My rosemary plant was growing like a weed, so last week I sought out some rosemary-heavy recipes to put it to good use. One was a penne and chickpea soup from Cook's Illustrated (tomato-based, with bacon and garlic). The other was for these perky little Rosemary Lemon cupcakes from the March 2008 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.
I wouldn't say either recipe was earth-shatteringly good. The major disappointment with the cupcakes was that you couldn't taste the rosemary. As I took the bulk of the cupcakes to the office, I would have been content to simply describe them as lemon cupcakes (because that's essentially what they are), but as they've got flecks of green in them, I had to explain, "They're Rosemary Lemon cupcakes but you can't taste the rosemary." Which got an "ooh!" and then an "aww." My sentiments exactly.
They sure do look pretty though. And who wouldn't enjoy a lemon cupcake? Any idea how one would get the rosemary flavor to come through?
On a completely unrelated note, tonight I painted my toenails with OPI's Boris and Natasha, a deep plummy purple. When I moved, I finally parted with my favorite bright, summery shade of red, a now defunct Gazpacho by Almay. It was, after all, approximately 10 years old. So I've got to hunt down a new summer red before this new coat needs to be replaced. Don't you just love sandal season?
4 comments:
Those cupcakes do look yummy. And sandal season is LONG overdue. I'm in serious need of a professional pedicure after 3 months in snow. 2 separate hours of my amateur skills were not enough to repair the damage. See you soon!
My nails are currently a pretty bright purple color called Charisma from Whole Food's natural nail polish line (where I got my nails done yesterday).
Although, I had been having them painted a pretty OPI coral called Don't Socra-Tease-Me. Before that I was alternating between my favs OPI's Russian Navy and I'm Not Really a Waitress. I also like their Big Apple Red and Chick Flick Cherry (good summer reds). Last summer I was all about black or white polish on my toes.
And, I can't believe that I wrote a whole comment about nail polish colors.
I thought about your lemon cupcake dilemma and what if you put in a touch more rosemary or put in a little less lemon juice? That way you would still get the lemon flavor but may get more rosemary flavor. Just a thought. Did you cut the rosemay just before you added it to the batter? Maybe add the rosemary last so it is fresh? Also, in a quick search that I did, a lot of cupcake/muffin recipes that feature fresh herbs call for more than 2 tsp. Some call for 2 tbsp.
Good point about the rosemary. I did enjoy them, but now that I think of it, there was a distinctly rosemary-less taste. ;)
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