Daring Bakers: Caramel (Cup)cakes!

These were good.  Like super good.  So good that my brother had like 4 cupcakes in one day.  He even basically freaked out at me when I said that I was going to eat the last one.  Yes.  They were that good.  Oh, and the saltyness of the icing with the sweetness of the caramel cupcake - to die for. 

The recipe's author was Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater.  You can find the original recipe here.  The recipe was on the "bay area bites" website =D.  

The hosts for this amazing challenge are Dolores of Culinary Curiosity, Alex of Blondie & Brownie, Jenny of Foray into Food, and for the awesome yummy amazing GF stuff, Natalie of Gluten A Go Go.

This challenge in pictures:

Caramel Sauce.  Mmmm...

More Caramel Sauce!

Mixing the batter.  Yum!!

Putting it into the pan.

The cupcakes all covered in icing.

Ohh, and with some extra caramel sauce on top!

So this was good.  I'll get the GF recipe up later, but this was an awesome challenge!

xoxo

Lauren

Mandarin Oranges

Yup.  It's almost Christmas.  Like a month and a week.  Whoa.  That's soon.  Whoa.  Ok, anyways, the big beautiful boxes of mandarin oranges are out.  Is it weird that when I think of those tiny juicy amazing oranges, that I think of winter, when they are such a summery tasting fruit?  Maybe that is why they are absolutely perfect for this time of year.  They have soft peels that make them easy to open with frozen fingers, and they made the freezing cold days not so freezing.  Their bright colour and fresh taste make them perfect for the winter, simply because they remind us that the cold does in fact go away. (Not that winter is bad or anything =D)

Oh, and best of all, I don't even have to worry about them being gluten free or not.  They are a nice, healthy fruit, one that gives us vitamin C to fight off evil colds during our beautiful snow-covered months.  

They are the christmas oranges.  At least to me, they are the epitome of this time of year, and the months to follow.  They even come all wrapped up in a box, and with tissue-type paper on each one (it used to always be green, but now they seem to be white...).  Oh, and of course, once you unwrap it, you get a nice little treat that you can eat as quickly or as slow as you like.

Enjoy these little gifts every day!

xoxo

Lauren

Let's Play Tag!

Camille from Rtemis tagged me, and according to the rules, I get to tell you 7 random facts about me!

  

1.  I don't wear much make-up, like at all.  Never mascara, unless it's a fancy party.  

2.  I love clothes, and I'm not afraid to wear lots of stuff... but whatever I wear it totally me =D.

3.  I'm a good student, and have been forever.

4.  I like to try new things, as long as I know that I'll be safe.

5.  I'm afraid of heights, but LOVE roller coasters.

6.  In fact, I love all rides!

7.  Last, but not least, I'm not loud, but I'm pretty opinionated, and will fight for what I think.

Now, I would get to pass this on to 7 people, but I'd rather just let you choose to do it, so here, tell me more about you! 

Lest We Forget

Yes, It's that time of year again.  The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month.  We know it as Remembrance Day.  The poppies have been all over jackets and shirts, and even some on hats and binders and bags.  That little poppy, the one that everyone always loses, and each year, new ways to make them stay are invented.  You can put a tip of your eraser on the end, or tape it.  You can stick the pin part through the fabric of the poppy.  You can wedge it into your shirt/jacket/hat/binder/bag, or you can even bend the pin and hope that it doesn't spin around.

  

But, however you get your poppy to stay, it's important that you remember.  That we remember the Canadians that we've lost to war, and those that have returned home.  All of the different wars, and all of the loved ones that gave up their lives to that we could have our freedom.  So that we could live in peace.  As far as I know, currently Canadians aren't fighting in any war.  Instead, we're cleaning up the mess left by war by peacekeeping.  But just because it's called peacekeeping doesn't mean that every soldier returns home.  No, that is the sad part.

  

As far as I know, Canada has one of the best militaries in the world.  The only thing is that it's small.  Very small.  Regardless, the training is much more thorough than in other places, and our soldiers are definitely world-class.  Anyways, I just want to say thanks to every Canadian man or woman that has given their life for our country.  I also want to thank every Canadian soldier that has risked their life for our country.

 

xoxo

Lauren

Arico Cookies

I love cookies, but it's hard to find ones that are soft and prepackaged when you're gluten free.  So, when I found these cookies a few weeks ago, I was happy about it.  They're good, soft and don't taste funny.

Above Photo from Arico Foods

What it's like:

These cookies are moist, and fresh and very yummy.  They don't have any funny after taste and in the flavours that I've tried, they're really good.

Why I eat it:

They're good, light(ish) and are a really nice little snack, as they're not all that big.  Oh, and it's kinda hard to eat just one.  Yum!

Other Stuff:

They're Gluten Free, and the non-chocolate ones are dairy free as well.  The ones with chocolate may have traces of milk protein in them.  And, they're made with organic ingredients.  The triple berry, and lemon ginger flavours are also nut free, as far as I can tell =D.

Yum.  These are good.  I suggest trying at least one type.  I've liked both ones I've tried =D.

xoxo

Lauren

Back

to the good stuff.  Food that is.  You see, I feel like I've been so incredibly out of touch with this blog in the past month, that I really need to refocus on here.  I'm not saying that I'm going to be posting every day.  No, I doubt that.  I just want the days that I do post to be about food and celiac and books and fashion.  Not politics or a quote-unquote milestone.  Not that those are bad things.  No, they're important and good things to remember.  But I want to get back to the fun stuff.  

For me, that means leaving the camera in the kitchen.  That means finding something to bake in my spare time.  Not just watching TV and playing online.  That stuff is pointless.  Making food, filling my house and body with good food is what it's about.  For me at least.

So.  I'm going to do my best to make or think about food or at least something good for this blog, all the time.  I'm in a bit of a rut here.  I just need to get out of it.  After all, this is one thing that is all mine.  It's something that I can do whatever I want with.  So, I'm going to do good things with it.  Re-starting now. =D

xoxo

Lauren

New

Yes, I'm sure that everyone knows that Obama will become the president.  It's been interesting to see what happens in the states, as their system is so very different from my own.  

We have seats that we elect.  The people that are elected into these seats can be from one of many parties, with the main ones being Liberals and Conservative.  Then, only in Quebec, there is the Bloc Quebecois.  Then, there is the NDP, and some minor ones that have yet to get seats (and, of course there are also independents).  Anyways, what happens is we elect someone into the seat in our riding.  Then, the party that has the most seats becomes in charge.  That party's leader, (as chosen by the members of the party) becomes the Prime Minister.  

Then, the party with the second most amount of seats becomes the opposition.  Then, all together, they run our country for the next four (or less) years, until the PM goes to the Governor General and calls an election.  The Governor General is the Queen's representative in Canada.  They are not elected, but appointed.

Now I may not be right with all of this, but the idea is still the same =D.

The American government system confuses me a bit.  I think... that each state has a certain number of "votes" and the candidate either gets all or none of those.  Then the totals are added up, and a winner is chosen.  Oh, and to me at least, it seems like americans vote on everything.  Each proposal that the government can't decide, they make the people choose.  I don't know if thats a good or bad thing.  Anyways, congrats to Obama.  I hope that he really makes a difference (more than he already has), and helps to save that economy.  After all, basically every economy in the world is connected to the American one, and while it may not be as bad in other parts of the world, it is definitely not perfect.

So.  Yeah, thats about it.

xoxo

Lauren