"A truly great mentor is hard to find, difficult to part with and impossible to forget." -

There was a point in my life where I was making changes, major ones. For the major it of my life I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up, and then I grew up and things changed. While there is still a part of me that dreams of fulfilling my childhood ideals of my future, I know that the decision I made to change my career path was the right decision at that time. The choice for who I would become was not my own, but it was the insight of an amazing person and fantastic teacher. Linda Bass taught my public speaking class in college. I met her in my sophomore year, and she was the person who suggested I become a speech-pathologist.

Linda saw something in me that I never saw in myself. She saw me as a leader, and she gently guide me to be better and expect more of myself. Linda was not only an amazing teacher, but she was a fabulous human being that believed in all of her students. She had this skill of pulling the best out of them. She was there for us beyond the classroom. For me, Linda was there when I needed her, always. She let me sleep on her couch during the winter break when I had to work to buy books for the next semester, and so I couldn't go home, but I also couldn't stay in the dorms because they were closed. Linda brought me and some of my best friends together, and helped us create our own group of misfits with direction.

Linda was the first person to think I could write anything other than a scientific essay and have it carry more than a theorem or proof. Linda taught me that my life has meaning, and there is a story to tell, no matter how insubstantial a person I may think I am. Linda looked past everything, and she found the story to tell. Linda was a theater teacher at Cedar Crest College, and she taught me so much more than public speaking and stage presence.

Linda died suddenly, just a year or so after I graduated from College. Her life was short lived, but there was a lot of living in her life. She touched so many young lives, that I know her memory will live on for long after my own fade away. Linda was the teacher in charge of our Forensic speech team, and she took us to Canada for an international competition in my senior year. The team took one of the 15 passenger vans and we drove to Montreal. On the way we stopped at my mom's house to have some food and use the bathroom. Linda got to meet my mom and the rest of my crazy siblings, and she fit in perfectly. I will never forget how influential this one person was in my life, and I thank her for everything she has done for me.

Today I am making her apple cinnamon cupcakes. It seems to be the weekend for cupcakes, but these ones are in honor of an amazing person, so I am pulling out all my best work. The cupcake is made with chunks of apples, and plenty of cinnamon. I am using my cinnamon whipped frosting because it tastes like a little bit of heaven, and I am making an apple caramel sauce to drizzle over it all. I hope it all turns out just right for Linda. Thank you for everything.

Apple Cinnamon cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 cup butter-soft

1 1/2 cups sugar

*in mixer with whisk attachment, smooth the butter and sugar

4 eggs

*Add to butter/sugar, mix completely.

2 tsps vanilla extract

2 tbsps cinnamon

*add to mixture

3/4 cups milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

*whip into batter

2 1/2 tsps baking powder

2 1/2 cups flour

*Add flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix thoroughly.

*Fold in 2-3 cups of chopped apples

*Bake 350 F/ 175 C for about 20 minutes

Whipped cinnamon topping

1 pint heavy whipping cream

*In mixer with whisk attachment, whip on high until hard peaks

*fold in 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, 2 tsps vanilla, 3 tbsps cinnamon

*Allow to chill for at least 30 minutes. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes

Apple/caramel glaze

2 cups apples

*Heat apples in medium pan until mush

*add in 1-2 cups caramel sauce (I use the ice-cream topping kind)

*Stir over heat for about 5 minutes.

*Allow to cool, place in squeeze bottle or use spoon to drizzle over iced cupcakes.

*Baker's notes:

The apple batter doesn't rise as much because of the apples, so feel free to fill the cupcake wells almost to the top. Mini cupcakes will bake at 350 F/175 C for about 15-18 minutes. My oven did a pretty good job baking these today. Make sure the sauce isn't too warm or it will melt the whipped topping. Also, please admire my awesome cutting board. It always makes me laugh, and Linda would love it too! Enjoy!