Cupcakes > Muffins

So..I am finally starting this food blog! :) It's summer, I have time, and I need to do something productive. I've been meaning to start this up but I always found other reasons to put it off. Not any more! :) alrighty then. here we go.

I couldn't find a good picture of a strawberry cupcake and I keep forgeting to take a picture of the ones i've eaten. Maybe next time :)

I love cupcakes. Especially cupcakes at Crave Cupcakes [http://www.cravecupcakes.com/]. Anyways, my favorite is the strawberry cupcake. It has a base of vanilla cake with and strawberry jam. There's not a lot of jam but you get the sweet, gooey strawberry sensation in your mouth as you bite into this delicious cupcake. I'm not sure if the strawberry jam what they use but that's my guess. Then there's my favorite part: the icing. It's ironic because I sincerely hate icing. I'm not much of a sweet tooth but when it comes to Crave Cupcake's icing, it's a different story. I know it's kind of hypocritical but my goodness, their icing, is like what icing should be like. Again, I'm not quite sure what it is, and I'm pretty sure it's a secret recipe that makes them so great. But the way I would describe is is that it's like a glazed icing. It's somewhat flaky but smooth at the same time. Not too sweet, not too bitter. Regular cupcake icing is always way to sweet for me. But yeah that sums up my love for cupcakes, crave cupcakes. :)

With that in mind, I wanted to try to recreate a strawberry cupcake :) I guess I am a decent cook but when it comes to baking, I can honestly say I am an amateur. Baking from scratch that is* So yester-yesterday, I decided to make a strawberry-jam muffins, in honor of my favorite strawberry cupcake at Crave. I don't know why I decided to make muffins instead of cupcakes - that's probably why I suck at baking.I'm just kidding. I know it's a learning process :) Anyways so here is my first attempt. Oh and all my pictures are not the best quality, I know. I took these pictures from my phone - it's only 2.0 megapixels. But I will use a better camera next time :)

As you can see, I filled it up too much. So sadly, they turned out like this:

:( so much for heart shaped muffins.

So I added some powdered sugar and tried to make it pretty :)



I still had some batter and jam to spare so I made mini muffins. I guess they were more successful than my heart-shaped ones :)

As for the taste, I was not quite satisfied. It was sorta of bland, not as sweet as I expected it to be. I think it was because of the recipe I used was for muffins and not a cupcake but this was a great experiment. I will try a cupcake recipe next time :)

Evaulation.

What did you like about the class?
the topics were interesting and understandable. my favorite chapter was about sleep :) now i understand why i feel extra tired everday.

What was your favorite activity or project?
making a model of the brain with playdoh :)

What didn't you like about the class?
some quizzes were difficult.

What do you think I should leave out next year?
assigning stepping through the section. i find making notes over the chapter(s) more sufficient.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas for things I could do next year in AP Psych?
no, not really. you (Mrs. Halfen) did a great job this year. i'm already telling all my friends to take APPsych. :)

Do you have any suggestions or ideas for next semester in AP Econ?
Don't be too harsh? haha, i dont know.

Can You Love Food Too Much?

Personally, I love food. Everything about it - how it looks, the texture of it, how it smells, and of course, how it tastes.I could probably eat all day if I had the time and the food. When I came across this article I was surprised that it can be a disorder.

We can all agree we love food. We love to look at the presentation, smell the aroma, and gobble it all up. "Food Abuse" by Susan McQuillan, M.S., R.D., points out that some people love food so much more than others - resulting in an excessive eating habit. "Neuroscientists have found that food affects brain chemistry in ways that might lead to an addiction in some people. In fact, the brain chemistry and physiology of an obese person has been shown to be very similar to that of a drug addict." It goes on and says that people who constantly think about what is the next thing they are going to eat (or not to eat) is also classified as a food addiction. It doesn't matter if they eat too much or too little, it's the passion for food that controls their lives both physically and emotionally. When they lose that control, it becomes an addiction.

I find it very interesting that food can be a drug to some people - I mean it has similar results to other harmful drugs. A person addicted to food craves to eat constantly, will buy large amounts, eat till his/her hearts desire, and become an unhealthy fat person. Whereas a person addicted to smoking craves it constantly, will buy large amounts, etc. So my question was, "Can you love food too much?" I guess you can but to a certain extent. As for me, I have a passion for food, but I can probably live without it for awhile. After reading this article, I concluded that I dont have an addiction. Right?

Source:
http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/cravings/200803/food-abuse

Me.

Jung Typology Test:

(http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm)

Results: I am...

distinctively expressed extravert
moderately expressed sensing personality
very expressed feeling personality
slightly expressed judging personality

Eh? I guess I kinda agree with the results - like I agree that i have a very expressed feeling personality but for slightly expressed judging personality? I'm not so sure about that. As for the validity of this test, I guess its kind of accurate but some of the questions I didn't really understand what they were asking so I just guessed :p

Personality Lab:

(http://www.personalitylab.org/)

Results:
-tend to be compassionate, good-natured, and eager to cooperate and avoid conflict

-tend to be responsible and well-organized.
-tend to be sensitive, emotional, and prone to experience feelings that are upsetting.

-tend to be open to new experiences.

Wow this test was reallly long. Alot of the questions seemed to repeat at least more than twice. But anyways, the valadity of this test was alot more accurate because my results matched up to my personality better than the first test I took.

Attraction Test:
(http://www.explainyourbrain.com/)

Results:
Your average rating of attractiveness was 2.04, and the average rating by others is 3.18.You tended to rate the pictures presented as less attractive than the average person.

First of all, most of the pictures were ugly and not pleasant to look at. Guys with no shirts would have gotten a higher rating if they were wearing one. But then again, I rated the pictures by their faces with the exception of no-shirt = rating of 0. As for my results, it does match up with my high standards, so I found this test fairly accurate.

Big Five Personality Test:
(http://www.planetpersonality.com)

Results:
-You probably hate conflict and rejection and make it a point to treat others with love, compassion, and respect. For this reason you may be quite good at maintaining relationships.
- You are probably organized, punctual, and reliable.
-You may be creative, imaginative, and inquisitive about your world.

I think this test was the most accurate out of the rest. I pretty much agree with all the results :)

Sims Personality Test :
(http://www.personalitylab.org/cgi-bin/bfi_sims_process.cgi)

Results:
Nice (vs. Grouchy)
Encouraging and generous, nice Sims tend to be easy to get along with and very positive. They'll listen to what other Sims have to say whether it's interesting or not and clean up after dirty roommates. If they don't watch out though, other Sims may take advantage of their good nature. *I agree with these results because I do enjoy listening to my friends and their issues. So my friends who are reading this, if you ever need someone to listen to you, I'm all ears :)

Neat (vs. Sloppy)
Neat, tidy Sims typically enjoy cleaning up the house or grooming themselves in front of a mirror. There's always something to be done around the house and they'll more often than not be found doing it; great for a house, but it can tire Sims out. *I am pretty organized with my stuff most of the time. I get irritated when something isn't straight or neat (maybe I have OCD :o). Overall, I this test was fairly accurate -the results were as I expected.

Case Study 10

Case Study 10: A 36-year-old man and his young son were driving through an intersection when another car ran through a red traffic light and struck them. The two were trapped in the car until a fire department rescue team freed them. The patient was bruised but not seriously hurt. His son had a broken leg. The first few days after the accident the patient was preoccupied with arranging care for his son and getting the car repaired. A few days later he began having recurrent distressing thoughts and images of the accident. Theses symptoms lasted for several weeks. The memory of his son’s screams after the car was struck seemed particularly vivid. The patient became irritable, had difficulty concentrating, and avoided talking about the accident. He went out of his way to avoid driving down the street where the accident occurred. As time went on he could no longer remember whether the traffic light was red or green when he approached it.

Diagnosis.

The 36-year old man has acute stress disorder. ASD is the result of the response to a traumatic event that a person experienced or witnessed usually involoving serious injury or death. After a few days, the person suffers several symptoms such as vivid memories, flashbacks, or a loss of awareness to his/her surroundings. The person may also feel weak and not have energy to work or even tell others about his/her disorder. In this case study, the 36-year old man clearly has ASD; he was involved and witnessed his son getting injured, he had vivid memories of his son's screams, and after a few days, he was unable to recognize the traffic light as green or red.

Treatment.
Recommended treatments for acute stress disorder are such as antidepressant medications and psychotherapy. However, they cannot completely heal the patient but can help to regain strength to be able to work and socialize again. Luckily, their ASD may also heal itself over time.


Source:
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx44.htm
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/acute_stress_disorder.jsp

Dying to Achieve.

Christy Henrich, a former gymnast, suffers a tragic death.

Christy Henrich was born on July 18, 1972 from Independence, Mo. She attended Fort Osage High School in Independence, but that was not her main focus . Christy was a competitive gymnast who trained with the Great American Gymnastic Express Club in Blue Springs, MO. In 1989, she won the silver medal in the all-round competetion at the US National Championsihps. But then, a judge told her that she did not have the proportions of a gymnast and had to lose weight. This comment alarmed her causing Christy to be stubborn. She did not take a healthy solution but turned to eating disorders: anorexia and bulimia.

Because of her eating disorders, she became frail and did not have the strength to excel in her sport. Eventually, her disorder crushed her dream of making the 1988 United States Olympic gymnastics team. and was asked to retire. She no longer had passion in life and became severely sick. She was sent to the hospital and got help but she soon went back to her unhealthy habits. Sadly, she died on July 26, 1994 from several organ failures. She was only 4'11" tall and weighed 47 pounds.

I find it depressing that she had devoted her entire life for something she was so passionate for and failed. But I understand the immense pressures she had to face as an athlete which obviously caused her eating disorders. On the brighter side, her experience can be a great example to other competitive athletes about the extremes of handling critiques and their health.

Sources:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E1DE1F3EF93BA15754C0A962958260

http://whatever.losito.net/2007/12/29/christy-henrich/