Cardamom Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Frosting

I grew up with guinea pigs and remember each of them with great affection. Benji arrived when I was three and I confided in him whenever I had a rift with my parents. Ginger and Pepper came next. Ginger was a mild mannered calico; Pepper, a jumpy red head. Over the course of their courtship, Ginger gave birth to 34 offspring. Every few months, we found the couple curled up with a new batch of babies. Our last guinea pig, Lola, had pink eyes. Her long white fur arched in the air and then descended over her body like water springing out of a fountain.

After living with guinea pigs (a dog, and other animals), I've come to believe that life is lived the fullest with a pet. When I started to look for a condo, I wrote off buildings that prohibited animals. Several months after getting the keys to my new place, I decided to buy a guinea pig. Part of me longed for a dog. But I traveled off and on for work at the time and felt a dog would be lonely.

I spent the week before Easter in my hometown. Before running errands one day, I stopped by the pet store to see if it sold guinea pigs. I found a dozen or so eating pellets in open cages. When I peered in to select one among them, they ricocheted to the corners of their pen like stray pool balls. The closer I got, the more the poor critters wanted to flee. I felt unnerved and rejected.

Just to the right of their cage was a tiny, very blond bunny. Its posture was straight and its eyes steady. When I walked up to its cage, it seemed totally unaffected. It had things to do and wasn’t going to be distracted by a gawking human. I was mesmerized by its confident, content attitude. I handed over $15 to take her home. When I asked the clerks if the bunny was a girl or a boy, they flipped it over, examined its crotch, and said, “Hmmm. We think she’s a girl.” That’s how my adventure with Honey began.

After six plus years, I've learned that living with a bunny is wonder and a commitment. Over the years, Honey has grown into a strawberry blonde boo with cream colored stenciling around her eyes and noise. She has a white beaver-shaped tail and tummy that she keeps impeccably clean. Her fur is softer than silk and there is nothing more therapeutic than petting her at the end of a long day. Like a dog, she comes running when I call her name (unless she's cross with me or  has other plans). She loves children. She loves family. She loves life.Like Peter Rabbit, Honey gets into all kinds of scrapes. She loves bananas and managed to jump into a plate of honey I had resting in my lap because she smelled a banana I had in my other hand. For a split second, her feet were mired in the sticky substance. Then she jumped off the plate, sat on her hind legs behind the couch, and flung her paws in the air hoping that she could flick off the honey. When I tried to whip her paws with a moisten towel, she hid behind an arm chair.

Living with Honey is like living with an animate saw. She chews on everything - furniture, plaster, my favorite books, wires - except her chew toys. It took me a while to realize that she was nestling between the wall and the bedspread (pictured above) because it allowed her to gnaw on the elegant cloth. Despite the fact that I give her three meals a day, plenty of hay, and snacks. And provide her with chew toys?

When I see depictions of rabbits this time of year, I just shake my head. They're shown as mild-mannered, sometimes even docile, and eager to deliver treats to children. If I handed Honey Bear a basket with candy to distribute, she would rustle through the contents, chew a hole in the bottom, and then leave the scene to take a nap.

CARDAMOM CUPCAKES WITH DULCE DE LECHE FROSTINGPayasm (mung dhal pudding) is my favorite South Indian dessert. It combines jaggery, cardamom, coconut milk, and cashew nuts. These cupcake reflect many of its flavors. Try tucking a few in your Easter basket this year.

INGREDIENTS

For cake:Dede Wilson's recipe for yellow cake
2 teaspoons ground cardamom
For frosting and garnish:
1/4 cup raw cashew nuts
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups dulce de leche
1/3 cup coconut milk1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 300. Roast cashew nuts for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and chop very finely.

Increase oven heat to 350.

Prepare the cake batter as directed. Add the ground cardamom to the creamed butter (with the vanilla). Bake as 24 cupcakes.

Beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the dulce de leche and coconut milk. Beat until smooth.

Add the powdered sugar and beat on low until just incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat until creamy.

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with chopped cashew nuts.

glass candelier; mirror tile fireplace

Here are a couple of DIY projects we have in our dining room.  A side note, the dining room is the first room you walk in when you enter our rowhouse.  This works quite well for us - not because our dining room has a front door, but because the living room / kitchen creates a great space for both entertaining and living.

First, the fireplace surround now doubles as a mirror-ball.  I like the way the aged and worn, glossy-white-painted mantel looks with the bright, square tiles.  By the way - they do not actually create a mirror-ball effect.  They do, however, bounce natural light around in a place that is normally pretty dark. Take a look:



I got these at Kit Kraft and installed them with a tile-mastic for fireplace surrounds.  This is not a working fireplace and I'm not vouching for their ability to withstand heat - but I will vouch for their ability to prompt a random, "Girl, that fireplace is fabulous!"

Now onto one of my favorite projects - this glass candelier that hangs over the table.  The tealight holders came from Crate & Barrel.  The different heights and shapes are interesting from just about every angle.  The glass base came from a trusty glass shop called Caplan that we've used for a few projects.  They cut the piece to specification with three holes evenly distributed around the edge.

From there I added the hardware that you can see in detail in the pictures.  The biggest tip of advice (courtesy the glass cutter man) is to have non-metallic washers.  There should be no metal touching the glass at any time.  The glass is fairly heavy and sometimes covered in a small fire.  I heeded the man's advice and have been eating worry-free ever since.  While you can't see it in the picture, I used vinyl washers to keep everything properly protected.

A special thanks goes to our wonderful friend, Kim, who made the table runner with her own little hands.







I know, I know - you want to see what that thing looks like when it's lit.  I'll get around to that...

Egg Bhurji / Scrambled Eggs

Whenever I am not well or feel lazy, TH becomes the cook of my kitchen. And, I know by default what he cooks. Egg, egg and only egg.



I had never seen preparing recipes other than egg when I am not available. He usually says that the egg makes his job easier and reduces the time to stay in the kitchen.



I find it correct anyway. It is always easy to prepare and helps when nothing available at home.



Here is the recipe from TH, the simple, easy, colourful egg bhurji. Enjoy!!!



Basic Information:

Preparation Time: < 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:



Oil - 3 teaspoons

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Green chilli - 2 nos, slit or finely chopped

Onion - 1/2 cup, finely chopped

Capsicum/Bell pepper - 1/4 cup, any colour, finely chopped, optional

Eggs - 4 nos

Salt - to taste

Pepper powder - 1 teaspoon



Method:



1) Take a wok and heat oil in it.

2) When it is hot and not smoking, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Allow them to splutter.

3) When crackle sound of mustard seeds reduces, add green chillies.

4) Add onion and saute till it turns soft.

 5) Add capsicum and saute without changing colour.

6) Break eggs one by one and leave it for a minute.

7) Start stirring continuously to form lumps. Initially it would look like messy as shown in the picture.

8) Stir it continuously till the eggs are not sticking with the pan.

9) Now, add salt and pepper as per the egg quantity and stir well.

10) Serve hot with steamed rice or chapati.

Note:

1) Roast and make a powder of cumin seeds and black pepper corns. Add this at the end of the preparation of egg bhurji. If you are doing this, skip adding the cumin seeds for the seasoning.

2) Addition of capsicum is completely optional. As TH and I like capsicum a lot, we added to this bhurji.

3) Avoid green chillies and increase the pepper quantity, if you are going to serve for kids.