Cream Cheese Frosting

In honor of turning 34, I’m sharing my favorite frosting recipe. It’s excellent on cinnamon rolls, carrot cake, red velvet cupcakes, sliced fruit, hummingbird cake… or right off the spoon.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese, never fat free (you might as well eat salad)
  • 1 stick Salted Butter
  • 1/3 cup Greek Yogurt
  • Splash of Vanilla Extract (and/or Rum)
  • 1 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
  • Sprinkle of Cardamom
  • Use a mixer on high speed to combine the wet ingredients above and beat well, then add the powdered sugar last and beat again- just when you think you’re done, beat it for another 2 minutes, then chill well.

Pop Quiz— Do you know the difference between frosting and icing? Frosting is thick and spreadable and made with a fatty base, often butter. Icing is thinner and usually made of powdered sugar mixed with a liquid such as water or milk.

Listening Lately

Saturn by Sleeping at Last

You taught me the courage of stars before you left
How light carries on endlessly, even after death
With shortness of breath
You explained the infinite
And how rare and beautiful it is to even exist

I couldn’t help but ask for you to say it all again
I tried to write it down, but I could never find a pen
I’d give anything to hear you say it one more time
That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes

The Annual Kayak Day, 2022

The annual family paddle fell on a Sunday in July this year- the one day we could all manage it. The exact time of year matters less than the event itself. Cool water, melting sunscreen, the short rush of class 1 rapids, a stop at the “beach” for a float and some sugared sour candy. The tune of “hooked on a feeling” fading in and out as it drifts nearer and then further over the water from a glitchy waterproof speaker tossed in a dry bag. Somehow this paddle became part of our identify, a family tradition that is as sacred as a holiday.

the Patriarch and Matriarch
Kayaking highlight video, 2022
Carol Anne and Kendall ❤️
Olivia’s first year on the River
Twinkies!
We gave a cigar to the guy who took our photo.

Thinking questions: What traditions are worth intentionally cultivating? How do shared events shape our family identity?

Happy summer, friends! ☀️