Eating my feelings in the form of rhubarb.

Ok, so I was afraid that I was going to be terrible at keeping up with this, and I am. I mean, I sort of forgot about this for oh...6 days. But, hey, give me a break! I'm a newbie! There's also bigger things that I should probably be worried about in these next few weeks. Finals are quickly approaching and inevitably going to kick me in the rear. Hard. I'll be going back for the summer and will have to be without my friends for 3 whole months! I'm really not sure if I can do it. They're the reason that I love this college, town, and time in my life. My g-phi sisters and my schramm crew are what keep me going. When I'm up, down, annoying, cranky, loud, quiet, silly, stressed, sleepy, optimistic, pessimistic, and unbelievably wordy, they're there to balance me out or to slap me upside the head and tell me to get a grip on myself. I truly can't imagine what life would be like without them.

Unfortunately I'll have to experience it...so I'll just eat my feelings with these cupcakes.

Rhubarb & Ginger Cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened

1 cup superfine sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup cooked rhubarb

the frosting:

1 cup cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 tbsp. lime juice

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/2 tbsp. roughly chopped candied ginger

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 18 baking cups in muffin pans. Combine all the cupcake ingredients, except the rhubarb, in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon the batter into the cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack. Hollow out a small hole in each cake and fill with 1 tsp. rhubarb.

For the frosting, combine the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar, and beat briskly until soft and creamy. Add the lime juice, ground ginger, and candied ginger and mix well. Spoon onto the cupcakes.

Store unfrosted in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes 1 1/2 dozen.