Book & Baking Blog Entry 43

I have been reading a lot but not baking.  The beginning of the school year always slows me down.  I wonder why baking becomes a chore when I really love it so much.  I also have begun to really enjoy baking alone.   I know that's wrong.  I love my daughter, but a 4-year-old is not always the best assistant baker.  Yep.  Imagine that.  She is an awesome companion, but, IMAGINE, she gets bored with baking and cooking. 

Well of course.  It's boring,  That's why I listen to books on tape.  OK, audio books. NOT books on tape.  I'm old.  Live with it.

So tonight I had to bake.  I love to bake but really hate it when I'm pressed for time.  And of course I am almost always pressed for time.

But I did it.  2 types of short bread and an angel food cake.  The shortbread is in the 'fridge.  Now I have a new experiment.  I am going to bake tomorrow.  I've never just let it sit.  So I'll add tomorrow or the next day how this went.  I'm so excited that I might try to serve sub-par food to my colleagues on Wednesday.

Book & Baking Blog Entry 42

So, I've been feeling frugal and rereading a lot of books, or should I call them texts?  They are mostly on Kindle.  Not my point.  I get new items each month via audio and this is my only guaranteed source of new material.  It's weird how books aren't books.  And if they're audio are they texts?  Hmmmm. Stories (only my husband doesn't like that word because it makes him think of old ladies watching soap operas...)

So, anyway.  I have been reading/listening to a new story called, A Pointed Death.  The author is Kath Russell.  It's not bad.  It's about a biotech consultant in San Francisco.  Her plot is OK, while not compelling it is basically keeping my interest.  But here's the kicker:  The heroine is is 40-something (which actually works for me considering how successful she is--I get a little tired of the 28 year old who has done it all and worked in the field for 10 years and has 50 published papers and a Nobel Prize) and her 2nd serious boyfriend was shot down and died in Vietnam.  They had planned on marrying. 

Seriously?  So she was 10 and engaged to a soldier.  What kind of parenting did she have?  Even assuming that she is closer to 50 than 40 she might have been 15 in 1975.  And, according to the story her biological clock is still ticking, so I would assume that she's closer to 40. 

So then I thought, hmmmmm, maybe this book was written 10 years ago.  I didn't really think so because our intrepid herione (who manages to get into a number of secured offices and copy files) uses a thumb drive.  I'm sure that they were around 10 years ago, but I don't think they were in common use.  None the less, I look up the publication date: 2010.  Yep.  She's my age.  Maybe a little older.  Now, I had friends whose dads were in Vietnam.  But to have a boyfriend who died there, I'm wondering how precocious this child was?!

Well, I haven't finished the book yet.  So far it's not bad.  But I really had to get the bad taste of this age issue out of my head and share it.

No great pastries lately...I wish.

Good eating and good reading.

Book & Baking Blog Entry 41



Pulled-Pork Pie right out of the over.



Summer Time and the Living is Easy....Wow, I wish that were true.  It's been a fast and furious summer.  Not a great one for excellent pastries or cookies or cakes or pies.  I did learn a better way to prepare salad, but really, who cares?!  It's salad.  Green.  Crunchy. 

So, I returned to my baking with a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Seemed like a good idea.  A triple fits in my mixer.  I don't recommend it.  It just was too much.  I don't know.  Maybe it was too hot that day?  The cookies taste fine, but look bizarrely brown.  Go figure!  Luckily it didn't stop people from eating them.  Chocolate chip cookies.  Why do Americans LOVE them so much?  Ironically, not my favorite. 

So, I also made way too much pulled-pork for a small get-together at my house last week.  I think there were fewer people at my wedding.  Of course, half of the crowd was the under 10's.  Yep.  A lot of kids.  So, imagine this, the pizza got eaten but the pulled-pork didn't.  Now, what am I supposed to do with THAT much pork? 

Make a pie!

That's what I do, I bake.  Well, my last foray into baking pork into a crust did not go so well.  This time I went to the expert:  HELLOOOOOOOOOO google.  Yep.  Gotta google pulled-pork pie recipes.  I love the Internet.  See my other blog to figure out why...

So, I found a recipe.  It looks ok. OK, not really exciting.  None the less.  So, of course, I didn't really follow the recipe.  BUT it smells good.  I am using my pulled pork, some hashbrowsn (they were supposed to be country style but I didn't really pay attention...oh well,) some extra carrots, potatoes, and of course the pie crust recipe that a friend recommended earlier last year.  It was actually pretty quick since I used prepared hash browns.  It's in the oven now.

Well that was quite an experiment.  It's very rich.  Being used to hamburger pie the meat in the pork pie is much ore dense.  It also seems sweeter for some reason.  Ruth picked through it and ate a few bites.  I liked mine but wished that I could have had a smaller piece.  I guess maybe with some asparagus or corn on the side? 

I liked it.  If I ever have a HUGE pot of pulled pork again, I'd make it again.  Brian tried it with BBQ sauce on it. That's what living in Tennessee will do for you.  He felt that the sauce did not complement the crust. 

Well, happy eating. Maybe it's time to blog about a book again.

Book & Baking Blog Entry 40

As I sit here at the computer hardly able to type, certainly not doing a good job of typing and wishing that I were wearing my reading glasses (that I am too tired and lazy to go get), I have realized that sometimes some things are just not meant to be. 

In fairness, I am SURE that I will accomplish my goal (princess and castle b-day cakes for my daughters 4th b-day) by Saturday morning.  2 princess cakes.  1 castle.  It's enough.  It was my choice, and one I freely made.  The cakes are done.  They sit in Tupperware right now; except for the one that is in plastic wrap.  That one I forgot while mopping the floor and WHOOPS!  Left it out over-night.  I'm sure it will taste fine.  Small children.  Cake.  Does it really matter?

That question actually came up the other day.  Another mother said to me that I should just buy a Costco cake (thus freeing my time.)  After all, kids don't care.  And I have to agree, it's true.  I'm the one who wants a homemade cake, homemade pizza, and a party.  Well, OK, as Miss Thing gets older she wants the party too.  But as long as there's a bounce house and some kind of cake, does the rest really matter?  Probably not.

So why do it?  What do I have to show for it?  I'm tired.  In pain (a lot of standing.)  I have a lot of work ahead of me.  And the small child will not even realize all of the work that went into it (unless I remind her 85 times a day until she leaves for college--and maybe not even then.)  All of the parents will say what a great cake it is, but as my friend noted, they would say that if it were from Costco.  Slightly different compliments, but compliments none-the-less.

Let's get back to why do I do it?  Well,  it's for me.  It's an accomplishment.  I hope that long term it shows my child how much I love her that I want her to have a crappy homemade cake vs something store bought.  I hope to instill in her the fact that I love her enough to want to put in the time and effort even though I'm tired and could easily buy her something.  I want her to know that it's special.  And really I want her to know this when she's 30. 

Right now.  It probably doesn't matter (although she did say she wanted me to make the cake when given a choice.)  But maybe some day she think, "wow, making a castle and two princess cakes is NOT as easy as my mama made it look."

So, what is NOT meant to be.  Frosting.  I have baked 3 cakes.  They are in the correct shapes to make 2 princesses and one castle.  I just haven't had time to make the frosting.  Every time I start someone calls from work.  I'm lucky that I get to work from home in the summers, but GEEZE people.  I didn't think you'd actually call me THIS week.  Nothing should need to be done...except, of course it did.

So, frosting tonight?  I hope so,  but I'm awfully tired...

Book & Baking Blog Entry 39

Baking Baking Baking.  I do like it and wish I had more time to do it.  I also loathe that most of my baking now takes place after 9pm.  It's not relaxing.  Well, not as much as it should be.  It's either feast or famine with the baking for me.  This week I'm making a triple batch of sugar cookies (aka cut-out cookies) for Imagina's graduation.

The graduation cookies are  fun.  Hopefully Ruth will want to help me on Tuesday.  It's a lot more work baking with a small child.  You either have to be a martinet or you have to be ready to get really filthy and enjoy a small flour covered finger in your ear (at the very least....)

Nope.  This isn't the stress.  The stress is always the task that you set for yourself.  A birthday cake for a birthday girl who really wants a princess cake.  Of course.  She also said that she wanted Mama  to make it.  This is cool and awesome.  It's also chilling.  What if she doesn't like it.  Is there a cake that a 4-year-old doesn't like?!  What if she cries because it's not right?  I'm paralyzed with more than fear and wearing adult pampers.  I still don't have a perfect butter cream recipe.

So I have her convinced that she wants a princess castle.  And I'm making a castle.  The castle will take 2 cakes and 1 batch of cupcakes.  A mix of yellow cake (do people really need a flavor for this?  butter?)  and chocolate (probably devil's food--hmmm I should probably make sure that I have all the ingredients.)  But, what is my big surprise?  An actual princess cake.  Yep.  Probably make 2 of those as well.  So that's one other cake.  She likes yellow.  Yellow cake with white frosting hopefully colored to match the princess topper that I've bought.  Which princess?  Well, I bought them all.  Yep.  Seriously.  Well, all that I could find.  And I accidentally ended up with 2 Tianas....

There are so many ways for this to go wrong:  1.  She hates both (all three) cakes. 2.  She only hates one. 3.  It's the wrong princess (I am so not making five princess cakes.) 4.  She complains at all about any of  it and I haven't had a drink. 5.  The other kids make fun of her obviously homemade cake.  6.  Did I mention trying to color match a plastic cake topper and create a "skirt" for the princess.  7.  What if I make the wrong princess.  8.  Did I mention my fear of humiliation.

I know I had a bigger list of fears.  Oh, what if the cakes taste horrible?  It could happen.  What if the edible glitter really isn't? 

Well, I think I'll post a place for you to vote which princess that I should make.  It's not going to make a difference because I think that I know who she wants, BUT I'm curious. 

I'll take pictures.  It should be interesting.

Book & Baking Blog Entry 38

So this is a blog about baking or about books.  Sometimes I digress such as my rant about publishers and costs, etc.  But really, who cares?!  Frankly, other than a few fabulous people that I know about  I'm not getting much traffic.  So I thought I might talk about baking again today.  Not just any baking but VIRTUAL baking.

Oh yes.  Not only do I bake IRL but I also bake virtually.  Facebook, that great time-sucker, has a game called Baking Life.  I was introduced to Baking Life just like I have been introduced to all my games: My friend Tracy. 

This is not a popular game.  I also joined because my sister, the pastry chef, was also on it.  Well, that was good enough for me.  Then Tracy's daughter.  Finally, my husband joined, just to send me gifts, although he seems to enjoy it quite a bit now.

Baking Life is lame.  It is still in Beta.  Or so they say.  They have some stupid rules, the game runs slow, and there are often glitches.  So, naturally I am devoted.  I check my bakery regularly.  My small child likes to change me and make me different colors and have me wear new outfits.  She also loves to change my hair.

So I bake.  She gets to play dress up and Brian and I send each other gifts.  Everyone is happy.
So, the fun part.  Brian and I were discussing our bakeries (oh yes we do!) and talking about what we bake and how we decide to bake: Our strategies as it were.  It kind of pays to bake all of the stuff available.  But, well...I don't like peach cobbler.  It's OK, but given a choice of the cobbler, scones, and creme brulee, I'll take either rather than the cobbler.  I actually won't bake anything that I don't want to eat.  Really.  I know it's a virtual bakery.  If I won't eat it IRL I won't sell it virtually. 

So, now I can be stupid IRL and in my virtual bakery..  Yep.  baking.  Yep.  I think I should read more....

Book & Baking Blog: Book & Baking Blog Entry 36

Book & Baking Blog: Book & Baking Blog Entry 36