Urban Comfort

Gone Fishing

I thought it was going to be the start of a creative and productive week here. Instead, we're unexpectedly preparing for a potential hurricane. I'll be back when I can. Have a great week!

Japanese Rice Paper Plant

 

Fa la la! Christmas is...OVER (at least for a little while). And like the actual season, it was great fun while it lasted, but now I'm happy to put away the decorations and Christmas craft supplies and get back to what's left of summer. 

But during my monthlong crafting marathon, held mostly at my dining room table, I couldn't help but notice how well my Japanese Rice Paper Plant has been growing, with only a minimum of care and a summer of torrential rains that have allowed it haphazard light at best. You know, a good plant for those of us with not-so-green thumbs. And it seems only fair that I share it with you, because I didn't even know these lovely plants existed until recently. So perhaps you don't either.

My cousin, Stephen, who not only has a green thumb but makes magic out of just about any material that passes through his hands, has great stands of these plants on his property and they're enormous. I like to stand under them and look up into their leaves, and indeed, their leaves are so large they'd likely shelter you in a storm. They are, in a word, dramatic. Which is exactly how I like my plants. 

I won't bore you with growing zones or a lot of details about care (so far, my care has consisted of watering it once a week. Some days it gets a little sun, some days not, and it's been in an air-conditioned 74 degree house all summer long). You can research that on garden sites, with experts who know more than I. But if you love tropical plants, this is a good one to add to your collection. It makes me swoon a little each time I pass by. Low maintenance, high visual impact. That's a formula I can live with.

 

Online source for Japanese Rice Paper Plant (Tetrapanax papyrifera): Plant Delights Nursery

Have a happy weekend!

 

Black & Gold Cupcakes (aka Chocolate & Vanilla)

For every celebration involving cake (such as my son's birthday party), there's a typical scenario that plays out in my house: 

 

A) Son presents mom with complex, highly detailed plan of cake that she'll never be able to accomplish in this lifetime.

B) Mom suggests that this time a professional will need to be consulted.

C) Son looks at mom with a long face and mentions how disappointed he'll be if she doesn't make the actual cake part herself.

D) Negotiations commence and scaled back design plans go into effect.

E) Last minute curveball.

F) Mom makes cake (or cupcakes) with a simple design, son is happy and applauds efforts.

...every time. This year started with a plan for a football cake - full field, lots of detailing, right down to the look of the football players. And if I'd let him continue, there'd have been a stadium full of people, too. So we get through Step D and then my son decides the night before his party that he doesn't really want a general football party any more, it should be a Saints football party, and those 48 cupcakes already baked would look really good if they just had gold liners instead of the silver they were sporting...

Fortunately for my son, I have a lot of experience working with editors and clients who have last minute brainstorms, so his curveballs don't throw me. I tweaked, we had the party, he loved the cupcakes, declared them magnificent (with his mouth full, of course), and all was a great success. 

But there's a greater issue that comes up when we decide to do cupcakes in the traditional flavors that he always requests. I have great yellow and chocolate cake recipes, but they just don't translate to cupcakes. Both are too moist and tender to hold up as a cupcake and they never dome enough, so I end up compensating with too much frosting. So I've cycled through recipe after recipe, looking for the best cupcake recipes I can find (because we both have exacting expectations of the taste, if not the design).

I've been almost satisfied at times, but this time I finally have some real keepers (which is the reward you get when you clean a small corner of your office and discover recipes pulled in 2008). Both cupcake recipes are from Food & Wine, as is the white buttercream. The milk chocolate frosting is from the Food Network and it's perfect for the yellow cupcake (and finicky children). So next year, when I find myself having the same conversation, at least I'll know I'm no longer facing the challenge of the cupcake as well. I'll take success where I can find it!

 

Chocolate Cupcakes:
(makes 12)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweeted cocoa powder (not Dutch Process)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the vegetable oil and water over low heat.

3. In a large bowl, sift the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add the melted butter mixture and beat with a handheld mixer at low speed until smooth. Add the egg and beat until incorporated, then add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl as necessary. Pour the batter into the lined muffin tin, dividing the batter equally among the cups.

4. Bake the cupcakes in the center of the oven for 23-25 minutes, until springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool slightly, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

White Buttercream:
(enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream (I used half-and-half which gave me a slightly stiffer frosting that held up to summer heat and humidity)

In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the softened butter at medium speed until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt and beat the mixture at low speed just until combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth. Add the milk or heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

 

Golden Cupcakes:
(makes 12 cupcakes)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cornstarch, baking powder and salt.

3. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the sugar with the eggs and vanilla extract at medium-high speed until smooth and thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the butter and oil and beat until incorporated, scraping the bottom and side of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and milk in 3 alternating batches, beating well between additions. Carefully pour the batter into the lined muffin tins, dividing the batter equally among the cups.

4. Bake the cupcakes in the center of the oven for 20 - 23 minutes, until springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the muffin tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

My Notes: I was baking these cupcakes in a pale colored, nonstick pan. Generally, I know that you lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees when cooking in dark, nonstick pans, but I didn't know if that also applied to the lighter color. So I made two batches and there was definitely a difference. I preferred the cupcakes baked at 325 for the same amount of time, even though they were barely colored. The cupcake with the slightly more golden exterior seemed a little dry. However, I baked the chocolate cupcakes in the same pan at 350 and they were perfect. So you might want to try baking the golden cupcakes at the lower temperature or check them just a bit earlier if baking them at 350.

 

Milk Chocolate Frosting:
(enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes)

3 1/2 ounces milk chocolate
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)

2. Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, butter, vanilla extract, and salt and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.  

 

Checking In

My son is six today. It's amazing how quickly we've arrived at this place and unbelievable that six years later, the night before my son's birthday was a repeat of the night before I gave birth. I was at my table, working late into the night on a Christmas assignment (thankfully this go round I won't be returning from the hospital as a first time mother with my assignment still laid out waiting to be completed). 

At any rate, I thought I should check in and assure you that I've not given up blogging. There's just something about summer and blogging that doesn't quite work for me. I'm lazy through the first half of summer, recovering from the school year, figuring out the new routine, eager for more social activity, and then slammed through the second half of the summer with fall and winter holiday assignments.

But Christmas is almost over in my house and school starts this week and I've got a million ideas and projects running around in my head that I want to share here. So please bear with me - I'll get back to some type of rhythm soon. And I really can't wait to share all of the holiday projects I've been working on. I'm tired, but I've been having a lot of fun and I'm really happy with the results of my labor, which feels good. 

So on a Monday morning, I don't have much, but I thought I'd share a quote with you from E.B. White, which feels appropriate since my son and I are currently reading Charlotte's Web. I've been collecting quotes for years, but so many of them are scribbled in notebooks and I realized recently that I'd never enjoy them unless I got them out of the notebooks. So I've started typing them up on the vintage typewriter I received for Christmas and I leave them on display. That way, when I pass it throughout the day I end up reading it over and over (and remembering it). The following week brings another. So here it is - the quote for this week.

Have a happy Monday!

Beautiful Bugs

I hate bugs. No, let me clarify. I am terrified of bugs. And when I'm faced with one of the prized specimens sprung from the murky swamplands of Louisiana, I do what any sane woman does - I call for my husband (or any male within shouting distance). I'm a wimp in this one particular area and I have absolutely no qualms about admitting it. 

But they always tell you to face your fears, so I've found a way to live with bugs - I enjoy them as art. Then I can admire their intricate details and marvel at their coloring, all the while enjoying the swells of cicada calls just outside my window.

 

Mister Finch

I'm smitten with the many fairytale creatures that spring from the fertile imagination of textile artist, Mister Finch. Made from bits and pieces of vintage finds, his sculptures are a mix of whimsy and old world craftsmanship, one-of-a-kind beauties.  (See more of his work on his website - also includes the link to his Etsy store)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kari Herer Photography

I first discovered Kari Herer's work when I stumbled onto her magnolias photographed against illustrations. She's at it again, this time mixing magnolia petals with illustrations of bugs, an entirely unexpected and strangely alluring combination.  (See more of her work on her website - includes link to her Etsy store.) 

 

 

 

Paul Villinski

Butterflies don't scare me and Paul Villinski's beer can butterfly installations hardly qualify as creepy, but I'm including them here anyway, just so you'll know about his work. Utilizing recycled cans (and sometimes old LPs), the artist creates soaring, beautiful installations that take my breath away. (See more of his work on his website.)