enemy

you are not my enemy. the Liar is our enemy. the Father of lies, that great Murderer--he is our Enemy.

"Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one... that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." John 17:11, 21

¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁵But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Gal 5:13-16, 23

i want one of these...

...and so does Juno.

an inspiring video of friendship

and here is a deeply moving video of a romance defying all rules of inter-species relationships

okay, muscle spasms in my back,

that's enough.

cupcake #1: basic vegan white cupcake & buttercream frosting

photo taken from www.vegancupcakerecipes.com

since my students were great today while I was being observed, i am going to bake them some cupcakes. i'm pretty sure there's a chick in the class who is allergic to a lot of stuff, including milk, so i decided to find a vegan recipe to try. i found it at www.vegancupcakerecipes.com. i find it odd that the first cupcake i am going to blog about is vegan, but whatevs. here is the recipe. the process shots and lessons learned will follow later. i also have a vegan buttercream frosting recipe from www.chow.com.

the cupcakes!

ingredients

2 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c organic unbleached sugar

3 1/2 t baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 c margarine (80% fat is best) — softened

1 c plain unsweetened soy milk (make sure soybeans and water are the ONLY ingredients)

1 t vanilla

1/4 c soy yogurt

1/4 c apple sauce

1/4 c silken tofu

directions

1) Heat oven to 350F degrees.
2) Beat all ingredients in large mixer bowl on low speed, scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds.
3) Beat on high speed, scraping bowl frequently, 3 minutes.
4) Pour batter into paper-lined medium muffin cups, filling each about half full.
5) Bake 20 minutes.

the frosting!

ingredients

• 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
• 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine, we use Earth Balance
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

directions

1) Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.

2) Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.