Arts. Eats.

Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

One reason I have been losing sleep these past days is my penchant for good novels. Per my friends’ recommendations, I was able to finish another long novel. It was so hard to put down that I have been sleeping at 2AM and I did so because I need to be up at 5.30AM to help my daughter prepare for school. I miss the feel of real books and using  metal bookmarks though because for fiction, I prefer ebooks which I read using my netbook or laptop or iTouch. But for self-help, inspirational, instructional and crafts books, I read *real* books. Anyway, this week, I intend to finish an inspirational book that I have started reading a long time ago. I made a vow not to buy new ones unless I am through reading the old purchases.

A sequel of “Hello, Cupcake!” by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson is “What’s New, Cupcake?”.

Product Description
The endlessly imaginative duo who turned cupcaking into a national pastime is back, with utterly new, eye-popping creations anyone can make. Create a race-car cupcake, a robot cupcake, or ravishing jewelry cupcakes for a birthday party. Surprise the family with Chinese takeout dinner cupcakes on April Fool’s or serve up a goofy chocolate moose. Captivate Mom with a bouquet of long-stemmed rose cupcakes and build sand castle cupcakes with the kids. All you need are candies from the corner store and cake mix and canned frosting.

So what is new, Cupcake?

Dozens of "EZ" projects that use just a few ingredients–perfect for kids and parties.
• More pictures, brighter colors, bolder designs.
• More faux-food creations–so real you won’t believe they’re cupcakes!
• More comical critters and the cutest pets ever!
• More irresistible party centerpieces to celebrate hobbies, from golf to knitting.
• More spectacular holiday cupcakes: Valentine’s, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

You’ll end up with cupcakes so striking that you won’t want to eat them–but so delicious you’ll have no choice!

And again, some samples that might convince you to grab a copy:

From Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, here is a baking book for all you cupcake lovers out there.

Product Description
Witty, one-of-a-kind imaginative cupcake designs using candies from the local convenience store. America’s favorite food photography team, responsible for the covers of America’s top magazines, shows how to create funny, scary, and sophisticated masterpieces, using a zipper lock bag and common candies and snack items. With these easy-to-follow techniques, even the most kitchen-challenged cooks can

• raise a big-top circus cupcake tier for a kid’s birthday
• plant candy vegetables on Oreo earth cupcakes for a garden party
• trot out a line of confectionery "pupcakes" for a dog fancier
• serve sausage and pepperoni pizza cupcakes for April Fool’s Day
• bewitch trick-or-treaters with chilly ghost chocolate cupcakes
• create holidays on icing with turkey cupcake place cards, a white cupcake Christmas wreath, and Easter egg cupcakes

No baking skills or fancy pastry equipment is required. Spotting the familiar items in the hundreds of brilliant photos is at least half the fun.

Copies are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Powell’s.

Take a look at some samples: