cakes ahoy

i was industrious on sunday. more industrious then i probably should have been, considering that it was day light savings time, a concept that fishie didn't quite grasp. so instead of embracing the fact that we should have gained an extra hour of sleep, she decided to get up when she always does, only instead of the clock saying it was 7am, it said that it was 6am. i try and i try to explain important things like the wonders of sleeping in on a sunday to her, but i think it's beyond her comprehension.

anyway, sunday was also my lovely stepmommy's birthday. and as is my lot, it fell to me to make the cake. or cakes, as i volunteered to make two different kinds. seriously, what is wrong with me and the amount of baked goods i've been producing in my crappy little kitchen? and i keep volunteering for this stuff, nobody's twisting my arm or anything. i think it's a sign that i've lost my mind. or that i really like sugar. either way, i made two cakes and a huge mess of my kitchen.

the first cake i tackled was a tres leches cake. it was from a recipe i found a month or so ago here, and ever since i saw that recipe, it's been in the back of my mind that i just had to make it. maybe it's because i like things with a mexican flair. or maybe it's because i really have a thing for sweetened condensed milk. whatever the case, i had my excuse to try it on sunday, because the birthday dinner theme was mexican fiesta. yeah, i'm realizing that my family likes to plan theme parties a lot, but it's how we roll, so you'll just have to deal with it.

anyway, the cake came out pretty well. or as well as i could make it. it was a basic chiffon or sponge cake, soaking it with all the dairy goodness is what made it truly special and delicious. the fact that i've never actually had tres leches cake might be the reason i can't say if this was a really great version or not. my only real complaint is not so much with the cake as with the fact that if i make it again, i need a better way of transporting it. my lovely hubby held it on his lap for the ride to my mommy's house, and some of the liquid that wasn't absorbed kind of ended up on his pants. but now we've learned our lesson and know we need a platter with a higher lip for just in case of leakage. go science!

the second cake i made was a carrot cake. something i've made tons of times before. it's one i know is a favorite of the birthday girl. still, it didn't end up being a normal cake either. no, because i like to make things as difficult for myself as possible, i decided to try out a cake pan that i've never used as a cake pan before, just to see what would happen. well ok, that's not strickly true.

the pan in question is little individual train cars, and it's made of flexible oven safe material. i have used it as a jello mold before, but i've never tried to bake in it. the reason i needed to try it out is that bumble has to make a cake for a boy scout fundraiser, and the theme is "under the big top." so he wants to make a circus train cake. or maybe i've steered him in that direction because my hubby is the den parent and he is the one that is supposed to help bumble make this cake. at this point bumble has more experience baking than his daddy does, so i figured that if this special cake pan works out, then it'll be a snap to make a train shaped cake. all they'll need is some icing and some animal crackers and instant circus train cake here they come. and huzzah the cake pan did work out just beautifully.

so on sunday we had some lovely little carrot cakes in the shape of train cars. and some yummy tres leches cake, which was the best tres leches cake anybody ever had. mostly because i think it was the only tres leches cake anybody ever had, but still, i'll take my compliments where i can get them. the only down side is that i actually whisked up the whipped cream topping for the tres leches cake by hand, and days later my wrist still hurts. yeah i know, it would have been easier to just wash the beaters for my mixer, all of which i had dirtied in the process of making all these cakes on sunday. but i'd like to blame my lapse in judgement on lack of sleep. and the fact that i like to do things the hard way. and maybe i just wanted to see if i could still whip cream with the best of them. and i can. it's just not something i recommend trying.

fusion pie? yes please!

so yesterday i made candy. today i'm making pie. again, as an experiment, and not because i totally love baking and totally love eating pie.

like i've said before, i'm in charge of desserts for thanksgiving dinner. and every year i make the same few types of pie. not that they aren't delicious or anything, but i'm ready for a change. i'm tired of eating the same pie all the time. i want something new. but i'm also afraid of embarrassing myself terribly and tarnishing my reputation as a baker, so i've picked out a few new pie recipes that i really want to try, and i'm going to give them a trial run before the big day.

i've always been interested in mixing the traditional tastes together to create something new and exciting. for instance, the pie i made for my dad's birthday was a combination of an apple pie and a pecan pie. and no, it wasn't just an apple pie with a crumbly pecan topping, it was actually the opposite. the apples nestled down in the delicious pecan filling, infusing everything with apply goodness. it was very yummy, which i was very happy about, and it inspired me to look for more hybrid fusion type recipes.

so today i'm taking a regular pumpkin pie and baking a caramelly pecan topping over it, so it'll be like a piece of pumpkin pie and a piece of pecan pie stacked on top of each other. the whole process has my mouth watering, and once it comes out of the oven i'm going to try and restrain myself enough so that i don't burn off the roof of my mouth.

i'm also going to try a new kentucky derby pie recipe. this is something i've made before, it's like making a regular pecan pie and throwing some chocolate into the mix. and we all know that chocolate makes everything better. this version seems pretty easy, so i want to try making and see how it comes out. being that i have to make six to eight pies for thanksgiving, any recipe that is tasty and easy will definitely make the cut.

so yeah, my house is filling with sugary treats. and we are still getting through our halloween candy. so i've decided for christmas this year i'm asking santa to make me skinny again, because i feel like all this research and experimentation is going to test my will power. thank goodness we have friends stopping by this weekend to help get rid of some of these goodies. and to help taste test everything. for research and science. why else would i do this?

it's the most wonderful time of the year

raise your hand if this is your favorite time of year. it is for me, for so many different reasons.

i hate the heat. and even though i was born in the summer, it's my least favorite season. going backwards through the calender, spring is least favorite after that. yes i know, everything is turning pale green and waking up from it's long winter sleep, birds singing, bees buzzing, flowers blooming. well birds nest in my porch eves and poop all over my car, bees just freak me out, and i can't grow flowers, just weeds, which aren't nearly as nice. after that, winter is my third least favorite, or second most favorite, depending on how you like to phrase things. i obviously like to phrase things as awkwardly as possible. i enjoy the cold of winter, the crisp air, the snow. even when it's slushy and yucky, i like when i'm able to stay in doors and enjoy a nice hot drink and cuddly with my loved ones. what i don't like is that i very rarely get to stay inside. no, i'm the one that has to run around in the muck and slush, dodging those on the roads that freak out when things get a little slippery and decide that they need to go 10 miles an hour on the highways.

so by default, autumn is tops on my season list. though i do love this season for all the wonders that it possesses in its own right. it's getting cooler now, so jeans and comfy jackets are totally appropriate apparel. it gets dark earlier now too, and with the crisp air, star gazing is a perfect night time activity. of course, my favorite thing about this time of year has to be the food.

with halloween done with, there are pumpkins and squashes galore, just begging to be cooked and eaten. and soups and roasts are the perfect meal after a long hard day when the temperature drops. though i would be remiss if i didn't tell you about all the desserts that i look forward to making.

every year for thanksgiving, i'm in charge of making the pies for the meal. now, pumpkin pie and pecan pie are always delicious whenever you make them, but to me they just seem to taste better when made in november. and i know the cookie season will soon be upon us with december just around the corner. also, i've always been one to make things for christmas gifts. not that i'm crafty, no i go all out and make candy. and i'll be totally honest here and say that i've already made some, because i have a few new recipes i want to try, just to make sure they'd stand up as good gifts.

yes, i'm making candy purely as research, and for the practice of cooking the sugar and tempering the chocolate. and if it all should go horribly wrong, i guess i'll just have to force myself to eat my mistakes.

i'm sure i'll go on more food tangents in coming posts, but being that it's november already, i figured i might as well get the ball rolling. so prepare yourself, i'm very opinionated when it comes to these topics. maybe i'll find my three page rant on proper mashed potatoes, it was truly riveting.

(sadly enough, i'm really not kidding, i do have a three page rant about mashed potatoes somewhere out there. let's just say i'm "passionate" and leave it at that)

wants versus needs

we're all friends here, right? then i feel i can admit a dark little secret of mine to you guys. i have money troubles.

yeah i know, maybe it's not a shock to some. and in this economy (how i hate that phrase), it's probably something very common.

honestly, i've always been very bad with money. weirdly, though, i've always gone to opposite extremes. when i was younger, i would never spend money. i would wear out shoes and run around in holey socks instead of going out and buying things i actually needed. then i met my lovely husband and i totally changed. i started spending money like it was on fire, like there was no tomorrow, like it was burning a hole in my pocket. i started spending money i didn't really have.

not that i'm saying it was my hubby's fault, he's not the one that spent the money. it's just that he showed me that it's ok to spend money, that if you have it, you should enjoy it. and enjoy it we did.

and now we are at a point in our lives where i wish we had been a bit more responsible. i suppose i could use the excuse that we were just a couple of crazy kids that didn't know any better, but really i think it was that we didn't give a thought toward the future, it was all about instant gratification with us. which really is a childish way to live.

we're much better now. he taught me about how to have fun with money. and now i'm teaching him the difference between a want and a need. so it's a learning process for the both of us.

it's tricky sometimes, trying to figure out what is a want and what is a need. there are certain things that are easy. like food is a need, but going out to eat is a want. clothes are needs, but designer jeans and fifty pairs of shoes that mostly look the same are wants. electricity is a need, but... well no, electricity is just kind of a need all around. but that doesn't mean we need to leave all the lights on all the time. or the water running. and hand-me-downs work great as play clothes. we can be smart about how we use what we have to get the most out of things. that is something that we need to do.

i guess this whole train of thought is inspired by the fact that christmas is coming, and now i have a chance to ask for things that i wouldn't normally buy for myself. things that i want, but that i've never been able to rationalize enough as a need, so i never got. it's a strange thing for me, to think of things that i want, things that i wish i could have. usually if i see something i'd really like, but realize it's something that i could pretty well do without, i put it out of my mind so that i don't hope and wonder about how to get it. or rather, so i don't feel bad and curse my luck for not having it. now that i get to think about it, even i wonder what i'll come up with for my christmas list.

trying to keep reality in check

i keep telling myself that if i was better at managing time, i would be able to get everything done that i really wanted to. more than just finding the time to do all the regular stuff, like laundry and grocery shopping and homework help, i'd be able to read all those books i have stacked and waiting for me, watch all those movies that my hubby gave up waiting for me and watched without me, and actually keep up with the message boards i used to be able to spend hours on.

and then reality hits me up side of my head and explains that i am a mommy with three kids. and yes, some mommies have it worse than i do, some actually have real and paying jobs on top of taking care of their house and their kids. but that doesn't mean that i'm any less busy. especially since my two boys are like taking care of twins. and my fishie is now on the move. and i only get to see my hubby for two hours a day during the week, what with me sleeping when he comes home from work, and him asleep all day, only getting up to eat dinner and then he's off again.

life is busy. and sometimes it's hard. and sometimes i drop the ball and forget things, and then have to play catch up (like doing homework after breakfast, while waiting for the bus, because i forgot to check a bookbag the night before). but i try, and most people around me know that i try. and so what if their socks don't match. or lumpy gets cereal for lunch, because that's what he really wants and i don't have time to fight with him. or fishie and i go to the bus stop in our pajamas because i didn't have time to get everybody dressed in the morning.

at least we're all happy and healthy. and i remember the important stuff. so bring on the stress and the craziness of life. just give me christmas layaway, so there's one less thing to worry about. and toaster waffles for quick breakfasts. and baby gates to help cage a crawling fish. i think i can manage the rest.