cupcakes!

baking
i like to cook. i started baking when i was young; my favorite thing to make was banana bread. in my post age 16 years, i cook more meals, largely from the need to feel myself but also because i am not really a sweets person. i like salsa and chips and savory snacks. for the 2008 holidays, a friend gave me Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. i have made a few cupcakes, always to rave reviews.

this past week, i got chocolate mint leaves in my CSA. what am i going to do with this? i poked around on the internet and saw a recommendation for chocolate covered chocolate mint leaves. perfect. i have a birthday party to attend. what better thing to bring than cupcakes with something a little new!

i used the chocolate ganache recipe from VCTOTW and dipped selected leaves in there and laid them out on wax paper to dry. once they had all been dipped (read: once i got bored of doing it), i put them in the freezer. for the cupcakes, i made the basic chocolate cupcake, and for the icing, the vegan buttercream.

the cupcakes were great. everyone that had one loved them. i had one, and i think next time i'd make a couple of changes:

• chop some mint leaves and put them in the actual cupcake batter that way the mint would happen throughout the cupcake rather than just on the top
• use the quick ganache to cover the leaves since it sets better

next steps?
i have left over buttercream and ganache. i could make another batch of cupcakes with the changes, or i could do something completely different (cookie sandwiches?). please leave any ideas in the comments!

Carolina

Gillian Hurst lives in New York City working as an actor and writer. She is a twenty something with lots of day jobs (including research assistant analyst, scrapbooker, babysitter, secret shopper and background artist). Gillian hails from Lenox, MA and still misses the coffee shop on Main St. Gillian has many interests including Education, Travel, Cooking, Theater, Book Clubs, Green Markets, Composting and watching Martha Stewart.....Gillian is also the writer of the blog "The Life and Times of Priscilla Rosenblaum". For more www.GillianHurst.Com or http://landtofpr.blogspot.com.

I went to Ecuador on almost a month long trip. It was with a theater company to volunteer, travel, teach and create a show. Our director gave us an assignment to write a monologue about gender roles. We were staying in Quilotoa at the time. Quilotoa is a small town high up in the Andes Mountains. The community there is indigenous. The women wear traditional dress and do most of the hard labor in the town. In response, I wrote a letter. A letter to Carolina.

Dear Carolina,

I watched you play at being a mother today. Strapping a baby on your back and climbing up the road. I used to play the same way. Only my baby had strollers, a cradle and a mini baby Bjorn.

You are the cutest six year old I know. Not only are you adorable but you have a thirst for knowledge. You are a perfectionist at play. You have innate to get what you want, sweeping someone aside with a gesture. I wish I could watch you grow up. Grow up and achieve whatever it is you dream of.

I’m afraid that your spirit will be diminished. Quilotoa has a clear place for you and your role as woman will define you. Despite your bold and fearless spirit. You will grow up without political or decision making power. You may get married, run a shop, run a household. Your velvet skirt and shawl will clearly show that you are female and in your place.

Being a woman is always a part of me. I own my gender; I don’t play at it anymore. But I would like to have children someday, just like we played at. I hope you get to experience that too. Though you may move away, learn exotic languages, invent things or discover a new way to live. I hope that being a woman will never limit you. I hope you get everything you’ll always dream of in life.