In The Garden :: First Day of Spring

On the first day of spring, Mom and I walked around the garden and decided what our plans should be for this year.  We bought travertine pavers for a walkway-that's-never-going-to-happen about 2 years ago and after fighting weeds beyond measure in between the beds last year, I decided we should put them down in the veggie garden.  I did quite a bit of research on Pinterest about laying paver paths and I realize this is going to be a major endeavor, but I'm excited about it.  We laid some down on top of the soil just to get an idea while we were out there.  The first row of pavers is going to be just straight down the sides of the beds so that we can easily pull them up to get to the PVC pipe underneath, and then we'll do some sort of pattern down the middle.

The strawberries had decided to abandon their beds and grow all over the ground instead, so cleaning out the beds and getting the strawberries back in there is a top priority.  Mom was so excited about it that in the past couple of days she's already gotten a lot of it done!  We had so many strawberries that she's started cleaning up the flower beds close to the house and is putting the leftovers there.  And the rhubarb is also starting to come up already, which is a strawberry's best friend!  I'm imagining pies and cakes and tarts already...

The tops of the beds that are inside the fencing are getting pretty old and most aren't screwed down anymore, so we are probably going to get new wood for them and re-stain all the wood that needs it.

Last year I had troubles with watering the beds.  A couple of soaker hoses split, then as the summer went on most of the soaker hoses got clogged up with algae from the irrigation.  I did some research on better watering systems and found a genius idea on Pinterest using PVC pipes.

I plan on building them to fit the beds and then attaching them to the underground system with small hose sections.  Since you just drill holes in the PVC, if it gets gunked up this summer I'll just take the drill out and clean out the hole!  Mom was worried that there wouldn't be enough water pressure, but I don't plan on having the water on like a sprinkler, more like a good healthy drip.

Other than that it's just the usual clean up of weeds in and around the beds and maybe we'll get to laying some straw between the long beds to keep the weeds from growing too quick!

Recipe Tuesday :: Minty Chocolate Cupcakes

Mom's birthday was back in February and I always like to give her a choice of flavor for her birthday cupcakes.  She loves chocolate, so that's always the base, but the coordinating flavors change.  This year it was chocolate and mint.

I searched the Pinterest boards and found a few different Chocolate Mint cupcakes.  There were ones that were themed around Thin Mint cookies or Junior Mints or Andes Mints or even Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream.  But I really didn't like any of the recipes.  There seemed to be too much or too little mint, the cake was just a box cake hack or the frosting was all buttercream.  So I took it into my own hands to make an actual recipe.  I started with my basic chocolate cake and added a touch of mint extract.  Mom isn't a fan of peppermint and you can get just mint extract, which is more subtle and spearmint like.

The secret ingredient to chocolate cake...Espresso Powder.

Espresso Powder + Hot Water = Strong Black Coffee

Then I used that cherry frosting recipe from the last post, which is a cream cheese frosting base and then added mint flavor and green food coloring.  Ta da!  Mint cream cheese frosting that is delicious and flavorful.  The finishing touch, mini chocolate chips.  Yum!

Minty Chocolate Cupcakes

For the Cake:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong black coffee, cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp mint extract

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line pan with cupcake liners.
2)  In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together dry ingredients:  flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda,
     baking powder and salt.
3)  Add the eggs and start the mixer.  Add in the buttermilk, coffee, oil, vanilla and mint and beat for
     2 minutes or until well blended, scraping down bowl.  Batter will be thin.
4)  Pour batter into cupcake liners to 3/4 full.
5)  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6)  Let cupcakes cool in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.


For the Frosting:
8 oz (1 brick) REGULAR cream cheese, brought to room temperature
1 1/2 stick butter, brought to room temperature
3 to 5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp mint extract (or to taste)
green food coloring

1)  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and cream cheese for about 2 minutes until creamy.
2)  Add mint extract and mix well.
3)  Gradually add in confectioner's sugar, mixing well and scraping sides of bowl between each
     addition.
4)  Beat on high for 2 to 5 minutes until frosting is creamy and stiff enough to stand up.
5)  Fill piping bag and swirl frosting on top of cupcakes.  Top with mini chocolate chips.