Purposeful Pigs

Often I deal with emotions by heading to the kitchen to bake.  For instance, when I was teaching, a snow day usually resulted in a yay-no-school-happy-dance followed by a homemade loaf of banana bread warm and ready for the kids when they awoke.  Realizing that their day would revolve around snowmen and snowballs, they too celebrated.  Mmmmmmm...buttered banana bread. To this day, all three children love bb.  Coincidence?

Fast forward.  The last nine months have been a roller coaster of emotions, mostly sad.  My sister was diagnosed with lung cancer, and has withstood procedures that have left her fatigued and foggy, nauseous and dizzy, hairless, yet hopeful..  There is a limit to what the human body can withstand in the name of "cure," and I believe my sister is at the edge of that limit.  Still, when people have asked about her cancer ultimately returning, she has boldly replied, "When pigs fly!"  She even wears a ring that displays a winged pig :)

Earlier this month our family attended the Fight for Air Walk in Philadelphia to honor my sister in her progression through this journey.  We had prepared buttons for our t-shirts, had raised quite a bit of money compared to others, and were anxious to walk historic Philly on her behalf.  Sadly, she was not able to attend due to her physical condition that day.

After the walk, we brunched at my daughter's place.  In preparation for the meal, I thought hard about what to bake for the celebration.  I decided on cupcakes with piggy adornments.  Yes, I know that the pigs are wingless, but this was my first foray into using fondant.  I used the internet for guidance and credit this site for the prototype and the frosting-as-mud idea.  Yum...wallowing never looked so good!

Purposeful Pig Cupcakes
Mentor sites:
Pigs/Pig Parts
Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting