Adventures in TaG-land

It has been a whirlwind of a year.  My daughter has worked so hard and today is her last day for the year.  Her last two finals are today and we are planning to splurge and have a lunch date.  She deserves it.  I didn't have the kind of work load she has had until I was in college.

  Amazing what our kids can do when they are motivated and supported.  They have risen to the expectations set for them and the staff at TaG expect a lot.  They strive for excellence and fully expect the student body to be excellent.  Even when a kid has a weakness in a certain subject area, we as parents and teachers fully believe that the student will master it.  Oh, you need a little extra help?  No Biggie!  We'll help you because we know you have it in you.  Unfortunately for us, our beloved Principal is retiring this year.  We will miss him greatly, but hope he thoroughly enjoys his retirement.  He deserves it.

Because of this TaG was deemed the #1 Best Public High School in the Nation. 

Bountiful Baskets

I have been on a journey to eating healthier and find that foods that are really good for you can be very expensive.  So, my new niece (married my nephew) told me about a coop she participates with. It's called Bountiful Baskets.   So, on Mondays I sign up and on Saturday I pick up a couple of small laundry baskets full of fruits and vegetables.  I added on a small extra veggie pack that included a large handful of fresh herbs.  Below is the haul I brought in this week. 

Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcake

I've had some successful cupcakes lately and a friend asked if I'd come and teach a baking lesson to her 3 girls.  They are also gluten free and homeschool, so I thought, "How Fun!"  Turns out her middle daughter is the one who is into baking and she favors anything chocolate.  (Girl after my own heart!)  I hadn't attempted chocolate cupcakes yet, so had to test a recipe.  I went to a general recipe website and found one that looked fairly simple and easy to adjust.  Since my "students" range in age from 6-12, I wanted simple so they could do this on their own later.

So I started with my favorite GF flour mix. 
1 heaping tsp xantham gum
6 tbl unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup unsalted butter softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs (room temp)
1 cup-ish milk (room temp)

Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tins


sift together all the dry ingredients (except sugar) and stir to make sure fully incorporated.
mix butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
Add vanilla ext, and eggs one at a time mixing well in between
Add the flour mix and the milk alternating, starting with flour ending with milk. 

Put about 1/3 cup into each cupcake liner.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until done. When toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Once cooled, Frost with your favorite icing and enjoy!