Fun fitness activities

If you have ever been to Vancouver then you know it is a prime location to enjoy the great outdoors and partake in some exercise, even of the incidental variety whilst exploring. This especially resonates throughout those days and weeks during the summer time when the sky is blue and the weather glorious. One popular activity is that of the Grouse Grind, which has an amazing reward at the end of it if you are up for the ultimate stairmaster challenge. I did it just before my first summer here in Vancouver and it was quite the workout. I am sure it didn't help that my fitness levels aren't that high, but I suppose just under two hours is decent enough for my first and possibly only time. Maybe I can be convinced to do it again and curse through it quarter by quarter, which are signposted, as I regret my decision. Honestly though the views at the top of Grouse Mountain are breathtaking on a clear day and worth the effort. The same can be said about the wildlife. The below photos are courtesy of my friend Steph, who came to visit me in September 2010:

Although if the Grouse Grind doesn't seem like your kind of thing then there is always the gondola to ride up and down, which you have to use to get back down the mountain anyway. If you want to keep more of an even footing then the seawall might be more up your alley, which can be tackled on foot or via pedal power. The path takes you around Stanley Park as well as many of the waterfront areas and is definitely a must for any tourist or local. I have spent many an enjoyable morning, afternoon and evening wandering the seawall sometimes with ice cream in hand. 

Add a hike or two to these activities and a few rounds of tennis (I have a racquet) and summer should have a nice balance of outdoor activities that are good for me!

Chocolate chocolate cupcakes with a twist

It feels like it has been a while since I have done some weekend baking, although it was on a Saturday this time around. I made some cupcakes for a birthday celebration. I realised I haven't actually made a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting; instead I have done a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting and vice versa. Of course I had to be adventurous with my frosting, but I did choose the chocolate cupcake recipe from here. I only made twelve cupcakes, which may have been because I overfilled them a little bit. I was really impressed with how flat they came out and not because I had messed anything up with the process. I have to confess I was a little bit wasteful because I have found lately that my cupcakes have been fanning out a bit at the bottom, which means they haven't been sitting nicely in my cupcake carrier. Therefore, I used two liners per cupcake to help give them some more structure and it worked nicely. The twist with these cupcakes is that after they had cooled down, I used a teaspoon to carve out a nice little hole in each of them, which gave me an opportunity to taste the baked cake. However, this wasn't why I made the holes, instead I put a teaspoon of delicious dulce de leche sauce in each of them. I, of course, had to lick the spoon once I was done and it was so good.

For the chocolate frosting I did underestimate all of my measurements and came up one cupcake short. This worked out well though because it meant I had an excuse to lather on the last remnants of frosting on cupcake number twelve before cutting it open. As a result, I got the photo I needed and I got to devour a yummy cupcake, which of course I shared. My frosting ingredients were:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 & 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder, heaped
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

I chopped up the butter and whipped it on low speed for approximately thirty seconds before adding the icing sugar slowly until combined. I melted the chocolate chips in a metal bowl placed on top of a small water-filled saucepan that was on low heat. Once the chocolate was melted I added it to the butter and icing sugar mixture until combined. The frosting was a bit too stiff so I added the milk. Lastly, the cocoa powder was mixed in with the hopes of darkening the frosting to give it a richer colour, but I wasn't quite successful. The frosting was whipped for about thirty seconds. I predictably used my Wilton 1M decorating tip to put the chocolate frosting on top of the cupcakes and finished them off with some chocolate jimmies and white nonpareils. I didn't want to detract too much from the surprise inside, hence the lack of colour besides the cupcake liners.

I hope this isn't the first or last time I say this, but I had a lot of fun making these cupcakes and was really happy with the result!

Second best may be better

If you are anything like me then you more often than not discover things that if you were just a little bit richer or if it was just a little bit closer to payday you might make the purchase. Eventually though I either get over the desire to make that particular purchase or I walk past it one too many times with the object of my affection becoming mine. Alternatively, I sometimes settle for a cheaper version with the aim to be just as content with it as I imagine I would have been with the original item. With this all in mind I keep thinking about purchasing a stand mixer and my heart really wants a shiny, beautiful KitchenAid. This isn't the first time I have mentioned my desire to have my very own KitchenAid stand mixer, however I have started to think about whether there are any suitable alternatives out there. In all honestly if I did want one sooner rather than later, I would be looking for an alternative that will do the job, but won't break the bank. A possible, and very affordable option courtesy of Walmart is the Sunbeam - 12 Speed Classic MixMaster stand mixer. I imagine for the price I would still need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, but it might just be worth it because the main thing is the hands free functionality. This is something for me to ponder as I determine if I really, truly need or want what I think is the creme de la creme of stand mixers.

Sunbeam - 12 Speed Classic MixMaster stand mixer (image courtesy of Walmart)