Something suspicious

I like fruit snacks. It wasn't a thing I had when I was a kid (maybe that novelty is part of their attraction?) but I have definitely made up for the lost years of my childhood and have even discovered which ones I prefer. But when I eat them, I can't completely escape the niggling in my mind that tells me they are just softer gummy bears with a smaller serving size. But one is a candy and one is a "snack", and they get to go in different aisles of the grocery store. 

Same with muffins. They are basically undercover cupcakes, but one is a breakfast food and the other dessert. Once you start to think about it, most of the breakfast aisle  has been invaded by desserts. Pop tarts?  Fake pie that you put in the toaster. Cereal bars? Closer to candy bars trying to keep a low profile. And there's a whole line of "snacks" that are desserts in disguise. Someone is definitely trying to subvert my breakfast (and snack) diet!

On the bright side, it does make me feel slightly less horrible about how often I skip breakfast. 

Return of the Cake Fairy

I used to be known as the Cake Fairy, bringer of delicious baked goods to acquaintances in need. Then I moved and something happened* and I kind of lost my cake fairyness. I didn't have the right audience or motivation.

Well, in the last few months, I've started working with my next door neighbors and they've kind of become like little brothers in a way. They are pretty entertaining. A few weeks ago, one of them knocked on my door and handed me a mostly empty box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts and said, "This isn't an act of friendship, it's a bribe. I want more baked goods." And this week they both had birthdays so I made them a cake.

I'm not saying I was ever a fabulous cake maker or pastry chef or anything. But I liked to make stuff for people. It was just an easy way to put a smile on their face.** And it's been kind of nice to find that part of me again. Maybe not so healthy but it has been a nice change.

So welcome back, Cake Fairy.

*possibly multiple things. I didn't know anyone because I was new, I had dozens of coworkers instead of a couple dozen, and probably a few other things. Life happens.
**I think Carnegie missed an important chapter in his book. Food is a fantastic way to win friends and influence people.

Chocolate Cake Day

You gotta hand it to the USA. We may have weird politics and lots of things we aren't good at, but we are great at having lots of ridiculous. (Do other countries do this? Or is this just a weird American thing?) And while they may be ridiculous, a lot of them are really delicious, like National Chocolate Cake day, which what do you know, is today. So, naturally, I made a chocolate cake. It was a pound cake, and a new recipe (using coconut sugar, so fewer sugars!) but I think it turned out well. It is SUPER dark. And I didn't have milk chocolate so I used semi-sweet, which probably didn't help, but it's all good. If you really wanted to rich it up, some Nutella would do the job nicely. 

The good news is that because it's a pound cake, and baked in a loaf, there's not as much as if I did another cake and that is great news. Because, National Chocolate day may also come once a year, but the leftovers are forever. 

One sweet day

I read today that it is Chocolate Day. Now personally, I'm not sure when it isn't chocolate day, but I guess that since today is officially the day, you gotta go along with it and eat some chocolate. Now, I partook by getting a chocolate mousse dome from a local restaurant. Basically, chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and the whole thing dipped in chocolate. Pretty darn good way to get your chocolate intake, as far as chocolate goes.

Anyway, I hope you had some chocolate and that it was tasty. Because chocolate day deserves to be observed.

Silver linings

In case you wondered, you shouldn't leave out the egg when mixing a brownie mix. Especially a Ghirardelli brownie mix. On the scale of tragic kitchen disasters, it's at least an 8.

On the bright side, I may have figured out how to make brownie brittle (yes, that's a thing).
Also, it isn't as bad as broiled chocolate chip cookies. (Who puts the oven dial on broil? It's never on broil. 350. It always sits at 350. But, if you want cookie brittle...)
And, I now have justification for buying ice cream, which might make my brittle eggless brownies a little more edible. (Let's be honest. It's chocolate. Ghirardelli chocolate. I'm still gonna eat them. At least, most of them. They are edible. And not even bad edible. Not brownie edible, but not gag-me-down edible either.)

Anyone want to trade me some brownies for a few silver linings?

Brownie Bonanza

What do you do when you're roommate LOVES brownies, you see a top 10 brownie recipe list, and it's almost the end of roomie's semester?

Obviously you have a brownie bonanza.

Clockwise, from top left: Baked brownies, Buckeye Brownies, Marshmallow Crunch Brownies

Delicious. Not nutritious. And waaaaay more brownies than two single women need in one 900 sq. ft. apartment. But it was a can't miss opportunity. 

Oh, and thank you and lots of credit to the Brown Eyed Baker, without whom the inspiration for the Brownie Bonanza would never have hit. And to N.E.R., who loves brownies. And all the people who attended the recital on Sunday and helped eat the brownies. And my co-workers, who finished them off. My arteries thank you. 

How to host a birthday party for a 4 year old

1. Have cake.
2. Have ice cream.
3. Have jello.
4. Have jelly beans. On the cake. Don't expect there to be jelly beans left when done. Do expect there to be cake.
5. Have Cheetos.
6. Have orange soda.
7. Let the birthday boy (or girl) decorate the cake.
8. Let the artistic sibling help with the cake decorations. They will be awesome.
9. Let him help make the frosting.
10. Throw the rules out the window. It's a birthday.
11. Picnic outside. Saves having to vacuum.
12. Have the party at the Aunt's house.
13. Just have fun.

Side note: If  you are a single person and want to meet your neighbors, adopt a family and host their child's birthday party. Nothing attracts attention like little kids, and they are great topics for casual conversation. Definitely a good approach.

Bits and pieces

On Tuesday of this week, I was driving home late at night, and there was the most fantastic lightning storm. I wish I had been able to get pictures or video, but even if I had, they wouldn't really be as good as the real thing. It was so incredible. I kept wishing I could just pull over and watch. But it was so beautiful.

The next morning it rained, and I love rain. There were puddles in the gutter and my nieces and nephews went out and played in them. I used to do that when I was a kid. I loved playing in the gutter. (Hmmm, that doesn't sound so good...) We'd build dams and splash up and down, whenever water ran through the gutter--watering the lawn, rain. The kids had so much fun, and it just made me happy to see.

I made a cake for my sister's birthday. It's kind of become a tradition. She and her family were expats for a while, and they tended to be visiting the states around her birthday. Somehow, it always ended up that she was traveling between grandparents houses, and would often stay with me on or near her birthday. So, the kids and I would make her a cake (her husband usually had to be back at work, so he couldn't be there). And the last couple of years, I've been nearby, so we've done the same thing. This year, she requested this one, which my niece and I made once before. It was just a little too rich. We'd also had leftover frosting and ganache from the last cake. I had just enough frosting to frost the layers (I made it into 2) and sides, but not the top. But there was enough ganache to do the top. So, that's what I did. Then the kids helped me decorate with Peanut Butter M&M's.

 It was perfect. The first cake had been just a bit too rich--we had frosted the entire thing, and then put ganache on our individual slices, because the place the cake was on didn't allow for ganaching. It would have dripped over the sides. Anyway, with all the frosting and the ganache, it was too rich. But this way--without a layer of frosting under the ganache, it was just right. Not too rich, and the M&M's were a nice touch. I mean, what a perfect touch for a Chocolate Peanut Butter cake. Anyway, it was a beautiful cake, and I was so pleased. It seems silly, but my sister seemed really excited, and it made me feel so good. Just a little thing, but I needed it.

Anyway, just a few little tender mercies. And I'm sorry if you are now salivating and craving cake. Place an order, and I'll see if I can put in a good word with the Cake Fairy. 

Piece of Cake

I have this thing where, from time to time, I make baked good and then pack them up, and take them with me somewhere, and give them out to people that I think could use some sweet goodness in their life. This may sound like a bizarre and potentially dangerous  thing to do, but since I am generally giving them out in settings where I know the people there, it's really less risky than you might think, other than the chance that someone who did not get sweet goodness will start a riot. Which to date has not happened, and I really don't anticipate it. But if for some odd reason I completely lost my mind and ran for President (hey, just a few more years and I'm eligible, now that I think of it), I would definitely be running on a cake platform.

So, today I distributed cake to three friends in my program. I actually planned giving it to one friend, who had been raving about my cakes, and I realized it had been a while since I'd given her cake, and I felt an urgent need to remedy the situation. And I thought it would be nice to give some to another friend of mine, just because. And I had a third container of cake, and saw a third friend, and thought, "Yes. He needs cake." And, go figure, he did.

I sometimes worry that people will feel kind of bad that I didn't actually think of them from the outset, but so far, no one has complained. I think it is just taking the whole "Be prepared" motto to a new level. Help an old lady cross the street, have delicious baked goods on hand to share with those in need. It is just being prepared to make someone's day. (This  may be why I am sometimes referred to as a cake fairy. Maybe.)

Anyway, if you ever want to feel like you've made a difference in the world, you should try giving people cake. Honestly. You won't regret it.

The Cake Fairy: reducing stress and bringing world peace one cake at a time.

Holidays

I am a fan of obscure holidays. And by obscure, I mean the "National Eat a Banana with your Feet" kind of obscure. Not obscure like Veteran's Day (which should definitely NOT be obscure, thank you kindly), which is a very real and significant and beautiful day of commemoration that we are just callous enough to ignore, unless we happen to be in retail and need an excuse for a sale (no offense to retailers--I appreciate sales).

No, I am referring to those holidays that you think, "That's a real holiday? You made that up." Because, most likely, someone did, but somehow it became "official." My theory is these holidays didn't exist before the internet--I mean, how on earth would you communicate with people that March 22nd is wear mismatching socks and a funky hat day? There was no Google search, and it would take way too much time to lobby the calendar companies to add it to their calendars. But, lo, the power of the internet--random and obscure holidays at our fingertips. It's a beautiful thing.

So what got me thinking about this? Well, someone casually mentioned that I had missed National Squirrel Appreciation Day (January 21st), which got me thinking about my favorite squirrel-obsessed dog, Penny (I have a serious case of puppy love for this animal, who is watching for squirrels in this photo, by the by). So then I had to see if this was a legit holiday, via our trusty friend Google. And, it was. Which made me wonder if I could send my brother a card for National Squirrel Appreciation Day, as a joke, (he is the boy that belongs to the dog). Which led to the discovery of Chocolate Cake Day on January 27th--yes, you can send e-cards for this wonderful day. Well, far be it from me to ignore a perfectly legitimate reason for eating chocolate cake (I made some delicious chocolate cupcakes--glorious--and shared with my co-workers)!

All of this led to serious contemplation (i.e. the topic flitted through my jumbled thoughts on the walk to my car after class) of this type of celebration. My thoughts were (roughly) as follows:

Man it is freezing. Chocolate Cake Day. You know, I think people make up holidays to justify doing something that they feel guilty about--like eating chocolate cake. It gives them an excuse. Assuming, of course, that you need an excuse to eat chocolate cake. But I guess it is a reason to do it guilt-free. Or maybe we have them so that we do something we know we should, but don't. Like appreciate squirrels. Or at least pay attention to them. It is so cold! This would be a fun blog post. Oh, I need to remember to mail that check. And I have that assignment due tomorrow. Mmmm, chocolate cake. What holiday would I create if I were to create a holiday? Pizza day? Nah. What do I like to eat, but always feel guilty about? Or like to do? Stay at home and read all day and wear pajamas--lounge day. There you go. Or I could make Send a Letter Day, so that I'd finally write a letter to Grandma. Why is it I never have time? It's not like I'm spending that much time with school--I could, of course. I should. My toes are freezing! Thank heavens for scarves. Scarf Day! I wonder what other days are coming up...."

As you can see, it was a very lively conversation. I'm sure you wish you could have been there to participate. Although, the conversation doesn't really have to end there.

And, meanwhile, if you are wondering what holidays are coming up, here are some links you can check out: (I make no promises about how good they are--besides, you can google too, right?)
http://www.brownielocks.com/february.html
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/february.htm
http://familycrafts.about.com/library/spdays/blfebdayslong.htm - (Please note that today is the founding of Hershey's, which just calls for a chocolate bar, right? And the irony of it also being Toothache day...Seriously? Was this planned?)

Happy celebrating!

Credits
the fella who brought squirrel appreciation day to my attention
Squirrels--especially the fat ones on campus
Penny the Squirrel Hunter
Richard, the boy who raised the Squirrel Hunter
Chocolate Cake
Google, the guru of all it knows and provider of such wonderful resources (like blogspot!)
cold weather and parking permits I'm too cheap to buy, the inspiration for my mental conversations
SI, just because here I am
Procrastination, without which I would be diligently doing homework rather than blogging