Spending some time in the kitchen: Tapas!

When Martin and I were in Australia our friend, Katie, took us to a Tapas restaurant. Tapas is a form of Spanish cuisine, that focuses on appetizer type or finger food dishes, instead of a main course and sides. So the point is to order a whole bunch of these smaller dishes and you share with your table, so you end up with a lot of different flavors. Well I absolutely loved the idea and all the dishes that we ordered, and ever since, I have been meaning to come up with a few of my own "tapas" recipes. Instead of aiming my cooking in the Spanish directions, I figured I could do any style, but just keep it in smaller portions and easier to eat; so either with toothpicks or your fingers. I know Martin is pretty excited about this (since he just loves all appetizers) and I hope you will be too. If you have any ideas, or suggestions, feel free to send them my way!

with love

Kristin Ann :)

there's a holiday rapidly approaching...

Easter!!!! And I soooo have easter fever!!

Just a few darling ideas I found over on Martha.. Get ready, I am full of ideas and I have a full month to show them to you!!

Hugs cupcakes!

I wanted to make some cupcakes one day, and I had an extra bowl of my vanilla buttercream frosting, so I thought I could try something fun.

With a chocolate box cake mix, I followed the recipe, filled the cupcake pan, and then place a hug on top of each. The hug will start to sink down, but no worries, unfortunately it will eventually sink down to the very bottom. Follow the baking instructions on the box, and let cool before frosted. The hug melts about half way, so if you eat them within a few hours of baking, you should still be able to enjoy the melting action. After frosting the cupcakes I added some chocolate shavings to garnish, with a regular chocolate bar and cheese grater. I kept them in the refrigerator until they were ready to be served, because my buttercream has a tendency to soften easily.

It's an easy way to make a quick and easy dessert look fancy. Give then a try, I think you'll enjoy them!!