Uninspired

I'm ready to move beyond ethnic cuisine but just can't seem to find any inspiration.  I was able to improve my biryani by combining the Indian yogurt based method with the Pakistani tomato based method - it really kicked up the flavor. 

I've been thinking alot about my specialities - it used to be roasted chicken but I'm not really a fan of chicken anymore...I do like whole roasted fish; I actually love fish but I'm not sure I've developed any flagship sides.  I think I'll experiment with that in the weeks moving forward. The issue is that fish is substantially more expensive than chicken. I will also be consuming more beef as I bought a share in a cow - 40 pounds will be delivered on Wednesday and I'm looking forward to it. 

I did stumble upon a bit of inspiration with a BabyCakes Deluxe cupcake maker.  I saw it in BJs and asked my cousin about it - I think it's what inspired her to perfect her cupcakes and open up a shop.  I don't care for the texture of the cupcakes I make so I thought that this would help me step it up but I had to ask myself if I really needed another kitchen gadget.  I got it as an Eid gift and made a batch of cupcakes on Thursday.

I've been wanting a slice of lemon pound cake for months so I decided to make lemon cupcakes.  The cupcake maker came with some recipes so I adjusted the vanilla recipe by adding lemon juice and zest and substituting the sour cream for cream cheese.  The lemon icing recipe was basically a lemon buttercream and I actually prefer a glaze on my lemon stuff but I thought it would look odd so I made a lemon and vanilla bean cream (similar to what you would find on a strawberry shortcake) and it totally hit the spot.