C&C Event: VCON 37

Our oven has been pretty bare lately. Because Mr. C and I have gotten pretty heavy into weight lifting (pun intended), we have very little room for carbs and sugars. Yes, we've baked the odd protein cookie (filled with whey and avocado - not something I would recommend for those of you who are used to your red velvets and whoopie pies), but I haven't had the will power to mix up anything that isn't fuel for my squats and deadlifts.

I will, however, always fire up the kitchen when the geeks come a-callin'. Especially when charity is involved. Forget silly birthday cupcakes or wedding cakes. This is what we truly love to do. So, without futher ado, we'd like to announce that C&C will indeed be back for VCON 37:

We'll be bringing in some long time favourites (Hogwarts Confections, Browncoat Bars), as well as new recipes (Walking Dead Cupcakes, Wookie Cookies). We'll be loading in for Sunday, September 30th at the Sheraton Guildford Hotel (in Surrey). Check out the VCON website for more deets. 

I'll make sure we update with all our nerdy treats. Now that we've taken some time to sit down and reflect, I've got to tell you, this is really what we love to do. No matter how busy we are, we will always make time for the amazing nerd and geek community that we've become a part of. Even if we're not baking for ourselves, we'll always bake for you. 

If you would like use to bake for your geeky charity event, just drop us an email and I'll plug you into our calender!

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

A lot of people say I'm lucky to be a teacher. "You get three months off during the year!" they tell me. I usually scoff. Three months off? When exactly would that be? I start work on August 15th. End work June 30th. That "time off" in between is used for some much needed reorganization, reworking, and replanning. You don't expect me to just teach the same thing in the same way every year, do you? New kids means new problems, new disabilities, and new ways of thinking. I need the summer to catch up.

Canada Day Tim Bit Cupcakes

There are some things in Canada that are sacred. Hockey, first and foremost. Next come our heroes: figures like Terry Fox, Rick Hansen, and Don Cherry (Sorry, gotta love the Grapes). Then it's our national dishes that we share (Nanaimo Bars, Butter Tarts, Poutine) and all that Can Con which spreads across our air waves (Corner Gas, Just for Laughs, Littlest Hobo). You Americans may have heard us name drop these things here and there, but I doubt you really know how close we hold them to our hearts. They are what separates us from, well, you.

There is one place that you have tried to bring across the border, but have failed multiple times. One house of Canadian worship that fuels our souls and hearts. It gives us shelter at 4am before hockey practice, and keeps us going throughout those long winter nights.

Morning Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan and GF)

My legs have decided to take on a mind of their own. They refuse to move under my command and would much rather lounge about while sucking mercilessly on a bottle of ibuprofen. They scream when I try to take a few steps. If I manage to retain  a sort of shambling walking speed, trying to slow down or turn seem to be impossible for them.

I wasn't in any accident or trama. I simple took part in one of the best experiences Vancouver has to offer.

Six hours. Over one hundred teams of two. Fifteen secret locations. And a whole lot of running.

Lemon Rosemary Zucchini Cake

Well then. It's been over a month.

Don't worry. I didn't keel over. Nor did Mr. C. Nor did our little sunflower plants. It was all in my head really.

You might have read about my brand new health problems that I mentioned in the last post. Afterwards, I received some emails from some baking buddies. They were worried. Actually far more worried then I was. And that was sweet. It made me feel loved. (You guys are such darlings).

But that got me thinking. Was I truly healthy?

Vegan Cheerio PB Banana Cookies

We've been a bit AWOL lately. If you've connected with our facebook and twitter, I've mentioned that I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately. And by "bit under the weather", I mean that a large percentage my blood went missing. Mysteriously.

Ginger Carrot Cupcakes

There's foil wrappers scattered across the floor. Cadbury creme is covering every flat surface in your house. You are slumped in a corner, probably in a sugar induced coma. If you have children, they are currently climbing the walls. Literally. Why? Why oh why oh why?

Matzo Cardamom Cake

I know this weekend is full of bunnies and eggs and chocolate for most of you, but I thought I'd look on the other side of things. Passover began Friday night and, though there is no giant marshmallow-pooping bunny, food is involved. Seriously, food is all you do for the first two nights - you can't go to work, drive, or even switch on electrical devices, but you can eat. Oh man can you ever eat.

District Twelve's Apple Goat Cheese Muffins

I was out of the country when the Hunger Games came out, which was a disappointment. If only because I couldn't totally geek out at the midnight premier. Yep, I'm one of those. Did it with Harry Potter. Did it with Christopher Nolan's Batman series. Wanted to do it with the Hunger Games. But I had to go to stupid Paris. Jeez.

Leftover Mashed Potato Cupcakes (and Paris)

Instead of throwing down lovingly crafted paragraphs about our trip to Paris, I thought it might benefit the masses if I just simply put it all in list form. Because, seriously, who has the time?

1.) Paris is fun. Paris with a horrible plague flu? Not so much fun. (Yeah, I was actually sick the entire time we were in Paris. I was so hopped up on meds that most of it is pretty fuzzy. I may or may not have done some things I'm not proud of.)

Guest Post: Lemon Mousse Verine

Jackie from Galexi Cupcakes is a sweetheart and a total darling. Seriously, you can't not love her. Especially when she bakes up cakes like this or this or this. I seriously want to smush my face into every one of those. Rude, I know. But my animalistic instincts totally take over when I go through her blog. I'm only human.

We're very lucky that Jackie was able to stop by and create something spectacular for us. Thanks, my brotha from anotha motha!

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Hi Everyone,

My name is Jackie from Galexi Cupcakes & Sweets and I have been lucky enough to be invited by Courtney to share one of my desserts on Courtney's blog.  It really is an honor to be guest posting on this great blog. I don’t have to tell any of you what an incredibly generous and crazy person she is. I love her sense of humor and her desserts are so original and they look amazingly delicious.
 
For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, I am a full-time working mom and wife and I have a major sweet tooth, I have the cavities to prove it. I blog because I like writing and I want to document my recipes for my daughters.  Having said that, when Courtney asked me to guest post, I didn’t have to think twice about it.  It had to be a Parisian dessert in honor of Courtney's trip to Paris.  No brainer! I came up with Lemon Mousse Verrine!  I really hope you like it!

Guest Post: White Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Lizzy is quite the busy bee - she runs a blog that's chock full of tastiness, she's super active in the foodie blogger community (I'm sure she's posted a comment on your blog at least once or twice), and she participates in online challenges like Daring Bakers and French Fridays with Dorie (both which scare the bejesus out of me). I was really lucky that she found time in her busy schedule to prepare a beautiful guest post for us. Yep, while I'm passed out after our trip, in a daze and wondering what time/day/year it is, Lizzy is hard at work, baking up a storm. A really really delicious storm.

Thanks Lizzy!

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Mmmmm....creamy custard with sweet crusty topping~

Guest Post: Coconut Mojito Crepe Cake

Gina really is a cookie queen. And a cake queen. Just a queen of food in general. We were very lucky to catch Ms. Gina, who is in the middle of a grand move to a new abode. I'm not sure when she created the masterpiece you see below - I'd like to think she's a MacGyver-like baker who baked up this cake on the hood of her U-Haul. I can just see her, flipping crepes with one hand and whipping up cream with the other while, driving with one foot and trying to stop Hot Dog Dude snoring in the front seat.

She is totally Wonder Woman. 

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Guest Post: Kool-Aid Lemonade Macarons With Grape Kool-Aid Buttercream filling

I have a serious baker crush on our next guest poster. She is nuts - like, more so than I am. And I'm totally jealous. Her brain works in weird and mysterious ways. It has to, because some of the bake goods she comes up will are the work of a mad genius. Or a Mad Hausfrau (hur hur see what I did there?).

So, my dear Lora, thank you so much for blessing us with a bit of your sweet craziness. You seriously inspire me with your unique flavour combos, recipes, and disco dust. So much disco dust.

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Guest Post: Croissants

Leanne is an awesome lady from my hood. Seriously, I'm pretty sure she lives just up the road from me. We met on one occasion - she was selling sweets at the local baker's market and I was stuffing my face. That's usually how I roll, though. We bought the best whoopie pie I've ever had from this lady - it was soft and creamy and I had to sit down and take a time out afterwards. Man oh man.

So thank you Leanne for your lighthearted take on baking. We should totally hang out, VanCity style.

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I've been lied to my entire life about how difficult croissants are, about how they never turn out right and are too time consuming and finicky.

Bon Voyage!

If you haven't heard on our facebook or twitter, then you've definitely missed some news. Huge news. Gigantic news. Nouvelles énormes. 

Mr. C and I are finally jumping over to France. Paris, more specifically. While Mr. C will be chowing down on garlicky and buttered snails and I will be repeating "Je suis une végétalien. Je ne mange pas la viande, les poissons, le beurre, ou la crème" over and over again, several very talented bakers will be flexing their culinary muscles for you on this very blog. Exciting, no? Here's who will be gracing this blog in the next couple of weeks:

Leanne Bakes

Diary of a Mad Hausfrau

SPCookieQueen

That Skinny Chick Can Bake!

Galexi Cupcakes & Sweets

Now then, I've got some serious jet lag for prepare for. Also, does anyone know what vegans eat in France? Because I'm a little frightened. 

Irish Seed Cakes

In my last post I mentioned how I'm not so keen on all these St. Patty's day recipes popping up over the internet. Many of the are green - and not in a yummy spinach sort of way. A lot of them call for assorted booze, which is kinda weird, because I'm pretty sure Mr. C didn't go around chugging Baileys and Guinness when he visited his home country. Believe it or not, he told me that the night life drink of choice is either Budweiser or Vodka/Red Bull. Weird, huh?

Apple Meringue Tarts

Over the weekend, my internet disappeared. Well, not so much "disappeared" as "turned on and off incessantly until finally blowing up my poor laptop".

It really got ugly all up in here.

Sweet Milk Tea Cupcakes

After the popularity of our last nerdy treats, I thought I might share with you another sweet we created for our last convention. There are two main pieces to this cupcake puzzle: Pocky and Milk Tea.

Pocky, as far as I can tell, are little biscuit sticks that are dipped in a chocolaty substance. They're . . . okay. The crunch is satisfying, yes. But, that's about it. The Japanophiles go crazy for the stuff, though. I saw a man toss a package into a crowd, only for it to be torn to bits by kids dressed as assorted Pokemon. Whatever the obsession, it does make a this cupcake a little cuter.

Milk tea comes in tiny packages - open one up, pour it into a cup of boiling water, and you magically have a perfect cup of tea. Filled with tons of sugar. And cream. See? Magic. You may have had milk tea in bubble form, but this time it's in the form of a pretty awesome cupcake.

Nyan Cat Poptart Cookies

I'm going to admit something to you all. I'm actually a bit embarrassed about it. Here it goes:

I really like cute things.

The Dude's White Russian Cupcakes

I've been Lebowskiing the last couple of weeks.

You know. Just sort of sitting back. Going with the flow. Letting worries wash right over you. Like a ferret in a bathtub.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

I woke up. Went to work. Got a headache. Went to the gym. Deadlifted. Ate some soup.

That was my Valentine's Day.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

I love little chocolate truffles. They're so goddamn satisfying. Taking a nibble and letting the silky flavours melt in your mouth is seriously an out of body experience. And, I will admit, it's hard to recreate that flavour perfection at home. Chocolatiers work for years to create flawless orbs of chocolate deliciousness. How can we compete with that at home?

Pineapple Gem Muffins

Let's talk jewelry.


I'm pretty sure a large percentage of you (probably the percentage with boobs) have been eyeing something sparkly this month. Perhaps a couple of hints have been dropped to your better half. Or perhaps you've just outright blurted that you will be requiring a big ol' diamond for Valentine's Day. But let's settle down for a moment and take a look at this situation from a scientific point of view:

Spelt Quick Bread

The Super Bowl mystifies me. It's constantly the most watched American television program in the world (which, I guess I understand, considering the other sort of television that's on the air). But why? Are there really that many football fans out there? I doubt it. I would bet good money that almost half of the people watching the game today hasn't even watched a regular season game this year. I bet you more than half couldn't name you more than five players on each team.

(Gluten Free) Chocolate Chickpea Cupcakes

I call these treats "Love Yourself Cupcakes".

No, not in that way. Pervert.

Strawberry Love Muffins

Do you and your significant other ever slip into a little baby talk? Admit it. Don't be embarrassed. I'm convinced that a good amount of couples do. Not in public (hopefully). No, I expect these little coos and goos come from behind closed doors. And I expect cuddling is involved as well. Gross.

Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

It's such a pleasure living in a large, multicultural city. If you have a craving for injera, you only have to go a couple of blocks in either direction to stuff your face. We've got parades for every festival you could ever dream up. You can go down any main street at two in the morning and hit at least seventeen open sushi bars. We've got multiculturalism up the ying yang. I mean, check out this proud Vancouverite:

Vegan California Cookies (with pistachio, clementines, and agave nectar)

It's about minus sixteen around here right now. We've got snow. We've got freezing rain. We've got something called an arctic outflow. God knows what that is. And this isn't even the worse part of Canada; In Calgary, it dropped down to minus fifty-seven with the wind chill. That's right. Minus fifty-seven. Your skin would freeze off your face in less than fifteen seconds. 

Screw being anti-stereotypical. Canada is goddamn cold. 

Coffee and Doughnut Cupcakes

Last week we had a lot of fun with doughnuts. Four dozen doughnuts worth of fun, really. But, in the end, I felt guilty. Maybe it was because we ate almost half of them for breakfast. Or maybe it was because I pawned off the other half on my friends so they could eat them for breakfast. No matter how much brainwashing Tim Horton's has put you through, you have to admit on essential truth about doughnuts: They are not meant to be eaten before noon. Yep, those bear claws and jelly doughnuts you chowed down on this morning were totally not appreciated by your gut.

But I've got a loophole for you. And it's name is coffee.

Cake Doughnuts

There are two types of doughnuts. Well, I'm sure there are more than two types. But I like to be dramatic. Anyway, were was I? Oh yes. Doughnuts.

Bacon Jam and Buttermilk Biscuits

I've been seeing a lot of dazed people at my gym lately, walking around aimlessly. I assume these are those fabled New Years Resolutioners who are getting their buns in gear this month. You know, the "I promise to get my 30 minutes of excise a day" or "I'm going to eat healthy" people. I have mixed feelings about these poor souls: It's wonderful that they want to make a change in their lives. But I'm not sure they're going about it the right way.

Journey Around the World (of Cake): Greek New Years Cake - Vasilopita

We're old. Not old by usual standards, mind you. To most, Mr. C and I are still young whipper snappers (does anyone say that anymore?). But, in our own little private world, we are, without a doubt, old. Gone are the days of bar hopping, drinking until wee hours of the night , and barfing into your friend's houseplant. Gone are the days of sleeping in until mid-afternoon and doing nothing buy playing video games for the rest of the day. Gone are the days when we could survive on nothing but stir fry and, my personal favourite, "Soup On Rice" (it's exactly how it sounds). Now, all we do is complain about "those darn kids" and their "fixed speed bikes" and "hipster mustaches".