O-O-reo O-O-reo, what's in the middle? The white stuff!

You are totally singing it now aren't you? Nothing like a little Weird Al stuck in your head to brighten your day. You're welcome :)
So, it's my friend, Colin's, birthday and we had a picnic by the beach in Del Mar last week to celebrate that in addition to wrapping up Community Group for the school year. He wanted something oreo-y and otherwise left it up to me. Pinterest, here I come! I found these cute little oreo cheesecake cupcakes and they are so easy to make! Plus they are great to take to a picnic, they are so portable and not messy. Perfect for summer get-togethers.

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients

24 Oreos: 16 left whole, and 8 coarsely chopped

2 8-oz pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 275 F. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole Oreo in the bottom of each lined cup. Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium. Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Pour in the beaten egg, a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand. Pour the batter into the prepared tins, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, 22-25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, on a wire rack, then transfer to a plate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Last week was my friend, Cheryl's, birthday. She is in school so her birthday is such bad timing, she was only able to steal away 5 minutes to come eat a cupcake before returning to an all-nighter writing a 20-page paper. I remember those days. I am so glad I am not still in school, sigh...
Anyway, we celebrated on Friday night instead by going to see The Great Gatsby. That was such a great movie! The costumes and music were so beautiful. It doesn't look like it got great reviews but I loved it and highly recommend.

Anyway, here is the recipe for Cheryl's birthday cupcakes. They were delicious. The toasted coconut gives them such a great texture!

Toasted Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

2 sticks of butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. coconut extract

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vinegar

1 cup toasted coconut

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese

2 sticks butter at room temperature

5 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. coconut extract

1 cup toasted coconut

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the 2 cups of coconut on a baking sheet and toast for 20 minutes (or until lightly brown), stirring every 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla and coconut extract. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. Stir in toasted coconut. Pour batter into cupcake tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

Mix the butter and cream cheese until creamy and smoothed out. Add the powdered sugar and mix until creamy. Add vanilla and coconut extract. Frost the cupcakes and dip in coconut. (if desired, place a Hersheys Kiss in the middle for presentation)

Why I love geeks (and Will Wheaton)

I saw this video clip from Will Wheaton from the Calgary Comic Expo and just love it! (Video Here) I love Will Wheaton anyway. I think he was one of my first celebrity crushes, waaaay back when he was a young teenager in Stand By Me. I love how he describes nerds/geeks. "Its not what you love, its how you love it."
I have been trying to put my finger on it for years. I have always been drawn to geeks. They are my people! One of my favorite shows is The Big Bang Theory because I identify with it so much! (oh, and Mr. Wheaton pops his head in from time to time) This (even better video here) exact same scenario has happened in my dining room countless times! I don't know if that is so much that my friends are geeks or just overgrown 7th grade boys, but either way, to have it depicted in a sitcom just makes me laugh. I just... relate.
I consider myself a geek, and not so much because of the things I like (although things like Settlers of Catan, Firefly, and pretty much all things Joss Whedon would definitely put me in that category) it is because when I like something, I really LIKE something. I have a bit of an obsessive personality which can be a good and a bad thing. People who know me know that the things I am passionate about are just that... passions! When I fell in love with theater I was not just someone who loved theater, I was someone who would take off of work when RENT came to town and "rush" in line for 12 hours with the other crazies to get front row tickets. When I first read Harry Potter, I didn't stop until I read all seven books in less than a week and went to the movies at midnight with all the 15 year old kids wearing Gryffindor scarves and lightening bolts painted on their foreheads. I love the concept of Cosplay but I don't dare let myself get into it because I know I would get way too into it and spend a lot of money I don't have making elaborate costumes.
Ultimately, I think that is why I love geeks so much, they have passion. They love things, a lot! That is a beautiful quality in a person. And, of course, they are a bit on the fringe which I love too. Who wants to be too mainstream? Blech...
Anyway, until I connect with that one passionate outsider that I am sure is out there (probably at Comic Con or something) I will keep pinning things like this on Pinterest, because... let's face it, this will probably come in handy one day. LONG LIVE GEEKS!