Cheerwine Cupcakes (qty. 15-18)

Cheerwine used was cane sugar version (in 12oz glass bottles). I used 3 TB of Droste cocoa powder but recommend 2, as the chocolate flavor overpowered the Cheerwine and made it hard to detect. The cakes turned out really moist, which was fabulous, but the frosting was a little runny. I recommend using 3 egg whites. The recipes have been modified to reflect my recommendations.

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened at room temperature
12 ounces Cheerwine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tin and set aside.

Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add vanilla, vinegar, and butter; combine well. Slowly stir in Cheerwine; beat until smooth.
Pour into muffin tin and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Finish cooling on wire rack.

Frosting
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 egg whites
12 ounces Cheerwine
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring


Combine sugar and egg whites in top of double boiler. Add Cheerwine and beat on low speed until blended.
Place over boiling water. Beat constantly on high speed until stiff peaks form. Remove from heat. Add flavoring and beat until frosting is thick enough to spread.

Oatmeal Creme Pies

All of the following ingredients are organic. I purchased all my supplies from Weaver Street Market in Hillsborough.

Cookie dough:
3/4 cup butter, softened at room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups oven-toasted oats (I used Country Choice)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 tablespoons boiling water (nuked in a measuring glass in the microwave)

Creme:
1 tablespoon unflavored pectin
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water (do not combine with the 1/3 cup above)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
8 ounces vegetable shortening

_______________________________________________________________________________

Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly grease baking sheet and set aside.

COOKIES:
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs in large bowl. In separate bowl, sift together salt, flour, and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture. Add cinnamon and oats. Mix well. In small dish, add baking soda to boiling water, then stir the mixture into the batter. Drop by ping-pong ball size (1 1/2 TB?) onto baking sheets, keeping them about 2 inches apart. Bake about 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on a wire rack.

CREME:
In small measuring cup, combine pectin with 1/3 cup cold water. Let stand, stirring once. In saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together cane sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water until blended. Continuing to stir, raise heat to high and bring to full boil. Continue boiling for 15 seconds. Immediately remove from heat and stir in pectin mixture until well blended. Transfer all contents to large bowl. Add vanilla. With mixer on medium, beat for about 20 seconds. Gradually raise speed to high and beat until mixture is cooled to barely warm, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar. Add shortening and beat until completely smooth.

Hong Kong: Part 1

a journey born from emotion

Today's trip to Hong Kong I will remember as a collection of emotional experiences joining together rather than simply a day I took a long plane ride to China. It started out as a day of rebirth, one where the open windows and slices of sunshine framed by the new Beastie Boys left me feelng empowered as I drove to the airport. The smell of fresh tar mixed with magnolias. After checking in and sitting down at the gate, three peeps from the San Diego Surfrider Foundation sat down next to me and started chatting about their projects amongst themselves. Fueled by their passion and my recent donation to the Cape Fear chapter, daydreams of early mornings bathed in cresting waves of saltwater filled by head. I caught myself smiling with tears dancing in my eyes. I belonged there. As we all were landing at Chicago, the familiar surroundings left me wistful. Yes, I've been here dozens of times before. Yes, this used to be my home. I used to fly out of here all the time. But it's not my home anymore. It feels strange and detached. I used to be a part of this place, but I left and have no desire to return. What fantastic memories I harbor from my days growing up here, but they'll always be just memories.

I'm convinced anyone who watched me for the next 16 hours as I flew from ORD to HKG will believe I'm a basketcase. I finished Garth Stein's "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by the time we reached Alaska, and I cried no less than three times. Not only because the scribblings from the pen were brilliant and such a familiar style to my own, but also because the philosophical discussions were aligned with so many of thoughts with which I have wrestled, viewpoints so close to my own. I finished the book with such a wide smile on my face only to distract myself with watching an uber-silly rom-com with Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon to cry at the Play-Doh scene. Dammit. To then listen to music via my iPod I hadn't listened to before brought upon another moment of waterworks. I'm telling you. I was unstoppable today. Emo central.

As I was getting off the plane a little Indian toddler who had been throwing glances my way the entire trip locked eyes with me. I smiled warmly at him, returning his gaze. Never breaking eye contact, he gave me the widest smile he could muster before he turned around to hug his dad's leg.

Crawled through immigration, picked up my bag, and hopped the 30 min cab ride to the hotel. Along the way I was met by a smattering of ships, the machination of steel, concrete, and glass as they reached toward the sky arms outstretched to grasp a magnificent rainbow. Mountains of green danced before my eyes, and I felt myself memorizing the lines that bobbled about like an irregular heartbeat before diving below sight's horizon. I wondered how I'd feel today had RMJM hired me as their CFO many moons ago to manage the finances of their architectural design firm.

Handing/receiving with two hands returned automatically, without realizing what I had done until after the event.

Upon checking in at the hotel a shower hadn't felt as refreshing in months. A catharsis of sorts of the day's events and thoughts swirling about my head. Felt energized to slip alongside my OneMBA global cohorts at the Sha Tin bar to catch up and mingle over mojitos as a lounge singer crooned Sting's "Fields of Gold." Today I left myself wide open to emotion, and events came together in a framework as such. I'm not just running this path; I AM this path

We kick off at 9:30am tomorrow morning! Can't wait to see the entire OneMBA faculty!

.