Cupcake MAGIC

Earlier this week, my friend Chris and I took advantage of a Living Social deal and attended a cupcake making class hosted by the founder of Cake Love, Warren Brown.

Come to me, my pretties....

I fancy myself an experienced baker, but I'm always looking to try new recipes and learn some tricks and tips. Especially with cupcakes, which are basically one of the most perfect food items ever invented. It's cake that fits in your hand. What's not to love?

Now I know what you are thinking. "But Maggie, I thought you were on a diet? What are you doing making and eating cupcakes." Here's what I think about that. You can't deprive yourself forever. You have to let yourself indulge every now and again or you will go crazy. Also life is not worth living without cupcakes. Oh, and I did a double workout that day so shut your cupcake hole.

Chris and I arrived at Living Social's building on 918 F Street for the class at 6:30. Turns out they have a pretty sweet kitchen set-up in there, and our baking station was all ready for our arrival with our ingredients for the first recipe (lemon cupcakes--yum!). Warren introduced himself, gave us some background about Cake Love (he quit being a lawyer back in 2000 to follow his dream of opening a bakery which is now celebrating it's 10 year anniversary) . He then did a demo of the recipe, explaining all the steps and providing some interesting information about why we do certain things in a certain order when baking. In his words, "baking is science and art." The science is how the ingredients combine, and the art comes from the baker himself.

And then it was our turn to make the cupcakes! I have to confess, it was WAY easier baking when someone has laid out all the ingredients for you in pre-measured amounts and is waiting to whisk away your dirty dishes and clean them for you. It was like baking on a tv show with assistants to do our every bidding.

As for the results....well, I can't lie. I was skeptical. Like I said, I consider myself an experienced baker. So I wasn't convinced working from the Cake Love recipe was going to make a difference. But holy moly you guys--these lemon cupcakes were possibly the best cupcakes I have ever tasted (I have a particularly strong memory of a Georgetown Cupcake chocolate peppermint cupcake one holiday season). But I am now a convert--this lemon cupcake recipe is amazing! I went ahead and put all the recipes we were provided at the end of the post.

While the lemon cupcakes were baking, it was time to turn to the frosting! Again, I was skeptical. I tend to rely on store frosting since it just seems too time consuming to make my own. And when I heard we were making buttercream I was even more unsure. I tend to go more for the light whipped frostings, and buttercream can be too heavy and too sweet for my tastes.

I was so wrong.

The buttercream recipe we used is a cooked meringue, which basically means you whip egg whites into stiff peaks, add some boiling sugar (which "cooks" the meringue) and then a ton of butter. The whipped egg whites keep the frosting super light and frothy, and the sugar and butter just make it everything delicious. The recipe itself is a bit time consuming since you need to whisk the egg white for a quite a while. And I wouldn't say it's easy--despite the few steps, things need to happen at very specific times for the it to come out correctly. But this is where the science and art come together!

Whip it good!

Now that is a lot of frosting. We made one batch for everyone at our table--which means enough to frost 8 dozen cupcakes. 

Due to the time limitations of the class, we didn't have time to whip the frosting until it had completely cooled. So we cheated a bit by pouring it into huge bowls and popping it in the refrigerator. Then it was time to turn to the chocolate cupcakes! Could they possibly compare to the lemon ones??

The recipe for the chocolate cupcakes is very simple; Warren Brown's baking philosophy is to use natural simple ingredients without any preservatives or shortcuts. And the chocolate cupcakes were total winners--very different from the lemon cupcakes, which had more of a dense texture, the chocolate ones were light and fluffy with an amazing deep chocolatey taste. The coco powder that we used was a higher percentage of coco than your typical powder which I think made a big difference. Warren Brown also recommended switching to using a food scale to measure your dry ingredients (you'll notice that the recipes below often refer to ounces rather than cups). Apparently, this makes for a more exact combination of ingredients.

All in all, the cupcake class was a complete and utter success. Though it was a bit expensive ($39), it was a super fun 3 hours, and we walked home with one dozen cupcakes and two large containers of frosting. Cupcakes like these go for over $3 a pop, so when you think about it like that, we got a good deal with the the fun and instruction added to the mix.

No whisk, bowl, or spatula was left unlicked that day.

Lemon Cupcakes
Yield: One Dozen Cupcakes

1/2 oz. Vegetable shortening (or palm kernal oil)
3 oz. Unsalted butter
10.5 oz. Super fine granulated sugar
1 Lemon (zest and segments)
1 Large egg
2 Small egg yolks
6.25 oz. All-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Cake flour
1/8 teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
4 oz. Sour cream
2 tablespoons Whole milk
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Dark rum
1 tablespoon Canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Zest lemon and segment the fruit and combine with all wet ingredients.
3. Cream butter and sugar in the mixer on low speed.
4. Add eggs, a few at a time, until fully combined.
5. Scrape bowl.
6. On low speed, add the dry and wet ingredients alternatively.
7. Turn off the mixer and scrape bowl.
8. Mix on speed 2 for 60 seconds to thoroughly combined all ingredients.
9. Spray cupcake tins with nonstick spray and fill liners.
10. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.


Cooked Meringue Buttercream

Yield: enough for 12 cupcakes

5 eggs (large)
10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) extra-fine granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup water
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

Set out the ingredients and equipment. Separate the eggs and place the whites in the bowl of the standing mixer fitted with a wire whip attachment. Reserve the yolks for another use.

Measure 1 cup of the sugar into a heavy-bottomed 1-quart saucepan with 1/4 cup water. Gently stir to combine; I use the candy thermometer for this. Leave the candy thermometer in the saucepan, numbers facing down to balance the thermometer.

Measure the 1/4 cup sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Cut the butter into tablespoon-size pieces and set aside in a medium bowl.

Begin making the sugar syrup. Place the saucepan with the sugar and water over medium-high heat. Partially cover with a lid to capture the evaporating water -- this helps to moisten the sides of the saucepan to prevent sugar crystals separating from the syrup.

Begin whipping the egg whites to stiff peak in a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment set to high speed. When the whites are at stiff peak you have a meringue. Keep the mixer running and pour the 1/4 cup of sugar into the meringue. Raise the heat to bring the syrup to 245 degrees if it is not there already.

When the syrup is at 245 degrees, remove the thermometer and slowly pour the syrup into the meringue. When pouring, keep your eye on the bowl. Aim for the space between the mixer bowl and the revolving wire whip. To maintain the same rate of pouring, pour slowly and raise the saucepan from your shoulder. Twisting at the wrist or elbow tends to throw off my aim.

After 1 to 2 minutes reduce the speed to medium for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the meringue is cooled. Add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to high for one to two minutes to fully combine the butter with the meringue.


Chocolate Cupcakes
Yield: One dozen cupcakes

3 oz. Butter
7 oz. Sugar
2 Eggs
3.5 oz. All-purpose flour
1 oz. Coco powder
3/4 teaspoon Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Milk
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1. Combine all the wet ingredients together.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients together.
3. Cream butter and sugar.
4. Add eggs.
5. Alternatively add dry and wet ingredients into mixture.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Me, Chris, and Mr. Warren Brown!

Introduction to the Maggie Cats Bookclub: How Novel!

I'm introducing a new regular feature here on my blog, mostly because I think it would be fun, but also because it will make for an interesting reading and writing project.

The Maggie Cats Bookclub: How Novel! 

I'll be reading my way through selections from the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels List (both the Board's selections and the reader picks), and writing up posts with my thoughts. It will probably break down to approximately three to four posts per book, but obviously that depends on the length of the selection.

Let's just clear this up right now: epic tomes like Ulysses or Anna Karenina ain't happening. I so don't have the time for that.

But there are a bunch of other books on the lists that I have always wanted to read and some that I am eager to revisit. Looking over the list I was honestly surprised by how many I have already read--looks like a public school education is good for something after all. But with more than 20 years having gone by, it will be fun to reread some of the books.

This will also present an opportunity for you all to read along with me! I'll announce what book is the subject of a post and how far I will be reading before the next write-up. If there is sufficient interest, maybe we can even organize an online chat to discuss aspects of the book with one another and I can put a copy of the transcript up here on the blog.

But even without an outside participation, I think this is going to be an interesting (and challenging) experiment. Will the celebrated novels live up to their reputation? How different will my adult perspective be on the books I read when I was a teenager? And can I honestly stick with the consistent blogging? Only time will tell!

The first book selection is.....(drum roll please).....1984 by George Orwell.

I've never read this one, but am eager to see what kind of totalitarian dystopian future Orwell predicted in his landmark novel. Can it rival The Hunger Games? Let's all keep our fingers crossed for a good love triangle in there somewhere.

If you want to read along, I'll be reading Part One of the book and planning to write up a discussion around the middle of next week. If you are interested in chatting about it, let me know!

Until then....happy reading!

Hungry Girl Fettuccini Chick-Fredo

Remember a few weeks ago when I was talking about how I loved all things delicious and creamy? Chicken fettuccine alfredo was pretty much my go-to Italian restaurant choice....that is until I discovered I was lactose intolerant and started dieting. No more alfredo for me.

But I'm not the type of person that gives up easily. So I was determined to find a version of the recipe that would fit in my with low calorie diet AND not contain a ton of cheese that would bother my tummy. A small amount is ok, especially with a Lactaid chaser.

A few months ago, I discovered Hungry Girl. She takes classic recipes (and your favorite comfort foods) and makes lower calorie version using a few key substitutions. Two things that she constantly recommends and uses in her recipes are:

1) House Foods Tofu Shirataki noodles; and,

2) Laughing Cow light spreadable cheese wedges.

The cheese wedges I was familiar with and have enjoyed in the past. At only 35 calories they make a perfect snack accompaniment. Now the noodles? Never heard of them. But Hungry Girl raves about them--apparently they taste like real full carb pasta, but the entire package has only 20 calories.

No, I didn't forget a zero in the above sentence. 20 calories. For the entire package.

But would it really taste like pasta? And can an alfredo substitute that is made with only 1 teaspoon fat-free sour cream, 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan, and a Laughing Cow cheese wedge, really hit the spot??

Well, yes. Yes it can.

Now, let me give you the whole truth here. This is not as creamy or cheesy as a big steaming plate of fettuccine alfredo from a restaurant. Of course it's not, it's diet foot. But does it hit the spot? Absolutely. The noodles are a little more slippery and springy than regular pasta, but honestly? It was delicious, and hello, only 20 calories. I would use this as a pasta substitute every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Literally. I would eat it twice on Sunday no problem.

And the best part? The serving size is listed by Hungry Girl as the "entire recipe." That's right, you get the full package of noodles, 5 ounces of chicken, and a cheese sauce that will fill up your entire plate. There's not going to be sauce dripping off your noodles or anything (it's more like an overall creaminess for the noodles), but it gets the job done and is honestly delicious. If you really can't do without more of a cream feeling, consider adding an extra cheese wedge, which will only add an extra 35 calories to the recipe.

As pictured: 260 calories. Yes, you read that right. This whole big plate of creamy noodles and chicken is only 260 calories. And trust me, that is a big dinner plate. 

Final note, I was a bit worried about locating the noodles since they seem like a specialty item. I was able to find them in the vegan/vegetarian refrigerator case in Wegman's and according to the company website, you can also find them at Wholefoods, or at lots of online food shops.

Bottom line: if you are a pasta fan who is counting calories, FIND THE TOFU NOODLES. Seriously, they will change your life. And the whole recipe is definitely a winner.

Hungry Girl Fettuccine Chick-Fredo (follow the link for a microwave version of the recipe, I cooked it using the stove)

Ingredients

1 package House Foods Tofu Shirataki noodles, Fettuccine Shape
1 wedge The Laughing Cow cheese, Light Original Swiss
2 tsp. fat-free sour cream
2 tsp. reduced fat grated Parmesan cheese
5 oz. skinless chicken breast; grilled with nonstick spray only (I used two chicken tenders)
Optional: salt, pepper, and paprika

Directions

Drain and rinse noodles well. Dry noodles thoroughly (use paper towels to soak up as much moisture as possible) and use a knife or scissors to slice them up a bit. They can be really long, so make sure you cut them!

Spray frying pain with nonstick spray. Salt and pepper chicken, add to pan over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes. Flip chicken and cook an additional 4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and slice into strips.

Respray pan, reduce heat to medium, and add sourcream, parmesan, and cheese wedge. Top with noodles and mix until cheese has melted. Add chicken, mix further, and put on your plate. Enjoy!

Serving Size: Entire recipe
Calories: 259
Fat: 5.75g
Sodium: 472mg
Carbs: 11g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 39g

 *5 Points!

Helo at Hilo

After our first Maui adventure, the Celebrity Solstice headed for the Big Island, i.e. Hawai'i. I was SUPER excited about this stop on our cruise since I was planning to scratch an item off my bucket list.

Flying in a helicopter over a volcano.

I would say this is item three or so on the list (after seeing the Aurora Borealis and Paul McCartney in concert), so getting the chance to take it off the list is kind of a big deal. Turns out Hilo is a mecca for helicopter tours and it has a small airport that most of the companies operate out of.

But first! Interesting facts!

Hawai'i is the largest and the southeastern-most of the Hawaiian islands. It is known as the "Big Island" to reduce confusion between island and the state. Hawaiʻi was the home island of Paiʻea Kamehameha, later known as Kamehameha the Great. Kamehameha united most of the Hawaiian islands under his rule in 1795, after several years of war, and gave the kingdom and the island chain the name of his native island.

The Island of Hawaiʻi is built from five separate shield volcanoes that erupted somewhat sequentially, one overlapping the other. Two of them are currently active, Mauna Loa and Kīlauea.  Kilauea is the volcano that we flew across, it has been erupting continuously since 1983 and is part of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

After the ship docked, we were just a quick cab ride away from Hilo Airport and then it was just a matter of finding the right company's tour desk. We had arranged to fly in a four seater helicopter (well, five with the pilot) and the company had to weigh us to determine the best distribution of our weight in the copter. After that bit of humiliation (thankfully they didn't announce our weight or anything like that), we were sent back to a little waiting room to watch a safety video and wait for the helicopter to return from the earlier morning tour.

We then walked over to the airfield, suited up with a floatation packet that wrapped around our waist and a headphone/microphone combination, and watched the helicopters fly back in. I have to admit at this point that I was starting to get a little nervous. Not terrified or anything, and more excited than scared, but still. My stomach was definitely doing a little tango.

But then it was time to climb into the helicopter, take our places and prepare for take-off. We were lucky in several ways: it wasn't actively raining right where we were (the side of Hilo with the airport is one of the wettest places in the US), and we were able to see real, red flowing lava! According to the pilot, that's actually pretty rare.

The view was not what I expected. Instead of your cliche cone-shaped volcano with lava pouring down the sides....

....Kīlauea is more like a huge gradually inclining lava field. I think the lava bubbles up from cracks in the earth itself (instead of the flowing out of the tip of a mountain), and gradually makes its way down to the ocean. It releases huge steam clouds when it hits the water, and results in Hawaii being the only state that is actually getting bigger every year! When the lava cools...presto, more land.

Lava steaming as it hits the ocean!

LAVA!

After spending a lot of time flying over the lava and the spot where it hits the ocean, we turned back towards the city of Hilo and flew over some beautiful waterfalls. The pilot was very chatty, as were we, and according to him we were one of the most fun groups he has ever had. I am sure he says that to all the girls, but he made a point of telling us that the group immediately before us rode in almost total silence...which is pretty boring for him. I think he appreciated all our bad jokes. And Monique's squeals of terror whenever he would quickly turn the copter. As for me, as soon as we got into the air, all my fear immediately evaporated and I just enjoyed the hell out of the ride.

We were totally the most fun group.

But it turns out our adventure wasn't over. When we got back to the ground we figured it would be a piece of cake to grab a cab to take us back to the port area. It was an airport, there are always cabs at an airport, right?

WRONG.

After waiting 15 minutes and seeing zero cabs, I started calling around to local taxi companies. It was a Sunday and the first one I called didn't operate on Sundays (....ok) and the second one the woman was downright rude to me. Apparently she has driven out to the airport to pick up people before and they have gotten other cabs before she got there and just left. My assurances that we would wait for her were not sufficient for her to "waste the gas to get out there." So she hung up on me. Now that's customer service!

At this point we were approaching the 45 minute mark of waiting. Kent and Monique went off to see if any of the rental car shuttles would be willing to take us (no dice), but then they noticed a car dropping off a guy at the curbside for a flight. In typical Kent fashion, he walked right up to the driver and told him we would pay $20 if they would give us a ride back to the port.

And that's how we ended up essentially hitchhiking with a very nice young stereotypically hippie stoner twenty-something couple. They did not rob, attack, or otherwise harm us, and were instead super fun and lovely to talk to. They were basically the poster children for stoner beach bums though. We had a laugh over that, believe me. No doubt what they were going to spend the $20 on. And it makes for a nice story, right? Don't tell me Mom though.

After getting back to the port, I decided to spend some time on the nearly-empty ship relaxing and taking advantage of the empty chairs in the solarium. Awwww....now that's a vacation. Later that night, around 10:30, the ship ended up sailing past the part of the island where the lava hits the ocean; the same part we had flown over earlier that day. We got some stunning photos of the lava at night. At least I did. The old ladies who were standing next to me and didn't know how to operate their digital cameras...not so much. But I did them a solid and took pictures with their cameras for all of them. Even the one who was standing on a chair behind me and figured it was ok to put her hand on my head to help her keep her balance. It's called personal space, lady.

Ooooooh, cool!

 Moe and I are ready for the helicopter!

 Kent and I held down the backseats of the copter.

 Looking out over the lava field.

 Pretty waterfalls!

 Hey, that's our ride!

Macademia nut fields near Hilo.

Coming up next time, snorkeling adventure and dolphins on the other side of Hawai'i!

An Evening with Neil Gaiman

On Friday night, Politics & Prose bookstore hosted Neil Gaiman at GW's Lisner Auditorium as part of his book tour for the newly released novel, Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Neil Gaiman is hands down my favorite author. If you aren't familiar with his work, then clearly something is wrong with you. Just kidding, but seriously, he is a genius and a true storyteller. I've scoured the internet to try to find a description of his style and genre that can express what reading his books feels like...and the closest I have found is a snippet from a review of the new novel from The Times in London. "His prose is simple but poetic, his world strange but utterly believable - if he was South American we would call this magic realism rather than fantasy."

Magic realism--I like that. It's typically used to describe South American authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but wikipedia defines the term as "magic elements are a natural part in an otherwise mundane, realistic environment."  This is Neil Gaiman to a tee. He is a master at setting atmosphere, of the creepy, of the extraordinary, of the funny, and making you feel. With a few monsters thrown in for good measure.

I was lucky enough to see him last year in September, and when I heard he would be returning to DC on his current tour, I snapped up a bunch of tickets for me and my friends as soon as I could. We gathered in the Lisner Auditorium on the GW campus along with 1,000 other fans to hear Neil read from the new book and answer audience questions. He was his typical rumpled, brilliant, quietly hilarious self. He began by telling us that he would sign books after his talk for as long as it took to get to everyone....but asked us to allow those who are disabled or pregnant to come to the front of the line so they wouldn't have to stand for hours. How can someone be that talented AND so nice? Not fair, man.

Apparently, his adding pregnant women to the list of those who could jump the line stems from an appearance he made in 2003 in the Philippines. Over 3,000 people came to hear him speak and have their books signed. After autographing books for 6 hours, there were still over 1,000 people waiting in line. He spotted two pregnant ladies waiting, and asked the event organizers to bring them to the head of the line. When another woman who had been waiting her time finally reached the signing table, he asked her why she hadn't come up with the other pregnant women. "No, I'm just fat" she told him. He told us "I never wanted to die as much as I did at that moment."

Before beginning to read from The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil told us a bit about the process of writing the novel. It was more or less accidentally written--it began when he missed his wife, musician Amanda Palmer, when she was living in Australia and working on recording a new album. He started to write a short story that he thought she would like--since she doesn't really like fantasy. He then quipped, "I don't know why she married me." Amanda likes stories with honesty and feelings, and he doesn't normally do honesty and feelings, mostly because he is male and English.

He decided to write about a character who was the seven year old version of himself who lives in the world Neil remembered growing up in. But then there was a small problem. He just didn't stop writing. The short story became a novelette, which became a novella, which became a very long novella, and the end result was the new book. Neil sent a surprised email to his editor and exclaimed, "I appear to have written a novel."

Don't you hate it when that happens?

Neil then read from the fourth chapter of the new book (which was a nice surprise since I had heard him read the first chapter when I saw him speak last September). To provide some background of the story, Neil told us that in the beginning of the book, a lodger living with our narrator and his family drives to the end of the lane and kills himself. The narrator is a seven year old boy who meets the strange and witchy Hempstock family (all ladies). Just prior to chapter 4, the narrator has received a mysterious silver shilling in a most uncomfortable manner (it appeared suddenly in the back of his throat), and he and the youngest Hempstock strike out in the woods behind the Hempstock farm to seek some answers.

If you have not heard Neil Gaiman read in person, you are still in luck as he reads many of his own audiobooks. He has a flare for it, and he reads the audiobook for The Ocean at the End of the Lane (link goes to audible.com). I would also recommend the audiobook for his novel, Neverwhere, which is my favorite.

And now! Answers to audience questions!

--"As a writer, what is one mistake you are glad you made?"
"Writing a letter to a friend, Caroline, and transposing the "a" and the "o." (this is a reference to his very successful children's story, Coraline, which is also a super creepy animated movie.)

--"How did you develop and foster your love of mythology?"
When Neil was six years old, he borrowed a copy of the book Tales of the Norsemen, and loved it. He then saved his pocket money and bought Tales of Ancient Egypt...which promptly ruined his life since he couldn't figure which of the author's three names was the appropriate one to use on his alphabetized bookshelf. He fostered his love of mythology by feeding it.

--"What was it like to work on Doctor Who?" (Neil has written two Doctor Who episodes)
"It was enormously fun."

--"Why are there so many Hempstocks in your books?"
When Neil was 8 years old, there was a farm down the lane that his mother told him was mentioned in the Doomsday Book (written around the time of William the Conqueror). In his head, he imagined that the same people had lived there for 1,000 years and in his teens he began referring to them as the Hempstocks. Women with the name Hempstock are also mentioned in his novels, Stardust and The Graveyard Book.

--"Why o angels keep showing up in your books?"
"I don't know, they're like cockroaches. As soon as I think I am done with them, another one comes scurrying in."

--"Will there be any more stories set in the Neverwhere universe or with those characters?"
Neil mentioned that he had just written a short story called How the Marquis Got His Coat Back, which features characters from Neverwhere and will appear in a new anthology called Rogues edited by George RR Martin.

--"What inspired the character of the TARDIS in the Doctor Who episode, The Doctor's Wife?"
The character was actually an accident; he did not sit down to write an episode about the TARDIS in human form. Instead, he had thought it would be cool if there was something weird and dangerous inside the TARDIS, and in order to get it in there, maybe something had pulled out the TARDIS' soul...and then the soul had to go somewhere. The Doctor always referred to the TARDIS as a girl, so he decided to stick the soul in a nice lady.

--"What's your advice to someone who wants to make a living as an author?"
"Sell some of your writing."

--"Where is your favorite place to write?"
"Somewhere without wireless internet." Neil told us that he prefers to write by hand with a fountain pen....but has written pretty much anywhere. The only really impossible place to write is in the bath.

--"What have you been afraid to write?"
There was one scene in The Oceans at the End of the Lane he knew would be difficult and knew it was coming 1-2 weeks ahead of time. "It was hovering on the horizon like a distant storm cloud" but didn't want to face it. Still, it got done!

--"What happened to the movie based on Anasi Boys?"
There were problems with the studio's interpretation. They straight up told Neil that you couldn't have black actors in a fantasy movie since black people don't go see fantasy movies and white people didn't go see fantasy movies with black characters. The audience at the Lisner scoffed very loudly at this claim, and Neil agreed--and mentioned that was why the movie didn't happen. Though there had been some promising progress on this front lately...

--Do you purposefully choose your audience for a particular story (i.e. adult novel vs. children's book)?
Yes, usually before he begins writing.

After answering the questions, Neil then read another small portion of the new book, this time a very funny snippet set in the Hempstock's kitchen. He told us he would sign books for us "until my hand drops off." Luckily for us, that wasn't a problem. Each ticket was numbered and would determine the order of the book signing--and my group had numbers 41-47. We were in the first signing group and only had to wait about 10 minutes. It was pure luck of the draw on our part, but also a huge relief. I have no doubt people were waiting around for hours to get their books signed.

So that's it! I encourage you all to check out the new novel, it's beautiful, funny, scary, and will grab you from the very beginning. Just another typical journey into Neil Gaiman's world....

 Can you imagine having to sign 1,000 books? I think my hand really would fall off.

All Aboard the Solstice and Maui, Day 1

After spending some wonderful days in Honolulu, it was time for the real vacation to begin! Bear in mind, I had almost been on vacation for 5 days at this point, but whatever. Details!

Honolulu is an interesting city in terms of transportation. I guess they want everyone there to feel like they are rich and famous...because not only can you hail a taxi when you need to go somewhere, but can hail a LIMO taxi. And you can also call them to come pick you up and it costs the same (or less) than a regular cab. At least it did with the coupon we pulled out of a flyer we got at the hotel. So of course we took a limousine to the port where our cruise ship was waiting.

Climbing into the limo....

They see me rollin, they hatin.

Getting aboard a cruise ship is always a bit of a pain. There are long lines, lots of waiting, grumpy old people...but when you travel with Chris and Kent (who are frequent cruise club members) you get to forego a lot of the waiting. We hooked up with Monique and were aboard in the ship in only about an hour. But then we got some surprising news.

Turns out on the cruise ship before us, when the ship was around Australia, there was an outbreak of the Norovirus--every cruisers nightmare. For those not in the know Aunt Nora (as we like to call her) is an easily transmittal virus that causes severe gastrointestinal problems. You know, diarrhea, vomiting, all that lovely stuff. It's basically the bane of a cruiser's existence since it's spread by touching something someone who was infected touched (like a banister or door). Seriously people, WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS. Gross. The good news is only a handful of people were affected.

There are strict regulations regarding what happens after a Norovirus outbreak, and in the case of Celebrity it means the entire ship had to be disinfected. Which means even once we got on the ship we weren't allowed in our rooms for several hours since the crew was taking extra precautions with the disinfecting. It also meant that throughout the cruise we were required to use hand sanitizer at the entrance to every restaurant, were not allowed to serve ourselves at the buffet (which is actually really annoying and caused traffic jams), and were not allowed to use menus at the bars.

Poor little rich people, right?

We decided to pass the time waiting for them to clean the ship at the martini bar. As you do.

But all of the precautions worked because there was no Aunt Nora on our cruise, hurray! Aside from a few inconveniences (described above) there was no issue with the virus at all. Which meant we could focus on all the fun we were going to have....like at our first port of call, Maui!

We were visiting some of the islands twice during our cruise, and Maui was one of them. Our first day there, Monique and I had booked a tour through the cruiseline that would take us up to the Haleakala crater and then down through some of Maui's rainforests. But first! Some interesting and informative background!

Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian islands with the third highest population of the islands.
Native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the island's name in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. According to that legend, Hawaiʻiloa named the island of Maui after his son, who in turn was named for the demigod Māui. The earlier name of Maui was ʻIhikapalaumaewa. I think we can all agree that the change was for the best.

And now! Science! From wiki, "Maui's diverse landscapes are the result of a unique combination of geology, topography, and climate. Each volcanic cone in the chain of the Hawaiian Islands is built of dark, iron-rich/quartz-poor rocks, which poured out of thousands of vents as highly fluid lava, over a period of millions of years. Several of the volcanoes were close enough to each other that lava flows on their flanks overlapped one another, merging into a single island. Maui is such a "volcanic doublet," formed from two shield volcanoes that overlapped one another to form an isthmus between them."

I don't know about you, but I think volcanoes and lava are like, the coolest thing ever. It must be from all those science projects of building volcanoes. Or maybe that Tommy Lee Jones about the volcano in LA. Either way, volcanoes are bitchin.

So bright and early, Monique and I loaded up into a bus at the port town of Lahaina and headed out for a volcanic adventure. Per usual, it was a bit of drive--it took about 2 hours to climb the winding Haleakalā Highway which leads to the top of the crater. The highway is a series of switchbacks that travels up almost 10,000 feet to the Haleakalā National Park.

Some background on the volcano: Haleakalā (house of the sun), or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The tallest peak of Haleakalā, at 10,023 feet (3,055 m).  From the summit, you look down into a massive depression 7 miles across, 2 miles wide, and nearly 2,600 feet deep. The surrounding walls are steep and the interior mostly barren-looking with a scattering of volcanic cones.

Basically, it looks like an alien planet, think Star Trek. It's shocking after seeing so much lush greenery, to encounter such a barren rocky terrain. It's also very cold and windy. But worth it to just stand there and look out from the edge of the world. We were even higher than the clouds and could see them rolling in through the valley of the depression. It's definitely something I won't ever forget.

After wandering around the volcano for a while (and posing for a series of goody pictures......)

Oh, come on. You knew it was going to happen.

....we loaded back onto the bus and headed to an adorable ramshackle little town for lunch at an "Italian" place. I use the parentheses because, honestly, it wasn't too authentic. But we still had some good eats and got to window shop at the little tourist trap shops. And after THAT we got back on the bus (of course) and drove to a botanical garden on the rainforesty side of the island. There were some amazing plants and trees whose names I never learned. But! Beautiful greenery! It was like Jurassic Park up in that place. In fact, the soundtrack might have been running in my brain on a constant loop through my entire trip...might have. Yeah, right. Of course it did!

Thus endeth Maui Day 1.....coming up next time, a helicopter adventure on the Big Island! Also, we kind of sort of accidentally hitchhike with a pair of stoners.

Palm trees!

Eerie and beautiful tree.

Like Jurassic Park, amirite?

Red hibiscus (the yellow version is the Hawaiian state flower)

Cooooooool.

Clouds rolling in.

Cajun Chicken Pasta (on the lighter side)

I love Alfredo sauce. So cheesy. So creamy. It's a perfect companion to pasta dishes, but with my lactose intolerance and dieting, alfredo sauce is a huge giant no-no. But I still miss creamy pasta dishes, so I have been scouring the internet for some alternatives. Sure, I'm never going to be able to recreate the original exactly, but you can't go wrong with a good substitute.

I had such good luck with the blueberry wheat pancakes from SkinnyTaste, I decided to see if she had any creamy pasta sauce recipes. Success! (enter Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side, stage left).

This dish has everything delicious: pasta, a creamy sauce, some kick from the cajun seasoning, and protein from the chicken. It's not too difficult (everything cooks in one pan) but I'd rate it as moderate in difficulty since it requires a lot of prep work with the chopping of the veggies, browning of the chicken, and making a slurry (a blended mixture of liquids and solids).

Per usual, I made some changes to the basic recipe. It called for using light cream cheese, but only 3 tablespoons. I couldn't see buying a whole container of the stuff for three measly tablespoons, so I substituted four of the Laughing Cow light spreadable cheese wedges (only 35 calories each!). They're recommended by Hungry Girl and make a really excellent snack along with some low calorie crackers. I also have a pan big enough to cook all the chicken at once, even though the recipe calls for browning it in two batches. Finally, I left out the scallions and mushrooms (yech!), but added some extra tomatoes since I used canned diced tomatoes to save myself some chopping time.

But as you can see, it still turned out awesome!

 I just wanted to stand there and eat it straight out of the pan. 

A few tips if you decide to make it: this is a low calorie sauce, so it's not going to be as thick as a regular alfredo sauce. It will do in a pinch, but don't go in expecting it to be the same. I would recommend leaving it in the pan for about 5 minutes when you are done, it thickens up quickly. Or you could throw in a tablespoon or two of cornstarch and see how that works out. Also, don't be afraid of the cajun seasoning! I think next time, I might even add some hot sauce or chilis to make it even spicier.

I served with my usual spinach salad and Safeway Kitchens cranberry and nut salad topper. You get a pretty large serving with this one (1 1/2 cups) and it makes five servings. Perfect for lunches!

Total calorie count as pictured: 388. Pretty good for a pasta meal!

SkinnyTaste's Cajun Chicken Pasta on the Lighter Side

Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 323.8 • Fat: 6.2 g • Protein: 25.9 g • Carb: 44.1 g • Fiber: 6.3 g • Sugar:3.2 g
Sodium: 126.5 mg (without salt)  

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked linguine
1 pound chicken breast strips
1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning (or to taste)
1 tbsp olive oil 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow bell pepper
Thinly sliced 8 oz fresh mushrooms
Sliced 1/2 red onion
Sliced 3 cloves garlic
Minced 2 medium tomatoes
Diced 1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup skim milk
1 tbsp flour
3 tbsp light cream cheese
Fresh cracked pepper
2 scallions chopped
Salt to taste
Smart Balance cooking spray

Directions:

Prep all your vegetables. In a small blender make a slurry by combining milk, flour and cream cheese. Set aside. Season chicken generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt.

Prepare pasta in salted water according to package directions.

Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; spray with cooking spray and add half of the chicken. Sauté 5 to 6 minutes or until done, set aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken. Set aside. Add olive oil to the skillet and reduce to medium; add bell peppers, onions, and garlic to skillet, sauté 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms and tomatoes and sauté 3-4 more minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Season with 1/4 tsp salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low; add chicken broth and pour in slurry stirring about 2 minutes. Return chicken to skillet; adjust salt and Cajun seasoning to taste, cook another minute or two until hot, then add linguine; toss well to coat. Top with chopped scallions and enjoy!

Honolulu!

Finally, after a truly horrendous travel day, I woke up to my first Hawaii morning! The boys and I didn't really have anything planned for our first day, so we decided to just wander around Waikiki.

This part of Honolulu gets a bad rap for being really touristy, but this does tend to have some benefits. For one, there are lots of shops around so if you forget to pack something (like enough underwear), you have shopping options (thank you Ross, dress for less). Also, there are great restaurants, easy access to the beach, and lots of crazy people you can watch walk around. 

Oh, and 10 million t-shirt shops. Seriously, do tourists really buy that many t-shirts??

After a lazy day of wandering around and working off our jet lag, the next day we got moving with a tour to Pear Harbor. As I am sure you know, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the US naval fleet on the island of Oahu, with devastating results at Pearl Harbor. It was also the impetus for America entering into the WWII conflict. That was pretty much the extent of my knowledge prior to visiting the memorial and museum.

I'm a history buff, but never really got into military history. Having said that, the exhibits and presentation at Pearl Harbor were super interesting and taught me a lot about the Pearl Harbor attacks that I never knew. There was a video (I love a video!) showing the timeline and details of the Japanese plan--which frankly, was bloody brilliant. Luckily for us our aircraft carriers were out at sea or the twentieth century might have gone real differently. I was also fascinated to hear about all the mistakes the US made prior to the attacks; such as underestimating the Japanese capabilities, ignoring radar indications of the attack, and a lack of cooperation between the Army and Navy.

After spending some time learning about the history of where we were visiting, we boarded a ferry that took us across the water from the museum to the USS Arizona memorial. The 184 foot memorial is built over the wreckage of the Arizona, which was never disturbed as a way of respecting the people who perished inside. I found some really interesting information about the memorial on the national park service website, where its architect, Alfred Preis, said of the design, "Wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory....The overall effect is one of serenity. Overtones of sadness have been omitted to permit the individual to contemplate his own personal responses...his innermost feelings."

I was surprised by how moving the experience of visiting Pearl Harbor was, though in retrospect, I shouldn't have been surprised. There are few places that are so symbolic of American perseverance, and until the September 11 attacks in New York City, it was the bloodiest foreign attack on US soil. The museum and memorials not only represent (but literally are) the final resting place of thousands of American soldiers and is a lesson for all of us of the cost of freedom. On Facebook, I posted that while visiting Pearl Harbor I learned a lot and felt a lot. And it's absolutely true. 

After Pearl Harbor, our tour wound it's way through Honolulu giving us a peek at some of the more interesting sights, including the old royal palace. I confess to also being ignorant of Hawaii's history, both and after it's addition to the US in 1959. I had known it was once ruled by a royal family, but knowing something and seeing tangible evidence of it are not the same thing.

Our last day in Honolulu, Chris and I tackled the famous Diamond Head crater hike. Diamond Head is a volcanic tuff cone that looms over Honolulu. Parts of it are closed to the public since the US government has several antenna on it (....or SO THEY SAY), but there is a very popular hiking trail that climbs 560 feet and includes several hundred stairs. Yes, stairs. My ancient enemy! The entire trail is only about 1.5 miles roundtrip, and I would only put it at moderate difficulty. There's no rock scrambling or anything like that, but it does get steep in places.

View of Diamond Head from the air (thanks, Wiki!).

Allow me to fill you in on the typical Maggie hiking script:

(at the bottom of the trail)
Me: We have to go up THAT? I don't know about this, I don't know if I can make it. Look how steep it is! I really don't know if I am going to be able to make it up to the top.

(at the top of the trail)
Me: THIS IS AMAZING.

(at the bottom of the trail again)
Me: You know that really wasn't that bad! I am proud of myself for making it, I don't know why I didn't think I would be able to!

(throughout the entire hike, internally)
Chris: Dear God, of course you can do it, now shut up and hike faster.

So that's pretty much how it went. The stairs were a giant pain in the ass though.

After the hike (which took up an entire morning thanks to the bus ride and mile walk to get to the actual base of the trail--they don't tell you that in the guidebooks), I spent the rest of my last day in Honolulu lazing around the hotel and pool. The next day was cruise day!

Coming up next: We get on the Celebrity Solstice and learn about the norovirus. Stay tuned!

 Me, Kent, and Chris on the beach at Waikiki!

 Hula dancers in the outdoor performance area next to our hotel!

 The USS Arizona memorial.

 Inside the remembrance room on the USS Arizona memorial. On the wall are inscribed the names of all who perished in the Pearl Harbor attack. 

 Oil still continues to seep up from the USS Arizona into the ocean.

 Inside the USS Arizona memorial.

 The Hawaiian royal palace in downtown Honolulu.

 The view from the top of Diamond Head!

Looking towards Honolulu from the top of Diamond Head!