Happy birthday to me :-)

Okay, so the big day has arrived, and I have yet to hear from Ellen. Oh well, it is still early.

Speaking of early, I woke up way too soon this morning, due to a nightmare of all things ... make that "A Nightmare on Elm Street." The remake comes out today, so no wonder I had it on the brain. It would give me bad dreams when I was little (although I continued to watch the original and its sequels multiple times), and it still does (even without seeing it; maybe I saw a commercial for it before bed).

Anyway, you can't go back to sleep after having a nightmare about a gruesome character that's trying to get you in your dreams (I'd much rather dream about raw cupcakes, right Ellen? She's probably having nightmares about me). That explains why the franchise has been so successful.

I haven't been too successful with this Ellen thing, so I tried to get it off my mind (as well as Freddy Krueger) by way of distraction. Since I couldn't sleep, I flopped down on the couch in front of the television, flipping channels and searching for something somewhat uplifting.

Can you believe that I ended watching "Teen Wolf?" Ridiculous, I know, but I liked it when it first came out.

The funniest part about it was the timing; Matthew and I were tempted to put it on the other day to see if the comment in the Star Wars-themed Family Guy was true. As this is a family friendly blog, I won't link to it (which doesn't explain my nightmare link; sorry about that), although I'll tell you a bit more.

Supposedly, there is a man in the back of the stands with something hanging out at the final basketball game. I can't believe that we actually Googled this to find out exactly where to look (what else are you going to do at 3:30 a.m.?).

To our surprise, the man was actually a woman with her fly down (only exposing more clothing; otherwise, I wouldn't mention it on my site), who was trying to discretely pull it back up again. Now that's a crazy way to start my birthday.

At least when I checked my e-mail, this is what I found in my inbox. It's a raw cupcake pic (no Ellen here; this raw cupcake is for me) from my blogging friend Nelly (she'd probably get a kick out of the "Teen Wolf" thing after her last post), who also sent me these "good things in small packages" (I just adored her little note) that I won in her first giveaway (her second giveaway ends tomorrow). She's got some good timing, doesn't she?


She's also been a big help in my quest to get Ellen to eat a raw cupcake, by unbaking her own treats, tweeting and retweeting my tweets (did you get all of that?). Thanks to all of you who embarked on the quest with me, too. Let's review:

My good buddy Bitt was the first to hop aboard, highlighting two raw cupcakes on her site. Check them out. She didn't get Ellen's face in the shots, so I took it upon myself to add the cutout for her.


Next, Bitt contributed this naked Zippy Zucchini Cupcake.


Then there was the Reduced-Fat & Fabulous Cupcake modeled on Sarah's blog. Nice strawberry accent. That cupcake is working it.


I had to get a closeup on that pretty little thing.


Along with Aura's own take on Carrot Cake Cupcakes. S-weet! They're all decked out in n'icing, this season's creamiest trend.


I had to show a sneak peek at what's hidden underneath :-)


My blogging friend Debbie of Raw-Riffic Food not only made two types of raw cupcakes (the Creme-filled Lemony Cupcakes with her own topping/garnish and the Cocoa Avocado Cupcakes), but she did a review, too. She's so sweet. She was the first to buy my e-book.


Then, there was my newest "Buddy" on the block, with her blog, Vegan Showdown. She documented her first experience making raw cupcakes with her cell phone, demonstrating the ramekin technique, which is how I started out, too. Not bad for some phone pics.


She later contributed this little chick. So cute!


Since Heathy was busy with Moonie Pie-making, she opted to use her pic of the Rawtess cupcakes she made at the time I first revealed the recipe on my blog. She didn't have an Ellen cutout nearby then, so I added it for her.


Then, I made a moonie pie cupcake, too. Yum!


Anna of Picture It Raw has some impressive artist skills. She illustrated her blueberry topped raw cupcake for Ellen.


And both Michelle and Lori of Pure2Raw joined the quest, too. Lori arrived home from her European trip to these raw cupcakes, made by Michelle. Ellen even stopped by for some pics (something tells me they should upload this to the Ellen site in the "what's wrong with this photo" category, ha ha).


Then, my blogging buddy Bitt was at it again. She printed out her copy of my raw cupcake e-book and had it made into an actual book.


I later posted a craft that involved printing out the pages, too (Oops, I forgot Ellen. Oh well, she didn't need to be in all of the shots).


TyrahD from Domestic Dharma got a little creative in her raw kitchen, improvising with the ingredients she had on hand, as well as a biscuit cutter in place of the silicone liners.


I had to show a view of the sweet surprise center.


Nelly at From Nelly ... With Love ... (the same Nelly I talked about above; hey, that rhymes) went on a hunt for reusable silicone cupcake liners and look what she found; her liners are a different shape. Doesn't it resemble a chocolate covered strawberry cupcake?


She made more than one. Yum!


And Bitt continued her raw cupcake kick. What's under this chocolate n'icing?


She attempted making a checkerboard cupcake, but ended up making a swirly version. Now that's a tasty mistake. Ellen agreed :-)


And I had to mention Hayden's contribution to the cause, if you can call it that. She didn't want to share.


Maybe she'll share with me today :-)

Again, thanks to everyone who's shared with me so far. Keep sending your raw cupcake creations my way, and I'll continue to post them/link to you. Here's what you need to do:

Just check out the recipes from my raw cupcake e-book, whip them up yourself, take a picture and let me know where I can link to them (I gotta know about it, if you want me to highlight it on my site). Happy unbaking!

BTW, this is an e-book, which saves some trees (unless you decided to do my cut-and-paste project). Please make sure to provide a confirmed e-mail address at the time of purchase, so I can send it to you. Thanks :-)

*****

Also, don't forget about my birthday deal that ends today: The good people at Natural Zing have a birthday special in my honor. All of my readers who purchase $50 or more of raw cupcake-making ingredients (or whatever other products you like; I just thought you'd be on a raw cupcake kick) through Friday, April 30, 2010, will receive a pound of almonds free. Just enter the code: $50ALMONDS_RAWDORABLE in the comment box at check out. Happy birthday or unbirthday to all of you, too!

*****

GIVEAWAY ALERT! And, if you took the time to read this far, you can participate in my e-book giveaway. Just leave a comment mentioning why you'd like to win it or who'd you like me to send one to on your behalf (that is if you have one already). I'll enter you again, if you blog or tweet about it. The contest ends at the end of today, as it's special for my b-day. Good luck :-)

Ellen, you just got served ...

... some yummy raw vegan cupcakes on my blog. Don't you wish you had one with you right now? They'll have you dancing better than ever (although you already have some rawkin' moves).

Have you thought about any new shirt slogans? I, personally, like "laugh, dance, eat a raw cupcake." Maybe I should make you one and send it to you. Would you wear it?

Anyway, I realize this raw cupcake quest is getting a little out of control (I'm beginning to feel like Sam I Am from "Green Eggs and Ham") so lucky for you, I plan on toning it down a bit after tomorrow, as that's my 34th birthday - the day I had hoped to get a little raw cupcake recognition on your site and/or show.


But, since today is my last chance to show you what you've been missing (I'm talking about the cupcakes), you'll have to deal with yet another post full of raw vegan cupcakes with your face next to them (as well as some annoying tweets).

If you like what you see (still referring to the cupcakes), please make my birthday wish come true with a mention on your site, whether it be in the book section, listed under recipes (you have my permission to use one, as you are Ellen DeGeneres), talked about in a video diary (I'd really like to see a current one of those) or just added to the link section.


And, my readers can get in on the Ellen cupcake action, too. Just check out the recipes from my raw cupcake e-book, whip them up yourself, take a picture of the Ellen cutout with your creation and let me know where I can link to it (I gotta know about it, if you want me to highlight it on my site). Also, if you'd like, upload your pic to the Ellen website, mentioning the quest to get her to eat a raw cupcake.

You can also help out the cause by sending multiple tweets to Ellen, as well as posting on her Facebook page. Of course, the main goal is to get her to try a raw cupcake, but a mention on her site would be pretty sweet, too :-)

Thanks to all who are participating. My birthday is tomorrow. I wish I could show off a ton of your raw cupcakes that day (and maybe I can get a little Ellen recognition, as well). Pretty please, with naturally-colored coconut sprinkles on top!


How about a raw vegan sandwich cookie on top, too :-)

*****

Also, don't forget about my birthday deal this week: The good people at Natural Zing have a birthday special in my honor. All of my readers who purchase $50 or more of raw cupcake-making ingredients (or whatever other products you like; I just thought you'd be on a raw cupcake kick) through Friday, April 30, 2010, will receive a pound of almonds free. Just enter the code: $50ALMONDS_RAWDORABLE in the comment box at check out. Happy birthday or unbirthday to all of you, too!

Mommy, give Ellen her own cupcake

Due to popular demand, I'm allowing little lady to blog again today. The rest of this post will be from Hayden's point of view. Enjoy!

I'm so excited that mommy let me take over this post, especially since she is in the middle of her birthday week ... whatever that is (I've never had one). I just know she said she was late wishing Michelle and Lori happy b-day on their special day. She sent out some birdie thing yesterday to tell everyone.

She kept typing out nonsense to some @TheEllenShow, like her life depended on it. I tried to help (somebody please help her), but she wouldn't let me touch the keys.

At least she let me get my hands on this special treat. This n'ice looking cupcake was screaming my name: "Hayden ... come and get me!"

Ellen, I don't see your name on this one. Move out of my way.

Ellen, do you have to be in every shot? Mom, I thought this peach banilla n'ice cream cupcake was for me.

Okay, you can have the cherry (I'm not old enough to eat one of those; that's a choking hazard. Good thing I was well supervised for this photo shoot). But, I get the rest of this frosty yumminess :-)

You can make a n'ice cream cupcake, too. It's easy, although I've never actually made one myself. Mommy does that part for me. Here's the recipe:


Hayden's Peach Banilla
N'ice Cream Cupcakes
*Makes one for me and another for mommy, too!

1 chopped frozen banana
1/2 cup chopped frozen peaches
vanilla bean, to taste
sprinkling of cinnamon (optional)

Have mommy add the frozen banana and peaches to a food processor. Get her to scrape in some seeds from a vanilla bean to make it extra special (she won't let me have that extract with the alcohol in it yet), and maybe even some of that cinnimin ... cinnamin ... cinnaminamin ... oh whatever you call that stuff.

Process the frozen fruit into a soft-serve consistency. Scoop into two reusable silicone cupcake liners, making cute cupcake-like mounds on top (mommy shapes mine to resemble frosting).

Serve immediately or allow to set in freezer for a bit. I like it when mommy gives me mine right away, which explains my fingerprints in the cupcake pic :-)

*Can be topped with a cherry for the more experienced cupcake eater. Never give a whole cherry to a baby my size, as I could choke on it. Mine was just a temporary garnish.

Don't forget you can help mommy in her quest to get Ellen to try a raw vegan cupcake (I'm sure she'll enjoy it as much as I like this n'ice cream one ... Mmmm ... yummy ... and messy, too).

Just check out the recipes from my mommy's raw cupcake e-book, whip them up yourself, take a picture of the Ellen cutout with your creation and let her know where she can link to it (She's gotta know about it, if you want her to highlight it on our site). Also, if you'd like, upload your pic to the Ellen website, mentioning the quest to get her to eat a raw cupcake.

You can also help out the cause by sending multiple tweets to Ellen, as well as posting on her Facebook page. Of course, the main goal is to get her to try a raw cupcake, but a mention on her site would be pretty sweet, too :-)

Thanks to all who are participating. Mommy's birthday is only a couple days away. She wishes she could show off a ton of your raw cupcakes that day (and maybe get a little Ellen recognition, as well). Pretty please, with a cherry on top :-)

*****

Also, don't forget about mommy's birthday deal this week: The good people at Natural Zing have a birthday special in her honor. All of our readers who purchase $50 or more of raw cupcake-making ingredients (or whatever other products you like) through Friday, April 30, 2010, will receive a pound of almonds free. Just enter the code: $50ALMONDS_RAWDORABLE in the comment box at check out. Happy birthday or unbirthday to all of you, too!

She's Crafty ;-)

If you are in my age group (sorry about the no-makeup look again, BTW; I'm getting too old to be posing for pics without it), you may have read that title and thought of this song. Growing up listening to the Beastie Boys, it popped in my head while constructing my latest project, but not in the sense suggested by the lyrics.

As you know, I like to get a little crafty, whether it be in my kitchen or with traditional cut-and-paste methods. Combining the two, I found a way to hold my raw cupcake e-book in my hand.

Of course, the kitchen part was already done; the results filling the onscreen pages with delicious recipes and photos. All that was left to do was print, cut and paste.

And, if you've purchased my e-book, you can do it, too. Just print out the pages and cut/paste them into a composition book of your own. Here's how it's done:

Cut the white edge off from around the cover page.

Glue the cover page to the front of the composition book.

Cut the white edge off the dedication page and glue it inside the book (although I glued mine to the first page, make sure you glue yours to the inside of the cover; you'll see why).

Next, repeat the steps for the "I thought I could and so I did" page, which should end up on a right page (rather than a left) to keep the page numbers on the correct side (that's why the dedication page should be on the inside cover).

Repeat the process again with the "Table of Cupcakes, etc."
and "It just had to be cupcakes."

Of course, keep on going with the "Tips ..." "... and Tricks" pages,
followed by the recipes, placing them side by side (the placement
of the page numbers should help as a guide
to which pages should face each other).

Keep cutting and pasting pages until you've got
the "Thank you!" attached, too.

I'd show you more, but I'm sure you've got the rest figured out (I also can't give away too much to anyone who's yet to purchase the e-book; it was just fun to offer up a sneak peek, as to what's inside).

Thanks to all of you who bought the e-book so far and those who will purchase one soon (Ellen, just look how happy you are with a copy of my printed out e-book).

I love seeing all your mini masterpieces, like this one from this crafty gal.

TyrahD from Domestic Dharma got a little creative in her raw kitchen, too, improvising with the ingredients she had on hand, as well as a biscuit cutter in place of the silicone liners. Here's a big pic of her untouched raw cupcake:


Here's the pic again with a peek of the sweet surprise center:


Nelly at From Nelly ... With Love ... (I think that blog name is so sweet, just like her) went on a hunt for reusable silicone cupcake liners and look what she found; her liners are a different shape. Doesn't it resemble a chocolate covered strawberry cupcake?


She made more than one. Yum!


And Bitt's at it again (she also found an easier way to get a hard copy of my e-book; I posted about it the other day). What's under this chocolate n'icing?


She attempted making a checkerboard cupcake, but ended up making a swirly version. Now that's a tasty mistake. Pretty cute, too, huh? Ellen agrees with me :-)



Don't forget you can get in on the Ellen cupcake action, too. Just check out the recipes from my raw cupcake e-book, whip them up yourself, take a picture of the Ellen cutout with your creation and let me know where I can link to it (I gotta know about it, if you want me to highlight it on my site). Also, if you'd like, upload your pic to the Ellen website, mentioning the quest to get her to eat a raw cupcake.

You can also help out the cause by sending multiple tweets to Ellen, as well as posting on her Facebook page. Of course, the main goal is to get her to try a raw cupcake, but a mention on her site would be pretty sweet, too :-)

Thanks to all who are participating. My birthday is only a few days away. I wish I could show off a ton of your raw cupcakes that day (and maybe I can get a little Ellen recognition, as well). Pretty please, with raw whipped n'icing on top :-)

*****

BTW, I finally signed up for Twitter, although I'm totally clueless (love that movie; I'm so dated) about this stuff. Hopefully, I'll figure this out soon. I guess I really do need a lot of help tweeting Ellen. And, if you've opted to follow me, have fun laughing at my mistakes. Oops!

*****

Also, don't forget about my birthday deal this week: The good people at Natural Zing have a birthday special in my honor. All of my readers who purchase $50 or more of raw cupcake-making ingredients (or whatever other products you like; I just thought you'd be on a raw cupcake kick) through Friday, April 30, 2010, will receive a pound of almonds free. Just enter the code: $50ALMONDS_RAWDORABLE in the comment box at check out. Happy birthday or unbirthday to all of you, too!