knit knit knit

7 Small Shawls: T - 192 days and counting down.

Today the reality of my secret project deadline hit me full force. And, I admit, I only knit four rows on my lovely shawl #3. I know I should have been doing my secret project more before this, but I so love my precioussssssssss beads and yarn. :sigh:

So today I have been knitting away on the secret, and not making much headway. On secrets such as these, I like to knit gigantic, family-sized swatches. Then I wash and block them and let them shrink or expand or do whatever they do when they sit around. It's one thing ending up with a product that doesn't fit when it's for your personal use and quite another when it needs to fit someone else's particular measurements exactly! I could always frog a project that doesn't fit me, or give it away. But that's not an option on this one.

So today, I'm afraid I have nothing exciting to show you. I hope you will forgive me, though, if I share my cupcake recipe with you. What do you think?

We always make this recipe for birthdays and special occasions around here because the Bear is allergic to dairy and egg whites, and this has neither. A bonus is that this is the absolute best chocolate cupcake recipe I've ever ever tasted. It is yummy, and it works great as a sheet cake, too! Just bake about 10-15 minutes longer.

The Bear's Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 24

Pre-heat oven to 350 F

Sift together and set aside in one bowl:

2 cups sugar

2-2/3 cups flour

2/3 cups powdered unsweetened cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

scant tsp salt

set aside in another bowl or large measuring cup:

2 cups cold water

2/3 cups olive or other vegetable oil (not extra-virgin)

2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp white vinegar

To a large bowl, add a portion of the dry mixture and a portion of the liquids. Mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients and liquids alternately, stirring thoroughly after each addition and keeping batter on the stiff side throughout the process, until all ingredients are used. End by using the rest of the liquids, as the batter will end very thin and you want to avoid lumps.

Pour batter into cupcake pans lined with paper or foil wrappers. Bake at 350 F for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool on rack. Frost with your favorite icing.

Enjoy! We do. :)