Last post of the year.... Thanks and MORE!

Hello everybody! December has been hectic with good activities here "en Mi casa" which is "Tu Casa" too! I've had visits from Mexico, friends and family! I also had lots of baking to do and cooking, I sold tons of Christmas Cookies and Chocoflan Cake so I got a new camera with part of the money I made from alll the baking (I was soooo needing it for better pictures) and I've also been enjoying hubby being home! He's been off of of work for about a week now, he'll go back to work on Wednesday (I wish I was rich to keep him always to ourselves! LOL!) So... it's been impossible to post more often or reply but once things go back to normal I am sure everything will be better here!

I just want to take the opportunity to thank you all for being with me in 2012! This year has been the "come back" of  "The Coffee Shop" and I've been very blessed to get to know more people through this blog! Thank you all for being here! For sharing, for commenting, for being so supportive! And for encouraging me with my projects! Thank you for trying my recipes!

I hope 2013 will be filled with new blessings that we can all share together!

Do you have any goals/resolutions for this year? Would you like to share? Whether they are personal or blogging goals... feel free to share

I lost 40 pounds in 2012 and I'm going for the rest this year! I hope I'll do a better job with homeschooling and finally have a serious calendar/schedule that I'll adhere too... and in the blogging area ... well... I hope our Coffee Friday Party just "takes off" !

By the way... join us this Friday ... we will have a featured blogger!

Pic: New Year's Eve 2007 ... I was the photographer -sigh-

... Anything else? Well... I just wish you all a Happy and successful 2013!


© Paloma K.

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting!

Hello everybody! As you know (I hope) I am part of an amazing baking group... The Cake Slice !

This time we all voted, like we do every month, and the "winner" was:

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

And AH! You have to trust me... They did not disappoint! They were MUDDY and good! Well... not muddy... not gooey but just so chocolatey moist! And the marshmallow frosting was just perfectly delicious and went really well with the cupcakes! I decided to half my recipe, 24 cupcakes would've been too many! But the 12 cupcakes I made were certainly enjoyed!

The Marshmallow Frosting required lots of precision and good timing! There were no "marshmallows" involved... you had to make your own! ... it was made with thoroughly beaten egg whites and candy (melted sugar until it reached 242 F) and then mix it all together at the exact time when the caramel reached the temperature (I had NO THERMOMETER!!!) and the egg whites were just right and stiff! I was nervous about it but ... everything went well! I am debating if I should post the recipe as well... I think I might but I am falling asleep and just exhausted from all the baking I've been doing, just today I baked about 300 cookies and 24 empanadas! but I didn't want to wait any longer because we're supposed to reveal our cakes on the 20th of each month and I didn't want to be late!

So... it was fun and totally worth baking these cupcakes! The recipe is a really great one from a book I've come to love: Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson... If you don't own it yet and you love traditional cakes, this is a must have!

Here are the pics (horrible pictures by the way) of my cupcakes... And yes... I am asking Santa for a new camera! LOL! Santa might be late though!

Perfect and stiff egg whites, just right!

This is the marshmallow frosting, had to be piped immediately!

My finished cupcakes!

Merry Christmas!

© Paloma K.

Keeping our Lights Shining Bright!

 Hi everybody! I promise I'll try to visit some blogs today! It's been really busy here... and then after the horrible tragedy in Connecticut I haven't been feeling like blogging... Such a horrible thing! It's made me sick to my stomach... My prayers with the families of the victims. May God's surpassing peace flood their hearts.
 
Today is a new day but even when it's new... nothing will be the same...  what happened in that school, may it be something that we always remember, to use it for something good, if possible... hug more our children, kiss them every time, avoid holding grudges, focus on what matters most...

This Christmas hold your loved ones tight! Don't focus on gifts but focus on Jesus, on His love, eternal, perfect, pure! And rejoice in that love with those around you! The events made me want to turn my Christmas lights off... I thought: "how can we be celebrating in the middle of so much pain?" But how can we not? When our hearts ache most we need to remember and celebrate that Jesus was born! in the darkest hour His light continues to shine! His light came to this dirty, painful world that didn't even want Him but that so desperately needed Him... and we continue to need Him today, my Christmas lights are shining to remember that! not just for "decoration" ... Let your lights shine this Christmas... not to represent "wealth, parties and good times" but to reflect on the fact that this dark world needs Him, and if we don't let our lights shine... who will?

John: 8:12 -Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”-

© Paloma K.