a change of domain...and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

i've been away for awhile hence the lack of cupcakes and now i'm in the process of switching domains so within the next few days, y'all can update the address for my blog and follow me to www.airyfairycupcakes.com
blogger will apparently post a message to let all those know to follow me there, so don't get left behind now!

on another note, i just found out that i won another treat courtesy of BlakeMakes and Amano Chocolate yup, yup, i won chocolate! my favourite creation...the very substance that i could quite happily walk around with being fed into me by an iv drip! might get some looks, mind you, but if it meant that i would forever be high on chocolate for the rest of my life, well what better thing than that! i won 3 bars of Amano chocolate and it should be on its way pretty soon so again i shall be checking the post box regularly to make sure that the current heat wave we are experiencing here doesn't melt it away before i get to it! and of course, shall be scratching my head and thinking about what to make and trying not to think about eating it all instead!
stay tuned!
and while we are on the subject of chocolate, the reason i'm away from the kitchen for so long is because i am in the midst of helping out with a production of none other than...Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. i do some part-time work with a drama school here and they are performing their end-of-year production at the Civic in Tallaght. so anyone in the area...get on down and check it out. last night was opening night, and though i spent it all back stage, controlling packs of oompa-loompas. i believe it went really well! the perfect play to get me in the mood for my soon to be arriving chocolate, no?

a chutney-licious special delivery for moi!

'ding-dong' there was a goodie-laden ring at the door yesterday morning by the postman, who reluctantly handed over my jar of chutney (he knew so because it was written on the box - seems like i needed to worry less about the garden leprechauns and more about him!) which comes to me courtesy of McQuade's and Blake Makes

i enjoyed the sight of it nicely packaged up in the box, before i took the plunge and delved in to discover what lay within...

and there it was...in all it's fabulous glory...my jar of chutney and you can't imagine how thrilled i was because basically this stuff is not available on our little plot of the planet and so to be able to get my hands on some...well....suuuuu-weet!

the ingredients listed on the jar were dried fig, cider vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, raisins, apples, lemon zest, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, chilies and cayenne...mouthwatering...

i opened it up and took a peek inside...LOVED the look of the chutney at first glance...it's big, bold and very organic looking...just the way i like my chutney (and we are big on chutney on this plot of the planet) not all pulverised down to baby food consistency but chunky, meaty and so you can see what actually went into it. the smell was very tantalising...a great aroma that seemed to capture all the flavours listed on the jar...i was smitten...

so there is only ONE way to first and foremost test a chutney and that is the good ol'-fashioned way...some home-made bread, mature cheddar cheese and the chutney on top...add to this a sprinkle of sunshine and really...it just doesn't get any simpler and better than this...

i absolutely loved it! it was so tasty...i particularly enjoyed the sweetness of the fig contrasting with the tang of the ginger and the acidic taste of the cider vinegar. it perfectly complemented the maturity of the cheese and the homemade tomato bread. fabulous! the problem now is finding a decent hiding place to store it until i can bake it into a cupcake...i live in a household of serious cheese and chutney fans (our favourite flavour of crisps is...Walkers Sensations Vintage Cheddar and Red Onion Chutney). so need i say more...

now what did i say i was going to make with this again?...oh ya...the next weeks supply of mature cheddar cheese and chutney sandwiches, right? RIGHT? oh so tempting...but no...i've got to decide between my sweet ricotta chutney cupcakes or savoury goat's cheese (or mature cheddar) chutney cupcakes...so what do you think? maybe you can help me decide...

the airy fairy gets her wings on a SOOPER delight from Blake Makes and McQuade's!

recently i signed up to be a part of the SOOPZ network on Blake Makes which as Blake himself describes it...

"I started SOOPZ as a way to give food bloggers free food. I, myself, am a food blogger, and I love getting free food. SOOPZ is a way for me to share the love. I like the fact that the idea is very simple: “Food bloggers get free food. Food companies get free publicity. Everyone’s happy."

this sounded perfect to me especially when i found out that anyone who signs up is called a "SOOPER HERO"...so cute! i love baking and have no problem trying something new out especially if it arrives at my door in a nicely wrapped package. no fuss but lots of fun tasting and experimenting!

anyway, on thursday, Blake had a giveaway planned for jars of McQuade's Celtic (Fig & Ginger) Chutney. you can read about the giveaway here. all you had to do was post a comment about what you wanted to make with the chutney. of course, i quickly put my baking cap on and came up with two suggestions involving both a sweet (ricotta and chutney) and savoury (goat's cheese and chutney) cupcake and guess what? it must have hit a tastebud with Blake because i was picked and shall be expecting a jar of the lovely stuff in the post sometime next week. you can read more about the other winners here and what they are going to cook up.

meanwhile, i shall be anxiously checking the post box every morning to make sure that the leprechuns don't steal away my SOOPER delight from me first!