!  Now we have these smart phones that do everything but change light bulbs...I'm sure someone somewhere is working on it though.   We have all our tweets, messages, bbms, Facebook wall posts, emails, texts and more from these little devices that fit nicely in our pockets.

To quote the late great MJ "I always feel like somebody's watching me...and I've got no privacy." (and he sang that hook in 1984....maybe he was smarter than we gave him credit for.)

Somehow I like having some personal space.  Call me old school but it is what it is! lol!

Yellow - My Soul Was Open

As I mentioned in the previous post, I'm trying to write a poem inspired by or based on each of the 8 colors (main characters) in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls.

.....Open your soul. Welcome to Yellow.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My soul was open on that cool Thursday morning

There you were smiling, laughing joking

My soul wasn’t ready to let you in

But somehow you convinced me with that wicked grin

Softly, and sweetly you coerced me to sway

I had no time for romance I did not want to play

My soul was open on that warm Friday night

As we salsa’d and sipped on wine

I looked at you with adoring eyes, I loved your killer smile.

Pretty lilies soon adorned my door, my desk and my car

You regaled me stories of laughter and fun

And slowly I let you slither in

And bit by bit you came on in

You listened with intent as I spoke of my passions and I slowly bared my soul

Undressing it slowly as you watched the tease.

That must have sparked your interest

Cause you leaned in close

Your cologne invaded my senses

Taking me to heights of euphoria

Damn you smell good

Your scent, so familiar so warm

I lean in and lose myself in your aura

As you place your arm gingerly around my shoulders

 I feel a shiver creep from the nap of my neck to the small of my back

You’re a man, a real man, of real substance, of real taste

The real strong pulse of a man’s embrace

  

My soul was open on a Saturday night

As I let you in my domicile

I toiled and rhythmically swayed around my stove

Preparing a meal for a king

After all the man who managed to open my soul was about to feast

Feast on his prey as he took my soul in 5 minutes of hell

I fought and kicked and screamed from my core

My soul broke as I fell to the floor

Thrust after thrust he killed my soul

In 5 minutes of hell I mourned what he stole

In 5 minutes of absolute hell I broke more than before

My insides torn and bruised, as my soul begged, ‘no more’

My soul was numb on a Saturday night

As I stared at the open door

I could not feel the tears that tumbled

Nor the winds that blustered past my face

I don’t know how to move, nor the purpose of my tongue

When it cried so intently on deaf ears

As I lay there an empty shell of a woman

Nothing short of utter disgrace

I cannot dress, how can I face

The one who opened up my space

My soul left me on that cold Saturday night....never to be seen again

I do not own any rights to this photo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as always .....comment.....discuss.....let's start a dialog.....peace n blessings.....

Orange - Sometimes I want to put my heart on a string

I saw the movie For Colored Girls yesterday and to say the least I was inspired!  I decided I'm going to try to write a poem inspired by or based on each of the 8 colors (main characters) in the movie.  I read the play many moons ago and I loved it then and I love the movie now.  I think Tyler Perry did an amazing job with the content of the play.  There's been a lot of controversy surrounding the remake of this classic piece, BUT, I'm please and was touched by the all star cast and their sincere performances.  It is a must see. And hopefully my poems are a must read.

Here is a lil something I wrote inspired by Tangie (Orange) from Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes I want to put my heart on a string

So I can pull it back from you when you squeeze too hard

Sometimes I want to put my mind in my heart

So that I can stop the feelings of extreme love

Sometimes I wonder why I hurt

When all I want to do is love

Sometimes I wish the world were on string

And I stood here alone

Sometimes I want to put my heart on a string

And dangle it in front of you, taunting your mind

Sometimes I want to put my heart on a string

And dance it, slowly, before your eyes

Sometimes I want to put my heart on a string

So you think it’s yours to keep

Sometimes I want to put my heart on a string

And leave it in the middle of the floor

Sometimes I wish that many men would stand far and wide

And like a tiger devouring flesh, my heart they wanted inside

But since my heart is on a string

It’s controlled by mine two hands

I’ll let you know if you can touch it

Or if you leave it where it stands

Sometimes I wish I had control over all things

But then my mind would explode

Sometimes I wish I knew now what I knew then

The past yet to unfold

Most times I wear my heart on a string

Dangling behind me as I stroll

The last time I wore my heart on a string

My belly, it did swole

But with a bit of bourbon, and a dark room of smoke

My belly did swole no more

I wish I could wear my heart on a string

Drag it too and fro

I wish I could wear my heart on a string

I would never let it go

But since my heart is just a part of me

With each new pain I groan

One day I’ll wear my heart on a string

Before I get too old

Sometimes I want to put my heart on a string

For reasons yet untold

I do not own any rights to this photo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as always .....comment.....discuss.....let's start a dialog.....peace n blessings.....