End of summer

Even though the official start of fall is still weeks away, summer vacation is over...the children returned to school this week, and I am exhausted. I did manage a final cupcake bake before the kiddies arrived though, mocha caramel cupcakes, for a fellow teacher's birthday.

Holes were made in the vanilla cupcakes with an apple corer, then filled them with rich caramel filling.


Blurred cupcakes filled with caramel

Swirls of mocha buttercream finished the cupcakes...I think the espresso powder in the frosting and hint of salt in the caramel provided a nice foil to the sweetness of the cupcake.


Cupcakes ready to go

A delicious end-of-summer cupcake....and like summer, they're all gone too...

Bountiful

Late summer in California = lots of yummy things to eat!

1. Dan planted four blueberry bushes in the spring, and they are finally ripening...just a few berries, but oh-so-delicious with yogurt and peaches.


Berry harvest

2. Pretty striped heirloom tomatoes from our CSA Terra Firma Farms and garden-variety red tomatoes from my mother's garden...


Tomato tableau

One of my favorite summer foods is tomatoes marinated with basil, garlic and olive oil, piled on top of grilled bread...so tasty!


Mmm...tomato-y

3. Green figs from Terra Firma Farms and little red plums from a neighborhood tree...


Fig and plum

They are the key ingredients for another favorite summer treat, fig and plum cake.


Enjoy with afternoon tea

Rockin'

Jennifer of Piddleloop says I'm a Rockin' Girl Blogger! (She says Arrow rocks too.) Aww...thanks, Jen! Awfully nice ego-booster, especially since I've been in such a funk recently. I am supposed to pick five rockin' girls...but there are so many rockin' girls in blogland that it is hard to choose just five! Here goes...

• Joanne and her bunnies rock
• not martha, first blog I ever read and always an inspiration...Megan totally rocks
• African Kelli rocks...triathalete saving the world while crafting and baking with such spirit...where does all that energy come from?
• Portia rocks, dissertation mommy of two and always so positive...
• Molly rocks...one of my favorite food reads, with a side of gorgeous photography

Keep on rockin'!