Butter Measurement Conversions (...sigh)

I'm writing out some (read, all) recipes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and am getting quite annoyed with the measurements.  Crazy Americans!  I understand that in America they have a different sized measuring cup (in New Zealand, Australia, and some other countries, we use a cup that is 250mls, while in the States, a cup is 236.588mls or 240mls [way to make it complicated!]) and often use pounds and ounces (because they're stuck in the 19th century?).

But what I don't understand is how you measure butter.  There are sticks of butter, and there are cups/T of butter.  My phone can't (or couldn't until I just created a conversion to do it) convert sticks of butter to grams.  Edmond's Cookbook doesn't have a clue either.  In NZ and Australia, most butter is sold in a block of 500g, and on the paper there are lines that indicate 50g intervals.  You simply run a knife gently along one of these lines on the outside of the paper, then unwrap the butter, and cut along the impression you have made.  I would like to ask any American visitors to my little blog (and I know there have been a few) - how on earth do you measure a cup of butter?  A t or a T is doable, if the butter is very soft, but how on earth do you do the same with a cup?

I have looked up a conversion ratio for sticks of butter to grams of butter and for cups of butter to grams of butter and created new conversion ratios for my phone, so now I can simply look it up each time I write out a recipe.  I can see conversion ratios needing their own post in here soon.  A lot are in the front of Edmond's, but not all that I would want (for example, regular sugar is included, but not icing, caster, or brown, and the damn butter), so I might spend some time when I have nothing to write about making a nice little table.

Blogs and Websites for Recipes pt 2

Continuing from the last post about internet resources for finding great recipes.

Martha Stewart

How could a list of places to find recipes be complete without the ubiquitous Martha?  For some reason, we don't have her show on free-to-air tv (or not any channel we get at my house) anymore, but her website is still there to educate and inspire.  Also, having access to the suggestions and recipes (as well as the crafty projects) without having to watch the interviews of people I haven't heard of (granted, often they are quite famous) and then the spectacle of making them cook/craft when they have no skill/interest in what they are doing..  well that's invaluable.  There are videos available if you need that kind of step-by-step visual, which I sometimes do.  She also has a newsletter, but unless you don't mind getting many adjacent emails to get to the interesting stuff, just use the search function on her site.

Cupcakes Take the Cake

Totally self-explanatory.  Everything and anything cupcake - recipes are a little scarce, but, like my own blog, they link to a lot of places where you can find the recipes.  But the main draw is the pictures.  I subscribe to their feed and every time I open a new notification, there is a beautiful large picture of an incredibly beautiful cupcake.  This isn't just about yummy, it's about art.

Bakerella

Bakerella's main claim to fame (and it's a substantial one!) is the invention of cake pops.  What do you get if you combine a cake, shredded into crumbs, cream cheese, a lollipop stick, and some creative decorating?  These beautiful and quirky truffles.  The simple cake balls are on my list for Christmas sweets, but Mum's taking a bit of convincing - they do look impossibly rich, but whoever said that was a bad thing?  Bakerella isn't a one-hit-wonder, though - she has many other recipes that I haven't yet explored.  Well worth a look.

Joy of Baking

This website has SO many recipes, I doubt one could ever run out of new things to try.  These recipes are also accompanied by a history of the yummy and at least one picture of the finished product.  I have the black and whites, chocolate-craisen biscotti, and the candy cane cookies on my list to make.

Kalyn's Kitchen

After all of the baking, you might like to try one of Kalyn's Kitchen's recipes.  These are really healthy really really delicious-looking recipes.  Some vegetarian and meat recipes, all with a concerted effort to keep the GI values low and the nutrition value high.  Although there's a focus on the South Beach Diet, you don't need to follow it to enjoy the hearty recipes here.

There will be a third part and a bonus round for blogs/sites that are "closer to home".  They should be along in the next few days!