Hummingbird Cupcakes

Since starting my part-time work at a doctor's office during the Great Job Hunt of '15, I have taken it upon myself to conduct extensive diabetes research among the office staff by bringing my baked goods to a new state. This past week, our young whippersnapper of a boss had his birthday, and I was tasked with supplying the confections and with telling him how your body breaks down once you're no longer 25 (here's to infinitely longer hangovers and bum knees!). I decided to embrace the great Southern charm of Charleston with the most requested recipe in the history of Southern Living- the fruit filled cinnamony delight known as hummingbird cake.

Would the office be inspired by my latest round of cupcake magic leading to a promotion, or would I be out on the streets begging for work?

Hummingbird Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Southern Living
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Time: 60 minutes

Do not be deceived into thinking you're making muffins.

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple with juices
1 cup chopped pecans, plus additional for topping
2 cups chopped bananas

Frosting
16 oz cream cheese, softened to near room temp
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4-6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon

Make sure you only focus on the really pretty one in the center. The fruit inside may lead to some interesting dimples...

1. Sip on a mint julep to get in the proper Southern spirit.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
3. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
4. Stir in the eggs and oil until the dry ingredients are just moistened.
5. Mix in the vanilla, pineapple, pecans, and bananas until evenly distributed.
6. Fill cupcake tins ~ 2/3 full with batter.
7. Let bake for 18-22 minutes until golden and the toothpick test comes back clean (be careful of pineapple and banana messing up the test).
8. Let cool on wire racks.
9. While cooling, make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the butter. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until you reach the desired sweetness. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla extract.
10. Top your cupcakes with frosting and additional pecans. 
11. Resist the urge to eat them all before sharing with your coworkers. 

Since there was not already enough sugar in the cupcakes themselves, I just had to add on pure sugar lettering for extra fanciness.

In the least shocking development ever, it turns out Southern Living knows what they're talking about when it comes to cake. My only real change to the cake was adding more vanilla (which is a given in pretty much every dessert I make), while I added cinnamon and altered some of the ratios of the frosting to reflect some of my previous cupcakery. Hummingbird cake is one of the most moist, delicious desserts you will ever have. The banana and pineapple filling kept the cake interesting without adding much additional work while also preventing it from drying out, and the cinnamon cream cheese frosting reinforced the spiced nature of the cake without making it overpoweringly sweet. When all was said and done, the office was abuzz with praises of the cupcakes, and I was allowed to stick around for at least a little longer.

See if you can guess where I decided to stop worrying about a piping tip and just started piling on delicious frosting.

Mom's Diner: Elvis Presley's Fried Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

Were you really expecting a pretty picture with a name like that?

Once my sister and I both left the South, my parents were forced to find new ways to fill their time (aside from worrying about us in scary California). That special replacement something turned out to be the King himself- Elvis Presley. My mom took a break from her busy Elvis Look-Alike contest schedule to teach me about some of the highlights of his "diet". Initially, I resisted, but since the recipe came from the chef who makes me want to know what love is (the ever so dreamy Nigella Lawson), I was willing to give it a shot.

Elvis Presley's Fried Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

From Nigella Lawson 

Servings: 1 or how ever many people you can convince to share a fried sandwich

Time: 10 minutes

2 slices white bread

2 tbsp butter

1 small ripe banana, mashed

2 tbsp creamy peanut butter

The complicated ingredients list. Not pictured: butter.

What sandwiches were missing

1. Lightly toast two pieces of white bread.
2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
3. Spread the mashed bananas and peanut butter on your toasted bread and close the two pieces together to form a sandwich (are you still with me?). In case you're confused, the gooey stuff goes on the inside.
4. Fry the sandwich in the melted butter for about 2 minutes per side.
5. Slice in a diagonal and enjoy.

Enjoy with a nice root beer float. Just try not to be too creeped out by the glances from the Big Boy.

Right off the bat, I was a little concerned that the sandwich wasn't actually deep fried. My lofty expectations of an Elvis Presley creation were smashed. Then, I bit into the sandwich and was pleasantly surprised at how delectable it was. Peanut butter and banana is always a winning combination, but surrounding it with the crunch of our fried toast and that hint of butter really makes you just want to retire to sweat pants (or a nice sparkly jump suit) and call it a night. Along with our Abita Root Beer float, this sandwich gave me heart palpitations which I can only attribute to love, proving that anytime you can take culinary advice from a man who died on the toilet, you just have to.

My dad takes an artful picture of me eating the sandwich with my iPhone. Parents with technology are just so adorable.

Eggless Sunday: Strawberry Banana Quinoa Muffins

Recently, I've noticed that my breakfast routine was in serious need of some tinkering. When you walk into a Starbucks on your birthday and are greeted by all the baristas shouting "Happy Birthday, Terry" (and confusing the poor soul who walked in at the same time as you), you realize that you just might go there too often. As part of my Sunday of baking, I wanted to make a healthy scone/granola bar alternative that would go well with my morning life-breathing coffee (I may live in Texas, but I think coffee is by far the world's most important black liquid). In the end, I settled on these ambitious muffins to hopefully prevent my descent in to becoming Starbuck's "Norm".


Strawberry Banana Quinoa Muffins
Adapted from Chef In You
Servings: 24 muffins
Time: 90 minutes

Cooking before baking. Pure freaking anarchy.

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups mashed banana
2 cups fresh strawberries, diced

Fortunately, this is one batter that's supposed to look lumpy. Fortunately that didn't stop baking partner Alex from devouring it.

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan. Then cover and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
4. Stir in the quinoa until it's completely covered by the flour mixture.
5. Using a stand mixer, combine mix the sugar and oil together in a separate bowl.
6. Add the yogurt, vanilla and mashed banana to the oil mixture until well incorporated.
7. Drop the strawberries into the flour-quinoa mixture and stir well.
8. Combine the flour and oil mixtures by gently stirring with a rubber spatula until just blended.
9. Drop the batter into lined cupcake tins and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the toothpick test comes back clean.
10. Let cool on wire racks.
11. Shovel them down your gullet along with copious amounts of coffee. 
12. Realize the shaking your body is doing is simply its special way of telling you how much it loves coffee.

What do you mean I don't frost them after? Hogwash!

These were some absolutely killer muffins. I reduced the amount of banana from the original recipe so that the muffins wouldn't be too mushy (an unfortunate baking consequence of the banana) and the result was a structurally sound muffin that tasted like incredible banana bread with glorious juicy bites of strawberry. These two fruity delights were further complimented by the cinnamon and vanilla for muffins that had everyone coming back for more.  I just hope the good folks at Starbucks don't send out a search party to find me this week. 

The Occasional (Very Lazy) Vegan: Banana Oatmeal Muffins

The blurriness was likely a result of me eating something actually healthy and not loaded with sugar (perhaps I should consult a doctor)

An interesting thought occurred to me during my last Sunday bakeathon; I realized I might want to present a healthy option to go along with my cookies and cupcakes (although this would most certainly slow down my plan of getting promoted at work by giving everyone else health problems). As a result, I decided some vegan muffins would be the way to go. Would my coworkers embrace these healthy yet delicious breakfast treats, or would they stone me with them for my nutritious transgression?


Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Adapted from Food.com
Servings: 12-15 muffins
Time: 30 minutes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar, unpacked
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
7/8 cup soy milk
1/3 cup applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Mix the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.
3. Combine the milk, applesauce and vanilla in a separate bowl.
4. Add the mashed banana to the wet ingredients until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Stir the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until just combined.
6. Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter and bake for 20 minutes.
7. Resist the urge to cover them with butter and sugar packed frosting despite the mixed signals the cupcake liners are sending you.

Can you see the cupcakes calling to me in the top left corner? Fortunately, I kept a calm head and ate muffins for breakfast all week.

These muffins certainly did the trick in my search for a healthy breakfast. They tasted a lot like banana bread with the occasional oat coming through. My only real complaint is that I wished the tops had been just a tiny bit crispier (but that's a central failing of most banana based things thanks to their inherent mushiness). Also, I might consider adding a little cinnamon to have these pack some extra punch, but as they stood they went perfectly with my sugar-laden morning coffee to get my day started properly. In the end, these flew out of the work kitchen just as quickly as the lemon curd cookies and black and white cupcakes (stay tuned) I made, so I might just have to keep up the nutritious option tradition.

Alex happily prepares to eat a muffin that's devoid of her lifelong enemy- eggs. (Meanwhile, the boxes present behind her show how great my house is at moving. Only been 3 months!)

The Tax Refund Party: Bananas Foster Cookies

All good bakeathons must come in threes (See Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter and Housewarming). For my final sugary trick, I decided to attempt to transform a typical cookie into a thrilling homage to the greatest thing to come out of New Orleans aside from Bounce Rap- Bananas Foster (I must figure out how to make a bounce rap dessert or I will consider my life a failure.). Previously, I converted the brown sugar and cinnamon packed alcoholic banana dessert into cupcakes and créme brûlée, so really cookies were the final frontier (Ok. that and pie!). Would my guests approve of my take on a beloved treat, or would they throw their plates on the ground in protest?


Bananas Foster Cookies
Servings: 12
Time: 35 minutes (including making caramel)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp bourbon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Vanilla bean ice cream
Bourbon caramel sauce (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Cream the butter and sugars together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
3. Mix in the bananas until well incorporated then add the milk, vanilla and bourbon.
4. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and blend well. Note: the banana will dull the cinnamon flavor somewhat, so you might want to add more to balance it out.
5. Place tbsp sized amounts of batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-14 minutes or until the bottoms start to lightly brown.
6. Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheet for two minutes then cool them on wire racks.
7. Prior to serving, heat up in a microwave (10-15 seconds) then top with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of bourbon caramel.

The hardest part about making banana cookies is always getting the texture right. I decided to use my snickerdoodle with some slight alterations in hopes that it would hit that perfect crispy texture I was looking for. In order to do this, I added some bourbon and replaced sour cream with bananas while relying on the brown sugar and cinnamon goodness that already existed in the cookies. Opening the oven resulted in the most ridiculously amazing aroma as the bananas and bourbon immediately lit up my nose. The cookie itself had an outstanding banana and cinnamon flavor, but wasn't crispy like I had hoped it would be (one day I'll figure this banana thing out). This shortcoming actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the soft cookie served to replicate the delicate banana from a traditional bananas foster dessert.

Bourbon Caramel Sauce

From Food & Wine

Servings: More than enough for double the cookies

Time: 15 minutes

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp light corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup bourbon

The portion of this charred on my stove is not as appetizing looking (nor does it smell as amazing).

1. Bring the sugar, water and corn syrup to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, periodically swirl (but do not stir) until an amber color forms (about 10 minutes).
2. Remove from heat and carefully stir in the cream in a slow, steady stream (be careful a lot of steam will be given off). 
3. Let cool for 1 minute then stir in the bourbon. 
4. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook over moderate heat for 1 minute while stirring.
5. Freak out that the mixture has boiled over and is now sticking to your stovetop. Spend the next 30 minutes frantically trying and failing to remove it.
6. Breathe a sigh of relief when you realize it still tastes quite delicious (what's in the pot not what's stuck to the stove. That just tastes kind of burnt.).
7. Transfer the sauce to a bowl. When ready to serve, you can heat it up by microwaving it over medium power in 30 second increments.

The caramel sauce was far more liquidy than I would have imagined when I think of caramel, but it worked nicely for a lighter finish to the dessert than a thick, super-rich caramel would have. The bourbon really comes through to produce a sauce that could easy go on other desserts like bread pudding.

Cafe TH owner, Minh, eats dessert like he cooks (read: like a total boss). Whoopie pies and bananas foster cookies at the same time!

What started out as a wild shot in the dark turned into one fantastic dish that came closer to my favorite New Orleans dessert than I ever could have imagined. The hot, cold, hot combination of the cookie, ice cream and bourbon caramel was something that would have easily fit in at an actual restaurant (and produced one of my favorite pictures yet. Although, I think a banana chip garnish would make it even more awesome.). The real star of this decadent cookie was the bourbon/vanilla combo that permeated throughout each component. The true entertainment, however, came from me turning super serious as I tried to prep each dessert when requested by my guests. Presentation was key, and I was determined not to fall short (as disappointment would likely lead to my banishment from Cafe TH and subsequently starving to death). I am extremely proud of how this dessert turned out, and it was another fantastic and unique addition to go along with the Fiery Red Hot Red Velvet Cupcakes and Strawberry Whoopie Pies. Fortunately, all the calories were completely negated by the copious amounts of Kinect dancing we did at the party (Yup, I'm pretty sure that's how nutrition works.).

The Fancy Dinner Party: Lemon & Bananas Foster Créme Brûlées

If there's one thing I've learned over the past year of cooking, it's that it's incredibly fun to play with fire (I'm waiting for a knowing is half the battle message from G.I. Joe). When Danielle invited us to her dinner party, I decided créme brûlée would be the most sophisticated way I could play with fire showcase my baking skills to enhance the evening. Never one to do things simply, I made two separate batches- one a delightfully zesty lemon version and the other a New Orleans spin with the fiery favorite bananas foster.


Lemon Créme Brûlée
Adapted from Food.com
Servings: 3-4 ramekins
Time: 4 hours (2 1/2 inactive)

Juice of 2 lemons
2 cups heavy cream
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for torching
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks
Strawberries
Blueberries
Blackberries

1. Preheat the oven to 300 F.
2. Bring the lemon juice to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Once boiling, reduce the heat and let simmer until about 1 tbsp remains.
3. In a separate saucepan, combine the cream, lemon zest and sugar over medium heat. Stir occasionally until steam rises (about 3 minutes). Then remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.
4. Whisk the vanilla and egg yolks together in a large bowl until smooth.
5. SLOWLY add the cream mixture while whisking constantly. 
6. Mix in the lemon juice.
7. Pour the mixture evenly into several ramekins then put the ramekins in a baking pan. 
8. Fill the baking pan with warm water about halfway up the ramekins to help insulate them from the harsh heat.
9. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 40-60 minutes until the custards set.
10. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
11. Sprinkle the tops with sugar then brûlée it with a handheld torch. Let the sugar harden for a minute.
12. Resist the desire to see what else you can set on fire.
13. Garnish with berries and serve.

As soon as you dig into the ramekin (which is one of my favorite words to say), you'll notice the bountiful but not overpowering lemon that helps separate this from any créme brûlée you've had before. It's finished off nicely by the berries, but it also goes splendidly with the bananas foster topping in case you forget to label them and accidentally mix up all the ramekins (but seriously what kind of idiot would do that...).

Bananas Foster Créme Brûlée

Modified from IHeartDessert and The Barefoot Contessa

Servings: 5 ramekins

Time: 4 hours (2 1/2 inactive)

1 extra-large egg

4 extra-large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar plus extra for torching

3 cups heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp bourbon

2-3 bananas

Cinnamon

Light brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 300 F.
2. Mix the egg, egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until smooth.
3. Scald the cream in a saucepan until steam starts to rise and tiny bubbles start to form on the sides.
4. SLOWLY stir the cream into the egg mixture. 
5. Stir in the vanilla extract and bourbon and pour into ramekins about 2/3 full. Set in a baking pan.
6. Fill the baking pan with warm water about halfway up the ramekins to help insulate them from the harsh heat.
7. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 40-60 minutes until the custards set.
8. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
9. Cover the tops with sliced bananas sprinkled with cinnamon.
10. Generously sprinkle on brown sugar and white sugar.
11. Carefully torch the sugars on top. Brown sugar will burn much more rapidly than white sugar.

You may notice some slight scorches from the fast burning brown sugar.

This was a solid addition to the dessert course, but it just didn't have the same pop as the lemon. The base is a standard and quite delicious créme brûlée, but the bourbon doesn't really show up. It's then elevated by a fabulous banana topping that makes it seem almost like the most incredible banana pudding ever. To make this even more awesome, I'd consider two alterations. The crispy sugar layer is somewhat disjointed due to the height variations of the bananas, so I would try to remedy this by adding a traditional brûlée layer prior to the bananas. Additionally, you could try to get even more of that incredible bananas foster flavor out by topping it with actual bananas foster (obviously, ignore the steps in the recipe that involve converting them to cupcakes, or go nuts and have cupcakes and créme brûlée to make you everyone's favorite diabetic friend).

Apparently I look super serious while torching, which is probably a good thing (at least for Danielle's kitchen's sake).

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it easy to make créme brûlée (assuming you have the spare time to let it cool, it's very little work). There's nothing like finishing off a meal by cracking in to that hardened sugar barrier to reach the rich and creamy center. Fortunately, there is one thing that manages to come close- watching Scotty shake off the extreme fullness to give us an important lesson in dancing. 

Scotty shows his approval of the dessert with a traditional dance.

Still to come: I go even more overboard on dessert with peanut butter butterscotch cookies, and the rest of the dinner party dishes are shown along with even more shaking of tail feathers. 

Cupcake Saturday Part I: Bananas Foster

Yesterday was my second foray into the delicious and manly world of cupcakes with my friend Jenny. Jenny was a fellow chemistry grad student at UCLA and bakes about twice a week. She is one of the best teaching assistants out there, so she was a natural choice to teach me all about proper baking techniques and show me the error of my flour packing ways.  For our first cupcake, we decided to use the New Orleans favorite dessert Bananas Foster as inspiration.

Note: All parts of the recipe are adapted from Food.com. This makes 24 cupcakes.

Bananas Foster Mixture
Time: 5 minutes

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, halved and chopped
3 tbsp bourbon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Melt the butter over medium heat then stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon until dissolved. (Note some of the butter fat will rise to the top. This is normal.)
2. Add the bananas and cook until tender (about 1 minute per side).
3. Turn off the burner and add the bourbon and vanilla extract. From a safe distance (read: with a long match) light the mixture and stand far away. It should extinguish in a few seconds. If like mine your mixture won't catch on fire, then boil off some of the alcohol over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes.
4. Remove the bananas and set aside to cool. Store the sauce for use later as a glaze.

My failed attempt at lighting alcohol on fire. I'm a bad chemist. 

The only hard part about making the bananas foster mixture is keeping from eating it all, so you still have something to put in your cupcakes. Again, I substituted bourbon for the traditional rum.  This recipe also works great topped with ice cream (a la my Bourbon Peaches Foster) if you don't feel like going through all the trouble of making cupcakes.

Cupcakes

Time: 15 minutes prep + 20 baking

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

3 eggs, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp bourbon

3/4 cup sour cream

Bananas Foster from above

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
4. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the creamed butter until fully incorporated. Then add the vanilla, bourbon, and banana mixture. The bananas may still be quite large after mixing, so you can use a fork to mash them further if you like.
5. Now alternate adding the dry mixture and sour cream over low speed (1/3 dry -> 1/2 sour cream -> 1/3 dry mixture -> 1/2 sour cream -> 1/3 dry mixture). Scrape down the sides after each dry/wet cycle. Be careful not to over mix.
6. Using an ice cream scooper, fill a lined cupcake pan. Each cupcake should take up between 1/2 and 2/3 of the liner. Anything higher will give unsightly muffin tops.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick test comes out clean (note: this is a tricky toothpick tests because you might hit a moist banana). Be sure to rotate them after 10 minutes.
8. Let cool for an additional minute in the pan then remove to a wire rack.

The blog might be called My Mess Their Kitchen, but luckily this was her mess in her kitchen. Just wash it in the sink. It'll be as good as new...

The cake itself lies somewhere between a traditional cupcake and a muffin, which is pretty common for banana cupcakes. It was nicely moist and the occasional banana pieces were always fun to bite into. The only real change I might make is to put a little more banana into them next time to really emphasize the flavor.

Frosting

Time: 10 minutes

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp bourbon

2-3 cups powdered sugar

Sauce from bananas foster (above)

Banana chips

1. Beat the cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, vanilla and bourbon together over medium speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the powdered sugar half a cup at a time and mix well. Stop when you reach the desired tanginess/ sweetness combo.
3. Glaze the tops of the cupcakes with the bananas foster sauce.
4. Pipe the frosting on in the desired shape.
5. Garnish with a banana chip.

Since they have bananas in them, they surely make a healthy breakfast...

The frosting is absolutely incredible. We went with 2 1/3 cups powdered sugar because we didn't want the sugar to completely overpower the cream cheese, and it worked wonderfully. The real star, though was the decision to glaze the tops of the cupcakes with the leftover sauce. We found that we kept tasting the mouth-watering sauce while we were baking, so it only seemed right to not let it go to waste (really a philosophy that should apply to anything containing bourbon).

If you look closely, you can guess which ones Jenny frosted. Additional frosting help was provided by my former labmate Xiaoming.

Of the four batches of cupcakes Jenny and I have made, these were hands down everyone's favorite. You get three fantastic layers of flavor as you bite into it from the frosting to the glaze and the cake itself. The bananas foster really comes through in all parts of the cupcake.  While I did think that the banana chip was a cute and tasty garnish to the cupcakes, I would like to figure out a way to add a little color to give them more visual pop. Any suggestions?