Tuesday's Tune - January 31st, 2012

Today's tune is a cover of one of the legendary Bob Dylan's songs. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with covering songs, as long as you don’t butcher it! Jeff Buckley does nothing of that sort, in fact, sorry Bob but I kind of enjoy Jeff's version better (yep I said it).

American singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeff Buckley, was born November 17th, 1966 and sadly passed away May 29th, 1997 by a freak drowning accident. His memory lives on today through his music, most of you will remember him from his famous cover of "Hallelujah".

Jeff released two successful albums during his music career, "Grace" in 1994 and "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" in 1998.

Today's tune is called "I Shall be Released", enjoy!

Cheers!

P.s Where did January go?

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Unfortunately there will be no Mel's Meals today. It was my broski's birthday dinner last night, and therefore I didn't have a chance to make a meal for today's blog!
I won't leave you completely hanging though, here is a delicious chocolate cookie recipe perfect for this cold winter weather! The recipe is from one of my favorite Food Network Chefs; Ina Garten. You might know her from her cooking show called "Barefoot Contessa" on the Food Network. My mom got me hooked a few years ago, and I'm happy she did, because Ina's got some amazing recipes, I absolutely love her!


Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter with the mixer on low speed, mixing only until combined. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chunks.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch-diameter ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Photo Credit: foodnetwork.com

Recipe courtesy of the Food Network.

Cheers!

Cheers to the weekend!

Well here we are, Friday! I have to say I noticed while leaving my office job this week that the days are getting longer! The sun is setting as I'm getting home, as opposed to when I walk out the office doors. This gives me hope that spring is on its way, there's a light at the end of  the tunnel!

Today's Jenna Marble video is great, and SO true. God knows I've met a dozen of these people in my life. With tv shows like Jersey Shore, and pretty much any other MTV "reality" show set in the US, they're pretty much unavoidable now and days!

P.s I literally could just watch her talk to her dogs, she's hilarious and I'm glad to know I'm not the only crazy mo fo out there that does this!

Cheers!

5 Things

After discovering new blogs, and seeing what other individuals produce on a weekly or daily basis, I've decided to run with a new weekly idea for Les Gâteaux Mignons; 5 things. Every thursday I will come up with 5 things that I love/want, inspire me, or make me happy!


Kitchenaid Stand Mixers

I just bought my first Kitchenaid stand mixer this year, and it is Amaaaaazing! I have the lowest model (because I'm no millionaire), and it works like a charm, I can't even imagine what the more powerful models would be like! What I really love about Kitchenaid is all the amazing colors this Mixer is offered in. Truly smart, because this means it can match any kitchen's color palette! So with that being said, I 100% recommend this Stand Mixer to anybody interested in buying one! They can be purchased through any Walmart, Canadian Tire, Ares, or Sears store!

Photo Credit: Cookingmadeeasy.com

Crocheted Cell Phone Case

A local Hudson business "Sanford Sisters", makes these really cute Iphone & Blackberry cell phone covers! They're super inexpensive and work great to protect and keep your phone cozy! These can be purchased through their Etsy account under TheSanfordSisters.

Photo Credits: Etsy.com

Greige Nail Polish


A new nail color I'm totally in love with right now is Greige! This is a mix of grey and beige, and it will go well with any outfit! Obviously Chanel is way out of my price range, but if I could, I would! This is called "Paticuliere", by Chanel. It can be purchased at your local "Bay" (Hbc) department store.

Photo Credit: poleshfreak.com

Indoor Garden

For my birthday, my girlfriend gave me this amazing indoor garden gift! It will eventually produce "African Dwarf Sunflowers", I cannot wait till they bloom! These can be purchased at local gift stores around the island of Montréal, or through Windowbox.com

Photo Credit: windowbox.com

Cupcake Oven Mitts

As a baker, I always need to make sure I have my trusty oven mitts, without them, dangerous things can occur (which I've learned the hard way)! Check out this really cute Cupcake Oven mitts that can be purchased through Etsy under LoveandAvenue.

Photo Credit: etsy.com

Well this concludes the first addition of 5 things!

Cheers! xo

L'amour

Can you believe that a month ago was Christmas? So crazy right? We are now only a couple of weeks away from the day fully dedicated towards Love, Valentine's Day. I'm not one of those people who goes all out for my man, in the past we've done dinner and little things, but one year I made cupcakes and it was the perfect gift. What a better way to your lover's heart than decadent sweets right? So this year why not replace the box of chocolates and go for a box of Les Gâteaux Mignons' delicious cupcakes! Prices start at $3.00 and Les Gâteaux Mignons is offering a limited time special* on all regular and mini size cupcakes for Valentine's day, free fondant hearts & flowers toppings!

Here are a few styles that have been done in the past for Valentine's Day!

Photography by Emilie Olson

Please place your orders by the end of the weekend, as Les Gâteaux Mignons requires a minimum of 2 weeks notice for all regular orders.

Cheers! xo

*Deal ends February 15th, 2012

Tuesday's Tune - January 24th, 2012

 Although this band started up in 1995, I started listening to them about 5-6 years ago, and with their reggae vibe, I instantly started digging them. Slightly Stoopid is an American band based out of Ocean Beach, San Diego, California. It's been said that they describe their music as "a fusion of acoustic rock and blues, with reggae, hip hop, and punk." The band is made up of 6 members, and they've proved their place in the music world by releasing 6 studio albums and 2 live albums over the past 17 years.

Today's tune is off their 7th album "Chronchitis" (released in August 2007), called 2 Am. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Cheers!

Mel's Meals - Roasted Garlic & Onion Hummus

Mel today's recipe is a little different. It doesn't exactly qualify as a meal, but more as an appetizer dip or sandwich spread! Humus is extremely easy to make, and quite healthy for you! It's great with veggies and pita, but also is great with chicken or as a mayo replacement in sandwiches.

Roasted Garlic & Onion Hummus

Ingredients

1 Medium to large sized Onion, halved (leave skin on)

5 Cloves of Garlic (leave skin on)

1 Can of Chickpeas

Juice of 1 fresh Lemon

1/3 Cup Chicken Stock

1 Tbsp of Tahini

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Preheat Oven at 350. Place the onion, and garlic cloves in a baking dish.

Drizzle with Olive oil and pour in the 1/3 of chicken stock

Bake Onion and Garlic for 50 Minutes

While the garlic and onion is cooking, drain the canned chickpeas and rinse in a strainer. Put the chickpeas in the food processor and leave aside.

After the onion and garlic is fully cooked, let cool. Once cooled, unskin and place them in the food processor.

 Combine the chickpeas, roasted garlic and onion, Tahini and lemon juice in the food processor.

Add salt & pepper and start on medium speed. Slowly add the olive oil (about 1/4-1/2 of a cup, until it's reached the right texture)

Note that you can play around with the salt and pepper to achieve your desired taste!

and done!

*Note that you can use a blender or hand blender if you do not own a food processor.

Lazy Sundays...

Well, can't believe the weekend is already over.... A nice relaxing one it was, but it somehow always feels too short!

Here's little Behr's new hair cut.....no laughing.

 

Cheers! 

RIP Etta James

Photo Credit: rollingstone.com





We lost another great one :(

Rest in Peace Etta James

Friday is hereyurrrr

Ah Friday, what a wonderful day of the week for all of us office folk! I'm looking forward to drinks tonight, and the thought of being able to sleep in past 6 am tomorrow, glorious! Behr's getting his hair cut tomorrow, should be hilarious, I'll refrain from laughing at him though, he gets all self-conscious ... poor tyke! (pictures for sure this weekend!)

Well Jenna has done it again, totally hilarious! I've actually never seen "Drunk Kitchen" but I'm thinking I should start watching it, if it's anything like hers, too funny! I actually enjoy having a few glasses of wine while I bake, it chills me out and gets me in the zone!

ENJOY YOUR FRIDAY!

Cheers!

Color me Crazy

Photography By: Emilie Olson

It sounds kinda lame, but I think part of what got me into cupcakes was the endless possibility of icing colors! When I see something with vibrant color, it gets me excited! (The little things in life eh?)
I knew that a basic white vanilla wouldn't do it for me! I started with a basic food coloring kit from your local grocery store, and soon moved to their "neon" brand, which made really awesome blues, greens, purples & pinks, and from there I discovered the magical world of Wilton!

Wilton has a great variety of icing colors to choose from, and you can always alter them, by either mixing colors together, or start by adding a little bit at a time to get the right shade! This works great when working with a client's party theme or edible vision!

Photo Credit: bakerskitchen.net

My goal for 2012 in the cupcake world, is to discover new brands similar to Wilton, and start exploring what they have to offer in colors, cupcake liners etc. I'm sure with a little digging I'll find some exciting new products!

Cheers xo

A bunch of Babies...

Well it seems that the majority of the people I know were born in January. In fact, some of my besties are fellow Capricorns like myself, and we're convinced that this is why we all get along so well! No joke, I can count 8 people just off the top of my head who's birthdays fall in the month of January, and therefore I got babies on my mind. Woah, woah, do not jump to conclusions, I in NO way mean I'm thinking of having children anytime soon (that would be bananas), but I'm thinking it's the perfect time to share my baby shower cupcakes with you!

These come in pastel yellow, purple, blue and of course, pink. I hand made the toppings out of modelling chocolate & fondant, so it makes them 100% edible! These cupcakes start at $3.00 a piece and can be purchased through Les Gâteaux Mignons.

Cheers!

Tuesday's Tune - January 17th, 2011

As mentioned in recent posts, I discovered a new band that I instantly fell in love with! There's something about finding new music, I get this rush of excitement, and feel the need to learn and discover everything this band or artist has to offer! I've come to realize as I get older, that everyone's taste and view on music is different.  I've realized for myself, it's a true passion and I couldn't live without it!

My newfound love is an alternative rock band from Irvine California, called Young The Giant. The band currently consists of 5 members, Sameer Gadhia (lead vocals & percussion), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar, vocals), Payam Doostzadeh (bass guitar), and François Comtois (drums, percussion, and Vocals). They released their debut album digitally on October 26, 2010, and then physically on January 25th, 2011. They became famous from their debut song "My Body", which is what lead me to discover them! While "My Body" is more rock and upbeat, I found the rest of the album to be more tame and mellow (which I love).

I decided to buy the "Special Edition album", which included Bonus songs. So glad I did, because today's tune is a bonus track!  I've included the studio recorded version, but also their video in "Open Session" (they did a bunch of videos literally out in the open and they're genius.) So much talent!

So without further ado, here is "Typhoon", by Young the Giant.  Enjoy!

Studio Recorded Version

Open Session

Cheers!



PS. JUST Bought tickets to Young The Giant... they're coming to Montreal March 3rd 9pm (thats a saturday night) at the Corona Theater, tickets are MAD cheap! Get eerrrr done!

Mel's Meals - Tuna Pesto Penne

Well Mel, today's meal can't get any easier. It's flavorful, light, and is ready under 20 minutes! It's a perfect dish for when you get home late, and aren't in the mood to cook up a storm. The left overs work great for lunch! This Tuna Penne is packed with bold basil and sun-dried tomato flavor! I found this recipe in a magazine and played around with it a bit! Enjoy!

Tuna Pesto Penne

Ingredients:

1 Can of Tuna in vegetable broth & oil (Do not drain)

1/3 Cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

2 Tbsp Pesto (fresh or pre-made)

2 Cups dry Penne Pasta

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Boil Penne until al dente, meanwhile chop up 1/3 cup of Sun-dried tomatoes.

Drain pasta and add the Pesto & Sun-dried tomatoes

Add in can of Tuna, do not drain! The oil & broth will add to the pesto sauce.

Top with Parmesan Cheese & serve!

Spoiled B

What a weekend! Or shall I say night, I'm still recovering from Friday night's birthday party! I turn 25 and all of a sudden I can't handle partying anymore? In my defense I'll say that the -23 weather isn't helping! I think I'm on to my 6th tea in the past 2 days.The outside temp makes me want to just curl up on the couch and watch movies. Hibernation mode, live!

It's actually super beautiful out today but I lasted a whole 10 minutes outside with Behr before my nose froze! Looks can be deceiving. 

My friends spoiled the crap out of me this birthday, really really unnecessary because just everyone together in the same room is enough for me! I am extremely thankful though for each gift that I received, so mucho gracias once again - Love you all!

Check out how cute these gifts were! Socks in the shape of a cupcake...so cute, what a genius idea! My other girlfriend got me these adorable cupcake tea towels! Love!

Cheers!

Fridizzle

Well we made it! First full week back after the holidays, never easy! Yesterday's snow storm was quite something....today isn't looking too promising either unfortuntately. I'm 100% ready for spring/summer now, let's pray for an early one!

As usual, here's your friday Jenna Marbles video! Drive safe people!!

Cheers xo

Quarter of a Century

Well today is my 25th birthday! Pretty exciting I guess, I mean to me age is just simply a number. I'm not one of those people who freaks out that "I'm getting older" each birthday. (Maybe that'll change when I hit 40...)
My mom started off my birthday dinner convo last night by saying "Wow, when I was 25 I left my life in Montreal to move to Central America with this rich Texan...", I said well you beat me mom because my 25th clearly isn't going to be that exciting! Then again, I picked up my first loto ticket of 2012 yesterday, so you never know! ;-)

My girlfriend and fashion blogger for Fashion Mint, sent me this cute link to a clutch the other day. If I was loaded and thousands were pocket change for me, I would totally buy myself this for my birthday! Check out how cute this is!

Photo Credit: Harrods.com



This is a Judith Leiber sequin Cupcake Clutch for £3,950.00, at Harrods.

It's also my best friend's birthday today. Not only were we randomly born the same day, but our parents shared the same hospital room! How crazy is that!? We became good friends in high school, and I find we share this weird ESP birth connection! Happy Birthday Gen!

Cheers! xo

Small Spaces

They say that good things come in small packages, and well, great cupcakes come out of my extremely small production space! I currently work out of my studio sized apartment. I can't say that it's not challenging working in such a small space, especially with next to nothing storage. As a baker, I go through tons of sugar & flour, and ideally I'd love to buy my ingredients in bulk, but unfortunately due to lack of storage space, I have to stick with the regular sizes. Just like I dream of my perfect cupcake café, I also dream of the perfect stock room! I would kill it with organization! (slightly OCD)

Now that you've seen the size of my kitchen, you can understand why I require 3 weeks’ notice for orders! I've had to turn down orders before because people ask me literally days before. Sometimes it works out that I'm free and able to do it, but most of the time I already have orders lined up, which makes it impossible to tackle multiple orders in that small space with no notice! Having to say no to somebody, is probably one of the worst feelings I've experienced, but at the same time I need to stick to my guns and respect my policy!

Tuesday's Tune - January 10th, 2012

Photo Credit: google.ca

Christmas night we were all chilling at my buddies apartment having a few drinks and listening to music (the usual) and I requested to hear "You Da One" by Rihanna. I ended up getting up as the song started to make another drink and ended up getting distracted in the kitchen, missing most of the song. When I got back I made the statement that I wasn't that into it. My friend looked at me and said no no, listen to it again, it's sick and you're going to love it. I said ok ok, but then forgot about it, until she reminded me to get on it and listen to it again this weekend. I YouTubed it yesterday and obviously fell in love. Who was I kidding? I pretty much love all of Rihanna’s songs, why would this one be any different? After replaying it a few times on repeat, I'm totally obsessed, you called it Lindz! Sick song.

Born in Barbados, Rihanna moved to the US when she was 16 to pursue a music career. It wasn't long after that she was signed with Def Jam Recordings. After selling over 20 million albums and more than 60 million singles, she's considered one of the bestselling artists of all time. She now has 6 albums under her belt and I'm sure that's just the beginning! I can't really even count my favorites from her, she has too many! No doubt in my mind that her latest "You Da One", has been added to that list.

Enjoy!

P.S I ended up buying Young The Giant's album, really fantastic! Definitely recommend it! The rest of their stuff on the album is a little slower than their debut hit "My Body", but I totally dig it! Stay tuned for a post on them soon!

Cheers!

Mel's Meals - Baked Tilapia

Mel! It's been awhile it seems since I've posted a recipe! Today is one that I've made for you before, I tweak it every time I make it, depending on what's in the fridge. It's yet again a really easy, healthy, and inexpensive dish to make. Tilapia is a very light tasting fish, it almost has zero flavor, and therefore you can really play around with it. For someone who isn't a fish fan, this white fish is the perfect dish to win them over!

Baked Tilapia

Ingredients:

1 Filet of Tilapia

8 Cherry Tomatoes, halved

1/3, chopped (any onion will do)

2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped  

1/4 of a Yellow Bell Pepper, diced

1 tsp Fresh Thyme

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Preheat Oven 350 degrees.

Prepare fish toppings. Dice pepper, chop onion & Garlic. Halve the Cherry tomatoes

Salt & Pepper the filet of Tilapia and cover the fish with all the ingredients from step one.

Add the fresh Thyme and pour olive oil over the fish.

Bake fish for 25 minutes, until flaky & pulled easily apart with a fork.

Serve with rice or salad & Enjoy!

Balls

Last year I was having trouble figuring out what I would make for 2 of my male friend's birthdays. Guys aren't really into the whole "cute" cupcake thing, so I had to think outside the box.  

I got this great cupcake book from my brother's girlfriend last Christmas. Just like cooking, I don't like copying the exact recipe, I enjoy making it my own. After going through the book, it gave me really great ideas to work with! I ended up doing billiard balls (also known as pool balls). The book called for sprinkles to make up the colors, but I found that fondant gave it a more professional and life like look. They turned out amazing and it was definitely a hit with all the guys that attended the party!

For other "male" cupcake ideas, refer back to my earlier post called "She Bakes, She Scores"!

Cheers

Where'd the day go?

Wow where did Saturday go? Why is it that work days we count the minutes, and yet weekends one minute it's 9 am and the next it's 6pm? Where did my day go!!? Ah well, so it goes.

So I'm much more familiar with Facebook, than I am with Twitter, but I've decided to add this to my list of New Years resolutions; brush up on my tweeting skills and be more Twitter savvy. 

 First step was updating my profile, this can be viewed on Twitter.com under @gateauxmignons. (I wasn't able to fit the "les" in there, in case you were wondering). 

If you're on twitter, FOLLOW ME YO!

It occurred to me that I never posted a picture of those cute cupcake liners that my girlfriend gave me a couple of weeks ago. They're really fun and spice up my average cupcake with white icing. Check it out!

 

Cheers xo

I dig it...

So I realized I didn't post a song this week so here's one that I'm totally obsessed with right now. To be honest, I know nothing about the band, I'll look into this and maybe find another great one for Tuesdays tune.

Love it.

   

Cheers

Fri to the Day

Friday! Totally doesn't feel like it for me since I'm all disoriented with my days from being off sick!
I don't think I'll be doing much this weekend other than resting, and hopefully getting outside for a nice walk, I heard it's going to be mild tomorrow! I'm ok with just relaxing and focusing on my health, because NEXT weekend will be a full out birthday celebration for moi and my 3 friends! Can't wait. Our birthdays are all around the same time, so we figure let's save the pain on our wallets and combine them into a giant party - works every year!


Here's the latest Jenna Marbles video, so much truth to her videos. Love that she did one on this subject!

Have a wonderful friday & a fantastic weekend! I'll be checking in on the weekend with some past work, so tune in!

Cheers!

Getting there...

Photography by Emilie Olson

Hello! It's been awhile I know... I finally saw a doctor that put me on these massive horse pills and an inhaler, the meds are finally kicking in and I'm slowly but surely starting to feel like myself again. I'm attempting to work in the office today but I don't know how long I will last, as it's not even 8 am and I'm sweating bullets again.


I'm excited to share a few new ideas with you all in the New Year, I've been thinking about a couple of spins on the average Cupcake that I think you'll all enjoy! So be sure to stay tuned for these new and exciting ideas!


Well, sadly that is all the energy I have for blogging today...(weak I know). For all of you who have been back on your regular schedules, you're allllmost there! Friday is around the corner!


Cheers xo