2012 July

Operation Wedding Cake…

July 21, 2012 by Peabody · 21 Comments

Today I started what I am calling Operation Wedding Cake. Many a person asks me to make them a wedding cake. I laugh. They look puzzled. I tell them I can’t decorate a cake. They don’t believe me. I then ask them if they have ever eaten a layer cake that I have made. And no one can really say that they have. Because I don’t make them often and if I do it’s never full size. I can’t frost. I can frost cupcakes just fine because there is a piping bag to help. But cake. Cake is my nemesis. I feel so bad about the fact that I can’t help people out (and I hate disappointing people) so I decide to start Operation Wedding Cake. I have zero desire to go into the wedding cake world. But I would love to help my friends out who are on a tight budget and ask me to make a cake for them. So I am giving myself a year to practice cakes. The first thing I learned is that I need proper tools which I don’t have. I needed cake rounds and I didn’t have those just a square … [Read more...]

Filed Under: cake, Cookbook Review, Operation Wedding Cake · Tagged With: buttercream, cake, Operation Wedding Cake

The Joy of Packing…

July 17, 2012 by Peabody · 17 Comments

In moving I have discovered that I am the worst purger ever. Good thing I’m going up in space and not down. Going down in space would really suck right about now. The biggest issue I have of course is cookbooks. I thumb through one to decide if I should keep it or donate it. Only to waste 10 minutes reading through it. Only to decide to keep it. I mean how can you get rid of The Confederate Cookbook? You laugh but it has great southern recipes…see I am doomed. :D In other moving news the dog is a wreck. CCS is literally afraid of boxes. So you can imagine how upset she is. She has run into more stuff in the last couple of days then she ever has before. And she is in complete panic mode. I wish they made doggie vodka to take the chill off for her. :P She already takes puppy Prozac (for real) but that helps with her every day stuff not the new apartment maze of boxes. I found stamps. Lots of them. Which is good because I was just about to go buy stamps as I thought I didn’t … [Read more...]

Filed Under: baked goods · Tagged With: Breakfast, Butterscotch, Rolls

On the move…

July 15, 2012 by Peabody · 6 Comments

So the next couple weeks will probably be sparse around here on the blog. As the cocker spaniel in the box is indicating we are on the move. I decided it would be real fun to move in two weeks time. Ha! MDP and I had not planned on moving anytime soon but some circumstances changed and we needed to upgrade and so I am moving back into a home. With a gas stove! Which I am excited about that and the fact that it has a pantry I am not excited to be losing my kitchen island. Oh well. You can't win them all. I also gain more square footage and a third bedroom which is much needed when teenagers live with you every other weekend. In other news I completely forgot to ever mention who won the copy of Savory Sweet Life Cookbook. Here's the winner: Melissa says: June 27, 2012 at 10:19 am Delicious! I can’t get enough of peanut butter and chocolate! I’d love to have the ability to just *snap* my fingers and have a job done–especially chores like dishes and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General ·

Anything you can do….

July 12, 2012 by Peabody · 19 Comments

I have a habit, not a good one, not a bad one…just a habit of seeing something or tasting something and knowing that I can make it better…or at least for cheaper. Case in point: the other day I walked by ice cream isle in search of these non-dairy bon bon type things that I like and I saw a tiny, tiny jar of Black Raspberry and Chocolate ice cream and saw the price tag of almost $7 and nearly fell over. The flavor sounded awesome the price tag on the other hand was ridiculous. I’m sure it’s yummy ice cream but wow. I knew I could make about 5 times that amount for the same price and so I set out to do it. I had to use a combo of black raspberries and tayberries as I ate too many of the black raspberries without thinking. :) They work just as good. Needless to say I made the batch which makes 1 quart for around $2.20. So clearly I made more for less. And let me tell you that if this taste ANYTHING like the original. OMG. My jeans are thanking me so much for being allergic to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: frozen, fruit, ice cream · Tagged With: Black Raspberry, Chocolate Chunk, ice cream