{love+cupcakes} Blog

Neon Pins

love and cupcakes — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:09:37 +0000

Lately, I’ve noticed a neon trend happening on my Pinterest boards. I’ve just been drawn to bright, punchy colors, I guess. I’m especially loving the thread of neon yellow/chartreusey pins going on and above are a few of my faves. (I am so in love with that Elizabeth and James blazer but it’s beaucoup bucks so I guess I’ll be on the hunt for a more affordable alternative, like this one from H&M). xoxo!

{love+cupcakes pins no.1 Zara pants/no.2 Neon Sign Print/no.3 Elizabeth & James Blazer/no.4 Proenza Schouler Purse/no.5 Purl Bee Cowl/no.6 Ash Heels}

Simple+Pure

love and cupcakes — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:16:28 +0000

There’s something so calming and soothing about all of the lovely porcelain pieces from Caroline Swift. I could spend hours admiring the beautiful imagery on her website. See more of Caroline Swifts delicate designs here.

From the Kitchen: Spanikopita

love and cupcakes — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:00:25 +0000

As mentioned in this post from a few weeks ago, I LOVE Mediterranean flavors. In fact, if I had to choose, I’d say Greek food is my all time favorite. And of all Greek food, I don’t think there’s anything quite like a fresh, out-of-the-oven Spanikopita. Spanikopita is a flaky, spinach and feta pie that has layers of buttery phyllo dough and it is just heaven on a plate! I’ve made Spanikopita several times using several different recipes but my personal favorite is one found in the most used cookbook in my kitchen “library”, The Joy of Cooking. For me, this recipe is the perfect marriage of wholesome greens, brined feta and flaky phyllo. Recipe after the jump. xoxo!

Spanikopita {Greek Spinach and Cheese Pie} (recipe via The Joy of Cooking)

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh spinach- stemmed, washed and coarsely chopped (OR three 10 oz. bags frozen spinach)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 scallion
1/4 cup snipped fresh dill or chopped fresh parsley
4 large eggs
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons grated kefalotiri (Greek grating cheese) or Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several grinds of black pepper
Pinch of freshly grated or ground nutmeg
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 pound phyllo dough, thawed if frozen

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and scallions and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes
Add the chopped spinach a handful at a time. Cook until the spinach is wilted and the liquid is released, 5 minutes.
Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring often, until the liquid is evaporated and the spinach is dry, 7 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the fresh dill or chopped fresh parsley. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then squeeze to remove the excess liquid.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the cooked spinach mixture along with feta cheese, kefalotiri or Parmesan cheese, salt, black pepper, and nutmeg.
Lightly oil a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Melt the butter.
Unroll phyllo dough on a dry work surface. Trim 1 inch from the edges of the phyllo dough. Cover with dry towel and cover the dry towel with a damp towel.
Lay 1 sheet of phyllo in and up the sides of the prepared pan and brush lightly with melted butter. Top with 7 more phyllo sheets, brushing each one lightly with butter.
Spread the spinach mixture over the layered phyllo. Top with 8 more sheets, brushing each one with butter, including the top sheet.
Roll the overhanging phyllo from tile sides to form a border all the way around.
With a thin, sharp knife, cut the pie into squares or diamonds, but do not cut through the bottom or the filling will leak onto the pan.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake the spinach pie until crisp and golden, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes. Cut the squares or diamonds right through to the bottom and serve.

Weekend Bits

love and cupcakes — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:55:52 +0000

Happy Monday! How was your weekend?

We spent our weekend in my favorite fashion, relaxing for the most part with just enough productivity to feel accomplished. We did a little antiquing at a few local estate sales (a new obsession of ours), continued working on a few home projects, made tons of delicious food, and did a lot of sleeping in and general kicking back whenever there was a minute to steal. I’d say it was just about perfect. Above are a few bits of my weekend. Hope yours was great too! xoxo!

P.S. How gorgeous is that Vogue cover shot of Taylor Swift? I’m obsessed!

From the Kitchen: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

love and cupcakes — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:05:26 +0000

Recently, my granny gave me a huge bag of lemons that she picked from her yard so I’ve been on a lemony baking binge for the last week which means many tart and sweet food posts coming your way very soon! First up…one of my favorite muffins ever, lemon poppy seed. The first time I tasted this tart, crunchy, breakfast sweet, I was in the first grade. My class was reading a story that somehow involved lemon poppy seed muffins but I can’t really recall the book nor in what capacity the muffins played a role. All I do remember is that one of the mothers in the class decided to bake the sweet little cakes and bring them in as a treat for us kids and how amazed I was that she had brought the muffins from our storybook to life; it totally boggled my six year old mind. I truly thought there was something magical about this speckled, lemony sweet bread. Many (many!) moons later, I still hold a strong affinity towards lemon poppy seed muffins. Recipe after the jump. Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (adapted from Joy the Baker)

Makes about 12 regular or 16 “midi” muffins (I like to use these liners, they’re not as big as standard liners and not as small as mini’s, hence “midi”)

Ingredients

2/3 cup granulated sugar

zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk (room temp)

2 large eggs (room temp)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled to room temp

2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar (for topping the batter before baking)

For the Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar whisked together with 2 or 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a muffin tray with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, rub the granulated sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar is lightly colored and scented with lemon. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, melted butter and lemon juice.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together. When almost thoroughly mixed, add the poppy seeds. Divide batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle each with turbinado sugar.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.

Note: The glaze does not freeze or refrigerate well so glaze just before serving.

J’aime les Bonbons!

love and cupcakes — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:00:56 +0000

C’est vrai! J’aime les bonbons! But these are not just any bonbons, these are nostalgic bonbons. They bring me back to the only other time I’ve ever encountered these chewy, sweet, tart, bundles of goodness…high school French class. Once a year, students taking French sold Eiffel Bonbons to raise funds for the program. These little guys were like crack! Buzz would start circulating weeks before the fundraiser even started and once it was underway, they would sell out real fast. At that time, Bonbons weren’t sold in stores, or at least I was never able to find them…and believe me, I tried! Nowadays, you can buy bulk boxes at online candy shops like this one, but I’d have to be a real bonbon crack head to buy a box of 24! I just can’t justify purchasing that much candy at once. So, when I was ogling the amazing candy isle at Cost Plus World Market the other day, I literally gasped aloud when I saw my beloved Eiffel Bonbons and immediately proceeded to buy as many bags as I could carry. I was just like…well…a kid in a candy store! Is anyone else familiar with these? I think they were (and maybe still are) a common French class/club fundraising candy. If you’re curious, head on over to Cost Plus and taste them for yourself. xoxo!

Red Valentino

love and cupcakes — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:35:13 +0000

LOVEly Pins

love and cupcakes — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:00:09 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day!

{love+cupcakes pins/1 via J.Crew/2 via Color Me Katie/3 via Bri Emery for Kate Spade}

Weekend Bits

love and cupcakes — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:23:47 +0000

Calories burned after a morning hike/run at Fryman Canyon. Stoked!

A walk in the park with Miss D.

Pretty beaded jewelry at Unique LA.

Merlot infused sea salt from Hepp’s Salt Barrel.

Salted caramel truffle with fig jam.My new favorite breakfast spot, Sweet Butter.
A little foos action with the Mr.Window shopping on Abbot Kinney.

Scrumptious dessert at The Tasting Kitchen.

Working on my future coffee table.

Inspiration for a current client project.

A gift to myself found here.Evan’s famous huevos rancheros.

Homemade Lemon Merengue Pies…in cute little jars!

Happy Weekend + Unique LA

love and cupcakes — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:42:58 +0000

The 3rd Annual Holiday Show from UNIQUE LA on Vimeo.

Happy Friday folks! What a wonderful week this has turned out to be. The weather was all sorts of crazy, with a little gloom and rain (my favorite) on Tuesday and a whopping 80 degrees yesterday! It is only early February, right? And to make this an even more sweet and memorable week, my “very preggo” friend from this post…is not preggo anymore!!! She gave birth to a beautiful, cuddly little baby boy and I love him so much already. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s in for a lifetime of serious spoiling from his Auntie P. Evan and I are planning an early morning visit to Unique LA on Saturday which I am so, so, SOOOOO excited for! If ya haven’t been, you need to go. It’s such a fun and inspiring event and for craft nerds like me…it’s heaven! Our friend, Sarah, from The Bocket Store will be there showing off her gorgeous dots. On Sunday, we’re celebrating our friend’s birthday with a foodie feast at The Tasting Kitchen, which I’ve been dying to try! So, what about you? Any fun weekend plans? Whatever you do, I hope it’s awesome. xoxo!