Introducing Rawr-y

Getting a Kitchen Aid Mixer was one of my life goals. Growing up, my mom always promised me that she would buy one for me when I got married. As a kid, I always thought that I would get married right after college. But when I came out in college, I was paranoid that I would never have a proper wedding ceremony therefore would never get the proper gift I dreamed of as a baking-loving kid. I started saving up my credit card points and was counting down the months until I "earned" the Kitchen Aid (even though my mom is supportive and would have still bought me a mixer when my happy day arrived). Then I saw it on sale on Black Friday and the amazingly low door buster price was much more cost efficient than the points. I bought it on the spot and took it out of the box at my mom's house and sat on her living room floor while making sure all the parts were there and it worked. Then, reality sunk in. The Kitchen Aid didn't fit into my tiny studio apartment kitchen (the microwave ended up taking over most of my desk when I began cooking more), so the Kitchen Aid would need to stay at my mom's until I moved. I took pictures of my greatest kitchen purchase and put them as the background image on my laptop to remind me that I made it into adulthood - I had my own mixer and just needed to find the proper home for it. I e-mailed a picture of it to Eliot:

Michelle: I feel like it needs to have a name. I feel bad for leaving it alone in my childhood bedroom, but I think it will manage... I don't know how I'll manage, however.

Eliot: Haha, it looks like a baby dinosaur. We'll think of a name for it.

I loved his response and couldn't help but think "Rawr!" so Rawr-y was christened!

A month after moving, when all my flours were properly put away and my kitchen was organized, Rawr-y came to life. Her first creations were chocolate cupcakes for my birthday. I used a recipe from You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free! Those recipes are extremely simple and tend to be one-flour recipes, which is rare for gf baking. I was a little concerned about the amount of sugar compared to some of the other ingredients (1.5 cups sugar, 1 cup potato starch, 3/4 cup oil, 3 eggs, among other things) as the recipe only made 15 cupcakes, but I was sharing them with adults who could responsibly handle a sugar overload better than kids - right? While the cupcakes were baking, Rawr-y got a handwash so I could make the frosting. Bring on the sugar!

Michelle's Frosting

6 T Crystal Farms Vegetable oil spread (non-dairy "butter")

pinch of salt

2 cups (plus more) of powdered sugar

3 t vanilla (plus more) rice milk

Cream together the vegetable oil spread and pinch of salt. Then add the 2 cups of powdered sugar and 3 t vanilla rice milk (alternatively - use original rice milk and add a splash or two of vanilla) until smooth. Slowly add additional powdered sugar or rice milk until the desired consistency is reached. Do not settle for mediocre frosting! Adding a little bit more of one ingredient can make all the difference between "meh" and "holy cow!" frosting! I tend to average 2.5 to 3 cups of powdered sugar.

See? Just as easy as opening a tub of over-processed frosting!