Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing moms out there!

I wanted to share this cute photo of my amazing mom...and my amazing daughter. :)

P.S. I hope to get another recipe post up very soon. Don't give up on me! ;D


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my first baker's conference

Life has been crazy busy for me lately. We sold our home and have moved out to the country. I have taken a full time position in the kitchen with a Christian conference center. I will be doing a whole lot of baking and a little bit of whatever else is needed as well. I also have a few Cupcake Academy parties coming up in the next few weeks.

I was so excited to have the opportunity to attend an intensive baker's conference just before I begin my new job.



One of my favorites was the bagels. These came out beautifully! They were crispy and chewy and moist...and delicious.



We also made donuts. I love the twist on these.





This is Chef Jim, the instructor for the conference. He has years of experience and an extensive amount of knowledge in both the technique and science of baking. Here he demonstrates the cutting and rolling of croissants. Croissants are quite a process to make but so worth the effort. These were flaky, tender and oh so buttery!



These are two sizes of buns for sandwiches or burgers.



This is the dough for Pate A Choux. It is used to make cream puffs and eclairs. We tested out our technique on the scale first before trying it on the sheet pans.



Here they are before the cream filling is added.



Swans! A little fun with cream puffs. ;) Behind the swans is a loaf of rye bread. Yum!



Pizza time!



These are called Bao buns. They can be filled with meat and veggies and are then, instead of baking, they are steamed.



I believe these buns are called Bier buns. This dough is different from the Bao buns dough. These are also filled with meat, veggies, cheese... and baked.



Practice makes perfect.



Fun with croissant dough.



Have you ever made Stromboli? So good!



We also made pies, babas, galettes, focaccia and more. I had a terrific time at the conference. I learned so much and made some great new friends. In the next couple of weeks I hope to share a few recipes with you here on the Ungourmet.

Have a nice weekend and thanks for stopping in!





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Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope all of you are preparing to enjoy a delicious meal with loved ones today. We are in the middle of a move to a new town but we are taking a few hours to enjoy a lovely Easter brunch with my husband's family. My kids are looking forward to their scavenger Easter basket hunt.

I'm sorry to say I have no recipes to share this year but I did want to share this Strawberries n' Cream Cupcake recipe from last Easter.



These were completely yummy!

As soon as we are settled in a bit I'll be posting more frequently. ;0)

Wishing you all a blessed Easter.

He is Risen. Hallelujah!

P.S. I'll be announcing the winner of my Veeshee giveaway on Monday evening.






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four things about me...

My sweet bloggy friend Teresa from A Blog About Food tagged me recently. I haven't done one in a while so I thought it would be fun to play along.

Four shows I watch
Young and the Restless
House Hunters
Diners Drive-ins and Dives
Iron Chef

Four things I’m passionate about
My family
Cupcakes!
My blog
Getting my cupcake party business up and running

Four phrases I use a lot
You know what I mean?
You two, stop fighting!
Dang cat!
It was on sale!

Four things I’ve learned from the past
It’s okay to be a dork
Friends will come and go but family will always be there for you
Never burn the popcorn
God still loves you even when you mess up

Four places I’d love to go
Greece
New Zealand- to visit my friend Sue!
Italy
Ireland

Four things I did yesterday
Worked
Cooked dinner
Searched for scone recipes
Talked with my kids

Four things I love about winter
Cozy Sweaters
Scarves
Christmas Trees
Warm Fires

I tag Sue, Monet, Molly and...You! Feel free to play along...or not. No pressure here.






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Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas! XOXO


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anniversaries and buttermilk cakes

Did you know that this is a very important date in history? Oh, yes. Seventeen years ago today I said "I do". There have been plenty of ups and downs over the years but I have to say the ups have far outweighed the downs and we are still happily chugging along on this train called marriage.

This morning as I was looking back at last year's anniversary post, I spotted this scrumptious post for Mini Buttermilk Cakes with Pomegranate and Lime. These were lovely! I decided that they were most definitely worth posting a second time. Pomegranates are so festive and gorgeous. I am looking forward to getting some holiday baking going. I'm thinking of baking some pumpkin bread pudding over the weekend.

Are you baking anything yummy over the weekend?

Have a terrific Saturday! I think I may be enjoying some delicious Thai food for my special day.

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happy birthday my sweet girl!

Happy 14th Birthday to my lovely daughter! I am truly blessed to have you in my life. You make me smile every single day!


You are an extremely talented artist and writer. You amaze me! You are kind and thoughtful. You are a good friend. You are your own person. You are a leader, not a follower. You have a good head on your shoulders and you make wise decisions. You are mature and trustworthy. You are honest and sincere. You are smart, witty, and brave.


I could go on for hours! I am proud to call you my daughter and my friend. I love you!

Love, Mom
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loot from kiwiland

Ever since I began my blogging journey back in February of 2009, the world seems to have become a smaller place. It has allowed me the opportunity to meet some fascinating people from all around our planet and to make some very dear friends along the way.


One of those dear friends is Sue. Sue lives in the beautiful city of Wellington, which is in New Zealand. Sue has such a zest for life. She loves her family, scrapbooking, photography and....


jumping! Sue and I communicate quite often on facebook. About a week or so ago I mentioned that I would love to try vegemite. For those of you that don't know, vegemite/marmite is a very popular yeast spread in both New Zealand and Australia. Vegemite was made all the more famous back in the 1980's by a band called, Men at Work. When my package arrived I told the letter carrier that a friend of mine from New Zealand had sent me vegemite. He just scratched his head and gave me a puzzled look. I went on to remind him of that Men at Work song. In fact, I almost sang him a few bars. Still nothing. Geez, the man is in his early fifties! What rock was he living under in the 80's? I guess I should have ripped open the box right then and there and made him a vegemite sandwich. ;)


Anyway, Sue told me she would love to send me some vegemite/marmite to try and that she would be throwing in a few other goodies as well. When the package arrived, my son could hardly wait to tear into it. I was holding back tears as I looked through everything. It warmed my heart so much that Sue would spend time, not to mention money for shipping, to put this care package together for me and my family. She included a handmade card too.


She gave me this darling t-shirt and some oh-so-yummy Tim Tams. I'm officially addicted to Tim Tams now! This is me trying to decide just where to hide my Tim Tams. Tee Hee.


I would love to meet Sue in person one day. I know we would really have a blast!

Thanks so very much for your sweet gifts, Sue!

If you would like to read some fun and informative info on vegemite, check out this link.

Please hop over and visit Sue's lovely blog.



Enjoy your week!






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look who's nine today

Nine years ago today my sweet baby boy came into this world. My life has never been the same.


He is fun loving.


He has a love for all things musical.


He loves to splash.

He loves crazy hats.


and mellow rides like the teacups.


He loves surprises.

and dressing up all fancy-like.

He is full of imagination.


He can get a little pouty when things don't go his way.


He loves to help in the kitchen.


He is a brave warrior.

He is warm and friendly, thoughtful and caring, delightful and charming....

He is the best son a mom could hope, pray and wish for.

Happy birthday, my boy. I love you!

Love, Mom XO

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